“I hope that you don’t mind attending the games today, my dear,” he whispered. “I fear that they have become a way of life.”

Persephone smiled in return. “I enjoy the spectacles as much as anyone,” she whispered back. “You know that. Besides, my place is with you. The palace is wild with rumors that there is to be some form of entertainment today. I must say that I’m curious.”

Vespasian nodded. “Along with the usual lot of criminals and professional combatants, newly captured Shashidan skeens will participate today. They were recently taken by the Twenty-third Legion.”

“Did they give up any useful information?” Persephone asked.

Vespasian shook his head. “We heard little that we did not already know.”

As he looked back out over the massive crowd, Vespasian couldn’t help but be reminded of the immense importance of class structure in Rustannican life. There were four distinct levels, and one’s position in society was irrevocably determined at birth by the nature of his or her blood.

The “krithians,” those lucky few born with fully endowed blood that complete command over the craft of magic, were protected by special laws and privileges, and considered to be the cream of the Rustannican Empire. Below the krithians were those born with partially endowed blood. They were known as “hematites,” or simply “partials.” They, too, were able to call on the craft, but their gifts were limited to the craft’s organic side, such as herbmastery. The next class of citizens was comprised of those with unendowed blood. Called “phrygians,” they were unable to summon the craft in any form. The lowest class was the huge multitudes of slaves, also known as “skeens.” By way of continual captures and new births, the slave population had grown so much in recent years that it made up a full third of Rustannica’s population.

Regardless of age, gender, or blood type, all skeens were captured Shashidan soldiers, civilians, or their descendants. Those not chosen to supply fodder for the games were sold at auction by the government in Ellistium’s great forum on the first of each month. If they had once been magic practitioners, the craft was immediately used to wipe their memories clean of the ability to call upon their gifts, thus ensuring that they would never again present a threat to the empire.