As light filled the tent, a stunning image was revealed to the audience. Liliana leaned forward, her mouth hanging open as her eyes took in the sight. Somehow, in the few moments of the lights going out, the ring had been filled with giant, crystalline elephants. They stood in poses, looking for all the world like carved statues of pink tinted crystal. Two in the center were reared on their back legs, front legs against each other, and trunks twisted together, rising high above their heads. Resting on the top of the trunks was a reverse pyramid of performers, their clothes sparkling under the light like trapped stars.
The audience gasped as the elephants at the edges of the circle surrounding the impressive centerpiece moved. They approached the still center elephants and performers. As they got within range, the performers at the very top of the pyramid jumped off, flipping and falling through the air with no hint of fear, landing perfectly on the held out trunks of the elephants. Slowly, the pyramid shrunk as more and more elephants claimed their riders until only two were left. They held hands for a moment, mirroring their elephants before they were parted as the center elephants finally stood down, hitting the ground with a surprising softness for how heavy such beasts must be.
It seemed that was a signal because the elephants and riders circled the ring; the riders performing daring feats of acrobatics in time to music that rose from all around them. Not just drum beats this time, instead it seemed an entire orchestra must have been hidden in the tent. Liliana clapped and marveled with the rest of the audience as the performers flipped and tumbled through the air, as if the threat of falling was nonexistent to them.
The music took a sudden turn, from joyous to expectant, rising slowly towards a crescendo. The elephants, as one, turned to the center of the ring and bowed, their performers mirroring them from the tips of their trunks. As the crescendo of the music hit, a cloud of feathers erupted in the center of the ring, and as the music trailed back down, rearing pegasi were revealed as the rainbow of feathers fluttered to the ground. A pegasus in every color stood there, a beautiful woman dressed in gauzy fabric matching each steed’s colors on every back. The elephants stood, their own performers still on their trunks, and a trumpeting call erupted from them. As their herald’s call finished, the elephants and their riders vanished, nothing but glittering rain left of them.
The pegasi took off, their great wings heaving in the air as they took to the skies of the tent. They wheeled and flew through the air, performing aerial feats that brought gasps and laughs to the audience even as their riders danced and flipped on their backs. Feathers would fall from the pegasi and there were shouts of delight from anyone lucky enough to catch one.
Liliana stood on her own chair and jumped into the air to snatch a blue feather fluttering above her. As she sat down, a wide grin was stretched across her face as she nestled the feather into her hair, Nemesis grabbing hold of it with the end of her tail to hold it in place. Though the serpent couldn’t see much of the circus from her own eyes, Liliana was communicating the sights to her through their bond and the young serpent seemed to be enjoying the revelry.
The lead pegasus, a truly large and royal specimen with a pure white coat, suddenly wheeled in the air. Pulling his wings tighter to his side, he dove towards the floor, his rider clutching his mane and back. Gasps and shouts of fear filled the air as the pegasus gained speed and closed in on the ground.
Liliana was not alone when she jumped to her feet, shocked and scared when the pegasus hit the ground. But instead of screams of pain or blood, another eruption of feathers appeared. One after another the pegasi followed their leader and now instead of gasps of fear there were calls of delight as each new eruption of colored feathers appeared until the final pegasus, with feathers dark as a moonless night, dove to the ground.
The lights in the circus dimmed slightly, not going to the full dark they’d been originally but enough to build anticipation. The music took a darker turn, building the tension in the tent.
Liliana felt her own heart speed up, the feeling invoked in her reminiscent of what she felt moments before engaging in battle. Something flickered in the dark shadows on the edge of the ring and Liliana held her breath as the music built. From the darkness on the edges of the ring jumped a Solion with a flaming mane, the sudden light of his flames banishing the creeping shadows. His fur was the orange of the setting sun, and his eyes sparked like the embers of a fire. He took his spot in the center of the ring with a great roar that shook the tent and elicited whimpers and shouts of surprise from the audience.
A spotlight appeared and focused on a rope strung high in the air. Atop it was a lion beastman, a mane of orange fur around his head, dressed in red and oranges, as if mimicking the Solion below him. As the Solion let out another roar, the man above tilted his head back as if roaring with him.
An answering roar filled the air and a second spotlight appeared, highlighting a second lion beastman on the other end of the rope as a second Solion appeared, jumping over the audience stands to land before the first. This Solion was darker, its coat the black of a dead ember and its flames a dark, blood red that flickered with a darker, midnight black fire at the tips. The second beastman’s mane was a dark black, and his clothes matched the dark red and black nature of his partner Solion. The two lions circled one another as the men stepped onto the rope, summoning blades in both hands. Both dual wielded scimitars, and in perfect choreography they clanged the two blades together as a challenge at the other.
As the Solions continued to circle one another, the men approached each other, their steps sure even on the thin rope that bounced and swayed with every movement. As the men got within striking range, the darker Solion stopped circling and lunged at its opponent, his partner above thrusting his sword at his opponent. Liliana’s eyes were wide, her heart pounding as she watched the fight. Music rose around them, a dark, vicious melody that got the blood pounding. Every attack of the Solions was mirrored by the men above them, every parry, every swipe and dodge. Somehow the men kept their footing sure despite the treacherous rope.
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The music took a turn, a violent clash of instruments as the original Solion charged his opponent and closed his jaws on his neck, ignoring the heat of the flames from the darker Solion’s mane. Gasps rang out as the men above seemed to reach a deciding moment in their own fight, the darker man falling from the rope, only catching hold of it with a single hand. The original man raised his sword and struck down, vivid red filling the air from the darker man’s neck as he tumbled through the air.
The original Solion finished his fight with a victorious growl, stepping back from the unmoving body of the darker Solion. The music was now a victory march as man and beast both roared out their victory to the crowds. Liliana breathed when she saw the vivid red she’d seen from the other man’s throat had been a red scarf, fluttering behind the man as he fell. He landed lightly on the body of his Solion.
Fire filled the ring, a great conflagration that first took over the felled Solion and his partner, and then covered the victorious pair. There was no heat from the flames, even as they rose perilously close to the top of the tent and licked the edges of the ring. The fire gathered into a tornado, spinning and twisting wildly before it exploded into millions of beautiful sparks, revealing the fire dancers Liliana had seen the previous day. She leaned forward eagerly, her eyes glued to Natalia.
The dance was just as beautiful the second time around, if even more elaborate, with the room the tent provided. The monsters made of fire were larger, the way the dancers cavorted in the air grander and more expansive as they each fought their own monsters, and inevitably fell from the skies to land crumpled on the ground. Monsters of fire swooped and dove over the heads of the audience, dancers chasing and vanquishing them as their numbers slowly dwindled, even as the ranks of beasts swelled.
Eventually, only Natalia was left, the lone dancer against the forces of fire that stood against her. She succumbed to the wave of beasts and Liliana barely noticed herself standing, breath held as she waited for the moment the woman would erupt in a flurry of frenzied blades and flames.
Natalia did not disappoint. Her blades rushed out, more than they’d seen before. Some circled the air around her while others fell away from the dancer as she emerged from them like the petals of a flower. As more beasts of flames were summoned to fight her, the uncountable blades flashed and sliced through the air, shredding the fiery monsters to nothing more than trailing sparks.
Natalia danced through the air, her steps bringing her over the heads of the watching audience and Liliana could see more clearly the woman, the slight smile on her face and the glittering sharpness of the blades she commanded with her body. She looked ethereal; the flames playing off her golden clothes only added to her majesty as she stood above them all, strong and undefeated, glorious in her indisputable power.
Soon the men of the fire dancers fell to Natalia’s power until the woman was all that was left. Her dancing battle had brought her back to the center of the tent and once more her blades took on the form of wings, so wide Liliana feared they’d touch the tent walls and slice the fragile seeming fabric. Natalia slowly drifted to the ground as her bladed wings beat slowly behind her. As her feet touched the ground, her wings came and wrapped around Natalia and the fallen dancers. In a flutter of sparkles, they all vanished.
Liliana clapped and cheered so loudly she was certain she’d lose her voice. But what she’d seen was one of the most beautiful displays of skill she’d seen, in this life or her last. Even Nemesis hissed her approval from her perch in Liliana’s hair. Alistair and Emyr were more reserved, though the guards were not.
“Look over there,” Emyr called out, pointing.
Liliana followed his direction and saw the crystal elephants from the first show entering the tent from the side. They circled the tent; the riders smiling and waving to the audience as they performed acrobatics for the enjoyment of the watchers. The elephants left, and the pegasus followed, flying through the air once more and delighting the audience. More feathers fell and more audience members snatched at them, holding tight to the trinkets of a magical night.
Liliana saw a rope of darkness snag two feathers, one black, one white, from the air. Liliana looked to the side for a moment and saw Alistair trying to hide a smile as he fit the black feather into a lapel, Emyr wearing the white feather tied into his hair like her.
After the pegasus came the Solions, both of them fine and healthy. Atop their back rode their partners, who waved and greeted the audience. The Solion’s let out a duet of roars before they too left. The final performers for the night, the fire dancers, tumbled and flipped into the ring. They waved and cavorted around the ring before they too made their leave.
“Thank you all for coming to see the Silver Stars circus!” Bertran called from the center, shocking the audience as no one had seen him appear.
“Please, give the performers one last round of applause,” Bertran asked, and with a snap of his fingers, all the performers reappeared. The animals were arranged at the back, the great crystal elephants a magnificent rearguard to the pegasus, standing with their cold beauty and finishing with the regal Solions. In front of them, the human and beastmen performers bowed and curtsied to the audience as roaring applause and shouts filled the air. With another snap, all but Bertran vanished from view.
“Please, tell your friends and family of the marvelous mysteries you saw today! I can promise no two acts are the same, so visit us again to witness things beyond even your wildest dreams!” Bertran called out, bowing low to the audience.
“So, will you have them for your birthday?” Liliana asked Alistair as the applause died down and they could speak without yelling at one another.
“They seem to be of a skill that would befit my birthday,” Alistair said, his careful words belying the excitement in his eyes. He had enjoyed the show, too.
“Send a guard to talk to him, then!” Liliana said, leaning towards her brother eagerly.
“Alright! I will. I’ll send someone in the morning to discuss the terms.” Alistair held up his hands as if in defense from his overzealous sister.
They were escorted out of the tent by the same performer, who had shown them to their seats. As they exited, Liliana saw several performers selling souvenirs of the circus. The creatures from the performances were around too, and children flocked to them. Under careful supervision of the performers, children were allowed onto the elephants or pegasi and walked around atop them. Childish screams of delight filled the air.
While their children were occupied, parents looked around at the gifts available to purchase. Liliana saw pegasus feathers attached to jewelry or hair ornaments being sold. Small crystal statues of the elephants, and even what appeared to be Solion plushes. There were even small ‘fire’ fans, fans with flames painted onto them. She saw some fake golden blades for sale as well.
Liliana couldn’t banish her wide smile as they walked through the gathered crowd towards their carriage, the happy mood that filled the air infectious.