Page 36 of Ironhold, Trial Three

The box is opulent and regal. The imperial insignia of sword thrusting through a corona of magical power is everywhere. A golden throne sits at the heart of the box, shaped with scenes of warriors subduing whole armies using magic. A marble table is next to it, on which there is a golden platter piled high with the choicest cuts of meat.

The emperor sits on his throne, looking out towards the world. I know what is required of me now, so I fall to my knees before him before I'm forced to do so.

“So you are capable of showingsomehumility,” Emperor Tiberius says. “I had wondered. Look out there, Lyra. Tell me what you see.”

He gestures to the Colosseum.

“I see the crowd and the arena,” I say.

“I see a very unhappy crowd, and a very peaceful arena,” Emperor Tiberius snaps. “The two are not unconnected.”

“You think I should have allowed people to die?” I say.

"I think that's exactly what you should have done," the emperor says. "Or at least, you should have allowed them to take their own chances against the creatures, rather than solving the whole situation. You could have sat serenely at the heart of it all, and the action could still be going. Perhaps when the last of them fell, then the crowd would have cheered you. As it is, they do not favor you, and I must find other ways to give them their sport."

He gestures to the arena. I see a group of men and women pushed out into it. They are armed with swords, but unarmored.

“I will pardon the last one standing,” the emperor calls out. “Kill the rest.”

The prisoners start to fight amongst themselves. Some have powers because this is Aetheria. One is able to coat her blade with frost, while another can make small bursts of flame fly at his foes. Compared to some of the things the gladiators chosen for the games can do, it isn't much but this is Aetheria, and even the lowest are likely to have some minor talent.

“Who are they?” I ask the emperor.

“Does it matter?” He looks to me as if waiting for me to answer.

“Of course it matters,” I say. “Are you just throwing innocent people in there to die now?”

“There are those who would say that's what we do anyway,” Emperor Tiberius says. “You were innocent when you were brought here, weren't you?”

I nod. I was, as were so many others alongside me. They had powers of various kinds, and for that reason they were collected from around the empire. Aetheria sees the stones at its heart as giving magic to the world, but where that magic takes root beyond its walls, it brings it back in.

“Do you know the purposes of the games?” the emperor asks me, as the fight continues out on the sand. One of the people out there is already down and crying out in agony.

“To test magic users,” I say. “To make us feel grateful for the moment when we get to be citizens of the empire, because we won it with blood.”

“Both of those things, obviously,” the emperor says. “And of course, they feed the stones of Aetheria, with the blood and power of those who fight.”

Another of the combatants falls even as he says it, her throat opened by a blade wielded with surprising speed by one of the others.

“What do you mean they feed the stones?” I ask.

The emperor smiles. “That is why the game started. The stones give us power, because it is our destiny as an empire, but we must feed them in turn. Blood and magic. In the old days, citizens would battle to see who got high position and who would become a sacrifice. These days, we find that those from outside the city will suffice.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I ask the emperor. It makes no sense to me that he has summoned me here to talk so familiarly to me and to explain all this.

“Because you need to understand that the games are not something you can mess around with,” Emperor Tiberius says. He gestures to the prisoners out on the sand, still hacking at one another. “You did not provide enough blood today, so these people are going to die for it. This is your fault.”

“Spare them,” I beg. “Please.”

“No.” The emperor's expression has no mercy in it. “You need to learn the way this city works. The games are important. They provide the people with entertainment, and my nobles were the chance to scheme behind my back to their hearts’ content. They feed the magic that the empire is founded upon, and they give us a chance to be rid of those who will not be useful for our armies or our nobility.”

There's a threat in that. Aetheria functions because, in spite of the magic of its people, they view themselves as part of a greater whole. The emperor and his ancestors have forged them into a sword to turn loose upon the world. Those, like me, who do not fall into place can find ourselves eliminated.

“What about people who try to manipulate the games themselves?” I ask. If the emperor cares so much about his precious games, maybe he will take my concerns around Ravenna seriously.

“Who would do that and how?” the emperor asks me.

“Ravenna,” I say. “She had me poisoned yesterday.”

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