In ancient times, great kings had power over many things. However, some things were treasures reserved exclusively for the gods, and kings had no power over such things. But in the case of the legendary king Gaius who was desperate to have an heir to his throne, the treasures of the gods did not matter as he dared to have a sexual escapade with his most attractive spoil of war: an oracle of the gods. The forbidden fruit spawned a child--his only child--who was cursed and blessed by the gods to be the greatest king ever, who shall cast blood and sword upon the legendary king Gaius's throne. Upon hearing the prophecy, King Gaius sent battalions after the child. Read through and learn if the gods' prophecy shall come to pass or the king's will.
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Every man believes himself a hero, and the other a villain. However, it is left for time to decide who is mistaken. But until such day, each man shall play their part on fortune's stage, where the clout of the gods shall hold no water. Fate shall be set to motion, and each man leashed to the dictates of his purpose.Only by feast of blood shall the lowest man rise beyond the heavens. Steel shall crash against steel, and blood shall take a bow in sacrifice, only to set sweet tongues wagging of the freedom of a boy who bore a twisted fate. His freedom was a curse as it was a blessing to his kind. But then, such freedom was bound to happen for maximus who was destined to tower beyond the black holes of captivity and slavery. His birth was but a mistake that escaped the sight of the gods and a taboo that could only grace the sight of his yearning father, king Gaius.However, such was the taboo that the brooding between king Gaius and his slave, Limah, was a fleeting stroke of trivial affection that spawned a child who was fated to bring curse and blessings upon the throne and the city of Athena.The words of the oracle in Delphi had fallen upon the King's ears as would a burning ember upon a water lily: ''The child shall cast blood and sword upon the throne and overturn the crown on its head,'' Pythia had forewarned. ''Great Shall be his name and he shall set a new world order.''Curious, Gaius ventured a question to the oracle, daring to unravel the twist of intent of the gods upon his kingdom''Why have the gods brought this to be? Upon my kingdom?'' Gaius asked somberly in a low baritone voice. ''What offence of mine have the gods taken to heart?''''Oh, great king,'' Pythia called, as if to scold Gaius of not keeping memories, ''Have you no memories of your deeds? You have ravaged the treasure of the gods. And this blessing--the child--is the wrath of the gods upon you.''Gaius fell into a long silence and reflected upon the priestess's words. He combed through memories and searched deep within himself, but he couldn't find fault or where he had stolen the god's treasure. He had always been in spiritual consonance with the gods and he ensured that all his spoils of wars were religiously credited to the gods. No, he couldn't find anywhere he had erred against the gods. He couldn't reflect properly any longer; rather, all he could think of at the moment was a drastic resolve to eliminate the new-born and his mother. At least, he would have taken the gods' wrath off himself, he thought.Amidst the frigid silence that echoed within the temple space, the priestess swallowed hard and cast a sombre look from under her gloomy, all-black veil. She flung a doom-laden stare across and fixed it on the King's puzzled countenance.''The gods have spoken,'' Pythia continued, caressing her huge crystal ball as though she communed with unseen forces. ''The child's greatness shall come at the cost of the throne of the great city of Athena,'' Pythia announced, this time, sending the king to his feet and to prompt action, as he could no longer tarry to stomach the searing impact of the Priestess's words.''Guards!'' Gaius barked out, charging his small army while he dashed out of the temple to reach for his stallion standing by on the mass of rubbles outside the temple, ''we make a return to the city now. Seize Limah and her new-born. They spell nothing but danger to my kingdom.''King Gaius and his small entourage broke into a gallop and rode many miles eastwards towards the Burg of Athena. The walled city of Athena was an ancient city that cut an isolated but gigantic geographical feature along the coast of Euphrates. The legendary city was renowned for its martial superiority along with its combative dominance, having conquered many kingdoms and subjecting emperors to slavery and instant death.Gaius II, the direct descendant of the late mighty king and warrior, Gaius Marius Caesar, had fought many wars through to the throne. He had brought many empires down to their knees in cold blood and sheer thirst for powers and superiority. Gaius Jr., along with his troop, had tested his mettle against the best warriors and empires and, for all intents and purposes, he had matched the genius of his father, the great king Gaius Caesar. The neighboring cities and the natives of Athena had claimed that the gods were truly on his side and the valour of his late father had rubbed off on him, except his virility and strength to spawn a proper heir to the throne with his wife, Queen Augusta.Gaius had sought to remedy his sterility when he went to bed with one of his slaves, Limah. Limah was one of Gaius's bounties and spoils of the war he had waged against the small city of Kinsas. He had overpowered Kinsas and beaten the empire at the strike of a sword in sheer militaristic superiority. However, his triumph over Kinsas had not come off without bounties of women he had captured as slaves to serve the great city of Athena. One of such slaves was the drop-dead gorgeous Limah. Limah was the daughter of king Linca, the defeated king of Kinsas. The ravishing young damsel had been betrothed to the gods at temple Nuh in Kinsas where she performed her daily priestly rituals and duties as a priestess before the invasion of the power-mongering king Gaius and his ever-ready army. Limah's looks were sensationally striking and her physical features were too enthralling for Gaius not to accord her a serious thought. Limah was a beauty to behold. Her sensational beauty could all but invite Gaius between her virgin thighs in a sheer act of taboo, which the gods frowned upon. But then, Gaius threw caution to the wind and subjected Limah to a sex slave from which she spawned a child--a male child at that.The birth of the child had seemed to to cast a smile upon Gaius's face. It seemed to have confirmed his virility and ended his long quest for a child. But this time, the oracle at Delphi could only confirm to Gaius that his new-born from Limah was a bringer of doom upon his throne, rather than a continuation of his own lineage.The Oracle's message set forth Gaius and his small escort of soldiers in a hurry away from Delphi where he had gone to pay his obeisance and adulation to the gods in the wake of having a son he could call his heir. This time, he knew that the gods were angry and would not accept his veneration. He had never found rejection in the sight of the gods but, this time, his footing with the gods had been dished a blow with Pythia's message to him. He saw it all on the priestess's face: the gloom, the doom and admonition. He was shocked as much as his impatience grew stronger to arrive at Athena in order to decision Limah and her cursed child.Athena was quite a long distance away from Delphi, and Gaius's impatience and anxiety to return to his city and hit the soil would have to last the length of the long trip back home. He seethed with rage and thirsted for the heads of Limah and her son while galloping towards home on his stallion alongside his two soldiers. He couldn't wait to bring his shame to an end and restore harmony with the gods. He couldn't wait to eliminate his enemy in a child, and save the future of Athena. As would a king, Gaius raged within himself at the prophecy of a prospective opposition to his authority. He would do whatever within his capacity to douse the flames of a possible uprising against his long-standing reign as a king. And, of course, the prophecy of a rebellious child would be the easiest for him to deal with.However, it was not long before the climate changed its complexion and the firmament gathered strong dark clouds. A heavy current set in, as the atmosphere became dangerously windy. The nature seemed to herald a huge storm, as the torrential turbulence and thunderstorm threatened to slow down the return of Gaius and his soldiers to the city. For once, the climate didn't seem right and nature was in utter shambles.This must be a sign from the gods. They must be angry, Gaius concluded within his mind, even as he forged ahead and still managed to charge his soldiers through the heavy storm that came in the wake of the dangerous torrent.''We must hit the city before night falls!'' Gaius bawled at his soldiers, charging them as they all sprinted on their horses. ''The storm is nothing but distraction.''In this moment, they were all saturated and they dripped of rain even as the troublesome wind would not cease a bit. The current grew stronger and the leaves whispered and rustled violently across the woods.Amidst the storm, Gaius suddenly observed that one of his soldiers had ceased movement. Surprised, he equally halted his stallion and looked back with his clammy face and drenched long beard, only to find Patroclus far behind him sitting still on his horse as he struggled to whip the beast to action, but to no avail.Gaius couldn't quite understand what had happened to Patroclus but he could see, from a distance, that his horse had suddenly come to a Halt. Patroclus and the horse looked disinterested even as they froze to a spot without a stir.''Move, Patroclus, move!'' Gaius shouted at the top of his voice, aiming to drive action into his soldier.''The horse wouldn't move, sire!'' Patroclus informed, shouting back at the top his voice.In a wink of an eye, the horse that had come to a halt suddenly broke down and collapsed, throwing Patroclus off to the ground. Patroclus tended to the horse's broken leg afterwards. The horse could no longer move, and it looked as though it had been subjected to agony and torture.Gaius was left with no choice this time, as he retraced his step backwards quite a distance to Patroclus, and examined the tired horse. He looked into the horse's eyes and saw its eyes glimmer with agony and pains. Without wasting much time, Gaius ordered his soldier to euthanise the horse as there was no proper treatment handy; more so, the night was gradually upon them and the time was fast spent. Afterwards, Patroclus rode on the same horse with his fellow soldier as they forged ahead in spite of the turbulent storm, and they made for the city that awaited to welcome them back home.''This is a sign from the gods,'' Gaius muttered to himself frowning in dissatisfaction, as the travel party got sprinting on their horses again and bound for Athena.The infant was sold to the noble senator from Thrace for 500 Denarius. Rhesus wouldn't baulk at staking prized asset on little investments in a bid to eventually make fortunes off such investment. It was his principle of accumulating wealth and, of course, he had been a success at it, amassing a pool of wealth, riches, bounties, and a large coffle of slaves and gladiators. The house of Rhesus Decimus was renowned for its glamour and explicit grandeur amidst the city of Burgas in Thrace. The fame identified with the Decimus Family was even sustained by its gang of gladiators who had proven themselves masters of the art in the arena. From Magna to Pompeii, down to Pula and to the magnificent Colosseum and Olympia in Rome, gladiators from the house of Decimus had hit the best of arenas, taken the beasts of the arena games to the cleaners and brought glories upon glories to Rhesus and his family. The Arena games were one of Rhesus Decimus's ways of relaxing and the aristocrat could boast
King Dragan made a public decision to put the infant to sword. His decision was borne out of sheer but suppressed desires to launch a fight back against the superior kingdom of Athena and the fear of having King Gaius and his lethal army invade Balkans Peninsula. The announcement to decision the infant caused a mixed feelings amongst the natives as the reactions that came forth off the back of Dragan's cold decision were not as loudly jubilant. There were murmurs of dissatisfaction as much as hushed glee and concealed grins amongst the natives.However, the cold decision didn't quite go down well with Bojan who knelt still before the king all shackled up and subjected to doom. In spite of the fate that was soon to befall him, he sought mercy for the child, pleading innocence. Bojan launched deem an emotional rhetoric of pleas, prostrating before the king on his chest while he begged for the child to be spared.''The child is innocent,'' Bojan said, begging frantically. ''I beseech you
Bojan proceeded to lay Limah down on her back and he loosed the cashmere fabric from his body, upon which he laid the baby. ''You must be thirst now, M'lady,'' Bojan said, looking at Limah's reddened eyeballs and tired face as he made to head to the ocean to fetch some water. ''I should get you some water.''In the nick of the moment, Limah feebly grabbed Bojan by the arm before he set forth for the ocean. She looked at the Balkan with her eyelids almost dropping close. ''Thank you, Macho-man,'' Limah muttered, managing a smile and looking bereft of energy. ''You lost it all for me. Long may your fortunes be.''Bojan only crumpled his face and nodded in response. Limah requested that he sustain her on his knee and the baby should be brought into her arms. Limah cradled the baby in her arms and managed a smile at her child. She, then, passed the baby to Bojan and said, ''Maximus. His name is Maximus.''''Maximus.'' Bojan repeated arching his eyebrows in awe of the name.''Yes, Maxim
Chapter 6Limah, lying still on the ground, shook her head in pain, not giving consent to Bojan's idea of removing the arrow. At least, not yet. ''You have to trust me on this, M'lady,'' repeated Bojan, looking at Limah's depressed and tired-looking face. ''We have no time on our side, M'lady. You have to trust me.''Bojan made to touch arrow but Limah's feebly grabbed his arm to prevent him. Tears trickled down her cheeks consistently as she fixed her gaze on Bojan's.''Thank you macho-man,'' Limah said feebly in a low appreciative tone. ''A good Balkan. May fortunes from the gods smile upon you.''The moment was emotional as Bojan, crouching still beside Limah, watched the steam of tears run across the priestess's cheeks and hit the rocky ground constantly.Bojan shook his head and shut his sweaty eyelids close. Suddenly, he pulled out the arrow and a sharp, high-pitched cry of pain followed in the wake. Limah felt the pain as she jerked up to be seated on her buttocks before going
Chapter 5The moment was palpably tensed as Bastian commanded his soldiers to ransack the travellers; this time, in a rigorous and aggressive way. But as fate would have it for Limah who clung her infant between her breasts to maintain quiet amidst the commotion and tensed moment, she soon lost control of the situation by a little lapse in concentration as she accidentally let her baby let out uneasy shriek and whimpers in a moment of discomfort. Limah's infant screeched letting out a high-pitched cry which brought the soldiers to a halt to switch focus on Bojan's chariots. The pitch of the baby's cry was high and had been borne out of sheer discomfort. At hearing the shriek, Bojan snatched the infant from Limah who struggled to shush the noise. Of course, the soldiers were drawn towards Bojan's chariots as Bastian and his troop readied to siege the chariots to sate their curiosity. As they advanced towards Bojan's chariots, the clever Balkan merchant instantly made a little fire til
The little one in Limah's arms cried in fits and starts at the trumpet high-pitched sound which cut through the travellers in their numbers. The travellers were suddenly brought to a halt seeing as the trumpet sound from the city's gate commanded attention. A wave of murmurs spread across the crowd in reaction while everyone of the travellers looked back at the city's gate of Athena only to discover a small troop approaching on their horses. The troop, however, had the inclusion of an arrogant-looking horse--typical of royalty--spearheading them. Of course, it was none but General Bastian.Bastian was supposedly not content with Ganicus and his squad's search exercise. He had received news of futile attempts to apprehend Limah from the West Gate and different homes within the city. However, the general was hell bent on retrieving Limah and her infant in a bid to deliver the duo to king Gaius. The Army's General rode slowly on his black stallion--an elegant horse of Friesian breed wit
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