Om

The Awakened Arena is a fortress in the middle of the growing city. Its stones as thick as the growing city wall, each enchanted to resist magic and warded to stop creatures that can move through walls. I've never even heard of such creatures, but it apparently stops all magical snooping as well.

There are three gates to the huge domed structure. Each transversing through a long dark tunnel with heavy spiked drop gates within, a favourite defwnsive measure of the Dawn Dwarves and very practical. Past that tunnel is a huge ornately carved wooden door. Petrified in oils to be fire resistant and also very heavy.

So heavy that round steel balls needed to be placed underneath so the door rolls easily such that even a child could open it. The door carvings apparently depict the two Ancestral beasts within our vicinity. All I see are two beautiful men with strange eyes, one with prominent horns, the other claws.

The Arena is a five story building and has three basements but a fourth and fifth are rumoured to be under construction secretly. The ground floor has a sitting area with a tabletop bar, tables, chairs and even a few couches as one walks in to the right of the foyer. To the left are offices that are still currently empty. The bar area has its own latrines beautifully decorated on shiny pebbles and a little bubbling water fountain.

By-passing either the right or left and going straight through the foyer there is a wide passage with decorative war patterns carved into the wall itself. The patterns we tribesmen paint on ourselves when going into battle, expertly done and flowing smoothing on the wall into one another whether Norse, Saxon, Scavenger or Viking patterns.

Higher up on the wall are huge paintings depicting the night of terror, the battle with the fae interlopers and a few scenes from the current struggle with the Sandorians already painted. This is the most elaborately decorated structure in all of Paradisum.

The floor is a shiny black stone that almost shows my reflected shadow. Pillars of black petrified trees are somehow built half into the wall, seemingly holding up the high vaulted ceiling. At the end of the passage are four doors. One leading upstairs, another downstairs, another to a great hall designed to hold a banquet and the last leading to this side of the first arena.

The first arena is a terrain based arena with trees growing, grass, huge boulders, and even a few ponds. The fighting area is designed to have a lot of obstacles but be open enough that opponents can't hide from each other for long. There is an observational area capable of seating 200 tribesmen as spectators.

"The first arena is a where groups l to test themselves, it's been really popular of late," Tosting grins at my fascination.

We go up stairs.

The second arena is on the first floor. It’s slightly smaller than the first arena but has more than enough space for a melee of a 100 opponents at a circumference of 400 yards. The floor of this arena is entirely filled with heavy sand allows blood to easily sink into it and is easy to maintain.

The floor after that is the obstacle courses and the weapon's training area. There are 12 obstacle courses, each one more impossible than the last. There are people to themselves as we pass. The course challenges speed, strength, accuracy, flexibility, hand gripping, climbing, dodging and intelligence.

"So far only the Sidhe trainers can finish all 12, and even for them it’s a challenge. But the Sidhe are strange creatures, said to be in a class of their own that normal humans just shouldn't compare themselves to. But we'll get there," the old man says pulling me away from my gawking.

I notice a lot of one on one training between a Barbarian and Fae opponent.

Weapon's training is just that, weapon's training. And though every tribesman or woman that has Awakened so far is a veteran of many battles they still attend weapon's training with the fae. Our pride is great, but there is nothing Barbarians admire more that martial strength and the fae have proven theirs, so they are to be listened to.

The third floor has the sparing rings. Circles and cages built to endure a fight between two Awakened fighting it out hand to hand. There are weights to lift that are small enough to be held practically but heavy enough to require supernatural strength to lift. A few punching and kicking bags, then the mats.

"We've noticed it more difficult to kill an Awakened human-being without a weapon. Not unless they are incapacitated and easily choked to death. Otherwise it takes a skilled person to know how to do it using minimal strength. Hand to hand fighting has been a long bloody affair since the Awakenings and access to healing, arg... You'll notice all this yourself soon enough. Come."

The little I see of the cage fight is gruesome, the only rule being no hits to the throat. Two warriors walk into the cage; one walks out while the other is carried out.

The last two floors are sleeping quarters. Having enough room for 50 apartments at the top floor and bunking rooms capable of housing 200 below that on the 4th, with a beautiful but currently empty kitchen area.

My first day at the Arena I am shown around by Tosting. Introduced to a few of the other Awakened and to my surprise, most of them are the formally old men and women of our tribes. Men that were already passed their prime before Awakening and weary of not having died in battle.

Now though they are full of energy, happy and eager for the Sandies to send another large force, and they are all stunningly good looking. The old women now looking like mature beauties instead of long toothed hags and by the few grunts and moans that can be constantly heard in dark corners I'm not the only one that has noticed.

The basements I am told hold the communal baths, a few alchemy labs, a hospice and a cage dungeon on the last basement "in case we have to lockup something fierce." Tosting jokes.

The Arena is mostly empty still though. Due to its rule to only allow Awakened through the doors. There are still people acting as servants around the huge building but I'm told even those will not be allowed in when everything is complete. There will be no servants in the Arena.

I'm only allowed in by virtue of my Aura Awakening. Something no one here can teach me how to use. Even the Fae.

* * *

Unknown

Travelling to this continent of Sandaria was easier than we had anticipated. The waters leading here controlled mainly by man eating sea monsters and Undines instead of the vicious mermen and their hate for humans.

Undines are apparently much more reasonable and easier to negotiate with. Plus, they mostly stay on land on numerous little islands with thick forests. Killing or threatening them would have drawn too much attention from anyone who pays attention to such things. Thus we lowered ourselves to paying their toll for crossing the little sea passage to Sandaria.

A trip that would have taken us many months by ocean took only one by the route they provided. At least our money was well spent.

"What is the plan when we get there?" Uria asks as we transverse the land on foot, all 24 of us eager to get this over with.

None of us are actually used to all this labouring as the first 25 of the inner circle is made from nobility or former nobles. The outer circle being made of those that come from humble beginnings but through merit and hard work, found their way to our attentions.

"This continent is a backwater; I say we kill a few hundred quickly to cower the rest. They won't have anyone strong enough to combat our combined might. Right Assad?" Diana asks.

She is the most irritable because she is the most used to having servants cater to her every whim. This entire journey must be a great hardship to her.

"My spies are unsure of their capabilities as the truly powerful magic users sequester themselves in their territories where they are allowed to do anything they please and kill any who trespass without reproach," Assad says as we skirt by a small village.

"Sounds like a place after my own heart. I like people that have proper respect for their betters," Albert says with a grin floating slightly above the ground.

I don't like the man. His tastes for little boys and girls I find repulsive, especially the condition he leaves them in after he's done with them. But the man is useful, and very powerful in the arts. That fat belly hides a very shrewd mind that probably has a contingency for everything. It isn't easy to be fat on Gaia, but somehow Albert manages it and maintains it diligently by indulging all is appetites, usually.

By the time our second week on this land is reached everyone is thoroughly miserably. We have had to skirt around two Ancient Beasts lest we aggrieve them, their territories spanning miles and taking us many hours out of our way. The camping a novel and awkward experience.

Trying to stay unseen turned out to be an unreasonable expectation. Especially with Diana and Nadia constantly bickering. We rested a day with hot meals and baths in a little village that saw our exotic silver as the greatest of wealth.

By the time we make contact with Assad's spy here I can thoroughly say I know more about my inner circle than I ever hoped to. Nerves are frayed but no one kills each other, the spy settles us in a safe house in a province of Sandaria known as Crestia. The safe house is an estate out in the countryside that is slightly modest in comparison to its few distant neighbours.

"Who owns this property?" I ask Assad's man as we settle for a planning session.

"You do my lord," he says smoothly with a bow and I grin at his feigned humility.

"This country isn't as rural as I feared." Asgar says. The oldest person among us at 600 years old. Give or take a few decades.

"We could take it. Use it as a third base of operations or a fallback position." He says to no one in particular. The crafty old man is a survivor, with multiple safe houses even Assad can't find.

"How well establishes are we in these parts?" Cecile asks the agent directly, never having patience for small talk or beating around an issues.

"Not well my lady. The cults here are young and not taken seriously by the population. Sorcery is still a myth to many of the commoners and they don't worship any gods or deities for the most part. Only honouring a the Seven, the Trinity and a few deities they call Spirits."

I nod, we could use that. "If sorcery isn't well established then we can take what we want and be on our way quickly. We can establish ourselves here at a later date, if we survive the coming ceremony.

"It seems the spirits aren't well established here-"

"So we can use this continent as a refuge in case the Spirits double cross us," Albert finishes my thought without preamble.

"Yes, somewhere out of their influence," I say, looking at each of them.

"We all embarked on this road in search of secret and power and we have each paid a heavy price. But we are unequalled in power now and the best part is no one knows we even exist.

"No one but the Spirits that haunt us, and they can talk to whomever they choose as soon as our agreement is at an end. We cannot permanently kill Spirits yet, so I suggest we make no enemies of them."

"Which is why we are here, so we can make artefacts for killing Spirits." Diana cutting straight to the point.

"Which is why we are here," I confirm nodding.

"I have a few islands I am planning to lay low in after the ceremony is complete, but we could establish ourselves here afterwards if we so choose. The 25 of us are the inner circle, the other 25 of the outer circle don't know nearly as much about all our plans and I want it to stay that way."

Everyone nods. We all have our individual escape plans, but having a way to actually injure or even kill spirits would be invaluable for us.

"Ok, we will need to secure a fast escape route before we attack. We will attempt to be stealthy but if that doesn't work we hit hard and fast.

"I'm assuming our targets still have no counter to magic?" I ask the agent who clears his throat before responding. Never a good sign.

"The is a complication lord. It appears that the Barbarians have struck up an alliance with the fae."

"Shit!" Uria says as I scowl.

Asgar giggles as he looks at me. "So much for us being the strongest humanoids on this continent."

This will definitely delay us, a lot.