Of Dreams - First pages of chapter one

SLEEPING TO DREAM, WAKING TO HUNT

Battle drums sounded, booming, thundering battle drums ringing off the walls of The Pit, a colossal circular arena filled with thousands of people cheering for more bloodshed. The drums signaled the next fight was to begin after the slaves of The Pit carried off the mutilated bodies of the previous gladiators. Blood covered a vast section of the floor of the stadium, an open space covered in sand and dirt, a perfect place for battle. The perimeter of the circular battle area was protected by a twenty foot solid stone wall covered in spikes made of bone and wood. Every thirty stones stood an arch that led to various storage areas. The arena towered three hundred feet into the air in a tiered fashion. It did not have a ceiling but rather opened to the elements. This day happened to be bright and sunny, perfect for the spectators to sit and watch the fights. The bodies of the recently dead warriors were carried through one of the side arches which led to the cages of various beasts of the land. The servants opened the cage of a pack of wolves and threw the fallen warriors bodies in. In moments the wolves were upon the bodies, thrashing and tearing in to the flesh of the dead.
One of the slaves then began to walk down the adjacent hallway, skirting around tables covered in various swords, axes, shields, and other various tools of death. He came upon a door that stood open, revealing a room that was decorated with plaques of wooden swords and golden arrows. In one corner a burly man sat behind a desk with his head in his hands.
The mans arms were large and muscular; he was tall, tan and had long black hair. He was dressed in a bearskin top, with the head of the dead bear over his left shoulder and the rest of the skin sown into a vest. He wore leggings of leather and had thick black boots on his feet. He looked up at the slave, revealing a worn face and deep set blue eyes. He had an even deeper scar that ran from his right temple, over his right eye and thick nose, continuing down his lips and ending at the left corner of his jaw.
The large man spoke in a deep coarse voice, “Is it time already? Did that ill witted bastard Delvin die in that short amount of time?” As the man spoke the slave backed up into the doorway.
“Y..y..yes Kano, Delvin d..d..died already, both he and the other gladiator fell in a most cowardly fashion.” the slave came slightly forward as he spoke but kept his distance, for he had heard of Kano’s anger.
“So be it. We must move onto the next round. These weak fools the slavers bring are costing me money, the wretches die too soon. Go retrieve Phoenixfire, and order him to suit up, I will find a fitting opponent for him.” While speaking, Kano stood up and moved toward the door, the slave having heard his orders went to retrieve the gladiator.
Arriving at a locked metal door with a small looking hole in the top, the slave pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He entered and saw Phoenixfire lying on a wooden bed which extended out from the wall. The gladiator was a massive titan of a man, thick and muscular; he was tanned bronze and had long flowing red hair. His eyes were also red and above them were thick bushy eyebrows. He was handsome, especially for a warrior, and his face looked almost chiseled from stone. The only facial hair he had was a goatee that covered his chin but did not continue up around his mouth. His whole body was muscular and when he moved the muscles could be seen moving underneath his tight skin.
Phoenixfire stood up and without a word began to dress for battle. He did not have to be told, he knew he was a gladiator and until he was set free there was no hope for anything else. He put on light reddish-brown leggings that had metal protectors sewn into the shin and thigh areas and pulled red leather boots over his feet. He then threw on a tunic that was decorated on the back with dark red feathers. Before leaving the room Phoenixfire grabbed his massive long sword. The blade was pure white and had veins of silver and gold embossed in to it. The hilt was made of iron and fashioned in the resemblance of a phoenix, the pommel was the luxurious plumed tail, the grip the bird’s body, the bird’s wings the cross guard, and the legendary birds head formed the rain guard.
The warrior ran up stairs that were to the right of his room and continued through an archway onto the sand and dirt floor of The Pit. Immediately the crowd roared with applause. Phoenixfire was a crowd favorite and he always gave a good performance. In response to the crowd the gladiator raised his sword in salute. From the opposite side of the arena a door from another archway opened and out walked a massive green ogre. The thug was just as big and muscular as Phoenixfire, but it was known that ogres were stronger than men. The ogre was bald and had fangs coming down from the top of his mouth. His chest, arms, and back were covered in thick oily black hair and from his elbows sprouted ivory spikes that grew upwards; he wore plain leather leggings and sported no boots on his massive hairy feet. His hands were large and in the right one he too carried a long sword.
A voice boomed through the arena from the top of a section of wall where Kano stood, “I GIVE YOU PHOENIXFIRE, THE UNDEFEATED WARRIOR!” The crowd roared its approval to the announcement, and when they quieted down after a round of hearty applause Kano continued, “AND BLOODSAP! THE MIGHTY OGRE FROM THE NORTHERN REALM!” And for the second time the crowd roared its satisfaction of the fighter chosen for their entertainment.
Phoenixfire was calm, he had done this many times before now and Bloodsap was just another unfortunate victim who stood in the way of his freedom. Kano’s shouting voice rang through the arena once more, “LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!”
At once Bloodsap began to walk at his human opponent in a slow gate, with his knees bent and sword raised ready to strike.
Phoenixfire however, knelt to the ground and laid his sword down; he then picked up a handful of dirt and quickly rubbed his hands together with it. Only after all the dirt fell from his hands did he pick up his sword and stand up. Bloodsap was fifteen paces away now and the ogre released a blood thirsty roar at him. Phoenixfire bent at the knees and walked towards the ogre, raising his sword arm, ready to strike the brute down.
Bloodsap spoke in a deep snarling voice, “Prepare to die human, no man stands a chance against me. I’m going to cut off your head and feast on your worthless body!”
The muscular gladiator released a deep rolling laugh, and not wanting to allow the ogre anymore time spent in this life, charged towards him. Bloodsap began to charge too and in a matter of a few seconds they were upon each other. Phoenixfire veered to the left, slashing down with his sword, while Bloodsap likewise slashed downwards. Their swords met with a mighty force and the metal of both swords released a high-pitched ringing. Not sparing any time, the huge man unleashed a flurry of blows that Bloodsap fended off. Swords flashing through the air, faster than any spectator could follow; they fought their way around the stadium floor. Neither gladiator able to best the other, they swung, stabbed, and hacked at each other but the swords never met flesh. Phoenixfire dodged a mighty stroke from Bloodsap’s sword by leaning back and spinning in a full circle. He then reared back and grasping his sword in both hands swung from overhead towards the top of the ogre’s skull. Bloodsap turned and barely blocked the blow, but the force of the attack was so great the ogre dropped his sword and he was forced to roll away to the left. The ogre now had no weapon to defend himself. Phoenixfire threw his sword down and declared, “I am no dishonorable gladiator, and I would not attack while you are defenseless! Let us finish this fight with our bare hands!”
Bloodsap laughed and responded, “ You fool, there is no way you can best me in hand to hand combat, I am an ogre and stronger than any human could ever hope to be, prepare to be defeated.”
The gladiator was undeterred and declared in a deep resounding voice, “If that is what you believe then you are over confident, I will not lose to the likes of you, ogre.” and he ran at Bloodsap drawing back his right arm while curling his hand into a fist. The ogre stood up and squared his shoulders, readying himself for the attack. Phoenixfire punched at the ogres face but the ogre dodged and retaliated with a punch of his own that connected with the gladiator’s stomach, knocking the warrior back several paces.
Phoenixfire straightened up and took a deep breathe to re-energize himself. Bloodsap then charged at the gladiator with his arm drawn across his body, apparently readying himself to attack with the spike on his elbow. Phoenixfire dodged as the ogre elbowed at him, but he was not fast enough to completely evade and the ogres elbow spike cut his left bicep. In retaliation the warrior swung at the ogres face. This time he connected and knocked a fang out of the ogre’s mouth. Bloodsap recoiled from the punch and retreated back. Phoenixfire took advantage and charged the ogre while continuing with a series of blows to the ogre’s body, the whole time forcing the ogre towards the spike covered wall in an attempt to corner him. Bloodsap tried to defend himself from the gladiators furry but he could not stop himself from stumbling backwards, and within a few seconds he was mere feet from the wall and could not do anything but stand and take the blows.
The ogre gathered his strength and raged back by throwing punches; both warriors were now hitting each other, bashing each others bodies with tremendous force. Phoenixfire took the advantage by landing a massive right hook to Bloodsap’s face which knocked the ogre to his knees. In a battle rage Phoenixfire bent and grabbed the ogre by the groin and shoulder, lifting him up sideways. The crowd cheered in anticipation of the undefeated combatants victory, drums began to boom throughout the arena, reverberating off of everything and everyone. And with the roar of a mighty warrior Phoenixfire lifted Bloodsap over his head as high as he could and thrust the ogre into a spike of ivory bone that extended outward from the wall. Black blood splattered everywhere as the spike pierced and protruded from the ogre’s abdomen. Bloodsap released a deafening death shriek and gasped for air as his lungs began to fill with blood and his mouth bubbled with the black fluid. The ogre took his last breathe and remained immobile, his body hanging parallel to the ground, blood dripping from the hair on his chest and back. The champion released the ogre and left him on the spike. Then Phoenixfire, covered in the ogres black blood, turned back to the center of the arena and walked towards his sword. The crowd released a deafening cheer, and began to chant. As the gladiator reached his sword and bent down to pick it up Kano’s voice interrupted the crowds cheering, “THERE YOU HAVE IT PEOPLE, THE PHOENIX ONCE AGAIN PURGES THE ARENA OF A FOUL OGRE!” The crowd cheered in approval. The gladiator, having retrieved his sword, walked back to the archway from which he came, and headed back to his quarters.
When the gladiator walked in the room… On the second floor of a house in a nearly empty bedroom light begins to enter a window. The light reveals a bed positioned underneath the window so that the long side touches the wall. The light touches a boy who is seventeen years old. The soon to be man, who was around six feet tall and had a slim muscular build, began to stir as the light disturbed his dreams. He mumbled in a smooth voice, “Blasted sun, always wakes me up before I know what happens next!”