Fear made her tremble, fear made her jump at every sound the Kolotian made, and fear made her eyes dart around the narrow dim room they stood in. The Remu are accepting of fear, they taught Edda how to deal with it and how not to be distracted by it. She tried breathing techniques to calm herself but found it impossible to take in a deep breath for she was too aware of her trembling lips and her breath came out in short bursts that spoke of how timid she was.
Edda tried wrapping her arms around herself and the slimy wet feel of the blood encasing her whole body dissuaded her and caused her to jerk her arms to her sides. The yellow dress she wore was now a deep crimson red. The stench of blood filled her nose and made her want to vomit but she could not master the strength to do so. Edda felt weak, her spirit shattered and any semblance of pride devoured by what the Binorians had done to her.
Thousands of Binorians lining the path that led towards the Juckwa Arena from the Palace had screamed obscenities at her and darted before her while shaking their blood stained fists at her. Their voices had mashed together with deafening screams of rage and the message entailed had been clear to her, You will die today and tomorrow so will Remu. They'd held jars and containers full of blood and had drenched her and Ishar in it. Some of the blood had even splattered over Dahli and she'd answered by laughing and adding a skip to each step. Edda had then realized that the Princess was just like the rest of the Binorians, there was no honor to her. It was all a facade.
Ishar, the Kolotian, had had the worst of it. They'd shouted obscenities at him too and had thrown at him thin carrots that had their tips dipped in a blue dye to resemble Kolotian fingers. They'd mocked him, singing about the once mighty Kolotia whose lands now acted as farms that catered to Binoria and of the fingerless Kolotians who hid in the desert and wiped their arses with sand. Ishar had done something though that had silenced the crowd for a while before catapulting their rage into shrieks that were twice as loud. He'd tried his best to catch the miniature carrots thrown at him and then he'd proceeded to eat the ones he'd caught while smiling at the Binorian crowd. It had shocked the Binorians for a while but it was like adding fuel to the flame, their bloodlust heightened at the sight of their mockery being mocked.
At the Juckwa Arena, Dahli had left them in the hands of Red priests in their red robes who'd ushered them into the narrow room they stood in that had a steel door on either end. Edda had thought the separation from the crowds would bring back her sense of self but their shouts still resonated in her mind, making her want to cower into a corner and weep.
A crunching sound made her turn her head towards Ishar. The Kolotian stood with his rich hair plastered to his scalp by the blood they'd been drenched in, he chewed casually at the last piece of carrot in hand and returned her gaze.
"What?" He asked.
"How can you eat at a time like this?" Edda asked.
"I like carrots." Ishar answered and took the last bite. The steel door before them clanked and started to lift, it rose into the upper wall and revealed in its wake a piece of land covered in green vegetation. Ishar started to stride out of the narrow room and into the opening but Edda reached out and grabbed him by the arm.
"Stop, " She said. "We need a plan."
Ishar stopped and met her eyes. "Okay."
"We are drenched in blood, there's only one beast that I know of who reacts aggressively to the presence of blood and the vegetative growth out there means the place is its feeding grounds, its territory. If we wander out there we are dead." Edda said.
"Okay, what's the plan? Can we beat the beast?" Ishar asked.
"The beast cannot be harmed by anything for its hide is too thick. Plus they haven't given us any weapons so fighting it is out of question, our only hope is to tame it." Edda said.
Ishar shook off Edda's hand on his arm. "Okay, we'll tame it." He said and started heading for the opening in the wall.
Edda reached out and grabbed Ishar's arm once more. "Its only ever been tamed once by Selarch Vigon and he succeeded only because he had the Jojoh Meena. Ishar, we do not have Meena's blessing! We need a plan or we're dead!"
Ishar smiled which made Edda want to punch him in the face. Now was not the time for smiling. "It's weird how you know my name and I don't know yours." Ishar said.
"My name is Edda.. You can call me Edda."
"Edda, that rhymes with sender."
"What?"
"Nothing." Ishar placed his hands on Edda's shoulders. "I know you're afraid, Edda, but we shall not let them see our fear. We will go out there with our heads held high and we shall face their condemnation with an air of nonchalance that will leave them unsatisfied with our demise."
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"Wh..What?" Edda started but the Kolotian grabbed her hand and yanked her out of the narrow room.
They stumbled into the vegetative ground to the cheers and jeers of thousands of Binorians. The Juckwa Arena was filled to the brim for as far as the eye could see. Binorians sat on rising structures that circled the oval vegetative patch of ground that Edda stood on. The Binorians looked like overlapping layers of colors in their different garments and the sound they made was deafening.
The sound of thousands of voices coalescing into one made Edda swoon and if it wasn't for Ishar's steady grip on her hand she would have fallen. "The people in red are directing us." Ishar said.
Sure enough, the people dressed in red robes who were closest to them leaned at the top of the wall that was just high enough to prevent Edda from climbing but low enough that one might be able to survive a fall from it, they all pointed towards the furthest reach of the oval clearing. "They want us to go that way." Ishar said and started tagging Edda in the direction.
Edda found her footing to be uncertain, she felt like she would tumble to the ground with the next step.
Centala flowers. She trod upon the jade colored petals and knew what the presence of the flowers in the Juckwa Arena meant. Thousands of eyes were on her and no amount of training Remu had given her would have prepared her for this. She was going to die, her death was going to be a spectacle for the people she hated the most and there was nothing she could do about it.
Ishar led her hand in hand and as he did so she wondered where he got his courage from. He looked nonchalant if not bored with all that went on around him. Edda knew that there was no way she could have gone through with the Nula Anyl alone, Ishar's presence was a very reassuring thing and despite their immanent death she found herself drawing strength from him. Edda put on her own defiant mask in the face of Binoria's might and her footing became more solid.
They came to a halt at the furthest reach of the oval wall that framed the vegetative ground they stood on. Above the wall were numerous stairs where random people stood and Edda could tell that those random people were the high and mighty of Binoria, judging from Dahli and Leba Vigon's presence among them. The siblings stood with their eyes on them and Edda could read satisfaction in Dahli's greys. There was something peculiar about the siblings. Wasn't there a third sibling? The small steps led to a large marble throne where a tall pale man sat adorned in black robes with a golden ruby encrusted crown upon his head. The last time Edda had seen that man was when he'd given the order to have the man she loved mutilated and killed.
"People of Binoria!" Came the loud voice of a pudgy balding man dressed in red robes who also stood at the stairs leading to the marble throne. A silence ensued and his words were immediately echoed by the numerous men dressed in red who stood closest to the Arena. Their voices carried through the whole Juckwa Arena and Edda could feel the excitement of the crowds as everyone leaned forward, putting their full attention on the foreigners they were to watch die.
"Today, the Goddess Meena shall be exalted by this offering meant for Her. These two individuals who volunteered for the Nula Anyl shall be granted entrance into Her presence and the just Goddess who has led us thus far through Her providence shall be greatly pleased with Her chosen people because of the warriors whose blood we've presented to Her." The men dressed in red robes who Edda presumed to be Red priests repeated the words of the pudgy man for the whole congregation to hear and were rewarded with a round of cheers and applause.
"But if the Goddess Meena decides to bestow upon them the honor she bestowed upon the great Selarch Vigon, we give this opportunity to the two offerings to tell us of what they may desire of us should they survive the trial." The plump Red priest said and even before his fellow priests finished relaying his words they were met by laughter from the Binorians.
"Why are they laughing?" Ishar asked.
"Only Selarch survived the Nula Anyl and they find it funny that the priests would think us capable of doing so." Edda replied while scanning with her eyes, she found most of the Red priests laughing too, to them it was protocol to ask of what they may desire if they survived the Nula Anyl. Everyone knew that they won't survive, including Edda herself. Either way she still stepped forward, her eyes on King Vayin Vigon.
"If it's the will of Meena for us to survive the Nula Anyl, all I ask for is freedom for my companion and myself. Freedom to safely depart from Binoria" Edda said in as loud a voice as she could master. Her words were relayed by the Red Priests and jeers followed from the crowds mingled with laughter. The Red priest spokesman turned his attention to the King and Vayin nodded once to him. Edda's request had been accepted.
The Red priest turned to address the crowds once more but stopped when Ishar stepped forward. "And as for my boon," Ishar shouted. "I would like to kiss the Princess Dahli upon my success in the *Nula Anyl*!" Ishar let go of Edda's hand and pointed at Dahli. Silence engulfed the whole Juckwa Arena. Nobles paused with their drinks halfway to their mouths as the Red Priests repeated Ishar's words, several servants dropped the fans they carried to fan their masters, even the Captains of Legions who had been sitting still reacted by muttering amongst themselves. The Binorians of the Outer-ring seated furthest from the Arena erupted into laughter that was quickly joined by everyone in the Juckwa Arena except Dahli who leaned forward onto the edge of the wall that reached her waist with her hands clenched into fists.
"You will die today Kolotian scum and your mutilated corpse will swing from the city gates." Dahli shouted back at Ishar and her words were relayed by the Red Priests to much applause and cheers from the Binorians. Ishar replied with a smile and Edda was reminded of the fact that the Kolotian was insane.
The pudgy Red priest turned to King Vayin and the King nodded once more with a smile upon his face. Ishar's boon had been accepted.
"Raise the gate!" The Red priest ordered. A mechanism started clanking and the wide steel door that was opposite the narrow door Edda and Ishar had emerged from started to lift and as it did a basso bellow emanated from behind it that shook the entire Juckwa Arena.