The Juckwa Arena was built by Binorians and maintained by Binorians. Every stone that formed the outward curving of the structural marvel that resembled the hollow lower half of a sphere was fashioned into place by Binorians. Every piece of wood and steel that formed the inner network that connected the outer stones to the Arena's interior was put in place by Binorians. The steel was forged in Binoria, the trees were cut From Binoria's own forests and the stone was collected from the land of Binoria and curved by the hands of Binorians.
Binorians took pride in the Juckwa Arena for it was truly theirs. They had not used slaves to build it as the construction of the Palace had done, neither had they imported or taken construction material from rival Kingdoms. Binorians had put their heart and soul into the Juckwa Arena as a tribute to their Goddess. As Meena had set them aside from the rest and shown them favor so did they take it upon themselves to exalt Her above and beyond other Gods by building a monumental shrine where sacrifices could be made to honour the Goddess.
Sacrifices. Leba thought as he whistled to himself. He still didn't know where he got the tune he whistled to from but he enjoyed whistling it. The tune made from pushing air between his lips brought about a feeling to him, a feeling that made him feel like he'd detached from all that was happening around him. The sound made him faintly feel like he was floating in an endless darkness, incapable of perceiving anything including himself for there was nothing to perceive. Still, thoughts did find their way to him in that nothingness, and in that empty place he was able to better focus on them.
Sacrifices. The interior of the Juckwa Arena was filling steadily with numerous Binorians and more were still to come as Leba could hear a procession approaching from the distance. Leba was certain that the procession was of those Binorians escorting Dahli as she led the two prisoners to the Juckwa Arena. Judging by the number of people within the Arena the number of Binorians within Dahli's procession was far larger than the ones currently in attendance. Leba knew that without Dahli's presence the prisoners would have been ripped to shreds by the mob. He could hear their chants from where he stood, their cries of rage and anguish. Their hate. Leba looked around him and saw the black garments and robes majority wore, a calm reminder that Desan was dead and the Kingdom was enraged with a need for vengeance.
The Juckwa Arena had no roof and the sun that was shrouded by thin clouds let in threads of light that illuminated the various black attires worn by Binorians lining the steps within the Juckwa Arena. The Juckwa Arena's interior consisted of levels that were like numerous large overlapping stairs that rose and curved around a small oval patch of level land at the center of the Juckwa Arena, where green grass and Centala flowers grew. That was the place the sacrifice was to take place, the Arena itself where everybody seated on the stair like structures rising on either side of the Arena's oval patch of vegetative level ground could see the Nula Anyl take place. The vegetation was after all the preferred meal of the beast that can only be tamed by the Gods.
Ordinary Binorians strode in and occupied the highest level of steps that rose into the sky, they were furthest from the Arena but were still capable of seeing it clearly. A level lower from them was reserved for the nobles whose black garments looked eccentric and loud and of a deeper shade of black from those who sat above them. The numerous servants of the nobles placed cushions on the stone stairs for their masters to sit on and took places on either gap between nobles to fan their masters with fans fashioned from a large bird’s feathers. The nobles chatted excitedly amongst themselves as their servants labored to provide refreshments and comfort to them while those from the Outer-ring who sat above the nobles chatted with a similar excitement. They were of different classes and backgrounds but today the Outer and Inner ring were united to witness the divine.
Sacrifices. Leba understood them, he understood the necessity of what he was going to witness today. He knew all to well the importance of sacrifices if one was to attempt to approach the eternal. The City guard followed on the steps beneath the nobles with their gold and red leather armor. Beneath them were the Inquisitors dressed in their usual white garments and beside the Inquisitors were the Royal medics in gleaming yellow. The two factions held similar status before the throne hence one wasn't to sit beneath or above the other in the order of hierarchy as they occupied the steps around the Arena. On the steps beneath the two factions and closer to the Arena were the Captains of the Hundred Legions.
The Captains showed military discipline by sitting still without indulging in mindless chatter as those around them did. They wore black armor which was contrary to what the other factions had on. To the Captains they had lost their fellow Captain and the right to wear their red armor. To them this was a time of meditation before they rode the waves of death in their quest to avenge their slain comrade. Leba could see the eagerness for war that the Captains struggled to hide behind their statue like masks.
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Leba stood on the level closest to the Arena at one of the furthest reaches of the oval interior of the Juckwa Arena. It would be a one story drop onto the vegetative level land that acted as the center piece of the Juckwa Arena. The place he stood at was not made of large steps as the large steps morphed into numerous small steps leading to a marble throne that had been painted red and fashioned into the very interior of the Juckwa Arena. The level he stood at had a waist high wall that prevented him from falling over into the Arena, the wall caged around the vegetation giving the level ground its oval shape. Two doors, one very large and made of steel and the other small and made of the same steel dotted the lower opposite sides of the wall touching directly with the Arena.
Leba knew the two prisoners would soon emerge from the small steel door and something else would emerge from the larger door to meet them in the Arena. The large stairs encasing the small stairs where he stood started filling with The Royal Black Guard who were dressed in unusual green shirts and bronze pants as they prepared the path for Vayin Vigon to occupy his throne. The Black Guard had their heads shaved and Leba wondered if they'll have to scalp themselves incase he died. I mean, they couldn't shave their heads further than they already had due to Desan's death, so what would they do if he died?. Their heads reminded him of boiled eggs.
Leba whistled animatedly and at the same time took notice of Commander Rehny taking his place on one of the small stairs leading to the throne. Behind Rehny and to the side on a step closer to the throne was Masutap who had been promoted to Rank one of the Black Guard. She had her eyes trained on him and Leba wondered whether it was lust he could see in them? It was hard to tell, Masutap looked like the type of woman who'd have the same facial expression whether making love to someone or killing them. But why would she want to kill me? An absurd notion! It's definitely lust. Leba decided.
Leba took note of the fact that the Juckwa Arena was already full to the brim. He decided that the procession led by his sister must have arrived and as proof of this hundreds of the Red Priests who were to orchestrate the whole Nula Anyl appeared from one of the entrances on the same level that he was on and occupied the area closest to the Arena that was level to the throne. The Red Priests referred to the King as the Superior Red priests and the monarchy acknowledged this by having them occupy the same level as the King in the Juckwa Arena. A smell coming from beside him alerted him to the presence of his sister. She smelt of blood, her shoes and legs were drenched in it and so was part of her purple dress.
Dahli had a fierce joy to her as she stood there beside him. Both of them were required to stand closer to the throne because they were after all the children of the King but they each found solace in being closer to each other and the wall overlooking the oval Arena. Desan was no more and Leba could feel a silent urge to unite from Dahli's presence next to him. If only she knew the path he'd chosen to take, she would shun him as one shuns a desert viper.
Leba could also sense a lust for divinity that he related to emanating from Dahli, her need for the divine was great and rose over the fact that she looked like she'd crawled through a bloody battlefield. For her it was all worth it, maybe she'd not shun him when she knew of what he did … what he does. They were basically pursuing different means to the same end. She'd courageously participated in the pre-Nula Anyl ceremony that involved drenching the prisoners in a variety of animal bloods ranging from swine blood to horse blood. The blood enraged the beast, it made it go crazy and murderous, something that would no doubt make it very difficult for the prisoners to last for more than a minute in the Arena. Perhaps if he were to make Dahli understand his own lust for divinity, he might be able to confide in her.
"Father comes." Dahli said just as loud horns blared. Everyone present at the Juckwa Arena which was practically almost everyone in Binoria from the lowliest of peasants to the highest of nobles and officials, went down on their knees.
King Vayin Vigon with Queen Lamical in hand and with the Highlords of the Locals in tow emerged from the entrance level to the throne. The three Highlords, one of them sporting an eye patch, knelt at the entrance in the wake of their King and Queen, they were to join the King later on the small steps once he sat on his throne, now they knelt and watched as the two Royals made their way past the Red Priests who prostrated themselves fully on the ground with their faces brushing the stone. The most important person had arrived, it was time for the Nula Anyl to start. Leba's head was slightly higher than the wall he knelt close to with his sister, his blue eyes were fixed on the narrow steel door that filled one of the gaps in the wall bordering the grass and Centala flowers in the midst of the Juckwa Arena. The Centala flowers always thrive best in ground that has absorbed blood. Leba thought.