《Empire of Shadows》


 Prologue: The Two Lore Essays to the New Sword & Sorcery Serial-Novel

    After the final downfall of the Empire of Atenia, which had supplanted and usurped the vast Principate of Roma, and after the Cataclysm that destroyed the city of Atenia, Orissia was born. Borne from the catastrophic earthquakes and fire-storms that ruined the greatest city of the once proud Empire, Orissia was founded by Maximus Orissius the finest of the last of the Princeps, Veritian¡¯s great loyalists and commanders. Loyal still to his memory, Orissius warned of the great tempest that was to befall Atenia, in his dreams took what household gods, golden-eagle standards and other treasures of the city and fled for the quay.


    Once there he took to the south, fleeing with more than sixty-thousand men and women to Ifriquya. It was there that they established the great city of Orissia, on the five hills of the city, with it named after Orissius himself who became the first Emperor. This great ruler founded the city, organized the people into various tribes and arranged for more than three dozen temples, along with the Hippodrome and Circus Orissius.


    These great building projects attracted ever greater numbers of refugees and outlaws from the neighbouring cities of northern Ifriquya. So that in this way, Orissia grew as a city and had ever more labourers to work her fields and her walls, and great buildings. All were welcomed within the city even as Orissius attracted the jealousy of a great many of the former governors, barbarian tribes that had colonized the region and the southern people who hungered for Romalian wealth.


    It happened that the first war he was made to wage was after he had finished the construction of the first walls of the city, the Virilian Walls so named after his good-father, Maximus Virilius. It happened that a large number of neighbouring cities hoped to play a trick upon him, by provoking the southern tribes into attacking them. Their hope was to lure Orissius and his army into fighting their war for them, then to eliminate them from behind.


    In this they failed completely and utterly, as Orissius saw through them and though he deployed his forces he was to despatch his own cavalry to either sides in all the battles that followed. Always they were to fly from the field of battle only to circle back, to strike at the rear of those who opposed these allies of the Emperor.


    In one of these battles however, he won so thoroughly that the tribal people from south of those lands once the property of Roma sent forward an embassy to beg for peace. Keen to settle the matter, Orissius had them meet with him elsewhere outside of the camps he shared with his allies. Therein the distant canyon of Monivia he made the Monivian Pact. This pact consisted of a seemingly temporary alliance against the northern-cities of Ifriquya, with Orissius thus shifting sides in the conflict.


    Crushing the ¡®allied¡¯ armies he soon marched upon the former Romalian cities, and demanded their surrender. This they refused, so that he lured more of their men out from them, slaughtered them and threatened to unleash the barbaric hordes of the south upon them. In response, the chastened northern tribes and cities at last agreed to sue for peace.


    Eager to settle the matter, Orissius had them give him the keys to each of the dozen cities with only Punicia to be plundered for three days before he had the plunderers brought to heel. Some resisted and when he struggled to restore order he commanded that their children and wives be slain. This served to chasten the men who had refused to obey, and though there had been no slaughter of their kinsmen, he commanded the men slain and had their wives and children given to his own men as wives and children to be adopted by them.


    The seeds of an empire now firmly planted, Orissius resettled a number of the men that survived along the frontier, where he had a number of forts and fort-towns built. Appointing his good-brother Ventirius as the regional governor he divided the region into four provinces which he called Punitia, Ventiria, Monivia and Portia.


    Afterwards he set out to annex Deshret and Kemet, in the hopes to lay claim to the vast grain-land they possessed and the ample number of warriors and garrisons that were to be found within their borders. Where his last campaign had lasted for four years, Orissius was to enter into Deshret without difficulty.


    The Pharaoh of Deshret received him as befitted his rank, and duly submitted to him and recognized him as the heir to Roma, in return for the recognition of her title and lands.


    Where Deshret had surrendered without fighting to defend itself, Kemet sought to defy the burgeoning empire.


    Fighting lasted for several months, until at last after siege after siege Orissius seized every city and filled them with his own troops. Once he felt confident that Kemet had been properly subdued, he was to tour their lands for two years before he returned west to Orissia itself. He was never to leave it again, as he preferred to consolidate his Empire.


    Orissius ruled for a total of thirty-two years, with the vast majority of his reign¡¯s focus being the construction of ports, cities and roads and aqueducts.


    *****


    It is during the reign of Emperor Maximus III that Orissia was to expand its frontiers overseas. At first the Empire had contented itself with conquest of the north-west of the black-lands of Ifriquya, and the domination of the lands that once belonged to Punicia, and those of Deshret and Kemet. Expanding out across the sea to South-Agenor, namely to Kul?vron whereupon the Empire within the first year saw to the establishment of friendly relations with some of the surviving cities and towns near the coast. It was with more than a little wisdom that he saw to it to ratifying his General Puntilius¡¯ treaties with the local port-cities and villages full of Romalian and Kul?vron citizens. These people were granted the citizenship that they might contribute and gain from the benefits of the Empire. Only barbarians were denied the citizenship as they were perceived to be inferior to the native people of the Romalian Empire.


    In this way the Orissian conquest of Kul?vron was bloodless, and it might have gone on unchallenged were it not for the Ogres of Korax sensing an opportunity to expand their realm invaded the southern lands. Doing so in coordination with the Zolusians¡¯ who had annexed the Tirreinian peninsula and begun to move northwards into the central plains of South-Agenor, it was their hopes to finally realize the dream of their ancient King Korax I. It was the hope of the great founder of the nation that they might expand south and control the peninsula to the south of Korax.


    It was with more than a little violence that they tore through the marcher lands just south of the mountains that separated the two kingdoms from one another. Orissian troops, reinforced by the local people of Kul?vron were to call upon aid from Zolus to help in resisting the Ogres. The then still island nation of Zolus was eager to help and pounced upon the opportunity to invade Korax which they then did. This invasion was one of the most violent affairs that saw thousands of Ogres and their non-Ogrish subjects slaughtered en masse, and their corpses used to fill out foothills upon which the Zolusians built large stone-forts.


    The Koraxians sued for peace which they received if only for three years, before Zolus continued its advance into their lands. Orissia consolidated its hold over Kul?vron as this went on. Part of the way into the war they sought to advance into Korax themselves, as they had an agreement to carve the lands between Zolus and themselves. The Zolusians for their part were to betray their treaty with their southern neighbours, as their fleets suddenly swerved about and attacked those of the Orissians and even began raiding the northern coast of Ifriquya.


    Cornered in this manner, Orissia¡¯s peaceful advance north was halted, with the Imperial forces forced to consolidate what they had in Kul?vron, even as the Empire sought to defend its lands in Ifriquya. The embassy sent from Orissia to Zolus was never heard from again, so that when the Orissians sought to avenge themselves the Zolusians¡¯ claimed them to be perfidious and switched to an alliance with Theodosianople.


    The Dorians advanced as far as the mountains east of Korax, with the Ogres fending them back, only for Zolus to finish their conquests, even as their Emperor Wilhelm III broke his treaty with Doria. Invading the lands they had invaded, which included their holdings in Tirreinia, he was to lay waste to all that they had and forced the Empire to concede Tirreinia and the lands north of it.


    The lesson taken from this, for the Dorians was that Zolus was inherently untrustworthy and perfidious by nature, so that they never again made the mistake of trusting them again.


    *****


    The reign of Justius the seventh ruler of Orissia was to show itself to be an unmitigated disaster that left Orissia nigh on a smouldering ruin. Faced with the growing power of Zolus, he attempted to at first negotiate and compromise with ever growing desperation. It happened that his fervour for peace was correctly understood to belie his weakness, as Justius was a weak and venal man who cared more for his own appetites than for the dishonour he brought to his realm. It was with more than a little disdain that Zolus dispensed with trade and even legitimate causes for war and plunged forward. Seizing some of the territories of along the coast of Kul?vron they lured the greater proportion of the Orissian fleet north near where Zolus itself was, and surrounded the navy with their smaller vessels. After this Orissia was tricked into a number of engagements in Tirreinia and Kul?vron wherefore Zolus was to make for Ifriquya itself.


    Bewildered and attacked now also in Kemet by the long-time ally of Orissia, the Valentium Empire that had been founded by Theodosian. The betrayer of Veritian, he had fled east with the vast treasury that Atenia had gathered, and had founded a city in the distant east, in Doria one that he called Theodosianople. It had grown to such a size that it was considered the Queen of Cities in South-Agenor, and controlled all naval trade in that region and also with its legions all land-based trade in the east of South-Agenor.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    A vast Empire, it had initially been a rival of Orissia and had during the reign of the fourth Empire become something of an ally with the two agreeing to trade after the Great Tirreinian War. They had agreed that Tirreinia was to remain within Dorian hands, while Kemet remained in Orissian ones, however with Theodosianople¡¯s invasion of Kemet this ancient pact was ruptured.


    Hardly equipped with the skills to thwart the flood of invasions, especially from the north and east, Justius was to attempt to negotiate once more. At this time, the Orissians thinking it to have been his fault were to have him slain. His killer who was captain of the city-watch was a man by the name of Agnaetius and was to have the gates opened to the Zolusians. Tricked by them, he was soon slain in the fighting that ensued with the Zolusians establishing thereafter their own governor to govern the whole of the Imperial heartland.


    Thus began the next two centuries of shame and humiliation for the Orissians. Once the conquerors of two continents, they were reduced to little more than subjects of a northern Empire. Zolus endured for two centuries as a great power until at last it began to succumb to internal division, this division at last exploded into a massive civil war that saw every territory begin to break off. Deshret revolted, then sided with one of the warlords who rose up, while Kul?vron fought to regain its independence just as the Koraxians did, with the two joining together. Then the Ogres¡¯ resubmitted willingly, casting out the leader of the rebels, who fled to Orissia¡¯s heartland, notably to the port-city of Ventiria.


    It was there that Agnaetius joined with the likes of lord Gaius Ifricrinnus and a number of other noblemen who had fled the destruction of the Orissian Empire. There they had remained throughout the ¡®Age of Subjugation¡¯ as the Orissian chroniclers now dub it, as they bided their time to retake their former capital city. It was during this age that they had turned to banditry and piracy, building up their skill as sailors, as they also learnt from their myriad naval defeats at the hands of the Zolusians and Dorians.


    A genius Scipio Ifricrinnus (a descendant of Gaius Ifricrinnus) was to lead them to a series of victories throughout the heartland of Orissia, and even helped in the retaking of the city by tricking the enemy into charging out of the city. Once the majority of their forces were outside it, a small group led by Ifricrinnus slipped into the city to burn the Zolusian banners so that they believed their cause lost. This accomplished Ifricrinnus then set about surrounding his enemy with his superior Ogre cavalry, whereupon he cut down the enemy where they stood.


    The capital once more the property of Orissians, they gave thanks within the shrine of Amun-Re and Roma, before they set to work rebuilding the navy they had lost. In the wars that followed they supported Asram to their utmost and were to long after he was exiled from the Zolusian Empire hold him up as an example of manliness. Though his own people had rejected him, as had the Zolusians and Dorians, the alliance he had forged between Orissia and Korax lived on.


    This alliance was to prove a nightmare to Zolus who had lost control by this time of both territories, and was forced to sue for peace to the new reigning Emperor. They even went so far as to trade princesses with the rival Empire so that they might continue to hold their lands within South-Agenor.


    Ifricrinnus reigned well and after eleven years passed his throne to his son, who was husband to a princess of Zolus. His son Maximus Ifricrinnus was to for his part reign for twenty-two years, and was to expand the navy in preparation for a renewed war against Zolus, when Zolus was invaded by a new foreign foe.


    It was at this time that the Second Wars of Darkness began.


    *****


    The Second Wars of Darkness were the most vicious wars of all times. Lands were sunk to the bottom of the seas, others raised up as the map of the world of Pangaea changed completely and utterly. Vicious fighting ensued which saw the vast majority of the many continents of Pangaea pile corpse upon corpse as they sunk into misery and decay. Empires were destroyed and kingdoms brought to ruin while new ones arose in defiance and desperation against the Dark Elves. It happened, that Orissia long the weakest of three Empires of South-Agenor arose where Theodosianople struggle and Zolus collapsed.


    Her navy led by the illustrious Admiral Virilitian of legend, a son of Tempestas herself, he was stormy-eyed and dark of hair and sunk the enemy fleet in the battles of Ventiria, Punitia and Zarilias. The last of which saw the greatest of the foreign fleets destroyed as they were misled into a maelstrom at which time, the greater part of the heavier ships of the Orissian fleet struck them from behind.


    This along with the Admiral¡¯s heroics during the battle of Theodosianople, when he used the fleet to come to the rescue of the capital of Orissia¡¯s chief rival just as the Dark Elves came very near to forcing their way in after an intensive three month siege, won Virilitian a Triumph. The most celebrated of the heroes of that age at least in Orissia, it happened that she herself was assailed during a land-invasion through Kemet. In that hour Aferian arose and joining his forces with those of the heroic Adanna he pushed back the enemy, and then defeated them and their Unliving reinforcements in the battle of Nesrukammil, in Deshret.


    In all these victories along with a great many others allowed Aferian to turn his armies about, invade the heartland of the Empire and sweep his way to the throne. It was at this time that he took the now empty throne (for the prior Emperor had been slain in battle), and Aferian, who was the first man of proper Ifriquyan descent took the throne. Taking Adanna for his bride, he founded the Aferian dynasty and though not of traditional Orissian descent he enjoyed much of the support of the traditional aristocracy.


    The line of Aferian began well with the founder ruling well, and with his successor being his son Thamaug who went on to prove himself a worthy heir to his father. As a youth he went on campaign to continuously maintain its borders, wherefore he in later years saw to the refurbishment of the city, resolved to ensure that his citizens should enjoy good, comfortable lives. He was cut short at fifty-seven years old, when he was knifed to death in his palace, with the culprit never found.


    After his reign the dynasty fell to madness as they gave themselves over to excess and madness. Melchar was to prove the maddest, the heir to a competent ruler who longed to heal the wounds only to fall ill and perish shortly after his twenty-fifth jubilee as ruler. Melchar though reigned for but nine years and believed himself to be a woman, then at other times a god and still at other times to have discovered the fountain of youth. Mad and foppish, he was later slain by his brother Magrias who has ruled over the Empire for nearly thirty-six years and has guaranteed peace even as his reign has seen the acceleration of corruption and decline. The Empire no longer has a competent officer core, no longer show-cases a powerful navy and is consumed by division and poverty, as its currency becomes ever more debased.


    Into this medley of decline of this diseased Empire, steps Lachlan the Caled¡­


    *******


    Essay #2


    *******


    At the time of the destruction of the city of Roma, Ossiria¡¯s founder was one of V¨¦ritien¡¯s legates/generals and was said to have been born a peasant, and rose to the position of legate. A half-barbarian from the lands to the east of Korax, he was to just before V¨¦ritien¡¯s death, claim the classic genii and statues of Roma, Anhur and a small collection of statues of the Vanir from Roma, and brought them to V¨¦ritien. This general was named Maximus Ossirius and he was to after the death of his liege get captured by the traitor Theodosian, and handed over as the murderer of V¨¦ritien, wherefore he escaped from the city with the assistance of a Dwarf, who broke his chains and helped to secure his escape.


    Fleeing with the god statues on a boat, he was to flee to Ifriquya, as Zolus he knew to already be lost and did not trust the King there. Arriving in Ifriquya he was to take command of the local forces, including Punitia which was sacked years after the Calamity that wrecked Roma.


    Rebuilding the city after Zolus¡¯s sack, he was to found a more secure city to the south-west and was from there to take command of ever more mercenary forces stationed in the Infriquyan provinces. Recruiting them as he had taken control of the vast Punitian mines and mercantile trade, so that he might forge the region into an Empire, Maximus was to build a vast Ifriquyan city along Romalian lines with eight aqueducts and powerful walls that none could break. Relying on the genius of an Ogre Master-Builder trained in Roma and Astavheimr so that he was one of the finest architects of history.


    Maximus reigned for forty-three years, and reorganized the religion into a mixture of Kemetian-Romalian, and was to also found the navy and Ossirian legions. Re-forging the mercenary companies into a proper army, and also converting what warrior-tribes he can into legions.


    After his reign, his successors would expand the Empire southward, and ever further east until Kemet & Deshret were incorporated into the Empire. The great wall to the south of the empire and that cuts off the eastern provinces from the heartland of Ossiria were built by the second Emperor of the second dynasty, this Emperor Maximus III was descended from Maximus I¡¯s wife¡¯s cousin and was to oversee the construction of the walls in order to keep barbarians out and was built twenty meters thick and hundreds of meters high.


    Maximus III was assassinated though, and his successors didn¡¯t rule as well, with the eastern province of Kemet was lost, and the rest was consolidated until Zolus rose and took it all from them and left Ossiria on the back-foot and in a defeated position with only a few territories in the south-west left.


    When Asram the Ogre arrived, it happened that the lord Scipius Ifricrinnus was to retake the heartlands, including the capital city of Ossiria which Zolus had taken centuries before. Scipius the Glorious was to retake all the old lands, and reforge the Empire anew and helped to severely weaken Zolus.


    After him though, the Empire was to struggle in the east against the Mardukian hordes and Dark Elf forces, when they invaded with the aid of the Unliving (Undead) and this led to the Empire facing a period of steep decline. They were to do better than most others, and with the power of her navy destroy many of the Dark Elves¡¯ attempts to fight against them by sea, with the Ossirians¡¯ final battle being at sea, in the battle of Activium where forty-thousand Dark Elves, and twenty-thousand Mardukians were drowned or slain off the coast of one of the many isles some distance from the coast of Ifriquya.


    The trouble is that after these battle the Dark Elf; Bedronias was to become a key advisor for a number of centuries, to the succeeding line of Emperors. Under his influence, the Empire grew in wealth even as it neglected its navy, and armies which eventually became ever more emaciated until the navy was disbanded, and thus piracy, Viking and Amazonian raids began to wreak havoc on the Empire. Meanwhile, as her overseas possessions dwindled her Emperors¡¯ souls became enslaved by Bedronias, who neglected also the eastern provinces, which were invaded by Mardukians, and southern tribes, while Deshret was lost to Theodosianople¡¯s new Drakonikan line.


    The Empire prefers to as she burns now leave the manning of her walls to her last remaining legions (which have been reformed into camel riding warriors, and javelin-throwers and slingers), with the people preferring to leave toil to the slaves while they entertain themselves endlessly in the magnificent Circus Scipia at the centre of the city and the Hippodrome not far from there, or the grand Theatre of Flaviona not far from the Cerulean Palace where the Emperor resides. The current line of Emperors are decadent, weak and mere puppets of Bedronias whom remains a mystery and unknown to most Ossirians, while the nobility cut down one another or squabble or entertain themselves endlessly. Meanwhile the Wavikinian Guard (a Norse set of guards) and Scarlet-Dragons the twin body-guard units of the Emperor have become utterly corrupted and part of Bedronias¡¯s hand against the monarchy, with the former personally paid for by him and scrutinized while the latter are handpicked by him from amongst the nobility and so are utterly useless as proper guards.


    Into this stage enters Lachlan of Caledonia/The Western Isles.

 Prologue: Pact of Evil

    It was an unusual night. In the pitch black of the midnight sky, nothing could be found. The vast, dark clouds hid both stars and moon, blotting out any and all light from the night sky. This however was not the reason for which one could term the night unusual, yet it was but one thing that served to contribute to the eeriness of the evening. No, what made it so unusual was the stillness. Normally, the hilly country just to the south of the Great Maximian Wall that cut through the landscape of Ifriquya just to the south of the once great Empire of Orissia was a noisy place. Yet as of late it had become strangely quiet.


    There was neither the traffic of merchants, nor the gossiping talk of pilgrims eager to make their way towards or from the great fifty-two meter high walls or one of their fifty-meter high gates. There was only silence. That which made the deathly cold night, seem all the deadlier.


    The hills that arose in the distance from those ramparts were some of the highest in all of Ifriquya and were more than hundred kilometers from them. They were each of them tens, dozens and even in some cases hundreds of meters high.


    This mountainous range was often called the ¡®Southern Highlands¡¯ or ¡®Barbarian Highlands¡¯ of Ifriquya by the people of Orissia. To those south of the great walls, they were dubbed the ¡®Northern Highlands¡¯ of the continent, and were treated with more than a little disdain and uncertainty by all.


    It was said that once upon a time, the greatest of the ancient kings were buried in those very rocks. It was for this reason that many were those who had sought to burrow beneath the surface, beneath the upper stones in the hopes that they might find treasures.


    Quite what had happened to them is a mystery that most only dared whisper about.


    At present, as the whispering wind dashed across the winding canyons, and through the vast plains that stretched out past them to the distant south, for the first time in many years, someone dared. Dared what? Dared to venture among those great and mighty mountains and great rocks that rose high above the earth, as though in defiance of the gods themselves.


    The figure, who dared to venture there, was one of many. Surrounded initially by some twenty men, he was to send a number of them away, saying as he did so, ¡°Away with thee, back to the camp with the lot of you.¡±


    Many objected yet their chieftain would not listen. He knew better than they that their hopes and future lay within those hills. The first of their number to speak up was his Captain Aarin, who complained, ¡°Must you go the rest of the way alone?¡±


    Wurade did not let them know just how uncomfortable he was. To have done so would have only evoked even greater concern on the part of his guards. Eyeing the path above, which was slanted, rock-covered and not at all properly beaten down like those of the road that led to the walls he felt a flash of irritation.


    This was not the first time he had met with Roch-Taka, the courtier there and it would likely not be the last he mused, if bitterly. So why did they have to meet in this place? In a cold, frozen wasteland¡¯s cave rather than in his war-tent where there was a fire, there was beer and the comfort of meat and stew?


    Grumbling under his breath, he dismissed his men, even as he fantasized about beating and pummeling the likes of Roch-Taka down. The young King could not help but think that unless he was presented with the keys to the gates for his troubles, he would kill the nobleman.


    As he climbed up the makeshift path forged and hammered into shape by a thousand generations which gave way to pebbles, making the pathway rougher and rougher for the individual walking towards it. He tried to light a torch, yet the howling winds blew it out, making the walk a treacherous one. Why, oh why, did he have to choose this night of all nights for the meeting with this hellish being to establish a potential pact?


    Sorcerers¡¯ and noblemen of the sedentary societies always made for poor allies. They always preferred tricks and schemes to open warfare like true warriors. It was because of this that Wurade prized his fellow tribesmen above all others; honesty among fellow warriors and brothers was important. But trickery and deception were better weapons in his view than any sword.


    The important thing, he told himself was to use any and all means he might have to ensure his people triumphed over those of Orissia.


    The cave he noticed as he entered was exactly as he had left it the last time he had visited it. That last visit seemed so long ago, though it was but two years ago. The cave was a large hole in the middle of the tallest of the three mountains the farthest away from the Wall. So dark was it that Wurade could see nothing within, so that he almost believed the darkness might be devouring stones great and small.


    It was almost as though it were trying to swallow the whole of the mountain, though it was in reality little more than five meters high and wide. Shaking his head at the darkness within, the barbarian could not help but wonder if there were indeed monsters and ancient kings of an Unliving sort still within its depths.


    Shivering, he made his way inside, tread forward with great care, resolved not to let the cavern spook him as it had all those months ago. This along with the notion that this alliance was some sort of mistake, he entered it all while glance up above, grateful that he did not have to climb up much further than a third of the way up the mountain.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Once inside he set about waiting, for the other two men hopeful that it would only be Roch-Taka who was meeting him. Pulling flint from a satchel attached to his belt, he stumbled about and with a curse began to blindly search about on his knees for the bits of wood that he could have sworn they had used for their campfire two years prior.


    He had deliberately made a point to leave some behind. He had just as deliberately, sent on two men ahead of himself three days ago, to make certain that they were still there.


    Aha! He told himself, there it was! His fingers¡¯ wrapped around the piece of bark with the young ruler letting slip a great cheer of triumph.


    This is when he saw a small ball of fire appear, and the being stepped out of the dark cavern. His ally looked like a corpse, a grey-green completion. His sharp features were accentuated by his sheer bulk, that one would not expect such an appearance from a mage. He wore a cape of hellish red with charcoal accents, he was wearing lightly armoured top and pants, with a gem on the front that emanated fell magic, and even thought the man could not use or feel magic, he just shuddered just in the presence of it. Looking at the fire, it was not so much a ball of fire, as it was his hand that was the source of fire.


    ¡°Roch-Taka?¡± The man composed himself, as he turned to face the other man.


    The man wore a cloak to keep himself warm, as if the fire emanated cold instead of heat. His clothing was light, yet warm, as to avoid detection. His brown hair and stout figure hid the sweat of his olive skin, and his brown eyes recollected his sense of confidence. He started hiding his doubt, just as he looked in the gold, soul-sucking eyes of his co-conspirator.


    ¡°Oh it is you Varkolak,¡± he said relieved, ¡°Where is Roch-Taka?¡±


    ¡°Roch-Taka is otherwise indisposed.¡± Varkolak retorted shortly, with the slightest hint of a sneer on his thin-lips. ¡°He has run into some measure of difficulty with former friends of his.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°But never you mind that, Wurade,¡± the warlock replied with a gleam in his eyes that the other man did not much like. ¡°What may I ask is the purpose behind this meeting of ours? And would it not be more comfortable, in your camp to the south of this place?¡±


    Unnerved despite himself, by this sardonic remark on the part of the warlock, eyes glittering brighter than before, Wurade attempted to hide his surprise from his dark face. He should have guessed Varkolak was aware before he had even arrived, where his camp was located.


    It was the cold satisfaction that floated its way onto the other man¡¯s thin face that indicated to Wurade, some measure of surprise had flashed across his face. Cursing his foolish mistake, he was to chewing on his lower lip resume his seat on the stone opposite that of the fallen sorcerer.


    ¡°I would ask the same of you,¡± Wurade retorted evenly, ¡°I must make it within the walls.¡±


    ¡°Really now? Why is that?¡±


    ¡°You know all too well!¡± Wurade bellowed furiously halfway to his feet, before he remembered himself, ¡°We had an arrangement last we spoke; I would clear away those enemies you wished killed beyond the gates of Orissia and in return you and Roch-Taka will open the gates.¡±


    ¡°And what dare I ask, would you do once past those gates?¡± Varkolak asked of the warrior a hint of amusement in his eyes.


    ¡°I intend to burn those villages nearest the gates, topple the Rochset clan of Dwarves that rules over Neferajar and have overseen the defence of the Great Wall for two centuries, and burn Deshbekhen to the ground.¡± Wurade replied only to hasten to add, ¡°Though I would leave all the temples intact I assure you.¡±


    He hoped that his own silky tone might win him some measure of trust on the part of the warlock; his hopes though were dashed even as he was shocked by the words that tumbled from the older man¡¯s next words. ¡°You will burn them. I am aware, so burn them and all that you find to the ground, it matters little to me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± He asked incredulously, unable to believe his ears.


    ¡°Do we have a pact, Wurade?¡± Varkolak asked of the barbarian-ruler who studied him carefully.


    It had not been the first time that kings to the south of the Great Wall had found themselves drawn into some sort of arrangement with men to the north. Each and every time in the past, it had ended poorly, ordinarily for the southern men.


    Though, he was not one to spurn a potential ally out of hand, and had a preference to err on the side of caution Wurade had good reason he thought to be tempted by this offer. The trouble was that he did not trust Varkolak for a single moment. He was the sort of man to smile at you and then slit your throat ear to ear in the next.


    It made Wurade think of his late wife Otieno, who was much the same way. Save, where she was appealing and seductive in ways no other woman could ever be, this monster of a man was anything but. To the contrary, there was something about Varkolak that simply made him shiver from disgust whenever he was near.


    ¡°Come now, do not tell me that you are still suspicious of me?¡± Varkolak demanded in his silky voice.


    ¡°I would be a fool, if I were not,¡± Wurade snapped with no less venom than before.


    The man¡¯s instinctive response was one that might well have offended another, yet not the likes of the warlock. To the contrary, he simply smiled as though the notion of someone mistrusting him amused him a great deal.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± replied the warlock slyly.


    It was just the sort of reaction that made the warrior-king nauseous. He really ought, he told himself to have selected his northern allies better. Certainly it was thanks to them, he had conquered all his allies without Orissian opposition, and thanks to them he had had a great deal of Dwarfsteel blades and hauberks, along with Masaesylian horses. All of these things had allowed him to grow his kingdom, and devour those of three other nations, all of them originally allies of Orissia.


    Yet, much as this alliance had profited him greatly he still did not have enough in his view. He did not like Orissia, and did not trust the courtier Roch-Taka, nor did he trust Varkolak. ¡°But I would have more, much more aid from you than before. This invasion will be different from all the others.¡±


    ¡°But of course,¡± Varkolak replied amused, ¡°I will guarantee more steel, more men, and-¡±


    ¡°I wish for the gates opened and for one of your Order, namely your heir whoever he is to accompany me on this expedition.¡± Wurade retorted sharply.


    Narrowing his eyes at the rudeness of the younger man¡¯s interruption, Varkolak looked as though he might strike. So fierce did he look then that the barbarian wondered if he had made a mistake.


    In the next instant though, the serpentine looking warlock nodded his head. From deep within the shadows of his robes he extended a long-fingered olive skinned hand.


    Eyeing it for one long moment, the dark-skinned Ortegian hesitated. He could not begin to count all the ways this decision, could go wrong and could prove itself, a mistake. Yet against his own better judgment, he soon reached out one trembling hand and very slowly clasped it, sealing their alliance.

 Chapter I: The Feuds of Women & Goblins

    Many were those who thought him quite odd. It was not that he was in the habit of doing anything particularly peculiar. Most days, he simply went from street to street begging, or running errands for others. This in itself is not particularly odd, especially in the imperial city of Orissia. In the largest city in all of Ifriquya this was to be expected, what was so remarkable about him and had a great many other orphans whispering constantly about him was his natural gift for disappearing from sight and appearing elsewhere within the city. Such was his knowledge of the city that many were given over to wondering if Felix was not actually a feline but a rodent.


    ¡°Always Felix finds his way from one quarter of the city, from one hill to the next,¡± people who knew him were given over to gossiping. None of those speaking were able to understand how it was that he could slip from one portion of the city to another without anyone ever being the wiser, and faster than any other person in the city.


    ¡°Between that and his constant gift for swiping fresh bread and pastries from the stands, he is nothing but trouble,¡± others were given over to grumbling, usually merchants or bakers.


    It was a constant and consistent complaint men had living in Orissia. Since the reign of Aferian II the city had begun to take a turn for the worst. It had begun to employ less men and with the constant fighting between the collegia in the lower parts of the city and the tribalism inherent in a massive multi-ethnic urban centre it had become chaotic.


    What none dared say though they knew it to be true, was the loss of purpose. Once it was believed that Orissia was destined to conquer the whole of Ifriquya, to bring it under its heel and to bring it into good order. It was also believed at that time that the Empire was destined to reconstitute the old Principate of Roma, whereupon ambitions became more realistic and the west of South-Agenor was believed to belong to Orissia by right.


    Manifest destiny though could not endure it seemed, as the Empire faltered and the great city fell into disorder even as the line of Aferian II turned away from war and to debauchery. The line of warrior-Emperors had fallen into debauchery and wickedness.


    Still though, while many merchants grumbled about Felix thieving them of the odd bread or pastry or even slice of meat, most of the elderly of the city were fond of him. None more so than old man Leodorus, who was prone to saying to any who might complain about the Tigrun, ¡°He ought to explore, who might know what the future holds for him someday? After all, with his knowledge the city-watch might someday bring him into their employ!¡±


    This statement often generated a great many scornful words, from many of those who had suffered the loss of food or coin to the feline¡¯s slippery fingers. Others who had not, or had enjoyed his charity were to give the old man a contemplative look. Those within the tavern he usually sat within eyed the old man for some time; some dismissed him at once such as the tavern-keeper, Aberash and others considered what he had to say.


    ¡°Felix working for the city-watch that will be the day!¡± Aadan grunted, the head of the city-watch he had captained the watch for more than fifteen years since he was twenty-three years of age and was not terribly fond of the Tigrun. ¡°He is a nuisance and a criminal, should I catch him thieving again this month, I will cut off his hands as I should have done long ago.¡±


    ¡°You leave him alone!¡± Kalaya growled, as protective of the child as might a mother be, ¡°He does a fat lot more good than you ever will!¡±


    The bar-wench was middle-aged, with graying hair and a slight paunch yet was renowned for her ill-temper, so that few patrons liked to tempt her wrath. She was also the sister of the owner of the establishment, whom she dominated so that to earn her displeasure was to earn his. Any other man therefore might well have submitted to her fury, yet not Aadan.


    He was made of sterner stuff, as he was always keen to demonstrate to all around him. In this way he was typical of the sort of man who fancies he has risen to his post by virtue of merit, and of manhood. ¡°Come now, he is a criminal and one who is guilty of pilfering from the most hard working of Orissia¡¯s people.¡±


    ¡°Do not try your tricks with me, I remember a time when Captain Albinus once captained the city-watch and how he was ejected from his post for corruption, bribes and theft. Strange that though he has gone, the costs of the guards and their rumoured penchant for demanding payment for keeping order within the city and spreading of contraband have only grown. It is almost as though it was not the good Captain who did those things, but another, a man who was promoted shortly after his departure from his post who did all those things and continued to do so after he has gone away.¡± Kalaya snapped bitterly, showing herself to be far more perceptive to the captain¡¯s wrongdoings than most previously thought her to be.


    ¡°Aberash your sister has begun to harangue me, do better to keep her in line, as you have done that wife of yours,¡± Aadan called out no longer of a mind to tolerate the old woman¡¯s ill-temper.


    Likely she might have argued a great deal more, however her brother shooed her away by emphasizing to her the importance of seeing to serving the other customers. Irritated, by the weakness in her younger sibling she however did as she was bidden, more interested in ensuring other customers did not feel neglected or otherwise offended, than bickering with the likes of Captain Aadan.


    The captain himself was to having lost interest in the chatter, finish his supper and prepare to leave. The establishment was to his liking certainly, however he had other duties to see to; such as reports to file and he had to oversee the changing of the guard along the east-gates where he was ordinarily to be found. Corrupt as he was, he still took his duties seriously, if only to avoid garnering for himself the attention of those above him.


    It happened though that just as he finished his mug of ale that a Minotaur found his way before him, seated himself in the seat across and ordered a mug of his own. Where the captain was dark skinned, with short hair and a short beard and stood tall at five-foot ten the Minotaur was almost an entire foot taller than him, with thick fur and shaggy long hair that was tied up in a series of braids. Dressed in silk, with long breeches and a large tunic that did little to hide the muscular build that was natural for his people to have, the horned Beast-Man studied the dark eyed captain with his own vivid blue eyes for several minutes, before he addressed him in a rough, guttural voice. ¡°The lord has work he needs done.¡±


    ¡°The lord could stand to wait,¡± Aadan grunted irritably, eager to leave the tavern and not at all keen to hear of what the Minotaur¡¯s master wished to convey to him.


    ¡°You will be amply rewarded,¡± the Minotaur replied as he dropped a small pouch of coin onto the table whilst Kalaya and the rest of the tavern were distracted.


    Intrigued now, Aadan eyed the small satchel yet he could not resist like all men of his sort the temptation to ask for more, ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, it is simply for your attention, I am to give over six more bags of silver phoenixes for you,¡± the larger male replied as his eyes glittered with amusement.


    Silver phoenixes were those coins made of silver stamped with the emblem of the line of Aferian, and had been the emblem of the Empire for well over two and a half centuries. It was for this reason that all bronze, silver and gold coins were stamped with the Imperial emblem, with silver coins quite a bit more common than gold yet more valuable than bronze. The difficulty lay in procuring silver it was said, since the downfall of the northern silver-mines to the lord of the Edervar who had rallied the lands of Edervar in Kul?vron. The rebellious general had since then to the horror of the Imperial-Court if rumours were to be believed, begun to mint coins in his own name.


    Aware of all this, and of the fact that he was in dire need of coin given how much he had gambled the prior month, Aadan sighed. ¡°What is it you wish for me to do?¡±


    Little did he or anyone else present within the Crimson-Lynx for that matter realize just how crucial this discussion was, or how much it would change the lives, let alone the whole of the Empire of Orissia. If he had known, likely Aadan would not have done what he did that evening and acquiesced to the request from his usual secondary employer.


    *****


    The sound of a bell broke the silence, just as the suns¡¯ had begun its slow rise in the east, with their rise always a source of hope for the people of the city of Orissia. At the centre of a vast Empire the likes of which Ifriquya had never seen before, she had begun as a city founded in the image of Roma, upon five hills. The city had long since outgrown the five hills, so that it was now no longer a city of a few thousand refugees fleeing the destruction of their home-city but a mighty king-city of almost ten million people at the centre of a massive and disparate Empire.


    Surrounded by the great forty meter high walls that were known as the Aquiline Walls built nigh on five centuries prior, Orissia lay along the Airtyu-River and had within her boundaries more than two hundred shrines to the old Romalian gods, along with some native to Ifriquya. Most of the temples were built of stone and were modeled after those that dotted the landscape now in South-Agenor. Many of the largest of which were square shaped building that included the North-Agenorian preference for large windows with painted glass so that the light that reflected into these temples were multifaceted and coloured. Such was the magnificence of these ancient shrines that men still paused mid-step to stare at them in awe, and women breathed heavy sighs of longing.


    The smaller shrines were once fair to behold and though built of stone, and with pointed North-Agenorian roofs atop the rectangular shaped Dorian buildings just as the larger ones were, lacked however the same cleanliness. Long since in disrepair, their once glorious stone statues had been in recent years replaced by wooden ones.


    The inhabitants of the city had long considered themselves something of the heirs of the great city of Tirreinia, and had in the early days set to work subjugating the other peoples of Ifriquya and many of those of South-Agenor. It soon came to be that they had expanded until they had stretched their borders up to those of the Dorian Empire in the east.


    Disaster though had visited itself upon the Empire not simply once but twice by this time, as they had in recent days found their once invincible armada not only in disrepair but utterly trounced. The navy that had dominated the waves and had challenged and defeated the Dark Elves in the Second Wars of Darkness, and sundered the Zolusian navy when it had sought to reclaim its prior status in the Agenorian Sea was gone now. This was it was said a disaster borne from neglect, as happens near the end of an Empire.


    The second great disaster was a famine. One that had been endured for the past two years due to the heat of the suns¡¯ which seemed more unrelenting than ever before. Such was the unrelenting fury of the heat that bore down upon them and the land itself.


    None could quite bring themselves to keep from blaming the Imperial court and Senate¡¯s mismanagement of all affairs from military (such as it was) and to administrative matters. Once it was the responsibility of court officials and local regional governors to store grain, vegetables and the like in the event of famines, now such store-houses were left to rot.


    Many were those who blamed those at the helm of state, for what had transpired in recent years, with next to none save them having profited by recent misfortunes and disasters.


    Yet among those who had profited it was whispered, were members of the priesthood who lived in the Pauper¡¯s Quarter on the Fractine-Hill. This was not a new accusation, however what had bewildered a great many, was the fact that where some members of the priesthood had perished in the flames, a number of the surviving ones had already begun to plead with the courts for permission to claim what land and properties their brethren had been entitled to.


    Among the suspects for having begun the fire, along with attempting to lay claim to that which belonged to his peers, was the likes of Brother Nifalgin.


    Most who arose that day uttered, ¡°Good morning,¡± if half-heartedly to one another, as the scars of what had already begun to be dubbed the ¡®Pauper¡¯s Fire¡¯ continued to burn in the memories of all the inhabitants of that part of the city. The fire had done more to damage despite having been cut short by the timely action of those such as the Imperial-Guard, city-watch and many others led by the Prince Aferius. When these forces had not proven enough, he had rumour had it, called upon the owner of the Circus Orissius, who was also in the thick of things to bring out the thousands of gladiators below the arena to assist, and for the head of the Red-Dragons. The latter were the mightiest of the Imperial-Guards, and served as the private guard of the Emperor himself since the time of Emperor Orissius himself.


    Not all of the Fractine-hill had been burnt though, for one thing the further away one went from the center of life there, until one was almost in another quarter of the city, the less damaged by the fire were the buildings. A good example of this was the temple of Isis, with the hem-netjer of that temple that is to say the one charged with offering sacrifices to the goddess and praying for the flock who visited it, a plump old Goblin, who was prone to early morning walks.


    Such as on this day, with the old fellow in the midst of whistling a hearty tune, as he traversed his way through the street, nodding here and there to this fellow or that one. Distracted by his own thoughts, he was en route to the city-watch¡¯s barracks, by the east-gate. Most though when the saw him did not do as a lot of those who lived nearer to the temple had done and wave at him.


    There was good reason for most not to be pleased to see him, for he was a green-skinned goblin in a dark robe, with his long nose and large pointed ears. In all he was monstrously hideous to look upon, and with his thinning dark hair, he had begun to show his age so that he was hideous even for a Goblin. It was something that tended to attract hidden looks of disgust from men and women.


    If he was at all aware of the disgusted looks cast in his direction, from those he stepped past he displayed no hint of it. He had far more important things to think about, and to do than to worry over what others might think of him.


    He was however to breathe a sigh of relief when he found himself at last before the great barracks that was the building nearest to the city watch-tower that stood to one side of the great eastern gates. Each of the four gates to the city had barracks next to them, with this one the grandest of them all on account of how it had been found wanting in the eyes of Aadan. He had invested his own resources it was said, over the years to have it rebuilt and renovated with the finest rooms on the top floor, of course reserved for himself.


    It was those very rooms that were the destination of the Goblin, who hurried on inside the square shaped twenty meter high and fourteen meter wide building. It was a typical barracks, with most of the men forced to live together on the first and second floors, while the entirety of the fourth floor was one large suite, and it was there that the hem-netjer was to find the man he was looking for.


    As always, whenever he stepped into the suite reserved for the captain of the city-watch he was amazed and awed by the beauty of the interior. The impeccable interior was resplendent with large wooden columns to support the great roof, with the ceiling painted to look not unlike the morning sky, with there being three tapestries that Aadan had stolen that depicted the great victory of Orissius the Founder, against the southern tribes, another him laying the first stone for what would become Orissia and


    He let out a prayer to the gods, just before he reached for the roasted chicken, eyes darting to the melted butter on the recently baked bread, the well fermented, imported wine. It was a breakfast worthy of a king.


    ¡°Good morning, Brother Nifalgin. I pray we continue to have a good day, free of rain if only until sunset,¡± the guardsman retorted as he paused mid-bite, a large beefy joint held in one hand and a hunk of bread in the other.


    Eyeing the Goblin hem-netjer who was almost half his size he was to regard him with the sort of coldness that came from a life-time of spilling blood, and having to slay or be slain.


    Nodding his head at him, the Goblin was to risk a glance outside, only to frown when he saw how dark the clouds were becoming.


    ¡°Lord Aadan, I do pray for rain, as the last thing we wish for is for the realm to suffer another famine.¡± The Goblin hem-netjer grunted in response to the guardsman, his eyes moving away from the heavens down onto the city, the only part visible was that which was to the west of the barracks.


    The city had been partially burnt in a large fire that had begun it was said accidentally. The blaze had consumed a third of the city, notably the ¡®Pauper¡¯s Quarter¡¯ that is to say the south-west where a great many paupers lived. It had lasted for nigh on three days and had taken a considerable effort to put out, with many proposing that it was the unusually dry weather that had caused the fire to start. The result was the same; Orissia was now a damaged city with a large number of dead, a great many survivors dispossessed and worst of all the south-westernmost parts of the Aquiline wall damaged.


    ¡°I only hope that should there once again be a fire, I will not be called hither to assist in combating it,¡± Aadan grumbled bitterly, never a man who liked to risk his life for others. ¡°I despise doing so for the Fractine.¡±


    Ignoring the casual manner in which he had uttered the original name of the ¡®Pauper¡¯s Quarter¡¯, where he lived Nifalgin was to ask of him, ¡°I do not have much time and would know why you have called me hither, Aadan? I have many acts of charity, many prayers to offer and a great sacrifice to offer to the goddess before the day is out. Therefore, do be quick about things.¡±


    ¡°Do come closer, I would speak with you without being heard,¡± the captain of the city-watch commanded if quietly so, with a swift glance at the door which the Goblin had locked instinctively. ¡°It would appear that the lady Amine has a new request for us.¡±


    ¡°And what request might that be?¡± Nifalgin asked as he seated himself across from the guardsman.


    The fare on display was nothing that he was unaccustomed to, as he had a tendency to spoil himself in similar fashion. His own comfort was important to the Goblin, who dug into some of the food in no less an eager manner as the manner seated across from him. They ate for quite some time before they continued to speak, both their mouths full of roasted chicken.


    When Aadan answered him at last, it was only after he had wiped at his lips with a cloth he had kept nearby for just such a purpose. ¡°It would appear to me that she wishes a carriage attacked and the woman inside to be publicly humiliated.¡±


    ¡°Whatever for?¡±


    ¡°Some sort of snub, on account of the lady of this carriage not inviting her to some dinner-party or poetry-reading, and then claiming that the lady Amine is of too low a rank to attend.¡± Aadan replied with a shrug of his shoulders.


    ¡°But is she not the wife of a Senator?¡± Nifalgin asked utterly confused now, whereupon he crammed another hunk of bread down his gullet.


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    Smiling in amusement, the guardsman answered simply, ¡°This lady is of truly high birth, and apparently regards a man who achieved his rank through bribes, the selling of slaves and his wife who was born the daughter of a weaver as beneath her.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that makes some sort of sense,¡± Nifalgin replied with a shrug of his shoulders, it made little difference to him what the upper-classes fought over, so long as he profited from it in some fashion. ¡°She requires this lady humiliated, how?¡±


    ¡°I need someone to distract her carriage, so that my men can humiliate the lady in question.¡±


    ¡°And who is this lady?¡±


    ¡°Never you mind who she is,¡± Aadan replied sharply.


    ¡°Why should I agree to work under such circumstances? I always know who it is, my flock target,¡± Nifalgin retorted sharply, irritated by the refusal on the part of the captain. ¡°I must know something about her.¡±


    Another bite, another swallow wherefore the guard at last retorted if impatiently so, ¡°I will only say to you that she is someone that Amine detests¡¯ a great deal. She snubbed her at a dinner party and that the plan is for two or three members of your flock to distract the driver, while my men do what they will.¡±


    Nifalgin was of a mind that the human was not telling him everything. He could almost sense that there was something hidden, certainly the motive was indeed the truth he thought, but the trouble was that he suspected it was not all there was to this quarrel. If it was just between two women, why


    Still though Aadan would not answer his many questions, and no matter how much he persisted in his attempts to extract the truth from him, he would not tell him aught else. Exasperated, the hem-netjer was to depart from the city-watch¡¯s barracks for the Pauper¡¯s Quarter with all the haste of a man with a fire lit under his rear. Eager to return home, now that he had been paid a full bag of twenty pieces of silver the Goblin was to eye every man and women he crossed on the road home, with suspicion. Most of the aforementioned individuals though, paid him but little mind intent as they were intent on arranging their own shops or otherwise seeing to their own affairs.


    Arriving before the temple where he lived, Nifalgin breathed a sigh of relief, grateful to have made it back safely. Though he was protected by Aadan and those who served him as enforcers, the streets of the city especially in the south-west of the city were notoriously unsafe the moment the suns¡¯ began to dip.


    The main hall of the temple was a large shrine between ten and twenty meters long and ten wide, it was also seven meters large from floor to ceiling. It was not the largest building or the grandest in the whole of the city, yet it was once quite cozy. It was one of the few that had remained unscathed by the fire on account of it¡¯s not being anywhere near where the fires had taken place.


    It happened that when he had returned to the temple of Isis where he lived, in the most easterly part of the Pauper¡¯s Quarter Nifalgin locked the door behind him and made for the a door to the left of the main hall. It was once he had locked the door behind him that he at last breathed a sigh of relief. This was what he liked to term his ¡®place of safety¡¯, it was his favourite place in the whole of the city as none dared venture there for fear of divine disfavour. He needed only to cross the lengthy hallway more than eight meters long and two meters wide, and he would reach the living space connected to his temple.


    ¡®Home is where the heart is,¡¯ was a popular proverb even in that time, with Nifalgin never one to really like proverbs or to consider them, and yet this was one he begrudgingly had to admit might be true.


    It was as he paused before the door, opening it a crack that he noticed a light had already been lit. This displeased him more than it startled. He rarely if ever approved of the use of his candle-wax, as he was frugal about its use and hated to part with even bronze phoenixes for them.


    Listening in on the discussion that took place, he was hardly surprised to find that it was Felix in the midst of one of his stories. One of the older boys at ten years of age, he was always keen to tell tall tales to the younger children.


    ¡°-And there he was in the midst of the Circus Orissius, blade flashing with a savagery no other man or beast-folk could ever hope to match save for Herakles himself! Hardly able to match him, Kaldran the Terrible could barely muster strength enough to guard against his attacks! I swear to you that I saw the Ogre began to attempt to plead, yet the Caled-warrior was unrelenting,¡± Felix was in the midst of explaining in excited tones. In his right-hand he held up one of the golden candle-holders that Nifalgin prized ever so much, flashing it here and there as though it were a sword. The energy with which he pranced about, leaping here and there and everywhere mesmerized even the older children.


    Though he hated to see his candle-holder used in such a profane manner, the Goblin could not deny the sheer magnetism of his young charge. Though still but a child, Felix it could not be denied had some sort of spark within him. It was only a moment, yet for a brief one Nifalgin considered letting the matter slide and continuing to eavesdrop. The Tigrun had such a gift for words that he really could not wholly blame the other children for being utterly enchanted by him.


    It was Luvius who was one of the younger children; at five years of age who broke the spell that Felix had woven. ¡°I really do like this tale, but should you really be waving the candle-stick? Nifalgin does not like it when you do.¡±


    ¡°Bah, where is your sense of romance and adventure, Luvius?¡± Felix replied cheerfully, a hint of bravado in his voice, ¡°I am not so afraid of that fat Goblin! In any event he should still be with Aadan, eating his fill and whiling away the hours until later tonight.¡±


    The hint of envy at the mention of food and the scorn that bubbled beneath the surface of his words, was enough to infuriate Nifalgin. If there was one thing he would not tolerate, from any of his young charges, especially the likes of the beast-folk such as Felix it was the slightest hint of disrespect.


    Waiting until Felix had turned his back once more to the door, and begun to engage in his tale once more, before bursting forth from his hiding place. Nifalgin was to step into the room with all the suddenness of a sudden tsunami that tended to strike the easternmost coasts of Ifriquya.


    The fury which consumed him at that moment, had some measure of satisfaction when he saw the fear that flashed across the faces of all the children.


    Most of them scampered away, fearful of his wrath and desperate to not stay close to Felix as all knew from experience that when it came to doling out punishment, those nearest to the guilty party had a tendency of attracting Nifalgin¡¯s ire also. In this situation, the cold menace that they observed in his step and disposition made more than one cast in spite of their fear of him looks of pity in the direction of their friend. The youth in question though, wasted no time in throwing himself forward upon the mercy of the Goblin who sneered down upon him.


    ¡°Please, oh please I did not mean anything by this, I was merely seeking to bring joy to everyone,¡± Felix pleaded keen to placate the old hem-netjer even as he dropped the golden candle-stick in his haste to do so.


    This proved to be a mistake.


    The beating that followed was a savage one. In this regard, it was nothing out of the ordinary for any of the children. Most of them were accustomed to this, and most had learnt to never anger Nifalgin. Felix though had never fully learnt this lesson, such was his irrepressible nature, so that he


    *****


    Leaving them briefly to go back to the kitchens, to fetch for himself some bread, milk and a hunk of beef that he had saved the prior day. He was to lock the door in all haste, making certain to hide the key in his voluminous robes before going back, as he was not at all keen to share his own meal with them. Certainly he would later have to return hither to fetch for them, the supplies for their meal as was his duty however for the moment this would do.


    When he had finished his second lunch of the day, Nifalgin rounded upon them taking a moment to savour the fear he had inspired in his charges, along with the taste and flavour of the bread he had bought the prior day.


    When he was finished he went on to sip his ale, pulled from Abydan¡¯s private holdings from outside the city where he had invested in slaves that worked the fields in place of Orissians or freedmen. As he did so, he at last glanced at the boys and little girls that remained huddled in the darkened corner of the small five meter long and wide room.


    ¡°We have received some coin, five pieces of silver if you will,¡± He said hiding the fact that he was actually paid twenty silver-phoenixes. There was no need he told himself, for them to know the full truth, not when he had plans to hide away the coin in a private box in his bed-chambers on the third floor of the building, where he kept all his most prized possessions. ¡°It involves waylaying a lady of some importance, so that Aadan¡¯s men might strip her of her dress and thus publicly shame her, for having snubbed the lady Amine and send a message to her family not to defy Abydan and his kinsmen. This will be no different from the time we did inflicted this exact humiliation upon the lady Alliya two years ago.¡±


    The children nodded their heads, with more than one swallowing with visible trepidation. There had been a great may injuries that day. Two of their number had lost hands, to the guards of the lady in question. In spite of their dread though, there were those who looked on the Goblin with open excitement. Risky work such as this, was always accompanied by hefty pay.


    ¡°Felix think you, yourself capable of waylaying the carriage of which I speak?¡± Nifalgin growled at the youth he had beaten a few moments prior.


    The boy in question nodded his head energetically despite the bruises that decorated his face and the cuts along his lip and right cheek. He was visibly daunted by the menace in the Goblin¡¯s voice and by the manner he had been threatened but a few minutes prior. Brave as he was he like all the rest, feared Nifalgin¡¯s temper. The old Goblin was known to dole out beatings as often as he was known to deny the children meals, so that they knew better than to defy him.


    ¡°Certainly, however who does the carriage belong to?¡±


    The question was an innocuous one.


    It was also one that he had foreseen, for he well knew that were it him, he would not leave for what could well prove one that might result in death. However, if there was one thing that Nifalgin detested it was divulging any sort of information, to the likes of Felix. It was not simply that he disliked the feline, but that the Tigrun had a habit of doing as he pleased and carrying those around him along.


    In short Felix was a natural leader, one with the potential to when the time came begin to overturn everything that the Goblin had built. Or so he sometimes imagined, and yet at other times he did not think so as the boy was also remarkably trusting for one who had grown up on the streets.


    For all his wit and resourcefulness he was as dependent as the rest though upon Nifalgin, who was the only one willing he knew, to provide him and the other Fractine orphans as they were called with a roof and food. Most of them could not fine honest work within the city, not with the flood of slaves currently being imported by the mercantile-senatorial class.


    ¡°None of your concern, Felix you will do as you are told, and in return you will be given an extra helping of gruel,¡± Nifalgin retorted with a little more silkiness to his voice.


    Properly subdued, and more than eager for a little extra gruel Felix soon showed himself to be no less subservient than all the rest so that he was to line himself up behind the older boys the moment the hem-netjer called for a line. They always did this when it came time for him to feed them, with the old Goblin feeding them what many might well have termed ¡®slop¡¯, yet the children always looked forward to on account of their poverty.


    They ought to be grateful he told himself, though he did worry about the very matter that Felix had brought up; why target someone with a hit without telling any of them who she was? There was something that Aadan had not told him, and as soon as this matter was dealt with he would make certain to determine what it was that he had hidden from him.


    *****


    ¡°Has it arrived hither yet?¡± Osurio asked in a plaintive voice.


    ¡°No, not quite yet,¡± Felix retorted wearily.


    The two had been selected for the upcoming ¡®honour¡¯ of distracting the caravan of whomever the lady was that had displeased Nifalgin and Aadan¡¯s patron, Abydan and his wife. It was called an honour however given the darkening clouds and the fact that there would be armed men nearby, did not make either of them all that eager for it. Adventurous though both boys were, neither of them felt much enthusiasm towards the notion of treading anywhere near them.


    The fact that they did not know the cause, or the reason for which they had to distract the driver, made it so that both of them had been tempted to fly away from the street where the carriage was supposed to pass them by.


    Hidden within the alleyway in between a large tavern and the home of the local baker, the two were near where the Fractine and the southerly hills met. The Ingressutine-Hill was the part of the city nearest to the eastern gates of the city.


    ¡°I do not much like this idea,¡± Osurio grumbled beneath his breath.


    An Ursidon, Osurio was as were all his people large, considerably more so than most of the other boys so that he already stood a foot taller than the other boys his age. Stronger than Felix he was also two years his elder, with dark fur and hair, with brown eyes a bear-like snout and claws that though not yet sharp as a bear¡¯s were already able to leave a permanent scar on those who crossed him. Dressed in a worn brown tunic and breeches, and with his feet covered by musty old boots that he had stolen and that were two sizes too small, he cut a considerably more impressive figure than Felix.


    His fur a light orange, Felix had long dark hair and blue eyes and was dressed in a similarly ragged and filthy manner, he did not argue with his friend.


    ¡°Clear the road! Clear the road!¡± someone could be heard shouting some distance away, so that both boys scampered to their feet, as they realized that the lady whom they were supposed to help waylay had arrived at last.


    The crowds threw themselves out of the path with a great deal of trouble, curses and excitement from before the carriages whereupon the great ox-drawn carriage wheeled forth from the Pauper¡¯s Quarter towards the Ingressutine-Hill.


    Carriages were a new mode of transportation favoured by a growing number of the nobility of Orissia. It allowed them greater means of privacy all while they could travel by means of an ox with these means of travel popularized by Kul?vron -born officials. The use of an ox for women¡¯s carriages a strange new fashion popularized first some ten years prior by the previous Empress (who had sadly passed away not long thereafter).


    The carriage that wheeled through the streets of Orissia was unlike any other that Felix had ever seen before. For one thing it was black or at the least a dark green colour that was almost black, with the box-like container with its large wheels was built for comfort and with curtains dark as the midnight sky pulled closed.


    It was quite the striking carriage, and was a source of amazement and curiosity for the young Tigrun who could not help but stare at it, from where he stood in the alleyway between two large stone-built houses. Next to him, Osurio the only other boy with him waited impatiently annoyed at having to wait before they threw themselves forward before the carriage.


    It was while Felix sought to place in his memory where it was that he had observed this particular carriage in the past. Who else, he asked himself had a carriage that was that particular shade of black and an ox with a green favour-cloth wrapped about its left horn? It was a very particular arrangement, one that he had heard of before and that he only now began to realize with a start to whom the carriage belonged to, and whom it carried within it.


    ¡°We must act now!¡± Osurio hissed as they pounced forward from the alleyway they had hidden themselves, before the carriage.


    ¡°No, wait Osurio we shan¡¯t do that!¡± Felix cried out throwing himself after the other boy, who had begun to race forward onto the street.


    It was not easy for Felix to even so much as slow the other boy down. Ill-fed and considerably smaller than him, he had none of the older youth¡¯s people¡¯s natural vigour and strength. Almost double the size of the ten year old feline, at thirteen Osurio was also one of the eldest of all the children who lived under the thrall of Nifalgin.


    As the two fought, the ox pulling the carriage let slip a great bellow as the two boys in the midst of scrapping and squabbling were to push one another before it. Panicking the brown-haired and bearded driver pulling on the reins let slip a great yell. ¡°Woah!¡±


    Startled he was to stare at them, and fought to keep the ox from raging and huffing at them, as worried for them as he was for the charge within the carriage the animal was pulling. He reserved for the two boys as their quarrel began to calm itself, a great red-faced bellow that was cut short when with a great laugh someone from behind the two boys threw a knife at him.


    The blade arced through the air, as one of the men in the midst of feigning the purchase of an apple had whipped about, blade in hand and made to take advantage of the present confusion.


    Just as this took place, another group of warriors, those who had waylaid the guards further along down the road, made to threaten the men sent to protect the Emperor¡¯s eldest daughter. Startled by this sudden act of aggression, the guards growled and brayed as might furious wolves, who have pups to protect and glared at the group of men assembled before them, in the streets.


    ¡°You there by what right do you bar the path of her Imperial Highness¡¯ carriage?¡± the captain of the princess¡¯ guards barked out, at those who barred the road out from the Fractine-Hill. Red-faced and furious he was to signal to all of those under his command to join him, in order to press upon those blocking the road the dangers of further disobedience.


    Pandemonium soon broke out throughout the street, as from the shadows all around the carriage surged dozens of men. Each of them hired by the house of Abydan, though not all realized who it was that had hired them.


    Some Felix recognized as members of the city-watch such as Caelius, whom he recognized only because of how the man had beaten him, a mere two months prior. A large thug with a barrel chest, a thick brown beard and hair, and dark eyes and tanned skin, he was one of the most disliked of the guards. And one of the most corrupt according to rumours.


    Stopping mid-struggle to stare at them, Felix was to attempt to call out a warning yet it was too late. His friend Osurio threw his knee into his stomach, which made the wind burst from him and sent him tottering over grasping at his stomach.


    Refusing to wait for him to recover, the older boy was gone in an instant, abandoning him to his fate with nary a glance over his shoulder. None though paid the children any mind horrified as they were by the sudden brutal act on the part of the thugs.


    If the captain for his part had hoped to impress the criminals, he was sorely disappointed. Not only did they not care, but pressing two fingers to his mouth, he whistled. At once from the alleys surged two dozen men, each of them armed with blades, cudgels and knives, each of them dark-skinned and full of wrath as they threw themselves upon the better armed guards.


    Startled at this blatant attack, the Imperial-Guards lost little time before they retaliated. Though, they were attacked suddenly from the front, several of them taking notice of the other two dozen men who had appeared behind them pointed and shouted. ¡°Captain! Captain! There, look yonder at the carriage, they have slain Zullio!¡±


    ¡°Stop you must not do this!¡± Felix yelled at the same time that the guards at last took notice of the dangers to their charge. Eager to throw himself now before those who might menace the carriage, he was casually slapped aside by the largest of the criminals, who was a large, six-foot-two man with dusky skin, and the air of a brute about him.


    The blow saw the Tigrun thrown back with his ears ringing, eyes watering and head pounding due to the pain as he leant back against the wall of the nearby house he had previously hidden behind.


    Bewildered, the thuggish captain of the guards for his part swiveled atop his horse, realizing he had been tricked even as he slashed at one of the men who sought to keep him from rushing to the aid of his charge.


    Evidently one of the men of the house of Abydan felt the same way as Felix, for he froze where he stood and called out to the tallest of the warriors, ¡°Wait this is no ordinary noble-woman¡¯s carriage but that of the princess! We shan¡¯t-¡±


    He never finished his phrase as another of the men, ran him through with his short-sword only to push him aside. As the man lay dying, his last sight that of running feet and the side of the nearby apple-stall next to a large house built of charred sand-bricks. All about thereupon the street where he had fallen and where the carriage had paused, screams were heard and people trampled over one another to escape the sudden explosion of violence.


    Hewing apart the ropes that bound the ox to the royal carriage, the head of the assailants was to throw it over with four of his men. Each of the dark-skinned brutes threw the whole of their weight and strength, into pushing it and cackling when they heard the screams from within.


    What followed was the single most important moment in Felix¡¯s life, and it was that which was destined to change the life of the princess also. While Dakarai had paused after he had torn off the door to the carriage and pushed aside the curtains, and made to force out the princess¡¯ handmaiden, the Tigrun made to stop him.


    It was as he turned now to seize the princess, to look upon her for the first time that he halted where he stood, staring in amazement at her. When the princess was drawn out from within the carriage there were a great many others who also stared.


    The reason was one that was apparent to any man with eyes, in spite of the thick green dress she wore, and the large tear-shaped cerulean earrings that hung from her ears, she was beautiful. Her figure was immensely voluptuous, without an ounce of excess fat which was so rare for noble-women of the Ifriquyan race. Her skin was dark though not nearly as much so as the men who had come after her, she had a face that was heart-shaped with full lips and a slender figure that seemed to tempt despite her efforts to dress in as conservative a manner as possible. Dark of eyes and with hair that was a contrast to most of the women of her race naturally straighter and longer than most, she was to stare in terror at her captor.


    The man, who loomed over her, knew well what his orders were, and might well have gone beyond them so as to satisfy himself with her beyond simply cutting her dress up. The spark of desire that arose in his eyes not only filled the princess with mortal terror, but also inspired Felix to action once more.


    His first attempt a few moments earlier had failed; in this there could be no doubt that he had taken the wrong approach in his view. It was why this time he did not bother to attempt to reason with the large dark-skinned warrior, and instead threw himself against his leg. The barbaric knife-men did not like the warriors of old of the Empire wear ring-mail, from neck to ankle but preferred to dress simply in ragged tunic and breeches.


    It was for this reason that the man¡¯s left foot was unguarded and Felix¡¯s teeth found their mark with relative ease as he bit just a little above the man¡¯s ankle.


    The scream that resulted startled everyone, as the knifemen doing battle a short distance away from where it was that the carriage had halted. A great cry was torn from the guards¡¯ throats as they realized what it was that their assailants were truly after.


    Furious they set themselves once more upon their attackers, this time battling with even greater fury as they tore through the lines of thugs. As the Imperial-Guards began to at last hew them apart, the thugs hired by Aadan began to peel away stricken as they were by terror.


    ¡°Felix hurry away from there! Fly you fool! Fly! Why do you tarry?¡± Osurio cried out having only now realized that the other boy had failed to follow him, away from the bloodied street.


    Stuttering out a response, Felix dazed still and having tumbled to a halt after having been shaken off from the thug¡¯s foot could barely string together a single thought. So overwhelmed was he that he offered no resistance to his friend, as he pulled away thither into the shadows betwixt the two buildings they had sprung from.


    Looking over his shoulder, Felix could not help but feel a sense of culpability at how they had exposed the princess to such danger. He did not stare for very long, worried as Osurio was about those currently riding to the rescue of Vivian, he was soon pulled back into the nearby alley and into the shadows that existed in the ¡®Pauper¡¯s Quarter¡¯.

 Chapter II: City of Death

    The sounds of bronze blades striking shields resounded through the air. The sight of them clashing, of blades and shields at work and the desperate struggle between those in the arena drew loud cheers from the gathered crowd. One of the men had a large helmet, a bare chest and a large tower shield. He wore a loincloth, and made to parry the blade of the other man, if one could even describe him in such a manner. Where the man in the loin-cloth was tanned from a lifetime of hardship and outside, the other sported the upper body of a man and the lower one of a horse. The Centaur wore a large steel hauberk and sported a similar shield to his foe which he often used expertly to protect his lower body in particular from harm. The aggression in the ring inspired a great deal excitement in the crowd, amongst man and woman alike. Throughout the tense exchanges of blows bets were made, among peasant and noble alike. The boxes of the elites had proper seating and shade from the suns¡¯, so that none of them were burnt by the suns¡¯, thus protected it did not keep the women from keeping slaves nearby to fan them, as they eyed the sweaty physique of the first of the two warriors hungrily. The elites also feasted as they observed the match on fine foods brought to them by servants where the people in the stands looked on and satisfied themselves with hard bread and watered wine. The ladies in these shaded, comfortable seats gossiped amongst one another and discussing which of the gladiators could teach their sons to fight like men. All while the men from the nobility discussed matters of trade and the recent increase in pirate raids.


    The Circus Orissius was always open on the first day of the week, and was treated as an event every time. Built during the reign of Orissius the Founder, who had escaped from the destruction of Atenia, rallied a number of the Ifriquyan Legios and set the first stones down upon the five hills of what later became Orissia. Once he had built the first buildings of the city he set about over the next fifteen years planning and constructing such structures as the Hippodrome and the Circus Orissius. He had done so with the aid of more than three hundred thousand men from Tirreinia and Kul?vron, along with Punicia, with his Circus no less grand than that which had once stood in Roma. The Circus itself was an impressive structure more than three hundred meters long, two hundred and fifty nine meters wide and seventy meters high. Able to fit nigh on one hundred and sixty-thousand individuals it was considered the envy of all lovers of gladiatorial spectacles. It was also the favourite of Magrias¡¯ many distractions and the reason for which he made certain to visit it every week, at times twice a week.


    Three members of the Imperial Senate, seated in the second to uppermost boxes (the one directly to the left of the great Imperial one) atop a series of cushioned benches bent their heads together to whisper among themselves. They were seated nearest to the great stone wall that held up the Imperial-Box, with the three of them dressed in tunics, breeches of the softest silk and with great cloaks thrown over their left shoulders in what was the latest style for men. The first among them wore a green tunic with his cloak a soft blue, and red breeches, the second wore a blue cloak and tunic and red breeches, while the last one wore brown and had a red cloak.


    Each of them were plump, middle-aged and had come a long way in their careers and were more preoccupied with whispering among themselves than worrying over what the other twenty men in their box were doing, or what their wives were up to in the box with them were doing. Each of them had already placed their bets and felt comfortable in his choice, even as their wives watched with bated breath the match progress.


    ¡°It really has gotten out of hand, the Scarlet-Lady¡¯s pirates are said to have raided the village of Villia to the east,¡± one of the lords, Avarius grumbled furiously. ¡°I shan¡¯t believe how much more common these raids are becoming!¡±


    ¡°She has been recruiting from among those captured I imagine,¡± Verdian hissed with no less apprehension and fury. ¡°I have also heard she has not been setting the ships¡¯ she captures ablaze but recruiting them into a growing armada!¡±


    ¡°This would not be a concern if we had a stronger Emperor, or still had the armada of old,¡± Fallerian complained loudly.


    The peasants themselves for their part sat upon large open air benches, each of them sweating and suffering under the heat of the suns¡¯, not that they paid them much mind. They had come to the Circus Orissius for a show of combat, just as the nobility looked on, and betted so too did those throughout the rest of the arena. Notably, the young women of the lower classes just as those of the upper ones did in the private boxes swooned, while young men and boys alike cheered for their preferred fighter.


    Therein the middle of the arena, there was not a care for the thoughts or opinions of those watching them. The armoured gladiator slashed diagonally from top right to the bottom left, only for his blow to bounce off the shield, his foe for his part thrust out his shield in order to send him tumbling backwards, tripping into the sand. The fallen man drew a gasp from a great many of the women, whereupon he slid backwards and back onto his feet. Rolling with the blow, and regaining his feet with all the smoothness of a panther. When next they came together, the man threw his shield to the ground to the surprise of his enemy, and moving forward, grabbed at the shield of the Centaur, who surprised by the attempt to grapple for his shield, tried to thrust the shield once more at him. The shield was pulled free and thrown away, only for beast-man¡¯s attack to be anticipated, with his foe catching his sword-arm by the wrist.


    While the two struggled for dominance, each one gripping the other¡¯s sword-arm by this time, in the Imperial-box seated atop a grand gilded, golden throne, Magrias the Emperor of all Orissia looked on. Most had learnt over the years to fear that gaze, for whomsoever it should descend upon could more often than not count upon death being quick to follow after it.


    Dusky skinned, dark eyed with a thick beard, Magrias had long since gone bald and had developed a pronounced paunch due to his over-indulgence. Dressed as he always was in purple silk robes tied together by a golden-girdle and with golden coronet that was decorated with rubies and emeralds, Magrias gripped the sides of his throne with visible eagerness.


    The throne itself was a gold chair that was a foot higher than the seats of the men and the divans of the women who reclined before the men and to the sides of their box. Most of the chairs were made of bronze so as to distinguish them from the golden chair of their ruler, with their armrests cut in the shape of herons, whereas those of the Emperor were shaped in the manner of phoenixes. Where the princes wore red, green and blue silk with cloaks cast over their left shoulders, their father did not.


    The great phoenix-shaped chair of Magrias long known as the Agate-Throne was bedecked also in jewels such as rubies, topaz stones, emeralds and purple gemstones all along the back of the chair. Many were those who had been caught staring greedily at it, with those slaves that did often tossed from the Imperial-Box and into the arena as punishment. Those princes and noblemen that did had a frequent tendency to often be reprimanded or their corpses found in the streets the morning after.


    At present he was seated with his family and favourites, with a number of them all seated around him, with the dusky-skinned Emperor leaning forward on the cushion atop his intricately forged throne.


    Seated before the men-folk were the women who reclined on a series of cushioned sofas, near to the edge of the Imperial-Box, most of them fanned by fans made of ostrich-feathers which were wielded by a number of female slaves. The slaves themselves were better dressed in many respects in their pale silk dresses than the peasants that were seated to either side of the five great boxes reserved for the nobility and Imperial family.


    A man prone to playing favourites with his court and family, it happened that for the first time in a great many years Magrias had scandalized a number of the merchant-Senators as they were called by some of the old warrior-nobility and invited a man of common-birth into the Imperial-Box.


    The newest of Magrias¡¯ favourites was Berach. A bluff old soldier, who sat upon a hard, wooden chair with the upright posture of a man accustomed to being on the road. Though he ran towards stoutness in recent days, there was a glint still in his old blue eyes, a vigour to his movements and formidable air about him. It was for these reasons that he impressed the Emperor, who had once soldiered to the southernmost edge of the Empire and even travelled to the east, just shy of Deshret.


    What separated Berach from the likes of other generals was his humility. He knew his position at the side of the Emperor was a dangerous place to be, and did not seek to enhance it. To the contrary, his only hope was to be dispatched once more to the frontier finish bolstering the defences of that region whereupon he intended to retire. Fear of the factions that surrounded his liege and of the mad glint in the man¡¯s eyes were what prevented him from becoming ambitious.


    Though most had not taken to him, there were however some of the princes that approved of their patriarch¡¯s choice with Aberash the one who approved the most. Always eager to please his father, he was also the most approving of war, the gladiator matches and of the races in the Hippodrome.


    ¡°Look at him! I have never seen a man fight quite like him,¡± Prince Aberash murmured to the man to his left as he pointed out the tanned, helmed figure struggling with the Centaur.


    ¡°I have once or twice in my time,¡± General Berach admitted, though he was nonetheless impressed and studied the warrior with a great deal of care. Hitherto now he had not gambled, and so he turned to the second to eldest of the princes and with a glint in his eyes he said to the youth to the right of the Emperor. ¡°Prince Bukarus, you placed a rather large bet upon the Centuar I do believe.¡±


    ¡°Boagrius yes, as he has never lost a single match before,¡± the prince confirmed with a slight twist of his lips. ¡°And it was a rather large piece of land just to the west of Punicia, why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I would place a bet; I will gamble you the whole of my past year¡¯s salary and the town-house your father recently gifted me, on the victory of that man down there.¡± Berach replied pointing at the arena.


    This statement amazed those around him, with only a few turning to gape at this rather expensive gamble. More than one of them guffawed now, for most were quite impressed by the feats of strength and skill that the gladiator had achieved certainly, yet none believed he could secure victory over Boagrius.


    The Centaur may have originated in Punicia¡¯s great arena the Circus Punicius, where he had dominated for twenty-two years every match he had participated, however he had struggled more than ever before in his entire career, with the greatest of Orissia¡¯s gladiators. At first he had circled about, preferring to err on the side of caution before he had pounced, at which time he had seized the advantage in the fight.


    Observing this, the warrior returned his attention to the battle happening before them, his gaze hard and yet still interested. Seeing this Magrias leant over to whisper to him, with most not able to hear what was said.


    When the Emperor leant away, he was to lean towards his heir Ejike to whisper now to him, whilst his favourite continued to study the Gladiators.


    ¡°What is his name?¡± Berach asked after he had placed his bet, keen to hear more about the man upon whom he had staked his future, his eyes never leaving the distant figure, such was the interest he had taken in him.


    ¡°His name is Lachlan, he is a Caled,¡± one of the women piped up.


    It was Vivian, the eldest of the princesses of the Imperial line of Aferian. The general glanced at her if only momentarily, one of the few men in that box who could do so. The princess took no notice of this, far more interested as she was in the match taking place before her. As she did so though, several of the women watched her with serpentine eyes and began to whisper between themselves, with even the slaves doing so.


    The princess hardly cared what they thought or believed. Fascinated as she was with the match far below, she watched with bated breath just as many other thousands of women did, even as she attracted the interest of others.


    ¡°He first came here some eleven years ago, Berach,¡± Magrias replied pleased at the other man¡¯s interest in one of his favourite ¡®toys¡¯. ¡°It happens that Emeka bought him rather cheaply, and set him to work within the Circus as a Gladiator. He has since refused to sell him, no matter the number of offers that have been sent his way.¡±


    Their attention was diverted from their discussion by a sudden scream that burst from the likes of Boagrius.


    One might not have expected a man to be able to overpower one such as a Centaur, with the two focused upon wrestling for dominance. The first to make to pull back in an effort to raise up his horse-legs was the Centaur Boagrius. This was not only expected by his foe, but counted upon, as his enemy reacted with a sudden strong, inhuman pull, one that drew a great scream of agony from the brown-haired horse-man as his arm was dislocated.


    Not yet finished, while his foe let out his last cry, the other warrior acted swiftly; tugging his sword-arm loose he was to rear back to gather momentum before he slashed one last time at his foe.


    This caused the crowd erupting into cheers, they were not alone in their jubilation at the sight of blood. Magrias carried along by the eagerness of the crowd to either side of him threw himself forward from his throne, cheering and applauding with visible joy. Though, she had long considered herself quite above such displays, princess Vivian was no less consumed by a great deal of personal satisfaction at the gladiator¡¯s victory.


    Presenting the head up for all to see it, the warrior was to when he saw the Emperor motion upwards reach up to remove his helm.


    This was the part of the matches that was always Vivian¡¯s favourite. She burnt to see the man¡¯s vivid green eyes, scarlet mane and stubble, so that she leant forward to see him better.


    The distance between them was one that irritated her, more than she cared to admit and that made her all the more conscious of her choice in raiment. Dressed in a gold-trimmed white dress, and wore like her father blue silk slippers, with gold armbands, rings and earrings. Dusky-skinned, with dark eyes and long straight hair (a gift from her mother), she was voluptuous and was propped up on one elbow as she reclined nearer to the edge than any other woman present. Bedecked in gold and silver, with a tiara of silver and diamond jewels upon her brow


    Her father standing near the foot of her divan, she hoped that Lachlan might have seen her, and held her breath as she did so.


    The head was held up, and snapping his fingers for one of the slaves to hurry forward, Magrias without so much as a glance at her took the offered satchel of bronze coins and threw it down


    The bag landed at the man¡¯s feet, whereupon he threw away the grizzly trophy he had held up and taking up the bag held it up now.


    Yet he did not do as countless others had before him. As always, he did not bow, nor did he lower his eyes as he turned away.


    There were eruptions from the crowd, as he returned to the cells that were to be found below the seats. The warrior exited the arena through a large iron gate that was situated to the left-hand side of the great arena, which house a large gate also to the right-hand side and another six hidden ones. The hidden doorways were for the introduction of animals into the arena, with this particular act one that Magrias loved to inflict upon the slaves that fought for his delight and entertainment.


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


    He was not alone in this regard, and it was for this reason that as the battle had progressed, many of those around him had leant forward eager to gain a better view of the violence.


    Yet as the youth retreated into the catacombs below, nary a glance in the direction of the great crowd that filled the arena. His manner was cool, indifferent and utterly distant as it had always been.


    The coolness of his departure was something that had not changed in a decade, with his disdain for the chains that bound him, something that served at present more to amuse those around him, than infuriate them. Yet there was one who did not cheer, laugh or applaud at this departure, for he saw in the eyes of the man a great tiger, or a wolf simply watching and waiting for a time when it might break free.


    Contrary to others, Berach felt worried. He had a sudden instinct that the man he had just borne witness to was destined for far greater things than to end his days, for the amusement of a declining Empire. Quite where destiny might lead him, he did not know. He knew only that if destiny was to handle Lachlan as it had handled all others before him, it was unlikely to touch him gently. It suddenly made him concerned for the people he had sworn to protect and those he had sworn himself to; had they the wisdom to see the dangers of caging a wolf as they had?


    *****


    As she travelled through the city, long after she had toured the Pauper¡¯s Quarter and the burnt ruins of the temple of Hathor that she had once visited every week, she thought back to that day. To say that Vivian loved the Circus Orissius was a mild statement. She adored it, and had grown up with it. Yet not for the same reason that her brothers did, for to her there was much that might be said about the Circus that did not please her. The stench of death, the garish displays when men died, these did not appeal to her, nor did the vision of men being torn asunder by beasts. Yet what did appeal to the dusky-skinned maiden, was Lachlan himself.


    He had arrived ten years prior, in chains having been a brigand. There were rumours he had been sold by an angry former lover, the maiden Tanya the Sword-Dancer herself. She had drugged him and left him for the Imperial Legions, who had rather than killing him decided to capture him, and sell him into slavery. Someone had expressed interest in him apparently, and had decided to make a gladiator of him, so that he had fought for the Empire¡¯s entertainment for the past ten years.


    Vivian had thus grown up with visions of his muscular build, his flashing red hair and steel sword and where he had as a little girl frightened her, as she grew into womanhood he had come to fascinate her. Her family was a large one, with a great many men-folk in it, and she had met as princess a number of Imperial officials over the years, many of whom had asked for her hand. Yet none of them were quite like Lachlan, she had noticed. None of them radiated with his sheer barbarism and masculine nature, so that she could not resist comparing most of them to him.


    ¡°Such barbaric displays are an unbecoming sight for an Imperial princess to see,¡± her former nanny Fadzai nagged, hardly pleased at how the princess always insisted upon going to visit the gladiatorial matches, or so the princess assumed.


    ¡°Really I fail to see what is wrong, with them,¡± Vivian countered at once.


    ¡°But really, to see them pawing at you, and weeping and blubbering and begging it really is unbecoming,¡± Fadzai complained at some length, which served only to confuse the princess. Seeing how the princess had reacted, the nanny studied her intently, with a keen-eyed pair of dark eyes before she muttered, ¡°What do you think I meant? I spoke of those orphans and those desperate men.¡±


    ¡°They really are not so terrible as all that,¡± Vivian retorted of a mind that her nanny was in the wrong, where the peasants of the city were concerned.


    Vivian might well have said more to her nanny and handmaiden, annoyed at how the two women had needled her about Lachlan when the carriage came to a sudden halt. Confused the women assuming that they had halted simply due to traffic, as the Pauper¡¯s Quarter was infamous for its small roads and terrible traffic turned back to their discussion.


    What they did not expect was a series of shouts, and for there to be laughter once more, and for the women within the carriage to suddenly find themselves thrown to one side. Each of them screamed hysterically as the carriage was pushed aside, thrown over so that the door might be torn off of its hinges.


    Frightened by the dark grinning face that stared down at them gleefully, the first to be extracted from within the small box on wheels was Etenesh. She was thrust aside with the young woman screeching in terror.


    The intention of the man that loomed over her was unsettling to say the least. The sight of him leering down at her, horrified and sent a chill up and down her spine one that made her freeze even as she felt his hand wrap itself about her wrist.


    Pulling her up from the carriage, he was to hold her by the arm, leering and smiling all about him, as might a hunter with a newly caught gazelle. Vivian frightened and feeling small could only stare at him in wretched horror before she began to weep and screech, instinct overtaking reason as so often happened when women were faced by the horrified foreknowledge they were to be defiled.


    Everything happened so swiftly that she was later to struggle to remember it. But as it happened the man went from leering and triumphing, knife held up to screaming in pain, just before he was distracted by a small Tigrun kitten biting into his leg. Dropping her, onto the ground he was to focus the majority of his attention upon the child whom he kicked away with a growl.


    He did not have long to abuse the child as the captain of her guards, Filbert came racing back to the carriage, sword in hand and death in his eyes. Cutting asunder the lives of all those before him, he was to hew down all the assailants of the princess and her women who all clung to one.


    What Vivian noticed if absently was how the guards sought to chase away the last of her attackers, only to then turn about when Fadzai pointed out, ¡°There were children involved, an Ursidae and a Tigrun!¡±


    This caught the attention of Filbert who immediately ordered that the children be found and slain for their participation in the attack. Vivian wished she could have objected, however her voice which rarely if ever failed her was now to prove itself a dead thing that she could no more command nor summon forth.


    This she knew was wrong, and yet she could do nothing more than stare after the guards dumbly, tears coming to her eyes even as she felt a flash of guilt for the boys. As she sat there, weeping with her women she wondered if distantly; why had those men attacked her and who might well have sent them?


    *****


    The guards seemed intent upon chasing them throughout the city with both youths tiring quickly. Thankfully, while the guards were larger and had the advantage of longer limbs, the boys had the advantage of knowing this part of the city far better than they. Familiar with every alley, every food-stall, and every building charred and unmarred they were able to make use of this knowledge to put some distance between them. Yet the city-watch seemed relentless, now that they had to cover up their own involvement in the attack on the princess.


    Frightened the pair was to realize fairly swiftly that they could not evade their pursuers forever, not if they hoped to live that is. It was Osurio who was to ask the question first, ¡°What are we to do, Felix?¡±


    ¡°I do not know!¡± Felix snapped at him as he looked about all around them, in a panic. They were in between a pair of buildings that had been partially destroyed in the fire. Neither was immediately recognizable to him, yet he had the suspicion that they were nearer to the center of the Pauper¡¯s Quarter.


    ¡°Oh! Look there is a sewage grate!¡± Osurio replied as they turned the corner to find themselves just behind the large eight storied apartment-building to their left.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°A grate Felix,¡± Osurio urged him eagerly, with the Tigrun more than a little apprehensive, seeing this, his friend urged him, ¡°Help me with this Felix! Hurry!¡±


    Reluctantly Felix followed his urging and worked to remove the grate. To his surprise it was not sealed into place but slid if ever so slowly out of place. They were fortunate in that it had already been partly dislodged from where it ought to have been, Felix noticed. Distracted by his apprehension as the steps of the city-watch grew ever louder, he almost let slip a small cry of surprise when Osurio released the large hunk of iron.


    ¡°This ought to be enough, now let me squeeze down,¡± Osurio told him just before he began doing just that.


    ¡°Fine but be quick about it!¡± Felix hissed at him urgently, now full of fright at the sound of the watch and guards that could be heard growing louder.


    Hardly waiting for the other boy to have finished descending, he soon threw himself into the sliver of darkness that was available to them, seized by fright and impatience as he was this seemed the most natural thing to do.


    The ladder that was supposed to be there felt wet and rusted, yet neither boy paid this the slightest mind, as Felix came near to stepping on the small fingers of the other boy with his boots. ¡°Watch where you step!¡±


    ¡°I shan¡¯t see, now move so that I might move this grate back into place,¡± Felix growled back at him, with the other boy struggling against him ever so slightly.


    Shaking him off the tunnel they were in was six meters wide with the middle stinking of waste and refuse, and full of slime while to the sides where they stood were slippery yet firm marble slabs to stand upon. It was with more than a little amazement that the two boys made to light a torch, succeeding in doing so after a few minutes at which time they had a difficult decision to make even as they wrinkled their noses in disgust at the stench.


    ¡°Where do we go now? North or south Felix?¡± Osurio asked of the Tigrun, who glanced all about them, in confusion.


    ¡°I do not know,¡± He blurted out without thinking.


    ¡°How can you not know?¡± Osurio yelled back at him, only to glance up above them as they heard the sound of feet striking the metal grate they had slid back into place a few minutes earlier. Quieting himself if ever so slightly, the young cub of a bear-man repeated his shout if in quieter form, comporting himself as though the feline had not heard him the initial time.


    ¡°I have never explored this part of the sewers,¡± Felix retorted throwing his hands up in the air, ¡°The whole of the sewage system and aqueducts are labyrinthine, I am careful about where I go and which part of the city I explore.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because we could be lost down here forever,¡± Felix told him sharply whereupon he added, ¡°Do you remember Tagrias?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well he tried to explore the whole of this place, and I never saw him again,¡± the feline reprimanded him sharply, adding for good measure, ¡°Therefore be quiet and be careful when exploring this place.¡±


    Though he looked skeptical and as though he wished to argue with him, the bear-cub was to nonetheless nod his head and do as bidden. The two of them were to wrinkle their noses at the stench that permeated the whole of the sewers, as there was more mould and rotten food in that place than there might well have been found in the whole of the rest of the city.


    The very worst part of it all, in the view of the other boy was how though they stood on the precipice made of stone, with nary any idea of where they were headed. It was this terrible dash into the unknown that made Felix nervous, as he had no interest in dying down there or in meeting with a deformed cannibalistic Minotaur as Theseus had in the old stories about the King of Minevra.


    *****


    It was difficult to tell how long they wandered down there beneath the city. The hours stretched into what seemed an eternity even as it looped back in on itself or so it seemed to the two boys. Horrified to find themselves despite the string that Felix had remembered to bring along with them, by virtue of how accustomed he was to travelling the tunnels. It had long become a habit of his, and one that he had learnt to keep to since Tagrias had disappeared in the tunnels below the city some years ago.


    It was as they advanced that the two boys diverged in how they approached their being lost in the tunnels below the city; Felix was distressed while Osurio was swiftly bored. Where one felt pleased to leave behind the muck of the sewers, along with their stench the other was increasingly restless.


    The walls remained firm and stony however over time they came to find themselves at one time rising and advancing uphill much to their surprise. It was with a start that the boys realized that they had left the sewers behind after a number of hours as the pool at the center of the tunnels grew ever slimmer, until at last they left it behind in favour of a simple wooden pathway.


    ¡°I wonder, if this was built as a means to get away from somewhere, or towards some place,¡± Felix wondered after they had found and squeezed themselves through an ovular hole in a wall that led to a new series of tunnels.


    This period of restless ushered forth by these newer tunnels, and the sense of being lost was brought to an end when Osurio let slip a great cry of joy.


    ¡°Look what I found Felix! Another rod!¡± Osurio shouted gleefully, swinging the rod as though it were a sword, only to hit wall and jump a few feet as the sound echoed throughout the tunnels.


    ¡°Yes, yes, now put it down,¡± Felix grunted hardly paying him any mind, focused as he was on trying to find his way through the twisting and turning tunnels.


    Soon, he thought to himself, soon he would find another ladder that led up to a grate and from there, they would step out into the city what he found was that while he was focused upon the tunnels ahead, his companion was already growing bored. Easily distracted even at the best of times, Osurio was to ignoring his surroundings take to playing with the iron rod he had found, with nary a thought for what the younger boy told him.


    Irritated by this, and by how the other boy was indifferent to his pleas and his own complaints of fear, Felix was in the midst of preparing a particularly furious remark when he suddenly found himself falling forward. His cry of pain as he struck his knees and hands from when he raised them to break his fall resounded, Osurio at last breaking from his game to offer him some aid.


    ¡°Do be careful Felix, you ought to pay closer attention to your surroundings when you walk,¡± Osurio remarked to him.


    ¡°I know that, it is not my fault I did not see that thrice damned grate-¡± It was then as he cursed the metal hunk he had struck his foot against that the two of them stopped mid-speech, looking first at one another then, at the grate in shock.


    The two of them found themselves gaping down at another great grate, this one though looked when they glanced closer at it to be far more manageable. It was almost from what little Felix could tell about it almost half the weight of the one that they had lifted when they had slipped into the sewers.


    Eager to find some way out of the stench-filled tunnels (as there was little left to vomit and they both felt sick and wearied from the hours¡¯ long journey by this time), they studied it at some length. It was with more than a little eagerness that once they had finished examining the large block of rusted iron that they set to work peeling it from the ground.


    ¡°Take that rod if you will, Osurio,¡± Felix said to the other boy, eager to open up the tunnels below them. ¡°I wish to use it to leverage this thing out of place.¡±


    Eager as always to do something, the other boy did as bidden and was to slide the rod into place and throwing his weight against it he pressed down upon it.


    The grate seemed to resist for several minutes, with the second boy pressing his own weight against it. The rod screeched, and the grate groaned with the two locked together with the two of them resisting one another for what seemed to be an eternity. The first to give way though, was the grate which in spite of its screeching resistance eventually gave way, so that the two boys were soon peering into the darkness below them.


    Casting the torch over the hole, they could only discern shadows, and the ground itself. Ground without the slightest hint of mud, water or filth much to the delight of the two boys.


    ¡°This place looks safe,¡± Osurio declared thinking it most auspicious as he tied the rope to the nearby stone that they had moved.


    ¡°I do not know about this Osurio, it does not seem wise to me,¡± Felix muttered reluctantly, doubtful of the wisdom of his friend¡¯s plan.


    As always the other boy did not listen to him, so that the Tigrun was carried along after him if against his will. Made to descend down the rope first, he was to settle his feet thereupon the ground of what was a darkened chamber.


    It took even his feline eyes a moment or three to adapt to the shadows of the room he was now in. Once he did, he felt a chill rise up all along his spine, at the realization of where it was that he found himself; he was in a cell.


    All about him were a number of large men, most of them dressed in mismatched armour, most of which left their chests bared. This could only mean one thing, he mused to himself with a start; they had found their way into the catacomb of cells beneath the Circus Orissius. The worst of it all was the realization that they were not alone. Stricken by panic when he saw a number of people all around him, Felix turned back to his just as the other boy worked to light a new torch.


    ¡°What do you think you are up to? We shan¡¯t light a torch here! There are too many of them!¡±


    ¡°But I cannot see anything like you,¡± Osurio complained loudly so that all around them a number of the men stirred.


    ¡°Be quiet!¡± Felix hissed at him.


    The torch was lit and at once they saw more than a dozen men sleeping next to one another, in the tiny cell where they found themselves. It happened he realized that there were not three or four men as he originally thought, but nigh on two dozen in a space that was only eight meters long and four meters wide so that the gladiators were piled atop one another.


    Reacting at once to the sudden flash of light, one tall, large figure suddenly arose to loom over the rest, ¡°What in the name of Roma is that?¡±


    Seeing the slow rise of a large figure just after his voice resounded throughout the small cell they had fallen into was more than Felix could properly bear.


    Why he asked himself, had the gods deserted him, he asked himself freezing if temporarily so.


    Hearing the strange figure¡¯s shout and becoming afraid, Osurio climbed back up the rope that they had used to descend pulling himself up, with the aid of Felix. When he had reached the top he was to turn about to look down at the Tigrun who hissed at him, ¡°Do hurry help pull me up!¡±


    As he hissed at the other boy, he climbed up as swiftly as he could without losing anything with regards to momentum. His hopes high as they were and great as they were came however to naught. The reason for this was due in no small part to the fact that the other boy, knife in hand soon cut through the rope.


    ¡°Sorry Felix, but I shan¡¯t risk it!¡± Osurio whispered back at him, ¡°You cannot have made it!¡±


    ¡°Osurio you great big oaf, and son of a whore!¡± Felix cursed after him, hardly able to believe what his friend had done.


    Curses and expletives followed with the Tigrun scrambling to his feet to wave his fist at the other boy up above him, however this availed him nothing. Helpless in the face of the gladiators who surrounded him now, he could do nothing save gape.


    This did not last. It could not last.


    The scream that was torn from his lips was cut short as he was gripped by the throat, as the man who loomed above him tore him off the ground in a grip so crushing the boy could feel himself losing consciousness.