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[Trevayne]

A slow but steady stream of visitors edged their way among the bright red, orange, and purple pennants that line the road to the Coliseum. Since the appearance of the strange portal in Arilin a few months ago, some of them had made this journey every day to see who would be foolish enough to step foot inside the arena and face the horrors that Mandrake himself had placed there. Few if any even paused their stride as they passed the taller-than-life figure that had stood in the middle of this well-worn path for months now.

"Ladies and gentlemen, halflings and orcs..." droned the gray-robed figure of the archmage. Even the smallest children now knew that although the figure looked real, it was merely a projection, a creation of the Master Illusionist, placed here to welcome visitors, to attract the foolhardy gladiators, and to amuse the masses. "Will your image be placed in the Hall of Champions?" They had heard this speech hundreds of time now, and they barely paused as the projection came to the end of its litany. "Can you become a Master of the Coliseum?"

And then... it stopped.

The projection, whose voice had filled the length of Valor's Path, stopped talking. The silence spread like a wave through the crowd, pulling their attention to the projection in a way that no noise could possibly have done. When it spoke again, it was not the tired recitation that they had grown accustomed to, but instead, it spoke with an almost whispered voice that commanded their immediate attention.

"Only a handful of warriors show the courage, the resourcefulness, and the creativity to be recognized as a Gladiator. The gladiators ascend like the stars in the night sky, the light of their glory a beacon to all who would tempt their fate on the Coliseum floor." The trickle of visitors had grown into a crowd as word of this announcement pulled them to the figure of the archmage.

"Once in a great while, one of these stars shines more brightly than all the others combined. Those elite few who can prove to me that they have mastery over all of the terrors of the Coliseum will be immortalized in the Hall of Champions." As he spoke, the real world faded around them... the vibrant banners slowly lost their color, and then their edges became blurred, until finally everything faded from sight, only to be replaced with a grand hallway of ivory columns, polished marble floors, and gold filigree lanterns. The crowd knew this place... the Hall of Champions.

"Today, we crown the first warrior to have the stamina, the resourcefulness, and the valor to be known as a master of the Coliseum." Before their eyes, thousands of bits of marble no larger than a coin pulled away from the columns, joining with flecks of gold from the lanterns to create a sparkling cyclone that spun rapidly in the air near the archmage. Slowly, he brought his hands together and the maelstrom of marble shards began to take the shape of a warrior, staff held high above his head in triumph. Small gasps of recognition spread through the crowd as the figure became more and more clear... they had seen this face many times in the past months on the Coliseum floor.

"Today, we recognize Sleeping, a legendary explorer of the land and Champion of the Coliseum!" The crowd stared in silence as the gray-robed figure of Mandrake bowed its head, the statue and ivory columns slowly fading away as the colorful pennants of Valor's Path reappeared. For perhaps the first time since the giant wooden doors of the Coliseum had opened, the crowd stood quietly without even a flicker of movement.

The robed figure began to fade. One last whispered breath from the archmage sent children and adults streaming toward the Coliseum gates:

"Who will be next?"