Chapter 7: Two Days Later

“One more victory,” Spiculus replied in the bed of the underground network of passages that led to the Amphitheatre.

He awoke in the darkroom where the gladiators slept for the pending battle. The more victories you win, the better you were treated. Those that won several battles and survived obviously could ask for riches, homes, women, whatever they wanted within reason. The catch was surviving the battles long enough to gain it. Usually, most gladiators were dead in the first few battles. Even Brutus, who won his many battles, was not fortunate enough to capitalize on his winnings.

Spiculus shifted on his bed as he tried to shake away the battles. He had the room to himself with just a small rush candlelight in the corner to provide some illumination. His clothing resided in a small cabinet by a little marble table. The tiny reflections and specks of dirt in the stone walls wavered in the flickering candlelight. His bed was on the side of the room. While not a prominent place, he was happy to have the room to himself and away from the other potential gladiators. To him, he did want to become friends with the ones he might fight and kill the following day. He had already seen that happened to a few gladiators already that hesitated. The Gladiators were all trained to fight, how to kill with little or no remorse, and to survive in the arena.

“One more victory, and I am done with this. The question is, what do I do after all this? No ... I just need to concentrate on surviving first.”

He lay on his back as he looked up at the stone ceiling. It was a morning with a battle he was going to participate in. He would be given a wish within reason if he won. The obvious answer was his freedom. From there, he could decide to work as a trainer for other future gladiators. He could live in some luxurious home or have a wife to settle down in. He was already getting the preferred treatment. He thought back on what got him there in the first place. He remembered being sold into slavery back in Egypt before being brought to Rome to serve in the fights. With the rising demands of the arena to the audiences, the need for more gladiators was immense. Animals were brought from all parts of the world to fight in the arenas as well. It was a blood sport where you went in and either left dead or alive. He had it worse than the volunteers that joined the arenas, but the end result was the same amount of fame and respect from the audience. As a result, slaves had less to lose than a volunteer and everything to gain from victory.

As Spiculus thought more to himself, he knew he was in better shape than most slaves of the time period. With one more victory, he would not only be free but have fame to himself. He could even keep fighting if he chose to gather more and more recognition. From starting from nothing in a desert to living in a civilization as a rich man was all the more appealing.

He was not disturbed as he continued to say the words over and over. He shook off any thoughts of dread of another pending battle. It was as if the gods were guiding his swings, making sure that he won the fights. On the one hand, he felt overconfident over his victories. Perhaps he was just lucky. Perhaps he had true skill. Perhaps it was both. Whatever the case was, he needed to focus on winning. Even though he won four victories, there were close calls. He narrowly got gutted in his first fight that would have resulted in classic rookie demise. In the third fight, he had to fight off a tiger they sent after him. The tiger swung its claws so close to him that he felt the wind from it. If the wind itself could cut his skin, he knew that he would have been dead. He couldn’t think what was worse, death by animal or death by people. Animals were savage when pressed, but on the other hand, humans could be more ruthless than animals. Sometimes they were just inhuman.

He thought about his past. He pictured the small village not far from Alexandria, where he was born or at least as far back as he could remember. He didn’t know where exactly he was taken from. He remembered the day he lost both his parents from raiders and was kidnapped to be sold into servitude. If only he could remember their faces. What horrors existed for children of the time period against people that did not care? He shook off his thoughts. He did not want to think about it. There were too many horrors for him to remember. There was nothing waiting for him back in Egypt. Perhaps, in the end, he was fortunate to be here in the end.

“One more victory,” he said again. “Then all of it gets better. My parents’ deaths would not be in vain. They will be happy. If I die, then I rejoin them. There is nothing for me to lose and everything to gain.”

He looked at the locked door. He was a prisoner for the time period, pending the battle. He was well fed and could ask for most things to receive. He might have been a prisoner, but it was only to make sure Gladiators would not leave or escape. Even he acknowledged this as a fact of life.

There was a knock on the door. He knew it was time. He took a deep breath as he stepped out of bed. He already wore his basic dress as he walked up to the door.

The door unlocked and opened to reveal his trainer, an older man at least ten years older that was seasoned and experienced. Gilnaious was his name. Spiculus liked this man, the gladiators he taught and trained not only had a higher chance of surviving the arenas, but he knew every trick of the trade. He promised that if he became a trainer, one day, he would follow his footsteps perfectly and pass along all his knowledge like he was.

Gilnaious had a short beard and was born from the Roman stock. He volunteered to the arena and won several battles before he decided to become a trainer. It was a good job that kept him active. To him, the more gladiators that survived meant that it wasn’t just his training but that he saved a life in turn. Other trainers either didn’t take their job as seriously or didn’t care if their students survived or not. In the end, they still got paid regardless.

“Hello, Gilnaious,” Spiculus greeted him. “One more victory.”

“One more victory,” Gilnaious replied to him. “The Caesar has seemed to take a liking to you. If you win ... or should I say when you win this fight, you will be able to make your wish. I already know what it is that you want.”

Spiculus nodded to the older man. “Do you have any idea of who I will be fighting?”

Gilnaious looked at him and shook his head. “All I know is that it is a surprise fight again like your second one.”

“Shit...” he said with discouragement. “Forces me to make blind guesses on what to bring out with me.”

“Your choices with what to wear against Brutus was pivotal. Fight like a Roman, and you will always be victorious. Why else do we have the largest empire the world has ever seen? And with you, you have adapted incredibly well. I would have thought that your parents came from Rome, you have the blood of a Roman soldier in you.”

“And your training master,” he added sternly.

“Boudica never stood a chance against us. She challenged us from the savage isles northwest of here. She tried to press her army into the Romans, and we held our shields up. Her army just whittled away as we used our gladius against each soldier and savage.”

“A woman challenged the Roman Empire?” he asked him with surprise.

“Yeah, the savages like having women in their armies along with their painted faces. Boudica was their leader. We defeated her quite recently.”

Spiculus nodded as he shrugged. “It is a surprise she would have won,” before he changed the subject. “I will need to decide on what armor I will need to wear. Do you think I should wear the same thing as before for this one?”

Gilnaious simply shrugged, “You have been making it this far. What does your heart say?”

“I want the biggest shield I can get for this one, medium armor to give me some room to move around and a gladius.”

“You can go in with the scutum as any Roman soldier can go. Are you sure you want to go in with a large shield?”

Spiculus thought some more as he paused for a bit. “Yes, I can always drop the shield if the fight is quicker than me being mobile.”

“The battlefield is an ever-changing environment. Good that you consider it, but only if absolutely necessary.”

“Give me my equipment Gilnaious,” Spiculus demanded. “I want to get this over with.”

“One thing that you should know,” his instructor added. “I might not know who you are going against, but it seems the Caesar has taken a liking to you. He is coming to this arena match again. I don’t know why precisely, but after that fight with Brutus, he seems to be showing up to more and more arenas now these last couple of weeks.”

Spiculus turned his head as he thought about the leader of Rome, watching him in his last fight. He was used to the fights, but having such an important ruler and figurehead coming to purposely watch him fight seemed to make him a little bit happy.

“I see that face,” Gilnaious observed, looking at him. “You might have been a slave, but you want the audience to recognize you.”

“Never get distracted by the audience. You yourself taught me that.”

“True ... but before and after the fight, what then?”

Spiculus hesitated as he thought about it.

“There is no shame in wanting to be recognized,” Gilnaious told him. “Even in death, the gladiators that fought to the death are recognized for their struggle to win. They fought to the death ... an honorable death compared to living and dying like an old man.”

“Like you?” Spiculus questioned.

“Hmmm...” The older man said, almost grumbling. “In my case, I am doing the honorable thing in passing my teachings before I die. It will be my legacy.”

“The man who trained the best gladiators?”

“The man who trained Spiculus...” Gilnaious clarified. “I do not have to wish you luck in this fight, for you will not need it. With my teachings, I know you will win.”

“Thank you, master.”

Spiculus was once again at the closed door leading to the arena. He had a massive tower shield in his hand. In his other hand, was his Gladius sword. He was dressed as was before when he fought Brutus. His helmet covered his face.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! May I have your attention, please!” yelled the same announcer as before from the amphitheater. “All fellow Romans, we have a great fight today planned. One of the best fights that Rome will ever see will be made here today.”

“Again, with the same announcement as before... , “ Spiculus remarked, annoyed in his voice as he overheard the announcer from the closed door. “At least this will be the last time hearing this,”

“We are joined in this great fight by our wonderful leader who will bear witness to this event, the great Caesar ... Nero!”

There was thunderous applause from outside the door as the gladiator stood where he was. Spiculus knew that this was the last fight. One more victory and he could ask anything, including fame and freedom.

“Two champions will enter the battle,” the announcer continued. “One will fall, one will win. Our first champion will be Spiculus winner of every battle for the last three years. Can he handle one more battle?”

The door opened as the crowd began to cheer. It was almost the same exact feeling as before, the wave of applause, the cheering, as Spiculus came out of the arena. His large shield was almost blocking the audience from seeing him as he stepped out. He held his sword up to let the audience knows that he was there for them. Some were standing up as he walked out. Despite the fishnet helmet, he could see the Caesar sitting on his chair. His wife was not with him this time.

“Interesting,” he remarked as he continued to walk to the center of the arena. “Either the Empress was not interested in seeing the fight or that the Caesar himself wanted to see this fight over being with his own wife. Maybe he did come to see my fight purposely after all.”

Spiculus had to remind himself to do as he did before, like his past fights. He had to close the audience out of his mind. Getting caught up with them too much will distract him from the battle that was to come. Distraction meant getting killed. He did it before, and he was going to do it again. He began to close out the audience. The volume level in his head began to lower dramatically as he closed his eyes while keeping his sword pointed up.

“One more battle ... one more battle,” he said quietly.

“Our next champion come from Egypt just like our first champion!” the announcer said.

Spiculus’s eyes opened up upon hearing what he said.

“Egyptian... , “ he said quietly. “Shame, I will have to kill him.”

“This will be her first battle; she stands ready to fight against our current running champion!”

“A woman!” Spiculus remarked as the audience drowned out his voice. “I thought that was against the fucking rules. Gladiatrix must fight Gladiatrix, and that is even if the laws allow it.”

There was little substantial reaction from the audience. Some cheered, some reacted differently than before, and others simply didn’t care. The concept of female gladiators in the arena is not as farfetched as some would think. Women could volunteer to go into the arena to fight. They accepted the possible consequences of what could happen. Some viewed the idea of having women in the combat arena as devaluing of women with attempts to outlaw it. However, in the desire to keep the battles “fresh,” sometimes a woman might be able to get into the arena eventually. The female gladiator or Gladiatrix, had the same thing to prove as any male did and could gain the same fame as any gladiator could assuming they would survive.

Spiculus turned to look at Nero sitting on his chair. He was distracted, but it seemed that it didn’t phase him at all with the announcement.

“Damn it,” he remarked. “I will have to kill her. Damn the system. At least it will be an easy victory. An easy victory to get me out.”

He got his mind out of his rushing thoughts as he heard the announcer that was distracted for a moment before he continued.

“Will she make it?” the announcer yelled. “Will she defeat our prime champion? Our next champion is Renias!”

The doors opened as Spiculus stepped aside from the center to look at the opening doors. Out came a woman dressed in a helmet and light armor. She had only one weapon in her hand.

“Damn...” Spiculus remarked. “She is a rookie; she came out with just a sword? She didn’t even ask for a fucking shield.” He shook his head as some of the audience cheered. No matter what, they were going to get a fight from this. Spiculus sighed. “Well ... being light and nimble will not win you in this fight, Renias. You...”

He looked at her form. The armor was thin, made of red leather that wrapped around her shoulders, breasts, chest, and most of her stomach. The other portion was a form of red leather wrappings that went around her legs, crouch and ending at her belly button. Her helmet blocked her face, which was made of the same fishnet metal that prevented and protected her face. Her skin had a darker tone than the typical Romans due to her Egyptian ancestry. Her hair was wrapped around into a bun concealed into her helmet. As she stepped closer and closer, he could see her sword.

“A khopesh... , “ he remarked.

The khopesh sword brought memories to him. He thought of using it in his first battle before he switched to a spear. The blade would travel straight forward from the hilt as it curved like a half-moon to form into a straight point. It was a beautiful design that was only found in the home he was taken from. It almost felt like seeing a sense of nostalgia in him and regret that he would have to fight another Egyptian. He could already see that he was going to end up having to kill her. Even Gilnaious had to train him in the last few years that he would have to fight fellow Egyptians eventually. Nonetheless, the idea of it being a woman and Egyptian was something that he could not shake off completely.

He breathed heavily as she stepped near him as she held her sword low and looked at the audience. She gave a gloved fist in the air as she looked at crowds. The audience respected her gesture as she gave the aura off that she was ready for whatever was to come. At least with her helmet, it took out any semblance of humanity from her.

They were both at a safe distance from one another and at the center. Both of them responded, looking at the crowds before their focuses turned to one another.

“May the best man or woman win! Fight!” yelled the announcer.

Spiculus got into his battle stance as he held his heavy shield against her. It was almost a joke at first with him. He had a massive shield and a gladius waiting against a woman with little more than a khopesh to fight back. He not only had the armor and defense, but she had virtually nothing to protect herself.

Renias got into her battle stance. She held the curved blade to the side. If she could give a fierce stare through her helmet, she could. Her focus was straight on Spiculus.

“I am sorry!” Spiculus yelled at her. “One Egyptian to another!”

There was a break in her concentration as if she snapped out her combat stance. “Me too ... me too.”

Spiculus resumed his stance as he used his sword to tap his shield, gesturing her to come after him. His strong defensive position forced him to keep little movement as possible. He went ahead and let her make the first move.

She pressed her feet hard into the dirt as she charged straight at him. His shield was directly between him and her. Dust spat from her quick jolt as her rapid movement broke the distance between them quickly.

The speed of her run almost took Spiculus by surprise. The lighter armor made her very fast. If she were naked, she probably would have already been on him. She tested out his defenses by swinging her sword and practically running straight into his shield. Her curved bladed tip almost wrapped around his shield, missing his helmet by inches as her body slammed into his shield. Her weight surprisingly jolted him back a little bit as he almost shield bashed her body. He took his gladius and stabbed it forward, but to little avail, the jolt made him miss completely as she flung back and landed on her feet.

They did nothing to each other. He held his ground, shaking off the little impact on him while she kept her sword ready. The audience was happy to see the first swings as they looked at each other.

“You can’t win this, Renias!” Spiculus called out to her. “Your fast, but you are pounding armor! Give up, so we can negotiate your mercy!”

She charged at him again as he held his battle stance. He cringed his teeth as she slammed into his shield. He was ready as he pushed forward again, pushing her body away from his shield. She took the Khopesh and swung at the shield twice. Both blows of the blade impacted it with two thumps before he stabbed his sword at her again. She was nimble as she jumped back before the pointed tip hit her.

Spiculus held his ground. “Come on! Come on!” he yelled at her. “I can do this all day!”

There was a pause from her as she took the hilt of the blade and tossed it slightly from her hand. The edge spun slightly before she caught the handle again. She did the process again as if she was thinking of her next actions.

“She is doing this on purpose,” he said quietly to himself. “I have to hand it to her, she is trying hard to intimidate or get me unhinged, but it will fail. Brutus fell because of it.”

She stopped spinning the blade as she charged forward. This time she was making the same move again. He held the shield up as she jumped spin into it. He pressed forward as before as he tried to push her body forward, but her spin caused her to bounce off and roll to the side of his body.

“Shit!” he yelled. He caught what she was doing at the very last second. She was using his shield and actions to roll to his side so she could his exposed flank.

He had only one action. He used his momentum to press hard as he could forward as she was almost finished her roll. She was about to land on her feet when he jolted forward and spun to the right as fast he could practically losing his footing. It would have to be his blade because the mere split second she would use her Khopesh to either stab or slash his flank. He spun hard as he held his sword to block.

The move worked as his eyes saw the blade land against her blade. Metal slammed against metal as the swords deflected blows. She swung again as his shield followed along and deflected her blow. She leaped back before he could try to stab forward again.

The audience was almost in silence at first but nodded at the quick actions and movement. The gladiator and gladiatrix were once again in their standoff.

“Damn, that was close,” he remarked quietly to himself. “I should have handed it to her. I should have seen it earlier that she was testing my defenses. She is using speed and agility to try to win this. Add cunning to it.”

“Haha...” a laugh came from Renias. “Almost got you ... feeling a little slow, Spiculus?”

Spiculus would not be unhinged from the battle. He kept his cool as he looked at her. She held her sword away, almost as if she was exposing herself to him. She was mocking him to the crowd.

“Come on, Spiculus! Can’t beat a woman now, can you!” she yelled so loud that the audience heard her. Some of the audience joined in and laughed upon hearing it.

Once again, he kept his cool. She was doing an excellent job of trying to take chinks from him, though. He tried again to put a jab at her. He took his sword and smacked his shield to her to gesture her to attack again.

“Oh ... I might get you!” she said in an almost snicker. It was so deviant that it almost took him by surprise.

There was a nod from the table that the Caesar was sitting from. It seemed that even he was impressed with how the battle was going so far.

Renias got back in her stance as she held her sword at the ready.

He got an idea this time. The fact was, she was fast. She was getting too hard to hit her. He knew that she might try the same trick again. He held his shield in the front, ready to come and slam into it again. He would not try to keep the shield there or try to bash her with it. This time he would step forward at the very last second before she jumped into it. He would try to swat her with the shield as he stepped forward to stab her with his blade. The hope was that if she tried her move again, she would essentially jump right into his sword. The catch was, of course, was timing it. Do it too soon, and she wouldn’t do it or leave him so expose she might just go straight into him. Do it too late, and she would end up repeating her move as she did before.