Tromos stared at the sheet of paper before him, somewhat shocked by what he had just been told. Standing before him were the twelve members of the Great Dessaron Council, who were basically the second in command after the Raptor. If she wasn’t around, they’d take charge of the Great Arenas. And since the Raptor was missing and presumed dead, they had done just that.
Everyone had expected the Council to just take over. But apparently the Raptor had left a will. She’d built much of the arenas, she technically owned a lot of it after she used her war-riches and Tromeros family connections to buy control. And the Twelve Redeemed were happy to let the Raptor run the arenas, because it gave the Ksithans some political power as well. And the contents of that will was… weird.
It turned out, Phovoula had decided on an heir to the Great Arenas. And that person was Tromos, the House Master, the head house fighter.
Well, technically, Tromos was half of the choice. The Raptor’s will stated that, should she perish, she wanted “whoever held the Triumphant Crown” to take control of the Great Arenas, alongside the House Master. Which was pretty insane, because that meant handing the arenas over to a Banikan or a Rethavok. Except Ct’Tack and Retvik were both… dead as well. Ct’Tack had been put down after being infected by Corruption, which had consumed half his body before someone ended his suffering. Retvik just… vanished. People believed that he had been consumed by the Corruption as well, but someone had recorded Retvik digging a victim out of rubble, and one second he was there, the next he was gone.
Either way, this massive opportunity had just landed on Tromos’s lap. He was getting older, he was going to retire in the next 5-6 years anyway. And, clearly, the Raptor had a huge amount of faith in him. Still, it was rather daunting.
“So, what do you think?”
Tromos glanced up to the person who was talking to him. Admittedly, he didn’t know the names of any of the Council. That was intentional. The Great Arenas were designed to be impartial and secretive, kept hidden so they couldn’t be tempted, bribed or threatened. That being said, Tromos was pretty sure that the Ksithan member of the Council was part of the great Tromeros family, and the Torr member was a relative of the Prime Minister.
“This… This is a lot…”
“It is a lot, yes. A huge amount of responsibility. But House Master Tromos, are you willing to accept this offer and this duty?”
Tromos hesitated, then started reading through the paperwork again, namely an outline of what his duties would be. Mostly organizing fights and schedules, settling disputes and making sure that all gladiators were well trained and well kept. That was… doable. Tromos already helped with a lot of that stuff when he wasn’t busy being a gladiator himself.
“Yeah. I’m fine with most of it. But I have a problem. The Raptor paid for a lot of things out of her own pocket. But she was a thousand years old, rich and the terror of the lands. I… I can’t really do that. Sure, I’m pretty rich for a Ksithan, but not Tromeros-Aside rich.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, we all know Phovoula wasn’t actually a blood-member of the Tromeros lineage. She was just so damn terrifying that the Tromeros family just kinda… adopted her instead. Still, she was way, way richer than I am. She could afford to randomly send folks on holidays and stuff.”
The Temthan council member smiled, her fangs were rather long and scary. “That’s fine, deary. Phovoula kindly set aside funds to be able to do so. While she requested that much of her money went to various charity organizations, she put aside a Personal Arena Expenses Account, to cover for things she would pay for herself. You would inherit that, and she also left a small amount of money for each of her top house fighters, one of each of the twelve races, which you would also receive.”
“She left money for… us?”
“Yes. Although unfortunately, with the demise of two of the top house fighters, it will be up to you how to deal with the leftover funds. I assume you will pass the Rethan money to the next top Rethan fighter, but we are, again, without a Spast fighter, and we don’t know whether to finally accept some Torr house fighters or not.”
“I mean… we probably should…” Tromos muttered. “The Raptor wanted to, but the Torr didn’t like that. She wanted to provide better… well, everything for some Torr gladiators…”
The Torr council member nodded in agreement. “Fingers crossed, the Prime Minister will open up now. But the Spasts may shy away, considering what happened to the Lord Princes.”
“Eh, we never… really had any Spast competitors anyway. Not even private ones. Tenuk, the poor little fucker, was a one-off that we’ll most likely never get back…” Tromos sighed.
The Council didn’t seem too bothered. If anything, they seemed quite impressed.
“That is why we want you to accept this offer!” the Rethan council member exclaimed. “You know how to handle gladiators, you have been in the arena yourself, you know what the crowds want and like. You have a unique perspective on things.”
“On top of that…” the Skyan council member added, “Phovoula believed you could do this. She also clearly believed that Ct’Tack and Retvik could do this as well, if they worked together with you. If you don’t want to do things on your own, we’ll definitely allow the hiring of assistants, after a background check or three, of course.”
“And we’ll also be here to run things alongside you!” the Ksithan councillor smiled. “You won’t be working on your own. And, if anything, without the Raptor’s… stubbornness, things may be easier.”
“All you have to do is say yes. We can make additional changes later. And we can always find someone else if you change your mind.” the Spast council member grunted.
Tromos sighed, closed his eyes briefly, then re-read everything. It was a huge responsibility. But the Raptor wouldn’t have chosen him if she didn’t believe he could do this. But also, with a few tweaks and changes here and there? Tromos could do… almost anything. He could refurbish the older arenas, he could do more horror shows and view-run events. He could hire some more house fighters to fill gaps.
Tromos could do a lot. He wanted to do a lot. This was his chance.
“You know what? Sure. I accept. I want this job.”
“Wonderful!” the Temthan councillor beamed. “Please read through and sign everything! Your new job begins on Monday.”
“Why Monday?”
“We need to have a funeral for the Raptor first. The Ksithans have ordered as much.”
Tromos shrugged. “Yeah, that’s fair. Shame there’s… not actually anything to bury…”
The Torr council member patted Tromos on the shoulder. “You don’t need to worry about any of that. You need to speak to your fellow gladiators and let them know what is going on.”
“Yeah…” Tromos hesitated, then started reading through and signing papers. “I have a lot to do now…”