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A custodian collects my token and satchel with no more interest in me than she would have in a faded old tunic She checks the nuer "You’re in the first trial"

My heartbeat quickens I’ood fortune as I enter the ready cage, which is a laet ainst They are masked, of course Since we’re entered in the Novice-level division, they s who have yet to win a trial or Novices trying to move up You have to win ten Novice trials to er I want to win so badly I want to prove to myself that if I truly had the opportunity I could run the Fives and succeed

I look overto seem calmer than I really a down for the other Jes, the cool, collected Jes who kno to in for error, like my father on the battlefield

The others have each already been handed a wide colored belt to mark their start position They all happen to bethe red belt looks too reen belt is already sweating; that will old old silk tunic far too expensive for a Novice, so that probably means he is from a palace stable where they can afford such a wasteful display What matters to me is that he looks fit and cale custodian hands ear, so when I tie it around my waist it blends with my humble clothes Brown means I start at the obstacle called Pillars I sood fortune Pillars is a maze, and I’m adept at mazes

I follow my custodian up one of the ladders The crowd’s noise ru intoto happen Tears of exciteh a dim tunnel that ends in a sate for Pillars Yet another custodian stands here This one is watchful, assessinghow I’ll do I rub chalk on my hands and on my leather shoes to absorb sweat I open and close ate-custodian and my attendant custodian remain silent Above us the crowd roars as the canvas is hauled back and today’s configurations revealed Spectators chant along with the formulaic ceremony that opens every trial, the recitation of a set of verses that describes the court, the obstacles, the ga anything except what is right in front of my eyes I am ready to run I am ready to win

Except that I can’t win

I’ve always known I can’t win, because winning will bring disgrace on my father

Too late I realize I should not be here I should not be doing this It isn’t worth the risk that sonize me behind my mask

Horns blare like knives ins, and the hatch opens

Allexcept the proe that awaits hts sharp as a spear, I cliician and can see through the eyes of a crow flying above the City Fives Court Below you lies the huge round stadium built of stone and wood You see the tiers of seats and the shaded balcony boxes filled with people cheering and shouting The Fives court in the center is divided into four quarters, each one of which is an obstacle At their simplest they are easily described: Pillars is astones, Traps is bridges and bea posts The first person to negotiate the four outer obstacles and then get through the fifth and center obstacle, called Rings, climbs the victory tower to clai, fast, sility

Through the crow’s eyes you look down on a girl crouched on a raised wooden platfor, catching her breath Blood dries on her left palrinning, every part of her body and spirit filled with elation

That girl is h Pillars, Rivers, Trees, and Traps This platforht I look around to see where the others are The red-belted adversary is still stuck in the ure out the