In the vault beneath the Citadel, Tal was busy in his workshop. Oil lamps illuminated the room, their light flickering across a large table covered with tools and pieces of metal. A deactivated guard golem stood motionless in the corner. On the workbench, he was working on a small, palm-sized control unit. The device, with a blue stone on one side and a silver plate on the other lay next to a screwdriver.

  Tenter came in. “What are you doing, Master?”

  “Reassembling the control unit for this guard golem.”

  Tenter climbed up onto a stool to get a better look. “An interesting task. The old ones’ craftsmanship was precise.”

  Tal picked up the control unit and turned it over in his hands. “It’s well made.” He closed his two eyes and opened his third eye. A stream of blue and silver resonance flowed through his senses. He felt the patterns of light and he could see the little homunculus’s position in the room. He closed his third eye, and the blue-silver patterns faded away.

  “Could an ordinary person use this without the eko-sense?” Tal wondered out loud.

  “Of course not, Master! Only you have the eko sense through your third eye!”

  “Yes. I can activate it.”

  “Master, that unit belongs in a golem!“ The little fellow sounded curious. “You mean could it be modified somehow to be used an ordinary person?”

  “No that cannot work. Only I can see the resonance.“ He paused and thought for a moment. “When activated, the resonance creates a field that only I can see.“

  “Your followers have not ascended like you.” He looked at the golem standing silently in the corner.

  Tenter seemed to read his thoughts. “The Games a matter of honor which must mean that they are fair. Do you want to help them win by using this device?”

  “I’m thinking about giving it to one of them.”

  “But the rules!” Tenter squeaked. “The rules of the ring are sacred! No tools or weapons of war! The arbiter’s word is law!”

  “This is not a weapon, Tenter.”

  “I’ll go up to Level 1 to read what the Old Ones have to say about this.” He got off his stool and made a sound like rustling parchment as he left.

  Tenter was a curious little archivist, but in this moment his pedantic nature felt more annoying than anything else. Victory hung in the balance at the Arena, and this tiny creature clung to rules written by the dead while their people bled for a future. The golem’s vacant eyes stared from the corner as if it were judging him.

  The homunculus returned with a old book bound in faded leather.

  “Rules of the Games. Here. I have found the passage!” Tenter pointed to some text with its tiny white finger. In his squeaky and childish voice he read, ‘Flesh and spirit alone shall clash in the ring.None may bear blade, club, or tool of war.’

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Tal looked at the device in his hand. “I see your point. It is a tool of war,” he admitted.

  Tenter sighed. “So you will not use it?”

  “This device was meant to protect.” Tal looked at the device for a long moment. Then he put it in his pocket. “I’m grateful for your help in understanding the rules, “Tenter.

  “The rules are sacred,” the archivist squeaked, his tiny frame trembling slightly.

  “Yes, I know,” Tal replied and yawned. “I’m tired, and I need to get some sleep. Good night.”

  “Good night, Master."

  Tal went upstairs to the first level, where they kept the archives, and then exited the Vault. He walked along a secret passage that led to the citadel's basement. From there he climbed a staircase and opened the doors onto the ground floor of the citadel. As he came through the doors, his bodyguard appeared to escort him.

  “Ascended One!”

  “Thank you for attending to me. I would like to be left alone tonight.”

  “Jantar ordered us to guard you.”

  “Thank you for your service, but I insist you leave me alone just for tonight. I know what I’m doing and I’ll come to no harm. Go to the arena and enjoy yourselves! It would do you good to join in the revels with the Loyal Band!“

  Reluctantly, they left him alone to his own devices.

  He walked along a corridor and came to the door of one of his loyal band who was competing in the games. He knocked on the door and Oran opened it.

  “Ascended One! Come in! I wasn’t expecting you.“

  Oran was a thick-set man with an enthusiastic smile. He had been with Tal from the start and excelled at woodwork.

  He offered him a cup of wine, and Tal accepted it with a polite “thank you.”

  “Oran! How are you?”

  “I’m well. I’ve not been in the arena yet, but all the first round matches will be over tomorrow morning, so I expect a match at the start.”

  “You have the courage of ten men, Oran.” Oran raised his glass and together they drank the fruity wine.

  “None of the loyal band have got through to the second round yet, but I think I have a chance. It’s a shame the others are out of the contest.”

  “This was always going to be a tough challenge, Oran. I think you have a good chance tomorrow, so I came to wish you luck.“

  “Thank you! The Thirstaker tribe seems to have the strongest competitors. Maybe they will win in the end?”

  “Maybe not. I would like to give you something, Oran. It is a gift, something you can wear tomorrow when you are in the arena.”

  Tal took the control unit out of his pocket and gave it to Oran.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s something from the days of the Old Ones.”

  “It’s beautiful. I like the silver and blue.”

  Tal took it back from Oran and attached a fine chain to it. He hung it over Oran’s head and made sure it hung properly around his neck. “It suits you.”

  Oran admired the look of the thing, and held it up in front of him to get a good look.

  Tal leaned forward and lowered his voice to a whisper. “This is a gift and I am glad you like it. Now I want to tell you something that I want kept secret. Can you keep a secret for me?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “This is more than it looks.”

  “How is that so?”

  “It’ll give you a sense of your opponent is in the ring. When your opponent approaches, you should feel a tingling on your chest that is in their direction. You can react to them before your opponent can attack you. It will also show when to counterattack to best effect.“

  Oran looked at the device, then back at Tal.

  “I don’t feel anything,”

  “Let us try this.”

  With his eko sense Tal activated the device and its blue-silver resonance flowed through his senses.

  Oran‘s eyes widened. “I can feel it!”

  “It should tingle.”

  “Yes, yes, it does!”

  “Let’s test it properly. Stand still while I move around and you should be able to feel where I am even if I go behind you.”

  Tal first stepped to the right, and Oran’s hand instinctively moved to that side. “It tingles here,” Oran said. Tal circled behind him, and the carpenter’s fingers shifted to his back. “Now you're behind me. How is this possible?” Oran’s voice held a mix of awe and confusion. “This is really something!”

  Tal closed his third eye and deactivated the device. “Remember! This is our secret.”

  Oran nodded solemnly. “I understand. I won’t tell anyone.“