The Scholar pounced from his saddle, rushing immediately over to those sprawled on the ground, the signs of intense battle were everywhere with many lying dead. “HURRY AND USE THE FINDWALE, IF THERE IS NO FINDWALE USE THE AETHER! JUST HURRY AND PUT THEM TO SLEEP BEFORE THEY HURT THEMSELVES!” Taking control over the situation, the Scholar established an immediate triage. Many of those involved on the frontlines lay dead, Timeaus was quickly stabilized, luckily for him the cut was clean allowing the medics to staunch the bleeding and seal the wound for now.

It was a little more delicate and difficult of a situation for the young arena champion who was still in immense pain, his body resisting the black shadow that would occasionally be seen floating beneath the skin. Whatever it was everyone present knew it could not have been good, there was only one person who could deal with that right now. The few preparations that needed to be made to accomplish this task were left with Maatilani who could be trusted to make the proper preparations before the Scholar’s arrival.

Now there was one more to see to. The Scholar kneeled next to the heavily breathing figure. Laying there in the wet dirt was Viriato, a pool of blood surrounded him, and his entrails were leaking from the gaping wound in his abdomen. It was he who had laid the monster low, his tenacity and courage which saved the lives of many more at the cost of his own. Also at his side were the two former slaves, Spurius and Paulus, they were all that remained from the batch of five that had been purchased in Myrmien.

The two young men had difficulty speaking through the tears, their eyes and nose dripping with fluid. Caedyrn was aware that the older man had been something akin to an older brother or an uncle to many of the younger slaves. He had been personally involved in the mentoring and training of the two men kneeling in the dirt at his side. They were the closest thing he had ever had to children, having been robbed of that when he was taken from his home and family.

“M..y…Lord… I’m…Sorry…I…cannot…. greet…you…properly…” Viriato struggled to get the words out, his breathing strained from the exertion. His fingers trying to gain some purchase upon the earth below, as if he was attempting to lift his body to show the proper respect to the man kneeling before him.

Placing one hand on the man’s shoulder the Scholar looked him in his eyes, there was very little life left in them now. “You did well warrior… you honored your god… and you honored me… I am no lord in the face of such righteous dedication. For your actions I grant you your freedom and my friendship. Refer to me as Caedyrn and know that you go to meet your gods in the hall of ancients, not as a slave… but as a free man.” Tears streamed down the sides of the man’s face, he spoke no words and made no attempts to do so. His breathing gradually slowed, his eyes glazed over and eventually Viriato, son of Vicatus passed from the world and rejoined his people once more.

Reaching over Caedyrn placed his palm upon the man’s eyes and slowly pulled down, granting the warrior his much-deserved rest. There was however still one more task that had to be dealt with before assisting in Timeaus’s surgery and the champion’s ordeal. His eyes drifted over to the corpse of the strange inhuman giant, much of it was disfigured and destroyed, but there were many peculiarities about the structure of the skeletal frame. A vivisection had to be done now, while the underlying functions were still fresh, it was unknown what information could be gleaned about its creation.

“M…My Lord… a moment of your time please.” Before Caedyrn could rush over to the rapidly cooling corpse he was impeded by the two young men, Spurius and Paulus. They bowed their heads in respect keeping one fist to their heart in a customary League salute, it was also simple to tell that the two were nervous, from the involuntary stutter to the nervous shakes.

The Scholar relaxed his shoulders and took a deep breath before placing his hands upon the shoulders of both men. “Why don’t you two give that a try as well. Relax your shoulders…deep breath in… deep breath out.” The two followed along and after a few repetitions appeared a little less tense, there was still some there, but it was better than before. “Now that you two appear to have calmed down, why don’t you tell me what the issue is. I understand that you are both in pain… but I don’t have much time and there are others that need help… So, I need you to let me know what you need.” The two nodded in understanding, their eyes drifting over to the corpse of Viriato before turning their attention back to the man standing before them.

“We would like to know how you plan to deal with the corpses of the war dead?” It was a simple enough question, and the Scholar turned his head, scanning the battlefield, taking in the significant casualties they suffered in the battle. “Well… to answer your question, I was planning on burning them. We will strip the dead of all valuables, for our own they will go to the families, the enemies we will collect… As for the bodies, we’ll burn them. Gather the ashes of our own and store them in urns to be buried in Temrenos. The enemy will just be burned in one pile. Why do you ask?” The Scholar glanced at the two as they appeared to be contemplating their response.

“We would like to request you allow us to deal with Viriato’s body as is dictated in the teachings of Cocytus. He was like a father to us, as slaves we never knew when we would die. We never had the luxury of dreams or aspirations. Viriato spoke of his god, how all things are part of nature, are part of the world. We hunt the beasts and consume of their flesh to survive, in turn upon our death we should be given unto the beasts so that they may survive. This is the mantra of Cocytus; we ask that you allow us this… we ask for nothing else!” The pair were flustered, going so far as to drop to their knees and slamming their heads into the blood-soaked dirt.

The Scholar was quick to reach down and lift the two, his gaze was stern and his focused into their waving eyes. “You two are no longer slaves, you are soldiers and citizens of Temrenos… you have earned that much. There will be no lessening of your commendations and rewards. Take your ‘fathers’ body, present him to his god… In fact, I will send three of my outriders with you, they will guide you to a suitable clearing upon which to rest his remains. Let him join his god in peace.” The two men broke down into tears, there thanks were indiscernible from their joyous cries. Once the two had calmed down and collected themselves they were escorted away, the outriders assisting them in transporting Viriato’s corpse.

Having pacified the two brothers, Caedyrn’s attention shifted to the large corpse crumpled on the edge of their camp. Removing a pouch from his cloak he began to remove the medical instruments necessary for the task at hand, salivating at the opportunity and curious of what he might discover.