More than a thousand miles away, in the Empire of Agrium:

  Vod awoke, the muffled roar of a crowd the first sensation he noted. He pushed himself up, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs that plagued it.

  Trying to look at his surroundings, he realized that he was in a net of darkness, blind. The only thing he could see was a small line of light illuminating a small part of the dusty floor.

  Vod stood, and stumbled, almost falling, before catching himself. I'm half starved. He thought. This is bad. I might just collapse right here.

  A rumbling sound reverberated through the room, and the strip of light widened, beginning to illuminate the room.

  The roar of the crowd sharpened, without a wall to muffle it, and Vod stepped back, covering his eyes at the sudden brightness.

  His eyes adjusted, and an arena resolved itself among the bright light. Thousands of people were in the stands, watching, cheering, excitedly proclaiming their anticipation.

  Vod heard a grinding noise behind him, and a door that had before seemed just like any of the other stone walls began to lift upwards.

  Several soldiers exited, holding spears. They made a wall, and slowly advanced. Vod was forced out of the small room, stumbling into the expansive arena. Dust on a layer of wood was now under his feet.

  The room closed behind him, and Vod hesitated, before a room opening on the other side of the arena caught his attention.

  The crowd's cheering surged, and they began to chant, as a figure emerged.

  "Emidius! Emidius!"

  The man was grizzled, scarred from previous fights, holding a spear and a shield. He strode forward, raising his arms to the adulation of the audience.

  He drove up their cheering for nearly a full minute, before he lowered his arms, and turned towards Vod.

  "I've been waiting for today a long time. You're only the start of the greatest day of my career. Starring in the opening day of the Emperor's Time of Mirth."

  "I have no idea what you're talking about." Vod replied.

  "Don't act innocent. We both know your crimes make you deserving of this."

  "What?" Vod said, confused.

  "You're getting annoying." Emidius said, then stabbed at Vod.

  Vod threw himself sideways, diving away from the spear. He rolled, then pushed himself upward, back to his feet.

  He turned to see Emidius charging towards him, shield held out to collide with Vod. Vod dodged to the side again, throwing himself harshly away from Emidius. He stood up again, waiting for Emidius to draw close.

  Emidius approached, more care evident in the way he moved. Vod waited until Emidius shortened the gap until Vod was in range, then moved as Emidius stabbed. Vod turned sideways, moving his hand forward as the spear rushed to impale him.

  The hand met the haft of the spear just behind the point, knocking it so it hurtled past him wildly, and Vod found himself within Emidius' guard.

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  Emidius shoved his shield arm sideways, and Vod dodged backwards again before jumping inward, and punching at Emidius, landing a square blow on the fighter's face.

  Emidius fell back, a red mark showing on the side of his face.

  Vod stepped backward, raising his hands to prepare for Emidius' next move.

  Emidius' face contorted in a snarl, and he dashed forwards, wildly stabbing at Vod, and shoving with his shield. Vod ducked and dodged again and again, before a wave of tiredness washed over him, and he fell backwards.

  Emidius grinned, and stabbed downwards at Vod. Vod's hands moved up, and a slight shimmer appeared between his hands, before tendrils of frost coalesced, linking them together, deepening into ice.

  The spear pierced the frozen barrier, moving closer to Vod's face, but the ice only built up around the point, until it was lodged within the ice to the point of no return. Emidius struggled until frost reached his hands, and he dropped the weapon.

  Vod shoved himself upward again. Damn. This is worse than I thought. I can barely even sit up.

  Emidius shrank back, then realized anew the watching of the crowds, and moved forward in a forced show of bravery.

  Vod rolled to dodge the shield Emidius attempted to use again, and as he sat upon he saw Emidius draw a knife from his belt.

  Vod ducked, as Emidius fell upon him with the knife. Vod concentrated, hoping to save himself.

  Suddenly, Emidius went rigid, as if struck by a thunderbolt, and fell.

  Vod shoved him aside, and the ice shards that had shattered apart when the chunk of ice hit Emidius skull a moment before scattered along the dust floor.

  Vod barely managed to stand, as the crowd watched in hushed vigilance. The crowd began chanting again. Vod realized he had stopped hearing them entirely during the fight as his mind prioritized survival and neglected senses such as hearing, and he only now heard the roar.

  This time, however, they were chanting a different word. "Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner!"

  That's a surprise. Vod thought. I didn't expect them to cheer for me.

  A man near Vod shouted. "What is your name?"

  "Vod." He said, then surprised at how quiet and weak his voice was, shouted back. "My name is Vod!"

  The man began repeating it, and the crowd slowly began to change its chant until the entire arena was cheering Vod's name.

  Vod noticed a soldier who looked to be in the position of command giving orders to another soldier, before the other soldier nodded, and went into a door. A moment later, the room in which Vod had woken up opened again. revealing a group of soldiers. They surrounded Vod, and escorted him out of the arena through the side door he saw earlier.

  As Vod stumbled out of the arena, he noticed the soldier in command watching him intently.

  Vod was escorted through the streets, walking for a while, until he was taken into a small building.

  The soldier who gave the orders entered the building a short while later, sitting in a chair across from Vod.

  They sat silently for a moment, before the soldier spoke.

  "So." He clasped his hands on the table. "You beat the warrior. That makes this much more complicated. You weren't supposed to actually give him a difficult fight. Criminals such as yourself are meant to be the appetizer, to lead up to things afterwards."

  "Criminals?" Vod asked. "What do you mean? I'm not a criminal."

  "You don't remember? We found you, spying on some of our restricted areas." He studied Vod, noting the genuine surprise. "That hit to the head must have been worse than we thought."

  The soldier sat for a moment, then spoke again. "Regardless of whether you do remember or not, you have been convicted, and there are several who will not believe you. So, as I see it, you have 3 choices. The first is this: I am willing to let you run. If you do that, you will forever be an enemy of the Empire. If any one of our army were to encounter you, they would kill you without a doubt. You could exit the city before I would be forced to send soldiers to apprehend you."

  He stood, then slowly began circling the room. "The second choice is to accept execution. I personally wouldn't recommend this one, especially after how hard you just fought to live."

  He smiled. "The third option is to join the military. That will absolve you of your crimes. I am willing to enlist you, despite the severity of your crimes, though most of my fellow officers wouldn't take the chance. But be warned, break the laws again and your pardon will be repealed."

  He stopped beside Vod's chair. "So? Which will it be?"

  "Why give me the choice? Why not just kill me and be free of this? As it stands, you're risking yourself for me."

  "Truthfully," He smiled again. "I just thought you were interesting to watch fight."

  Vod nodded, then came to a decision.

  "I'll join the military."

  The soldier's smile broadened. "Good choice. Over time, you'll earn people's trust. I'll assign you to your squad soon, and show you to your room. In the meantime, is there anything you want?"

  "To be completely honest? I just want something to eat."