Zankor Empire

"Tuck in your bed my son, for it begins a long time ago..." Was how Zianro's father always opened with his stories, back when he was young. He wished this was how the next chapter of his life began with. But now he was chained to a wall, with various chains. He didn't even know what dungeon, if any, was he in. Zianro was only here because they suspected him of something he wasn't capable of doing. Espionage, it was a stupid thing. They could've charged the actual Orina spies, but he assumed as an exotic hero from a country in the distant North, he'd be a perfect scapegoat and be forgotten about.

Valsir, his mind drifted to his homeland and the inn he grew up in, and the stables he once tended to. Happy thoughts on his family, Father, Six elder sisters. His sisters, last he heard his eldest had her first child and her husband died six months before in a freak accident. Fate was cruel that way. He then saw two guards outside his cell. "They said he killed a dragon in a day!" Said one soldier.

"I heard it was two." The second one replied. "Actually, it took me three days. It was a rogue dragon that would've caused damage." the guards turned to Zianro almost in shock. "I almost had no sleep that entire time."

The guards went back to whispering about how they couldn't believe he was their prisoner. They thought almost anything could happen with him here in the Zankor empire. All it depended on was their ruler. Then all of a sudden, a third guard rushed to his comrades and whispered something in their ears that made their hairs stand on end.

"She's coming?! Here, right now?! To inspect the prisoner?! Quick! Look at least presentable and hope she's not in a bad mood!" The two hurried and got in a good stance and awaited the approach of their ruler.

"Well, shit, I have a bad feeling my life's about to go further downhill." came the thought in his head. He had to do his best to contain his frustration however, they confiscated Draconil for the time being. So he could do nothing if a fight came his way. Either way, if death came his way, he'd have to welcome it, or at least something that could be worse.

"All Hail Madam Lilith Hekabe! Glory to Zankor!" The guards shouted as the doors to his cell opened, potentially letting in the person mentioned. Zianro only stared at the ground, not because he didn't want to look up at her, but because his chains felt more heavy for some reason.

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Zianro rolled his eyes at the man's description. "It was a single dragon in three days. How hard is that for a tale to not get wrong?" he thought to himself. It was then the woman called Madam Lillith squatted in front of him to get a better look at him. "Today's your lucky day, boy. You get to battle for your life. Lose and you die, win and you get to live a life of comfort as my pet. Prepare him for battle, take him to the arena, oh and if you try to escape, I'll take you down myself."

With the most twisted smile he's ever seen, Zianro watched the ruler leave. Maybe people were right. Maybe Lilith was the darkness he was sent to investigate. No, no conclusions had to be drawn yet. The guards unchained him and dragged him to the place where he'd entered the arena. He grabbed Draconil from the guard and placed it where it belonged, sheath and all. He then proceeded to walk into the Arena, where he was faced with several soldiers wearing decorative armor. "Honor Guards huh?" he thought. There were about three of them, and armed with regular steel weapons.

Zianro calmly drew his sword from his sheath. Draconil's black blade shined in the sun, a red and white line running down from the hilt and stopping at least three inches from its start. He muttered a small prayer to his ancestors to watch over him in this fight. The soldiers charged at the man and one swung. To that soldier's amazement, he heard his blade crack at the contact of Zianro's blade.

Zianro smiled as he began to fight off his attackers. To any witnesses amazement, he had some skill in fighting he knocked two of them out. The third soldier was fighting as hard as he could, but his blade suddenly snapped in half by Zianro's strength backing up his defense, as he then met a boot to the face that sent him flying to the wall.

Zianro then looked up towards where he thought this 'Madam Lilith' was seated at. "There. I won. Are you satisfied about my victory?" He asked giving an honest grin as he sheathed his blade. He knew what winning meant however, and it didn't sit too well. He won his life, but lost his freedom, potentially.

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Zianro raised an eyebrow slightly when Lilith leapt from her seat and landed next to him, peering closely at his blade, now that he had a good look at her he can figure out what she looked like better in the light of day. Almost as tall as himself, long light blue hair cascading down her entire back, with almost blue eyes to match it. She almost had an hourglass figure about her.

"What do you call your weapon, swordsman?" she asked as she began walking, thus signaling Zianro to follow her as well. But he felt like it would be rude to not give her an answer to her question as they walked. "Draconil, Blade of the Blessed Dragon." he had no other option then the truth. They were then joined by her guards and the second person who followed Lillith. He observed the walk to her castle silently, feeling more and more uneasy about deciding to win the battle. But he knew why he wanted to win, no, had to win. If he died, it ended the Male line of the Azura clan, and thus, the Bearers of Draconil as well. He didn't want that, and frankly, neither would his ancestors.

They had already entered her office when Zianro came back to the reality of things. He listened to their discussions of battles, who won, what was there to be done, etc. "P.O.W's?" he thought to himself. If The Madam's plans were anything like how he just went through, those poor folks who fought her would probably need to say their prayers.

"You may leave now, I want to figure out a name for my new pet. I like Jeffery." he heard her say with a chuckle as he glared slightly. "By Na'ari's forge...is she kidding me?!?" he thought. As soon as the lieutenant walked away Zianro breathed calmly, trying hard not to show any frustration the statement she said gave him.

"You already took my freedom, will you please allow me to keep the only dignity I have that is my name? It's Zianro Azura, ma'am." he had a feeling he was about to get off the wrong foot with her, but he just wanted to ask for simply just that small greivance of keeping his name. For if he was given another name, he'd forget who he is, and he didn't want to lose his identity.

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"Zainro... I like Zain. Zain it is!" The swordsman was slightly surprised at how she said his name but then, for a second decided it was slightly better then Jeffery. It was then she looked into his eyes. "Zain, as my new pet and guard, you have to promise that you'd lay your life down for me. That no matter what happens, I am your first priority... And if you don't, I'll have to get rid of you. I have chosen you, out of thousands, out of millions, of people. Be grateful."

Zianro heaved a heavy sigh. This promise he had to make sealed his possibly permanent job and residence of country. That meant no more wandering, no more high adventuring...well, she was a fighter and her empire was huge, so maybe not. So he placed his fist over his heart. "I, by my family name, do swear to follow the promise to the letter." he said, in a standard oath of allegiance. No choice, it was tradition, plus it'd help him understand her more.

She turned her attention back to him by asking the questions of how he ended up in the dungeon and if he had any family. Was it a trick to get him to endanger his father and sisters? No, he didn't think that. "I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or if Fate is cruel, the wrong place, at the right time. Some of your guards was capturing spies from Orina and I got caught in the mix because I was passing through the area. I simply just wander the world now, cost of being a hero." he shrugged, "I do have family in Valsir, my father, my six elder sisters. Probably by now a niece or nephew by my eldest sister. It's been awhile since I wrote to them. I assume my letters get lost in the business of the Inn, Azure Tankard."

They stopped at a room and Madam Hekabe indicated that it would be his quarters. He sighed and walked in, he had a long day and simply wanted to sleep.

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The Next day began with a scream from the torture chambers, it was so loud it stirred Zianro from his slumber. The young Valsirian woke rubbing his head and looked around, half asleep, thinking he was back home in a busy tavern, only to find Draconil laying across the table. He fully woke himself up and got up. He would have began his day by cleaning himself up, but he had no idea where the bathing areas were, or even what kind of bathing customs there are in Zankor! He felt like a very unprepared tourist. So he simply put back on his shirt, and picked up his sword and uttered a small prayer to his ancestors to bless his day.

Sheathing his sword he then walked outside the quarters. He looked around as he decided to look around the castle, he felt his stomach rumble as an indication he needed food.