Ninety-four
In the labyrinth of grey and black stone buildings with jagged tops, A young cambion with four horns walked down the street. Bronze lanterns passed as he moved forward. The two red fireballs in the sky painted it orange.
Aegis's red pupils were fixed on a small pouch. He weighed it with his hand and sighed.
Not enough,
Six more…and no one would drag me back by the collar tonight.
CLANK.
Coins clanked as Aegis tossed a small brown pouch into the air. The pouch landed neatly in his palm. Lately, his luck has rotted. He hoped whatever scraps remained of it might help him in the gamble today.
As Aegis walked, he could feel a small tremor under his feet. Soon, a roar rolled through the street like distant thunder.
Far ahead, the black stone walls of the arenas rose higher than the surrounding buildings. Runes trapped beneath them glowed orange—Dragon's Fall — the only place where his pouch could get heavier.
I wonder if I should look for him.
Gambling was not the only reason he was going there. Aegis's dreams always ruined his night. Every single night, a nightmare, too vivid, would greet him.
However, this time, a pale-skinned gladiator appeared in it. He was not a fiend since he lacked horns. Instead, his ears were pointy, and his elongated, sharp jaw indicated his eldari features. In his dream, this Eldari warrior and Aegis stood before a pile of gold coins.
It was just a stupid dream.
He thought, but what if it wasn't? If the pile of gold coins existed, he would actually be able to buy his freedom forever. Aegis hurried and quickened his steps.
SPLAT.
He could feel something soft under his tattered leather boots instead of the hard stone. He lifted his boot to see what it was—
"Great! A Klucking hound decided to grace me with its filth."
He wiped his boots against the stone.
"Hopefully it's a lucky sign."
…
Soon, before him, metal stairs rose, stretching upward toward the colossal black gates. A giant dragon's skull guarded the entrance, its jaw forever screaming. Its Hollow eyes pierced the crowd. Many fiends moved past him and climbed the stairs. Aegis joined them.
Step after step carried him higher, to the entrance. The smell hit him as he entered the arena hall—blood, sweat, Ale. Dragon's fall welcomed him. Many fiends stood inside, their horns glowed with anticipation. Claws snapped as a few laughed.
Just like Aegis anticipated, the arena hall was crowded today. Of course it was, as the most anticipated tournament was being announced today. But Aegis only cared about the stench of sweat he had to endure.
Inside the arena hall, A black compartment with multiple counters stood on his right, in contrast to the velvet carpet and silver tables arranged in the hall, the blood wager pit. Claws slammed metal counters as a few fiends argued.
Aegis didn't delay, and his feet carried him toward it. The board on top of the counters read, "Norkhon challenges Zigor." Aegis stared at the board for a moment and read the names carefully. His eyes searched for a new name, but it was not present.
Disappointed, He turned toward a wooden board hanging beside a slender fiend with a single horn that rose high.
The odds of Zigor surviving were bad. But only odds worth taking were bad odds.
"One gold and eighty-eight silver on Zigor," the fiend's purple robe shifted slightly as he entered his name in a brown ledger.
For a moment, he remembered the coin he was wagering was not his. A feeling crept into his mind. Was it guilt? But Aegis knew if he won, it wouldn't matter.
He shrugged it off and walked toward the spectators' attic, the lowest level. Cambions and poor fiends surrounded him as he looked for a spot.
This spot looks good.
He approached a spot beside an obsidian pillar. Various runes written in Infernus beneath the pillar glowed, and a faint heat brushed Aegis's cheeks. Beside him, an old fiend stood, his sleeves torn off. Soon, he lifted his arms in excitement.
Aegis grimaced as the stench of sweat invaded his nostrils. The old fiend beside him had waved his arms, shouting at the fighters.
An involuntary gag followed.
The fiend's eyes turned toward him. With haste, Aegis covered his mouth and ignored the smell.
If he wanted to leave the arena without new bruises and cuts, he had to ignore the stench.
Soon, the champions' names resounded, and the spectators beside him roared.
Both of the champions, with their weapons drawn, stepped into the Sand. Sand beneath their feet shifted as the two fiends began the duel.
The sound of steel rang across the arena as they began the duel. Growls rose behind him. Claws scraped railings. Blood sprayed into the air as the steel met flesh.
A wide smile spread across Aegis's face, exposing two fangs.
"Yes, kill him!" he muttered as he felt his pouch getting heavier with each blow. He could feel it getting closer as the fiend he wagered on rained slashes.
Six more silver!
The fiends beside him surged forward as the two-horned head struck the sand. His pouch suddenly felt lighter than it should have.
What the kluck? His palm covered his face as he spoke.
"No, no, not today!"
His voice vanished into the cheers, howling for more blood beside him.
"Norkhon-Norkhon-Norkhon!"
Norkhon brandished his battle axe, covered in blood.
"Ygreahhhh!"
Aegis cursed and sighed.
"Kluck!"
He held his head and looked around. His gaze looked for the crowded areas, as he could easily slip into them and avoid the collectors. But, everyone who wanted to leave was stopped and checked if they had wagered or not. So, Aegis had to find ninety-four silver coins, as he only had half of his wager.
"There he is!" The words hit him instantly, the wager collectors. Even though they were not here for him, Aegis slipped into the crowd like. He quickly moved through the crowd, and his skin brushed against cloth and skin.
Aegis's gaze still scanned the crowd, and he kept evaluating everyone. But since this was the lowest level of the Arena, no spectators wore decent garments. Everyone was covered in torn rags.
However, like a drop of water in a desert. A lone fiend with a decent plain coloured shirt stood near the railings. Naturally, there were no cambions around him. But fiends in rags stood near him, maintaining some distance. He got his target, now he had to steal from him.
Aegis looked at the crowd near the decent fiend and stepped on a fiend's foot that stood closer to his target. The fiend turned around, his horns glowed as his ugly face tightened in anger. Before he would be pushed by the ugly one, Aegis positioned himself in front of the decent fiend.
The ugly fiend knocked Aegis, and he crashed into the decent fiend. But as he rammed into the decent one. His hand shot forward and caught something heavy. The decently dressed fiend stranger shoved him into the wall beside him.
Aegis let out a sharp grunt and looked up.
A boot smashed into his face, and pain burst across his cheek.
"You bastard!" The fiend snarled, "A filthy, low-life cambion like you dared to touch me? I'll behead you."
Everyone around him turned their heads and looked at Aegis's plight, but nobody cared since it was a cambion getting beaten.
The fiend kicked him a few more times, his horns glowed as he showed his jagged fangs. After he was done kicking Aegis, he spat on him and left. Aegis held his ribs and watched him leave.
One day…
But for now, he took out a pouch full of coins and shook it. The coins inside clanked.
Fool.
He swallowed iron and kept moving. The gambling failed, but he was not disappointed with his bet. It was fair, and the bad odds were bad for a reason. He felt disappointed because the coins belonged to his friends, Zerra and Kaelran.
Well, I can at least pay them a small amount back.
However, these thoughts were just an excuse.
Aegis weighed the pouch, even though he could feel the coins as he opened he spotted only silver coins. There won't be much left after he paid his wager. He knew he had to steal again to cover the daily interest on his friend's debt. The Second reason he came for also did not appear.
I guess it was just a dream after all.
As he made his way toward the Blood Wager Pit, he heard something that drew his attention.
"A necromancer!"
The brazier beside him flickered.
Necromancer?
Aegis froze mid-step.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you know? A corrupted Eldari arrived in the Inanitas a few months ago."
"He made quite a name in other Dominions." The voice paused for a moment before continuing, "I will be the one to disembowel him!" A snarl followed.
"Hold your claws, some say they saw wraiths around him while he was fighting." Another fiend joined in.
An Eldari necromancer, huh?
That sounded like the gladiator in his dreams, but he could only confirm it after he saw him. Aegis leaned onto a pillar and watched as the next battle was about to begin. He fixed his gaze on the battle pit entrances, but the gladiator didn't appear. The battle was over, and the next one began, and another after that. But his dream gladiator did not appear.
He sighed and made his way to pay his wager.
He reached the Blood Wager Pit after walking through the crowd. Growls rippled across the hall as fiends argued over payouts. Aegis crouched and made his way to the counter. Inside the counter stood a slender fiend with a single horn on his forehead. He looked at Aegis as he reached into his pouch and placed some coins on the counter.
"I see you brought the coins. I was afraid I'd have to dissect you and display your body parts as a warning."
The slender fiend took the coins and shooed him away. It took a while for Aegis to crawl out of the crowd. He grimaced as the smell of sweat hit his nose again, this time harder. At last, he crawled out. He looked down and shook his head.
Tsk, a low smack escaped his lips.
I guess, only scraps are written in my fate.
He was about to leave in disappointment when a voice spoke loudly, "The champion of Mistress Vakharath."Aegis stopped. He sharpened his gaze.
"A millennium-old champion, butcher of Eldari,"
Aegis ran back into the arena and gripped the railing along with hundreds of spectators beside him as the host screamed.
"The Khrane is here!"
The arena was filled with snarls.
Aegis chanted the champion's name along with the crowd.
"Khrane-Khrane-Khrane."
His red eyes brightened as a crimson-skinned fiend stepped forward to speak.
The burning red suns in the sky made his gold belt shine bright, and the crimson coat over his black tunic fluttered in the wind. His matted, swept-back hair fell below his shoulders, threaded with a few gold studs.
Khrane waved his hand, a faint smile on his face exposed sharp, jagged fangs. Khrane looked in his direction. Aegis forgot to blink.
Had his idol noticed him, or was he going crazy? Khrane looked down.
Soon, twenty gladiators stepped into the sand and stood right below the golden dias, which crowned the top level
"Champions of the Dominions!"
"I was told you were strong. I was told you were feared. I was told you were undefeated."
Khrane let the silence stretch… a low grumble escaped as he spoke.
"So were the last hundred. Do not bore me."
Aegis's mouth parted without permission. Below the golden dias, a long figure, his ears were pointy, and his skin was pale red. Even though he ran back to see his favourite gladiator, he found his target among the twenty champions.
The floor beneath Aegis's feet carried a faint tremor. Everyone around him surged forward and screamed as they witnessed Khrane's speech.
Aegis could feel himself being shoved as the crowd moved. The railings shook as many spectators held the railings. But Aegis did not show any reaction.
He looks the same.
The gladiator from his dream. A bead of sweat rolled down Aegis's forehead.
The cheers in the arena still echoed. However, the roars slowly faded, the growls and tremors waned as time went on. Soon, they all stood in silence like Aegis did.
Coins hung suspended between wagers. Cheers withered into murmurs. Braziers around the battle pit dimmed. The warmth against Aegis's skin faded. Everyone in the Arena rubbed their skin, except a hooded figure among the champions, his blackened plate armour clanking as he lifted his hands and removed his hood.
Ananke revealed his face. He had a few purple veins on his forehead, his eyes were emerald green and glowed like a lantern, and his long brown hair fluttered in the air. His gaze swept the arena, emerald-green eyes scanning every face before halting on Aegis.
The railing felt colder under Aegis's grip grip.
"…Mistake."
The cold breath of air brushed Aegis's ears again.