Chapter 58 – An Inquisition

The Grandmaster stared down at the parchment that had been left on her desk by one of the Arena Hands while she had been attending to her charge. She was tired, and the last thing she needed was to read some ridiculous scroll whereby the City Council told her that they were going to be sending her a new Contestant they wanted her to keep an eye on. Because that's what the red wax seal with the sword and shield embossed upon it meant – that the Council had sent her the scroll - and that always meant the same message. She always sent the same reply when the Council had made such demands because the dance was always predetermined; some noble or lord, perhaps even a Councilmember had a son or daughter of age, and they wanted to give them a leg up, an unfair advantage that the other Contestants didn't have. So the response was thus: 'Dear Council, we are thrilled to welcome new Contestants into the Arena for the good of the people and will, as always, take every opportunity we can to ensure the Contestants that you will see grace our golden sands are as well trained as they can possibly be. We hope to see you watching as your child becomes an asset to our great City.' It wasn't a yes, but it wasn't really a no either. Because that just wasn’t the way the Arena worked.

Miss Kane sighed and pulled her quill and ink closer to her so that she could do what needed to be done before the night was out. Unfurling the letter, she could already see that it was different than the others though, because starting from the very bottom, she could see twelve signatures, one for each of the Members of the City Council as they represented the twelve districts within the City. Curiosity getting the better of her, Miss Kane flattened the parchment out on the desk, placed her inkwell on the bottom to keep it that way, and read the letter in its entirety. Then she laughed once, stood up from the desk, and went to bed.

The next morning at breakfast, when the dining hall was at its busiest, Miss Kane stood up from her chair and placed her hands on the table, clearing her throat. The Contestants and Instructors in the room fell silent at the very act, with everyone within the Arena staring at their Grandmaster, awaiting whatever it was she wanted to say.

Miss Kane surveyed the room, making as much eye contact as she could before she opened her mouth to speak.

"I have an announcement to make," she said, then paused. "I have been summoned by the City Council to stand trial for something that happened here a short while ago. I want to be upfront with you all in this because I don't want rumours about where I am or why spreading throughout this place. I want you all to know that this is something I must do, and it has been ordered by all twelve members of the Council. There is no alternative, therefore In my absence, I will ask that you all follow the guidance of your Instructors and remember why we do what we all do: to protect the people of this City. From those that would cause them harm."

A silence fell across the room when the Grandmaster finished her statement, with nobody entirely sure what she could've done that was so wrong. But there was one who had a suspicion about what was happening. One who knew that his father had enough sway to convince the other eleven Council members one way or another that his way was the only way. It was Henderson, though he kept his expression straight so that nobody would suspect him of any wrongdoing. Besides, there was nothing he could do to change any of this if that was indeed the case.

"So with that all explained to you, if this is the last time that you see me here in the Arena, I am telling you now that I want no demands for my reinstatement. No futile gestures or proclamations of your undying support for me and certainly no daring attempted rescues. The Council is who governs this City and we are within, is that all understood?"

There was a murmured response that was clearly non-committal.

"I repeat: Is that understood?" Miss Kane tried again. This time the response that came back was far more synchronised, and Miss Kane smiled. "Though I do thank you all for the thought. Now," she clapped her hands. "I must be going, so I bid you all a good day and good luck."

And then she turned from her table and walked out of the dining hall. Nobody moved.

Nobody said a word. But she was gone. The room remained silent for a long moment afterwards, until cutlery slowly started to clink against plates again, and the low hum of conversation returned to the room.

The Grandmaster held her head high as she walked through the corridors that led out of the Arena. She was proud of everything that she'd achieved within these walls, and no Council, no matter how much she had to abide by their ruling, was going to make her feel otherwise. But she also knew this was all to do with the punishment she'd given to the Valeri boy. But he'd deserved it, and for the good of the Arena she'd needed to do it. It was just an inconvenience that his father's name happened to appear within the signatures on the parchment that she carried within her robes.

It was only a short carriage ride to where the Council had summoned Miss Kane, mainly because the Arena itself held the central position within the City, literally speaking, and the City Council took it upon themselves to meet nearby, though far enough away to remove themselves from affiliation.

When the Grandmaster entered the very ordinary, square stone building, she quickly found herself standing as though she were a lecturer within the Arena, facing four rows of men all staring back at her, three on each. This was the Council of twelve that made all of the important decisions within the City, and a Council that she'd only ever stood before once in her life: the day they'd chosen to award her the position of Grandmaster within the Arena all those years ago.

And they had been awaiting her arrival.

When the doors were closed behind Miss Kane with a loud bang, she stood and stared at the Council before her.

"Do you know why we have brought you here today?" one of the Council members asked. It was Mr Valeri, of course, being the instigator of all of this.

"You look to question the methods with which I teach those within the Arena to respect the God of Balance, I presume," Miss Kane responded.

"If the barbaric treatment of your esteemed Contestants, and new recruits at that, is what you speak of, then yes, you are correct," Valeri replied.

"New recruits that happen to be your son?" Miss Kane said.

"In this case, yes."

"And you are able to remain impartial in this matter, given your relationship with Henderson Valeri?" Miss Kane asked.

"Yes," Mr Valeri replied simply with a smile. "Because if this is something you have done to my son, then it is something that you have no doubt done to others."

"That, Mr Valeri, is supposition," Miss Kane replied. "So would I assume that you'd think if I gave your son special treatment, a nice private room perhaps, that I would do the same for any of the other Contestants within my Arena? Perhaps your son, Mr Telles, or your daughter, Mr Julio?"

There was a short pause where a few of the Council members glanced at each other.

"Or am I mistaken in saying that most of you in this room have sent me letters asking for special treatment of your children as they became Contestants?"

Another pause.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kane," another voice asked. This time it was Telles who spoke. "Did you say that it was your Arena?"

Miss Kane realised then that she'd made a mistake when she'd let that one slip out. Of course, most reasonable people would understand that a Grandmaster would be well within their rights to call the Arena theirs, but perhaps not in front of the Council who governed everything to do with the City, including the Arena itself.

So the Grandmaster did what she always did when situations became tense like this: She called on her most prized ability. Urging calm to spread throughout the room, she kept her eyes on the Council members and her mouth tightly shut. It would take but a moment for her spell to come into effect and the result would be subtle, but most likely just enough to let a few of the Council members relax.

"Now Grandmaster, are you attempting to manipulate the City Council?" Mr Valeri asked with a sneer. "Because we are well aware of your powers, and on this occasion we have taken precautions just in case something like this were to happen."

Mr Valeri clapped his hands once, and a person in a long black robe walked into the room. Their face was covered by a dark hood and they stood just inside the doorway once it was closed.

"You see we have brought one of your former Contestants here; you may not recognise him right now, but you will know his skill."

Miss Kane knew right away what had happened, and she knew exactly who this person was.

"Loman," she said the single word.

"Yes," Valeri answered her as the robed man remained still and silent. "And you'll see that his Nullify skill is still working as well as ever. So now that you know he is here and you cannot manipulate this court, may we proceed?"

Miss Kane nodded her head once, but her resolve had truly been tested. She'd not seen Loman for a long, long time and without her ability to soothe the heightened emotional state in the room, she knew she was in for a fight.

"Now, Grandmaster," Valeri said. "Could you tell us all what happened regarding my son in the Arena? Specifically, about his first victory and what happened afterwards?"

Miss Kane then had a decision to make. She knew she had to tell the truth, but if she sounded too harsh or critical of the boy then the rest may not have taken her side. On the other hand, if she didn't sound harsh enough, then her punishment could seem like it was over the top.

"Your son paid two Contestants who were of a higher rank than him to help him render a monster defenceless in the Arena," Miss Kane said. "The God of Balance — as you all well know — is not one to take kindly to such actions. After the battle, I spoke with your son, and he informed me that he had been punished by the God himself: He no longer had a Class. Not the worst punishment, but a punishment nonetheless. I then deemed it necessary to teach your son the lesson that he should never consider carrying out such an action again. You all know what the consequences could be if we fall out of favour of the God of Balance."

"Like what happened in the City the other night?" one of the Councilmembers asked. "Where was the God of Balance then? Or has he decided that we have not punished enough of our Contestants?"

The question sounded rehearsed, but it also got a few murmurs and nods of agreement from the others.

"The God of Balance punished the act itself," Miss Kane said. "What I did was to correct the behaviour to prevent repeat offences."

"Offences?" Valeri raised his voice now. "When has it ever been an offense to beat a monster in the Arena? It is just one less monster out there who would, if given the chance, kill the wives and children of everyone in this room. Some know the pain more than others, especially recently..." he trailed off, but the meaning was clear.

"Yes," Miss Kane replied before anyone else could insert themselves into the conversation. "Your son cheated, and cheating is not something that the God of Balance, nor I, will abide by within the Arena. If we lose our morality and the God of Balance decides that we are not worthy of the gifts he gives us, then we will all be dead within two years."

"Maybe not even as long as that," a voice replied, though Miss Kane didn't see who'd said it, and everyone in the room seemed to ignore it.

"So your argument then," Valeri asked with a smirk, "Is that you believed the punishment handed to my son by the God of Balance himself was not adequate, that for some reason he deserved worse than that? So what did you do next, Grandmaster?"

"I sentenced him to time in the dungeons. Not long, but enough time for him to reflect on what he'd done. Enough time for him to remember what he shouldn't do again in the future."

"And that is your call alone to make?" Valeri continued.

"Yes," Miss Kane replied. "As Grandmaster, it is my job to keep our Contestants, our City, and our Citizens safe as a whole, and if the actions of one Contestant — no matter who they are or how experienced they may or may not be — would jeopardise the integrity of our very institution, then I will not hesitate in taking action."

Valeri stroked his chin and Miss Kane could see something in his face that said he already knew the result of all this, like what she said didn’t matter.

"It is very admirable for you to say so," he said. "And is this something that happens often? Are you often required to punish Contestants in this way?"

"It happens," Miss Kane said. "But as I have explained, I will not hesitate..."

"When is the last time you placed a Contestant in the dungeons below the Arena exactly, Grandmaster?" Valeri interrupted.

The Grandmaster stared at the man for a good three seconds, knowing that she'd been led to give this answer.

"Five years," she said flatly.

Valeri smiled.

"So as a Council, we have two options before us," Valeri said. "We can take your answer for truth and conclude that your actions were heavy-handed, perhaps even overzealous and self-righteous when dealing with this young boy, or we can conclude that what you have just told us is a lie."

Miss Kane frowned. That was something she hadn't expected the man to say. Why would she have lied when admitting to something he already knew she did?

"We can assume that you've lied to us about the frequency that you carry out these so-called 'corrections' on the brave Contestants who one day protect this fine City against the monsters of Chaos. Because frankly, I find it difficult to believe that this kind of thing has only happened twice in five years when you proclaim it is so necessary for the protection of us all. Tell us really, Miss Kane, how many Contestants do you place down in the dungeons every day? How many are there right now awaiting their freedom because of some crime you decided they committed? How many Contestants in the Arena have been brainwashed into forgetting what they've been through or twisted into believing it was necessary?"

"I..." Miss Kane opened and closed her mouth three times before her mind caught up with her. She'd certainly not seen this coming, but now she could see exactly what was happening: Valeri had known that he couldn't remove her from her position just because she'd punished his son, but if he could convince the others that the Arena was a dark, horrible place where their families were being treated poorly or extremely, or even cast that doubt, then more of the Council would rally to his side.

“I would invite you to visit the Arena for yourselves and see that there is no truth in what you are saying,” Miss Kane said.

“And give you the opportunity to prepare for our visit?” Valeri asked. “No, you see as a Council we have agreed to surprise you with our visit, and to remove any doubt over whether the Contestants and staff may be compelled to say or not say certain things, we have arranged for you to not be present while our investigation is underway.”

The penny dropped.

“You have people there now?” She asked, her eyes widening.

Valeri smiled and nodded. “I trust there is nothing you would be hiding from us in the place you’ve called your own for many, many years?”

“Not one thing,” Miss Kane replied confidently. “But this is totally uncalled for,” she added. “The Arena has always been the centre of our great City. We have provided both entertainment for the people and the Hunters who guard them for longer than any of us in this room can remember.”

“That is true,” Valeri said. “And we all truly love our Arena. But things are changing and we as a Council must do what we can to protect our City. And our Contestants.”

“Then go and look, Miss Kane replied. “Go and look and find nothing.”

“There is always something to find, Grandmaster. Something hidden, something forgotten. And I am sorry to say that once we have found it, your time as Grandmaster will come to an abrupt halt so that a new leader can guide our promising young Contestants through to becoming Hunters.”

And there it was. The reason behind all of this.

“You want to place your own Grandmaster into the Arena. A puppet you can control.” Miss Kane stated.

“I am sorry, Grandmaster,” Valeri said. “Are you under the impression that we do not control the Arena now?”