Gavin probed the closest troll's mind with his magic, trying to weave a spell that would damage his foe's brain, but it was like trying to shove a knife into a block of wood. He gave up and focused on physical effort, weaving a spell that would sharpen his concentration.
He met the first troll head on, ducking under a swipe of the troll's axe and stabbing it in the belly with his spear. The creature cursed and grunted, but otherwise ignored the foot long blade in its intestines, even as he twisted the haft, causing the barbs to tear at the troll's flesh as he withdrew the point. It kept moving as if his attack had never occurred, bringing its axe crashing down on him, banging it off his lion-headed shield and nearly driving Gavin to his knees.
"Nice try, ugly," taunted Ravius, dodging a powerful attack from the troll he was fighting. "Your attacks are clumsy, like a child's!" The skirmisher was having better success; having fought a troll in a previous match, he was well aware that pain did not daunt them, and so he resorted to hurling insults, angering the troll into attacking recklessly. He punished it with quick disciplined jabs of his trident whenever it made a mistake. Although the wounds were having little effect on the troll, the crowd was enjoying the bloodshed nonetheless.
Gavin lost any sense of pity for the troll he faced, giving in to his anger. He traded blows with the beast, taking staggering hits from its massive greataxe on his shield and responding with quick, brutal lunges that left weeping craters in the beast's chest. His shield arm quickly became numb as the massive axe crashed down again and again. He did not care; the sheer exertion had banished his frustrations and doubts. Sidestepping an attack, he shoved his spear point into the creature's armpit and then ducked under the responding back-swing. The crowd cheered. He felt good, losing himself in the fight.
"Missed again!" quipped Ravius, cackling. The skirmisher continued to work his opponent into a blind frenzy, ridiculing the beast whenever he forced it to make an error. He waited for the troll to charge at him, reckless with anger, and then tumbled to one side, sweeping his barbed net at its legs as he did. The grasping net wrapped around its feet and knees, causing it to fall to the ground, where it struggled in the net. Ravius darted in, lightning quick, and stabbed the troll in the throat with his trident. Dark red blood sloshed from the wound; it would not kill the tough troll but it would certainly take it out of the fight.
Gavin's troll was having so much fun pounding on the Gladiator's shield that it did not even notice Ravius, who sneaked up behind and jabbed it in the back. The surprise caused the troll to falter and Gavin took advantage of his foe's lowered guard to attack. He pushed his spear into the beast's chest, seeking the troll's heart. His spear-blade sank deep into blue flesh. Although the troll staggered, it did not falter. With surprising swiftness it dropped its greataxe and seized Gavin's head in both its hands, trying to crush the Gladiator's skull. Gavin felt the bones in his head buckle under the creature's immense strength and pushed forward with all his might, trying to drive his spear deeper, as Ravius stabbed it again and again from behind.
Just as Gavin thought he was beaten, the pressure eased, and the troll toppled to the ground. The crowd cheered. Gavin breathed the sweet air, feeling relieved.
-----o
Later that night Gavin and Ravius shared a drink with the two trolls, who had recovered from their wounds with customary swiftness. They talked of troll customs and the places and arenas they had visited. It was an educational experience, one that Gavin enjoyed. He was in a good mood as they returned home to celebrate the day's matches with their friends.
Chapter Fourteen: Staring at a Goat
1142/10/26, Camp Valorous
"Explaining magic to the ungifted is difficult, like trying to describe colours to someone who has been blind since birth." Chosen Moltar
"I don't like the term weaving. I'm commanding the elements to blast my enemies to ash, not making a rug." Karmal, arguing with a trainer at age fourteen
Training grounds are central to the daily lives of Gladiators. They spend most of their lives in practice, constantly honing their skills. The training grounds in Camp Valorous cover a wide area that was once used to train soldiers. A lightly wooded area holds obstacle courses and several long trails for running. The main grounds are a wide expanse of well-kept white sand, constantly used for exercise and drill. This is where most of the fighters engage in their daily physical regimens. This area, open to all Gladiators to use without special supervision, is called the Common Grounds, Commons for short. It is a social location, the best place to meet other Gladiators, and it is always busy. Gladiators spend at least half their days in exercise and training and even late at night, while the rest of the citizens sleep, one can often hear the clash of blades or see the flash of spells upon the Commons.
In Camp Valorous Gladiators can also practise in the arena on days when there are no performances. These sessions are usually open to the people of the town, and it is a good opportunity for fans and Gladiators to get to know each other better. Some townsfolk bring their children to watch the Gladiators perform feats of skill and wondrous spells, gaining an appreciation of the Great Games without exposure to the bloodier aspects. Practising in an arena also helps a Gladiator become more familiar with its quirks; many Gladiators obsess about their arenas nearly as much as they love their gear.
A dozen smaller, more private, facilities are also available to Gladiators in Camp Valorous who wish to avoid the prying eyes of their peers. Using these facilities, however, requires the supervision of an officer of the Deliberative. There are two main reasons that Gladiators make use of private facilities. First, many teams feel there is a vital competitive advantage in developing their tactics and moves in secret; it allows them to surprise their foes in other factions and show up rivals within their own faction. Secondly, some of the moves and spells learned by Gladiators are extremely difficult, and the results of performing them poorly can be spectacularly embarrassing. Thus, many prefer learning these more difficult moves away from the judging eyes of their peers, at least until they can show off their new abilities without making fools of themselves. Of course it might be also be worth noting that any Gladiator who is inclined toward introversion would find these private fighting grounds much to his liking.
-----o
Gavin preferred the privacy of smaller training grounds. He and Ravius were trying to learn a new spell and had been practising for several hours now. Cogimancy is the hardest of the common magical disciplines to practise. This is because most spells of this class of magic alter or attack a target's mind, and consequently require a living target and not just a practice dummy. Another difficult aspect of learning these spells is that the targets instinctively try to resist, which makes weaving the spell-pattern much more difficult. Gavin was fortunate that Ravius was a fellow Cogimancer; he always had a willing volunteer to test his spells on.
The spell Gavin was trying to learn, Michella's Mind Melter, commonly called the Brain Burster, was one of the more gruesome attack spells in a Cogimancer's arsenal. The spell was a vastly overpowered variation of the mental blast which he frequently used. The current theory behind the spell was that it turned the user’s mental impulses into intense heat and explosive kinetic energy, which, in turn, would cause the target to panic creating more mental energy and thus more heat and... BOOM! The target's brain would explode, usually with enough force to burst their skull, like a firework going off in a ripe melon. He and Ravius could not practice this spell on each other; it was too lethal, so they required other test subjects.
Gavin was not sure if he believed the energy conversion bit; assigning scientific explanations to magic had always seemed somewhat questionable to him. If a spell could alter reality, how could a discipline grounded in observation and measurement explain it? The only magical discipline that was consistent in the eyes of science was Artifice, which rarely saw use in the arena. Gavin felt that this was because Artificers were generally inclined to think scientifically, dealing with mechan
ical constructs and feats of engineering, lending the same qualities to their magic.
Since the two Gladiators could not practice the Brain Burster spell on each other they were forced to use animals, goats in this case. Gavin was starting to regret his decision to learn the spell, not liking the idea of killing the helpless animal tethered before him. A bored young Grey-Robe shared the small private training room with them. She seemed more interested in her book than watching the two Gladiators.
"HAHA! Oh sweet Ezuis, did you see that last one little brother?" Ravius' face lit up as he doubled over with laughter. "BOOM! Who says Cogimancy is boring? The crowds are going to sing our names when we pull this one off!" Ravius had managed to weave and cast the difficult spell twice already; each time causing a disgusting eruption of bone, blood, and smoking, stinking grey matter. The smiling skirmisher was enjoying himself greatly and failed to notice that Gavin had not even cast the spell a single time.
Ignoring Ravius, Gavin focused intently on the goat in front of him. He could channel the raw power required to fuel the spell with little difficulty. Weaving the spell-pattern, however, to translate all that raw magic power into a proper Brain Buster was where it all fell apart. He tried it again and again, following the instructions carefully, but the weave collapsed each time, just before he could complete it. Truth be told, he was unsure he wanted to complete the weave; he did not like the idea of killing an animal just to learn a spell. Yet, although he was more than ready to give up, he did not wish to explain to his friend that he really just didn't want to blow up an innocent animal. What would Ravius think of him then?
Why does it have to be goats, he thought. Goats never hurt anyone. I'll never face a goat on the fighting grounds. Why not let us practice on free-willed zombies? Bloody Reckoning; I'd rather blow up rapists or child molesters than helpless animals. He stared at the goat, feeling a kind melancholic nausea creep through him. Despite his internal monologue he understood that the Deliberative had not chosen goats just to test him or cause him discomfort. They were very common in the rocky highlands near Camp Valorous, and thus frequently used when training required live test subjects. The goat stared back at him, its strange eyes betraying no emotion, apparently unaware of the carnage that Ravius was inflicting among its comrades.
Time dragged on. Gavin could complete the spell-pattern, but he did not want to kill the goat. He wondered if this confirmed his fears that he was a coward. The goat's eyes seemed to bore deep into his soul, judging him like some primal god, finding him wanting. The young Grey-Robe turned a page in her book; the crisp sound of the paper was like the rumbling thunder of an angry sky in Gavin's ears. Sweat dripped from his brow. He stared; the goat stared back. Time continued to pass with agonizing slowness. Ravius whooped again as he managed the spell a third time.
Gavin was so lost in his own head that he did not notice the Grey-Robe leave her seat and glide silently across the room to stand next to him. He startled when a crisp feminine voice spoke from behind him, breaking his concentration.
"Honoured Gladiator, perhaps I can help?" The young Grey-Robe's voice was calm and coldly formal, but he could detect an undercurrent of something else beneath her surface tone. He realized she was actually as young as she looked; she did not yet have that veiled look in her eyes that marked the older Gifted.
Ravius watched with interest, partly because the Grey-Robe was an attractive woman, but also out of curiosity. Officers of the Deliberative were mostly Vassals, and thus they were supposed to be cut off from any aspects of their Gift that could be used for destructive purposes. Still he had witnessed them use spells that stunned or injured; he often wondered about the true capabilities of the Grey-Robes who policed them. How could she help Gavin learn a spell she was not supposed to know?
"Uh..." Gavin was a little taken aback; he preferred to avoid the attention of any agent of the Deliberative, a common attitude among Gladiators. "I wouldn't mind the help I suppose."
Ravius hid his interest by blasting the head off another goat, channelling a surge of power that left him slightly dizzy. He let out a delighted whoop as he did so, playing the fool. Best she think he was not paying attention...
The Grey-Robe let down her hood, smiling at Gavin as she did so. At first he was struck by the similarities to Sadira. (In fact, he unconsciously contrasted every woman to his love, for she was often in his thoughts) The Grey-Robe's skin was pale and flawless and her upper ears were gracefully pointed. Unlike Sadira, this woman's hair and eyes were as pale as her skin. Her features were more delicate and spoke of sunshine and brightness rather than the contrast of moonlight and shadow, a Light-Elf.
"Open your mind to me," the Light-Elf girl said to him. Her tone was firm, but not imperious, so he did so. Her expression was wilful, like Sadira's, but she lacked the vibrant physicality and powerful presence of his Gladiatrix lover. He relaxed his mental defences, but only a little. He did not want a member of the Grey-Robes rooting around in his mind like a pig searching for heretical truffles.
"Relax, I don't want your secrets Honoured Gladiator," she smiled, disarming him with her bright expression, "not yet at any rate. This might be uncomfortable though, do you have any problems taking orders from a woman?"
"Um... no." He suddenly realized what she was going to do, and grimaced. "You're going to use a Dominate spell on me, aren't you?"
"Yep," she nodded. He could see the ghost of a smile on her face for a moment. "I can't weave the spell for you, I don't know it, of course, but my spell should force you to weave it properly."
"HA! Don't worry lass. He's used to being told what to do. I'm surprised he does not wear a leash! " Ravius howled with laughter, still playing the fool. Gavin rolled his eyes, well aware that Ravius was clowning for the Grey-Robe's benefit.
"Oh lick a cow's..." Gavin's retort was cut short as the Light-Elf channelled power into a spell-weave, sending a powerful impulse coursing through his mind. Caught off guard, his attention focused on Ravius, he was less able to resist. His eyes met the goat's eyes. Instead of the defenceless animal, he suddenly saw Valaran diVolcanus' hateful blue orbs. Power surged through him, a molten torrent. His desire to resist faded, and he wove the spell-pattern with ease. His target's eyes widened for just a moment, and then disappeared in the resulting explosion. He pushed the Grey-Robe out of his mind. "Dammit... I wasn't ready!"
"I doubt if I could have pushed you do it if you had been ready, Gladiator." She did not meet his gaze. "Dominating another Gifted is very hard if his guard is up, and I sense you have a very strong mind... I am sorry if I offended you, though."
He was smouldering with anger, feeling a little used, but held his tongue. She had tricked him into killing that goat. On the other hand as far as she knew, the little Grey-Robe was actually helping him. He let out a deep breath, calming himself.
"I think you should be able to do it on your own this time." She pointed to a fresh victim in the enclosure beside the first. The goat appeared blithely unaware of the fate of its brethren, chewing hay and staring at Gavin with strange eyes. He stood still, feeling sick and trapped.
"I can help you again if you wish," she said, in a soft voice full of iron.
Anger welled in him; she went too far. Again, he looked into the goat's eyes. A torrent of power erupted through him as he channelled. He would not be toyed with. He wove the spell-pattern and sent the power coursing through it. The goat's head burst like a rotten egg thrown against a wall. He moved to the next pen and repeated the steps. Although part of him was sickened by the carnage he was causing, another part of him exulted in the ease with which he could use this immensely powerful spell that many of his peers could not master. He channelled again, giving in to the electric thrill of so much energy coursing through him. The spell-weave formed easily, almost without effort this time. The release was orgasmic. The creature's head popped like a balloon full of blood and brains.
He breathed out, calming himself. He was sickened by the pointless destructi
on he caused, but this was partly over-ridden by the exultation he felt at mastering the spell.
"Excellent!" The little Grey-Robe's amber-yellow eyes, bright and terrible as the sun, met Gavin's. He sensed a hint of defiance in her and wondered. What was her angle in all of this. He saw her chin rise with just a hint of petulance under his gaze. She suddenly seemed very young to him. Training methods for the Gifted were often harsh; he wondered what inner daemons plagued this girl. Slowly, he relaxed; seeing everyone he met as an enemy would do him no good. After all, whose fault was it that he had agreed to train in this spell? All his ire drained away.
"I wonder what your superiors would say about your training methods?" he said, chuckling. When she opened her mouth to protest he spoke quickly. "I’m joking; I'll make sure they know how helpful you have been...miss?"
"Cleothera," she smiled, looking slightly embarrassed and greatly relieved. "You are Gavin Orphanus and you, Ravius Vergerus. I already know your names and histories; no need for introductions." She seemed more than a little pleased at turning the tables on Gavin with this comment.
Ravius took the opportunity to move in smoothly, pouring on the charm."Well little sister, since you know so much about us, it is only fair that you tell us a little about yourself, perhaps over drinks?"
Much to Gavin's surprise the little Grey-Robe laughed and accepted their invitation without any hesitation.
-----o
Gavin and Sadira's next match took place in a much altered arena. A deep channel bisected the fighting grounds, its depths glistening with pointed metal spikes. A stone bridge, broad enough for them to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, crossed this vicious looking chasm. Although it appeared sturdy, the bridge lacked any railing or safety features that would give an unlucky Gladiator a chance to save himself if knocked off the span. A late autumn rain fell steadily, and both Gladiators knew that this would make the smooth stones of the bridge slick and treacherous. Gavin, who normally liked the rain, was more than a little nervous about how easy it would be for them to lose their footing and plunge into the chasm.
Bloodlust: A Gladiator's Tale Page 22