Amazonia-Answers

I can't believe this. "Io, are they still repeating that ridiculous tale?"

Io shrugs. "Afraid so, Az. A lot of men can't wrap their minds around a woman able to defeat a man in gladiatorial combat."

"Everyone in the Ludus does," Cotus says. "Az kicks my arse every time we practice."

Cotus gets the three fingered gesture of honor, touching my fingers to my heart, before I look back at Ragnar. "I was born a girl of the Mauri people, taken as a slave when the Etruscan empire was still intact, and not broken up into West and East."

"Not to mention the Kingdom of the Gauls and Palmyra," Io adds, "which were part of the empire as well."

"Am I telling this tale or you?" Io crosses his hands before his face as if terrified, getting a laugh from the others and my smile as he lowers his hands. I continue. "While I was in the slave pens of Thrace, three other slaves tried to rape me and I beat them to death with a club. I thought for sure I'd be sent to the mines, but the owner of a Ludus thought the crowd would like the novelty of a woman warrior, like an amazon out of the Greek legends. So he bought me and trained me in the ways of the gladiator."

"What about the Daemo sorceress changing you?" Ragnar asks. "Was that a lie as well?"

I shake my head. "I was fighting in a small arena when Dominus bought me from my previous owner and took me to the capitol. He arranged to have Lady Jhadra, a powerful Daemo sorceress of the emperor's court, craft my body into that of a champion."

"You already were a champion," Titan's voice rumbles as he continues watching the next pair of fighters take to the sands. "All she did was craft your body to match your spirit."

Ragnar scratches his beard. "This crafting, did it hurt?"

"Lady Jhadra told me I couldn't have stood it without the wine, made from petals of the black lotus, that she plied me with before hand. It didn't hurt until afterward, but I worked through that." I was also awake during the whole thing, and the memory of my body melting like wax and reforming under her hands still gives me nightmares. But I'm not telling him that unless he asks. "What else?"

"What kind of changes did she make? I mean, besides becoming bigger and more muscled."

I shrug. "Speed, toughness, a limited regeneration from wounds and a strong resistance to disease."

"They say you've got a man's lust."

Men. "Yes," I answer, shaking my head in disgust, "she gave me the same lust you have. Unlike you, I've learned to channel and use it to my advantage, and not let it rule me." My expression slides into a leer. "Guess not having a little head running me around like a bull with a ring through his nose makes a difference."

Cotus hoots at Ragnar as Io laughs, the guards chiming in as well. Even the twins flash me a grin as Ragnar scowls. "It's also said the sorceress ripped out your womb so Dominus wouldn't have to worry about you getting pregnant."

Laughter withers away as my face sets itself into a hard mask. "That's right. No son, no daughter, only a life of fighting until something stronger than I am kills me. Dominus wanted me to have the fire in my belly to win, and Lady Jhadra put it there. But fire burns away whatever isn't needed." And I'll never tell you the price I paid, and continue to pay, to have my womb torn out and thrown away. "As me a question about something else."

Ragnar glances at Titan, then back at me. "It's said that Titan's the only Ogri to ever fight in an arena anywhere, and you're the reason."

Titan's voice rumbles before I can speak. "I dishonored her," his face still turned towards the sands, though his bat-like ears are swiveled towards us. "I will remain by Amazonia's side until she dies or the emperor sets her free, and likely beyond, should that happen." His massive hands tighten on the rust bars. "Any further questions are beyond the bounds of this wager."

"But-"

"Ragnar," I say with a grin, "here's three pieces of advice you better take. Never backtalk a citizen while you're wearing that collar, never trust a Daemo, and never ignore an Ogri when he tells you to shut your mouth. You don't want to see Titan enraged, trust me."

"Unless you stand beside him upon the sands." I'm already dropping to one knee as Dominus has one of the guards open the small gate, the others, including Titan, doing the same as he strides in. Unlike many noblemen his age, Dominus has a wiry strength gained from the mock fighting he does in the Ludus, full contact using the wooden weapons we practice with. No other owner of a Ludus does this, and it not only gives him an edge they lack, but his skill's earned our admiration.

Age takes its toll of everyone, though, the creases in his face now deep lines, and liver spots on the hands motioning for everyone to get up. "Everyone have a seat on the bench," his gaze going to Titan, "or on the floor so I do not have to replace them... again." We exchange a flash of smirks over the incident where Titan accidentally broke one, the Ogri sitting near my feet as Dominus takes his place in front of us. He wears a dark red tunic and quality sandals rising to his knees. He looks us over and takes a deep breath. "As of this morning, I have sold the Ludus."

All of us gasp, except for Titan, who merely raises an eyebrow. "Dominus, have you sold the gladiators as well?"

He shakes his head. "I have received assurances that, before your last arena fight begins, all your slave collars will be shattered upon the order of the emperor himself."

Shock after shock! I raise my hand and Dominus nods, allowing me to speak. "Dominus, this is all so sudden. Why would the emperor decide to free us at all, let alone before a fight and not after?"

"Because Emperor Konstanos has need of warriors not only brave, but smart, who are used to unexpected challenges and not afraid of pain." This isn't sounding good, but if it means losing this collar... Dominus continues. "Titan, I cannot coerce you as I am doing with the rest of your comrades. However, my hope is that you will join this upcoming expedition so everyone has a greater chance of survival."

Titan rumbles, "Dominus, if I knew more about this expedition, I might be able to tell you whether I will join it or not."

Dominus inclines his head. "Fair enough. Our empire broke away from the Etruscans almost three years ago, and while our new empire has settled, Emperor Konstanos has begun reforming the army."

"It is about time."

"I daresay. However, like many organizations, the generals and other officers are stuck in the past, so a shaking up of the ranks has begun. Needless to say, the chaos this is causing is not good for morale, leaving the army in a disordered state. Especially if the Sasnayam empire to our east decides to stir up trouble."

Julu raises his hand and Dominus points at him. "Dominus, T'ang and I served as mercenaries for the Sasnayams before being captured and sold to you, so we know a good deal about their empire. They are bound up in their religion; their human emperor is considered a god-king, yet he seems to be at the mercy of the temples of their different gods, who squabble like fishwives and have influence over different groups in the army. The different god's temples would have to unite under one arch-temple or a major attack would never happen."

Dominus grimaces. "According to what I was told, this has happened. One temple who worships the deity Yun-Kax, has brought all the other temples to heel, making his the 'arch-temple' you just described. Right now the temple of Yun-Kax is consolidating power, but once it feels secure, it may persuade their god-king to launch an attack to retake our eastern provinces they lost during the last war. And should that effort succeed, to keep going, even to the gates of Konstanopolis itself."

I raise my hand and he nods. "Dominus, we are only seven warriors; six, if Titan decides not to come with us. How can we make any impact at all?"

The smile of Dominus grows sly. "The eastern borders of the Sasnayam empire are their satrapies, which their empire is sworn to protect. East of the satrapies are the lands ruled by a federation of tribes known to us as the White Horde. They have no cities of their own, instead living in great sprawling camps which migrate to an area for a time before moving on to another, all the while collecting tribute from the city-states they have conquered. Earlier this year, the Khan of Khans, Khingla, had the horde pitch their tents somewhere east of the satrapy called Bukhara, which he has been using as a base to raid all along the eastern borders."

Julu raises his hand, getting a nod. "Dominus, raids will never be enough to distract the Sasnayams if they decide to retake the provinces. Only if the White Horde began sacking and razing cities and towns would the empire be forced to protect their satrapies."

Dominus snaps his fingers. "Exactly. The Khan of Khans is said to be content with raiding, yet he is an old man and his eldest son, Timur, is hungry for glory. Your quest will be to become Timur's personal guard, and influence him into launching a major attack on the satrapies, giving our empire breathing space to become reorganized."

Is Dominus having a jest with us? T'ang raises his hand and gets a nod. "Dominus, the White Horde is not unknown to us. They actively recruit mercenaries for their armies, but would never allow us to become the personal guard of a noble, let alone a Khan's son."

"Not mercenaries," a familiar female voice says from the shadows beyond the small gate, "but a band of heroes, bound to a captain who wields a Rune sword not seen since the ancient days of lost Babylon."

Old fear grips me as Lady Jhadra glides in through the open door and into the chamber. She's tall as I am but willowy thin, with large, luminous dark eyes and pale skin tinged in purple from the dragon scale set in the middle of her forehead. It glimmers like an amethyst as the light strikes it. Her hair's purple as well, the flowing black robes she wears decorated with the emperor's own eagle design, while her feet are covered with sandals of gold cloth and pearls set in the straps.

Something is new about her, though... the dragon scale, it's huge! "Domina, your forehead-"

Hades' hairy eyeballs, I know better than to speak out of turn like that. Dominus frowns, but Lady Jhadra raises her slender hand. "Paulus, let them speak freely. Yes, Amazonia, the scale is much larger than it was when we parted. My mistress in the Daemo world underwent a rare molting, which happens to dragons when they reach a certain age, which meant all of her scales sloughed off and regrew to twice their size. Even the ones she has embedded into her servants."

Titan climbs to his feet. "Giving you twice as much power."

"Which is the only reason I can make this idea of the emperor's work." Lady Jhadra looks him up and down as her smile grows sardonic. "How far the mighty have fallen."

Titan folds arms large as tree limbs across his chest. "Ogri were originally bred to destroy the Daemo, and I have killed more of your race's monsters in the last two years than in the last two hundred."

Two hundred? Is that a jest? "Titan," Lady Jhadra says as she shakes her head, "who do you think provided the poison the hunters used to stun the monsters long enough to capture them? The war between the gods and the Daemo Princes is long over; your side won, and if the gods are vain enough to squander their victory in petty squabbles for power that tear human civilizations apart, it is not my fault. Right now, I am doing what I can to keep the Empire of the East from being overwhelmed by the Sasnayams."

"Apologies if I do not thank you for it. I still have faith that the... gods, will pull their heads out of their exalted arses and begin seeing the damage they have caused."

Are they having a jest with each other? I'm really in the dark here. A smile quirks at Lady Jhadra's lips. "Next time I see Jupiter, I'll tell him you said that. It should amuse him greatly."

"And you say I have fallen. Jhadra, why are you helping the empire, anyway? Paving the way for the next invasion?"

"Titan, really. With the princes gone, our queen has enough on her plate keeping our lands from degenerating into civil war, and one way to prevent it is maintaining safe places here on Terra for strong willed Daemo to live. As in the welcoming Empire of the East, leading me back to the band of heroes I spoke of a few moments before."

She turns to look straight at me. "Amazonia, I am about to transmute a sword, carved out of Ironwood, into an Artifact weapon as I embed the willing spirit of an honorable man into the blade. Once finished, I shall then use his enchanted blood as ink to create a creature tattoo for each of your human comrades, a creature that will link each person to the sword as it bestows its own power upon them. All of them will be totally loyal to the wielder of the sword... and the wielder of the sword will be you."

I'm staring into her dark eyes, trying to make sense of what she's saying as Titan's voice takes a dangerous edge. "You would turn Az into a Reaver Knight and the rest into Chaldean Wardogs." Glancing towards him, Titan's hands have clenched into fists like twin hammers as he growls, "You would not dare."