Red Roses

Chapter 6 (Introduction Arc)

The sounds of people chattering, the awful smell of grease, bits of overpriced food littered on the floor, and the bright blinding lights from the illuminator magic. All of these aspects are present in the setting of a circus. The three of them looked around for a place to sit. The majority of the seating was made up of bleachers. Ardit, Zolio, and Jade noticed a spot that was mostly clean and empty so they decided to sit there. Ardit wasn't too bothered by the lack of sanitation since that was something he was used to. Zolio was one to tolerate it as well. Jade on the other hand was a bit of a germaphobe when it came to things like this.

Entering the circus ring and making his way to the center, a well dressed man approached as the spotlight landed on him. The man was quite tall, even for a ganyma. He had a large scruffy beard and two perking ears near the top of his head on its sides. Above the ears snugly rested a tall hat decorated with feathers, the hat matched his flashy outfit. Accompanying everything was a thin tail with a black tassel at the end. The man exclaimed to the audience, "Welcome! The show will start very soon so please be patient!" He tipped his hat for the crowd who cheered. Zolio smiled and pointed out, "That must be The Ringmaster!" She held onto Jade, who was also quite interested.

Ardit overheard from below the bleachers, two upper rank guards were talking about something that interested him. As the officers walked away, discussing, Ardit stood up to follow. Looking at Zolio and Jade, he mentioned briefly, "I'm gonna get us something to eat, I'll be right back." He followed the guards close behind as they entered an area clearly not meant for guests.

The most he could make out were the words "extinction event" and the phrase, "There just isn't enough room for us all!" As he tried to gain more from the conversation, he felt a looming presence. The feeling of being watched overwhelmed him, looking up he got an answer as to what that looming presence happened to be. "Someone's nosy~" The Ringmaster looked down, shoving Ardit into the arms of the two guards.

The Ringmaster put his hand onto Ardit's shoulder, explaining to him, "Here's what's gonna happen babes. Usually for something like this we'd just arrest you for knowing too much, but unlike most of these shrimp, I, Lionel the ringmaster, have showmanship!"

After a while of waiting, Lionel enters the ring with a grin across his face. The lights pan to him as he yells to the audience, "Hello spectators of Nasrinth! Our show today will be a little bit different, a very special volunteer will be challenging one of my spirits to battle for your entertainment!" Giving a hearty bow to the audience, cheers roared as the human entered the ring. Ardit looked around at the crowd. Everyone seemed to be cheering, either for his downfall, being a human, or for his success. It was truly a split audience. The only two who weren't cheering were his two friends who were very confused on how he got into this situation.

Lionel thinks aloud to himself, "This guy's gonna provide a show and I won't have to pay him a single bristle!" Removing his gloves, Lionel places one hand over the other, sliding his hand down to activate his magic. The tombstone symbol on his hand lights up as his fingernails glow a blinding white. Lionel chants a saying that is not actually required for summoning a spirit, but is meant to entertain the audience, "From the depths of your world, let my hands be your guide into ours! May you not leave this ring, but face those who reside in it!" The circus ring had a white glow that matched his fingernails.

Materializing from the ground, a translucent spirit arose. The figure seemed to be a chariot, being controlled by a single two headed horse. Riding atop the chariot was an empty suit of armor with a red feather in the knight's helm. Ardit's eyes wandered around the circus ring. The floor below him was lightly sanded. There did not seem to be much of an obstacle between him and this beast, only a few cages used to contain animals. These must have been skeuomorphic however, since there is no reason to contain any of the beasts if they were summonable spirits.