Page 50 of Exordium

“You can call me Hayes, boy. I’ve seen no evidence of man-like behavior from you, so boy is what I’m calling you. What Faction do you belong to?” Hayes asked, narrowing his eyes.

I decided I should only give out information sparingly until I understood more of what was happening. “No Faction. I was just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Looking at me doubtfully, Hayes replied, “I hope that’s not true because if it is, you’re in deep shit. Fighting in the Coliseum is hard enough with a Faction, but without one, it’s impossible.”

“What Faction do you belong to?” I was starting to get worried. I needed to complete whatever task I was here for and get back to my Nexi.

Hayes looked utterly devastated for a split second. Then his face cleared, “I’ve been assigned to the Tempest Faction.” I noticed the phrasing. Nothing about it sounded joyful or voluntary.

“If you have a Faction, why were you trying to escape?”

“You act like you’re new to this world, boy. I’ve been fighting in the Coliseum for years. My days will be numbered if I lose the ability to bring gold and prestige to the Tempest Faction.” Hayes sighed; he then sat in the corner of the cage, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes. I thought I heard him mumble, “Why I continue to try and survive is a mystery to me.”

I knew that the big man was done answering questions for now. Leaning my head back, I tried to get some rest. I would need to be at the top of my game when we arrived at the Coliseum.

Waking at the absence of motion, I sat up. We had stopped at a set of massive doors. They had to be at least a hundred feet tall. The walls looked to be made from the same stone as Emberhold. I heard a whirring noise, and the doors started to open. Thisworld seemed to be a strange combination of medieval and modern technology. I saw that Hayes was awake.

“Where are we?”

“Bellona, so it’s called now.” He whispered the last part. “We’ll arrive at the Coliseum shortly. You better prepare yourself, boy. Don’t make waves; follow instructions. I won’t be in the practice yard tomorrow, but I should be the day after. I’ll find you and help if I can.” He seemed surprised that he made the offer.

I nodded and turned to observe my surroundings. We passed a market with many stalls and people everywhere. Some looked human, while others were utterly alien. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was Aurathia. But if so, why was there so much life and people around? The land we had traveled through was horrible and looked like a war had been fought, but the forest was beautiful and untouched. I had always assumed that Aurathia had been made primarily uninhabitable, but other than the dreary landscape, it seemed to be thriving.

After leaving the market area, in the distance, I saw a massive Coliseum gleaming in the sun. It contrasted starkly with the walls surrounding the city because it was pure white.

Surprising me, Hayes spoke, “This was built about ten years after the war. Heads of the Factions come here to choose future members. Existing members like me fight to earn the right to remain in a Faction.”

“Why would you fight to stay somewhere you clearly don’t want to be?” I questioned in confusion.

“Where are you from?” Hayes asked, looking at me with suspicion.

“What does that matter?” I responded by dodging the question.

“It matters because you seem to have no knowledge of how this world works. I have no choice but to fight. If your current Faction rejects you, you must fight without proper food, shelter,and weapons until another Faction chooses you.” Hayes told me, still looking at me in suspicion.

“What about the Passives with no Faction? How do they fight without abilities?” I asked.

“After the injection, everyone has abilities. You run the risk of going insane without a Faction and Nexus to stabilize you, but you’re given no choice except to take the serum. Why do you not know this?” Hayes narrowed his eyes at me. I was saved from answering when we stopped at a gate guarded by two large, beefy guys.

“What do you have for us today, Eugene?”

The bald guy answered, “One newbie and Hayes.”

“Hayes, you said?” the guy on the right asked. He had an eyepatch and greasy long hair.

“Yep. See for yourself.” Eugene smirked. The two guys walked around to look in the cage.

“Well, what do you know? The great undefeated Hayes of the Tempest Faction returns in disgrace. I can’t wait to see what Selene does to your ass. You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t skin you alive.”

“He’ll be lucky if that’s all she does.” The guy on the left smirked, around a mouth full of tobacco, spitting on the ground and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He leaned more toward fat than muscle, and his belly bounced disgustingly when he laughed.

“Go on and get them unloaded. Seamus is near the barracks and will take them off your hands.” The tobacco dude motioned them forward.

Throughout the entire interaction, Hayes and I remained quiet. Hayes had a stoic expression, and from the conversation I had just heard, I felt like he was gearing himself up to face the consequences of his escape.

We rolled through the wooden gates. I thought this was the training area that Hayes had talked about. All kinds of training apparatus and weights were scattered throughout the yard. Stopping at an arched opening in the side of the Coliseum, a small man stood tapping his foot impatiently.

“What took you so long, Eugene? I have things to do, and I can’t wait around on you all day.” Not waiting for an answer, he walked over to the cage and asked Hayes, “Are we doing this the easy way?” Hayes walked to the side closest to the little man and leaned his head down where his neck was accessible. “Maybe you’ve smartened up.” Pulling a small pen-shaped object out, he pushed a button, and it lengthened until he could reach Hayes’s neck through the bars; there was a popping noise. Hayes flinched slightly but didn’t make a sound.

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