The Hunter's Throne

Klovise breathed heavily.

'He’s put up a good fight so far, but he’s tired. I’ll have to take him down now. With one event left, I can’t afford to waste time. '

It’s been months since she was called to participate in The Proliumth. A sick competition put on by the king for his court’s entertainment. Gathering champions for each member of the court, champions are forced to fight one on one, twice a week until there is a winner. The winner, having defeated 36 other assassins, thieves, hunters, shapeshifters and warriors will win $20,000 and a spot on the king’s court. Klovise isn’t here for the money or the court position though. She’s here for The Sapphire Eye.

She quickly glanced at the king’s chest, and there it sat, hanging from his slim, pale neck. An amulet granting the wearer absolute power over the kingdom. Though it would be difficult, she could get to it.

Under her fighting leathers, the object tied to her thigh began to warm with excitement. She ran at her opponent who stood prepared but weighed down with exhaustion in the middle of the arena field. Her eyes scanned this man, twice her size, with arms and legs so thick with muscle that they could be tree stumps. 'You’d be my type if I didn’t have to take you down right now, ugh,' she thought to herself as she got closer to his dark, handsome face and jumped. Her foot collided with his face, and as he fell back, Klovise appeared behind him to give him a final hit. She crashed her open palm between his shoulder blades, and his large body flew like a ragdoll across the field and over the line, forfeiting him. He didn’t move after he hit the ground. 'He’ll live.'

The silence in the arena was deafening. Klovise could feel the stares like spiders crawling over her skin, as she eyed the man. Then, looking up at the crowd around her, a grin slid onto her face. All eyes on her, she stooped into an exaggerated bow for her audience. This is a show, after all. Raising back up, the arena erupted with noise. Studying the crowd in front of her, Klovise witnessed people cheering, arguing, and exchanging money, but a chill ran down her spine as she locked eyes with the king. She held her breath as his dark eyes, gazed into her hazel ones, until suddenly his lips moved to match her grin. Holding in a shudder, she bowed her head to him.

•

Sitting on the cot in her small, cramped room, Klovise stared at the book in her hands.

Nearly a year ago, Klovise saw this book hidden while she relaxed at her secret hideout- an empty temple- after finishing a hunt. Immediately drawn to it, she grabbed it, not realizing that the book was drawn to her too. For days following the discovery of her book, she hesitated on keeping it due to the unnatural feeling of the book. Once Klovise chose to get rid of the book, she realized that she had no choice but to keep it. Burning, drowning, ripping it apart page by page, despite her efforts, it would always return to her side, in pristine condition. The little black book that she was so drawn to was indestructible. It terrified her at first, but also intrigued her. What was so special about this book?

'I might as well see what’s in here if I can’t get rid of it anyway.' As her mind was made up, the book appeared in her hands. She felt giddy as her slender tan fingers slowly opened the book. Her body was suddenly overwhelmed with warmth, light and an unimaginable amount of… power. The kind of power that this world hadn’t seen in an exceptionally long time. 'But what am I to do with this? I couldn’t have been given this power for no reason. Anyone could’ve been chosen. Why me?' And that’s when it hit her. A vision forcefully pushed its way into her head, feeling like it would split in two, Klovise grabbed her head before falling to her knees.

Scenes played in quick succession. The Sapphire Eye hanging around the Kings neck. The spell cast upon the kingdom with the amulet eons ago by the wizards who lived before us. The shapeshifters gaining control of the amulet and banning all wizards and wizardry. The most powerful high wizards pouring all their magic into a little black book and spelling it to only reveal itself for someone with the blood of a wizard. Klovise’s parents and a healer casting a spell on her to hide the mark of wizardry behind her ear which could expose her true lineage. Her and her townsfolk, starving. The shapeshifter king and his court living lavishly. Her, fighting in The Proliumth as a champion. Winning the Proliumth. Entering the kings court with her warriors. Releasing the kingdom from the king’s hold. And… and her, Klovise, on the throne.

Suddenly the visions dropped away, and Klovise was left gasping and still clutching her head. She could feel her thick curly hair held by her own hands, yet her body didn’t feel like hers anymore. She reached for the back of her ear and felt what was finally exposed from the magic of this book. The truth. Her truth. Behind her ear now sat a newly revealed mark. Something she’d only ever seen in history books. The past, present, and future sat in her mind. The feeling of rightness settled in her chest. Collecting herself, she began to feel something she hadn’t felt in many years. Hope. With the help of this book, she could make her kingdom a better place.

Klovise was shaken out of her thoughts by a knock on her door. She quickly placed her book under the pillow on her cot, and after a moment, a servant girl entered with lowered eyes, bringing a basin of warm water for her to wash up with after todays fight. The servant bowed, and for a fleeting moment looked up into Klovise’s eyes. Straightening herself, the girl lowered her eyes once more, and quickly exited the room. She was ready.

•

'The final fight. After all this time, It’s here. Once this is over and I’ve won, there will be nothing in my way to stop the king and free the kingdom. I’ve been planning this for over a year now. Collecting information, gathering my own warriors, preparing to battle the king myself. And now here I am, moments away from it all. I’ll make this battle quick.'

Klovise walked into the arena with the crowds cheering for her. She could feel their excitement thrumming through her veins, and the little black book warmed up against her skin in excitement too. She turned, waiting for her last opponent, and her preparedness faltered as she watched herself walk towards her.

'A shapeshifter. It’s so unnerving.'

The fight commenced, and the crowds went wild. Klovise let her opponent attack her as she defended herself, to not let the fight end too soon. The shapeshifter bombarded her with a series of attacks and forms, a beast came to hit her, a bird pecked at her face, a tiger swiped at her legs. Now it was time for Klovise to be on the offence, and suddenly she was about to kick a child. Her steps faltered, and the shapeshifter took the chance to become a centaur and trample her quickly.

'They’re putting up a good fight, but this has gone on too long now.'

Still in the form of a centaur, the shapeshifter turned and raced at her once more. With her feet planted, Klovise awaited them, and as they neared her, she brought her arms back, and with one mighty hit forward, he flew across the field.

He was out cold. And that was it. She won.

Klovise was whisked away to a stage that was quickly set up by the king’s men. The arena was silent as the king walked onto the stage as well. With the help of magic, the king’s voice was heard throughout the arena.

“Congratulations Miss Klovise on winning The Proliumth.” The king said with a sarcastic smile. “As winner of The Proliumth, I will now be awarding you with $20,000 and swearing you onto my court. Do you agree with these circumstances?”

“Yes.” Klovise replied.

“Wonderful.” With a quick look to his servants, one of them quickly ran towards her and handed her a chest of money with a deep bow. Klovise nodded to the servant and looked back at the king. “I’m sure our friends and audience would like to know. What was your secret? How did you win?” The king said with a grin at his audience

“Magic. I come from a long line of wizards that you happened to miss.”

The king chuckled. “I had a feeling” And the world erupted into chaos.

Klovise reached for The Sapphire Eye but missed, as the king shifted into a beast twice her size. They exchanged blows, and Klovise began to see his upcoming moves already in her mind. Hit after hit, she was able to meet him, and soon she was confident enough to make her own attacks based on his future. Her ancient book was comfortingly warm against her skin, and she felt stronger with each blow. Looking at the king’s calm face, she realized that she wasn’t the only one getting stronger. The king was increasing in strength as well.

'The Sapphire Eye. It’s aiding him. I won’t get an advantage unless I get it.'

Klovise didn’t plan this attack for a year without having a plan for this already. Summoning magic, she took a chance to set off an explosion of smoke large enough for seconds of distraction. The king losing her momentarily, she used the opportunity to run out of his line of site and quickly prayed that this would work. Klovise watched, pulling in as much magic as she could whilst the smoke cleared and the king looked down at her once again. She glared at him defiantly, and he quickly approached her, chuckling at her weak attempt, and grabbed her. The king began to squeeze her neck, and she suddenly changed.

Klovise saw the shifter that she fought not too long ago shift into a serpent and jump out of the kings grasp, catching him off guard. At that very moment, Klovise latched onto The Sapphire Eye, and with the magic she gathered, the chains broke. The king fell to his knees. Klovise was suddenly aware of the fighting around her that had stopped. This was never a one-person fight. Klovise had recruited thousands of soldiers on her own to fight.

She looked around, and everyone stood still, staring at her. Waiting. She turned her gaze to the powerless king in front of her. He was much too weak after losing so much power. Suddenly, a few of her followers moved quickly and grabbed the king, bringing him to a dungeon.

Without hesitation, everyone bowed… to her. She looked at The Sapphire Eye in her hands and realized that, even broken, the spell held true.

•

'It’s been weeks now and all I do is sit in meeting after meeting with my court. For all this work I’ve put in, I better see some real change soon.' Klovise thought, standing in front of the doors to her throne room. The doors were pulled open and she entered, walking towards her throne. As she sat down prepared for another meeting with her court, she smiled, knowing that she was working for her for a better future. The hunter, her throne, and her little black book.