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everything I could to reach the king. In that moment I no longer wanted to please the crowds, I knew I had to do something to warn the king of the threat.”
    “We knew of the threat the six posed for a long time before you ever reached out,” said Jeffrey. “I just wished we would have protected our king with more precaution last night. He was a great and noble king. He knew the inmates released from the arena were bloodthirsty savages. Some might have been so messed up in their head that they would’ve killed anything in their path. That surely might have happened last night, and it might be happening this very moment, considering they are free men. Sending all the Refect to protect the citizens was the right thing to do from his position. Unfortunately, it was also the predictable thing to do.”
    “I know why I came to the capitol,” said Nick. “Even though you all might still see me as some sort of criminal still I wish to become a supreme Reza and help take a stand against the six.”
    The group reached the edge of the forest and walked out from the dark canopy. They were greeted with the sun higher in the sky. All of their eyes squinted as they became acclimated to the bight sunlight.
    “Well, I was all for you becoming a supreme Nick,” said Jeffrey. “However, after hearing that you enjoyed the power so much over your combatants of the arena when you became aware of being a Hetha, I second guess my original thoughts.”
    “This will be nothing like the arena,” said Nick. “I know what I will be doing is for Hentrio. The power will not get to my head, I promise.”
    “I don’t know if you can promise such a thing, Nick,” said Jeffrey. “You could become our greatest ally by being a supreme, or our greatest foe. I will let you know our answer soon.”
    Nick stopped in his tracks and let the two men walk in front of him. He truly wanted nothing more than to help Hentrio. He just had no idea at the moment on how he could prove that to the king’s council.
    The remaining hunters came back from the Cendon Forest. All of them carried the bounties of their hard work. The majority carried hogs, while the rest carried rabbits. Collectively it was enough for everyone to have a few scraps of protein before venturing off on the journey to Ralton for the rest of the day.
    Nick secluded himself and had a few bites of meat for first meal. He was worried that his actions in the arena would shape his entire future. With the way Jeffrey spoke to him, it might just be so.
    ***
    The day of travel came to a close. Nick kept his distance from the king’s council. He knew that they were debating on whether or not to give Nick the chance to become a supreme Reza.
    They set up camp along the main road. The main road twisted and bent its way through the giant Cendon Forest. It was the only true way to get from Genold City to Ralton.
    Men, women, and children sat on the cold ground and stretched their tired limbs. They passed around canteens of water and loaves of bread as others gathered firewood for the cold night ahead.
    Nick proceeded to walk into the forest to gather up some useable firewood. He had to walk a ways in, in order to find some wood that was not damp from the cold and wet forest ground.
    He liked being in the forest. The sights and sounds gave him peace of mind. It gave him a feeling similar to that of which he experienced when he would sit in his cell in the arena and meditate.
    After Nick had gathered up a large amount of wood that filled up both of his arms, he turned around and started to walk back to camp. He was only a hundred feet or so away from camp. As he turned a corner past an arched tree he was startled to find a little Reza girl standing there looking right at him.
    “Hey there, princess, what are you doing all the way out here? Let’s get you back to camp.”
    “I followed you. I think I’ll be a good hunter one day.”
    “Yes, you will. I didn’t even hear you follow me.”
    Nick