Chapter 1

`Shit… That hurt!`

I grab my leather wrapped hilt and stare back at the monstrosity I am fighting. I can feel the roar of the arena surrounding me, and the sound is deafening. The man is staring back at me with a grin – subtly seen behind the skin of his former victims.

The Joramyr clan from which this particularly nasty specimen of a man came from, creates facial masks out of the skin of their fallen foes. I have never understood that tradition, but it is there. I don’t have to like it.

`I wonder if it smells?`

I can feel my legs quiver slightly underneath the weight of my body when I finally manage to generate the energy to get back on my feet. My curved sword reflects rays of sunlight back at me as I stare down at it.

It’s just you and me, old friend. Live or die. Everything depends on us again. Just like every other time in this arena.

The thrill of death looms over my head. It is a welcomed feeling. A feeling I have grown accustomed to during my years of battle here. Now it is just me and the monstrosity. Kudos to the Joramyr man for not attacking me while I was down!

`Let’s turn this battle around, shall we?`

From the standing position I am in now, I pounce the man in a dodge - roll move I created after a few failed experiments, and my curved blade slices through the air. The blade grazes the thigh of my shocked opponent, drawing some blood. The wound is not deep, but that is not the point of this attack. I want to shock and confuse.

I presume he didn’t expect I would go on the offence this fast after his rather powerful kick to my chest area. He readies his sword in fright and in panic before swinging it at me. I roll around on the ground like a fucking tumbleweed while dodging the man’s attacks.

He has never been hurt before – always killing his opponents without injury. Now that he is injured, his pride and assurance is broken. Now he is scared.

I grab the dirk from my booth as I roll towards his left flank. A swing of my sword occupies his focus, and leaves him open for a secondary attack. I bury my dirk in the inner thigh of my opponent with a back hand stab – severing the anterior tibial artery in the process.

He should be unconscious from the sudden drop of blood pressure, but the adrenalin in his body seems to keep the man awake. He is still standing there.

`Impressive!`

With blood flowing out of the stunned man’s leg like a water pump – which the heart practically is, I get back on my feet and start my secondary offence.

He is too preoccupied with the blood flow from his thigh, and the dazed feeling of almost passing out from sudden blood loss and pressure to notice my dirk held in a back-hand grip behind my back.

I use the same tactic as I used on my first offence – occupy and surprise. Slice and stab simultaneously. He manages to deflect my curved sword this time, but to his dismay, the dagger buries itself between his ribs – puncturing the heart in the process.

Be it the sudden blood loss or the preoccupation and fear of his incoming death, the man fought rather poorly during the second half of our fight. He looks at me with pleading eyes, slowly growing lifeless as the man falls to the ground.

The deafening silence is killing. I look back at senator Balfin Prestran – my old owner.

The stadium erupts in a roar of joy. However, the roar of the cheering guests is quickly broken by the telekinetic infused voice of the ringmaster.

I can feel the excitement flowing through me. The blood in my veins. The adrenalin from the fight. The excitement of finally being free!

“Silence! The ring has a new champion!”

The arena bellows in the voice of the people seeing me kill a man. A man I had nothing against. A man I had never seen before. I don’t feel bad for killing the man, however. It was me or him. My freedom, or death.

“Akif Kas has fought and won! Senator Balfin told Akif that his freedom was his if he won. We have a new freeman amongst us!”

The ringmaster looks back at the senator. Begrudgingly, Balfin nods his head to the ringmaster and looks back at me as if he has lost his favourite toy.

I don’t dislike the senator. All in all, he was a good owner. He didn’t lash us unless we did something he disliked. He gave us decent food, and most of all – he gave us the opportunity to earn our freedom in the ring. All we had to do was become the champion – according to Balfin himself.

That sounded good, but it was a hard feat to accomplish. My 19 years have been spent fighting. My father taught me how to fight from I was 3. After the slavers raided our village, I was taken – and sold – to the senator. There I was taught various styles of swordsmanship. Sadly, we weren’t taught telekinesis, but Balfin`s daughter – Sera – gave me a tome which contained the basic information, and how to further explore and train your path in telekinesis.

There is no distinct way to do it. Telekinesis is a very subjective thing and most people don’t know how to utilize it except for the basics which they are taught from their parents. You have to teach yourself how to utilize the elements. You have to teach yourself how to send out telekinetic energy. You have to teach yourself everything – because everyone is different. Books that explains the nature of the elements are everywhere, but how you utilize them is individual.

Everyone can become a telekinesist – but very few are. It takes a lot of time to be proficient in it. Time that most people don’t have to give away.

Telekinesists utilize mental energy. In my case, I send energy to my forehead – where my Kinesis stone is located, and project energy in different elements from there. I only have to think about the element, and the energy will guide the worldly energy to do whatever I ask it to. The stone is located in different places in different people.

My limitation is that I have limited amounts of energy. I use food as my source of energy, and I can’t keep sending out energy in certain areas - such as underground. My body constantly absorbs energy as I walk and breath, but if there are no energy to be absorbed, I am fucked.

I also transform fat from food into mental energy instead of physical energy. If I am in a place with little worldly energy, then I have to rely purely on the very thin layer of fat I have on me. I can’t build too much fat however, since that will affect my ability as a swordsman. It is a delicate balance, but a balance that I have grown accustomed to.

There is no set path as a telekinesist. No ranking. The only ranking a telekinesist gets is in the army, and that is as an officer in the telekinesist branch of military. The ranks are fought for, and with each and every victory the difficulty of becoming an officer grows tougher.

Telekinesis is also illegal to use in the arena fights. The traditions of the arena are sacred! We didn’t use telekinesis before the arena was built, and we don’t after the mutation of our species was discovered. The fights are fought with physical proves only.

“Akif! Come here and let me unseal you!”

I walk towards the ringmaster with a pleasant smile on my face. He is a good man. A fair man. That is probably why he hasn’t been killed by the gladiators yet! His predecessors weren’t so lucky.

The ringmaster touches my forehead, and I can feel the tendrils of his telekinesis flowing through my forehead seal. The seal of my slavery. An audible snap can be heard in the silenced arena.

`The seal is lifted! I AM A FREE MAN!`

The arena erupts in a roar again, leaving me standing with the ringmaster in awe.

This is my final time in the arena!

I use this chance as a free man to talk with the attendants. With a Telekinesis infused voice I say;

“Thank you for spectating this glorious event! Honours to my opponent and this arena! As a free man I am by law allowed to choose my own fate, but sadly, my fate is not as a gladiator. I don’t know yet what my fate entails for me, but this is my final appearance in the arena! I hope the show was to your pleasing!”

`I want to be with Sera. I want to help her.`

The senators shocked face looks back at me, and I can see the hidden resentment buried deep inside his wrinkled face.

I bet you would allow me to be free if you knew I could do that, now would you, senator?

The arena roars as I exit the elliptical taverin stone colosseum, and head out the main gates. Sadly, I am stopped by the Senators guards before I can make my swift exit. Sera stands behind her father’s back, waving with a sunny smile on her face. She seems overjoyed with my victory - she didn’t have to see her childhood friend die today.

“Akif! Why didn’t you tell me you could use telekinesis to that degree? WHY?”.

“Balfin… You never asked! We were told to not speak unless asked. Telekinesis came naturally to me, but as it is illegal in the colosseum, why should I tell you? You only raise gladiators, senator”.

The senator grumbles in anger at my rebuttal, but he sees the point in my argument. Sera comes to my rescue with a;

“Pappy! Don’t be angry, please? Akif didn’t do anything wrong! He taught himself how to use telekinesis. So what? He is still the gladiator you won thousands of gold from! He is your biggest success story!”.

“Sera… If I knew he could use telekinesis to that degree, he wouldn’t be in that ring. He would be guarding me! God knows I need better guards! You know yourself how hard it is to infuse mental energy into the body”.

“Regarding the guards, may I be so audacious to ask you for a favour, senator? Your daughter is an adventurer, correct?”.

“Correct, Akif. What is it?”.

“A few rumours have spread amongst the gladiators. You were targeted in a failed assassination attempt earlier this month, correct?”.

“Yes, Akif. The humans are threatening Cosir. Apparently our half-elf ancestry is demeaning to them, and now they have an emperor that is taking action against us. Our country – Cosir – is preparing for war. I am the senator in charge of preparing the army, thus I am high up on their hit list”.

“As you said, the humans are preparing for war. What stops them from targeting your daughter as an incentive for you to stop doing your job? I know you have increased security around her, and the adventurers in her group are high ranked, but do you honestly think they can stop an assassination attempt on your daughter? Do you think they are willing to put their life in peril?”.

Sera looks at me with a frightened face, but I give her the calming and reassuring smile I always give her when she is scared.

The first time I did that was when her mother died of the cold a few years back. Her father took it hard and mostly took it out on us gladiators. That didn’t spare his daughter from his pains, however. He never hit his child, but he was cold, distant and quick to anger. That was exactly what she didn’t need. She had just lost her mother and now her father was distancing himself from her.

Thus, she came to me. In my arms she cried. In my arms she slept after the exhaustion overtook her. In my arms she told me her worries. In my damp room underneath the main house we sat. On my wood and fur bed she cried and hugged.

All I did was sitting there, stroking her beautiful silver hair. The warmth of my body and my assuring smile was all it took for her to calm down eventually. The words “Everything will be fine in the end, little bird” was spoken a lot during those days.

Since then, Sera came to me with her worries. I never said much to help her, but my presence was all she needed when her father couldn’t give his attention to her.

“Don’t worry, senator. The reason I am asking is because I want to protect your daughter. I have proven myself to be a capable fighter. I am the champion of the Arena! I have proven myself to be loyal during my slavery, haven’t I? Just because I am not a slave anymore, doesn’t mean I don’t want to help. I don’t hold any grudges against you, Balfin. Can you say the same with the rest of your gladiators or guards? What stops an angry guard or gladiator talking with a spy? We know the ins and outs of your home. We know things about your own house even you don’t, Senator”.

I take a breath while judging the senator’s reaction. He seems mostly scared, but determined. The senator is a decent man. A decent man amongst the animals that make up the senate.

“What I wish to ask you is for me to be by her side. I want to protect Sera. Why? Because she has been the light in my eyes. She was the reason I fought so hard in the arena. She is my friend. I know as a former slave I shouldn’t say that, but it is the truth. Every time you brought Sera to the arena, I saw her worried eyes staring back at me. Every single time I swore to myself that this day was not the day she would see her friend die. She is the reason I fought so hard. She is the reason I am a free man, and I want to help her with HER problems now. I am a free man, and you can employ me as her guard. She certainly doesn’t have any issues with my presence”.

Sera looks at me with a trail of tears flowing down her cheek. A subtle sniffle can be heard from her, something the senator seems to pick up. He looks at me with worried eyes, but he doesn’t break my gaze.

`Everything will be fine in the end, little bird. Everything will be fine.`

“How did she become your friend? I don’t let sera socialize with the gladiators”.

“Pappy… After mom died, you were very distant. I had no one to talk to. Akif was the only one that risked talking with me. I knew what it would entail if he was discovered, and so did he. You would have killed him! Still… he was there when you were not. I spent a lot of nights crying in his arms during those months, pappy”.

The senator looks angrily at his daughter, but then it hits him like a thunderstorm.

“SERA! Did you two make love?”.

“Don’t worry, Balfin. Your daughter still has her virginity. That is something most ladies in this town can’t say, and you know it. I never did anything to soil your daughter. I was a slave, and she is a senator’s daughter”.

“All he did was hug me while I cried, pappy. As I said, he was there when you were not”.

The senator looks guilty down on Sera’s face before saying;

“I presume you have built up some feelings for my daughter, Akif. You are a free man, and that gives you the right to further those feelings. As the Champion of the Arena you have gained quite a lot of political influence – influence I might need in the future. You are practically a noble at this point. You are also a decent man, Akif. Although I had a different future planned for my daughter, the coming war with the humans have put a stop to those plans”.

The old man takes a small break while judging my reaction.

`Well… that was easy? Why isn’t he putting up more of a fight? A few minutes ago I was a slave, and now he is giving his daughter to me? He is practically telling me to marry the girl. Is it the title as Champion of the Arena that made him so willing?`

I keep a stone face plastered on me, but I can feel the joy and confusion flowing through my veins. The senator looks older than he is. A deep scar cuts from his forehead, and across his face down to his cheek. His silver hair is neat, and short. A kept beard and blue intense eyes are what attracts the eyes when you look at the man. He has a chiselled face and body. He is a man that demands respect, and he has the imposing looks to get it.

“However, be wary of the other senators and their sons when you start guarding my daughter. They can be just as bad as the humans, and their greed holds no bounds. I should know – I am one of them”.

Sera lights up like a bonfire and screams a loud “thank you” her father while jumping and hugging the man.

`Sera? What are you saying thank you for?`

“I admit I have some feelings for your daughter. However, that is not why I want to protect her. I want to protect my friend first of all. My other feelings come second. Your daughter is the best and only friend I have even had. You know how the other gladiators started distancing themselves from me after my victories started building up. I have been alone for years, and your daughter saved me from my loneliness with her visits. I don’t know what feelings I have for your daughter. It might be gratitude, friendship and brotherly love, or it might be romantic feelings. I don’t know. What I know is that she is my friend”.

The senator looks at me with intensity. He grabs a leather pouch from his side, and hands it over to me. I can hear the clirring of coins as I accept the money. I attach it to the leather belt I am wearing over my light leather armour.

“This is the gold I got from the bet I had on you. 700 gold coins should be in that bag. Use it well, Akif”.

“Thank you, senator. I think that means you accept me as her guard and companion in her adventures?”

“Yes. That is your salary for the year. 700 gold coins should be enough for you two to live in luxury for at least a few years”.

“Live in luxury? Are we going somewhere?”, a questioning Sera says to her father. The man sighs, and gently looks at his daughter with a saddened smile on his face.

“Sera… The attacks on me grow more frequent as the war builds up. Until the war starts, I want you to leave these lands. Go to the elves or somewhere else. I don’t care. You can’t stay here. You’re the only remaining family member I have, and I don’t want to lose you. It is as Akif said, you are in danger here”.

The man looks down on his daughter that is now fighting back the tears. I know she wants to scream and tell him that she doesn’t want to leave, but she knows the man is correct. The suddenness of the situation strikes me as odd, however.

`I wouldn’t think it was this urgent. I wonder if there have been any attempts I don’t know about… `

I trail off in my own thoughts before Balfin interrupts me with a determined voice.

“AKIF! This is my first order as your employer. Take my daughter with you out of these lands. She is a skilled telekinesist, and can be of great aid to you. Get money from adventuring or take up bounties on your own. Create a good life for her while she away from my protection. Do ANYTHING it takes to keep my daughter safe”.

“And you don’t want to send a squad of guards with her because it will attract unwanted attention”, I murmur to myself.

“Correct”.

Sera is staring at me with the same intense eyes as her father is. She got her father’s eyes, and her mother’s looks. Sera is my age – 19 years old. She is a gorgeous woman. Her hourglass body goes well with the soft, but elegant and noble looks she got from her mother. Her round face and full, red lips goes well with her intense blue eyes. Her cute angular nose accentuates the subtly chiselled, but somehow round cheeks and chin.

Her bust is well proportionate to her body and figure. Mango sized breasts are hidden underneath the beautiful and alluring red dress she is wearing for the occasion. The dress follows her body, but doesn’t cling to it. Her full bottom perkily begs for attention – something the sons of nobles seems to give her in spades. I wonder if it was her father that made her wear that dress.

Knowing Sera, she is not the type of woman that wears clothing accentuating her figure. She takes pleasure in connecting mentally with someone. Although I am a built man with lean muscles, that didn’t seem to faze her. I could have gotten any woman in this town with my looks. Everyone except for her. A man can be good looking, but if his personality is bad, then her life will be bad. She can make the man lose some fat, but she can’t change who the man is.

“Ok, Senator Balfin Prestran. I will keep your daughter safe. I don’t know where we will be going, but I will promise you that she will be safe wherever we are going”.

He can see the determination in my eyes, and slowly nods, before leaning in to kiss his daughter on her cheek.

“Good, now off with you. Buy whatever you need on the way out of this city. No one expects you to leave now, Sera, so you will not be followed. Buy a couple of Dunedime beasts and a carriage. Traveling by foot is rather tiresome”, the man says with a tear creeping out from the corner of his eyes. I place my hand on Sera’s lower back as I lead the shivering woman away from the colosseum.

`Everything will be fine in the end, Little bird. Everything will be fine.`