After a moment, he shrugged and continued toward the trial grounds. He could hear the drums of the ceremony and the dull, distant and discordant hum of ten thousand conversations all overlapping each other. The trial grounds were a kilometer in diameter, with another kilometer-diameter worth of hand-cut stone seating. As he reached the entrance to head underneath the arena where the trial hopefuls were to gather, he caught a glimpse of the shimmering Thompson dome, the shaped force field that protected the spectators from the raw power released during the trial. He swallowed hard and headed into the dark tunnel.