Fate of a Dynasty

******

The afternoon meal served to the gladiators in the Orion Arena was enough to sustain them and nothing more. It could be described as a slop, including mainly rice and chicken, which most thought was likely rat.

The gladiators ate their meals in the open courtyard of the sandy stone establishment, situated between the training and conditioning courtyards. The living rooms occupied the edges of the perimeter with the Lord's house towering over one side, allowing him a perfect view of all three courtyards from his balcony. He would often stand there with his wife watching the new gladiators train.

In lucifers first week he had seen a new slave recruit attempt to murder Orion on his balcony with a spear; had it been a meter to the left it would have pierced straight through his chest. Unfortunately for the young man his aim was off, and he had been locked in the cellar dungeon ever since, it wasn't worth thinking about what they were doing to him down there. He would find no sympathy from those above the ground floor, even with his occasional faint screams. The people within the city and by extension, the gladiator establishment, were only trying to do one thing; survive.

A city in the center of Athenia, Reguin was rife with people from all over the world. This was also represented within the Gladiator barracks and academy. People of every race, from countries unknown, sold as slaves from whatever war they were part of all brought there to eventually die. It was easy to spot those who had volunteered for the lifestyle as opposed to those who had been bought or forced into it. Lucifer could tell simply by studying a man's posture whether he was one of the fools stupid enough to want to be there. There was a certain swagger about a man who still had the hope of glory, something which a slave could never dream of achieving. It was funny to Lucifer how it was the ones who didn't want to be there who would survive the longest and fight the hardest.

Some souls are simply stronger than others

Once the meal had ended, the sun withdrew behind the mountains in the distance. This was a moment Lucifer had been waiting for, the last sunset before he took his leave. It had been hard to leave his family suddenly, especially his mother and sister. If their bond had not been so strong, he would never have had to leave in the first place but putting their lives in danger to become chained down by the weight of the crown was never something he had envisioned for himself. He sorely missed his homeland and knew that with time he may one day be able to return once more. But before that he had a life to live, and in doing so provided his family with a life less dangerous. Legacy was not something he was concerned with, stories were written in arrogance by those who shaped history, so what did it matter what he did, the truth would be the truth regardless of what the history books claimed.

Lorn Orion

The living area of the old stone arena where Lord Regulus Orion lived was a far sight from the living quarters his gladiators were made to live in. Luscious silk and fur lined every hard surface, transforming the room into a comfortable area. In the center of the room was a heavy wooden table with an equally impressive fruit bowl placed at its center.

As Regulus Orion popped a grape into his mouth the door behind him opened, and a silver haired gladiator stepped through looking much cleaner than when Regulus had seen him hours ago, dripping in blood and sweat.

"Lucifer! My old friend!" Orion declared, with a friendly pat on the back.

You weren't so much of my 'friend' while you caged me away to make yourself rich

"It is an honor to have made it this far, my Lord. I can only hope to spend my remaining days living in peace, distant from the world." Lucifer responded coldly, acting completely uninterested. He had been raised surrounded by these self-righteous types and had no time for their games.

"As you know," Lord Orion began, ignoring Lucifer's attitude, "these last few weeks I have asked much of you, and rightly so. But now is the last night you will spend under my watch, and as such I would like to leave you with a parting gift, as it were." Lord Orion handed Lucifer a piece of parchment.

Unravelling the parchment left Lucifer in awe. "You would give some of your land to me?" He asked, shocked.

"Not just that, but a small harbor and a house included. You must promise me one thing, Lucifer. Take Isabella with you."

Finally, he had played his card, one Lucifer had been waiting for. He was starting to think perhaps he had been wrong about Lord Orion, until that very moment. The Lord wanted Lucifer to smuggle out his most favored Gladiator, one he had come to be attached to in his old age. He knew Lucifer could not refuse; he knew Lucifer well enough to know he would never leave a friend to die. He also knew the piece of parchment would be worth naught as the bounty on his head would remove any chance of Lucifer living a life in Athenia.

"You offer me nothing but a life of watching my back! Why should I accept this, tomorrow I am a free man!"

"You know as well as I, she will not survive the arena without you. I cannot lose her to the afterlife no more than you can, it is not her time, Lucifer!"

"And who are you to decide the will of the gods?" Lucifer spat back.

Lord Orion's eyes narrowed; his demeanor changed. "You will do as you are commanded, or you will remain here."

Lucifer knew this was not a battle to be won, at least not while owned by the Lord.

"Okay, have it your way. Isabella comes with me. But you do your equal part and get us as far away from this city before your precious Emperor realizes his most beautiful gladiator has disappeared from beneath his royal snout."

"You leave the emperor to me; I will distract him with the latest batch of recruits. There are one or two I think he will be most interested in; you know how he is."

Lord Orion glanced around his accommodation, eager to make sure there were no snooping ears. Even with his good favor, surreptitiously talking about the emperor in a negative way would not lead him anywhere good. "              Isabella deserves to be free after what that evil shit made her do. But for now, Lucifer, get back to your quarters and sleep under this roof one last time. You are dismissed."

As Lucifer's footsteps disappeared into the distance Lord Orion sighed, the life of owning gladiators was starting to take its toll. He wasn't the spritely young warrior he was when he first set up his establishment and he certainly didn't have the emperor breathing down his neck controlling every little thing. It used to be just for show, a way to take the struggling Reguin people's mind off the war. Then the Emperor burst on the scene, and ever since his control over the games had diminished. He often wondered how much more his damaged soul could withstand before dissipating into nothing.

Maybe one day I will have some peace

"Time for bed, please." A quiet voice came from his bedchamber archway.

"You look as beautiful as ever, my wonderful wife." Lord Regulus Orion whispered, his eyes meeting with hers.

"And you are as kind as ever, my husband.'' Mariana Orion quipped back, embracing him.

"Do you remember what you did the last time I was this stressed?" Lord Orion asked as the corner of his mouth curled into a smile.

Mariana turned towards the bedchamber, looked back over her shoulder, and passionately eyed her husband. "Follow me."

I'll take that as a yes

Regulus found his wife perched on the edge of their bed, wearing her thinnest linen nightgown. Like him, she had aged since her prime days, but she was still every bit as beautiful in his eyes. Her hair had hints of grey, her skin was not as tight as it once was, and she was a few pounds heavier than her 20-year-old self. But none of that mattered to Regulus, she had been with him every step of the way, and it wasn't as if he hadn't enjoyed a more fruitful life himself. He adored her with every fiber of his being, it had kept them close for their entire marriage.

"Come over here." Mariana begged.

Regulus walked across his bedchamber towards his wife, her features becoming clearer the closer he got. The faint outline of her dark, hardening nipples clearer with every step. Standing in front of his wife with her head waist height was exactly how he remembered his last de-stress treatment, and bless the gods was she good at it.

With a lick of her lips, Mariana reached forward wrapped her fingers around his rousing cock, pulling it from his pants and gently stroking him to full mast.

"I know how much you love it when I take you deep." She pleaded with him. "Would you like me to suck you, my Lord?"

Regulus felt a shiver radiate from his spine through to his cock, now standing to full attention, throbbing with desire. Mariana calling him 'my Lord' always roused him.

"I do, and don't stop until I have filled your beautiful mouth." He commanded back, knowing how much his wife loved to be controlled when making love. Regulus had trained her well, and now it was time for her to perform for him again.

Mariana's head moved towards him, her tongue emerging from its moist hollow and slithered around the tip of her husband's cock, causing his toes to curl. Her mouth began to open, allowing the tip to brush past her soft lips and into her wet mouth. Regulus moaned as his wife swirled her tongue around his submerged cock before engulfing the entire thing down to its base in one slow motion.

"Oh yes, exactly how you're supposed to." Regulus exhaled, grasping the back of his wife's head, holding her in place.

"Are you ready for a face fucking, my Lady?" He smiled down at her.

"Mhmm." The only response she was capable of.

Regulus began thrusting his hips gently, making love to his wife's mouth. The soft sound of saliva squishing with each thrust resonated around the stone room. Slowly his speed intensified, until he was rigorously fucking her throat, her beautiful large green eyes locked on him as he unrelentingly ploughed into her anchored face.

In a flurry of thrusts, he finally shot his seed into her belly and euphoria rushed through him as the stresses of the world seeped from his buried member.

Mariana withdrew her lips, maintaining a tight suction to not lose a drop of cum. Regulus' hips twitched forwards as his wife's lips slid over his sensitive tip. "Holy fuck, how did I ever get so lucky?" He asked, not needing an answer.

"Perhaps you can fuck me like you did in Nepurn?" Mariana suggested with a smirk as she led back on the bed and opened her legs. The thin material of her gown shifted as she spread her knees and Regulus noticed she was wearing nothing underneath. Mariana's shaven lips parted, revealing her soft, wet pussy, ready to be fucked.

Julius' mouth began to salivate. "I would love to" he said, remembering quite possibly his favorite ever fuck that had subsequently ended in him tied down to the bedposts with his cock hilted in his wife's ass. She rode him until he had filled her bowels and hadn't stopped for several minutes after.

With another glance at his wife's wet opening, he licked his lips and dropped down onto the bed, he knew he had plenty of time to taste and make her squirm before he felt life in his cock again.

Lucifer

Lucifer and his three gladiator friends, Isabella, Jardan and Johna sat in silence waiting for the time to come, praying Lucifer's plan worked. It was certainly a risk, and something they'd have not considered had it not come from Lucifer. He had requested Jardan and Johna to accompany himself and Isabella with their belongings to their awaiting carriage; it had been one of the requests made to take Isabella with him. The benefit of the arrangement was that Isabella wasn't supposed to be leaving, so Lord Orion had made sure there were as few guards to see them as possible. The only prying eyes being the one that would drive the horse and carriage into the town and to their freedom. That meant the only person standing between the group's escape was a single soldier.

The plan was to discard the single guard and have Johna or Jardan wear their armor, posing as the guard right through to town. Once there they would ditch the wagon and guards clothing and exit the town. By morning when Lord Orion finds his guard, they will be miles outside the city with no way for him to know which way they travelled. The old fool had too much trust in Lucifer. Kill a few men, make a man some coin, and suddenly he lets his guard down. Quite literally.

****

A knock on their bedroom door was what they had been waiting for. Lucifer stood as Lord Orion entered their sleeping quarters. "I take it everything is ready, are you men ready to escort your friend out, I hope it serves as a reminder that freedom is on the horizon if you earn it."

"We are ready, my Lord. And you are correct, I will spill gallons more blood to one day join my brother in freedom." Jardan bowed before lord Orion.

"And I will hold you to that, young man." Regulus Orion replied cheerily.

"I suppose you were never expecting me to earn my freedom quite so quickly." Lucifer teased confidently.

"You are not wrong! But alas, such is life. I bid you farewell, Lucifer. Try your best to keep out of trouble and perhaps you will not find yourself back inside a similar establishment." Regulus warned, before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

It never failed to amuse Lucifer how Orion assumed he had not planned to end up in the arena in the first place. The second he had learnt about the '200 kill count' rule of freedom, he had been eager to see how long it would take him. It might have lasted much longer had Lord Orion not decided to throw an event for the arenas 20^th year celebration. The bodies Lucifer had sent to the underworld that day likely amounted to half of his freedom count.

"Okay, Isabella, I want you to carry the clothes, Johna carry a weapon you're going to be taking out the guard, be fast, be quiet and we can be on our way in no time. Jardan, I need you to carry the heavy stuff, the swords and spears wrapped up in the corner. I have food and coin to last a short while, but we can think about when we are free."

Lucifer excelled in taking charge of high-pressure situations when men looked to him for leadership like lost dogs. His whole life he had been molded to be the best a living human could be. He had learnt several languages and had been trained in every type of combat imaginable. Not only that, but he had always been an overachiever, beating every tutor that was put in front of him with ease. It wasn't so much that he possessed more knowledge than those that had trained him, but his size, power, speed, and reflexes meant that not many men could beat him after he had reached a certain point of training. Men feared him, women yearned for him, and yet, for most of them he felt nothing.

They made their way through the hallway of the gladiator's quarters for the last time, emerging at the front of the complex to a horse and carriage just as Regulus had promised.

The single guard looked like an easy target now the four of them were standing before him, the tension in the air sharp enough to take one's breath away. Johna moved forward and knelt just a few feet from the guard. With a swift push from his strong legs, he projected himself towards the guard while withdrawing a dagger from his rear belt. The sharp edge of the blade pierced the guard's neck and withdrew in a heartbeat, leaving him crumpled on the ground.

"Drag him behind the wall, cover the blood with sand and put on his armor, sit on the front and take us down to the stables. Isabella, Jardan, into the wagon." Lucifer organized.

****

Johna jumped off the front of the wagon dressed as a hired guard. The chosen stable was situated just on the edge of the city, so a quick and easy escape was possible. They would travel through the woodlands to the west and arrive in the port town of Dun'loch. A four-day ride from their freedom. The woodland would be full of wildlife to feed them until they could sail south to the small remote colonies that Lucifer had set his eyes on. Lucifer's end destination was about as far south as civilized man had been able to travel, which suited him perfectly; the further away from his family the safer they would be.

Breaking into the stables and saddling the intended stolen horses wasn't half as difficult as Lucifer had planned. The security within the city was shambolic at best, anyone could simply break the latch of the stable and make off with however many of the keepers' horses they wanted, of course it would be met with the thief being tracked down by specialist hunting parties who would swiftly remove both hands and leave the perpetrator hanging upside down. If nobody came across them in time the likelihood was, they would die from dehydration or their lungs giving out if they didn't bleed out first. That was not a fate that Lucifer had envisioned for himself, in fact it was about as far away from his idea of paradise as he could think of.

"Okay, is everyone ready for a long and swift ride? We must make it to the forest before day-break." Lucifer asked.

A resounding 'yes' from his friends let him know it was time to go. And so, the small group set off from the stables, trotting through the empty city streets with nothing but the click-clacking of horses' hooves to fill the air. Having made their way through the city the only obstacle left was to get through the main gates and onto the open fields. As luck had it the only guard watching the gate had decided to take a nap, laying there with a bottle of what could only be alcohol inches from the floor at the end of his limp arm.

"Well, that makes life easier." Jardan chuckled as they casually trotted past. "Lucky for him I suppose." Jardan continued, "that nap might have just saved his life."

The four of them galloped through the open fields heading north, unable to pass through the mountain land directly to their west. They would have to travel parallel with the mountains until they reached the break of Dun'Lock, a gap in the mountains that would lead them south into the forest and eventually to the port, and their freedom. The ride was hard and long, with Lucifer not wanting to stop for even a moment until they reached the cover of the trees. Once inside the forest he figured it would be nearly impossible for someone to track them, and even if they did it would be much easier to slip away unseen or even remove their hunting party from the equation.

Athenia was mostly flat land except for a few mountain ranges and the odd forest, whereas Lucifers' homeland of Dominica was full of forests and mountain scenery. Lucifer was confident in his ability when submerged within a sea of green, his surroundings aiding his ability to efficiently dispatch whoever might be pursuing him.

The four of them came to a halt. Hours of hard riding had brought them to the small split in the mountain range where the shadow of the trees seemed to extinguish the light. The sight of the thick forest made Lucifer feel comfortable, this was terrain he was more than accustomed to; nature was treasured within Dominica, where the forests were plentiful.

"Okay, I think it's time to stretch our legs. We will walk from here and set up camp a short distance within the forest, that should keep us safe. No fires and as quiet as we can be." Lucifer commanded.

Warlord Julius Azazel

The sounds of exotic birds filled the warm morning air, singing their songs for all to hear. The city of Tayper seemingly peaceful, shimmering within its beauty below Julius Azazel's overlooking balcony. If his mind had not been plagued with the consistent thoughts of his childhood friend and prince of Dominica, Lucifer, he might be in more of a mood to enjoy it. How was the Warlord of Dominica supposed to protect his people from the civil war currently breaking out in his country if he could not find and locate the one man who would be able to settle it all. Dominican tradition was such that the oldest child of each conflicting family would be able to settle the differences in 1 on 1 combat, potentially avoiding the war all together. It was for that reason that Julius could not work out why Lucifer had fled, he was thrice the fighter that the fake usurper, Ardune Clement's son was, so why run?