Bloodlust: A Gladiator's Tale (Domains of the Chosen Book One)

by C. P. D. Harris

  Gavin was lost in the motions of training, trying to perfect a complicated forward sliding upwards lunge with his short sword. In the back of his mind, though, he wondered idly why he hadn't dreamt of the Heretic, Olek Agvarson since coming to Scorpion's Oasis. So, it was Ravius who noticed Sax first, intently examining Gavin's broad-bladed barbed war-spear on the weapons rack. He caught Gavin's eye, and motioned toward the towering Ogre. Now, it must be said that Gladiators are very particular about their weapons; they are often mocked, behind their backs, of course, about their great attachment to the tools of their trade. Among Gladiators it is considered taboo to touch another's weapon, a mortal insult to many of them, a form of flirtation with others. Thus Sax's behaviour was close to being a breach of etiquette.

  Gavin looked the Ogre over. The newcomer wore light armour and was leaner and taller than most Ogres, a race that tends toward muscle and bulk. He knew that the Ogre was one of the higher ranking Reds, a master class Gladiator who had been at the Oasis for a year.

  Sax was so intent on his examination that he did not notice the two Gladiators until Gavin cleared his throat. "Is this your spear?" he asked, turning to face Gavin.

  "Yes it is," said Gavin, somewhat coldly. "What is your interest in it?"

  In response the tall Ogre stepped back and drew his blade. It was done slowly and respectfully, but Gavin noticed the sudden presence of a worried looking Grey-Robe. The world seemed to stand still as the sun caught the brilliant gleaming greatsword that the Ogre held up. Without saying a word Sax turned smartly, presenting his blade to Gavin with a bow. Gavin sheathed his own blade and took the heavy sword, too long for him by several feet, feeling more puzzled than offended now.

  "Look at the maker's mark." said the Ogre, his stormcloud-grey eyes piercing. Ravius peered over Gavin's shoulder. "I have not seen another weapon of this make in many years. My friends call me Sax. I would be very interested to hear how you acquired this weapon."

  "I'm Gavin, this is Ravius." Gavin could see that the massive sword did indeed bear the same jagged symbol as his spear. "Yes, Rune-smith Olga from Dreadwood Junction told me this weapon was a rare find, made by one of her old friends. I just picked it out of a shop in the Campus Gladius at random actually. I have not been able to find out more though."

  "A retired Gladiator named Liam Valcoeur made these; he is an old friend of my father and he started making this blade for me on the day I chose to become a Gladiator." said Sax in a matter-of-fact tone, still measuring Gavin with his gaze. "It is unusual for one of his weapons to end up in the hands of someone who does not know him. I think fate was smiling when you selected this spear, my friend."

  "The spear has served me well," responded Gavin, looking at his trusty weapon. "I'd like to hear more about this smith if you wouldn't mind telling me."

  "Valcoeur is a very private man. For the full tale you will have to seek him out in person." said the Ogre. "Having one of his weapons will gain you an audience with him, but it is a very long journey to his abode in the north. I can only tell you a little without being disrespectful to him."

  "I'd like that, Master Sax." said Gavin.

  And so Master Sax and Gavin, Ravius in tow, retired to a comfortable room in the Red Faction residence where the Ogre related part of the tale of the reclusive weapon-smith, Liam Valcoeur. The man who made Gavin's weapon had once been a promising Gladiator. Sax's father had met him when they both fought for the Red Faction. Liam had been interested in smithing even then, his ungifted father having been a village blacksmith. He gave up fighting in the arena after a personal tragedy and become a smith instead. Sax would not comment further on this, and instead went on to list famous fighters who used the man's weapons. After this the discussion turned to other topics and the three Gladiators talked until the women returned from the city.

  -----o

  The audience was a little less sluggish this time as the Red team took the field, graceful Sadira following the rest of her team in. Gavin and Vintia, flanked by Karmal and Ravius, raised their shields, making a platform onto which Sadira leap, saluting the crowd with her naked blades. The spectator's cheers were genuinely enthusiastic; they recognized Sadira as a winner now.

  The Blue team came in next. The Reds recognized the oddly attired Blue Hornet and whip-wielding Blue Calamity, but the other Gladiators facing them were new to them: Desert Star, Azure Dream, and Bull Dangerous. Gavin heard Ravius and Karmal laugh derisively at the last name.

  Desert Star was an athletic, graceful human woman in a tasteful traditional tribal fighting costume made from bright yellow and orange silks with runed patterns and stars. Her large, dramatic eyes were very dark, almost black. She carried a pair of heavy bladed scimitars. She seemed distant, untouched by her surroundings.

  Azure Dream was a tall human woman, dark skinned, with piercing blue eyes and a regal bearing. Her medium armour consisted of a breastplate, bracers, and greaves all made from a semi-transparent blue material; it looked like she was wearing armour carved from sapphires. Gavin guessed that it was just enchanted metal; gemstones were far too brittle to make good armour. Of course it could be sapphires enchanted to be as tough as metal he supposed, but that struck him as more difficult. There was a gold coloured heraldic device over her heart, too small for them to make out. Azure Dream's weapon was a graceful, long-hafted sabre halberd. Most of them guessed she was a skirmisher; perhaps it was because she grinned like Ravius and winked when they looked at her.

  The aptly named Bull Dangerous was a male minotaur, large and muscular, dressed in heavily spiked and studded medium armour. He had a nose-ring; an adornment considered somewhat taboo by most minotaurs and he sported several tribal patterns enamelled into his armour. Sadira wondered how he kept his Piercing from healing over; she could not even wear earrings; perhaps it was a clip-on. His thick horns were painted blue and capped with sharp steel. He strutted for the crowd as he entered the arena, flourishing a greataxe with a blade nearly as large as Gavin's shield.

  "MESS WITH THE BULL, YOU GET THE HORNS!" he shouted. Ravius, unable to contain himself at this pronouncement, howled with mocking laughter. Gavin just shook his head. The announcer cleared his throat.

  "This match is a common mixed team monster slaying match. The match will take place over a single-round and uses Droik's hardcore rules, so expect some tripping and pushing folks," the announcer said, his tone jovial. "And now without further ado, RELEASE THE BEASTS!"

  The Gladiators tensed, caught in that fateful moment before the final piece of their match became known. They all knew the rules for the match beforehand but only the Arena Master knew which monsters would be used. Gates opened on all sides of the arena; Sadira could see the glint of metal and she heard the whirring of gears.

  "They really like their clockworks here..." said Ravius."All that shiny metal I guess, reminds them of..." He trailed off, eyes wide, smile fading, as the first of their quarry emerged fully into the sun. What they saw was indeed a clockwork, but unlike any the Gladiators had heard of before. It undulated into the arena, a long serpentine form made up of thousands of segmented brass plates. Its large snake-like head was maned with bristling metal spines. In place of a mouth, it had a profusion of greedily grinding sharp-toothed gears. More of the snake golems moved into the arena, lazily at first, as the Gladiators sized them up.

  Sadira noticed that the Blue team seemed as wary as her own. What could they expect from these beasts?

  "RAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH." The Blue team's massive minotaur, Bull Dangerous, broke the silence, charging the nearest mechanical serpent, his head low and axe held in high striking position. The mechanical serpent cocked its head, paused a moment, and dove forward. There was an explosion of sand; when it cleared the serpent was nowhere to be seen. Bull Dangerous skidded to a stop, furiously looking around him.

  The other serpents followed suit, thrusting their heads into the sand, wriggling their long brass bodies in after. For a moment the Gladiators lost sight of the monsters. T
he crowd forgot its apathy, watching intently for signs of the metal snakes.

  Blue Calamity and Azure Dream started moving, the rest of the Blue team following cautiously in their wake, watching. An ominous ripple appeared in the sand. Sadira started running. The sand erupted just behind Azure Dream, catching her unaware. The long metallic form of the serpentine automaton looped around the struggling Gladiatrix with astonishing speed; she let go of her halberd, grasping the beast's throat in both hands in an effort to keep the maw of grinding gears from her face.

  Sadira leapt, thrusting her twin obsidian blades at the gleaming serpent's neck just below Azure Dream's grip. Blue Calamity's whip snaked toward her. Bull Dangerous thundered in, intent on saving his team-mate from the metallic serpent. Sadira's elegant curved blades slipped into a vulnerable area between plates, the sharp points ripping through the beast's neck. Oil spurted from the wound. She felt a tug on her legs as Blue Calamity pulled on his whip. Her momentum made it impossible to free herself. She tried to roll but he kept pulling and she tumbled to the ground as Azure Dream freed herself from the serpent. Before Sadira could gain her feet, Bull Dangerous was on her.

  Gavin watched with horror as the heavy minotaur scrambled to avoid colliding with the fallen Sadira. Stepping on her on purpose would be a foul of the worst sort, and no Blue would want that. The Minotaur’s momentum was too much. Collision seemed sickeningly inevitable. At the last moment the athletic Azure Dream, now free of the serpent, surged forward, throwing her shoulder into Bull Dangerous. From behind him, Gavin heard the sound of electricity and burning metal, but he could not tear his eyes away. Sadira rolled, frantically, the whip still foiling her movements. A huge hoof crashed to the ground beside Sadira's head as Azure Dream pushed her team-mate off course. The minotaur ground to a halt, relieved that he had not stepped on Sadira. Both Blues shot hateful glances at Blue Calamity as he withdrew his whip.

  The announcer and arena master, who had been watching the possible collision, finally called out the penalty. "RED FALL: THREE POINTS TO BLUE."

  Sadira felt the whip go slack and she quickly freed herself, looking around for the source of her fall, Blue Calamity. She saw him in the grasp of a metal serpent as she regained her feat. He could not hold back the creature long enough and the beast's mouth-gears chewed his face, mask and all, into a bloody ruin before Desert Star could cut it apart. The crowd erupted into cheers. Sadira looked for her next target, smiling. Some of the Blues did not look too upset at his fate.

  Ravius moved out of the way of a leaping serpent with a perfectly timed sidestep. The mechanical beast landed, coiled, and turned to spring at him again with a single fluid motion. This time the Gladiator held his net in front of him, guessing that the clockwork's vision was not its primary sense. The automaton sprang at the Gladiator with little mind for his net, its mouth gears stalling as they ground against the strong fibres of the mesh. The serpent tried to dive into the sand, thrashing like a captured fish Ravius rushed forward thrusting his trident into the back of its head.

  Powerful Bull Dangerous caught a serpent with one hand as it sprang out of the ground, and he and Azure Dream hacked it apart while Blue Hornet and Desert Star took down another in a frenzy of frantic jabs and slashes. The crowd roared.

  Vintia shielded Karmal, while the flame-haired Gladiatrix blasted another serpent to smoking slag with fire and lightning.

  Sadira sensed motion beneath her. She held still, channelling power into a spell-weave that sent a pure, powerful surge of adrenaline coursing through her body. Gavin, his eyes finding her, channelled power into a spell of his own, enchanting her further. The two magics mingled, life entwined with thought; Sadira felt immense strength and vitality coursing through her limbs combined with the stillness of perfect focus. She waited.

  The serpent seemed to leap at Sadira in slow motion. Its coils began to close around her, too fast for the audience to follow, yet barely moving from her perspective. Calm suffused her. When she moved it was like a cyclone of motion to those who watched her, but to her the motions were simple and unhurried. She whirled, feet moving in the most intricate of dances, through three perfect steps as the clockwork serpent coiled inwards. Her deadly twin obsidian blades cut elegant flowing arcs on both sides of her as she completed each step. It was a perfect motion, like a steel flower opening at the sun's touch, done so quickly and perfectly that to the audience her blades appeared to make all six cuts in a single motion: a six bladed blossom. The serpent fell into six pieces, oil pouring onto the sand. And then Sadira stopped, absolutely still and poised, the powerful magics coursing through her forming a brief pyrotechnic halo. The world seemed strangely out of focus for her as the effects of the spell wore off. She breathed deeply, adjusting to the normal flow of reality again. She could still feel the afterglow of her magic mingling with of Gavin's, leaving her breathless. She felt somehow, profoundly different, as if she had crossed some great unseen threshold.

  Wonder suffused the arena; for a heartbeat no one spoke, and no one moved. A threshold had been crossed and the scene had etched itself into the mind of everyone watching, that steel edged flower opening to reveal the Gladiatrix within. They knew now, all of them, that they were in the presence of one who would be Chosen. Sound built slowly, dammed in by awe, and when it came the roar of the crowd was as if each man and woman was a lion. They forgot themselves, caught up in the moment, shouting their praise, revelling in the transcendent.

  Sadira woke to the world slowly as her focus turned outward again. Everyone was looking at her, cheering or staring: her team, even the Blue team. She turned around surveying the cheering crowd. Every eye was on her. The lethargic, jaded, Blue Faction loving, on-a-lazy-holiday Scorpion's Oasis spectators were on their feet shouting her name. The feel of victory, pure and sweet, coursed through her. Underneath this though, she felt calm and radiant, pregnant with greatness.

  "BLUE TWENTY-SEVEN, RED THIRTY THREE!" boomed the announcer after a long delay. No one seemed to care, not even the defeated Blues.

  Gavin came forward. He lifted Sadira onto his shoulder. She smiled down at him as he lifted her high for all the world to adore.

  -----o

  Sadira never forgot the touch of their magic, the way it mingled and became something greater. It was a technique that would later serve them well in dark times.

  Chapter Twenty-Two: Finding Flaws

  1144/04/28 AR, Scorpion's Oasis, Faction Score: Blues 829 points; Reds 776 points

  "To beat a stronger opponent, use their own strength against them. Above all remember that the Law of Strength holds true even in the arena: if you allow stronger opponents to get a hold of you, they will break you." Mistress Firetongue, in a lecture to fifth year Gladiator Trainees

  "While reaching Master Rank without a lost match is very rare, most Gladiators have far more wins than losses. The Gladiator is the representative of the People of the Domains in the ritual of the arena, and while the audience loves drama, they do not like watching their representatives lose. Most losses in a Gladiator's career come on the rare occasions when they fight other Gladiators directly, and are thus exceptional and dramatic." Codex of Arms and the Arena, Commentaries

  "A single lost match can change the trajectory of a Gladiator's life." Liam Valcoeur

  Gavin was the first Gladiator to enter the arena for his twenty-second match. The audience clapped with some vigour as he raised his spear in salute. He had no idea who he would be facing. The Blues had issued a series of single opponent challenges with randomly determined fighters facing each other in single combat. This type of match was commonly called a blind draw match, frequently used in the upper ranks of arena competition, since the best Gladiators often had trouble finding others of their rank willing to risk fighting them. It was a testament to the fact that the Blues were wary of Sadira now.

  Many of the Reds, including level-headed Vintia, had declined the challenge. Blind draw could easily lead to an unfavourable match. This was doubly certain
for a Red Faction Gladiatrix trained as a defender in Scorpion's Oasis. Gladiators of equal skill frequently battle each other to a draw, and the partisan crowd would likely vote Blue. Defenders were also at a disadvantage because many audiences found their fighting styles a little dull compared to the more aggressive chargers or the versatile skirmishers.

  Gavin wondered if pride had driven him to accept a potentially bad match. In the end he had to admit that perhaps he had agreed to do this because he did not want to seem weak by not facing the challenge. Sadira had leapt at the chance and he had followed suit, but she was an invincible charger and he was an unsure defender.

  "And his opponent... SHIELD SPLITTER!"

  The Ogre, an imposing mountain of muscle, entered the arena to loud cheers. The seven foot length of his thick-bladed war cleaver rested easily on his plated shoulder guards. He seemed even bigger than the last time Gavin had faced him. He was a heavy class, wearing thick metal armour made in the old Orcish tradition; it covered less of his body than most heavy armours but it was much thicker, almost impenetrable, on the arms, shoulders, and vitals. Spikes and snags, designed to catch a parried blade, stuck out of the armour, giving the Ogre a hungry, menacing look. Shield-Splitter raised his massive weapon with one hand in salute to the audience, who cheered his display of strength. He turned to Gavin.

  "Your team cost me quite a few points," the Ogre smiled in anticipation. "It’s time to pay the blood price for your victories, little man."