Ryan woke up with a jolt.
Today was the day that he had to fight for Eragon.
He was nervous; he wouldn't know the terms of the battle until the morning.
It was only then that he realised it was still dark.
He took a deep breath and decided to take a walk to calm his nerves.
Just as he closed the door, he glanced over at a sleeping Eragon.
He walked through the empty streets.
He blended into the shadows.
He used to be at home here, but now it felt alien.
That thought gave him hope.
A Hope that he could also be at home in the light.
As he snuck his way through alleys, a red-headed figure kept invading his mind.
He couldn't help but smile as he thought back to her lesson.
He was so nervous, but after the hug, it disappeared.
As he kept walking, he caught his reflection in a window.
He was smiling.
It vanished from his face at that realisation.
Did he deserve to be happy after all the pain he caused?
This question festered in his mind all the way back to his room.
He then climbed into his bed and waited for the sun to rise.
At dawn, there was a knock at the door.
Ryan answered the door.
It was Grizzly; he had two Vikings on his flank.
"Morning, Ryan," he stuck his head into their hut, "How are you holding up, Blue Leader?"
Eragon shrugged.
"All good, Grizz."
To everyone, they would just see an emotionless monster.
To Ryan, he looked like a terrified child.
He knew he had to steel his nerves, but he was afraid.
He wasn't scared of Sombra.
He was worried about the lengths he would have to go to win.
He looked back at Grizzly.
"Good morning, I am ready."
The old man studied him for a moment.
After lighting a cigarette, he nodded.
"Let's go."
The three of them silently walked to a Viking Airship.
Eragon was sulking because the guards said he couldn't take any of his games.
As they boarded the ship, he grumbled, "What else am I supposed to do?"
Grizzly answered without missing a beat, "Use your imagination."
Eragon pulled a face at Grizzly.
This caused Ryan to laugh out loud.
Grizzly then patted him on the shoulder.
"I'm glad to see you're in good spirits."
To change the subject, Ryan decided to ask Grizzly some questions.
"What is the fight going to be like?"
"Like Bjorn said, you fight until the other can't, and you decide the rules when you meet."
Ryan frowned.
"When you decide the rules, do you mean like the use of weapons or what is prohibited?
Grizzly took a drag and nodded.
"Usually they say no rules, but the Amazons are different."
After a moment of silence, Ryan continued, "What do you know about them?"
Grizzly shrugged, "Not much, except for their all-woman rule. It doesn't make sense; they are just half a community."
Ryan saw the sadness in his eyes.
"Do you miss Eena?"
This sudden question made Grizzly cough on the smoke, and Eragon roared with laughter.
"Of course I miss her. Why do you ask?"
Ryan's face started burning.
He spoke in almost a whisper.
"I just wanted to know what it felt like."
With a smile on his face and a cigarette in his mouth, he answered.
"It is like going into combat without your weapon. The fight is so much harder than it has to be."
Ryan mulled over the explanation, and Eragon decided to speak.
"You should have seen him before she chose him. He was a grinch."
Grizzly jumped up and grabbed Eragon by the horn and shook him.
"I told you to stop calling me that."
As he yelled, the cigarette flew out of his mouth.
The crew of the Airship did not like the show and kept their distance from the three.
As they flew over the pits, Ryan got a good look at the structure.
It was a massive stone colosseum with many smaller fighting pits.
There was a larger fighting area in the middle.
This was where he would probably fight.
When they flew closer, he saw that the stands were filled with people.
As the ship was docked, Ryan looked over to the Orcs.
Many of them had deep scars on their backs.
This caused a burning sensation on his own back as he walked past them.
Eragon was split from Ryan and Grizzly.
The room they were taken to had a view of the box where Bjorn sat.
He was socialising with the other Guild leaders.
Aleksandar and Eena were present.
With a sigh of relief, Ryan pointed it out to Grizzly.
The old man took a deep breath and sighed.
"Ryan, what is your plan?"
He frowned.
"What do you mean? I will defeat her, and Eragon will be free."
"That isn't what I meant. How are you going to beat her?"
Ryan kept silent as he thought of what he could do.
"Ryan, I need you to understand something. If you fight for someone else, there are no rules. If she wins, Eragon dies."
Ryan started pacing.
"I won't kill her."
Grizzly stood up and held him by the shoulders.
"I didn't say that. What I meant was that you need to fight to win, no matter what."
Ryan shrugged his hands off his shoulders.
"No, I don't want to be that man anymore. I will fight honourably."
Grizzly looked at him for a second and nodded.
"I'm sorry, Ryan. I didn't know what I was saying. When you go out there, do what you need to do to win."
After a few minutes of silence between the two men, a guard entered.
"This is your attire."
They were both given fur pants and boots, but no shirts.
Ryan clenched his teeth.
Grizzly lit another cigarette.
"Do you need some privacy?"
"No, I am fine."
Ryan took off his shirt, and on his shoulder was a tattoo.
It was the comedy and tragedy masks, but both were smiling with their tongues hanging out.
It was the mark of the silver tongues.
A faded scar split the masks in two.
"Do you still think about them?"
Ryan had a scowl for a moment.
"I have dreams. Sometimes I dream I am back in their ranks," he took a deep breath, "and sometimes they hunt me."
As Grizzly put on his pants, he spoke, "If they ever think of touching you, the last thing they will feel is my boot on their necks."
Ryan smiled at the old man.
"Thank you. I wish I had found all of you sooner."
They both walked to the window to hear Bjorn's speech.
He raised his arms, and the crowd went silent.
"We have gathered here to judge the blue Dragon that was the cause of the portal!"
The crowd booed.
"Many would just execute him and be done with it!"
The crowd booed again.
"That was when I had a thought! Let us turn it into a show! Eragon's friend will fight for his life!"
The crowd started cheering.
"You will see a young man fight the Shadow of the Amazon Queen! A battle many would not see in their entire lives!"
The cheering became louder.
"This is our way! The way of Steel!"
The crowd cheered repeatedly in response, "The way of Steel! The way of Blood!"
Ryan was then escorted to the centre of the arena.
Across the flat span of sand, he saw his opponent.
She didn't have her helmet and dress on, and Reina flanked her.
She wore a simple cloth shirt and pants and had her long black hair in a high bun.
For a moment, it was just the three of them in the middle.
Then they heard Bjorn's booming voice.
"What are your terms for combat?"
Sombra made some signs with her hands, and Reina spoke for her.
"Unarmed combat, do you agree, boy?"
Ryan nodded.
He then noticed symmetrical scars on Sombra's throat.
Ryan then gave Reina a disgusted look.
"Reina, your duty is over. Let them fight!"
As she left, Ryan heard a short phrase from Reina.
"Hurt him."
Sombra nodded.
For a moment, she had a sad look on her face; a look of focus then replaced it.
Reina, on the other hand, gave him the cruellest smile he had ever seen.
When she left the arena, Bjorn called out.
"It seems we have a surprise! Young Ryan was a member of the Jovial Killers."
Instinctively, he reached for his tattoo.
He took his eyes off Sombra for a moment to look at Eragon and Bell.
They were in the box with Eena and Aleksandar.
"Before you commence, Ryan, what was your rank?"
Ryan didn't look back at the Jarl.
"Look at his resolve! This will be a good fight!"
The crowd started cheering loudly.
Bjorn raised his arms.
"Sombra of the Amazons! Are you ready?"
She raised a fist while not taking her eyes off Ryan.
"Ryan of the Blood Rose! Are you ready?"
Ryan raised his fist.
"Fight!"
Sombra bolted at Ryan.
She dove and rolled, then used her hands as springs to drive her feet into his ribs.
Ryan rolled to the side as she hit nothing but air.
He shot up while running and attempted a flying knee.
She dodged slightly too late and took his knee to the shoulder.
She fell back onto her hand and used the momentum to swing her leg.
She aimed at his knee.
He was too quick and pulled his leg back.
He dashed backwards.
As he studied her, he was bouncing on the balls of his feet.
She smiled as she started dancing toward him.
She dashed in and ducked, and in that same motion, she planted her hands in the ground.
She then spun, aiming for his head.
He ducked, and as she was on her feet, she threw a handful of sand into his face.
As he tried to clear his vision, she ran and gave him a hard drop kick to the ribs.
As her feet hit his side, he felt a rib snap.
He was flung back as the wind was knocked out of him.
He rolled a few times and tried to stand, but Sombra was already there.
As he was on his hands and knees, she kicked him in the same side as his broken rib.
He felt a warmth in his chest as the bone reknit.
The third kick toppled him over.
Through tear-filled eyes, he looked to the Jarl's box.
He looked for his friends through the tears and crowd.
Both of them had a look of pure terror.
In that moment, it felt like the world dimmed until it became black.
He couldn't see anything, and the cheer of the crowd also fell away.
Sombra was sprinting toward him without an expression.
Ryan raised himself to his hands and knees again.
He waited until she was close enough to attack.
As she tried to deliver another kick to the ribs, he raised himself just enough to grab her thigh.
He pushed back with all his strength to topple her backwards.
As she fell on her back, he was on top of her.
He started punching, all of his hits were aimed at her face.
At first, she blocked most of the hits.
He started screaming as he did his best to bury her head in the dirt.
But as he kept punching, more and more broke through.
After a few more hits, she was lying on her back with Ryan punching her limp form.
The darkness around him receded.
All that was under him was a gurgling Sombra, and his hands were covered in blood.
Ryan stood up, and for a moment the arena was silent.
Bjorn's voice broke the silence.
"Ryan is the Victor!"
The arena erupted in a deafening cheer.
He didn't celebrate as he was led back to Grizzly.
He sat down on the ground next to the door.
Grizzly was leaning on the wall next to him.
"Congrats on the win."
Ryan had a blank expression as he looked at Grizzly.
"Do you want to know why I chose the Blood Rose?"
Grizzly looked at the young man who stared into his eyes, "Why?"
"I was hoping the monsters would kill me."
The cigarette fell out of Grizzly's mouth.
"I did terrible things, just like that," he motioned to Sombra.
His monotone started to crack.
"I was taught that they were invaders, that I would be a monster hunter," he started yelling as tears formed.
"The only reason they wanted me was because I look more human than other half-breeds."
The tears streamed down his face.
"Those PEOPLE sent me to kill an Orc, something I did hundreds of times!"
Ryan tried wiping the tears from his eyes.
All he did was wipe Sombra's blood all over his face.
"He had a human wife and a half-breed son…"
He hid his face in his hands.
"Now he has to grow up without his father. Because of me!"
He curled up into a ball, and at that moment, Grizzly sat down next to him.
"Why did I have to go through that?"
Grizzly put his arm around the crying man.
He lit a cigarette and waited for Ryan to stop crying.