“Does it bother you that you have to use a disguise every time you go into the city?”I ask.
Alaric, or at least, the young man he’s pretending to be, looks uncomfortable.“A little.There are days when it feels like I’m losing myself.I pretend to be so many other people that I’m forgetting who I am.”
I take his hand.“You’re you.You’re who you’ve always been, Alaric.”
He shakes his head.“I doubt any of us is who we used to be, after everything the city has gone through.”
Alaric has a point.So much has changed in Aetheria that it would be strange if any of us had stayed the same.Once, Alaric was an embittered noble son who pretended not to care about anything so that he could avoid the pain around him.He took part in the games even though it cut him off from his family.Now, he’s the leader of the resistance, caring more about the ordinary people of Aetheria than I could have imagined him being capable of.
We approach the colosseum, and there are whole crowds heading for it too, so we slip into the middle of their numbers, moving along with the flow of the masses as we make our way past the guards on the gate and into the stands.I see Alaric signal to a couple of other figures there, clearly members of the resistance who’ve come along to monitor the games.
“Welcome to the games!”an announcer says from the senate box.It isn’t Marcus, because he’s at the palace, trying to stop Selene’s efforts to legitimize her coming rule.I think I recognize Senator Octavio, the oldest of the senators and traditionally the keeper of Aetheria’s laws.If he’s here, maybe that means Selene is trying to sideline him as she grabs power.
“The games are one of the grand traditions of Aetheria,” Octavio says.“And all the histories suggest that they’ve been a part of our history for centuries.Why, there are sources that...”There’s a pause, presumably as someone reminds Octavio that he’s meant to be announcing a bout.“Ah, yes.Today’s main bout.In this corner, a...yes, a pit fighter, formerly of the Green and Yellow gang, apparently.Savius.”
People cheer in different corners of the colosseum.I see a whole faction of Greens and Yellows in one section of the stands, cheering particularly wildly.Others, in different colors, are booing.
The man who steps out onto the sands looks wild.He’s dressed in the colors of his gang, wearing scraps of leather and scale armor, although he doesn't seem to be armed.Bright flashes of color spring up around him, clearly summoned by illusion.
“And facing him, we have Selene Ravenscroft,” Octavio says.He doesn't build her up the way another announcer might, but it’s still enough to bring cheers from many of those there in the stadium.
Selene strides out onto the sands of the arena, and where normally she would just wear scraps of scale armor, now she has a purple cloak thrown over that armor, like the robes of an emperor.Selene tosses it aside, hefting the curved blade she favors.
“Begin,” Octavio says, as if someone has reminded him of his role once again.
Selene and her opponent close on one another, and now Savius uses illusions to flash bright colors at her, summoning them like trails of smoke in an obvious effort to confuse her.Savius charges at Selene even without an obvious weapon, but now the smoke hardens in his hands, forming blades on ropes of smoke that lash out at her.
Selene parries them, moving aside smoothly.She dodges Savius’ attacks almost with contempt, and I watch her footwork carefully, looking for any trace of instability or uncertainty.I can’t see any, and that worries me.
“Her bladework is precise,” Alaric mutters, as Selene and Savius exchange blows.The former pit fighter is attacking in wild flurries, but Selene is staying calm, gaining distance and moving smoothly.
Selene fires darts of violet energy at her foe, but the wildness of his movements and the smoke around him make it hard for her to hit him.Selene doesn’t seem perturbed by that, though.I get the feeling that she’s toying with Savius, trying to draw out the fight and make it look as though she’s overcoming a real challenge.As with so many other times in the arena, it seems like she’s been given a foe who isn’t truly a threat to her.
Do the members of the crowd realize that?Most are cheering for her, gasping with every sword thrust that comes close, cheering with every attack Selene makes.
Finally, though, it seems that she’s growing tired of pretending that this is a contest.Selene stands in the middle of the arena floor, her hands spread, as if inviting Savius to come to her.Green and yellow smoke billow like a fog bank advancing on her, the pit fighter lost somewhere in its midst.
“Look at him,” Selene calls out.“He and all his kind thrive on chaos.They hide in the shadows and strike when they think no one is looking.They seek to tear down their betters.Well, enough!”
Magic flows out from Selene in violet waves, tearing into the smoke approaching her, waves of force pushing it aside.Her magic rips through Savius’ power, undoing his attempts to disguise himself and leaving him simply running across the sands at Selene.
He’s still running as Selene raises a hand.
“Stop,” she calls out, and her voice rings with power, psychomancy filling her voice.That’s a surprise.I expected Selene to keep her mastery of that form of magic a secret, to avoid people asking awkward questions about how she might be gaining influence in the city.
Selene's power hits Savius, and he freezes in place, held there with his muscles quivering as he fights against Selene's control of his mind.
“It’s easy to think that wildness is enough,” Selene says.“That chaos and lawlessness are acceptable on the streets of Aetheria.That gangs and rebels can try to tear down the correct order of the world.I have only one answer to that!”
Her blade flashes out in a glittering arc of steel at neck height.I hear the moment when the blade flashes into Savius’ throat, cutting through his neck with a speed and brutality that’s shocking, even in the colosseum.His head topples from his shoulders, rolling away across the sand of the arena, even as his body collapses.
“Order is what matters,” Selene says.“And therewillbe order in Aetheria.The right order.Magic will ensure safety and peace for all of you.It will protect us from our enemies and strike down those who would stand against it.Those who join the new order will find happiness and stability.Those who try to stand against it..."she gestures to the body of the fallen gang member."They will die."
There are cheers from some portions of the colosseum.Selene still has plenty of followers, and she has just won a bout.But there are also patches of silence, and even people booing.The members of the green and yellow faction stand, storming out of the colosseum as a group.I can see the fractures in Aetheria widening, the battle lines being drawn up for the moment when Selene will take power.
I stare at the fallen body of the pit fighter, feeling a sense of horror as I watch him there.But there are other things to catch my attention.Even as Selene stalks from the sands, a guard comes up to her, whispering to her.Around the colosseum, I can see other guards moving quickly, leaving as if something else is going on.
I’m still trying to make sense of that as a figure comes up to us, stopping in front of Alaric and flashing a hand signal that’s obviously there to identify him as a member of the resistance.The resistance member looks worried, almost terrified.
