<div class="floatright">(http://i.imgur.com/T5A4OSD.png)</div><br/>It was not much longer before the priests of Cyril arrived to collect the contestants.  They had practiced for this and knew the exact steps they had to go through for the presentation.  Flanked by a pair of purple-robed Judges, Zerxel is marched down the tiled hallway. Dressed only in a pair of slippers and a silk robe she notices that some contestants chose to forgo even that bit of clothing.  It doesn't matter after all, soon enough even these scraps of silk will be discarded so they may be presented to potential sponsors.  Behind and in front of her, other Contestants are likewise corralled down the narrow passageway beneath the gallery floor. This is the Gala of Presentation, one of the few events not broadcast to the ends of Eden for the viewing pleasure of the masses. No, tonight is a private affair, by invitation only.  Only for the wealthy, the powerful, the sponsors.  She knows that the next two hours, both on display and then talking and meeting them in person, can be a crucial difference in her chances in the dungeon.  Sponsors can not only give a contestant a crucial piece of gear or weaponry at the start, but also they are privy to vital tidbits of information.  It may not seem like much, a few words here or there, but it can be the difference between life, death, and corruption in the dungeon.  Zerxel knows she must do well here, now.<br/><br/>The Judges stop her in front of a slender metal door.<strong>"Disrobe,"</strong>intones the one on her left. The gender of the Judge's voice is neutral. She has no idea, no one does, what the gender of the cowled Judges is.  Zerxel does as she is instructed, shrugging out of her robe and letting it crumple at her feet.<strong>"Your slippers as well."</strong>Zerxel toes out of them, and steps forward. Behind her, one of the Judges bends over and picks up her garments. The door opens, revealing a small, round platform and a narrow, tubelike chamber.<strong>"Step onto the platform,"</strong>says the Judge.<strong>"Remain perfectly still at all times. Do not be afraid, you are perfectly safe."</strong><br/><br/>The metal platform is cool beneath her feet, and hums with some arcane force. The door shuts, plunging her into darkness.  But a dark elf is comfortable in darkness, and Zerxel remains focused on her situation, on what is about to happen.  Minutes tick by in silence.  After what seems like an eternity, a circular hole appears in the ceiling above, casting warm light down on her. The platform lurches to life, gently lifting her upward. Zerxel makes sure to keep her hands at her sides, and soon she is lifted through the ceiling to the room above, which is a grand ballroom. Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Rich carpet covers the floor. Marbled pillars support a vaulted roof high above. A band plays soft orchestral music. Servants flit back and forth between lavishly dressed guests.  She is trapped in a crystal cylinder which is just large enough to fit her body. Her breasts are dangerously close to touching the sides. Forty-nine other cylinders form a large circle in the center of the hall. People, both men and women, crowd around her cylinder, "ooh-ing" and "aah-ing" like she is livestock on display or some curiosity at the museum.<br/><br/>She can't help but notice a black form across the ball room, even with the sponsors and servants in between.  The other dark elf in this year's contest, Xara, is placed almost exactly opposite her.  She has a moment to wonder if this was on purpose or not.  Of course it was, the judges do nothing without reason.  Her thoughts are interrupted as a vent opens between her feet, blowing cool air into the cylinder. Probably to keep her from suffocating, but it also has the effect of causing her nipples to constrict and harden.  The cool air caresses it's way up her dark legs, brushing across her sex, curling around her abdomen, and teasing her nipples to hardness before lightly tousling her white hair.<br/><br/>She has time to note the way several sponsors are examining her.  She even notes a dark elven woman, dressed in severe leather, nearby.  Though the fellow darkelf is unfamiliar to her, and is showing Zerxel no interest.  No it is the surface mortals who seem to be most interested in her exotic beauty.  Of those the humans seem to be examining her the most.  While there is little room to move inside the crystal tube, there is just enough.  She could stand there stock still, or display herself in some way.  Maybe she should pose, or try to look fierce, or sultry, or down right erotic?  She might look too eager if she does anything but stand there, but then again people are already beginning to circulate and move away.   The judge had said to remain perfectly still at all times, but had he meant until the tube arose, or for the entirety of the display?  There had been no information given in her training about what she was to do once on display.  Maybe this was open to her own interpretation?