CHAPTER 12The Rites of Zar
Finally the day of reckoning was upon us, the third day of the Rites of Zar had arrived. Now my group of 135 unarmed green men were ready to go up against twice that number of fully armed Zaran warriors. Terrifying flying monsters.
These were the dread Games of Commencement, or the Graduating Exercise, wherein young Zaran warriors entering adulthood participated in bloody ritual slaughter for the first time in their lives. It would presage their actions for the rest of their lives. The premise behind it all was that they were supposed to prove what mighty and fierce warriors they were—what great killers they were. They were to prove this by cutting down as many unarmed defenseless green men as possible. It was mindless slaughter and a disgrace to true honor of
