The heavy blade is laying on the ground.

Your heart beats.

You survey the fight.

It's a giant mass of men screaming in a variety of different emotions. Joy here, fear there. You can see spectres spectating, watchers watching, and shadows spectating as well, because what else would they do? Be serious.

With all the chaos, if you crouched you could conceivably have more cover. A lower center of gravity would also be a benefit. A quick roll would provide more cover and speed, but lack the same control. The ground, while littered with weapons and bodies, has a clear path to your weapon. You could try to crawl there. This would provide the most cover, but you risk being stepped on, and what you gain in cover you give up in speed.

Beat.

Move now, or risk danger for another look around.

You roll

Your arms start the long journey up. Your head lowers to meet them.

Beat.

An arrow shines between the blood and the laughter, then disappears.

One leg contracts to bring your body in and the other pushes to give you your momentum. Your heel leaves the sand, then just your toes make contact with the ground, then you're in the air..

Beat.

Your arms cover your head and you bring up one leg. The other pushes as you lean forward and bring your body low and ready for contact with the ground.

Beat.

Something rips through the skin in your left arm, leaving a relatively shallow wound.


Beat.

Beat. Beat.

Your body falls and hits the ground, and with a little effort, the roll is completed.

Beat. Beat. Beat.

You reach the sword and grab it as your legs push you up. You bring the sword up and around to stand between you and the man in front of you.

Another man with a smaller blade tries to stab your side. Your larger blade leaves little time to parry it and even less to regain balance, so you side step instead and let your movement swing the heavy sword around in his direction. He jumps back and knocks your blade just enough to leave him unscathed. Now that you're out of his range, you thrust foward and neatly catch his arm as he tries to avoid the attack. You push foward further and to the right, catching his torso. As you pull back the blade, he collaspes, eyes shut in pain at first, then open as he roars in laughter.

All around you people are dying. Bodies litter the ground and few are left. Such a waste of life. The violent ones are dead, leaving the survivors to look across at each other in both suspicision and dread.

Silence comes across the arena.

The shades gather at the edges and stare at you. One sits alone, on a throne of burning night. It opens its mouth....

"NO! NO! NO NO NO NO! Please, stop! I beg of you!" You plead and cover your ears, but that doesn't alleviate the shattering misery the shade spouts.

You writhe, you writhe, on the ground, tears streaming and blood leaking from your nose and the shades scream and scream and it hurts your heart so close to bursting you thrash and cry and pray but the anthem continues as others join in and they file into the sands as you see through blurry bloody eyes and surround you and rip you apart rip you apart rip you apart fingers and limbs and organs and blood so much blood and the shadows the shadows they scream and scream and scream and...