lol warm-up your skills? What skills? =D Btw, this'll be a bad post. I'm being rushed :/
The gates opened, letting sunlight flood into the room. The bright rays revealed a row of men sitting on a bench lining the wall, watched by nearly a dozen guards. Most of them were ratty looking men, and others just men. One of them wore a ripped shirt, with a small towel around his waist. Another wore just a towel, and a small metal plate on his shoulder. His other shoulder was wrapped in blood-stained bandages, as was his wrist. All of them looked to be in their mid twenties.
Among them, stood one very different man. A young, perhaps twenty, tall, dark-blonde boy. Unlike the rest of the men, he was suited for battle, and fantastically. A beautifully embellished white and black armour sat on his chest, a fine pair of boots on his feet, gloves belted tight on his hands, and a smooth sheath embedded with design hung from the side of his waist. A foreign emblem was painted in red on his shoulderplates.
He leaned against the wall, coughing uncomfortably. The heat was unbearable, and the guards staring at him made him all the more nervous. It had been an extremely rough day, consisting of being chased by an eighth of the royal guard, three bounty hunters, and a very sly knight, who's name currently escaped him. He slid down the wall some, and changed his position. Waiting had made him quite tired, and his eyes felt like they were being covered by two bricks for eyelids. But, he kept them open, fearing what would happen if he let himself rest.
Two guards walked over to him. One was short and kind of fat, with a bulbed nose and two beady eyes. The other was tall and slim, with a pointy nose and wide eyes. The tall one cleared his throat, raising a piece of paper that he had in his hands. He began to read, in a clear, stern voice. Everyone directed their attention to him.
"Sir Ase, I, royal guard and keeper of peace in the arena, hearby announce that you are now, and forever, unless said otherwise by his highness, a prisoner of the kingdom, and will face continuous penalties until ordered," before he could say anymore, the man Ase had arose, and began to interupt. His voice was deep, young, and intelligent. He spoke with absolutely no indication of accent, besides his somewhat formal tone. "I hearby announce that you should check on your wife; she wasn't feeling too well last night." The men around him burst out in laughter. It was quickly silenced by the guard.
"You will be sorry for mocking me, boy, I assure you of that." With that, he agressively unlocked Ase's chains, releasing him to another guard; it was the fat one. He grabbed Ase's arm, and started towards the opened gates, advancing very slowly. Judging by the way the guard panted and sweat heavily, Ase could tell he wasn't a fan of motion in heat, or a fan of any motion at all.
Innumerous amounts of people filled the stands, overlooking the sand-filled arena, and screaming to no limitation. Ase glanced around, noticing the arena's perfectly circlular shape, and it's slick fifteen foot wall bounderies. To his left, was a pair of oddly shaped statues of knights, and between them, and giant throne. The king himself sat upon the seat, and around him, twenty or more knights stood guard. Two women were tending to his complications with the heat by fanning him with large leaves.
The pudgy guard pushed Ase further into the arena, laughing as he did. He then walked back through the opened gates, and from the inside, closed the gates with the aid of a few more guards. Ase forced himself to his feet. While surveying the raging crowd, he came to a realization; it was a game. Most likely, he would have to fight some horrendous creature to live. The thought of refusing came to him also, but, following that thought, was a vision of the fat guard severing his head. So, he kept silent, and waited.