It Rained Red Upon the Arena (17 page)

“Young lad, you have a gift,” said Jeffrey. He looked over to his right where Ron was sitting and they both nodded in agreement without saying a word. “You have a gift and others in our capitol share different and unique gifts that the public in unknowing of. We know you have encountered one of these individuals.”

“Supreme Rezas? They are in the capitol?”

“Only a few, Nick,” said Jeffrey. “But not the type you encountered. The ones that work for the king harbor the power for good and defend our country. Now that these powers have fallen into the wrong hands, you will be asked to learn from a great master who teachers the art. King Dedan Hudson wants you to claim the power of supreme Reza. A supreme Reza, with the ability of a skilled Paplon. There would only be one in the world.” Nick’s jaw slightly dropped at the news. “Don’t answer now, Nick. You’ll have time to answer if you want to participate or not. That’s all the information I have. King Dedan Hudson will tell you more.”

Nick did not need more time to answer. He already knew what it was that he wanted to do. He didn’t say anything else to Jeffrey. He simply sat there in silence as thoughts consumed his mind.
This is it, Nick. This is how you can help Hentrio. This is how you can find out about what really happened to Dad. No one could have predicted this path but I have to embrace it. I will not leave Phillip behind to rot in the arena. I will not leave Penny behind alone in Vincot. I will not leave Thomas behind. The ones I love will be shown they are loved.

Nick looked out the back of the carriage. Vincot became smaller and smaller as they traveled further up the road. The sun was still rising, but the sky had become fully blue. It was a beautiful day. It was the start of a new adventure for Nick. He looked back at the city he had lived in his entire life and could not hold back a huge smile. Nick Bint was embarking on a new journey, the true journey he was born for.

Chapter 13

The Viton Road was full of rocks and holes. Nick Bint could feel every bump in the carriage climb up his spine and resonate in his neck. He couldn’t be one to complain though. He was a free man. Anything was better than sitting in a cell and slowly withering away.

Nick had been on the road for two days accompanied by three king’s men: Reed, Ron, and Jeffrey. They would stop at night to set up camp to sleep for a few hours before hitting the road again at sunrise.

One of the harder things that Nick had to cope with was the fact that he had left the girl of his dreams back home. Little did Nick know that Penny was a mere few miles away following suit on the voyage to Genold City. She had hitched a ride with a traveling salesman who was on his way to restock supplies in the capitol.

The sun was directly over the men. It beamed down heavily with heat as mid day approached. Green trees and colorful bushes surrounded the dirt road. They supported all types of unique wildlife but the most prominent were the birds. They sang nearly the whole way; it was beautifully annoying to Nick. He loved the sounds but was so used to silent nights and days within his cell.

Reed had told Nick that the road from Vincot to Genold City was about a two-day ride by horse and carriage. Nick was excited to make his first visit to the capitol.

Nick was sitting in the back of the carriage. He made his way over to the front where Reed was directing the carriage and tapped his arm. He looked over to Nick and said, “What can I do you for, Nick?”

“It’s been two days, hasn’t it?”

“Either you are dumb or are playing dumb, Nick, but yes, it has been two days.”

“Well, you said it’s a two day ride,” said Nick. “I just wanted to know if we might be getting close.”

“Closer with each step,” replied Reed. “We are approaching the turn that will reveal Genold City. You see the hills right over there?”

Reed pointed to show Nick two green hills next to each other.

“We make a turn that goes in between those hills and beyond that we will be at Genold City,” said Reed.

“Awesome. I imagine it is beautiful” said Nick.

Nick sat back in his seat. Ron was to his left and Jeffrey was sitting across from him. Their gold platen armor glistened as the sun reflected off of them. So much so that Nick decided to close his eyes for just a moment.

He began to control his breathing and meditated. He could always picture the same scene in his head that he had when he meditated in his cell. He sat on a hill under a tree as a river flowed at the bottom of the hill. Everything was green, vibrant, and full of life.

Nick heard a loud thump and quickly opened his eyes.

Jeffrey was staring directly at Nick with a quirky smile on his face.

“This is it, Nick,” said Jeffrey. “Didn’t mean to wake you but take a look.”

Nick turned his head to the sight of Genold City in the distance. The city was built on numerous hills like the ones they had just passed through with the tallest hill being near the center. It was not a flat city like Vincot. Genold City looked massive from a distance and grew in size with every step the horses took.

As they grew closer Nick could start to see the details of the great stonewalls that surrounded the city and the buildings that resided on the hills. All of the buildings appeared to be made of stone just as he was taught as a child.

Before Nick knew it, they had arrived at the main gate. The massive stone door attached to the city gate was closed shut. Reed looked up to the tower over the gate and a loud crackling was heard as the gate started to ascend.

The gate rose a quarter of the way up and the carriage was signaled to come in by a Refect who was on the other side of the gate. The Refect was wearing all white armor. White was the color of Genold City. It was strange for Nick to see a Refect who wore a color other than dark red.

As they went through the gate Nick spotted three more Refect who guarded the gate. Nick made his way over to the front of the carriage so he could see what was up ahead.

Everything was so packed on the street they were on. There were men, women and children walking shoulder to shoulder in every direction. There were many others who were sitting on the edges of buildings begging for coin.

The stone buildings they passed by were connected to one another. Nick couldn’t tell if they were houses or shops. Within minutes they had passed by hundreds of different doors and thousands of people.

“Probably not quite what you were expecting,” said Reed.

“You’re right about that,” replied Nick. “There are so many buildings. So many people. I never knew that Genold City was like this. All of the homeless, it’s heartbreaking.”

“Yes, we are at an all time high of poverty and homelessness,” said Reed. “It’s estimated that one in twenty are homeless. There aren’t enough jobs for everyone. It’s not as pretty as Vincot.”

“That is terrible,” said Nick. “Everything seems terrible.”

Reed pointed ahead to a large tower. “That there is part of Castle Teon. We will be coming up to our destination in a few minutes.”

Nick sat quietly as he looked around at his surroundings. He felt that the city looked much better from far away. The smell was horrid as well. He imagined that the entire city was covered in sewage, considering how many homeless people there were.

The sun shined down brightly upon Genold City as the carriage reached its destination. The carriage stopped at a giant circular street.

Nick got out the back of the carriage to bear witness to the massive castle before him. They arrived at the bottom of the biggest staircase Nick had ever seen. At the top of the stairs sat Castle Teon. It was very wide and tall. It had four towers with golden caps at the top that stood above the rest of the castle. The middle of the Castle Teon was simply a massive white dome. The rest of the castle extended backwards. However, Nick could only see so much of it from where he stood.

Reed, Ron, and Jeffrey unpacked the carriage and carried the bags that consisted of sleeping gear and food. They all began to walk up the stairs and Nick followed suit.

“These must be the infamous thousand stairs,” said Nick.

“That it is,” replied Jeffrey. “There are literally a thousand steps here.”

“I was just about to ask that,” said Nick.

“I know,” replied Jeffrey.

As Nick climbed up the stairs he started to breathe a bit harder. A thousand steps was no easy feat, especially considering how hot it was.

To both sides of the stairs there were massive balconies that extended fifty feet from the top of the courtyard. They overlooked the city and Nick assumed that was where the king could address his people. Nick finally reached the top of the stairs and got the chance to witness all of Castle Teon.

Two Refect stood at the top of the stairs and allowed all four men access to the courtyard. The courtyard itself was quite a sight to see for Nick. It had two gardens with booming colors that reminded Nick of Vincot.

There were two great white doors that granted entry to the castle. The front of the castle had numerous giant windows with gold accents along their edges.

All four men walked straight towards the white doors. Two more Refect stood guard at the doors and opened them to allow the men entry.

Nick got his first look at the enormity of the inside of Castle Teon. The stone roof stood tall overhead and had white pillars attached that reached down to the floor. The floor and the walls were white. Nick had never seen so much white. There were two staircases on opposite sides of the room that lead to a second story with closed doors. Ahead of Nick there were five steps that lead to two massive golden doors. The massive room was completely empty; no one else was there.

Jeffrey looked over at Nick and said, “Welcome to Castle Teon. We must get you cleaned up before you are presented to King Dedan Hudson.”

A teenage human girl with brown hair walked over from the door on the right side of the room. “Welcome back, boys,” she said with a smile. “Is there anything I can get for you guys?”

“Get our man Nick here cleaned up and properly clothed to be presented to our king,” said Jeffrey.

“No problem,” she said. She waved her hand at Nick to signal him to follow. “Come now, right this way.”

“Can you grab me a drink before you go, honey?” said Ron.

“Get one yourself, you lazy bum,” said Jeffrey.

Nick hadn’t heard Ron’s voice in over a day. He had forgotten how raspy it was.

Nick walked to the side door as the three king’s men walked towards the white doors. Nick looked over at the girl and asked, “So, is your name Honey?”

The girl chuckled and then said, “No, that is only what creepy Ron calls me. My name is Elizabeth. It is nice to meet you, Nick.”

She held out her hand and the two formally introduced one another with a handshake. Nick followed her through a series of doors. They passed by a few Paplon and Reza who each gave Nick a curious look. Finally they reached a room with a bed and bath. The bedding was made of a fancy cloth of various bright colors. There was one window with the same cloth draped around it. The room was nice and had a fancy feel to it.

“All right, off with your clothes,” said Elizabeth.

“What?” asked Nick.

“Oh, silly me. Let me get the door first,” said Elizabeth.

She walked past Nick and closed the door behind them.

“No, I mean why do I have to take my clothes off?”

“I have to bathe you and get you presentable for our king. You heard it yourself out there. Don’t be scared. There is nothing to be afraid of unless you are attracted to me or something.”

Nick paused and thought,
I’m very attracted to you.

“Listen, I’m not attracted to you,” said Nick. “It’s just that I’ve always bathed myself and I will continue to do so no matter where I am in the world.”

“Fine. Suit yourself, Nick. I’ll just go out and get you some water and snacks while you bathe. However, I will shave that beard for you when I’m back.”

“Sounds good, thank you,” said Nick.

Elizabeth headed for the door and opened it. Before she stepped out of the room she turned back and asked, “You really don’t think I’m attractive, Nick? What a shame.”

She smiled and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Nick let out a sigh of relief as she left and proceeded to take a bath. He noticed a white cloth shirt and white pants hanging to the left of the bath. When he finished his bath he stepped out to put on the most comfortable clothes that he had ever worn.

Elizabeth returned shortly and made good on her promise to shave off Nick’s patchy beard.

When she was finished she looked at Nick and said, “Your friend is outside the door ready to present you to the king.”

Nick opened the door to find Jeffrey waiting for him.

“Much better,” said Jeffrey. “Follow me.”

Chapter 14

Nick and Jeffrey walked through the same set of doors that led them back to the enormous main room at the front of the castle. They walked through the gargantuan white doors to reveal the king room. There was a golden throne that sat on top of a set of stairs. The ceilings were as high as the room from which they came and there was a wall of glass behind the throne that stretched from floor to ceiling.

Nobody was in the king’s room. It was as barren as the first room.

Nick kept following Jeffrey as he made a left turn that led to a long hallway. Halfway down the hallway there was a white stone door where Jeffrey stopped. He turned around and looked at Nick.

“You respond to the king with my lord or sire,” said Jeffrey. “You also must act as respectful as you possibly can. Your king is the only reason why you are a free man, so keep that in mind as well.”

“Yes, sir,” said Nick.

Jeffrey reached for the door, paused, and looked back at Nick. “One more thing; do not speak out of turn. He speaks, then you speak.”

Nick nodded in agreement and Jeffrey swung open the white door.

On the other side of the door there was a large wooden table with seven men and one woman sitting around it.

Jeffrey looked over at Nick and said, “My lord, let me introduce to you Nick Bint of Vincot.”