Buzzard's Bowl

Buzzard’s Bowl TRAGEDY OF CEDAIN BOOK TWO JOHN PALLADINO Buzzard’s Bowl © 2023 John Palladino Buzzard’s Bowl is under copyright protection. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved. Editing: Sarah Chorn, www.sarahchornedits.com Interior Formatting: Amber Helt, www.rootedinwriting.com Cover Design: Dusan Markovic, www.markovicdusan.com Map Design: @sa_designs_inc ISBN hardcover: 979-8-9862737-5-4 ISBN paperback: 979-8-9862737-4-7 ISBN ebook: 979-8-9862737-3-0 www.johnpalladino.com Contents The Shit People Did People Who May Die 1st Cycle of Spring 1. Sturgeon Gothal 2. Edelbrock Brendis 3. Ashen Hyrel 4. Seradal Wintlock & Villic the Imbuer 5. Demri Slarn 6. Interlude 7. Edelbrock Brendis 8. Seradal Wintlock & Villic the Imbuer 9. Demri Slarn 10. Edelbrock Brendis 11. Ashen Hyrel 12. Interlude 13. Seradal Wintlock & Villic the Imbuer 14. Demri Slarn 15. Ashen Hyrel 16. Edelbrock Brendis 17. The Siege of Andora 18. Interlude 19. Edelbrock Brendis 20. Seradal Wintlock & Villic the Imbuer 21. Ashen Hyrel 22. Demri Slarn 23. Interlude 24. Demri Slarn 25. Seradal Wintlock & Villic the Imbuer 26. Demri Slarn 27. Edelbrock Brendis 28. Demri Slarn 29. Interlude 2nd Cycle of Spring 30. Interlude 31. Ashen Hyrel 32. Demri Slarn 33. Seradal Wintlock & Villic the Imbuer 34. Edelbrock Brendis 35. Ashen Hyrel and Tallas Taybold 36. Demri Slarn 37. Edelbrock Brendis 38. Seradal Wintlock & Villic the Imbuer 39. Demri Slarn 40. Interlude 41. Ashen Hyrel 42. Edelbrock Brendis 43. Demri Slarn 44. The Battle of Buzzard’s Bowl 45. Seradal Wintlock & Villic the Imbuer 46. Edelbrock Brendis 47. Ashen Hyrel 48. Demri Slarn 49. Qothe 50. Seradal Wintlock 51. Vessia 52. Villic the Tribeless 53. Interlude 1st Cycle of Summer 54. Interlude 55. The Invasion of Calrym 56. Edelbrock Brendis 57. Ashen Hyrel 58. Demri Slarn 59. Seradal Wintlock & Villic the Imbuer 60. Demri Slarn 61. Edelbrock Brendis 62. Ashen Hyrel 63. Interlude 64. Seradal Eagleton & Villic of Otherness 65. Demri Slarn 66. Ashen Hyrel & Edelbrock Brendis 67. Interlude 68. Seradal Eagleton & Villic of Otherness 69. Demri Slarn 70. Ashen Hyrel & Edelbrock Brendis 71. Seradal Eagleton & Villic of Otherness 72. Interlude 73. Demri Slarn 74. Ashen Hyrel 75. Edelbrock Brendis 76. Villic of Otherness 77. Seradal Eagleton 2nd Cycle of Summer Epilogue Acknowledgments About the Author The Shit People Did DEMRI SLARN Five years ago, Demri, along with his companion, Caius, slaughters everyone inside a tavern—including a man named Elizer Corbéo. In the present day, Demri, scarred and disabled, finds it difficult to navigate the world, and often requires assistance. He’s on a mission: to kill Doram Quandis, a man who, back when Demri was a student at Ashmount, continuously tortured and humiliated him. Demri also wants to expose the Magicai at Ashmount for their many hypocrisies and lies they’ve told to maintain a stranglehold on resources, power, and manipulate who can learn what. Glaouse, a Magicus tasked with hunting down rogue Magicai, captures Demri, intending on returning him to Ashmount. They stop at the Velvet Mother’s to secure passage to Ashmount. Caius takes this moment to intervene, killing both Glaouse and the Velvet Mother to take over the role of the Velvet Mother. The two of them visit their gladiators in Buzzard’s Bowl, promising them better living conditions, and possibly a way to win their freedom. Demri then visits Scayde Haklon, a man with the resources necessary to restore Demri’s body. In exchange, Demri must convince Caius to relinquish the Velvet Mother’s deed to Buzzard’s Bowl and turn everything over to Scayde. Demri agrees and is healed, but two important pieces of information are revealed. The first, that Doram Quandis is actually a teacher at Ashmount, and not in hiding as Demri had originally thought. The second is that Caius is actually Tythus Corbéo. When confronted, Caius admits everything. He has killed two members of his former EDELBROCK BRENDIS A minor nobleman with dreams of becoming more, Edelbrock hatches a plan: seduce and murder one of the owners of a deed to Buzzard’s Bowl, a gladiator arena where he can earn a boatload of money, then steal the deed for himself. Unfortunately, his wife Jaylena isn’t a fan of the plan herself, and turns him in to Scayde Haklon, owner of Buzzard’s Bowl. Scayde Haklon imprisons Edelbrock, revealing he and Jaylena are lovers. He murders Edelbrock’s son, Gordane, with Jaylena’s blessing. Edelbrock endures a lengthy period of starvation and abuse, an attempt to shape him into an obedient gladiator. When it’s determined he’s learned enough, Edelbrock and his other captors enter the Draft, where the various House Heads make their picks to add new fighters to their House. The Velvet Mother, ignoring Scayde Haklon’s demands, drafts Edelbrock. He spends his days training with various weapons, waiting for the next season he’ll take part in to begin. When Caius visits the compound as the Velvet Mother, Edelbrock gains a sense of renewed purpose. The Velvet Mother had promised the gladiators a chance to win their freedom, and this becomes Edelbrock’s new goal. Unfortunately, when Caius gives the organization up to Scayde, the House is turned over to Scayde Haklon’s rule. Edelbrock is selected to take part in a preseason battle to mark the beginning of the next season in Buzzard’s Bowl. At the behest of Scayde, Edelbrock’s opponent, Anditus Roberon, stabs Edelbrock fatally after the battle ends, but because this is a rule break, a Healer