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Snippet #2679074

located in Orina Province, a part of Resistance: Shadow of the Tyrant, one of the many universes on RPG.

Orina Province

None

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Oberon Azura Character Portrait: Elena Valeera Character Portrait: Tacitus Character Portrait: Rei Meena Rowen
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â™Ģ Same Old War â™Ģ
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"Your will, my hand Lady Valeera." Tacitus stated as he placed his fist on his chest piece, and gave her an agreeing nod as he turned away from them and made his way towards the troops. He strode across the camp, towering over all others, and displaying a sense of strength, and nobility towards the other soldiers. He held his arms behind his back, and puffed out his chest, walking like a lion among it's pride. All the troops seemed to part as he walked, giving him a respectable amount of space out of a mixture of respect, and fear.

As he began to approach the squad of soldiers that were to partake in the ambush he could hear the sound of huffing, and weezing coming near him. Tacitus looked down and saw his hound, Xerxes waddling over to join him. Xerxes short legs were almost not enough to keep it's large torso up, with his belly being a inch or two away from touching the ground. As it waddled it was carrying a chewed up leather boot that was covered in droll in his mouth. Tacitus let out a small sigh. "I do hope that is one of the recruit's boots, and not Lord Azura's....again."

Well there was nothing that could be done about it now. Whoever it belonged too it belonged to Xerxes now. Tacitus sure wasn't going to take it away from him. As Tacitus approached the solders they all stood at attention, and saluted him. "Your orders are to kill the Zankor soldiers, take the supplies they are transporting, and to take the captain of the convoy, and his squire alive." He informed them. "You are to choose an ambush site with ample trees. Go for a two prone assault, one group will hide in the trees, and drop down on them, while the other will take the tunnels and surprise them from below."

"How will we know which one is the captain?" One of the soldiers asked. "Use common sense. The leader will most likely stand out from the rank and file. You will know who's in charge when you see them." He answered. "Attack all at once, and disable the leader, and his squire quickly. Rei has questions for them." He added. "Man I can't wait to make those Zankor bastards pay!" One of the soldiers stated with some excitement. Tacitus turned towards the soldier, towering over him.

"Remember, knowledge brings about skill, and skill bears strength. Use your head, and keep your emotions in check. A clouded mind will kill you as fast as any blade. Anger is a useful ally, but it can so easily turn against you." Tacitus stated, causing the soldier to take big gulp, and nod his head. "Uh.....yes sir....of course sir."


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â™Ģ Biggest, The Best â™Ģ
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Heat from the sun above beat down on the training arena of the young Gladiators, as unforgiving as them. The sand beneath their feet was searing. But the young Gladiators gave no reaction to it, they just endured as they are meant to. Steel clashed against steel, and thundered around the arena. The young Gladiators were paired up together. There was only six would be Gladiators left of the batch of originally twelve. This group included a five year old Tacitus. Tacitus savagely attacked his sparing partner, a boy roughly his age. But the raw ferocity of his attacks one wouldn't think that they are simply sparring with one another instead of being in a fight to the death. But Tacitus it might as well be.

Tacitus bashed his wooden shield against the other boy's, causing him to stagger back slightly. Tacitus took this opportunity to press his opponent. Wild, and raw slashes flew from Tacitus steel sword, bashing against the boy's shield in a desperate attempt to defend against him. The boy tried one last ditch effort to gain advantage by stabbing his sword forward. Tacitus sidestepped the blow at the last moment, and clinched his arm down onto the blade, holding it in his armpit. Tacitus brought his sword up, and lobed it into his opponent's sword arm, forcing him to drop his sword, and grunt lowly in pain.

Tacitus took his sword out of the boy's arm, cutting deep with the bone being visible. Tacitus bashed the boy with the pommel of his sword, forcing the boy back, and then he continued his onslaught. This forced the boy to the ground as he tried to defend against Tacitus. With one powerful kick Tacitus broke the boy's wooden shield. Tacitus pressed his foot on the boy's chest, keeping him pinned to the ground. Tacitus brought up his sword to go for the killing blow, all with a pleased smile on his face. A whip wrapped around Tacitus' wrist, and pulled him off the boy, and dragged him through the sand. "Enough mongrel!" The commanding voice of their trainer ordered. "Get the weak one to the medic!" He ordered, and several older boys dragged the loser to the medic.

"Hold!" The trainer shouted, forcing all the other pairs to stop in their tracks. He cracked his whip in the air, getting everyone's attention. "Return to position!" He commanded, and everyone stood in a line, and at attention. The trainer walked back and forth in front of the boys, sizing them up. And then from the balcony above them came their master Domitius, and his two children, Seia and Decius. This made all of the young Gladiators grow antsy, all wanting to gain their master's favor. Their trainer once more cracked his whip to gain their attention. "What are you?!" He asked. "Hounds to be unleashed upon our master's rivals!" They all stated in unison.

"What is beneath your feet Tacitus?!" He asked as he stopped in front of Tacitus. "Sacred ground watered by the blood, and tears of failures, teacher!" Tacitus shouted. The trainer nodded. Domitius looked upon his stock, particularly Tacitus in pleasure. This caused a slight smile to twitch on Tacitus' face. "Partner up!" The trainer ordered, causing the young Gladiators to scramble to find a partner. Tacitus easily found him a partner, as his near killing of his last partner made him quite desirable to defeat. Domitius looked upon Tacitus with interest, something that he himself felt, and was pleased with.

As the pairs began attacking one another their master's attention was brought to the current champion of the house, a Gladiator named Aramis. Aramis approached his master on the balcony, and they began talking about something, but the fact that his master's attention was no longer on him was something he couldn't stand. Tacitus began violently, and savagely attacking his foe, trying to get his attention once more. But Domitius paid no mind. Tacitus growled in anger. He glared up at Aramis with hate in his eyes. He was taking all the attention of his master, this couldn't stand. He had to show that he was the most powerful Gladiator. That he was the true champion.

As he continued his attack he was growing increasingly irritable, and angry. He pushed his opponent back with a swift kick to his ribs. Tacitus looked up to see his master's reaction, but he hadn't seen it. This pushed him pass his boiling point. Tacitus tossed his shield aside, and charged at his foe. His sparring partner held his shield up to defend against the charging Gladiator. Tacitus leaped in the air, landing on the opponent's shield. He then kicked off of the shield, going high in the air. The trainer in the meantime was watching a separate pair, not knowing what was going on. Tacitus used this boost to leap up into the balcony of his master, and attacked the champion.

Though surprised, the champion was not caught off guard as he was able to draw his sword, the sign of a champion of House Lactantius, a sword with a ivory handle carved in the shape of a tiger. Aramis was able to block Tacitus' attack, though the young gladiator was fast enough to inflict a small scratch upon Aramis' face. This sudden attack caught Domitius by surprise, making him instinctively put himself in front of his children to protect them. Decius had a slightly amused look on his face, finding this better than the normal training. Seia on the other hand had a much more excited look as she bit down on her bottom lip, and tried to push herself pass her father's arm to get a better look at the action.

Tacitus continued his attack upon the champion, using his small size, and superior agility to his advantage against the obviously more experienced, and stronger opponent. Tacitus continued to attack him, jumping around Aramis, not giving him time to properly counter him. "What are you doing whelp?! Have you gone mad from the heat?!" Aramis growled at him as Tacitus attacks had pushed him back further into House Lactantius, causing many servants to flee in terror. "Proving that I'M the best!" Tacitus roared as he continued his onslaught. Despite the frequency, and savagery of his attacks none of them had managed to land. But eventually he managed to land one wild slash to Aramis' arm.

Aramis glared down at the blood as it started dripping on the ground. "Enough of this!" The champion roared as he kicked Tacitus back. Tacitus hopped back several feet away from him. Tacitus hopped on his tippy toes, preparing for an attack that he had been working on. He slammed his feet into the marble floors of the house, and held out his sword in front of him. And in a blink of an eye he rushed forward with amazing speed. As Tacitus came closer for his attack Aramis quickly spun around him, and slashed his back. Tacitus staggered as stopped, and spun around to face Aramis. The wound shot pain up, and down his back, but he had to ignore it the best he could.

Tacitus roared like an animal as he ran forward to attack him. Aramis blocked his slash with his sword, and locked with Tacitus. Tacitus tried to push back at Aramis, but the champion was far too strong for Tacitus. Aramis quickly swept Tacitus legs from under him, sending him up in the air. In the brief moment Tacitus was in the air Aramis punched him in his chest with quite a bit of strength. Tacitus went flying across the room before hitting a pillar. Tacitus gasped in pain as his wounded back hit the pillar, leaving quite the crack in the marble. As Tacitus fell to the ground Aramis gave him little time to react.

Aramis lunged forward at Tacitus. The young Gladiator clinched his sword, and began to raise it for an attack but it was too late. Aramis swatted the sword out of Tacitus grasp, and slashed him across his chest with enough force to spin Tacitus around. As Tacitus faced the marble pillar he felt Aramis' grip on the back of his head. Aramis violently slammed Tacitus' head into the pillar, and then again, and then again. After four smashes he pulled Tacitus' head out of the pillar. At this point Tacitus' face was covered in blood, and bruised. His right eye was swollen shut as blood poured down his forehead, and passed his eyes, appearing like he was crying tears of blood.

Tacitus was dazed, and confused. He tried to open his mouth to say something but all the came out was gargling noises, and blood. Aramis threw Tacitus back, and in midair dealt the young Gladiator a bone crushing elbow, forcing him down to the marble floor, creating a slight crater. Tacitus was drifting in, and out of consciousness, his vision was blurry. It was at that point he was certain that he was gonna die. Aramis placed his foot on Tacitus' chest, pressing his entire weight on the boy. Tacitus groaned in pain as he could feel what remained of his ribs breaking. He was now fully conscious, and desperately clawed at Aramis' leg. Aramis looked down upon the boy with disgust, and raised his sword high above his head.

Once his sword was up Tacitus stopped struggling, deciding to accept his fate. Tacitus spat up a gunk of blood, and glared up at Aramis with his one working eye. "D-d-d-......" He breathed heavily as he struggled to get the words out. "D-D-DO IT! I'M N-N-NOT AFRAID!" He screamed as loud as he could. He would not die begging for his life. He had to accept the consequences of rash actions. Aramis smirked in amusement before he brought the blade down towards Tacitus' neck. "Aramis hold!" Domitius ordered as he approached the two Gladiators. Aramis did as instructed, stopping his blade as it touched the skin of Tacitus' neck. Tacitus could feel his blood drip down from the sword, and onto his neck, and the coldness of the steel.

"Pick him up." Domitius ordered. Aramis sheathed his blade, and stepped off of Tacitus' chest before he yanked the boy up by his hair. Aramis held Tacitus up by his red hair, causing Tacitus to grunt in pain. He tried to move his arms, or legs to fight him off but nothing happened. Domitius held out his aging, ringed hand, grasping Tacitus by his chin. Domitius moved his slave's head from side to side to get a better look at him. "Let him live. I like the fire in this one's eyes!" He ordered. Aramis hesitated for a moment. "O-of course master. As you command." Aramis stated, making sure to keep his gaze to the ground, and not at Domitius. "Put him back with the other whelps. He'll have to be properly punished by his trainer." Domitius ordered.

Aramis gave him a nod, and began to drag Tacitus towards the training arena. As they went Domitius smiled to himself. "He's going to be a keeper." He softly stated. Aramis roughly threw Tacitus down into the training arena, where the other young Gladiators were watching towards the balcony, wondering what was going on. The battered, and bloodied Tacitus fell to the sand of the training arena, tumbling across it slightly. That sand that got into his open wounds burned intensely, but he did all that he could not to show his pain. He couldn't show weakness. Aramis then threw Tacitus sword down into the arena, landing mere inches away from the boy.

Tacitus looked at his beaten, and nearly unrecognizable face through the reflection of the steel. That was the strength of a full-fledged Gladiator. Though there was a part of him that believed that Aramis was holding back during their battle. Tacitus back arched violently as he felt the sting of his trainer's whip upon it. "Worthless mutt! I guess you still need to be house broken!" His trainer roared. He lashed at the boy once more with his whip. "Take him to the medic! Once he is stitched up I will see to it that he has the proper punishment!" Several older boys grabbed Tacitus by his arms, and dragged him across the sand. "Let him serve as a warning for what happens when you challenge your betters! Now, back to position!" The trainer shouted, and then cracked his whip. The sound of the whip cracking was the last thing Tacitus heard before he fell unconscious.


"Um...sir?" The soldier snapped Tacitus out of his train of thought. "Is that all?" He asked slightly nervous. "Yes. Just be prepared." He stated. Tacitus then turned away from them, and began to walk away. "Xerxes come." He ordered, causing Xerxes to get up, and follow behind him. The two made their way towards Lady Valeera's tent to resume his duties as her protector.