Chương 108: [Stone And Spectacle]

The group came to a stop as they reached the square. It was bigger than it looked from the gate road, opening up as the streets fed into it from several directions. Stalls were still being arranged around the edges but the centre had been left clear with the sole exception of a wooden stage set up in the middle. It was raised a few feet, and Leo realised it was likely going to be for an announcement or opening speech. Kai stopped at the edge and turned to the group.

"The elders hall is just past the square, over there," he said, nodding toward a tall stone building on the far side.

"We'll meet back here before the opening." Mike fell in beside him. Nessa followed without a word. Ronan was already moving that way, hands in pockets. Diane was mid sentence about something and followed without breaking stride. Carl was looking at something else entirely.

"Jeff," he said. Across the square, a man in his mid thirties with a Monkhaven FC jacket that had seen better days was talking to one of the village traders. He turned at his name and crossed the square in a few strides.

"Carl. Didn't know you were coming."

"Last minute thing. You alright?"

"Yeah, really good actually." Jeff looked at the group.

"You must be the lads I've been hearing about."

"That's us," Leo said.

"Jeff," he said, offering his hand.

"I'm the one Mike sent over to send messages back and forth. Pretty cool place right?"

"Yeah man, you see those dragons?" Sam said. Jeff nodded at him.

"Aye. Pretty mental when I first saw them, I've seen a few over the last few days. Anyway, I was just about to go grab breakfast. You hungry?"

"We're going to have a look around," Rika said.

"You wanna stick with Jeff, Carl?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me. See you all later." Jeff and Carl were already talking about something else before the group had turned away.

"Right," Phil said.

"Where's the pit?"

It wasn't a pit. It wasn't anything like Leo had been picturing. He'd been imagining another simple hole in the ground like they had back in Monkhaven, roughly hollowed out by a novice mage who just needed a spot for training. This was something else entirely. They walked out through the southern gate and found themselves within a massive, secondary enclosure. A second stone wall had been built out from the village's main stone walls, curving around to form a wide, protected courtyard.

Dominating the center of this new space was the arena. It wasn't a hole; it was a structure. A circular stone building that looked as though it had been pulled directly from the bedrock. Leo stood at the entrance and stared. If the Monkhaven pit was the size of a UFC octagon, this was a mini-colosseum. The arena floor was a vast expanse of packed, silver-grey dirt, nearly thirty metres across. Around it, stone walls rose in clean, vertical lines, supporting tiered galleries above.

The first level of spectators would be standing right at the edge of the dirt, eye-level with the combatants, while stairs at the back led up to second and third-floor viewing decks. Tucked between the main wall and the new one, it felt like its own private world dedicated entirely to the tournament. Hundreds of people could pack into those stone tiers, and every single one of them would have an unobstructed view of the action.

Two stone-arched tunnels cut through at opposite ends, leading to the fighters' waiting areas below.

"Someone built this?" Phil said, his voice echoing off the stone tiers.

"Cassius built it," Torren said, nodding toward the arched galleries.

"He's an earth mage out of Oakridge, a village to the west. Goes village to village for events like this. He doesn't just move dirt, Phil; he commands stone. He'd have had these walls raised and the stairs set in a single afternoon." Leo frowned, looking at the seamless join between the stone and the ground.

"I'd have thought Earth mages with power like that would have been secured early on by the nobles. Was he born on the border?"

"Yes, that's right," Torren replied.

"He's been at it for around 40 years. He might not have the formal training he would have received in the Core, but he's worked out his own way of doing things. He isn't a fighter, but there isn't much he can't do when it comes to building stuff like this."

"If he can pull stone out of the ground that fast," Leo asked, "why doesn't he just turn every house in the village into a fortress?" This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Torren shook his head.

"He likes the spectacle, Leo. He builds the arena, takes his gold, and then takes it down after the festival before he moves on to the next village. There are enough things that only he can handle to keep him busy enough that he can't stick around at one place for long." Torren looked around at the towering arches.

"Besides, if he stayed and built everyone a stone house like this, people wouldn't marvel at his work as much; it would become the norm. He's like Phil here, a bit of a 'show-off.' Did I say that right?"

"Oi," said Phil as the lads laughed, his mock indignation only making them laugh harder. Parmo grinned, clapping Torren on the shoulder.

"Yeah, spot on, man. Hit the nail on the head." Phil walked to the center of the arena floor, the packed dirt firm under his boots.

"Forty years of practice," he muttered, looking up at the high stone arches.

"Explains why it feels like a proper stadium."

"It's going to be loud in here when it's full," said Sam.

"Yeah," Leo agreed, a little anxiety starting to creep in. Phil smirked.

"Good. I want it to be nice and loud when I win." They stood in the empty arena for another minute, the sounds of the village coming in from behind them.

"Right," Parmo said.

"I want to find those flatbreads before the ceremony. Let's head back." Leo looked up one last time at the arched galleries, imagining them packed with cheering villagers, before turning to follow the others. If he was going to be the center of attention in a place this big, he definitely needed to eat something first.

The square was packed by the time they got back. The streets feeding into it were lined with people, those at the back craning to see over the ones in front. The lads and the trio found a spot with a decent sightline, Torren's height making that easier than it might have been. Leo ended up with Shai beside him, close enough that her shoulder was against his arm. Koss stepped forward. Four tails moving slowly behind her, amber eyes travelling over the crowd like she was counting friends.

She smiled before she said a word.

"Thank you all for making the trip," she said.

"For those of you joining us for the first time, welcome. For those of you who've been coming long enough that you know where Garrick hides the good stuff behind the bar—" a ripple of laughter moved through the crowd— "welcome back." She let the laughter settle before she continued.

"This festival is what it's always been. A chance to come together, mark another year on the border, celebrate a good harvest, and remember that the thing keeping all of us going out here isn't the walls or the weapons. It's this." She gestured at the crowd.

"The villages, the people, the fact that we show up for each other. Every year, without fail." She looked out toward a few of the visitors from the other villages she recognised.

"For those of you who've travelled to be here, Welcome. Eat our food, drink our drinks, and if you see someone you haven't spoken to in a year, go and speak to them. That's what today is for." Her tails moved slowly as she smiled again.

"Now. To kick things off we have the trainee tournament, which will be getting underway shortly in the arena through the south gate. That arena, as some of you will know, was put together yesterday by someone most of you are already familiar with." She turned slightly and found him in the crowd, dipping her head toward him with a small bow.

"Cassius." A warm laugh moved through the crowd from the people who knew him. Cassius, a short, balding, human man, bowed his head and smiled.

"Following the trainee tournament we have the archery competition and then the feast this evening. Tomorrow brings the guard tournament, the crowning ceremony, and dancing." She paused.

"So. Celebrate. Be merry. Look after each other." The smile widened.

"And without further ado—" Two people carried a large board out onto the platform. The bracket, written out clearly, names in columns.

"Copies of this will be going up around the village," Koss said.

"You have until noon to find your name. After that—" she spread her hands— "it's not my problem anymore." Laughter moved through the crowd again. Shai watched Koss work and thought about how many times she'd heard a version of this speech. She'd been small enough to ride on her father's shoulders the first time. She remembered the feeling of being above the crowd, the top of his head warm under her hands, the way his shoulders shook slightly when he laughed at something Koss said.

She still thought of it every year. Leo was beside her, pressed close by the crowd. He was watching Koss with clear interest, fully taking it in. Shai found herself watching him instead before she caught herself. He noticed and smiled at her before she felt his hand reach for hers. Their fingers intertwined, Leo giving her hand a small squeeze before he looked back at Koss on the stage. Nobody around them had noticed, but Shai definitely had.

He'd somehow made the thing she'd been focused on all morning seem so effortless. She looked back at the platform as Koss finished the last of her speech and left the stage, the crowd starting to disperse. The group waited a little before they went to look at the board with the schedule for the upcoming matches, Leo letting go of Shai's hand as they began to walk.

Fighters from all three villages pressing in to find their names, some already working out the implications of the draw, others just looking for their first fight. Leo got close enough to read it and started tracking the bracket. Phil found his name before anyone else.

"Right," Phil said, finger on the board.

"I have no idea who anyone is, but it looks like we won't be fighting each other unless we all make the semi finals."

"Yeah, you're right. You know abou this, Shai?" Leo asked.

"I did." She smiled.

"Ronan spoke to Yara about it and he thinks it's best to test you all with different fights first. He also said he wants to keep the most exciting fights for the end of the tournament, which makes sense to me."

"Fair enough. It's like we've been seeded. We're the England, France, Spain and Brazil of the tournament and Ronan knows it." said Phil, with a grin.

"You can be England." said Luka.

"They always bottle it." Leo grinned.

"Nah, I'm England, and its 1966. Phil's Portugal."

"Keep telling yourself that. It'll be hard to do when your face-down in the dirt, with all these people watching."

"It's a shame I won't get to fight you," Phil said to Luka.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well Sam will have beat you, so it's going to be me and him in the final." Luka shook his head.

"Honestly, I don't care about winning as much as I do about you losing at this point. Leo, if you beat him, I'll owe you a favour."

"Okay, deal." He looked back and Phil and smirked.

"Man, it's going to feel good holding this over you at the end of today. Don't lie about it when you have to explain to everyone at training how I embarrassed you in front of hundreds of people, dude."

"Ain't happening man. I doubt you'll even make it out of the round of 32. Good luck though." Sam laughed.

"Imagine if all of us lose. it could happen, we don't have a clue who anyone is."

"Well, there's usually a viewing area for the fighters. Come on, I'll show you." said Torren as he lead them back towards the southern entrance.