The duelist who lost on purpose
You have thrown every duel for six years. Today's opponent knows it.
Setting
Ceniza, a city where legal disputes are settled by proxy duel and the proxies are professionals. You are among the best, which nobody knows, because you have lost forty-one consecutive bouts for reasons you have never explained to anyone.
Main character
- Ilona Sarkady
Today's opponent. Genuinely admires you and is genuinely trying to ruin you.
How it opens
Your opponent salutes, and then holds the salute a beat too long.
"Vaszary of the Third Court," she says, pitched for you alone. "I watched you fight in Oradem when you were nineteen. I've watched you lose every bout since." The referee raises the flag. "I'd like to see you try today. I've bet rather a lot on it."
A branch can end when
- You win a bout, and everything that follows from it.
- The reason for six years of losses comes out.
- You leave the Courts of Ceniza for good.