A Life Beyond by Mark Church (ebook reader web TXT) 📕

'Oh really!!' he smiled 'hmmm, I might have to see for myself' he said quietly as Tobias was too busy looking out for his hero Tahmidius,

'Oh come on…' he muttered 'I want to see him!!', Lady Willo had been listening behind the boy's for the last part and tapped Tobias on the shoulder,

'It won't be long now, there's just the last minute speeches going on down on the Arena floor by their coaches before they can begin their practice, patience is a virtue Tobias!!' she said calmly,

'You know I hate this part miss, it's too long!!' Tobias said as he huffed and crossed his arms, Daniel didn't really know where to look which Lady Willo noticed,

'Are you ok Daniel?, you seem…..bored?' she asked,

'Nah, I'm ok, just don't know what to expect, all this is new to me so I'm trying to take it all in, it's an amazing place this!!' replied Daniel as he squinted down at the Arena floor, 'So how can anyone see what's going on in this place, I mean everyone is so far away!!'

'Well that the magic of this place Daniel' Lady Willo started 'You will see soon enough just how amazing this whole area is, The King has made it a truly magical and wondrous place where everyone is safe and free from any outside influence',

'Well I didn't think this place was this big at first, I mean from the outside it looks like nothing, but when Tobias showed me just how big it was inside and explained about the Arena works I couldn't help but be shocked, My grandf...I mean the King has made an amazing place!!'

'Your what??' Lady Willo had heard Daniel nearly say something he shouldn't have,

'N...nothing I meant it was a grand place he had built' he tried to backtrack, hoping that it wasn't noticed,

'Oh ok Daniel...anyway it looks like it's time for the free practice to start!!' as the King stood once again to face the crowds he first lowered his hands to the floor, the silence fell again around the Arena, with a crackle he swiftly raised his hands upwards causing all the new visitors to the Arena to suddenly gasp in astonishment.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Fun of the Games

Daniel stood there slightly open mouthed as he just witnessed something rather special as all of a sudden it seemed as if the whole floor had suddenly risen up to make everything visible to all who were watching, now every person who was involved in the games was what seemed to be within touching distance of the crowds,

'D..did I just see that??' he asked Tobias who knew what had happened and was watching Daniel's face the whole time 'I...I mean. The floor...it just...Huh?',

'Oh Daniel have you never seen that done before?' laughed Tobias as he put his hand on Daniel's shoulder 'Well you did say you couldn't see anything on the Arena floor and this is kind of the Kings special trick, it's the inner ‘dome’ which is used as sort of a magnifying glass, it makes the whole place seem closer than what it is, we have to sit up high so we don't get caught by any misguided magic or weapons'

'Oooohhhh, I get it now!!, wow that's amazing' said Daniel who seemed to be now slowly falling for this special place 'I don't feel as scared as I did earlier when I was leaning over the side looking down, you can see everything now!!' he laughed as he watched the competitors lined up in front of the Kings stand and one by one them nodding their head towards the King with the other arm across their chest in a respectful salute to the person who had made this all possible, something caught Tobias’ eye as he watched every competitor bow the walk off to their respected area for practice,

'Ooh ooh ooh' he excitedly said waving and pointing his finger towards the competitor at the back of the queue 'It's him!!!, I can see him now!!' excitedly he turned towards the nearest person to him and grabbed them by the robes 'Can you see him too!!!, I can't believe we get to see him train' the boy whose clothes he grabbed his arms and said 'Let go Tobias!!, you'll ruin my clothes!!'.

He wasn't the only one to spot who most of them were here to see as a rumbling murmur descended across every stand in the Arena, ‘is it really him?’ and I want to be his friend’ were the sort of comments being heard coming from all over the Arena descending down from every stand like a wave of sound which seemed to bounce of the ‘dome’ and spread them all over the place.

As Tahmidius made his way towards the front of the queue he knew that by being last every pair of eyes would be on him, something which he played on as he waved to every part of the Arena and got back a huge roar of whistles and shouting, He bowed to the King who saw it was him and felt he needed to say something,

'Ahhhh Tahmidius…' the King started 'I'm so glad you are back again, as I understand it you were very close to being beaten. Well that was my understanding'

'It wasn't that close I can assure you my King' Tahmidius replied confidently 'the last round of action was a bit of a breeze really, you see the person I was up against wasn't really up for the challenge so he dropped his weapons and fled like a coward' he laughed at recalling this story,

'Well Tahmidius..' the King replied in a way that he knew would get at him 'I have an extensive network of scouts scattered throughout this land and from what they tell me you only came good in the last few rounds so it seems you were very lucky on this occasion, but I do know how much this means to you and I know that you brother's and father would wish you all the luck in these games if they were in the Arena today so for once please drop the act and concentrate on excelling at the Games, I have VERY high hopes for you this year, Don't let me down!!' The King warned Tahmidius with a wagging finger,

'Y.y..yes sire' he nervously replied back and off he went towards his area of training like a scalded schoolboy, head bowed low and him kicking the dirt on the floor. The King chuckled to himself as he turned to be greeted by Tahmidius’ father who had been hidden behind a row of soldiers not wanting his son to see him for fear of him being put off by his presence,

'I hope I wasn't too hard on the boy, Joda, he looked positively scared when I was talking to him' laughed the King as he ascended the steps towards his seat,

'Not at all sire, I honestly didn't think you were hard enough on him' Joda laughed back 'I mean he's a very confident young man but he can come across very arrogant, but now I'm sure he will put in maximum effort and hopefully surprise us all this Tri Year,',

'Oh I do hope you are right' replied the King 'I have been keeping an eye on him at every games we have hosted, maybe it will be his year, who knows though, we have a lot of good competition who have come through from all over the world who would love the chance to join our ‘Circle’, let's hope he doesn't let you down', the King patted Joda on the shoulder as he went to sit in his seat to watch some of the practice, as he sat down on his cushioned seat he let out a sigh of relief,

'Ahhhh that's better!!, I don't like all this standing around, it doesn't do these old bones any good' the King’s servant brought him his favourite drink and sat it down on the table next to him,

'I understand sire' the servant replied 'that is why I've taken the liberty of making your drink but adding in a special pain relief potion that we have been working for some time, I’m sure this will go some way to helping with the pain'

'Oh right thank you Olin...you are one of a kind, I'd be lost without you these days!' smiled the King 'So tell me, what's this made out of?' he carried on as Olin crouched down beside the King

'Well sire' he started 'it's a fairly new concoction we came across recently, I have tested it on myself so I'm very confident in its healing abilities, it's a mixture of a few things that I found out about from my mother which had been passed down through the generations but only now has she passed them onto me, it consists of a plant called ‘Blue Bank Milkweed’, a dash of ‘Sneezewort’, and the final plant which was the hardest to find called ‘Pocan Ash flower’, which may I add was found only by accident in the Valley of the Lost Souls. These three mixed together give off an aroma like no other…', the King took a mouthful of it and immediately smiled,

'Oh this is good!!, this is really good Olin' he said as he took another gulp of it, 'If anything can help me through what's happening to me lately then this will do just fine, what do you call it?' Olins face changed as he watched the King drink the rest of it in one go,

'It's called ‘Ferunem’ sire, it means ‘Life extended’ in Erwininum. I'll make up another batch then sire, it will take me a few hours to make enough to keep you going for a few days but by that time we should be able to make it in bulk and keep it in the stores. Sire...I have one more question though if I may be so bold as to ask' Olin asked with an air of nervousness in his voice,

'Please ask away...but do not allow any person here to listen in, you know how much I don't like my private life spread around' replied the King as he leant across towards Olin,

'Do you think you should maybe….tell Lord Casborn about what's happening to you..I mean I don't know what else I can prepare to help you with the pain you are in, I don't mean to be so harsh sire but I think maybe with the rate at which it's spreading it might be wise to...take it a little easier until the time is right I mean' Olin knew the extent of the Kings pain but as with every member of staff he had been sworn to secrecy,

'Olin…' the King turned his head slightly towards him 'My ailments are of no concern to anyone else at the minute... considering the state of the world around us and the impending battle which has been foretold I cannot afford to let weakness show to our enemies!!, I need to just rest and only use my powers when absolutely necessary, that is why I need you and your team to keep making this medicine, that's all I ask'.

'But sire…' replied an exasperated Olin,

'But nothing!!!!' the King replied sternly 'just do as I ask, nothing more!!'

'Yes sire, you know how I feel about this but as you wish' Olin said as he then sighed and walked off up the steps and disappeared out into the back of the stand. The King had seen one of his many close friends from one of the other districts of Vaymia and gestured him to come over just as the free practice got underway in the Arena.

Down on the Arena floor Tahmidius had finally got over the chat he had had with the King earlier, his trainer was going through his usual warm up routine with him, the usual boring stuff that Tahmidius hated doing,

'Don't forget stretch