Kian reached through the bars and clasped his mother’s hand. The coliseum rumbled with the cheers of the people.

“Rew la thar! Rew la thar!”

Kian breathed in and his eyes unfocused.

A hand squeezed his. He turned his head towards the person and heard a voice.

Footsteps from down the hall.

“Rew la thar! Rew la thar! Rew – ” The crowd gives a tremendous roar.

The iron grates were before Kian, an empty cell behind him. One person in the hall clasping his hand, ones unseen approaching. The rumble and roar of the earth and air. Whisper of breath and thud of heart. Screams trembling in his chest.

The crowd quieted to a low murmur.

Footsteps smacked against the stone suddenly close.

Kian’s knees trembled and he shuddered. He clenched his teeth.

Four guards with a captain leading appeared.

Kian’s breath caught.

They walked straight.

Please go by.

The captain suddenly turned on his heel sharply in front of Kian’s cell door.

Kian felt his soul surge within him, he felt it explode and a mighty roar well up in his throat. His soul crashed against the inside of his body and he grasped an iron bar with one hand and pulled.

The four guards stood ready on either side of the door as the captain unlocked it.

Kian strained with all his might. His whole body tensed and his mouth gaped in a silent yell. His soul roared like an inferno within him.

The bar didn’t budge.

The door clacked open and the four guards stepped in.

Kian’s mother wept bitterly and wrung Kian’s hand in hers.

The mighty ocean of Kian’s soul crashed upon the shore of Kian’s weak body. It could not be released.

One guard wrested his hand out his mother’s. Then, with the help of the other three guards they pulled his grasp off the bars.

They tied his hands with rope and bound his ankles together.

Then, the ocean in Kian leaked out. His eyes unfocused and tears streamed down his face.

Two guards drug him by the shoulders down the hall.

One guard stayed by his mother. A wail echoed against the walls. A guard walked ahead of Kian. The captain led the way. The hiss of his feet over stone. Empty stares from full cells.

The guards drag him to an armory. They fit a leather vest over him, then a metal chest plate. Holes are punctured in both. Each breath tightens the vest around him. He lifts his tied hands and pulls on the chest plate at the neck.

His teeth clench and his neck muscles tighten.

The guards curse under their breaths and peel his hands off.

Kian breathes in and out, in and out. He clenches his hands into tight fists and curls his toes.

The shout of an announcer echoes faintly.

The guards hold him at the captain’s command and one of them cuts his bonds.

The guards back off and level spears at him. The captain motions to a shield and sword on a table before Kian.

“Pick them up.”

Kian looks in that direction. There’s a table. Things are on the table. Guards on either side. Stone walls. Racks of weapons. Shelves of gear. Heavy wood door. Coliseum above, below, around him. City around the coliseum. Woods around the city. Land under the woods. Ocean around the land. Air above the ocean. Air around him right now. He breathes it in.

A butt of a spear smacks his back. He stumbles forward. He catches himself on the table. Two objects are on it.

He picks one up, its round. He slides it on his arm. It’s heavy.

He picks the other up. Heavy and unbalanced. Sharp.

Another butt from a spear behind him makes him stumble forward.

The crowd suddenly cheers and begins chanting.

“Paw Rudam! Paw Rudam! Paw Rudam!”

Kian steps forward. His arms hang loose at his sides. The sword sways.

Steps echo against the tight hallway. Steps behind him. The passage sways around him.

The passage widens into a room. Guards lounge near the walls. Eyes watch Kian. A large grate portcullis is opposite Kian with sun shining through it.

The butt of a spear makes him stumble towards it.

“Paw Rudam! Paw Rudam! Paw Rudam!”

Wood, iron and light in front of him. Whisper of breath. Tightening vest. Sweat on leather handle. Cool stone. Drafts of hot-sandy air.

The portcullis clangs and is drawn upward.

Drums.

“Paw Rudam! Paw Rudam! Paw Rudam!”

Kian takes one step over the threshold and stands still. There’s sandy ground. Chiseled stone walls. Faces watching all the way to the sky. Roof open to the heavens. Banners of blue and black.

Bare-chested man with black helm. Waiting on sand. Leather skirt armor.

A rod strikes his back and he stumbles forward into the light.

The crowd falls silent.

A breath of wind shifts the sand.

The helmed man stands motionless.

“Yag Segen Ha!” A man yells.

The cry is picked up by others and it grows to a chant.

“Yag Segen Ha! Yag Segen Ha! Yag Segen Ha!”

The black-helmed man looks up and to the side. He’s hairy. His muscles bulge against his skin. He nods and bows. He turns towards Kian and rolls his shoulders.

The portcullis slams shut behind Kian. He takes a step back.

“Yag Segen Ha! Yag Segen Ha!” The crowd yells angrily.

Kian steps back again to the gate. A rod jabs him away. He steps to the side along the stone wall.

The black helm slowly follows him. A dust devil kicks up behind the man.

Kian moves against the wall.

The man’s body turns and walks forward.

Kian freezes.

The man picks up his pace into a charge.

Sand kicks up under the man’s feet. Sweat is slicked on his skin. Dust powders his legs.

The sword.

Kian jabs it at the man’s chest. The man twists to the side of the blade, then brings his palm around and slams it into Kian’s chest.

The blow knocks the sword from Kian’s grasp. His body folds under the blow, then strikes the wall. His head flops back and hits the wall.

Blackness frames Kian’s vision. Stars swim where they should be staying still. His heart beats in the back of his head. His chest is empty of air. The air is over the ocean.

A fist clenches his arm and starts dragging him into the middle of the sand.

Kian’s mouth gapes. He drools as he tries to suck in air.

The grip on him shifts. A hand grabs a fist of his hair.

Kian takes in the smallest breath. Sand scrapes against his dented chest plate.

The man pulls Kian’s head up. Kian gasps in air.

From the black helm echoes a loud voice.

A memory flashes across Kian’s mind. Sun-dappled grass. Golden wheat field under cloud-speckled bright blue sky. Cool shade. Green forest. House. Sweat, shovel and spade. Cool, clear stream. Wind in dancing sister’s hair. Proud brother relaxing near. Parents walking up the path.

A quiet upon all the hills around.

Kian’s eyes focus. A cloud-speckled bright blue sky is above him.