Chapter 59

The Glory of the Pit (Part 1)

The door to Keth’s pen opened. The sunlight streaming through the threshold was blinding. He stepped out cautiously to the sound of raucous applause. It was deafening, it swept over him like a tidal wave, threatening to overwhelm him. He peered back to the other door, the one which Alfran was behind, but it remained closed.

As his eyesight adapted to brightness, he saw his opponent for the first time, casually stepping out of his pen as if this were a weekend stroll. The man oozed confidence, Keth couldn’t help but wonder how many times he had fought in this pit, how many men he had killed. His choice of weapons took Keth off-guard. A pair of claws fitted to either hand. The announcer spoke out over the loud speaker, somehow able to drown out the noise from the frenzied crowd. “In this match we have Adriel the Fleet, victor of a dozen fights. Don’t let his small stature fool you, he will dance around your corpse before you even realize you are dead!” The crowd roared in agreement. Keth didn’t doubt it either, those claws were perfect against Helsian’s. Thin, long, and sharp, capable of slipping through a ribcage. Most long-bladed weapons were useless against Helsian’s, making contact with bone would shatter anything other than Sky-Shard iron. “His opponent is a rookie of the pit. A Helsian barbarian, a savage! People, put your hands together for…” the announcer paused, he didn’t know what to call him.

“The Greyling Ghost!” called out Korv from the Royal Balcony.

That got Keth’s blood boiling. As the announcer finished his introductions Keth stormed forward to meet his foe in the centre of the pit.

“Ah, there you are!” said Adriel cheerfully, “I’ve never fought a Greyling bef-”

“Save it!” snapped Keth. As he stood a few feet in front of the man.

“Oh come now Grey One. There is no harm in being civil before I gut you.”

“Shut up you witless Granbok! Let’s just get this over with shall we.”

“As you wish. It’s your funeral.” mocked Adriel as he dropped down in to a fighters stance. “Come at me, dog!”

Keth was furious, and he charged the man, letting out a bestial roar as he swung his sword in a downward arc.

His vicious swing, which was aimed perfectly to sever the man’s skull, only met with thin air. Adriel, true to his moniker gracefully spun out of the way of the attack.

Adriel countered as Keth barrelled past him. Keth felt pain lancing through him, radiating from two separate locations. He looked down to see his foes claws impaling his stomach and side.

He stumbled back, the nanites within his tattoo already working overtime to heal the wound with strong currents of electricity coursing through his body. I’ll have to be more careful, he thought to himself as he dropped into a defensive stance and beckoned for the Fleet to attack.