Theren Waterford

        Theren stood there, covered in blood from his previous fight, not knowing that after this fight his life would forever be changed. His fingers squeezed tight inside the spiked gauntlets he wore on each hand, sweat beaded up and ran down his face; his long black hair stuck to his back. Let’s get on with it. He thought barely noticing the roaring crowd that packed the arena. Move fast, hit hard, fight smart.  His sky blue eyes were fixed on the large gate in front of him. Turning his head slightly so his pointed ears could listen a little closer he though; I don’t hear any growls. The crowd erupted in cheers as the gate began it’s slow climb. Theren swallowed harshly and focused intently on the raising gate. The gate clanked into position.

“This is ARGUS!!!” the arena announcer bellowed as the ground rumbled.

        Then seemingly out of no where an enormous Minotaur came crashing out of the dark tunnel toward Theren. The Minotaur heaved its two headed axe into the air as it closed the distance. Theren stood his ground, clenching his hands into fists of steel, digging his boots into the hard packed dirt and staring down the beast. Argus’ muscles bulged as he drove his axe hard toward Theren. The smaller man was too fast though; he pushed off of his toes right toward the beast, stepped slightly to the left and drove his fist into the beasts exposed belly. Argus, unable to reverse his momentum, drove his axe deep into the arena floor and sent chunks of dirt flying. Theren was on him before he could react, landing several brutal punches to the Minotaur’s lower back. Frustrated the Minotaur lashed out with a back hand swing with one arm, while the other dislodged his axe from the floor. Theren easily ducked under this attack. Then, timing Argus’ breath, he threw a quick punch to his exposed ribcage, knocking the wind out of the Minotaur. Argus spun towards Theren, who promptly landed a punch right between Argus’ horns, rocking him backward. Theren gave no time to recover and a kicked him on the inside of his knee. The ground shook as the beast stumbled and fell to the ground. The crowd erupted in cheers at the sight of the small man knocking down the massive beast. Theren did not stop to enjoy the cheers, he was focused on the task at hand. He ran toward the large bovine head of Argus, and viciously kicked him right under the chin. Blood flew from his mouth and his head was whipped so far back that his two large horns hit smacked into his back.

          The axe slipped from his grip as he was separated from consciousness. The crowd once again erupted in wild applause and cheers for Theren, and chants of “Theren, Theren, Theren” rang out of through the arena and could be heard across the city.

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         Theren sat slumped on a small wooded stool in the gladiators wash room. Sweat pooled on the dirty floor below as he began to un-wrap his hands. He heard the door creak open and someone enter the room. “I am Mika’il. Are you the man they call Theren the Hunter?”

         Theren’s eyes did not even shift up from their work. “I am.”

         “You are Theren Waterford?”

         Theren stopped unwrapping his hands and his eyes slowly shifted up from his hand wraps. “If you are here to arrest me then you better get a few more men and some armor.” He said as he stared across the small room at two armed men standing before him.

         Two more men entered the room.

         “Ok four on one. I like my steel gauntlets to beat your fancy silk shirts though.” Theren quipped as he pointed out the various silk overlays worn by Mika’il and his men. “An old man, a big ugly orc, a masked man and a fourth man that hides his face in the shadows. Is this the best they could send?” Theren glared at the man in the shadows, his hood was pulled low over his brow, but he could feel the man staring at him.

         “You are the Theren Waterford that has travelled the seas on great journeys?”

         Theren began to laugh. “You must be looking for my father, old man. I am no sailor. He is dead though.”

         “You are the one that wrote this book. Are you not?” The man held up a copy of Vikings Di Nord.

         Theren clenched his fists and flashed a wicked smile. The youngest of the men dropped their hand to the hilt of their scimitar.

         “By the looks of you there is no way…”

         “It is me! What do you want?” Theren growled.

         “I am sorry to hear of your father’s untimely death.”

         “The only thing untimely about his death is that he didn’t die ten years earlier; and the only thing you are sorry about is that he is not here to help you.” Theren slipped his hands into his gauntlets and stood up. “Last chance. What do you want?”

         “I am the High…Priest for the Khalif of Khurshed. He sent us here to find you. You have travelled to a land that we wish to go to.”

         “I have been a lot of places, which of these do you wish to travel to, and what do you need me for?”

         “There is someone that has been taken to Mudama. We will go there and bring them back. But there are very few people outside of the Vikings that know how to get there. We need you to show us.” Mika’il said as he gave a deep bow.

         Theren slid his gauntlets off and they clanked to the dusty floor. He sat back down on his stool and began unwrapping his hands again. “What’s in it for me?”

         “The Khalif is willing to pay you five thousand gold pieces. In addition to that he will give you the Bracers of Khurshed, they are very powerful and traditionally only the highest of the Khalif’s personal guard has gotten them…”

         “That’s it? Some gold and some special bracers?” Theren cracked a smile knowing full well how to play this game.

         “There is more. The Waterford family once held a noble title in this country and had lands. Your land will be returned to you and your family nobility will be restored.”

         Theren’s eyes locked onto Mika’il’s. “What makes you think I care about nobility? Look at me!”

         “I figured you would not care about noble titles, but I know you care about your family name. The ship leaves in three hours. We are aboard the Mamluk, in the low port. We leave with or without you.” Mika’il took one last look at Theren and walked out of the room. The other three men were right behind.