It Rained Red Upon the Arena by Kenneth Champion Read Free Book Online Page B

of Hentrio, I hereby find Nick Bint guilty of murder of an unidentified male last night. You will be sentenced to two years of participation in the Vincot Arena. If you were found guilty for both murders it would have been four years. Case dismissed.”
    Judge Gove started to compile the papers scattered on his desk and stood up. The three Refect that took Nick to the court room began walking over to Nick. Nick sat there absolutely floored at what the judge just said.
    “Wait, you have to understand what happened. I killed that man out of self defense but he also deserved to die for what he did. You have to listen to me. I’m telling the truth!” Nick yelled as the Refect began to pull him from the chair.
    It was no use. Nick realized the decision was made. His life was over; there was nothing left for him in that moment. He felt defeated and depleted of all emotions. He was void. Nothing could save him, nobody could save him. The Refect walked him back outside where the hell cell waited for him. The hell cell would take him to his new home.

Chapter Five
    Every city in Hentrio had an arena. All of them served the same purpose: to let Paplon and Reza murderers, rapists, attempted murderers, and attempted rapists kill each other for the amusement of civilians. The majority of the inmates of an arena are the murderers and rapists. People come out to the arena to enjoy themselves. They laugh, they drink, and they bet on the fighters. Nick was never able to go to see the fights as he grew up. He only heard about them. Not because he was a child, there was no age restriction for entering the stands, but because his parents forbid him to go. His parents never went, and they certainly would not allow Nick to go. The arena was a topic that was even avoided the few times Nick tried to bring it up to his parents.
    He had heard from friends growing up of their gruesome encounters of watching two people fight to the death. Rezas were able to use their destruction magic, and Paplons were able to choose their deadliest weapon. Reza men and women would also have a weapon for the chance that the fight would be in close enough range. Reza are long distance fighters. Paplon could adapt to being either long or close range fighters if they were trained properly.
    In the arena two went in, but only one would walk out. It was a fight to the death. Many of the inmates knew how to fight, and many did not. If a person was found guilty of murder they were sentenced to two years in the arena based upon the law of the land enforced by the king and many kings before him. If they were found guilty for rape it was a two year sentence as well. Attempted rapists and attempted murderers received one year. Nearly all that were sentenced to the arena, whether it be one, two, or eight years, would die in the arena within months. Only a few survived the arena. A sentence to the arena was a death sentence, that was known by all.
    ***
    As Nick sat in the back of the hell cell he knew what he was going to encounter. He knew the most evil men and women of Vincot would be around him. He also knew that he should not have been found guilty for his crimes. He was just in his actions, and he alone knew that. He also realized he could never possibly join the Refect; they would never accept a criminal. But that was now the last of his worries. He would have to fight every day to live another, whether he stepped into an arena match or not.
    The most important thing he realized while he was in the hell cell was that the trial was now out of his hands. The trial and sentencing were now in the past. He realized that he could not change the past and there was no reason to dwell on it. Doing so would only anger him and surely that could get him killed faster.
    He thought that he had trained his whole life to be a Refect when in reality he was training to be the best fighter he could be for this very moment. Fate was strange, and all Nick could do was accept it.
    Nick was fast.