The Mad Queen

Chapter Fourteen

Before the Gods left our world, they gave us gifts. Dulavelle, the God of Peace, left behind his child. Visara. The other gods left behind three magic spells that could be used by any race.

The first spell was the Blood Oath or a Blood Promise. A Blood Oath was mostly used as a way of swearing allegiance or loyalty to one particular person. It was a way of making sure that they stayed loyal, for should they have broken that loyalty then they would die. The Blood promise was similar. If someone made a promise to another using the blood promise, then they had to fulfil it or they would die.  However, the oath could not be made against anyone's will. The person making the Oath had to choose freely to make the oath and could not be forced.

The second spell was a Mating Oath. The Mating Oath was a way of marriage which held a deeper meaning than the regular vows. It ensured that the two people were forever tied together. The act of adultery would cause great pain. The bond would also punish for not being loyal in other ways. If one mate plotted against the other, then the bond would punish them. Like the Blood Oath, to enter such an oath, both participants must be free of any manipulations. They must both chose freely to enter the bond. For it creates a deep connection between the two.

The Third Spell was called The Gift. It allowed magical races to gift a part of their magic to another. This one was used the least as each race was far too greedy to want to share with another. Like the other two spells, the gift had to be given freely with no manipulation.

The Gods hoped that these spells would encourage more loyalty between the races and each other. For a while, they were used. However, they began to fade away. No one wanted to be loyal. Not to a ruler. Not to a husband or wife. No one wanted to share their magic. So the spells were mostly forgotten.

~The History of the Gods. Chapter Ten. Written by the Master Scholar during the reign of the First Queen.

We enter the small area before we get into the main arena. We'll be going one at a time, youngest to eldest. The five of us sit in silence as one of the Scholars goes over the rules for this test. Father is warming up the crowd, getting them ready for their next batch of entertainment. 

"This is your first combat round of three," the Scholar begins. "In this round, we will be testing your ability to think on your feet during stressful situations, resourcefulness as well as your skills with a blade. You will go up against twenty soldiers." We all gasp and the Scholar smiles. "The arena has been set up with obstacles. Some of which you can use to your advantage to help you. It is up to you how you use them, but the more you use the better your chance you have at succeeding this challenge. After all, we are testing your ability to think clearly in stressful situations and come up with strategies and plans from what is around you. To pass this challenge, you must use at least two obstacles and kill all attackers."

"You mean we actually have to kill them?" Cordelia asks. 

"Yes," he tells her and I feel my heart race in my chest. I'm going to have to kill. Not that it would be the first time.

"Will they be able to kill us?" I ask. He turns to me.

"That brings me on to how you can fail this test," he says with a patronising smile. "The Warriors all know that you've been instructed to kill, so they'll want you to fail. They themselves aren't allowed to kill you. However, their weapons are real. They are allowed to attack and fend you off however they want as long as they don't kill you instantly or wound you in ways our healers can't fix you up." I gulp. Our healers are very good. They can mend plenty of serious wounds with the right potions. I look at my sisters who all look worried. "To fail, the warriors have to put you in a position where you are physically unable to fight back."