Kael
The invitation called me the Crown champion.
It also asked me to stand for a portrait that afternoon.
I returned both suggestions to the student holding the paper.
"The final was canceled."
"Everyone knows what happened."
"Then the heading should be easy to fix."
He looked down at it.
The invitation came from a student group planning an account of the tournament. They wanted a picture, a few words and a name which fit beneath the empty gold border better than an explanation.
I understood the attraction.
I was also the person who would have to hear the explanation every time someone correctly pointed out that I had not won.
"You survived the semifinal," he said.
"I survived an attack during it. We were one point each when it stopped."
"What do we call you?"
"Cedric seems to have survived the event."
He let out a reluctant breath and crossed out the title.
