When people come to my circus, they come to see us put on a show. And boy do I give them one. I have all kinds of freaks behind my curtains. Human freaks, animal freaks, things that fall somewhere in the middle. The whole shebang! What is most important, though, is that they all give it everything they’ve got, and that they all have the ability to WOW that audience. They are the big two asks I demand from those who are in my crew.

When I was younger, I went to see a show with my parents. It wasn’t a big bombastic show like my circus, it was some kind of performance. A play or something. I must have been somewhere around 12 or 13, so I went along with them, and I sat in the crowd, watching intently. The lead actor was a big name in Arcadia, so they said. I’d never seen him before but I’d heard his name a couple of times. He was old, clearly in the twilight of his years, and this showed, BIG TIME.

He muddled his way through the lines, barely remembering what the show was even about, never mind the individual lines, and even when he did get the lines right, there was a big disconnect. The life behind the eyes had gone. He no longer did it because he loved it, he did it because of the credits. He would have failed my big two asks, wouldn’t he? Here he was, phoning it in, quite clearly NOT giving it everything he had got. No fire in his belly.

What about you, Caido? Have you still got that fire in your belly? You’ve been around a long time, travelling Arcadia, putting on these wrestling shows I’ve never seen, but your name has crossed my ears a time or two. You’re in the twilight of your career too, so it really is up to you how this thing goes. All I see when I look at you is that actor. Phoning it in, reading a lifeless script, unable to put anything real in his performance. 

And even if you can drum up a bit of life, a bit of energy, get a rumbling going in that dragon belly of yours, when you come to blast that fireball out, will it WOW that audience? Will it be a majestic arc of reds, oranges and yellows, warming up the entire arena? Or will it just be a vapid puff of smoke, barely affecting anyone, and dissipating within a couple of seconds?

Something tells me it is the latter, after all, if you really still had that fireball left in you, would they really call you the Fallen Dragon? This is where I would usually tell people they should come and see me, and we’ll show you the Way, but I’m sorry El Dragon Caido, but please do NOT come to my circus, I don’t want a beast that can’t perform it’s only trick any more.

That just ain’t the Way.