A light rain fell on Rian, adding to his misery, as he sat in a wooden pen like an animal at a menagerie. Richly dressed men led veiled women through the alley ways of the Slave market, stopping every so often to judge those they thought of buying. Several had stopped and looked at Rian, but the defiant gleam in his gray eyes was enough to send them walking on their way.

His head had been shaved to the length proper for a slave, and his clothes had been taken from him. He stood in nothing but a loincloth now, his pale skin burning in the intense southern sun. Pacing in his cell like a caged tiger, he failed to see a new potential buyer walk forward. The regal voice of a woman brought him out of his contemplation.

"Tell me of him." She commanded imperiously. Rian spun and faced her, gray eyes flashing as they met hers. Unlike the other women, she went unveiled. This revealed an attractive face, dark brown hair slicked back into a bun at the nape of her neck, and intelligent, cruel, scheming green eyes.

"Bought him off of some Raiders along with another shipment. Tortallan, I think, though he hasn't spoken enough to be sure." The Slave-Merchant spouted it off in his most oily voice. Rian grabbed the wooden bars of his prison, his face pressed against them, glaring at the woman. She raised one delicately arched brow and her red lips curved up slightly in amusement, then paced around him, sizing him up.

"Bring him out. I want to get a better look at him." She commanded, her head tilted to the side, eyes narrowed slightly in thought.

He kept his eyes fastened on her as the chains attached to his wrist jerked in opposite directions, spreading his arms out. Soon the chains on his legs followed suit, and the door to his pen slid open. This wouldn't have been necessary... except for the fact that the first time someone entered the pen while he was unchained, they had left on a stretcher, their leg broken. The Slave Merchant walked in and pulled his arms behind his back, binding them behind him.

"Mess this up, boy, and I'll beat you till you cry to the bitch of a mother who whelped you." Growled the Slave Merchant in his ear, shoving him forward.

Rian stiffened in anger at the reference to his mother, but the Slave Merchant shoved him forward roughly and he stumbled into a begrudging walk to avoid falling.

Once outside, the woman paced around him looking him over at all angles. Rian couldn't help but wonder if he was to become a plaything for her. The woman grabbed his jaw with her perfectly manicured hands, and then checked his eyes and teeth as though he were a horse. She felt the muscles of his biceps, slapped his legs, and checked his height before walking behind him.

"A fighter, are we?" Her voice purred around him with the hint of a laugh, as she saw the lash marks covering his back. He felt her trace the wounds with her hands, and then she was back in front, facing the Slave Merchant.

"How much for him?" She asked, all trace of amusement vanished.

"Well, Lady Kara, for such a strong specimen, I'd have to say 3,000." He said, his voice still oily, a small smile on his face. Lady Kara's laugh made his smile drop.

"3,000? You insult my intelligence. If I leave you won't be able to sell him for more than 1,000. He's a fighter, and no one wants to break a fighting male, especially," She looked Rian over again, top to bottom, her eyes making him feel unclean "one of his size. Therefore, I shall offer you 1,500. A generous offer, you must be willing to agree."

A scowl crossed his dark face. "Lady Kara, I paid 1,500 for him. Surely you wouldn't rob a man with a family to feed. 2,500."

"2,000. It will leave you with enough to feed your family and visit that brothel you like so very much."

The man blushed slightly, then nodded. "Very well, 2,000, but you are a cruel woman. I have a living to make, you know."

With that, a big man took Rian to a cart where three other men and one girl were shackled. A soldier dressed in the woman's colors shoved Rian into the cart and waited for Lady Kara. When she arrived they drove off.

When they arrived, several hours later, it was midday. Rian stared in awe at the huge compound in front of them – the largest structure the farm boy had ever seen. As the gates to the fortress opened, however, Rian's awe changed to fear.

Men jogged in crude black tunics and breeches, the extreme heat seeming not to faze them. Other men battled with a variety of weapons, all dulled steel, practicing it seemed. Off in a corner a single group of women trained with bows and swords, fighting with the same ferocity as the men, but the grace of dancers as well.

"Are we being trained as soldiers?" Rian heard himself ask in confusion. One of the guards unloading the slaves laughed at him before shoving him out of the cart.

Lady Kara led the way through the complex, past a huge house that must be her residence, several buildings that served as barracks, and an arena where more black clad men trained blind-folded on horses. With shock, Rian realized the horses were blindfolded as well.

Rian heard a gasp on his right, emitted from the girl that had traveled with them. Turning, he felt his stomach heave as he saw the source of her shock. Three men were there, in the midday sun, naked, hanging by their wrists on scaffolding. Their legs were held apart by rope as well, and their skin was scorched by the sun. Along their backs were deep cuts, inflicted by a whip hanging near them on the scaffolding. The remains of logs underneath their feet revealed how their legs had become blackened and charred. Above them, for all to read, was a sign.

'Slaves That Tried to Escape'

Rian bit his lip, his dreams dying. He could not afford to try to escape if the punishment was a slow and painful death. He would have to think of some other way to get home. Home- the thought brought pain as he thought what his family must be suffering right now.

They finally arrived at the end of the complex, where a raised platform stood before an open expanse of dirt. The slaves stood in the dirt as Lady Kara mounted the stairs to the platform and faced them. A small smile played across her lips as she addressed them.

"Perhaps you are wondering why you are here... Perhaps you are wondering what is going on. Let me be the first to welcome you my slaves, to Ludus Kapurna." She watched the fear register in several faces and smiled wickedly. "Ludus Kapurna is the finest ludus in the Copper Isles. For those of you who don't understand Ancient Islander," her eyes met Rian's here and crinkled slightly in mirth, "a ludus is a training center for gladiators."

Rian's mind went numb from shock. Gladiators? As in fighting to the death for a crowd Gladiators? "You will be trained, trained in a style that suits you best, trained to deal out death. Painful, humiliating death, the kind that gets crowds roaring, and, more importantly, betting."

She paused here, eying them to see what affect her words had on them. "Don't worry, my warriors. Gladiators from Ludus Kapurna are the best. You have a... chance... to survive."

She paced, eying them again, and Rian stared up at her defiantly, daring her to try to train him. A knowing smile framed her lips when she met his eyes. "Perhaps, some of you are thinking you will not train, others that you will not fight. We have ways of dealing with that... Painful ways." Her eyes wandered over to their right, and Rian couldn't resist looking. Shackles stood in the center of the complex, seats ringing them. Beside the shackles were whips, clubs ... branding irons. "Your day will come, my warriors. A day when, prepared or not, you will enter the arena. Only the training you do here will keep you from death. So train well, train hard. At this time, you will take the gladiators oath. I like to make it voluntary, of course, there are always methods of persuasion if you refuse." Rian shuddered. "Repeat after me. By Mithros, this is my oath: I undertake to be burnt by fire, to be bound in chains, to be beaten by rods, and to die by the sword."

Five voices rose in unison, repeating the oath in a monotone.

Lady Kara smiled. "So mote it be, Gladiators. Welcome to your new family."