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-1- Halcyon -1- The arena. A brutal Colosseum reminiscent of old Rome. The only difference between them where the rules, and It was made entirely of metal. Even the ground floor had a cold metallic sheen. Halcyon approached the gray iron bars slowly, his armor jangling ominously. This was his first battle, so he was issued a large and protective set. The rules where simple, the first person to perform hara-kiri lost. The contender must not kill his opponent, only cause bodily or mental harm. That was it, the only rule. Anything goes in the Ranin Cup, as they say. Through the preliminary bars, Halcyon saw who he faced across the arena. A short, scrawny, and unintimidatory kid at roughly fourteen. He himself was in his teens, but with more muscle then most. The overbearing clamor of the crowd nearly drowned out the announcer, who was proudly declaring the events into a booming megaphone. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you to the four hundredth and ninety-sixth Ranin Cup!" The people in the luxurious, and surprisingly not metal, seats roared out their excitement. Every seat had cost them over three hundred Lume, except for the closest which had prices ranging from five to one thousand Lume. Lume was the source of Currency in the Dome, an underground safetown from the burning above. The year was unknown, for the attack had come in surprise and nobody brought a clock, Digital or otherwise. Lume was a round, flat, and metal coin, similar to the American penny. However, Lume had achieved Its name because the eerie green glow that radiated from its center. The cause for this was Radiation. Lume was first mined from an abandoned storehouse, which pre-eradication had stored massive amounts of coal. The firebombs had miraculously not destroyed it, only pounded it into giant lumps. The mining was difficult, for It had to be done with strong pick-axes and was above-ground where all the destruction had reined. Once it was brought underground in a black, unadorned truck It would have a strange chemical reaction that would result in Lume. Nobody understood It, but nobody questioned It. Any other material brought underground simply vanished mysteriously or burned up in violent flames. One Lume was equivalent to six hundred American dollars, for Its rarity. Back In the Ranin Cup, Halcyon readied for his battle. The warning bell sounded, and the gates lifted. Immediately after the second bell rang, they charged. Halcyon raised his sword and yelled, while the other simply ran meekly, snot dribbling down his nose and onto his armor. The lack of a strong opponent humiliated Halcyon, so he decided to show the Omanin that he had true skill. He rolled, spun, and jumped over his enemy and laughed. The dribbly kid was slow, very slow. It took him a full minute to realize Halcyon had escaped his grasp, and when he did realize his ignorance, he just stared. Halcyon stabbed with his bronze sword, allowing it graze the youth's cheek. In pain, he yelped and dropped both weapon and shield. "You've lost, kid. There is no way you can defeat me. Kill yourself now, before I have to do more." taunted Halcyon. He stared blankly, then whined loudly. "J-just l-let me g-go!" he whimpered. "Oh, no. You know I can't do that. The rules are clear, and I wouldn't want to anger them. You know, the one's watching us. Watching you disgracefully prolong your death." Halcyon laughed. He knew It was over the instant his sword touched him. In fact, It was over before it began. In final admittance, the weakling reached down, retrieved his dagger, and stabbed himself directly in the chest over his heart. Dropping like a rock, blood spilled out and trickled through the armor in a gruesome manner. Silence drowned out the crowd, then In a combined effort they all cheered. Halcyon reached and grabbed the dagger, holding his trophy over his head and yelling triumphantly. That was It, his first victory and In only five minutes. Lights flashed and the referee escorted Halcyon to the end of the arena, where he was brought into the winners circle. Down stone stairs, and into a large circular room. It was largely decorated, with banner's in an array of colors, a large floormat with which a fountain sat. Surrounding the fountain where stone benches and chairs, with only two low orbs of light to illuminate the large area. Nobody Important was there to congratulate him, for It was a rather minor event, but It was enough for Halcyon, whose ego swelled. Roddick, with twelve victories, Zuki, with five victories, and Husnia, with nine victories, where gathered around the fountain. How many people showed up for your victory celebration was determined by your rank. Rank Victories Constable 0-15 Nobile 16-25 Esquire 26-35 Baronet 36-50 Grand Dominus 50-75 Vidame Seigneur 100-NaN The amount of people in each rank changes daily, some rank up and some die. As of current, only five warriors where Constable's like Halcyon, which included the three at the ceremony. Those who are available and in your rank are allowed to come to your victory service, higher or lower ranks can only come with your permission, however it was unwise to decline a higher ranking soldier with the penalty of revenge. All services lasted ten minutes, and Included heavy drinking, cheering, and a single Important ritual. The winner would fully engulf his head in the fountain, and the water would change color. Four colors are possible, Green, Red, Blue, and Gold. The fountain was a sort of religious Icon, which depicted their god. If the god approved of your victory, it would change Green. If he or she did not, Red. If he or she was neutral, Blue. And the last color, which it had only changed to once before, described greatness. Any who achieved golden color would be instantly ranked up to Baronet or higher. The true reason why the color changed was, again, radiation which combated chemically with the person's skin to change color momentarily as the atoms destabilize. After his brief Intoxication, the moment arrived for Halcyon. It was tense around the room as he slowly dunked his head into the blue liquid. In a single second, It changed. Everyone was staring, confused, as the water stayed blue. Then It shifted. Red. Then, miraculously, It shifted again. Green. It continued to change between the colors of red, blue, and green, until it stopped entirely. Gold. -2- The Ritual -2-

It was silent.