Amazonia

  Dominus opened the door to the arena’s sands and Titan led them out, and as they strode into the afternoon sunshine, Amazonia breathed deep of its scents.

  Roasted meat and red wine, sweat from thousands of bodies pressed together on the concrete benches, delicate perfumes and cheap musk, garlic…

  Blood. The sands were a hungry beast, a blood drinker worse than any Daemo or even the mythical Vampyr of the mountains, and the metallic smell of the gladiator’s sacrifice wrapped itself around all the other smells with its sharp tang.

  Then the crowd caught sight of them and the arena’s smells faded into the background as the people went wild, the crowd roaring as the gladiators held their weapons aloft. “Titan, Titan, Titan…

  Others stamping their feet in time with the chant, “Ama…zonia…Ama…zonia…Ama…

  Mixed in were knots of people calling out to their favorites, Gauls for Cotus, men of the north for Ragnar, slaves for the twins. Women for Io.

  The gladiators basked in the adoration of the crowd. Everyone except Fox wore new armor made of strong leather, but instead of steel plates riveted onto the material, each had square pieces of thick leather which had been transmuted into Artifact plate, hard as steel but no heavier than the original leather. Each plate was black and shiny as if polished. In their hands were normal Artifact weapons made of carved Ironwood, larger than they'd ever be able to use if forged from metal. Both weapons and armor had been brought in after Antonius' body had been carried out by the Imperial guards.

  As she grinned up at the crowd, Az could feel her new bond with the five men and the Daemo. While she'd practiced swinging the Rune sword in the shadowed darkness, Az had felt their tattoos come alive and link with her the moment Lady Jhadra had finished each one. She could feel each man and the little Daemo as well, where they were and how they felt even if she wasn’t holding the sword, though the connection was far stronger with the Rune sword in her hands.

  Io... though Az had begun thinking of him as Dancer, carried a black spear. Cotus, her Troll, held a two-handed great-sword, while Ragnar the Fenris wolf wielded a double bladed axe which curved inward at each point. T'ang and Julu... Amazonia couldn’t think of one without thinking of the other, as if they were one person named Nomad, wielded Artifact katanas in each hand, even though they were used to fighting with a single sword. They had even begun mirroring each other and speaking in unison, which Az thought more than a little spooky.

  Spookier still was Fox, without a weapon and wearing only a simple dress, Amazonia’s silent shadow as trumpets on either side of the royal box sounded the Imperial fanfare. The group lowered their weapons. But as Amazonia faced the box and knelt on the sands, without prompting her Chaldean Wardogs took position behind her and knelt as well. Why am I thinking of them in that way? And why did they arrange themselves in a semi-circle behind me? Hades rotted breath, nothing makes sense anymore, especially Titan. He's kneeling apart from us, still carrying the same steel sword and wearing the same chain hauberk he brought with him out of the Khitian wastes. We haven't spoken since I took possession of the sword... is this going to be the end of what we had between us? It doesn't matter. You're a Reaver Knight now, even if none of us understands what that's going to mean, so stand tall and keep your head up. Titan's got to decide if he wants to bridge this chasm between us or not.

  The royal box protruded out above the Eagle gate, with the purple and white canopy over it leaving all but the very front in shadow. A large, dark haired man wearing a solid purple toga walked to the center front where the speaking device, shaped like an eagle with its wings spread, rested on the wall.

  He tapped something on the device and it began to glow blue. "Nobles, citizens, and foreign guests," the emperor said in his powerful voice, "thank you for helping me honor Lord Paulus, whose Ludus has consistently raised up champions, culminating in the unstoppable duo of Titan and Amazonia." The emperor nodded as the crowd cheered, then raised his hand for quiet. "Lord Paulus, on this, your final day of service to the empire, please join your gladiators on the sands so you might yourself receive the accolades of the people and our gratitude."

  Dominus walked out of the open door with his half dozen personal guards behind him, Amko in her black robes holding her rod in one hand as she followed. Dominus reached a spot midway between the gladiators and the royal box, stopped and turned around, with Amko and the guards arranging themselves behind him. Then they followed Dominus' lead as he dropped to one knee, until all of them were kneeling before the emperor.

  He smiled and resumed speaking into the device. "Lord Paulus, you made the unusual request that your gladiators be granted their freedom before their last fight, and though it goes against precedent, in light of your dedication and theirs I am moved to grant it. Lord Paulus... break their collars."

  Amko rose with Dominus, turned around and walked towards the gladiators, the rod in her hand beginning to glow blue as the silver spiraled mana stones in her ears. She stopped in front of Az. "Lift your chin." Amko looked about as happy as if she'd just sunk her teeth into a bitterfruit as Amazonia tilted her head. The mage touched the round end of the rod to the collar, and it flared blue as pain made Az grit her teeth. Then her pain stopped as the collar shattered into pieces. Amko sneered and moved on towards the others behind her as the pieces fell away, Amazonia’s hands brushing off the small shards remaining until all of it was gone. Her hand went to her throat.

  For the first time in many years, Az touched only skin. Her fingertips slid over old sores turned into callouses, her throat no longer constricted but oddly exposed, vulnerable, a sensation she hadn’t had since a slaver tore her away from her people and transported her across the Great Sea. My collar is gone. When this quest is finished, I could ignore the reward and return home, if I wanted. If I could find it. My collar is gone. Even if I did return, no one would recognize me, calling me a liar for claiming to be little Tagwizult the fearless. Even my own mother would never believe me, if she's still alive. Will I ever have a home again? My collar is gone.

  Amko continued down the line, and as Ragnar's collar shattered, Dominus smiled at them and raised his fist. "On your feet my heroes and taste the sweet air of freedom!" Titan, who in all the time as a gladiator had never worn a collar, grinned as the others leapt to their feet, sand spraying around them as they lifted up their weapons as the crowd cheered and stomped their feet, making the arena tremble. Dominus raised his hands as he basked in the praise.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Dancer... Io, touched Az’s arm. She glanced back at him with a questioning look and he motioned towards the gladiator gate they'd walked out of. Amko was hurrying towards it as fast as she could, almost running, as if worried it would slam shut in her face if she was too slow. Even though she knew what was coming, she traded him a troubled look as Amko reached the opening and passed through. Imperial guards standing on either side slammed the gate shut with a metallic clang.

  Should I get Dominus' attention or was this part of the plan? Az turned forward once again as the emperor raised his hands. The crowd quieted. "Prince Arcadia," he said, his voice echoing throughout the arena, "I understand you have an urgent matter which you say needs to be known by all. Come, speak in my place, and let everyone know what troubling knowledge you have obtained."

  The Eagle gate also slammed shut as the emperor stepped to the side while a younger, dark haired man, took his place. "Divine Majesty," he said in a lighter voice than the emperor's, "apologies for my urgency, but a terrible crime has been committed by Lord Paulus against his former slaves."

  Dominus took a step back, looking around in supposed confusion as the prince stared down straight at them. "Lady Jhadra informed me that her Daemo slave, which Lord Paulus had asked to borrow, was forced to perform an ancient ritual of dark sorcery, turning the champion Amazonia into a Reaver Knight who carries a cursed sword binding the other six to her side. Only Titan, being of the Ogri race, was immune, yet his love for Amazonia blinds him to the ghastliness of this crime."

  The crowd, who had been chanting 'Paulus, Paulus', only a few moments before, now began to mutter as Prince Arcadia stabbed an accusing finger in our direction. "Ghastly, because to complete the ritual, the heart of a brave warrior must be pierced by the sword and his spirit trapped within the cursed blade... the spirit of a noble prince in exile from a land far to the east." The crowd gasped as Prince Arcadia moved his hand my way. "Mage Amko, who was forced to watch the horrible ritual, told me the five gladiator's behind Amazonia held the poor prince down as she ran an Ironwood blade into his chest, doing so at the same instant the Daemo, now standing behind her, called up their race’s most terrible sorcery. And then, to complete the ritual, the blade was tempered with the blood of an innocent… Lord Zeno’s cherished son, Antonius. All of this was done at Lord Paulus' command."

  Amazonia frowned. Hades hairy eyeballs, what noble prince is he talking about? Troll... Cotus, muttered, "There goes our lands and title,"

  The rest of Amazonia’s Wardogs muttered agreement as the prince threw out his arms. "But why? Why would anyone attempt such a horrible scheme?" His accusing finger returned to point at Dominus. "For gold. The Master of Coin, Citizen Eurax, looked into Lord Paulus' finances, only to discover the nobleman is awash in a sea of debt. Not only that, but Citizen Eurax's collectors searched Lord Paulus' house and discovered letters from the Sasnayam embassy, offering not only enough gold to pay off his debts, but even more to support him in a lavish manor on an island off the coast of Greece. Citizen Eurax has already impounded the ship scheduled to take him and his family there."

  "No," Dominus shouted, "I'm innocent!"

  His voice was lost in the angry roar of the crowd, for no peoples were hated more by those in Konstanopolis than the Sasnayams, said to be richer in gold than the infamous King Midas. Dominus waved his arms and shouted but his words were trampled by Prince Arcadia, who turned towards his father. "Divine Majesty, such an outrage cannot be judged fairly by men but by the gods, who know the dark places of our souls as well as the light."

  "He's adding a good bit of darkness to his," Dancer... Io, muttered.

  The prince went on. "Therefore, I beg your Divine Majesty's indulgence to allow the high priest of Jupiter to decide how best to proceed."

  The emperor waved his acceptance, and as Prince Arcadia stepped away opposite from the emperor, a large man in robes the color of gold strode up to the speaking device. "Your Divine Majesty, noble prince, and esteemed citizens of every rank, Jupiter himself will decide this afternoon's fight on the balance scales of justice. Open the Hades gate and let your Daemo monsters begin coming out, until Jupiter puts fear into the creature's hearts and they slam the gates shut themselves.

  “Whoever is left standing is then to be banished from the empire to the Khitian lands. From there, let them never return unless they can perform some deed so heroic that even the gods will forgive them and wash away all their crimes. This is the will of Jupiter Maximus."

  The priest stepped back as the emperor came forward. "What the gods put into words, men put into action. Prepare yourselves."

  Is that an expression of regret on the emperor's face? Dominus looked bewildered as Titan put his hand on Amazonia’s shoulder. "This is all a sham to kill your Dominus. Once Paulus is dead, the gates will shut and we will be free to go."

  "Giving us a plausible reason to be in Khitia," Az snarled, “while getting rid of him as a way to salve Eurax's pride. Hades take them all." Maybe it was the sword, but a strange, wild mood seized her and Az gave her Wardogs a savage grin. "I say let's poke a finger in old Eurax's eye and keep Dominus alive until they run out of monsters."

  The Wardogs caught her mood and grinned back as Titan laughed. "I like this change in you. Use the Eagle gate to guard your backs and arrange your warriors defensively. I will attack the Daemo creatures as they come out of the Hades gate." Titan threw his head back, raising his sword as he bellowed, "This is a good day to die!"

  The crowd roared his words back, cheering as he took off running across the arena sands towards the opposite side, where a large gate of metal bars, bent in places, was beginning to creak open. "Everyone, follow me." Amazonia headed towards the royal box with the gold painted metal gate, reinforced with cross bars, below it.

  As Amazonia reached Dominus, he fell in beside her. "I wondered if something like this would happen. Let the monsters take me—” Az grabbed his arm with her free hand and began pulling him towards the gate. “What are you doing," he said, sand spraying beneath their feet as he stumbled. "I taught you to never show mercy unless you had to."

  "The sword decided otherwise," Az replied as they reached the gate and turned around, the royal box casting its shadow onto the sands before them. "Besides, I'll need your skills in Khitia." Her Wardogs and the six guards reached them and stopped as well. "We fight as teams. Io's with me, Cotus－"

  "I fight alone," he growled, hunching his shoulders the way a troll does before it fights. "Don't worry about me."

  "I can fly above him and throw sand in their eyes," Fox said, stripping off her dress. She wore nothing underneath. Men on the benches above began hooting and yelling rude comments at her nudity, but then their voices died off as wings began sprouting from her back, her body growing thinner and more bird-like the larger her wings became, until she resembled a Valkyrie of the Northlands. Fox scooped up sand with both hands and launched herself into the air.

  Az shook my head at the strangeness before turning towards the twins. "Nomad... I mean—”

  "Nomad is fine," T'ang and Julu said in unison. "We will take your left flank."

  "Good. Fen... Ragnar—”

  "I'll guard Dominus," he said, hefting his double bladed axe in his hands. "It feels right to me."

  "Then do it. You six," motioning at the guardsmen, "form a defensive line against whatever gets past us."

  The six guardsmen banged their swords against their square shields and arranged themselves as Amazonia strode out in front. Above her, a man's voice called out, "Amazonia." Bells of Hades, was that the emperor? She turned around and looked up. The emperor was standing right above her, leaning down with the waist high concrete wall supporting him and the speaking device turned off, for his voice didn’t echo off the walls but came out normal. His scarred, square jawed face smiled as he said, "Make Jupiter work for it."

  The wild grin returned to Az’s face as she raised the Rune sword over her head in salute. "What the emperor puts into words," she called back, "his Knight and her Wardogs put into action."

  Emperor Konstan inclined his head, a pleased expression on his face as Fox called out, "Here they come!"