42. The royal fight

                                    

                                          

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Three days pass like lightning when the title of 'King' lays like a heavy stone over his head. 
The world is turning more violent. The war is expanding, the weather is a constant stream of heavy rain, or a dry and never-ending drought. The sky flashes in red, and then in blue at every nightfall and every sunrise. Clouds form in strange formations. People believe in the Gods, now more than ever, going to every shrine and every temple that is left to pray for security and hope. 
Rumors of the fairy princess Cherelle being the crystal have spread like wildfire, and now it is a widely believed fact. Still, her current location is unknown, and the people of all three realms wonder who has laid hands on the crystal, and the future three thousand years of the world. Meanwhile, another rumor has spread equally as fast, spreading more uncertainty and turbulence in the political world. Dieq is King, is what they say. His father is dead. The powerful crown prince regent has finally risen to power.
And in the midst of it all, Dieq is unable to sleep, barely able to eat, unable to think for a second, unable to be alone for even the smallest of moments. Eang has been bedridden for two entire days, and awake for one. Still. Dieq has not been able to see him at all. Nayan and his betrayal has plagued the back of his mind, and yet, he has not been able to sort his emotions out. Duties and obligations push him from one room to the other, one task to another. They all swirl around him like maggots, eating him up alive. His servants, his people, the noble and the elite.
If only he could breathe. Just for one moment.
His father's funeral must be held as quickly as possible, before the heavy weather conditions make it too dangerous. He needs to secure his kingdom, which can only happen after making sure that his army swears loyalty to him, that the nobles respect him, that his positions are clear and that he remains in the capital, while keeping the other big cities under his direct influence. It is difficult to rule. And it's even more difficult under these circumstances.
Dieq had been hoping for his father to finally pass away for several years. It was exhausting to stay in that moment between, where he wasn't dead nor properly alive. But did it really have to happen at this exact moment? Right when the world is about to dive deep into absolute chaos and mayhem, he has to shoulder the responsibility of not only an entire kingdom, but also the entire future of the goblin kind for the next three thousand years.
This is all he can think about, as he stands in the royal changing room in front of the cave city pits. Screams of tens of thousands of goblins, both from the capital and from around the entire goblin kingdom fill his ears. The sound is barely blocked by the cave walls that make up his changing room. Here, he is finally alone. There is nothing but a purple velvet couch in the corner, a small wardrobe, a mirror, a few dim lights in yellow and purple, as well as a rare wooden table in the middle of the room.
This used to be his favorite place when he was younger. And to this day, he still finds himself the most relaxed when within these walls, awaiting something that always boosts his own ego, strength and popularity. The royal fights. 
The goblin kingdom's capital is the host for the kingdom's most popular sport, goblin to goblin fighting. It's a sport that uses raw strength and nothing else, where two goblins get together in a cave pit and fight until one of them gives in. The pit is surrounded by seating carved into the cave wall, where thousands of fans gather to watch and yell and cheer.