Chapter Six
The day of the munus had arrived and Odalia's white walls shone like the sun that bore down upon the spectators lining the seats of the Amphitheater. Nearly twenty thousand people from every district in the capital filled the stands and such a wave of excitement roared through them that no outsider would ever suspect that any rumors of civil unrest could ever be true.
The day had begun with all of the pomp and circumstance that the White Palace could muster, beginning with a parade led from the Palace steps by the Emperor Tiberius himself riding upon a resplendent chariot. Following his chariot was a mass of beasts, exotic wildlife and performers the likes of which the Empire had never seen: hippopotamuses and ostriches from Southern Noba, trained monkeys and bears with strange black and white markings from the Land of the Golden Men and giant, horned ox-like beasts from the furthest reaches of the Hairy Men's tundra. Rounding out the parade at the end were the crowd's favorites, the gladiators, dressed in their full armor as Euric, Felix and Castor led them in the processional.
As Juko plodded along beside Kai, T'tembo and the others, he could think of no other time in his life when he had felt more uncomfortable than he did right then, dressed head to toe in colorful plumage and scale-like armor. The bright color patterns of the dyed feathers that lined his costume armor were offensive to his eyes and had surely been created in the imagination of someone who had never even seen the N'bari traditional dress. But still, the crowds gasped as he walked by, their gasps soon evolving into riotous cheers and applause as they began to shout out, "Kabaakia! Kabaakia! Kabaakia!" A bastardized version of the N'bari word for 'Chieftain,' that was the name that Euric had given him as part of the backstory he had secretly spread around the capital.
When the parade had at last arrived in the Amphitheater, the wealthy citizens of Odalia entered the structure first and took their seats upon the lowest tier of the stands, followed by the less wealthy citizens and the next until, at the very top stood the poorest of all Lycania's citizens. Most of the lowest class attendees were from the Ala District and had been enticed to attend the munus by both the free seating and the promise of free bread loaves to be handed out later - a state-sponsored charity rite that was frequently performed to appease the gods.
The Emperor and his son, flanked by the Centurion and the Decanus and surrounded by his special guard, arrived in the royal seating box that was located in the center front of the stands. In the box, Tiberius remained standing as a pageboy appeared beside him and presented the Emperor with a laurel wreath resting upon a pillow. He then took the wreath and cast it into the dust of the arena and as it landed, the crowd cried out a huge cheer and the munus was officially opened. Tiberius then took his seat and motioned for the Orator to begin.
The Orator nodded and took his place below the Emperor's box, which allowed him to be heard throughout the entire Amphitheater. He welcomed everyone as he ushered in the opening ceremonies. "Greetings, citizens of Lycania! Welcome to the Emperor's Munus!" The crowd cheered madly as Tiberius covered his eyes and flinched from the headache that had been steadily growing all morning.
The Orator continued, "This munus is quite a special one as it honors the death of a very important man!" He flung his hand into the direction of the large double doors on the floor of the right side of the arena from where all things entered the Amphitheater. As the doors opened, a line of musicians entered playing a ceremonious tune while following them were a trio of slaves, each carrying a pike in their hands. Resting upon each pike were the heads of Lord Heron, his wife and their adolescent son, Antonius, and upon the sight of them, the residents of the Ala District that lined the uppermost seats shouted and screamed, horrified by the scene before them.
The Orator ignored them and continued speaking, "Join me, citizens of Lycania, in giving our respects to Lord Heron and his family!" The lower tiers began to laugh as the upper tiers grew angrier and shouted down at them.
"Let this be a lesson," the Orator continued, "do not betray your Emperor!"
The slaves then placed the pikes into the ground around the arena so that they would be on display during the entire munus. Once they had finished their task, they exited and the animal trainers entered with their display of unusual animals. Spurius sat on the edge of his seat and excitedly pointed out to everyone nearby the ostriches, bears, zebras and leopards that jumped and leapt around to the songs of the musicians. After the performing animals were finished, next came the dancers - a group of young men and women who depicted in an uninhibited naked dance the ancient story of the birth of the Two Brothers.
As the noon hour drew near, the Orator announced the next act on the schedule, "Citizens of Lycania, before you take up your midday meal upon the grounds, I implore you to wait a bit longer in your seats as we witness the perfect justice of the Emperor unfold before our eyes!"
The gates opened again and the Emperor's guards were seen shoving an unwilling group of men and women into the arena. They were dressed in the gray tunics that denoted them as criminals and their hands and feet chained.
"Here, my friends, are the latest traitors to have had the audacity to break the Emperor's gods-given laws! Look at them in their shame!" he pointed at the condemned as they huddled together in the center. "Eight men and four women. All who have flaunted their arrogance to our beloved Emperor! What were their crimes, you ask? Why the worship of the Sun God, the War God and the Ancient God! Stare upon their arrogance and be wise, Lycanians! For they have rebuked the Two Brothers! But, will their gods save them now?" He laughed heartily, "If not then may the Two Brothers shower them with their omnipresent mercy and give them quick and easy deaths!"
The cage doors were opened and four male lions were let loose upon the frightened prisoners. Half of them attempted to flee by running up to the sides of the arena and jumping to see if they could reach the top edge of the walls. As they reached out their hands to those sitting above them, the wealthy citizenry of Lycania simply laughed them off, kicking away the hands of any that had actually managed to reach the edge. As the attendees in the higher seats watched this, they grew even angrier and demanded that the people pull them up but their protestations fell upon deaf ears.
Eventually, after only five of the unwilling participants had been mauled and eaten, the lions grew tired and, to everyone's amazement, simply lay down upon the ground with no more interest in the other humans huddling together in fear in the arena. Tiberius, himself weary of the monotony of watching the reclining lions, sent word to his guards to execute the remaining prisoners.
As the animal trainers led the lions out of the arena, the Orator announced, "Now we will have a small intermission. Enjoy your meals, Lycanians, for when this break is done, the gladiatorial will games begin! Starting with the debut of the arena's newest star: Kabaakia the N'bari warrior, whose family was murdered by those dastardly Bestials, the Golden Men! Today, my friends, will he get his revenge?"
Tiberius groaned and placed a hand to his head.
Spurius looked at his father, "Do you want me to get the medicus, Father?"
"No, no, my son. The gods are just speaking to me, that is all. But their voices," he grimaced, "they hurt my head at times."
Spurius went back to his gleeful enjoyment of the games as he looked up at the Decanus standing next to their seats, "I can't wait for Kabaakia! He’s supposed to be amazing!"
"I have to admit, I, too, am looking forward to his performance as well. In fact, we still have plenty of time before the fight, would you like to go and meet him?" the Decanus asked, unapologetically seeking favor with the Emperor.
Spurius looked expectantly at his father, who shook his head behind his hand, "I would rather he didn't leave my side. There are many snakes about today."
"But that's not fair!" Spurius sat back roughly, glowering as he kicked at the cement balustrade before him.
"Ah, my son," Tiberius smiled wanly, "one day you will understand - when you rule after I am gone from this wo
rld, you will see that there are always snakes beneath your feet."
Still Spurius sat there and still he glowered.
Despite the pain that roared through his head, Tiberius hated to see his son upset and so asked, "Would you like to hold my sword?"
As expected, the young prince brightened almost instantly, "Could I?"
"Yes, my son, of course. It will be yours one day as well."
He carefully removed the sword and its sheath from around his waist and handed it to the boy.
Spurious stared at it with delight as he looked upon its silver and jeweled sheath. He then pulled the sword out slightly, turning it so that the sun glinted off of the double-tempered Icanthian steel.
"The Sword of Irae," Tiberius spoke with pride. "Taken by our bloodline after the defeat of Thera."
The Decanus spoke up, "Your Highness, if you don't mind, I would wish to go down to the hypogeum myself and examine these gladiators before the fights begin. Would that be acceptable?"
"Yes, yes," he impatiently waved him away as he massaged his temples, "but watch for serpents."
"Of course," he bowed and excused himself, nodding to the guard that led him to one of the many secret entrances to at least a hundred different tunnels that existed underground. Once safely down below, he wound his way through the tunnel that would lead him to the gladiators' waiting room. As he rounded the corner, he came upon the lanista, who was busy speaking with a rather sizable group of highborn women that were begging to be granted entrance into the gladiators' room.
"I'm sorry, ladies, while I'm sure the men would appreciate your company, they must concentrate their energies for the afternoon's activities. If you would like, you are welcome to come and watch any of our practices during the week." Seeing the Decanus, Euric ushered them away quickly.
"Uh, hello, Decanus. What brings you down to these flea-infested haunts?"
"Lanista, I wish to see these new recruits of yours. I'm curious about my chances of making any of my money back in today's wagers," he laughed.
Euric masked his anxiety with a hearty laugh in reply, "Absolutely, Decanus. Why don't you follow me?" He held his hand out and he and the Decanus stepped into the large room where the waiting gladiators were either standing or sat upon benches, nervously anticipating the upcoming events.
"You know," the Decanus remarked, "I've always been fascinated by all things gladiatorial."
"I think most men are."
"I have to admit, I have often wondered how I would fare in such a contest myself."
"Oh, Decanus," Euric fawned, "you would be unmatched, I'm sure!"
He looked at him coolly, "Yes, well your ability to flatter is unmatched... I'm sure."
Juko, clad in his feathers and scales, stiffened as they entered the room seeking out T'tembo first.
Euric held out his hand, "This is our palus primus."
"Yes, I'm familiar with this one." He looked the large gladiator up and down, as if he were examining an animal that he wanted to buy at the market. "He's undefeated, which makes him not as valuable now on the betting circuit as he once was. A sure thing, really."
Euric showed him a few others of the gladiatorial specimens, including Kai.
"A spear?" The Decanus inquired, taking the weapon into his own hands.
"A Golden Man's spear. Much different in design to our own as you can see, much more equipped for close distances."
He nodded, admiring the leaf shaped arrowhead and bright red tassel that hung from its top. He returned the spear to Kai and then moved on to Juko. His face brightened, "Ah yes! Our new star! I'm very interested in seeing this one fight. How will he fare against the spear, do you think?"
Euric grew nervous, "Well, he is quite a remarkable fighter. I believe he has a good chance."
"Good. I've put quite a lot on him."
The Decanus seemed uninterested in pursing any more information about Juko and moved on. Then, after viewing the rest of the gladiators he was ready to return to his seat, saying as he shook the Euric's hand, "Good-looking group you have."
"You should come down one day to our training sessions."
"I would like that, lanista."
Euric bowed and the Decanus turned to leave but just before he did, he turned around and asked, "Oh, how would you join like to join us in the Emperor's box during this next fight? As you know, it's a fabulous view."
He started to sweat, "Oh, yes, I would be, uh, be honored, sir."
The Decanus nodded as he walked away and disappeared down into the tunnel.
A Sword Of Wrath, Book I: Blood And Dust Page 31