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Horace smiled, as he checked his armor once again. In a few moments, the announcer would present the fighter’s names, and then… things were about to get ugly. Not too ugly, of course. He didn’t forget what Dániel had said. Thinking of little fur-headed Charlene made the mage’s task even easier to follow. No casualties, just a smooth and fair fight, finished with a well-aimed punch. Horace had trained long and hard for that. He was quite sure that it wouldn’t be a problem to knock Damien unconscious. Even if he had to use his axe for it.
The gladiator looked at the blade, where three shimmering, black spheres looked back at him. Three charges, Dániel had said. Three hits, and then this would be nothing more than an extraordinarily fine crafted, sturdy but light weighted double-headed battleaxe. That would still be a lot more than his opponent’s blade, but not what he might need.
»Lords and Ladies, fine people of Gyallborn, I present you for the first time in years: A fight between man and half-man. An epic battle of one of our finest gladiator’s against a wild stallion from the plains. Our warrior is well-known to almost everyone, his name stands for quick fights and his swordsmanship is almost legendary! Facing him is one of the most fearsome half-stallions in the land, a master with the battleaxe and with his mind set to victory!«
Horace smiled and brushed over his emblems. They would be a big surprise, since the only beings that knew about them were Ish-they and the judges who had scried the armor for magicks. He snickered when he thought about the face of his opponent and the reaction of the audience, once they saw his armor. Black and decorated with spikes, little blades… and his symbols.
»I present to you… Damien Tattersborough!«
Horace heard the faint rattling sound from the gate on the other side of the arena and the cheer of the crowd. Through the bars he could see Damien, walking slowly into the sunlight that bathed the fighting area. Charlene was right; the human hardly seemed like a battle-hardened fighter. And if Horace remembered correctly, Damien was famous in Gyallborn.. but by far not in the position to get the magicks Horace got for himself.
»And his opponent… Horace Degaulle, “The Smile” of the half-men!«
The rattle was a lot louder this time, as the portcullis was pulled up and Horace strode out. This time there were less cheers, only some few half-men were watching the fight from some distant seats. But there was laughter, as they saw his armor and the symbols that seemed to glow in the sun.
Horace grinned to himself as he saw Damien’s shocked look. His opponent didn’t seem to believe his eyes, as he looked on the happy smiling faces. Just two black dots for the eyes and a wide curve for a mouth on a brightly-yellow ground. Nothing fierce, nothing scary.
»And it seems that Horace is determined to live up to his nickname«, the announcer shouted. »Now walk into the center of the arena and meet with honor.«
Horace and Damien walked towards each other, both already looking for a weakness that they could exploit. Horace was bigger than the human, and his battleaxe would be slower than the rather slim short sword that Damien carried in his right hand. But he knew that Damien would overestimate the handicap of Horace’s armor and rely on the speed advantage of his rather small leather chest piece and light buckler.
Out of the corner of his eyes Horace noticed someone whispering to the announcer, who locked shocked at the messenger, then raised his voice again.
»Citizen of Gyallborn. I have just been informed that the king himself will be watching this fight. And he has ordered this one to be chosen by… death!«
Horace and Damien stopped and stared at the announcer, and then at the seat for the city’s major. But instead of some old fool, there were the royal guards, and above all, the king himself. Horace looked at Damien and let out a sharp breath. This one would prove to be difficult. Very difficult indeed.
They continued walking and reached the center of the arena, bowing before each other.
»My daughter has told me about you«, Damien whispered.
»I don’t want to kill you«, Horace whispered back. »But I won’t lose. I’m sorry.«
»You don’t have to be«, Damien said. »It’s not as if we had a choice…«
»You’re right…«
They took a few steps back, turned to the king and bowed once again. Then they both took their battle stance and readied their weapons.
»Let the fight… begin!«
And Horace charged.

Horace ran slower than he could have. He didn’t want to give away the element of surprise too early, not without knowing his opponent’s strength and how to deal with it. Even his swing came slow and badly aimed, and Damien easily dodged the attack. Far quicker than he should have been able to. The half-stallion grinned grimly. He brought his axe around, changing his downswing into a diagonal sweep upwards, forcing Damien into a grotesque leap backwards.
They both held distance after that first, short encounter.
»You’re fast«, Horace said and breathed heavily.
»Too fast for you«, Damien smiled. »This will be easy.«
The human dashed forward, easily running under Horace’s axe. The short sword darted towards a small gap in the stallion’s armor, but Horace parried with his bracer, using the momentum to spin around and chopping at the human’s hip height. Damien grunted and hopped away, again dodging the blade. He took some steps backwards and started circling the half-horse slowly.
Horace took a short look at the crowd that cheered at Damien’s every attack. Well, they would be in for a big surprise. He just had to wait for the right opportunity to play his trump card. Luckily, Damien didn’t leave him waiting. The human gladiator now charged himself, sword raised high and buckler held in front of his chest.
Horace raised his axe slowly, as if he wasn’t fast enough to be a real threat to Damien’s attack. But when the human was close, Horace jumped to the side and hacked at the leather armor of his opponent. Surprised by Horace’s speed, Damien stumbled past the stallion, taking the full force of the blow. With a faint shattering noise, the first gem broke, while Damien was thrown forward and rolled over the floor of the arena.
Horace stood still, his axe ready and watched, as Damien got up and looked disbelievingly at the half-horse. He observed Horace closely, as he walked to his sword and buckler and picked them up. His moves seemed to be a lot slower and less powerful than just a moment ago. The crowd was silent, apart from the occasional cheer of a half-man.
»What did you do?« Damien panted. »What did you do?«
»I know where to strike a human. I studied your kind. Your anatomy. I know your weak spots and how to drain your power«, Horace laughed.
»You shouldn’t be that fast!« Damien shouted.
»Ravensteel«, the horse grinned. »I can only recommend it for armor and weaponry. So much lighter than regular iron or steel.«
He ran towards the human, who could barely get out of the way. Horace’s axe collided with Damien’s blade, shattering another gem. With a quick twist, the gladiator locked his weapon and pulled the human towards him.
»Also, I think something just broke the enchantment on your chest, am I right?«
He gave the surprised man a headbutt and kicked him in the chest, as Damien staggered backwards. This time, the human managed to keep his weapons, but he was still sent to the floor and wheezed. Horace watched as his opponent tried to get back on his feet.
»Halt!« shouted Damien and raised a hand. »I demand a scryer! I think that there is magicks in this fight!«
Horace looked at him, as if the human was insane. The audience started to whistle angrily at the half-horse. He couldn’t believe his ears, but now he was thankful for Dániel’s short-lived spellbreak-enchantment.
»My weapon and armor have been sryed, there is no magicks involved!«, he shouted. With obvious anger he rammed the blade into the ground, shattering the last gem without anyone noticing it. »Now, if you want to play that kind of game, very well. But I demand, that a half-man mage and the king’s personal mage are involved!«
Horace turned to the king.
»Since we fight before your eyes, my king, it is only just and right, that you have your own mage see, that this is a plain and fair fight.«
The crowd went silent, as the king raised a hand.
»Very well, we think that you are right. Expect the judges.«
Horace and Damien stood still and waited, while the mages came and scried both of them for enhancements or curses. Finally, the king’s mage turned around to the king.
»There are no magicks, neither on Horace, nor on Damien. It is a fair and clear fight!«
Then they left the arena. Damien looked sheepishly, as Horace readied himself.
»Continue the fight!«

Damien didn’t even try to get out of the way, as Horace charged and simply rammed his armored shoulders into the human, sending him once again to the floor. Damien rolled around and jumped onto his feet.
»Well now, come on and kill me«, he hissed angrily. »I don’t know how you cheated, but I know that you did!«
Horace stepped slowly closer, axe at the ready.
»I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m simply better than you. Stronger than you. Faster than you. And as I said: I don’t want to kill you.«
Horace lunged forward; thrusting his axe once again at Damien’s chest, but this time the human evaded and tried to counter. Horace had planned this and again parried the rather weak stab with his bracer, bringing his axe around with the other hand.
Damien seemed to have expected it. What he had not expected was the pirouette that the gladiator made out of his turning, his axe cutting again and again through the air. Damien jumped back, as the whirling half-horse neared him and watched the rather unusual move.
He still was surprised, when Horace suddenly stopped rotating and took a huge leap toward the human. Damien let go of his sword, raising his hand protective in front of his face as that huge heap of muscles, ravensteel and smiling emblems flew towards him, axe held high above his head.
With brute force the half-horse brought his weapon down, the flat side of the double-headed battleaxe pounding in Damien’s face like a falling yak. The human gurgled and fell on his back, his face covered in blood, but still alive. But Horace wasn’t done. Using his momentum he let himself fall onto Damien’s legs, breaking them with the sheer force of his weight.

Horace got up, picked up his axe and waited, but Damien seemed to be defeated. One single blow of the half-horse had been more than enough to incapacitate the human gladiator. Damien lay there, whimpering and slightly twitching as the pain in his head mixed with that of his broken legs.
»This is a fight to the death. I have to remind you, if you do not finish him, you will not win.«
Horace shook his head and lowered his weapon.
»No. I won’t kill him.«
He looked up to the king.
»I came to Gyallborn for this fight. I came to win, not to kill.«
Horace pointed at Damien, who still lay there, barely moving.
»I don’t see any sense in this man’s death. He is defeated. He can’t fight anymore, I even think that he’ll be lucky when he can walk again in one or two months.«
The king stood up, his face reddening with anger.
»By rule of the king, this fight is not over until only one of you is alive. If you do not want to kill this man, like my rule demands…«
His guards raised short bows, razor-sharp arrow tips pointing at Horace’s half-horse skull.
»I will have you shot, thus granting victory to Damien. I give you this one last chance!«
The audience murmured at the king’s decision. They didn’t see any sense in this order, Horace could feel it. His eyes wandered along the crowd and finally spotted Charlene, her eyes dark with fright and held tightly by her mother. The gladiator raised a hand and pointed at the little girl.
»This man has a family. He has a wife and a daughter, sitting over there and watching us right now, knowing that I’m supposed to chop that man’s head off. But I’m a gladiator, my king. My purpose is to fight and win, not to murder a man that can’t even stand on his feet!«
He turned once again towards the king.
»If you want to shoot me, do so. But I will not kill this man. I will not end his life, I will not make his wife a widow and I will not make Charlene cry. This is my last word.«
He let go of his axe and stretched the arms to both sides.
The murmur of the crowd grew louder, some even called Horace’s name. Suddenly, the half-men were not the only ones cheering for him. It were few voices at first, but after some moments it was a choir of human and half-human voices, chanting his name.
Horace could see the king as he ground his teeth, but finally he gave his guards a signal.
»It seems, as if the people of Gyallborn support your decision. I will not have your life for your disobedience against a direct order from your king, but I promise: You will pay your price for your arrogance.«
He raised a hand, and the crowd hushed.
»The fight between Horace Degaulle and Damien Tattersborough is over. By decision of the judges and the king of the empire, Horace is the winner!«
The audience cheered. Not very loud and not very enthusiastic, but they seemed to like him at least a bit. He didn’t know, how much of a victory this really was, but in his opinion, it was a first, small success. With Damien defeated, other arenas would open their gates for him. The very first half-man to win the initiation fight at Gyallborn… now that would bring one coin or another into their coffers. And in Horace’s purse.
He waved at the audience and tried not to think about the sum he probably would have to pay for not obeying the king’s order. If things got ugly, he would even have to spend some time in the dungeons, but that was alright. Sometimes, you just had to pay a high price for your dreams.
Horace strode out of the arena, while clerics approached the heavily wounded Damien and tried to fix him up as good as they could. This fight was won, but there would be lot of others. And he was very sure, that Dániel would have to craft quite a lot of gems in the near future, just to be sure.