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~*Illuminating Shadows*~

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Poller5
Dec Member 2023

Poller5

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Thanks for that, Star ^_^ . No worries about the delay, Cosmic.
Incidentally, I really do intend to add today. I've written more than half of a chapter now, and unless I'm super lazy today, which shouldn't happen, it should be up sometime this afternoon.

01-Mar-2009 10:09:24

Poller5
Dec Member 2023

Poller5

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~Chapter Nine: A Lesson in History~
Life from that point became much easier for Halldór. The next day he was alerted by a guard that his room had been changed; it was now within the central area around the dining hall, and would not be locked, though the area was. Days consisted of long bouts in the training arena with the other gladiators, and evenings faded into the night with a drunken ease.
Within a week of his first night with the gladiators, Halldór had become gradually more knowledgeable of the geography of the barracks. His room was to the north of the dining hall, which was to the west of the training arena. Caedus's room, one of the closest to the dining hall, was located between it and Halldór's room. Though he had not slept the night there since his first night, he visited it often, for Caedus had become something of a mentor to him, tutoring him in the ways of the amphitheatre, and its rich history. As he lay in his bed, his mind slipped back to one such instance.
Having returned to Caedus's chambers after a fight, Halldór watched in silence as Caedus poured them both water from a jug on a table. Settling into the chair in which he had slept, Halldór accepted the drink with silent gratitude; Caedus took up a seat on the bed, before remarking to Halldór, "You're some fighter, Fremmenik."
"Not so good as yourself," Halldór replied honestly. In their time in the training arena, Caedus had won the majority of the bouts, though he had by no means won them all.
"Better than most here," Caedus rebuked. "You'll win your freedom soon enough, I'd wager." With that, he fell silent, recalling that no matter what he might accomplish, he would never be freed; though he might retire once he was too old to fight, he would live out the rest of his days in a cell.

01-Mar-2009 17:58:09

Poller5
Dec Member 2023

Poller5

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"If I might ask," Halldór started before looking to Caedus, who gave a curt nod and signaled for him to continue, "Why exactly haven't you been freed yet? Everyone last night seemed to think you should've been freed long a long time ago, and yet it's not happened. There was one explanation, though it was rather vague…" he trailed off as Caedus began to speak.
"Varrock has ever been a militaristic nation, and it is tradition among the older families for the eldest son to join the army when they come of age. I did just this, and rose through the ranks faster than most. Soon enough I was made a Nitegin, the commander of a company of two hundred. My legion, along with three others, was sent into the lands of the east, which are still ruled by heathen barbarians. Those lands were dangerous beyond our reckoning, and soon enough we were facing daily confrontations with these barbarians. While we eventually tracked them down to a large settlement, word of our coming had preceded us, and thousands of barbarians had beaten us there; despite the fact that they outnumbered us heavily, our commanders, Betegins, were planning an attack.
"However, many of the Nitegins, including myself, realized that such an attack was, at best, suicidal, and sought to avoid it. We brought our case to the Betegins, but the **** for glory blinded them, and they would not listen to us. That night I and fifteen other Nitegins that agreed gathered our troops and told them that we did not expect them to take part in the fight, and that we would take all blame for the desertion.
"The next morning, the Betegins woke up and found two thirds of their army missing. Blinded by rage, they issued the order to attack anyway, and were decimated: only seventy three men returned…" he choked up, before swallowing heavily and continuing. "I… I've never really forgiven myself for their deaths. Nor did the others, I don't think.

01-Mar-2009 17:58:57

Poller5
Dec Member 2023

Poller5

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"We set off for Varrock the next day, and turned ourselves in. We Nitegins took the blame, claiming that we ordered our troops to leave; the King believed us, and they were pardoned, for they did nothing more than follow orders, but the sixteen of us were sent here." He fell silent, overtaken by memories.
Halldór too was silent, reflecting on what he had learned. This man had turned from battle, fled in the face of his foes, and then even turned back on that. In his land, he would have been shunned, forsaken and left to die; Halldór would not have even been allowed to acknowledge his existence, much less speak to him. And yet, despite this, he felt a strange empathy for the man, an understanding of what he had done, and why. Confused by his feelings, he sat silent for some time before asking, "What happened to the other Nitegins, then? Surely they must have been great fighters to command such ranks."
"Aye, that they were, Fremennik. But when the King pitted two of them against each other, one of them had to come out on top, and it was not the King's wont to spare them when they lost," Caedus said, and though his voice was even, Halldór saw in his eyes deep pain hidden beneath the flame of anger.
"Then you…" Halldór started, already knowing the answer.
"Yes," Caedus responded, his tone harsh with false pleasure. "I killed four of them, four of my friends, four of my colleagues. Men with whom I once fought back to back; men to whom I entrusted my life," he let out a harsh bark of laughter. "That was how I repaid their trust, Halldór. By thrusting a blade into their guts. By tearing their necks open. By watching their blood stain the sands of the amphitheatre to the cheers of fifty thousand Varrockians."

01-Mar-2009 18:00:08 - Last edited on 01-Mar-2009 18:01:16 by Poller5

Poller5
Dec Member 2023

Poller5

Posts: 11,421 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
He stopped and drew a deep breath, steadying himself; as the air left him, so too did the flames in his eyes smolder out, leaving no sign of his previous anger. "My apologies," he said after a moment, "I should not have lost control. Come, let's get something to eat." He crossed the room and opened the door, indicating that Halldór should go first; but Halldór sat in silence, his eyes gazing into Caedus's, his expression strange and unreadable.
"You are an interesting man, Caedus," he said at last, and his face returned to normal; standing, he exited the room, leaving Caedus staring bemusedly into the room. Shaking his head, he turned and followed the Fremennik to the dining hall, wherein a much-needed beer surely was awaiting him.
~~~
The long-overdo add, in all its glory. Hope you enjoyed it.

01-Mar-2009 18:00:39 - Last edited on 01-Mar-2009 21:11:53 by Poller5

Wizard Alex

Wizard Alex

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Hi Poller,
I'm here on behalf of The Yanillian Library, here to discuss your application. As your story has already been reviewed and accepted into The Golden Pen at the gold rank, I deem it worthy of TYL as well. I have read through all but the most recent parts of this story. You will be shelved at the normal TYL level, as that's the Gold equivalent. If you have any problems with this, let me know on The Yanillian Library's thread.
Thanks!
Wizard1440, Head of Staff and Founder of TYL

05-Mar-2009 22:58:33

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