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

send fire and ice at you in the blink of an eye. He is the best Reza I’ve seen yet. He will not be easy, but I can give you tips on how to beat him.”
    Nick looked over at Grimey once more. His hands were covered by leather gloves and a metal bracelet attached tightly at the top of the gloves so he could not conjure his destruction magic. His looked to be a few years older than Nick. He looked young and fit.
    Nick looked back at Phillip and said, “You have seen him fight? How could you see him fight? I thought we stay in the cells as fights go on.”
    “I fought before him. I killed my opponent and when that happens you get to stand behind the barred door that leads to the arena. Front row seats.”
    Inmates started to get up from their tables and make their way to a side door.
    Phillip smiled at Nick and said, “It’s now the best time of the day. It’s time to get to work in the dungeon. This is when you release your pain and anger. This is the time for meditation and focus. Yes, I love it indeed. Finish up the last couple of bites and stick with me. I’ll show you around in there.”
    Nick took the last couple bites of his meal and proceeded to get up and follow Phillip. He walked with Phillip into the dungeon. As soon as he arrived, Nick saw the armory of sorts. There were plenty of weapons to choose from: swords, axes, mallets, daggers, and bows and arrows. All the weapons were made of wood with blunt edges. Paplons were lined up, taking turns practicing their skills on dummies made of cloth and hay. Archers practiced on hay bundles with dots to perfect their aim. Moving bundles of hay were attached to the ceiling and fitted in a net so that Paplons could practice on moving targets. The Rezas were not found in this room of the dungeon. There was another hall further down where Rezas lined up to get into a room by themselves. The Reza inmates would walk inside a room where the door would shut behind them, and they would stick their hands out of a hole where the Refect would take off the gloves. In that room and various others like it, Rezas could practice their magic freely without harm to others.
    Phillip took Nick over to the armory and said, “Yes, I know it’s disappointing; all we get for practice is wood. The handles are made heavy with metal, though, to give the proper feel of a real weapon. Have you swung a sword before?”
    “Yes, I trained for years with practice swords such as these. I was training to become a Refect,” replied Nick.
    Phillip bent over towards the floor and burst out laughing. He regained his composure and said, “Why would anyone want to be a Refect? Those power hungry imbeciles do nothing but sit around and talk of how grand their sword is. They think they protect the realm but in reality they do nothing to protect it. Many murders go unaccounted for because they are slow and fat. If they did their jobs properly, each arena would house tens of thousands of inmates. But, anyways, pick your weapon and let’s get to a dummy. Let me see what fight you’ve got in you.”
    Nick did not find the belittling of his dreams amusing, but he would rather not argue with the man who was willing to give him tips on his fight. Nick picked up two wooden short swords and Philip picked up a wooden long sword.
    They walked up to a dummy that no one was using. “Let me show you first how it is done,” said Phillip.
    He picked up his wooden long sword and got into a fighting stance. Phillip drove the tip of his sword into the dummy. He then slashed it five times, spun once and landed the blade right where the neck would be on a person.
    “Precision is important,” said Philip. “Let me see what you’ve got in you, brother. Go on. Have at it.”
    Nick took stance. Dual wielding two short swords, his arms moved at an incredible pace. He slashed the target with both swords twenty times over in the same amount of time Phillip landed his seven.
    “You are fast, very fast. Agility is key out in