"Liaban, raise your arms." One of the women said and I complied.
Being a gladiator was not the worst job a human in Horngul could have. I could be a mere maid or be used as a common prostitute. At least a gladiator had some shred of dignity given to them. People could at least fear me and feel protected by their places in the stands. Their places where I wasn't supposed to kill them. Though every now and again a rogue human would attempt to murder those in the stands for the promise of death. Death to many humans in Horngul was the ultimate paradise.
Even though I should be happy for my status as a gladiator, I dreamed of more. Much more. I dreamed to become a wyvern rider and free my fellow humans. Free them from the chains that our Nieth masters put on us. My mind would connect with my wyvern and we would become one. I would name my wyvern and its name would hardly be spoken. This due to the fact that myself and my mount would be considered the same being.
"You're not daydreaming again, are you?" The woman asked and gently put my arms back down. "Your brother, the King of Thar, will never allow your dreams to happen."
Yes, Tis didn't want me to become a rider. He didn't want me to have any freedom. While I was a human he was a Nieth. Because of that he could do whatever he wanted to me. If my father had done things differently at the end of his days, I could have become a rider long ago. I could have started my training. Instead I was living in Fero, a town in the city of Thar, as a gladiator. The fact I had my life controlled so much made me hate Tis. Maybe one day I could escape or find a Nieth that didn't mind going against my brother.
"There, all ready to impress them." The woman said with a large smile and the others nodded in agreement. "Come back alive."
"I always do." I replied curtly.
I looked down at my outfit for the day. It was mostly leather with actual armor on my shoulders. I had boots on that were not battle ready at all. All in all my outfit showed off my body more than it protected it. The Nieth didn't care too much about keeping their slaves alive. It was a special day when we were provided actual armor. All of us gladiators had to become quickly skilled or be killed during our first battle.
I breathed in and out. In my mind I went over everything I had learned. Today, like always, there could be no mistakes. My mind conjured up images of the humans and Nieth in the stands. Humans would either be with their Nieth masters or allowed to wander. There would be a large crowd as the coliseum in Fero was its most prominent attraction. If I died many would see but not many would give a shit.
"Let's hurry it up." A male Nieth said.
We all looked up as he entered. Then we bowed in respect. After that I looked at him closely as I tried to figure out how I could best kill him. While he was humanoid, he wasn't human. Instead he was a cross between a lizard and an insect with some human mixed in. Unlike a human's eyes, he had compound eyes. They were still in the size and a shape of a human's so they didn't look too odd.
"What are you looking at, filth?" The Nieth asked.
"You." I said calmly. "I think you look like a wyvern. Except not as noble."
"Just because your brother is king doesn't mean you're safe here."
"I know my brother and he wouldn't send you to kill me. You would face torture if you killed me without his permission."
The hairless being scoffed and then walked away. I didn't look back as I followed him. Just before I reached the exit, or entrance depending on your point of view, I was supposed to be given my weapons. Unlike usual there were no weapons given to me. I held back a groan as I realized what had happened.
While the Nieth of Horngul don't care about their humans surviving, they always gave them a chance. They always allowed a way out even though survival wouldn't be easy. Tis Lothis, from time to time, paid to have me gotten rid of. Since he can't come right out and do that, he makes survival seem impossible. But I had survived his games every time. While our father, Denne Lothis, had ordered me not to be killed I doubted that was the reason my brother let me live. If Tis were truly honoring our father's request he would've sent me into this battle with weapons.
I rethought my battle strategy. I would have to do without anything. If I had nothing to live for I wouldn't mind dying. But I wanted to be a rider more than anything else in the world. It took some effort for me to not lash out at those around me and demand a weapon. To plead to the others not to let death be so certain for me.
Pushing my fear back I walked out into the arena. This part of my life was the most pleasant. The harsh sun hit my face and I had to blink a few times. Most of Horngul was jungle and I had heard stories about how the sun could be much worse. How the humidity in the trees could kill a person if they weren't careful. Even though the stories were meant to scare me I couldn't help imagine how exciting it would be to be in the jungles.
As always, the sound of cheering hit my ears next. I put on a fake smile and waved to the crowd. I didn't want to and yet I had to. This fight that could be the death of me was simple entertainment for the crowd. I waved to Nieth and humans alike. A few of the humans were blind with newly hatched wyverns on their shoulders. Those riders held themselves as though they could take on all of Jorn by themselves.
The Nieth were sectioned off so they didn't have to sit by any humans. The exceptions were if the Nieth were riders or if they had brought their best slaves to the arena. One Nieth seemed to take extreme interest in me today. That was probably because he saw my death on the horizon. I spared a glance to the three humans I would be fighting today and saw them with weapons. The name of Liaban held great weight and so they probably expected an exciting fight that involved my death. Maybe that would happen and maybe I would live. It would be good to survive yet another murder attempt by my brother just to see him angry.
My eyes now wandered to find Mont. He was one of the very few friends I allowed myself to have. One of the few I allowed myself to like. Being a gladiator meant having to kill people you called friends mere hours before. So I didn't allow myself to like many people. Mont was safe to like as he wasn't a gladiator.
Before I found Mont I saw Nerys in her throne of a seat. She was the owner of the coliseum and the person my brother had entrusted with me. Unlike many humans in Horngul, she had a position of power for a human. She took much pride in this fact and had altered her body to honor our Nieth masters.
The first thing about Nerys that always drew my attention were her eyes. They were pure red to imitate the most common color of the Nieth's eyes. While her skin was an odd shade of white, this wasn't an alteration. She was able to have such pale skin due to not having to be in sunlight very often. Finally, her hair was a pure silver color. Me and most of my fellow gladiators believed this was a hint that she had a Nieth parent. It would help to explain how she got such a prominent position or maybe this was all wild speculation.
After too much time I found Mont. He was, as always, with the lowest of the humans. As a Ghost he was lower than any human on the continent. Yet his demeanor did not show that he was someone who was not to be communicated with by polite society. Yes, I could talk with him but I was not encouraged to do so. As he held onto his staff, his eyes seemed to look right at me and then his face grew angrier than normal. Mont was not always angry, but his face did a good job at making him seem so. I guessed he knew from the sound my body and clothing made that I was carrying no weapons. It was amazing how enhanced the senses of a rider were.
Though riders did not age except extremely slowly when Ghosts, Mont appeared to be a man in his mid-fifties. His hairline had receded a little and he wore the wrinkles of an old man. As always his facial hair was trimmed to a very appealing degree. His cheekbones seemed to be much sharper than the blade he carried. I thought if I ran my hands lightly against his cheeks that they would be cut off.
I wondered what color his eyes were before he had become a rider. In the present they were whitish as all their color had been drained. Did they used to be blue like the sky? Had they been green like the vast jungles of Horngul? When Mont was born did he have eyes that were as brown as the dirt or golden like the sun?
It was hard to pull my eyes away from him. While I already had someone to fuck, my mind sometimes wandered to Mont. He was more than physically appealing to me and I wondered how it would feel to make love to him. His lips around my nipples making them harden. His fingers teasing my cunt as I moaned. He would fuck me hard and when he came he would cry out. His face would twist and imitate my own. But I had someone I used to relieve my body of its urges. I didn't need to torment myself with a man who would one day leave. I doubted he had the same feelings for me that I had for him.
But pull my eyes away from Mont I did and looked at the other three combatants. There were no real signs of wear on their bodies and fear on their faces. Today would be their first fight. If they allowed their fear to rule them this would also be their last. Like a good many gladiators, I didn't find it wise to become friends with the new arrivals. I didn't know much about them so that I wouldn't feel guilty about killing them. What I did know was that they were new and all men.
"Welcome to the coliseum!" Nerys shouted, her voice amplified with magic. "Today is a special day! Liaban will show her true strength and genius by not using any weapons! Confronting her are three of my latest prizes to arrive! If they manage to kill her then they will have to face each other!"
"Act brave." I whispered as I walked over to them. "If you do win you'll find much better support if you look confident. No one wants to buy a gladiator that always pisses his pants before a fight."
One of the men nodded and tried to put on a brave face. If he killed me I wanted him to have a life after today. Unlike me, he had a good chance of getting support from a powerful Nieth. A Nieth that could get him a better life if things worked out just right. Having him kill me only to become nothing would be more than embarrassing.
"Liaban, stand a few feet in front of the other three!" Nerys shouted and I did so. "Let the fight begin!"
It felt strange to not have a weapon in my hand. To have any chance of winning I would have to steal a weapon. If Nerys wanted to berate me about my choice later, I didn't care. At least I would be alive. As the sunlight reflected off my shoulders, I ran at them.
There had been no strategy in my move. The only thing on my mind was to disrupt the other gladiators. The plan worked. My speed had spooked the closest gladiator to the point he dodged me. If he had moved out of the way and aimed his sword at me he would've won. But he must have been new to the life of a gladiator. Either that or the Call had been grateful enough to let him live.
The first one to recover swung at my legs. I jumped to avoid him and then rolled to dodge one of the other's blows. The sand scratched my skin nearly as harshly as the sun did. A few pieces went into my eyes and I blinked while dodging another blow. Once my eyes were clear again I tried to run away from the others. This wasn't because I was afraid, but was due to the fact I needed time to think.
I was able to run to one of the walls before one of the gladiators caught up with me. I ran up the wall and somersaulted over my assailant. The crowd cheered loudly and I swear I could hear Mont clapping for me. His rough ha-I saw the gladiator pulling at his sword. He had attempted to kill me and his sword was now in the wall. I swung my hand at his neck and he fell down. With a few hard tugs, I was able to get the sword out. The sword was very sharp and made slicing his head off extremely easy.
The sword was a little heavier than I normally liked it, but that didn't matter at the moment. What did matter was the fact I had a weapon. Since there was a weapon in my hands it meant I could properly defend myself now. The two remaining opponents ran at me from opposite sides.
One of the men was just a little slower than the other. No that wasn't the case. They had started running at different times. I parried the blows the first one gave me and tried to use him as a shield from the other one. This plan did not work and soon I found myself being attacked by both men. The crowd made their usual sounds of amazement as the sound of swords filled the air.
Time seemed to slow down and speed up all at once. While the two men were new to the arena, they had a lot of skill. It would be sad to kill them so soon after they had shown such promise. But such was the life of a gladiator. Not everyone who fought would live to see the next day. By a stroke of luck I dodged and the attack killed one of the men. The one remaining man pulled his sword from the other man's skull with a look of confusion. I could understand the look he had on his face. It wasn't sadness at killing but the fact it had been unintended. A mistake and therefore a stain on his name. Whatever his name was.
I ran at the man and found that he was a quick one. One moment he was looking in confusion and the next he was attacking me. His body moved as if he were air. This was a good fight. Every move I made he countered no matter how enigmatic I tried to be. I feigned going to the right and he wasn't fooled. While he was able to read me very well, he did not conceal his own movements from me. I could tell very clearly what he intended to do and so the fight seemed to be at a standstill.
By a stroke of luck I got the upper hand on him. A series of moves left him on the ground with his sword a few feet away. I put my foot on his chest and held my blade to his throat. He stayed still as he knew that was the only way he had even a chance of staying alive. I looked up to Nerys and her bloody eyes looked at me.
She seemed nervous which was probably due to the report she'd have to give Tis. My brother would not be happy that I had escaped his plans yet again. After looking at me she observed the crowd. It was up to her to decipher if people cheering for his death were greater or lesser than those yelling for him to live. Nerys finally made her decision by giving me the signal to move away.
There was loud cheering for both myself and the new man. It seemed that this was what the afterlife would be like. This sense of calm where nothing could harm me. A sense of calm that didn't exist for long in Horngul. I looked through the crowd and found Mont again. His usual stoic demeanor was broken by a smile. This tended to be the only time I even saw a hint of a smile from him.
* * *
After a few hours I was finally able to be by myself. A few of the people, both human and Nieth alike, had wanted to look at me. They made comments as if I wasn't a real person. While I could understand why a Nieth would say such things, I was shocked a human would think of me as less than them. At any moment our masters could make any human's life turn from good to bad. So why would some torment others of the same species?
I took relief in the calmness of the silence. I took relief from the sound of my footsteps on the ground. I took relief from the smell of the stones. I took relief in knowing that I was alive and ready to face anything Tis were to throw at me. A few of my fellow gladiators looked at me as I passed by, but I avoided their gazes. Tomorrow we might face off against each other and I didn't need a weakness right now. I didn't ever need a weakness that could get me killed. After I became a rider and freed my fellow humans, there would be time for friendship. But not now.
The hallways I went through were quiet. I had chosen my path so I could think. Later I would try again to find a Nieth that was attracted to me as that was the only way I could become a rider. I needed the support of a Nieth so I could bypass the restrictions placed upon me. Some restrictions because I was human and others because I was the sister of Tis.
I ran one of my hands on the wall as I walked. I felt the sand and stones as they touched my fingers. They made the coliseum seem ancient. They made it feel as if the coliseum could collapse at any moment. That I wouldn't need to worry about a ploy by my brother as the building could kill me. But, of course, that was not true as our masters needed their amusements. They needed to control every part of our lives.
My nose led me to the washing room. It was a large room that smelled horrible due to the water. There was a large pool of water near the back that could be used as a bath. Though it was only in desperate times people did that as a horrible scent would linger on you for weeks. But sometimes it was necessary. People usually washed by using the water that gushed out of the walls. While people who washed that way still smelled afterwards, the scent wasn't nearly as strong. You could still retain an air of dignity afterwards.
I picked up a bar of soap and walked to one of the holes in the wall. I stopped in the center of the room and undressed. While the room was currently empty except for me, I didn't mind if someone walked in. While in other places on Horngul people were more reserved, here they were not. Gladiators had more to worry about than seeing each other naked.
I put my clothes in one of the decaying chests before walking to one of the holes. I spent some time watching the water fall from the wall onto the ground. This gave me time to make sure that I had my gag reflexes in check. Once I knew I wasn't going to vomit, I went under the water. While the water smelled horrible, it was a good temperature. It also felt great as it went over my skin. Dirt and blood quickly washed away and fell onto the ground.
I turned my head up and closed my eyes. If I didn't focus on the smell it felt like a heavy rainfall. It rained often in Horngul which meant you had to prepare to get wet. Nerys was always careful about what days there were fights. She preferred fights happening in the sun and heat. But sometimes her careful plans fell apart. I had had my fair share of fights where I could hardly see anything due to the rain.
My eyes opened to see a man walking in. He was a young man and extremely well muscled. Nothing on him was off and it was as if the Call had sung him into existence. Both him and I were equal in how well we could fight. If it came down to it our fight would be long and the winner would be chosen by chance.
"Liaban," He said with a smile on his face as he turned to look at me.
"Gadwall." I replied as he slowly took his clothes off.
He always did this. He knew how much I lusted after his body and he liked to tease me. He would fuck me but he liked to make me beg first. As each piece of clothing came off more of his body was revealed. My eyes lingered over every inch and I had to force my eyes to look into his. When Gadwall walked to me I looked at his cock. It was already hard and my cunt became wet at the sight.
I leaned into the wall which pushed my chest out. I leaned down and picked up my soap from the ground. He took my hand in his and kissed it. His lips made me even more aroused like they always did. Gadwall was as skilled with his lips as he was with a sword. Both kinds. After a few minutes he took the soap and I turned around.
"You did good today." Gadwall said as he washed my back. "You also cheated."
"I was not going to go the whole fight without a weapon." I retorted. "I might do things you don't agree with, but I never do something insane."
"Sure."
Gadwall kissed my neck and I moaned. His lips knew exactly where and how to touch me. He had first learned how to touch me after a big fight. He was still wild after the fight and had run into me. I had been attracted to the beast I saw in his eyes. So we had fucked. Now he showed the skills he had learned over time.
He continued to kiss my neck as he cleaned me. His fingers as delicate as the lips on my neck. It only took a small motion of his fingers to turn me around, both of us now drenched in the water. I looked at how the water went down his body and smiled. I touched his chest so I could feel him. It would be so good to fuck him now. Now when I had just come out of a fight and still needed to cool down.
Gadwall kissed the top of my tits and I moaned a little louder. My hands found their places on my lover's shoulders. My nails dug into him as he flicked my nipples with his tongue before pulling them with his teeth. An even louder moan exited my lips as he gave my tits one final kiss. I didn't let go of him as he started to wash my tits, paying very close attention to how dirty they were.
"No." I said and gently pushed my friend away. "I...I can't do this now."
"Oh gods, Liaban, do you really think it's going to work this time?" Gadwall exclaimed as he guessed my thoughts. "Do you really think that you'll find some Nieth that will just happen to want to make your brother angry?"
I bowed my head in shame as I knew that he was right. Tis Lothis would never allow me to become a rider. He wanted me under his control and if I became a rider he would lose me. I could dream all I liked about having my mind connected to a wyvern, but it would never happen. All that was in my future was to look at Mont and dream of a better life. Yet through all my despair I couldn't give up hope. Something in me would not keep quiet until I turned my dream into reality.
When I could I would go out of the coliseum and look for a Nieth. I would try to lure them to my way of thinking with my body. Some Nieth preferred humans over their own kind while others liked both equally. Having sex with Nieth was an uncomfortable experience and yet I had to endure it. If I got in a Nieth's good graces they could make me a rider. That is if any were skilled enough to get around Tis' hold on me.
"I can't think that Tis is liked throughout Horngul." I replied with a shake of my head. "I don't think the Nieth all like each other. There has been progress in how our masters work. That must mean there is the possibility of finding the right Nieth to make me a rider."
"Liaban, you are living in a dream." Gadwall pleaded. "You're never going to be a rider and you will die in this coliseum. This will be the only home and duty you'll ever know. You have to accept that life is never going to get better. You have to learn to live with that."
"I am not going to bow down if there is some hope, Gadwall. I would rather die that admit defeat on this matter. I will ride a wyvern and I will find a way to free our species. We don't deserve to live in slavery."
"What if you can't free us all?"
What if I couldn't? What if I died and humans were still just toys for our masters? Those nightmares haunted me at times. If I failed in my rebellion Tis would not be kind to me. He would find the best way to torture me. I was sure he would find a way to make my torture extremely slow and painful. I wondered if he would kill my wyvern to make me feel that creature's pain.
"I know the risks." I told Gadwall. "I will still do it."
"And what if you become a Ghost?" He asked. "That one that always is at your fights should be a warning to you. I care about you and I don't want to see you ruin your life. I don't want to live my days without the thought of you being with me."
"We fuck each other, Gadwall, that's what we use each other for. Once you start thinking of us as more than friends we're dead."
Gadwall nodded and realized he had overstepped his bounds. I didn't mind having him as a lover and someone to talk to, but there were limits. There were lines that I would not cross. There were rare moments I could admit I liked him as a friend but I would never say I loved him. What he had just said implied something other than a casual friendship. Stuff like that could get him killed. If I allowed myself to feel the same it could get me killed. And if Tis found out I had more than a casual acquaintance with a person, I might have to kill Gadwall myself.
"I will go out tonight and I will find a Nieth." I stated. "I'm not asking that you like my decision, but you can't stop me."
"I won't." Gadwall promised and put a hand to my face. "But I need you to return to me, you're the past lay I've had in many years."
I leaned into his hand and closed my eyes. For a few moments I thought of abandoning my quest and giving my body over to him. I thought of giving in to my urges. But then the moment passed and I was certain of what I had planned.
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The Wyvern's Call Table of Contents
The Thief and the Ghost Table of Contents
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