Message

There was a brief pause before the messenger answered, "Yes."

I stood as the trainer entered the gym. I didn't normally spend the hours before a fight in the gym but for this fight I had wanted to warm up and make sure my unit was warm. The best of the six boys that had started training with me took up the spot that my other brother's death had left in my unit. I wasn't under estimating the strength of this unit, they had fought together enough that they might put up a real challenge.

The messenger did follow my group up to the ring and stood with the trainer on the stone ring. I noticed that the man was holding some sort of small red stone but he was staying an extra step back from the edge of the stone so I put the thought out of my mind. I watched as the other unit entered the ring. They moved as a group, these monsters were like a pride of cats. They weren't quite as trustful of each other as my pack was but it was a near thing. My pack was watching me as they stepped down into the sand. They saw my signal and started moving.

Time to test how much trust I really had. The unit across from us seemed confused as I moved to the left and let my pack move ahead. They had thought they knew what I was going to do, but they weren't sure now. It would seem to them like I was giving up my pack to try and narrow the field for my own fights. They were foolish enough to come at me one at a time.

The horn sounded and movement exploded on the field. The cats didn't change their plan, they probably didn't have a way to change it on the fly, so they stuck to it. They attacked the three men who had moved right. They did a pretty good job of using their number advantage but I didn't give them time to really bring it to bear. I struck at the first man who was too distracted by my pack to know of the danger I posed. They others knew they were in danger as their brother cat fell but I wasn't going to give them time to learn from their mistake.

I noticed the crowd was quieter as the last body fell to the sand. One of my pack was hurt but not in a way that would be fatal. Clearly the crowd had noticed the messenger watching. My pack knelt as I looked around at the quieter crowd. I didn't see the rep for Estro. The messenger cleared his throat so I looked at him. "Kneel, let the priest collect the blood price for our lord."

I knelt and the iron gate on the priests entrance opened. I got the impression that the messenger was talking to himself as the other priests moved about their duties. The women in the stands were talking. It didn't seem like any of them wanted to go home yet. The last priest left the arena so I stood up. The trainer looked at me with a frown, he was getting more expressive the longer I knew him. As I walked toward the closest edge of the stone ring so that I could step up and not be right next to the messenger and was still whispering to himself. I signaled my other brothers as the iron gate started to shut.

The messenger's eyes focused on me as I started toward the side of the arena I had entered on. I knelt on the stone before the messenger and let the rest of my group move by. The messenger watched them move by. I was impressed that his wariness didn't show in his features. None of my pack would attack a priest no matter how threatening the man was being. The messenger had no promises of that but he held his nerve anyway. I hadn't really believed he would behave in a lesser manor but I only had Father's word on the matter and Father had found death, as all men do in the end.

The messenger looked around at the stands, "Does no one in this town not have anything better to do?"

"I cannot speak for them, messenger."

The messenger looked back down at me. He snorted, "You are the wilder then?"

"I am called that."

The man sighed, "Let us go find your mother then, I would hate to give my message twice." He didn't say but I almost heard it anyway, and it not be followed.

I stood and followed the messenger as he walked out of the arena. We had to walk down to the first landing to walk back up and out into the yard. There weren't any brothers in the yard. It made the open ground seem empty. I idly wondered where they were as I followed the messenger across the house line into the women's section. The women's yard was also lacking in occupants.

The women in the house stopped when they saw the messenger, their emotions went for a rough ride before we passed them. We entered the only room of the house I had been in before. The room hadn't changed in that time. The matriarch and her eldest daughter were sitting together talking with the speton. The two women didn't seem happy. The septon was the first one to notice the messenger and he took a knee right in the middle of saying something. Cutting off his words abruptly. The matriarch's emotions went from victorious, to confused before she turned to see the messenger. She grabbed her oldest daughter's sleeve as she bowed to the messenger. Her daughter almost pulled away from her mother before her mother's expression registered with her. She froze before copying her mother.

The messenger stopped, I took a knee a step behind him as soon as he came to a stop, "At least the elder population seems to know their place still."

The Matriarch responded fast, "I am sorry, if any of my sons were rude. We don't get messengers from our lord very often. They don't normally live long enough for it to matter, but I will make sure the error is corrected."

"That isn't why I am here."

"Of course not, messenger, might I ask why you are here and why you have the wilder with you?"

When the matriarch said wilder I saw the messenger have a strong emotional reaction but it was gone almost as soon as it happened. "No." The messenger faced the septon. "You will need to rearrange this son of Estro's schedule until further notice. Our lord has heard of him and also received your request on his behalf." The messenger paused and I got the feeling that he was doing it for dramatic effect. "It will be granted."

The septon nodded like he had expected that the whole time. "Mir, is a loyal and knowledgeable servant."

"Clearly since he was the only male to recognize a messenger. Do you have any need for me to delay?"

"He has not been treated as a son here and it is hard to keep his situation from turning abusive as I said. I will make sure the house covers the withdrawal cost of any fights he was to have."

"What!" the matriarch yelled at the septon. The messenger did not look happy about the interruption, and the matriarch took a break and then spoke in a nicer tone, "Shouldn't the withdrawal come from his surplus as the house didn't request a meeting?"

"I don't remember saying a meeting was requested, just that a request was made and will be granted. The meeting is the order of our lord, do you dispute your requirement to our lord?" I sat on my heels and stared at the marble floor. That was a dangerous question, that it was asked at all signalled that the matriarch was on thin ice and far from shore.

"Of-of course not, I am sorry. I misunderstood as the two events were so close together. I was just worried about protecting the servants in my care. I am a servant as well of course." Her emotions were not as stable as her words and I knew she was already planning to fix the hole this might make in her accounts.

"See that you don't forget it, and that it doesn't matter how you got a son they are all the servants of our lord given into your care for only a small time."

"Yes, messenger." The matriarch had no reaction to that, she still didn't understand and she was going to continue as she thought best for her house.

The messenger looked back at the septon, "I feel I now have a better understanding of your concerns, brother. I will see how high of an answer I can get for you."

The septon bowed from where he was kneeling, "Thank you, brother. I will continue to shepherd our lord's people."

"May the lord look kindly on us." the messenger looked back at me as I said the word with everyone else. He motioned for me to follow.