I can't remember anything, except the flames, the searing heat, that feeling of smoke sitting heavily in your lungs as you try to breathe. I know basic things, like how to walk, talk and all general knowledge like that 2 plus 2 is four. I also know that everyone has memories of their life, and I know that I was not born yesterday, in fact I know that I am 7 years old but I do not know anything of my life other than the feeling of being in a fire. I rack my brain for anything, any memory but all I know is the flames and the dark humid room I find myself in now. I don't know how long I've been in this room, but I've been here long enough to figure out that the room is made up of ivy covered stone, it is a 5 meter by 5 meter box and the ceiling is high enough that i can neither see it or reach it, despite the humidity, I shiver, and a cold sweat trickles down my neck, I have a deep sense of foreboding that I cannot place. Seeing as the room is bare, I lay down on the floor and eventually I drift into an extremely uncomfortable sleep.

What feels like 5 minutes later, I am jolted awake by the deep grinding of stone against stone. I shy away from the massive stone slab that is sliding open like a door. A blinding light beaming from the opening door makes my eyes squint, and in that light I can see the tall silhouette of a tall lithe man in a long tail coat with a high collar and a large tophat with what seems to be a feather perched atop it. My eyes quickly adjust to the light and I can better make out the man. The man has a very pasty white skin tone with random angry red rashes, one taking up the entirety of his right eye, giving him a sinister air. He was indeed wearing a tail coat that was a deep black with expensive looking gold trimming, each of the 5 buttons looked to be solid gold, his hat was equally obnoxious, it was a tall black tophat with a golden feather on the left side. His strangely tall collar and the shadows playing on his face all gave him the air of a rather shady man. As I look past him I see two more men similarly dressed although one is much shorter and with an alarmingly large pot-belly and the second one is of average height but the short one was clearly taking all of his food because he looked stick thin. Both men had beady eyes and the short one had a large fat nose that looked squished and the thin one had a hooked nose that was so crooked it called into question if air could even pass through it.

"Gentlemen" the shady man said in a high nasal voice that only cemented his position as a man of dubious morality. "One of our finest specimens. He was captured along with the rest of his tribe. Physically the specimen has a prime of 6 foot 8 inches of height and could weight up to roughly 320 pounds and would have a body fat percentage as low as 8% and a muscle mass percentage as high as 75% its species is a result of cross breeding between a human and an unknown beast found deep in the 4th level of the pit. It is one of the finest physical specimens on the market and only 1 other of its kind has been found." The man continues while all three look down at me. I too look down at my body which right now is tall, long and lanky, I am not as they describe me, but the two men do not seem perturbed at that fact. "For offensive capabilities, the specimen comes with two long fangs in their first row of teeth on the tow, they also have two long spikes, one on each elbow traveling up the arm as you can see and two more traveling up the leg originating from either heel as well. Also once they have attained prime, the specimen will have the 3rd highest bone density of all documented species. The specimen is also semi-aquatic with webbed fingers and toes and gills on the inside of their mouth. They also have translucent eyelids that humans lost many evolutions ago." As the man says these things I look down at myself and for the first time notice these things which seemed normal before.

"What're thems patches of discoloration on his chest and back area" the shorter man says, speaking for the first time, his voice is rough and scratchy and much less refined than "Shady" one.

"Those are burn scars, we burned down his crude village while capturing him, he sustained those injuries then, although they have fully healed now and I assure you they will not affect his performance in the arena" The first man speaks again, although i stoned listening, as the memories of the terrible heat envelope me and I remember. It is not much but it is a solid memory. I remember waking up in a nice cot, to the screams of my tribe and the flames licking at the sheets, I remember running outside to see the carefully crafted and pitched tents of my nomadic tribe burning, I remember the smoke filling my lungs and I remember eventually blacking out from the lack of oxygen, my last memory before blacking out was of the same man that stands in front of me right now, stands over me in the memory, his eyes glinting like he had just struck gold. For the first time that I can remember, I speak

"You" my voice comes out raspy and almost inaudible "You burned down my village and killed my tribe?" it comes out first as a question, then in a voice thick with barely contained fury yell "YOU BURNED DOWN MY VILLAGE AND KILLED MY TRIBE?" I lunge at him, however, due to lack of food and water, it is slower than I know it could be, despite all that it is still faster than the man can react and in a flash my fingers close around his throat.

"That will be enough" The man says in a voice that sounds cordial and not like he is currently being strangled. Suddenly, he clenches his right fist, and an electrical current races through me, and launches me backwards until my back hits the wall with a dull thud. A deep pain lances through me and I cough blood up onto the floor.

"As you can see, even in a severely weakened state, the specimen is still remarkable." The man continues talking to the other two men as if I was not even there.

"What is your asking price?" This time it is the man with the hooked nose who speaks up.

"17 million in gold" the man does not bat an eye.

"Done"

With that all three of the men leave and I am once again left in darkness.