When Leo arrived back at his Turge, the sun was beginning to set. A glowing orange lit up the sky. Tavr was nowhere to be found, he was probably off by the arena preparing the Lions. As Leo ate what he knew may be his final dinner, he watched dusk creep into home. Aloneness weighed upon him. He wondered how his friends were faring on this day. He worried for Pait. His fate appeared grim. Then Leo chuckled wryly. Aella on the other hand, she’s probably excited.

  After he finished eating, Leo grabbed his shining shield and walked towards the orange in the sky as it bruised to a deep purple. A full white moon appeared. It hung stilly in the sky like a specter, its black coat overtaking what remained of the pale blue of day. Its silent silver light shone with a quiet dimness as it watched the nightscape become abuzz with motion.

  Soon, Leo found himself in a crowd, with new Grangari trickling into the marching torrent. Everyone in the village was walking to the arena. Soon enough, its black metal framing came into view. A volley of three fireworks exploded in the sky framed by the metal. White, yellow, and obsidian. As the boom of the explosion died down, the marching feet of the crowd around him melded with a distant drumming. Leo took a shallow breath, he was feeling the energy of Communion. He had long dreaded this feeling. It had always meant watching pridesmates locked in combat, fighting the threat of death. But now, now he would be the one looked upon.

  The arena stood upon the outskirts of the village. It was a strange, disconcerting looking building. The lower half of it was covered in tanned hide, as the turges were, but branching metal branches grew up out of the top of the hide. The branches meandered around the upper side, caving inward to form the top of the sphere. Grangari entered through a large square cut out of the hide in the side that faced the village. The Lions would enter through the back. Inside the arena the pit was cut into the earth, the bottom cap of the sphere, where they would meet.

  As Leo approached the arena, he saw his father through gaps in the heads of the crowd. He was standing a few paces to the side of the entrance. Leo broke through the torrent and walked up to him tepidly.

  “Dad, I’m sorry about earlier. I needed some space.”

  Tavr looked down on his son and nodded his head once. “I understand, Leo. I know why you wanted to become a woodcutter. You find peace in the wild. So be it. I hope you feel ready.”

  Leo gave his father an incredulous look, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Look son, there’s more I wanted to say to you.” Tavr pulled Leo away from the thundering crowd and the drums, off towards the warm silence of the night. “I want you to understand this Leo. You are strong. You have my blood, the blood of my parents and their parents within you. I know that it is hard for you to control yourself, but that’s natural, it's normal. You have the fire of youth. I had it too. I know what it feels like. Well no, honestly…

  Tavr began to look at him with a more earnest look than Leo was used to. His red eyes bored into Leo’s. “You, Leo, I can tell that your fire is of a different intensity. Yours is more wild than mine ever was. It has been since you were a boy, too young for you to remember. I suppose you got that from Ulni. The truth is, you’re not in control, you can’t be. Your fire is more powerful than you have the ability to handle. So, if you can’t control it, then channel it. Perhaps it has been foolish of me to ask you to stifle it. There is power in it, it’s vigor distilled. But understand that you cannot let it run rampant. You must force your fire to fuel only what you give it, or it will escape and turn into a maelstrom of impotent anger and crippling fear. Do not let it sabotage you.”

  Leo’s mouth twitched. He had been hanging on to the top rim of his shield throughout this father’s speech, letting it dangle about his legs. Finally, Leo forgot of its presence as he dropped it upon the ground. “Dad, I wish I knew what you meant, but I don’t understand. I don’t understand what the difference is. I don’t know how to stifle it. I don’t know how to channel it either.”

  Tavr closed his eyes for a brief moment and let out a tense breath. “Ok son. Maybe you can understand this then.” Suddenly, Tavr thrust his stiff arm upwards and placed a shaking hand on Leo’s shoulder. He pulled on the shoulder, guiding Leo’s eyes to look into his own more directly. Leo convulsed. He had never seen such an intense display of emotion in those dark, red eyes. “Leo! Grit your teeth, you must not give up! If you get caught by a swipe, if you get slashed in the chest, if you’re bleeding out of the floor of that pit, you do not give up! Not then, not ever! You keep moving forward! Fight until your last breath leaves your body. There’s no room for doubt in this world. If Rathanni put you upon this land to do something, you do it, unflinchingly! We may not always understand each other Leo, but I know that you hear what I’m telling you right now. You can do this son.” Tavr pulled his son into a hug.

  Once more, Leo did not know what to say, but Tavr did not look for his gaze again. After Tavr released him, he walked away silently. He was off to prepare the Lions.

  Leo turned around after a few moments, after he had waited for the sound of his father’s footsteps in the dirt to disappear. He was greeted with the blood red moon hanging in the night sky, the purity of Umbarri’s white mane stained with red. The red moon shone bright, brighter than the demure silver it had feigned before. It painted the inky night sky with a shimmering scarlet, drowning the blue stars. Three black fireworks erupted into the sky. Leo picked his shield up off the ground.

  As Leo walked back to the arena he watched the last of the torrent drain into the arena. He walked through the entrance, following it. A middle aged man stood inside, handing a horn of greef to everyone who walked in. Leo grabbed it readily and bowed his head in thanks. The man bowed his head back. “Good luck Leo”, came after him as he walked up the steps and into the audience. It was customary to refrain from speaking to a fighter on their night of Communion unless prompted, but Leo appreciated it.

  Leo walked up the final few steps. The first thing he saw upon reaching the top was the drummer’s platform. Overhanging the pit, the drummers sat before the audience. The sound of their drums thrummed throughout the arena, charging the atmosphere. All along the ring to their sides, throngs of people covered the spectator platforms, bathing in the crimson moonlight. They chattered intensely. All these people. A jittering burst of emotion burst out of Leo’s chest, choking his throat and causing his eyes to well up. He wanted to sit. The audience’s presence drowned his thoughts and senses, but Leo looked hazily around the ring for Pait. Tavr was with the Lions, he would not be among the audience until the last Lion was released. He would miss every fight except for the last, Leo’s. There was a good reason for why Tavr was the elder chosen to handle the Lions tonight. A father would never be expected to miss the fight of his child.

  Pait would be with his family-a mother, a father, and a brother. Leo located the family after walking around for an aimless few panicked heartbeats. Pait’s mother, Shia, was the first one to notice Leo as he approached. She looked at him with proud excitement, pleading him with her eyes to say something first.

  “Good eve everyone.” Leo did his best to give a genuine smile.

  Pait’s younger brother Keo shot his platinum blond adorned head to the side and grinned widely. His large eyes grew larger. “You’re finally here!” Pait followed with a languid turn of his head, his face pale and his eyes red. He opened his mouth to say something, but his father drowned him out. “Leo! Good eve, lad.”

  “Your father’s preparing the lions this Communion, isn’t that right Leo? Please, sit,” Shia said as she made room for him next to her and Pait .

  “Yes, that's right. Thank you Shia.” Leo laid his horned shield upon his lap as he sat down upon the row.

  Keo, sitting next to Pait, stared at Leo with unblinking, sparkling eyes. “You’re up tonight! You ready? How you gonna do it Leo? I bet fast and angry. Well, I saw the way your dad fights though. Hehe, no not you, Leo. You’re gonna go in there and…

  “Tssk, shush boy,” Shia hissed. “This is no easy task, it’s not a game. Give him his peace.”

  Leo tried to maintain his smile in the face of Keo’s adulation. The kid had not lived to see anyone in their family die yet.

  A long volley of fireworks erupted, one after the other for a hundred heartbeats. A cavalcade of booms shook the sky. White, yellow, and black dust fell back upon the audience, covering the arena in an omni-colored sand. The volume of the drums was subdued as Grisha walked alone into the center of the pit. She looked up at the audience with ashen eyes.

  Her voice seemed to be possessed by a foreign force as she began to speak. Its usual soft, sweet tone was replaced with shrill thunder. “My Grangari, welcome! It is that time of year once more, the time which we are given to give thanks and commune with our heritage. I know that all those fighting tonight feel prepared. We feel the energy, our vigor rushes from our hearts with force.”

  “Since time immemorial we have known Granger to be a land of peace and abundance. But, let us not forget why we are here. The star-shard melted the ice off the land and birthed the first ancestors, the Beast-Gods. We exist because of conflict between these divine beings. They fought for life, and in their strife they fertilized the land for their children. Conflict is the essence of life, struggle is the blood in our veins.

  “There shall be twenty-one fights tonight. The old will start and the young will finish out the evening. Elder Eshan will be the first to fight, and Leo will be the last. Every combatant will be given a mace, a shield, and a horn of greef before they step into the pit. They will be given all the time they need to complete the Communion. The fight shall end when a heart is consumed, whether Grangari or Lion. No aid will be given to a failing fighter. There are no further rules that need repeating. Solarri lives in all of you men, young and old, and Umbarri lives in all of you women. For those who will die tonight, do not despair. Your vigor will live on. Communion gives the weak reprieve. Remember this and be thankful. For those of you that will triumph, a glimpse of the divinity of the dead gods awaits you. I envy the opportunity you shall be given tonight. Now, let us begin!”

  At Grisha’s signal, the drums were battered upon ferociously. Eshan got up off his row and began to walk back out to the entrance. All the fighters entered the pit from the outside, as the Lion’s did. He walked with wide, quick strides. His head remained locked in place, looking towards the entrance. This man was full of vigor. The white hair atop his head disappeared from Leo’s vision as he walked down the entry steps. During the intermission, Keo started back up again in impatience. “He’s so old. You think he has a chance, Pait?”

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  Pait shook his head. There was no light in his eyes. “No, Keo.”

  “Don’t underestimate the Elders”, said Pait’s father. There’s a reason they managed to get to their white years. Men older than Eshan have won out against a Sol.”

  Eshan appeared in the back of the Arena as he walked out from a small entry next to the Lion’s gate. In his right hand he held a mace, in his left a shield, both made of hardened bone. The head of the mace was smooth, but his shield possessed a dull horn in the center.

  Leo’s chest was tight, his breaths shallow and unsteady. His body was tense and jittery. He was last, he would have to sit and watch all the fights before his night would finally be decided. The needle attacked him again and again. He just had to sit and watch. Impatience and fear competed for his tormented thoughts.

  Tavr appeared out of the entrance to the pit. His face was indiscernible from where Leo sat in the top rows, but the bulk of white hair that surrounded it clearly marked his identity. In one hand he held a long horn of greef. Tavr walked up to Eshan and gave it to him. Eshan grabbed it with a wide, nimble swipe. The two white haired men appeared to exchange words, before they exchanged a quick hug. Eshan held the horn high in one hand and clapped Tavr on the back with the other as they embraced. Tavr laughed heartily, something Eshan must have said. Then the two men smiled widely, wide enough for it to be seen in the audience. Leo looked on with disparagement. Where was their fear?

  Eshan drank the contents of the horn with one long swig, before throwing it to the side of the ring. When Tavr reached back where he entered from, he lowered a metal gate in his place.

  The drums reached a crescendo as the Lion’s Gate opened. The black metal’s cold ringing preceded the Sol’s entrance. Tavr had chosen and prepared the Lion, but now it needed no further direction. Its maned head peeked out into the ring, then its golden body followed. It was an old one. Its long face was scarred and snarled, its body gaunt. It roared with a scratchy boom.

  Eshan responded with a roar of his own. He stared at the Lion as it approached the center of the pit, shouting a stream of guttural sounds and banging on his shield with his mace. The Sol charged steadily into the barrage of sounds, its head locked onto Eshan’s.

  Once the Lion reached Eshan, it unleashed a swipe upon him. Eshan ducked the swipe with expert grace and pummeled the Lion’s other paw on his way down. The Lion cried out in pain. It lifted itself up on its back legs and attempted a tackle. Eshan braced his shield with his maced forearm and pushed back against the Lion’s weight as it crashed into him. The Lion bellowed as the shield’s dull horn pressed in on its chest. If it tried to force the tackle and overpower Eshan, the horn would break its ribs. Eshan roared and forced the shield in further. The Lion pushed itself off the shield and scrambled down to all fours. Eshan did not relent, he hit the Lion hard twice in the shoulder. The Lion tried to lift its arm in retaliation, but found it unresponsive. It was crippled. In desperation it lunged its neck forward and tried to bite Eshan’s throat, but all it found was empty air, and then the ball of a mace. Eshan was aggressive, but he was deliberate. He had stepped back after getting his hits in and prepared another counter-attack.

  Now, the fight was over. After dazing the Lion with a strong hit to the head, Eshan stepped in towards his recoiling opponent and pounded the Lion’s chest in. The Lion let out one final, whimpering breath as Eshan went in towards its heart. He opened its skin with the horn of his shield and then cut a path through the lion’s ribs with blows from his mace. He reached into a new, gaping hole in the Lion’s chest and grabbed its heart. He pulled it out and held it up to the audience, before devouring it. The audience cheered.

  Pait’s family erupted into applause. Keo shouted “Did you see that! There’s not a scratch on him! That was a domination!”

  Leo was amazed by the spectacle of it, but not surprised. Eshan fought with the skill of his father, perhaps with a bit more hostility. He was vigorous, and in control.

  A golden firework burst into the sky.

  Eshan collapsed onto the ground. Two young, but seasoned men, came into the pit and put him on a long piece of leather bound by two thick wooden poles. They hoisted him up and carried him away. He was off to the blood temple to heal. After he woke up he would walk to the Ankh Fire and light it. All of the victors would slowly gather by the fire over the course of the night. The old would greet the young in victory and they would all celebrate. After Leo’s fight, the whole pride would go to the Ankh Fire. Those were always the most vibrant and lively nights. Leo’s heart twinged in longing.

  Four more burly men came into the ring and wrapped the Lion’s desecrated corpse in leather. They would carry it to the blood temple as well, but a different fate awaited it. It would be thrown into the reincarnation pit, its vigor recycled into the earth. Grisha shouted out the next fighter's name and the night continued on.

  Leo’s prolonged tension suffocated his mind into a red trance. The drums, the Grangari fighter, the Lion. The mace, the snarls, the howls, the blood and the sound of cracking bone. Time went on and on. Fight after fight after fight. Another win, two losses, three wins, a loss.

  Leo knew all the fighters. Kash put up a good fight, but he didn’t have the vigor. He thought of Kash’s partner, Kera. He didn’t know how she could go on now. How could she replace that emptiness? A sudden pinch of guilt pulled him out of his red trance. He should feel more mourning for those who died. But mostly, he just felt fear. Fear and confusion.

  What remained of Kash was wrapped up and taken away. The next fight began, and the trance seeped back into Leo’s mind.

  Leo wallowed in this extended disreality. It seemed as though this night lasted forever. Twenty-one fights… Such a number was unseemly high. The pride was large, large enough for there to be pride war on the horizon. And there were good fighters in this age block. A significantly large chunk of the pride was up for Communion this night. Its numbers were raised higher than the others each time they were called.

  The time was sobering, so more greef was handed out to the audience. Leo looked at his small, distorted reflection in the ochre liquid. He realized something. He may be the last Grangari among all the prides to fight tonight. Rathanni would be watching him with special attention. He downed the liquid. There were more fights to watch.

  “AELLA!” Grisha called her name. Leo was pulled into sudden coherence. Pait edged closer to the front of his seat. It was her time.

  Aellas got off her row near the drummers and walked briskly to the entrance. Leo shouted at her in his mind. You need to win! As she walked below Leo she looked up at him and winked. Leo’s face exploded into a smile. There was not a bit of fear in those large eyes. How was she so damn confident?

  “Tssk” came from Leo’s side. Pait’s mouth cringed and opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead he flicked his head to the side and watched Aella leave the audience. Leo wanted to say something. Not in front of his family.

  Aella walked into the center of the ring with her confident gait, now holding her mace and shield. Tavr came in and gave her a horn, which she downed before he had closed the gate. And then the Umbra came out.

  The young Umbra’s white mane had just begun to grow down towards its midsection. The brilliant ivory white of the mane began to darken in its new growth. Surrounding the mane was the obsidian black fur fitting of one that stalked at night. Its black tipped tail swished as it approached Aella.

  Aella remained silent and focused as the Umbra came up to her. She made slow patterns in the air with her mace as she began to circle the Lion. She began to make short, rapid bounces back and forth. To everyone’s surprise, it became clear that Aella was not making the first move.

  The Lion lunged at her and she dodged its swipes with fluid grace, her long black hair gliding in arcs through the air. The Umbra never made contact with her bouncing body. Her agility and precision stunned the crowd. Ample opportunities were given to her to strike back, but she remained on the defensive. The Umbra roared in confused frustration. It tried a tackle, but she sidestepped it with ease. Long lines of drool began to seek from the Umbra’s mouth. She was tiring it out. Who knew she had such restraint?

  The Lion lashed out once more and Aella jumped back. Blood seeped from a gash in her fur skirt. Leo’s heart skipped a beat at the side of the blood and he narrowed his eyes. Come on Aella. Show that thing your fury.

  Aella suddenly stopped bouncing as the Lion pressed the attack. She blocked a few of its swipes with her shield. They were right next to each other when she screamed. She threw her shield to the side and threw a punch directly at the Lion’s jaws. It accepted her gift and clamped down on her wrist, its fangs locking the arm down. The audience let out a collective gasp. What the fuck are you doing?

  But then, the Umbra cried out in pain. Her mace swung into its long head. It tried to recoil, but Aella grabbed its jaw from the inside of its mouth. From there she went in on it, pummeling its whimpering head again and again. The Umbra fell within a matter of seconds, its skull smashed.

  The crowd’s silent shock turned to raucous awe. “What even…” Pait said.

  His father chuckled. “In all my life I’ve never seen something like that.”

  Aella had gotten to its heart. As she consumed it, her mauled arm began to steam. Leo shook his head slowly in astonishment. The anxiety he felt when she began to bleed turned to purple shame. What was that? I. I need to be worthy of her? Aella fainted.

  Present reality hit again as the next fighter’s name was called. “PAIT”.

  Pait cringed at the word. The red in his eyes welled out tears. A sharp, painful sound broke out of him. “Wait… Not now. No. I’m not…” He looked to his father. The brutal harshness in father’s face silenced him, but the tears streamed out of his eyes. The audience tried not to look his way.

  Shia’s voice cracked. “Have faith, Pait, please…”

  Leo and Pait exchanged looks. Leo tried to speak, to say something. His head tilted to the side as he spoke, trying to dredge the words out of him. “Pait…”

  Pait’s gave a wet and wavering reply. “Goodbye”.

  Keo’s bright face darkened as he walked away. “What? Pait?”

  He walked with his head down to the entrance, his shoulders slumped. When he appeared again in the ring, he looked the same, his weapons drooping to his side. When Tavr handed him his horn, he drank it in shallow, shakey sips.

  Pait’s father looked over to his youngest. “Keo, prepare yourself.”

  The Sol entered and gauged its opponent. It looked for Pait’s eyes, but didn't find them as Pait stared into the ground. Its approach quickened. Come on Pait! This isn’t even a fight!

  As the Lion came closer, Pait swung his mace wildly into the air, attempting to halt its approach. The Sol circled him, waiting for him to slow. And he did, and the Lion was upon him.

  It tackled him, easily throwing Pait’s tired shield, then pressed its weight upon his arms and legs. The death was instant.

  Pait’s whole family looked down, all except for Keo. His eyes remained locked on his brother’s body as it was devoured. His face shot white and from his small mouth came incoherent whimpers. As Leo looked at his quivering face, anger replaced his sadness. He fumed inside his head. Damn it Pait! What the fuck kind of a fight was that! You didn’t even try! He looked on as Pait’s body was wrapped up and the Lion was led away. Is that how you wanted your family to remember you, your little brother?

  Leo’s anger was broken by a sharp, deep stab of the needle at Grisha’s voice. “LEO”.

  The world grew silent around him. The time had come. It was his turn to fight.