Griff slowly sat up in his bed, he didnt get much sleep with the Inferno Trial being today. He struggled to stand, still somewhat sore from the past days training but he soon shook off the aches and got to his feet. Soon several Crimson Hoods and Palatines walked in to escort him to the Trial. He got dressed and followed them. As he walked out of the Reapers stronghold and across the wastes to the arena he only thought of one thing, Vengeance, the iron that sat at the end of the long and dangerous trial. He thought of him hoisting it above his head in victory and was filled with even more determination. After about an hour long walk Griff arrived at the arena and for the first time saw just how large it was.
You might remeber that I said earlier it was nearly a mile long. This Inferno Trial was one that combined all parts of it within, into one straight shot. There are three smaller parts of the Inferno Trials, and each one harder than the last. First up is Hells Passage, and it is simply a maze of fire. During this the maze will shift unexpectedly, and consume any who get caught in it. I cant imagine how hot this part is, even now you could cook raw meat on a stone out in the sun in a few hours. Adding fire, especially fire that towers over you and is so intense im sure youd come out with more than a few scorch marks.
The second is the Flaming Wheel. This one is, interesting, to say the least. It has several flaming wheels set inside small ruts. What you have to do is simply enter the wheel, and run inside of it to push it through the ruts. This might sound easy but the wheel is on fire, and the ruts are very long, especially within this Trial. Now once you get your wheel to the end you have to flip it several times through a stretch of quicksand, and this is probably one of the most dangerous parts of this trial.
The final is the Trial of Kinder, I mentioned this one way back if you can remember, let me tell you more about it. This is the most important part, as it is the final part. This part consists of a small maze filled with fire and quicksand that you have to get through, and once you do, there is a straight road free of both fire and quicksand. This road leads straight to a pedestal, one that holds the Iron and in this case Vengeance. Normally these three, tasks if you would, would be spread out across three days. This time was different, and this time it would be nearly impossible to reach the end without getting burned or drowning in quicksand.
I wish I could go back and see this arena again, in its prime, I was so proud to see it when those of us who helped build it were finished with it. Shame to see most of them got forced through it to test it, and not a single one of them made it through any of the three parts. I was left out of this test for whatever reason, maybe because my buddy I had mentioned earlier, Trow, the one they called Hook, bailed me out of it. Never got to thank him for that sadly, he went out on a job some cycles ago and never came back. Heard they only found chunks of him, and the damned Hook he always carried around. Anyways, we have an Inferno Trial to attend, lets start with the guests of honor.
So the ones the Deaths Heads chose were pretty random, although it was two from each rank minus themselves of course. The two Youngbloods had only been Reapers for a couple weeks so it was sad to see them shoved back into hell so soon. The two Journeyman were a little more seasoned, both females, and they had seen a few battles but nothing too crazy. The two Akrons chosen had seen many battles and they were ready to prove themselves as better than the rest. The two Cruciates had just gained their titles and were more or less scared shitless that they werent going to make it, they hadnt seen battle in a couple cycles and were pretty sore on the eyes.
The two Palatines had been around for many cycles and were some of the most seasoned out of them, they seemed calm and stayed focused. The two Crimson Hoods, well you already know one of them, Red Head, and his second most senior had been chosen. Red Head was in a state of panic pretty much the whole time leading up to the Trial and his fellow Crimson Hood was the opposite, at least, for a while. Finally came Griff, he was the last to enter the arena and was greeted with shattering cheers from the crowd that had came to watch.
The Reapers that participated in this Trial thought they might know what to expect, and they should, that it wouldnt be easy. Some of them knew this would be difficult others shrugged it off and said it was no problem to them. Griff was one of the only ones who knew both that it would be difficult, but it was possible, and it takes a special kind of man to see that. Some would call that insane but those of us whove been around for many cycles know that its just being wise, and Griff sure was wise beyond his years I can tell you that much.
As the thirteen stood in the beginning of the arena, the Deaths Heads took their place in a moving cart that was held in place on a track above the arena, so they could watch as those down below faced the challenges and made their way towards the end. Skeley said as he got in place, "Participants of the Inferno Trials, today, for most of you, is a chance to prove you belong within the Reapers. As for one of you, this is your chance to prove you should be a Reaper. In this arena, made by the very people of this District, will serve as the peak of all Inferno Trials in the past, and of the future..."
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"... I look upon all who are here and ask them to see those who stand in the arena. One of these, and only one of these, will be left standing, and will be a Reaper. Without further time wasted, we have a long and dangerous day ahead. For those in the arena, I wish you all the best of luck, but luck is not something that comes when in this Trial. A man is only as strong as the Iron at his side and the grit in his gut. You will all need a great deal of grit in your guts, and when the time comes, you shall have a strong Iron at your side. Take your places, the Inferno Trial shall soon begin."
As Skeley finished speaking and all those took their places, the moving cart above that held the Deaths Heads moved several hundred feet down the arena and slowed to a stop. Once it stopped a massive horn blared and fire erupted from the ground cutting all in the arena off from one another. The maze of fire had started and the Inferno Trials began. Griff did not waste time and started to move quickly throughout the maze of fire, the fire stood nearly six feet above his head and was unbearably hot. He hadnt taken ten steps when he heard several screams around him, less competition for him.
He was moving fairly quickly when he noticed the sand moving in front of him in a slanted line. He stopped moving forward and soon a wall of flame appeared above him. He took this knowledge that he could see when the walls changed and increased his pace throughout the maze. For nearly four hours he and the others made their way through the maze, and once they made it out the otherside it was nearly midday. As Griff pushed out of the fiery maze the hot wasteland air seemed to cool him as if it were night and he fell down on one knee. He pushed himself to his feet, he had much more to go before he would be done today.
He looked around and saw several others stumble out of the fiery maze when suddenly, one of the Akrons came sprinting out bathed in flames and screaming. No one moved to help, and the Crimson Hoods spent no time watching and sped ahead onto the next step. Griff only watched for a moment then sped on after the Crimson Hoods, now they had the advantage, and he would have to try that much harder to come out victorious. He followed closely through the next part of the Trial and saw the two became seperated, he chose to follow Red Head and take his chance to get back at him for what happened at the Feast.
Red Head sped through this part of the trial, his skill from being a Reaper so long showed very well, until he looked behind for a split second noticing his fellow Crimson Hood was not behind him. Red Head saw Griff and for the slightest moment paused, which gave Griff the advantage. Griff was at a medium jog behind Red Head who was doing much the same but when Griff noticed this slight hesitation he acted. Griff went into a dead sprint towards Red Head, and with Red Head being distracted he did not notice what was in front of him.
If you rememeber this is the part with the flaming wheels, and Red Head ran right into one. You see, the way they keep these wheels burning is the type of material they are made out of, it sticks to everything it touches, except sand for whatever reason, and now, Red Head was engulfed in flames and screamed until either his lungs gave out or he died from the pain. Griff wanted to make a statement so what he did was jump into the wheel in which what was left of Red Heads burnt corpse was attatched and began to make his way down the rut.
He was quickly followed by three others, the two Palatines, and the other Crimson hood who was covered in scorch marks but other than that pretty untouched. Behind them were the two Cruciates, and none others left the fiery maze, it served as their grave. If you wanted to you could go back, their bodies are still there id bet you, anyway getting off track lets get back to the trial. So as Griff was followed closely by the other Crimson Hood and the others were not far behind, Griff pushed his way through the rut, the road ahead getting longer and longer as he did so.
He pushed himself to what he thought would be his limit but he soon found that his fire within was much like the flames that surrounded him. These flames had no end, and he kept pushing on until sooner than he knew he reached the end of the ruts. He started to flip his flaming wheel his arms, chest, and face being burned in the process. He was followed closely by the others who strayed only mere feet behind him. Griff kept pushing himself and at this point he was going above and beyond what he had previosly thought was his limit.
No sooner had he started flipping the flaming wheel did he finish, and this was the most important part of the Inferno Trial. This was the final stretch and he knew not who was behind him, nor how many. The only thought on his mind was run, run and reach the Iron at the end to secure his victory over the others. Once he finished flipping his wheel of fire he started to sprint towards the end goal, and he was followed closely by three others. The wheels of flame consumed two others, a Cruciate and a Palatine. Now only Griff, the final Crimson Hood, a single Crutiate, and a single Palatine remained, and Griff was ahead.
Griff no sooner reached the pedestal that held Vengeance the Iron than the other Reapers made it out of the maw of flames. Griff turned to them, Iron in hand and raised it ready to blast them all away. He did not hesitate and let loose a barrage of fire, killing every single one of them in a split second. Once he had done that horns blared out and deafened the entire area. Griff did not know what this meant as did all those watching did. Griff had one, he had become a Reaper.