Amazonia-The Death of Paulus

I whirl around. Across the arena, the gold painted gate's opening, and Daemo warriors resembling yellowish man-toads are spitting out onto the sands. They're wearing crude armor made from their black secretions, and carry pitted, notched swords and spears made of the same. Ragnar's already seen them, his battle-axe swinging towards the leading Daemo as I take off running full out towards them. Titan joins me a moment later as Paulus turns and runs.

It's like I'm trapped in a nightmare, the sand churning under my sandals, holding me back as Fenris... Ragnar, kills the first warrior. But the rest are mobbing him or flinging spears at Paulus, several flying past him as one strikes his back and goes deep... Paulus is falling as Fenris splits another's skull, but swords like jagged teeth tear at him on all sides... a Daemo stops beside Paulus and raises its sword...

A grey gateway opens beside the Daemo and Fox throws sand in the Daemo's face as she runs past. The toad-like creature bellows and claws at its eyes as Fox turns and runs towards us, terror on her face as a Daemo gives chase. Titan roars and the crowd roars back; they're with us, wanting us to live, and they cheer him on as the Ogri puts on a burst of speed.

The Daemo sees him and tries to stop, spraying sand as it stumbles, then turns around and staggers towards the gate, the others running as well. Titan passes Paulus and knocks the closest Daemo off its feet with the flat of his blade. He keeps going after the other two as I reach the first, swinging hard at its side. The sword bites deep. The Daemo screams as I wrench out the blade and whip it around, the others giving me a wide berth as the warrior desperately throws up its sword to block my swing. The Rune blade notches its sword as it bounces off, and I use the weapon's momentum to slash down where the Daemo's neck meets its shoulder.

The black blade shears through bone and the toad-like Daemo dissolves. Gasping as I catch my breath, Dancer has a Daemo pinned with his spear as Troll swings at its head, while Nomad... the twins, are chopping up the other one. Fenris... Ragnar, damn it; Ragnar's down, but Titan's closing in on the rest. The Daemo warriors must see him for they're scrambling away.

"Domina," Ghostfox calls from behind me, "Paulus is dying."

Why is she calling me that? No time to wonder, I race towards Paulus, who's clawing at his back as if he wants to rip out the spear. "Paulus, stop," I gasp, dropping to my knees beside him. "You're only making it worse."

He stops moving, the sand sucking down the blood coming from the wound as he raises his head. "Have they killed the Daemo?"

I glance over my shoulder at the Eagle gate and back again. "Almost all. Titan's going after them like a Norse berserker. Paulus, we can find Ghostfox's dress and use it to bind your wound, get you out of here, and find a healer-"

"Leave be," he grunts, gasping as he labors for breath. "Eurax... will have his revenge... no matter... what you do."

"Antonius' spirit will have its revenge on Eurax when the sword shatters," Ghostfox says from Paulus' other side. "I do not know the details, but it has something to do with a Shadow Fae necromancer who stayed with Lady Jhadra about a year ago."

I've no idea what a Shadow Fae could be, but Paulus does, for understanding sweeps his face. "This scheme of hers... was long... in the making. Az," his hand reaches out and grips mine, "promise me you will... return here... when the sword... shatters."

"I can't promise that. Breath of Cerberus, I don't know if the White Horde will accept us or whether the son will listen to me."

He squeezes my hand and lets go. "You will... find a way. Ghostfox... will you... end this... for me?"

She looks at me and I nod. Female Daemo have pearly white teeth that are actually hard pieces of cartilage, hiding their true, needle-like hollow fangs which they use to drink blood. They also secrete a substance in their saliva when they feed, that numbs the area so it doesn't hurt. We turn him over enough so Ghostfox can sink her fangs into his wrist. The crowd quiets as they watch her feed, and after a few moments she lets his arm fall limp. "He only needed a gentle push," she says, wiping her mouth on his tunic as dozens of needle-like fangs retract. "Paulus is dead."

I nod, climbing to my feet as Fox... why am I fighting this? Might as well start calling them by their new names. Fox stands up and walks around the body as the last of the Daemo fighters go down trying to escape from Titan. I glance over my shoulder at the Hades gate. It remains closed, and I turn my gaze on Paulus, dead at my feet. There was a time, before Lady Jhadra changed me to what I am, when I would've given my eye teeth to have Dominus exactly where he is. But now? Paulus was a hard man, yet also a fair one, always pushing us to go past what we saw as our limits, forging us into the steel he saw within the raw iron.

No person should ever be able to treat another person as property. Did Paulus understand that? No, he didn't, but then no one else in this empire, or in the entire civilized world for that matter, understands this either. Doesn't make it right, but that's the way things stand, until the slaves find a way to break their enchanted control collars and rise up. I do know Paulus was a better man than most, one of the few I respected. I wouldn't be what I am if he hadn't been what he was.

And now he lays dead at my feet. I stride across the sand towards the Eagle gate with the sword resting on my shoulder and Fox at my heels, the Daemo stopping to retrieve her dress as I walk on. Glancing up, the emperor's still standing against the wall, and seeing my gaze, he raises his eyebrows. With my free hand I make a fast 'thumbs down' gesture. He nods and speaks to the bald priest beside him, as Fox slips on her dress and hurries to join me.

The priest steps in front of the speaking device. "The scales of Jupiter are now balanced. Lord Paulus is dead, and the remainder of his gladiators are banished to the Khitian lands, while Titan is free to travel with them on his way east, or wherever his travels take him. Let the Eagle gate be opened for them."

Before I can take a step, Fox gasps and grabs my hand. "Domina, look."

Sand's spraying out as something red and small races towards us... those are red lines. "Breath of Cerberus, is that a tattoo?"

"Ragnar must be dead," Fox replies. Is that true? It has to be; his body's not moving, and I feel incomplete, like someone's missing. The sword tugs at me to respond, and trusting my instincts, I take it off my shoulder to lower the blade until it's touching the sands in front of me.

The tattoo slows down as it gets close. A three-headed dog drawn almost a foot tall is approaching, the red lines now three dimensional as if it truly exists. I can see the arena sands between the lines. The sword must be responding, for the runes on the blade have begun to glow, and as the Fenris tattoo reaches out with a paw, the runes go back to dark red as the drawn lines take up a bright red glow like iron bars in a fire. Its eyes glow like twin burning coals as it turns around and sprays sand again racing for the now open Eagle gate.

"We will have a new Fenris eventually," Fox says. A shudder racks my body, and she places a tentative hand on my arm. "In time you will get used to strangeness."

"Hades forbid... but you're probably right." I shake my head in bitter amusement. "This is definitely not how I expected the day to go." Fox giggles, a shrill sound with an edge of hysteria that sounds like she's holding onto her courage with her fingernails. As she lets go of my arm I grasp her shoulder. "You'll get used to the strangeness of humans as well, I promise. C'mon." I gently propel her forward and let go as she falls in beside me, the two of us close to the Eagle gate where the others are waiting.

A projected voice above me speaks. "Amazonia," the emperor says, Fox and I stopping where we are and looking up, "this is my decree. From here on, no person of the empire may hinder your passage, or attempt unprovoked violence upon you or those banished with you, as you travel into the lands of Khitia. Furthermore, you shall have my blessing: let all who meet you render aid upon your journey, and be rewarded themselves."

Beyond the emperor stands a thin man with a pock marked face: Citizen Eurax, or I'm a Daemo. The emperor glances back at him for a moment before speaking into the device again. "In the matter of the traitor Lord Paulus, this is my decree. The monies that the Master of Coin has seized shall be given to him as a reward for his diligence, and Lord Paulus' wife betrothed to him as he requested.

"However, in the matter of Lord Paulus' Ludus and his only son, Little Paulus, this is my decree. A Ludus is not just any ordinary business, but a sacred trust between the empire and her people, where even a slave can be elevated to such a high place that even the gods themselves take notice. This Ludus has been run by the same family for nine generations; Little Paulus will make the tenth, and thus the Ludus will be held in trust until he comes of age.

"Likewise with Little Paulus himself. The son is not the father, and even though he likely knew of his father's plans to create a Reaver Knight, under the law a son must always obey the father for as long as the son lives beneath his roof and eats his bread. Therefore, as to the matter of Citizen Eurax's request to make Little Paulus a domestic slave, stripped of all rights, this is my decree. Little Paulus will be made a ward of the royal court, with the Reaver Knight Amazonia made Little Paulus' guardian until his coming of age at sixteen years. Whereupon the Ludus held in trust will be granted back to him. Amazonia, will you accept this charge?"

Eurax wanted Little Paulus changed into a girl and made his bed slave, but the emperor's pulled his fangs. I'm going to make a powerful enemy if I accept this... and I can't wait. Raising my Rune sword over my head in salute, I call out, "What the emperor puts into words, his knight puts into action."

Eurax's scowl warms the darkness of my heart as the emperor gives me a satisfied smile. "Then this is my decree as well. Since Little Paulus is now officially our ward, Lady Jhadra will set up a way of sending messages relating to the boy's welfare, in exchange for a stipend of gold."

"Coded messages concerning our quest," Fox says quietly, "disguised as progress reports."

I raise my eyebrows but don't disagree with her as the emperor raises his right hand. "Reaver Knight Amazonia, Khitia awaits." The crowd begins chanting 'Reavers, Reavers', as I join the others, who move to follow.

Striding out of the Eagle gate, we move from honest sunshine into shadow.