Anonymous grinned. "From what I've been told so far, the Games are a big ritual that's been turned into an even bigger show. There's lots of fighting and plenty of blood spilled, but nobody dies or even leaves with a permanent injury. The victors are celebrated, the losers honored for their valor. I don't think I could be accused of violating the spirit of my pledge just from throwing down in a well-regulated arena." He glanced once more at his set of blackened-bronze armor, gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. "I'm sure it'll be an awful lot of work, and terribly exhausting, and probably even quite painful. I saw what happened to Lieutenant Kilfeather and his two wingmates even under the effect of the magical 'de-lethalizing' totems. But I do enjoy a challenge, and anyways, how are we going to know if your lessons are working if I don't try fighting 'for real' at least once? This way it can be done without any casualties."