Arena Forged

Regret is a burden. I should know. And magic makes it worse…

Once, the crowd adored me. I was young and the world was small. I fought in the arena, and I was good. The best. Warriors feared me. Kings praised me. And women…

Best to say little of that. Yet one ruined me. Cast me aside. Betrayed me. Those who showered me with gold turned to hunting me with steel. Because of her.

Age hides me now. But it robs me too. Strength and skill are fading, just when I need them most. The adoring crowds of my youth would not know me, and my name is dead on their lips. Fame, you are a traitor.

Now, another woman comes into my life as the ancient evil I once fled casts its shadow over the realm. She is my daughter, and I protect her from her enemies. Yet I do not tell her the truth.

Men I can still fight. Magic I can thwart, with a touch of my own. But the leader of my daughter’s enemies is worse.

She is a god…