Ester POV

Last week something changed in our lives. Lara and I had always been very close, sisters in spirit if not by blood. My family had great hopes for me. I had received more training, with better instructors than most of my peers. I was expected to lead the family and take a high position with the clan. Suddenly Lara was attending the latest heroes' training. As if she could be one of those that would be sacrificed. My mind was unable to wrap it around what had happened. All our plans, hopes, and dreams are gone.

The last week had started usually enough Lara, and I had chatted about the heroes and wondered why we were attending the selection. After all, Lara is part of the main family line. Yet by the end of the week, Lara had been punished, gained skills, and pulled inside her aunts' security detail.

During the rest day, I was finally able to spend some time with Lara. She told me that her system had a flood of changes. She was very distracted. Her aunt had given her unambiguous instructions that many things that we normally talked about were now off-limits.

All I could tell was that her levels of power had skyrocketed. It felt just like what we had been experiencing with the heroes. Normal people, even stars like Lara, do not have changes of this magnitude.

Outside our apartment, the child protection shield would flood around her suppressing power levels. Making her hard to read, and protecting her from the power levels that were common within the Sphinx compound.

As adults this should have never happened, we are adults, but any hint that I was upset was instantly crushed by the junior maid that was now supervising us. It had been decades since we were granted our independence. We were well aware as members that did not have formal roles in the sept, it was an illusion. However, since we never stepped out of the family's expectations, of gaining skills, and improving our classes we never felt the hand inside the glove.

This close supervision chaffed me, but Lara who I expected to be upset was oblivious to it all!

Day 1

The red squads’ late appearance at the arena in the morning was expected by everyone but the remaining candidates. It was obvious when we got there that Desdemona and all her people were not there. Some sept members who were still candidates arrived before us, but most shortly afterward. The maid that had been supervising Lara and me, impressed everyone with a powerful sense that any conversation was not acceptable.

We waited for some time and then they arrived. Desdemona arrived as well. All the other heroes had only mid-level sept supervision. None of which entered the field of the arena. Shields that I was unable to penetrate had appeared over all the other groupings. Lara had moved back into the fold of Desdemona’s servants.

The shield for the red squad was transparent to members of the clan. Noticed that Holly, one of the more senior combat trainers was leading the training of all the Red squads. Lara and I had only been blessed to train with her occasionally. Every time our Skills improved. The trainers that were leading each squad were also among the leading combat trainers. Each of them had shown extended skills outside of just combat to be in their positions within the clan.

The leader of the red 1, was using a weapon that was considered a less than honorable weapon. One that was less effective than the sword or spear. Yet with a very short interval, he had disposed of the senior recruits that were being used as training partners. Across all the circles only he and the other 2 from “Earth” were achieving more than I would have expected.

They had more power and that was to be expected they were summoned heroes after all. But the skill progressions that were occurring for them were extraordinary.

While I had checked out all the people that made up the red squads from the reach of the back of my mind I could tell that Lara was only fixated on the red 1 leader. Her eyes followed each movement. She was so angry yet many would not be able to tell.

As my attention drifted to Lara, something unexpected when Bertran the sept weapon master stepped into the circle. I had not detected his presence until that point. Which is not unexpected.

The easy successes that the red 1 leader had experienced ground to an instant stop. He was batted around his circle and after managing to get a touch on the sword of Bertran. He was overwhelmed and was knocked out of the circle. I had never sparred with Bertan, only some of his journeymen, and had barely done better than him.

While someone like him reduced their skills and attributes to comparable levels to those they faced the overwhelming competence meant that they were impossible to deal with. For that person from “earth” to achieve even what he did, only fanned the flames of Lara’s anger. I knew that Lara had sought training from Bertran, and had been rebuffed with the admonishment that she needs to be able to hold her one against one of the secondary trainers before pestering him again.

The second shock of the day was when one of his team members suddenly glowed and went through a class evolution. She announced that she was a “Junior Healer”, which is a step above the more normal ‘Trainee’ and to be a healer when I knew all the training was geared to prevent such classes from being gained.

It was not until they ready to leave at midday, that I noticed that they were training with the held item challenge. That was one of the more difficult beginner spirit training exercise that a high-level trainer could inflect.

With all the red squads leaving we finally had the chance to return to our apartment. Unfamiliar guards were bracketing the door. And once we entered we found that all our maids and servants had been removed. They might not have been our choices, as they were servants of Lara’s Parents but they were familiar and comforting. At that point, we looked at each other and knew that Lara and possibly I would be part of the great sacrifice.

We sat in the living room and Desdemona’s junior maid brought lunch. Neither of us was able to bring ourselves to start talking. When our lunch was complete, we moved to the courtyard picked up our practice weapons, and half-heartedly start a light spar.

Suddenly we were interrupted by one of the high servants and told to come quickly. He started to move off, but even before we have moved from the training ground towards the family gate, he wrapped us into the fold of a high-order movement skill. We then exited the royal quarter in moments and were whisked across the inner court to the noble gates. At this point, I fully expected that our speed would drop as there were rules about endangering the peace of the upper city. Yet if anything we speeded up. Fines would need to be paid.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

It was not long before arriving at the arena setup for the new heroes. We were both swept down a tunnel in one of the ritual areas, then in front of the Red team. Lara was pulled unceremoniously pulled to the red 1 leader. And instructed to take his hand and not to resist what was about happen. Lara was taken into a group. She was forced and dragged into the group with extraordinary power.

Even as my mind reeled, Desdemona arrived, after a short time passed, a ritual that I did not recognize was applied to him. I was summoned and told, “it is your turn now”. Take his hand and accept membership in his group. I was added to a group with a crisp certain which seemed out of ordinary for a new group leader. I was then replaced with Adam, I had confidence that this going to be a bad idea. Lara had not worked through the complex feelings and dreams that she had built up around him.

We did not get to return to our apartment but were moved to the barracks complex that held the red barracks. New teams would normally select to live with each other as it would strengthen the bonds. So where ever he was we would as well, I was struggling to think of him using his name, but we lived.

Day 2

In the morning Lara had fallen into a fugue state. While this had happened before never to this level. I took charge of Lara, and in such a state she was able to extend her skills, by often surprising amounts. That man was suffering the same fate, his team members were being forced to clean and feed him. At least Lara was managing better than that. It was quite different than our apartment. We had to eat, in a common room. It had been a couple of decades since we had mixed with anyone other members of the family or at formal events. So it was odd to notice how polite everyone was to the servants.

That man finally arrived in the common room and was a whirlpool that sucked the very power out of the air. The amount of power that he drew into himself, suggested either had been tapped out or that he had a flow that was many times what would ever be expected of someone at his level. I was starting to understand what Lara’s Aunt could see in him. The other two from “earth” were more conventionally powerful. Any Hero with the titles they received was always going to be overpowered.

The odd thing was that since Lara had linked to that man the amount of power that flowed through her system had grown rapidly. With that man now in the room with us, it was growing even faster. I was not seeing any significant gains in her skills, and attribute even though we had long made each other's Skillset’s visible to each other.

It did not take long before we were gathered up and marched to the Arena where the ‘competition’ was to be held. We arrived late as we had all moved slowly this morning. Lara and that man were both barely functional. Yet by the time we reached the Arena, the competition had already started, a significant breach of protocol. Yet the leaders' that Sphinx had at the event raised no disputed.

Somehow in the short time that it had taken to get the Red teams ready and get to the arena the individual competition had completed, and all the Red teams were now unranked. The ringmaster insulted both the teams and the house. I could not understand the sense of humor that was flickering against my awareness.

Team one moved out towards the combat circle and as they did so Lara started to stand as if she was going to follow. I clamped down on her and forced her back into her seat.

As he walked forward I could sense that his mind appear out of the fog that had been shrouding it. The goblins that they faced would challenge larger groups of trained soldiers yet he extruded a supreme level of confidence. Moments later it was clear that the confidence was not misplaced as they destroyed the goblins in quick order. Even as they walked back towards us his mind faded backing into the concealing fog. Lara who had been becoming more aware drifted back further than she had been when she had woken. The next two combats were more traditional fort. First used troops that slowed and controlled the combat while the one from ‘Earth’ activated a slow-acting skill that pulled poisonous wasps from a gap in the reality of the world. Once the wasps had been summoned the goblins were walking dead meat. A skill like that should not be possible for a person that had only gained a class the day before. While it was not still quite weak now, in time would become a powerful effect that would control vast areas on battlefields. The next combat was a surprising use of a shield. Shields are not normally considered offensive skills, But looking across the sand I tried to think how I would have managed to defend against such a skill. The only thought was to kill the caster before the skill triggered.

The following combats went much more as expected. The blue squads won but took injury while doing it. That man’s mind sharpened as one of his team started towards the blue squads as they received healing to allow them to continue. She was grabbed and held until it was clear that none of the Blue squads were at risk of dying. They were forced to hold the healer as a punishment detail were slaughtered by a group of goblins the same size as Red 1 had faced. This highlighted to me just how unusual this group was. The three individuals from Earth were demonstrating abilities and powers that would have had them rushed into elite schools to maximize their abilities in any normal situation.

Through my link with Lara, I could sense that man level. I knew that the early levels were often easier to gain, but not the leadership or healing classes.

Once the Yellow squads faced their combats and were more than competent but not as overpowered as Red or as weak as Blue.

The Green squads were merged and the two Elites from the world of Giants. Entered the arena as one and the remainder of the heroes followed. This time the combat was how the houses of the imperium would conduct themselves. The Elites fought aggressively picking up minor nicks and scrapes. The Male was forced to allow a kobold to slice his ear off, due to the sheer numbers attacking at that moment.

Yet they allowed many of the kobolds to flow past them and wound the other force. Each component fought independently. Once the elites had completely wiped out those that had chosen to attack them, they demeaned to turn around and clear out the kobolds that had been attacking the remainder of the Green squads.

Day 3

Lara was lost to me. Despair filled my heart. Yesterday we had been able to sit in the stands easily but today it is nearly impossible. Lara had become attached to that man, in ways I could not understand.

Yet again that man was able to defeat a target that should have been outside the range that he should have been able to deal with. A war golem is a dangerous foe. I knew that he had not been trained to be able to defeat such an enemy, yet the quick combat was textbook perfect. Limited the mobility over and above the slow movement skills of the golem, then defeat the creature by reducing its ability to attack, Finally destroy its head and chest as quickly as possible, as it is always difficult to know where the control talisman would be located.

The more normal process meant that you would need to cycle between the first two steps multiple times as the self-healing of such creatures would mean that they would always recover if allowed to. Lara had been frantic in trying to reach him until he entered the ring. At that point, she stopped and focused with pinpoint precision on the combat. I realized that while he had not been trained, both Lara and myself were both well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of such creatures. The slowness in reactions, and the lack of any original methods of attack or defense. They were limited to fixed patterns.

So I wondered where that man's knowledge was coming from. Such combats were highly predictable. If you could stand in the line against them while it would take time being able to defeat them was certain. Yet somehow even if Lara had imparted knowledge of how to defeat such a creature, I had never seen a defeat occur that fast at our levels let alone that man.

Frustration gnawed at my spirit I was starting to respect him. The combat continued with mixed solo combats mixed together with Group combats. The only other outstanding combat was that of the Green leader, who overpowered his opponent. That man of Lara’s while he had used power, the finesse of the combat was what drew my admiration. My teachers had drilled me to deliver the minimum amount of power required in any combat, as you never knew just how long you might need to fight.

Most of the other combats were not that interesting as it was clear that the training of the imperials meant they all had limited skills and were relying on overwhelming their foes with the strength that comes from being a summoned hero.

The group combat that occurred for the red 1 team was the first where a hidden foe was released. The Insectivores with their hive mind were difficult to deal with normally but he, Fonial control the field of battle masterfully. So that the burrowing beetle appeared the Insectivores were already defeated, and Fonial was able to “Strike” a blow that would have been likely lethal even as a clearly fatal fire bolt struck and destroyed the body of the beetle.

We started to return to the barracks, by this time Fonial and Lara could not be separated. They walked shoulder to shoulder. And unless pressured would stop and stare mindlessly into each other's eyes.

All we could do was use the cart and transport them as if they were sacks of grain.

I was forced to move Lara's and my cots into the red 1 teams room. Showing some grace, the other two members of red 1 move to the room that Lara and I had used last night. I barely slept as I played what was happening over and over in my mind. I could feel Lara in my mind, she was stronger than ever, and through the bond that form when I join that man’s Fonial team, I could sense the bright light that was Fonial.