Queen Moirai wore a rich crimson gown. A matching ruby necklace gleamed upon her pale chest, and she donned a golden crown with red gems to complete the look. The red of her regalia was in such stark contrast to the homespun garb of peasants and commonfolk filling the stadium and its many seats. The wealthy courtiers sat near the queen, surrounding her on various sides of the shaded box. At least a few had joined her within the carved alcove, cooling themselves with elaborate fans. Several members of the nobility flanked her box seat, sitting primly beneath what appeared to be the shade of an umbrella. The nobility were dressed in their finery for the festive occasion. Amaris watched the queen, wondering what spelled object could amplify a voice like this. The way Queen Moirai’s voice resonated throughout the stadium, she was surprised more people didn’t cower or wince in fear.

“My people!” Moirai began, her crimson arms raised to greet the masses.

Amaris scarcely heard the first two words of the speech before her stomach churned in disgust. The crowd, apparently, did not feel the same. Their returning cry was none other than the barbaric excitement of men and women awaiting bloodsport.

Moirai addressed the crowd with ear-splitting volume as her words coated every inch of the stadium, drowning the people in her voice. “For centuries, the keep of Uaimh Reev has rested on the border between Raascot and Farehold.”

The mention of the northern kingdom drew a swell of jeers from the people. Moirai offered appropriate pause for them to sneer and yell their anger at their enemies to the north.

“For hundreds of years,” she boomed, “the reevers have pretended to be our friends, our allies against dark forces. We have offered them sanctuary throughout the churches and temples of our lands, believing their lies when they spoke of peace.” Queen Moirai paused dramatically.

Enraptured, the audience clung to her every word.

The same ear-popping dizziness crept into Amaris once more as she understood why Moirai had brought her into the stadium to face her people. She froze, little more than a pillar of stone while she listened to the wicked deceptions of the illusionist queen. This was why Amaris hadn’t been left to rot in her cell. The queen meant to make an enemy of Uaimh Reev.

“The crown prince and I offered our magnanimity just yesterday, inviting this reever before you into our palace. And what did she do?”

The pregnant pause hushed the crowd, pressing the question down on the people.

“She revealed herself for what she is: a demon sympathizer!”