Chapter 75 – Past Misdeeds

“…and in light of what has happened over the last week and even before that, we have no option but to question the appropriateness of the Grandmaster in keeping her post as the head of our illustrious Arena.”

There was a murmur that spread through the chambers. The meeting of the City Council had been called, and it had been opened up to a very small number of citizens as well as a show of faith by the Council. Ever since the great battle outside the City walls, where many Contestants and even a few Instructors had fallen, the Council had been the subject of ridicule from the citizens as they failed to act in a timely manner. So, this meeting had been set up to show everyone that they were prepared to act.

“The Grandmaster has kept our Contestants growing for decades and through years of peace, so you really think it is a good idea to…”

“That is exactly my point,” Mr Valeri said with a smirk. “The City has experienced peace for a long time, and during this peace there has not been a desperate need for change. But now we are faced with war. And war means that we need to prepare ourselves for the dark days ahead. We now need someone at the head of our Arena who is prepared to do what is necessary to keep our people safe.”

“And how would you achieve that?” Miss Kane spoke up. She had been given a seat at the Council table, though not to be a part of the discussions but to offer advice should it be asked of her.

“Would you double the Arena battles that take place? Force Contestants to face more difficult battles so that they grow stronger quicker?”

“We would do what is necessary to make our home and our people safe,” Mr Valeri said. “Something that apparently you are not willing to do.”

“I would have been there to do these things had you not summoned me to answer questions about your son!” Miss Kane spat.

“OK, Miss Kane,” Mr Valeri said. “I did not want to make this a personal thing in this public forum, but if that’s something you desire, then let us talk. Tell me, is Miss Kane your real name?”

Miss Kane’s eyes widened as those words hit her. She had almost forgotten herself what she’d been through in her life, but she was almost certain that nobody else knew about her past.

“What does that…” she stuttered. “What do you mean?”

“I have heard several stories which I have been unable to combine in my life, but I wonder if you would be able to fill in some of the gaps for me.” Mr Valeri raised his voice so that everyone in the hall could hear.

“Decades ago, when I was just a boy, so you can forgive me if I do not remember this personally, the Grandmaster of the Arena had come to the end of his commitment and had chosen to leave his service. The City was in turmoil, worried about selecting the correct individual to take the position.”

Miss Kane simply stared at the man but didn’t say anything.

“And then a young woman arrived at the Arena. She had been gifted the unique Class of Grandmaster, supposedly by the God of Balance himself. She had no experience of the position and by all accounts, she’d never been seen around in the City before. Nobody had heard of her, yet she had appeared right at the very moment that the City needed her. It was a miracle.”

Valeri paused for a moment to let his words settle.

“That woman was you, Miss Kane, was it not?”

Miss Kane nodded. “Yes, I was chosen to fulfil the position, though I believe this was a charge by our God and not a gift as you may frame it.”

“Right,” Mr Valeri said slowly, dragging out the word. “You appear at the very moment you are needed, and after thorough investigation, I have been unable to find any record of you within the City. Could you tell me why that may be?”

Miss Kane stared at Mr Valeri intently. She was sure that there was no way he could know about her past, but then if he had discovered her secret and she was seen to hide it, then it would look awful.

“I have done nothing other than serve the City and its people for years. If you have something to say, then I suggest you hurry up because if you haven’t noticed, we’re in a war, Mr Valeri.”

Mr Valeri sighed loudly and then continued. “When you arrived at the Arena for the first time and offered your services as Grandmaster – as the God of Balance had suggested to you through your Profession, it wasn’t the first time that you had been in the Arena, had it?”

Miss Kane said nothing.

“You don’t have to say anything, Miss Kane,” Mr Valeri said. “The fact of the matter was that there was a young girl, a Contestant that had fought in the Arena a few times already, but this young girl found herself foul of the God of Balance and fell out of the Arena altogether. Is this ringing any bells, Miss Kane?”

The Grandmaster could only lower her head. It was clear to her now that Mr Valeri had worked out her secret, and it would be better for her to come clean now and to put her own words to her story, rather than have Mr Valeri turn everyone present against her.

“You’re right, of course,” she said. “I was once a Contestant in the Arena. I fought eight times against the creatures of Chaos with two friends. We were doing quite well, and as a Spellcaster, I was progressing in my Class. But then we faced a battle that was simply too much for us… I was hurt. My friends were on the ground…”

“I think I’ve heard this story before,” Mr Valeri said almost jovially.

“The creature we were fighting was a terrifying beast,” Miss Kane continued, though now she was visibly upset. “I was close to death; I knew that if the thing attacked me again it would be my end. I could see across the Arena sands that one of my friends was already dead. But the other… the other was still alive. Her name was Hannah. She was a Rogue and a very good one. But I had been working on my Spellcasting, and I had unlocked something new, something I didn’t fully understand.”

“Something new?” Mr Valeri said. “How interesting.”

“Yes, it was,” Miss Kane said. “It allowed me to influence beasts, their emotions… I hadn’t figured it all out yet, but as I trained I had realised I could make angry beasts calm, intelligent beasts blind with rage. It was useful to my team, but lying there awaiting my death I knew I only had one chance. The beast was immune to my spell, but that day I found out that Hannah wasn’t. I used it on her, to turn her into an angry beast, ignoring her injuries and taking the creature of Chaos on by herself while I summoned the energy to do what I could to win. Hannah didn’t last long head-on against the beast.” Miss Kane’s voice turned tiny. “But it gave me the time I needed to survive. The battle was won, but the God of Balance saw fit to punish me for using a friend in the way I had. I lost my name, my Class. Everything. It was only months afterwards that I was gifted the Profession of Grandmaster, and it became clear what I was supposed to do. My penance was to train the next generations. To replace the life I had taken with the protectors who would save so many more. Yes, I took a life I shouldn’t have, but how many have I repaid? How many is enough?”

“I would say that there is no cost too high for one who has deliberately taken a life,” Mr Valeri said. “But we may have differing opinions on that, it seems.”

Another murmur from the City Council and the citizens present. Miss Kane could sense their agreement with Mr Valeri. She could sense their growing unease towards her as Mr Valeri seemed to be painting a very negative picture of her.

Usually the Grandmaster would’ve been able to control the emotions in the room. Not necessarily to the extent that she’d be able to win Valeri over, but she’d be able to turn the ever-growing hostilities into a calm ocean. But once again her abilities had been blocked.

“If I hadn’t acted, we all would have died,” Miss Kane replied. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t live with my choice every single day. That I don’t see the faces of my friends every time I close my eyes. But I do everything I can to make sure Contestants don’t have to go through what we went through, and I do everything I can to make sure our City and its citizens are safe.”

“And we commend you for that, Miss Kane,” Valeri said. “Nobody here questions that the Contestants under your tutelage have done remarkably well. That they have grown and the people have been entertained by their little fights in the Arena. But this is entertainment no longer. Miss Kane, enough is enough. I don’t wish to judge you on your past before the Arena; nobody here does. We don’t blame you for the things you’ve done or had to do. We don’t blame you for the failings that have led to the deaths of many citizens and Contestants of late. We thank you. We thank you for everything you’ve done and will no doubt continue to do in the future, but I am afraid your time as Grandmaster of this City’s Arena is over.”

Miss Kane lowered her head to the table. She could feel the agreement from the others in the room, and it finally dawned on her that this choice had already been made, and there was nothing she could do to change any of their minds.

“You would go against the will of the God of Balance himself?” She replied quietly. “The one who gave me this Profession as a clear sign of what I am supposed to do, what I am supposed to be? You would insult the God of Balance so directly? All of you? Do you not understand the importance of interpreting the will of the Gods? Because if you do not, then none of you are fit to stand as Grandmaster. The risks are simply too high, and you could end up damning us all!”

Mr Valeri turned his back to Miss Kane and faced the rest of the people present in the room. She could see him smiling even from behind as his cheeks rose, and he opened his arms wide.

“Do any of you believe that the God of Balance is pleased with what has happened here in our beloved City? Do any of you think that the God of Balance would want us to simply sit back and change nothing as the beasts of Chaos knock at our doors and kill our people? No, I feel sure that I can answer those questions for you, and I know that the God of Balance would want us to act. To grow stronger and retaliate, and that is what will happen under my tutelage at the Arena... as it has already been decided. But I do promise each and every one of you present today that we will raise an army the likes of which this world has never seen, and we will have our vengeance. We will force this world into safety by obliterating the threat of Chaos from it, and that will make our God smile.”

There were a few grumblings of agreement from the people present again and even a raised voice or two giving their support to Mr Valeri, and Miss Kane finally understood what had just happened. Mr Valeri had just announced himself as the new Grandmaster of the Arena.

“You have no idea what the God of Balance wants,” Miss Kane said evenly. “But I have no doubt you will learn. I just hope that it won’t cost too many lives in the process.”

This is the end of what will be book one!

This story continues tomorrow!