"I know," Sulius sighed. His soft eyes held her piercing gaze without flinching, something few men were able to do. "If you wish to put your friends above your career, it is your choice. I admire your spine; few young warriors are willing to put their teams above their own welfare. I wish I could be more accommodating; I don't want to make an enemy of a woman who could very well be the next Chosen..." He frowned, looking down to the scribbled notes, link crystals, and other work on his desk for a moment. "I am in a very difficult position here Honoured Gladiatrix. A great fighter like you can help us turn this place around. A few spectacular wins could really breathe some life into the rest of our roster. But I don't know about your friends; they might be great, they might need more training. The scouting reports are inconclusive."
"They’re good enough," said Sadira quietly, "they got me where I am."
"Well, we Reds do value teamwork," Sulius said. "I have a challenge for five Gladiators that needs answering soon. I'm putting you in charge; show me what this team of yours can do. The match is next week. I assure you if you fail this match, I will have to make good on my threat, I can't afford any more dead weight here, even if it means losing a promising fighter like you. Too many Reds treat this place like a paid holiday."
She stared at him a moment longer, still angry; surprisingly he did not flinch from her gaze. She nodded curtly, feeling the sudden weight of this new responsibility settle heavily on her.
"Prove me wrong," he said as she turned to leave.
"I will enjoy doing so, Chief Promoter," she replied smoothly, looking back at him from the door. Only then was he struck with how breathtakingly beautiful she was. "Exceeding expectations has always been my speciality."
Sulius watched her go with an unreadable expression on his face. Motivation breeds greatness, he thought. After a brief moment he went back to work as if the confrontation had never happened. Within a few minutes he was deeply engrossed in reading reports, signing papers, tabulating expenses, and dealing with the many problems faced by the Red Faction in Scorpion's Oasis, hand darting forth to grab for a pastry every now and then, a bad habit born of stress. He remained that way until late into the night, leaving his work only when nature made its irresistible demands, stumbling off to bed long after the stars rose, resenting the need for sleep that robbed him of precious hours that could be used more constructively.
-----o
Sadira took charge of the team very quickly. She did not mention the details of her confrontation with the Chief Promoter, even to Gavin, but the rest of them understood the threat hanging over their heads. If they failed to perform, they would be sent back to Camp Valorous in shame. Sadira used their fear and pride, exhorting them to train all the harder and prove their detractors wrong. Self-esteem is a prickly motivator, and Sadira did not like using it to manipulate her friends. Although she told herself it was for their own good, every barbed retort from Ravius, heated exchange with Karmal, or the occasional look of lost kitten-hurt dulling Vintia's bright eyes increased her own feelings of unease.
The first day was the worst. They were the first on the training grounds, and the last to leave. Sadira set the pace, pushing herself to the limit in exercise and practice fights. They all felt like quitting at one point or another. Nearly everyone left the training grounds without a word, bruised, exhausted, and angry. Sadira's heart sang when they all came back the next day; she had enough social capital with all of them, it seemed; they trusted her enough to put up with this.
Sadira led by example, training harder than she had in her life, stoking her inner furnace with thoughts of victory. She never once complained when one of them managed to get the best of her in a duel, even when an angry Karmal gave her an extra kick out of spite after knocking her down in a training match. If she made a mistake, she made sure her team knew it, and always worked to fix it immediately. When they did well, she singled them out and praised them, trying to make them feel appreciated without being condescending. The responsibility Sulius placed on her drove her like a whip. She had not sought leadership, but she refused to falter when the mantle fell upon her shoulders.
After herself, Sadira was hardest on Gavin; she could not show favour to her lover, even though it made her heart bleed to treat him with severity. Gavin did not once complain, supporting her every effort with his best example, taking her every criticism and suggestion seriously. Where she was driven by desire for success, he was chased by the spectre of defeat; he could not abide the idea of failing his team.
Gavin divined the substance of Sadira's discussion with Sulius; he knew that she did not see herself as a leader and needed his absolute loyalty while she moulded herself to the role. In private she was initially apologetic and worried. Her lovemaking took on a guilty, forcefully submissive tone, as if she was trying to make up for her public harshness. He felt the need to hug her often; the stress of their brutal training schedule was taking its toll on her.
They spent nearly fourteen hours a day training until the match, getting used to fighting in the harsh desert heat and bright brutal sunlight, pushing their magically powered constitutions to new limits, learning new techniques and improving their teamwork. Their hard work and diligence earned them the jeering attention of some of the Blue Gladiators on the training grounds. After noticing how this fired up Karmal and Ravius, Sadira made sure to practice often where their enemies could taunt them. The Grey-Robes seemed wary, especially with Karmal's frequent demonstrations of temper as she stood red-faced, on the verge of attack after a casual taunt from a passing Blue.
Although the other Reds still kept their distance, they slowly became more interested. Ravius learned that they did not like to make friends with new arrivals, since Sulius had a history of getting rid of newcomers who performed poorly.
Somehow they all made it through that brutal period and remained friends. Their mad training schedule became routine. Their teamwork improved. They were in peak condition. They picked up a few new strategies. Each of them was proud of what they had accomplished. The tough regime improved their discipline and confidence, which was the best edge that Sadira could give them in a small amount of time. She hoped it was enough.
-----o
While they trained Sadira stole extra hours from sleep, using time gained to research the convoluted workings of Faction challenges, which are competitive challenges issued by one faction to the Gladiators of other factions in the league. Any opposing faction Gladiators who qualify and feel they have a good chance of winning and scoring points can accept. The system of challenges is immensely complex. There are many different types, each with rules governing how to accept or decline such a match, how to score it, even special exemptions that deal with any special case that has arisen in the history of the Faction games.
The winner of a challenge gets bragging rights at the very least, but most often they compete for points for their Faction that go toward winning the competitive season at the particular arena in which they fight. The scoring system for this is maddeningly complex, mostly because the Factions are political and refuse to agree on anything as a matter of principle. Winning a season in any arena of note has political ramifications for the Factions, including seats in the local people's assembly in many Domains. Most importantly, when a Grand Championship is held, the Factions get to choose which eligible Gladiators can fight; the voting share of each is based on how well they did in the most recent season. Grand Championships are the selection process for the Chosen. Sadira's mind boggled at the ridiculous complexity of such a system; she was glad to have Gavin and Vintia to help her research the matter.
The nature of the Factions meant that these matches could not be trusted to ordinary referees and Arena Masters. Officers of the Deliberative oversaw all Faction challenges, using the same scoring system in all matches of the same type to ensure impartiality. In most cases the Leader of the Deliberative was also the Arena Master. Only the Grey-Robes were trusted enough to officiate at such politically charged events.
Sadira had not yet met Arena Master Hork Bloodsmith in person, but he had sent one of his attendants with several weighty tomes containing the rules and regulations of faction challenges. There were silken bookmarks already placed in the relevant sections on scoring, the most important subject that she needed to grasp in the short term. Sadira dived in, but found the amount of information overwhelming in the short time she had. Gavin, and later Vintia, helped her; and they gained a better understanding of the rules by the time their match rolled around.
Any Faction challenge presents a series of goals; meeting these objectives gets the team points. Goals vary by match type, but almost always include killing opponents, be it Gladiators on an opposing team, or more often, monsters. Different opponents have varied point values, depending on the power of the creature in question, modified by match type, and occasionally the circumstances of the kill. Other common point goals include meeting time limits, surviving longer, or using special tactics.
Points can also be taken off a team's score for a variety of reasons. Having a team member end the match incapacitated or tapped out could result in a large deduction. This makes defenders, Gladiators who protect their team-mates, much more important in challenges where this penalty is used. Both point additions and deductions often favour specific types of Gladiators in a match and all Factions try to issue challenges that are as favourable to their own fighters as will be allowed. In cases where two teams end a match with the same number of points the spectators can give an extra point to the team they favour to break the tie; they also keep their traditional role as judge and jury in the very rare Faction Deathmatches.
The variation in scoring rules, even in the common types of Faction challenges, is mind boggling to most Gladiators. Years of special cases and reforms have led to innumerable rules variations. Rules are added according to changing fashions and to prevent teams from exploiting known loopholes. Old rules are occasionally dusted off and re-implemented as well, often depending on which Faction holds political superiority in the Assemblies. Some Domains and prominent arenas even have their own special rules, grandfathered from the early days of the Great Games; fortunately Scorpion's Oasis was not one of these.
Sadira limited most of their research to the type of challenge they were about to fight; a common multi-team mixed monster-slaying match with Ollanger's Additions, frequently referred to as an eastern standard rules match. In this challenge the opposing teams took the field at the same time, competing with each other to kill the monsters in the arena. Points were awarded to the team that killed each beast, based on the type of monster killed. Common Beastmen, for example, were worth one point unless enchanted or drugged, while a skilled Troll equipped with an iron breastplate and club was worth seven points if killed or incapacitated. Points were awarded to the team that landed the "killing blow", with complex rules for awarding a team that wounded a high-value monster but did not kill it. Additional points were awarded to the team that killed the most monsters, killed the first monster, and to any team where each team member killed at least one foe. Gavin and Vintia grumbled at this, noting how it punished them for concentrating on defence. Sadira just shook her head. It was a lot to take in at once.
Ten points were deducted per team member out of action at the end of the match. This was fairly simple for the Gladiators to understand. Five to twenty points could be deducted for interference with the other team and purposeful "fouls" would result in immediate forfeit of the match. Interference included tripping, accidental weapon or spell strikes, using a spell that weakened a member of another team, among others. Distractions and insults to the other Gladiators were allowed and even encouraged in eastern standard rules. The southern Domain crowds loved a little trash talk in their games. Fouls included any deliberate attacks, although spells with large area effects required a referee's decision if a member of an opposing team was caught inside the blast.
They studied the rules for hours each night, stealing time until their exhaustive training forced them to seek rest. On the day before the match, they were still going over exceptions and rulings, feeling confused and overwhelmed. It reminded them of their time as "Freshies", unranked Gladiators fighting their first real matches on the Campus Gladius.
"Ezuis, this is a lot of information. I wish I'd paid more attention to this stuff when I was in class," Sadira yawned, slamming the massive leather and brass bound volume she was reading shut. "I need to rest, beloved. Our training will be short tomorrow; I want my team well rested for the match. I've been pushing us hard; I hope you and the others don't hate me for it."
"You are doing the best you can," Gavin shrugged. "I think we all know why you are doing it."
"I wouldn't want your responsibilities," added Vintia, finishing a yawn of her own, curled up on a couch in their apartment. "I'm so tired though, I'll be glad to get a day of rest... away from Karmal and Ravius..."
"Thank you both, truly," Sadira smiled. "It's good to have friends who are strong enough to put up with the kind of stress I have put them through.... On the other hand, I may still have to resign as team captain if I can't get these scoring rules down. Ugh. If they are going to make them so complicated, they should at least write them in an entertaining fashion. I could almost use these bloody books for strength training."
"The mighty Sadira Lacivia; humbled at last," Gavin joked. "Brought low by a brutal exception clause from subsection ten of Mazurin's revisions."
"As if! I'll tame these rules in the end, you just watch!" she responded. "I have a different conquest in mind right now, though..."
She met his eyes, her growing desire clear, then leaned across him provocatively, closing his book. He kissed her, but their efforts toward intimacy quickly turned to laughter as Vintia reminded them of her presence, clearing her throat loudly.
-----o
They were the first team to take the field. Since they had not chosen arena names yet, they were simply and collectively introduced as "The new Red team" by the announcer. Swift-footed Sadira followed the rest of the team in, performing a graceful forward flip high in the air, landing on Karmal and Gavin's shoulders as they drew their weapons in unison to salute the gathered patrons of the Scorpion's Oasis arena. Polite, restrained applause greeted this acrobatic manoeuvre, a disappointing reaction for six Gladiators accustomed to the loud, raucous cheers at the Camp Valorous arena.
Sadira dismounted. She felt an overwhelming desire to make these new fans cheer for her.
Gavin heard her mutter, "One day I will make you scream my name." He would have chuckled and pointed out the obvious joke, but Sadira sounded deadly serious as she raked her stern gaze across the apathetic audience.
With impeccable timing, the trumpets sounded, signalling the other team's entrance.
"First onto the fighting grounds, we have SAPPHIRE LOTUS...! The announcer boomed, shouting the Gladiator's arena name. She was an athletic, dark skinned, human dressed in medium-weight armour and armed with a lithe-hafted Glaive. A lotus blossom, fully formed of glittering sapphire pieces, decorated the chest piece of her plated war-harness. Sadira surmised that Lotus was a skirmisher from her weapon and movement and a likely user of Druidic magic from sensing her spell-weaves, but beyond that, she could not guess. She wished she had access to the opponent's roster to see what kind of opposition they faced.
"... followed by SHIELD SPLITTER...!" A massive Ogre, nearly nine feet tall, dressed in heavy armour, he carried an even larger version of Karmal's heavy war-cleaver. This Gladiator was easier to read; he was obviously a charger, probably trained in the executioner school techniques with elemental or remedial battle-magic. His thick armour was covered in a short blue tabard and had shoulder guards modelled to look like the fanged skulls of some savage beast.
"... STEEL HARMONY...!" A small, wiry Quickling woman in light armour followed the Ogre in, armed with a long rapier and a viciously curved golden sickle. Her spiky hair was dyed a vivid, vibrant blue, reminding Sadira of the petal
s of a Delphinium flower. Probably a charger as well, further trained in the Thousand Step School most likely. She hoped the other team had as little information about her squad, but she doubted they could count on that. She made a mental note to send Ravius scouting after they won.
"... and that's BLUE CALAMITY, coming in fourth...!" An obsidian-skinned Shadow-Elf with long white hair strode in next, a featureless white mask obfuscating his face. Women in the audience called out appreciatively as he strutted across the fighting grounds, pelvis thrust forward. His light armour left most of his chest bare, showing off his sculpted physique, and he carried a coiled fighting whip, and a barbed war-spear similar to Gavin's. Sadira looked to her partner who mouthed "skirmisher"; few other fighters carried whips.
"... and... I don't see a fifth Gladiator for the Blue team..." the announcer trailed off, confused. A pale Elf woman, long silver hair in an elaborate crown of curls, wearing a rich blue gown approached him and whispered in his ear. The heavyset, bearded announcer nodded and looked to the Grey-Robe Arena Master, Hork Bloodsmith, sitting next to him. The audience muttered while the Gladiators eyed each other across the grounds. Sadira and Gavin exchanged quick glances and shrugged. Only the Blue team seemed to know what was going on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the honourable Blue team has declined to field a fifth Gladiator using the exclusion clause from the Third Revision." The crowd listened attentively as the announcer spoke again. "Reason given: disparity of rank. The Reds are fielding under-ranked Gladiators, rank three for a rank four challenge. The Blue team has given up their advantage for the pleasure of the audience. WHAT GALLANTRY!; I surely have not seen such honour since Chosen Artuis fought in this very arena as a young Gladiator. Give them a cheer folks!"
Sadira and Gavin exchanged glances again. Neither of them really understood what was going on. The only two facts that they could glean from the announcement was that the Blues were only fielding four Gladiators, and that their opponents were more experienced than they were. Sadira wondered if it was a ploy to win over the crowd; if that was the case, it certainly seemed to be working. The audience showered the "gallant Blues" with praise.
Bloodlust: A Gladiator's Tale Page 27
