The Trial of Ten Fires, a competition for the best of the Frostland Warriors, was held in the courtyard of the Royal Castle. It was begun hundreds of years before the start of the Door Within Trilogy, by King Soren the Strong.
Ten pillars were placed in the courtyard, each varying in height between fifteen and twenty feet. On the pillars would wait ten Glimpse combatants. If any Glimpse wished to attempt the challenge, they would leap from a platform and battle the Glimpse warrior upon the the first pillar. If the challenger succeded in knocking the opponent from his perch into the hay below, then the king would douse the first of ten torches kindled by his throne.
The fallen warrior can redeem himself by a second chance, should one of the other nine knock the challenger off. However, if a Glimpse could defeat all ten opponents and stand unassailed on the last pillar, victory would be his, and the tenth torch snuffed.
Originally, King Soren devised this scheme in order to provide a source of the most gifted knights in the kingdom for his army. However, years later, King Cyric commanded a wood carving of a dragon spiraling up the tenth pillar. An exquisite work, it was overlaid with pure gold. The winner of the annual trial obtained this trophy, the Dragon's Perch.