Gladiators!

     Ukonzo was a royal prince in the Thracian monarchy; in fact he was the crown prince. His father was Achilleon IV, king of Thrace. Unfortunately, Thrace was a client state of Rome, with only limited autonomy. When Achilleon had ascended the throne ten years earlier, there had been problems with the succession. Achilleon had an older brother, Appolonius, who should have been the next king, but Achilleon conspired with the Romans to gain the throne. The price for the empire’s aid was that Thrace lost its autonomy. Prince Ukonzo looked forward to ruling Thrace one day, but wanted to rule an independent Thrace, and not one under the thumb of the Roman Empire.

     Prince Ukonzo had been a lad of 10 when his father ascended, but was now a strapping young man of 20. He was 6’ tall and weighed 170 pounds. His hair and eyes were both brown. He was betrothed to a Spartan princess, Katerina of Sparta.  As the heir to the throne, he had a duty to provide a son to continue the monarchy, but everyone knew that the love of his life was Gennarius, captain of the palace guard. Gennarius was 30, 5’6” and 190 pounds of pure muscle. Like Prince Ukonzo, he had the brown hair and eyes typical of Thracian men. Unlike him, Gennarius was the son of commoners, a fisherman and his wife.

     One evening, Prince Ukonzo and Gennarius had retired to the prince’s bedchamber. In no time at all, the two young men were naked under the covers. They spent the next hour in mad passionate lovemaking. Later, as they lay in each other’s arms, the prince turned to Gennarius. “Gennarius, my love, I want to be king!”

     “You will be, one day, Ukonzo, once your father dies.”

     “My father seized the throne from his brother! Why must I wait for his death? And besides, I wish to rule an independent Thrace, not one tied to the accursed Roman Empire!”

     “Ukonzo, this is madness! Even if you could overthrow your father, how would you ever overthrow the Roman yoke?”

     “The Thracian people chafe under that yoke. They would come to our side and help us defeat the accursed Romans! And our neighbors might like to rid themselves of the Romans. They may come to our aid!”

     “Yes, Ukonzo, but who can stand up to the Roman might? You know what will happen if we are defeated!”

     “We can, Gennarius! Are you with me?”

     “You know how much I love you, Ukonzo! Even if your plan leads to our deaths, I cannot say no to you. I’ll gladly stand with you, but how can we accomplish this?”

     “First, we must overthrow the king. He must die. Is there a young man in the palace guard that can be bought to assassinate him?”

     “Yes, there is a new soldier, Socratius. I have heard him call your father a usurper, and condemn him to the depths of Hades. He might do it. But how would we pay him?”

     “Offer him anything. Just get him to agree to do it. Make sure there are no witnesses when you talk with him. His Majesty goes to bed each evening at sunset. Wait an hour, and then let Socratius into the royal bedchamber. His Majesty will be sleeping soundly in the arms of Hypnos, the God of Sleep. Have Socratius run him through with his sword.”

     “What am I to do then?”

     “You will be outside the door. You will hear my father cry out as he is slain. Rush into the room, and take your sword and dispatch Socratius, sending him to accompany my father on his journey to Hades. There will be great mourning for my father, and you will be a hero for slaying his assassin. No one will ever believe that we were behind the plot!”

     “I can see that part may work, but how will you throw off the Roman yoke?”

     “I will blame them for my father’s death. Make sure that Socratius has Roman coins on his body. We’ll accuse the Romans of paying for the assassination in an attempt to overthrow the monarchy, and install direct Roman rule.”

     “The Romans will not sit idly by once you make that accusation.”

     “That is why you will launch a surprise attack on the governor’s palace, taking him and the Roman garrison prisoners. I won’t make my accusation until you succeed in that.”

     “You certainly have everything worked out. When do you want to do this?”

     “As soon as you successfully recruit Socratius. And make sure that when he assassinates the king, that only you and he are on the floor of the royal apartments.”

     “Yes, it would not do for Socratius to blurt out our involvement for other ears to hear as he dies. I shall talk to him first thing in the morning. And now, my prince, if you have nothing else to tell me, it is time for sleep.”

      “That is an excellent idea, Gennarius. Good night, my lover!”

     “Good night, my prince!”

     The next morning, Gennarius summoned Socratius to his private quarters.

     “Socratius, I have heard reports that you have called our king, Achilleon IV, a usurper. Is this true?”

     Gennarius watched as all of the color drained from Socratius’ face.

     “No, my lord! Why would I ever say such a thing about our great king?”

    “Relax, Socratius! You are among friends here. Now, if you were to gain access to the king’s bedchamber while he slept, would you kill him if the price were right?”

     “But what of the royal family? Would they not hunt me down?”

     “I can assure you that you will not be hunted. Would you do it for 1000 drachmas?”

     “A year’s wages? Of course! But how will I do it?”

     “Tonight, you and I shall be the personal guards of His Majesty on the floor where he has the royal bedchamber. I shall go into the bedchamber and stay with him until he is asleep in the arms of Hypnos. When I come out, you shall enter and slay him. Take your sword, and slice his guts open. The wound will be fatal. I shall remain in the hall to prevent others from entering the floor and possibly ruining our plans. Here are 500 drachmas. I shall give you the rest once the king is slain. You will then flee the castle; I will have a horse waiting for you at the gates. Head for Athens and safety. I will ensure there is no pursuit.”

     “Very well, Sir! I shall not let you down!”

     Gennarius dismissed young Socratius and rushed to tell Prince Ukonzo that all was in readiness. Later that evening, Gennarius and Socratius took their places as the king’s personal guards for the evening. Gennarius went into the bedchamber to assist the king in preparing for bed, and then waited until the king fell into a deep sleep. He then rejoined Socratius in the hallway.

     “He sleeps soundly. Did you check the halls to ensure that no one else is on the floor?”

     “Yes, Sir! We are alone on the floor!”

     “In that case, Socratius, enter the bedchamber and kill the Roman lackey within!”

     “It will be my pleasure, Sir!”

     Socratius then entered the king’s bedchamber, where he found His Majesty soundly sleeping. He drew his sword, and struck the king in his ample belly, slicing through it as if it were butter.

     The king immediately woke from the pain of the stabbing. “AAAHHHH! Murder! Regicide!”

      Socratius stood there frozen; he had expected the blow to be instantly fatal. Just then, he heard a crash, as Gennarius burst through the door. He saw Gennarius draw his sword, and thought that he was going to deliver the deathblow to the king.

     “Here is your payment, Socratius!” Gennarius then swung his sword in a wide arc, and decapitated Socratius with one blow! He then turned to face the king.

      The king looked up at Gennarius and said, “Thank the gods that you have slain him. Now help me, Gennarius! I need medical attention to close this wound and stop the bleeding!”

     “I shall help you, Achilleon!” Gennarius took Socratius’ blade from its sheath in Achilleon’s belly and then used it to decapitate the king. He then took the 500 drachmas from the body of Socratius and replaced it with 1000 Roman denarii.

     Gennarius then left the room with the bodies inside locked the door and went to Ukonzo’s room.

     “Your Majesty! Your father has been slain! I failed to save him, but I did slay his killer! I found 1000 Roman denarii on the killer’s body.”

     “This must be the work of the Roman Governor, Plinius! Take your men, and attack the governor’s palace! Bring me him and his guards in chains! I, your king, command it!”

     “Yes, Sire! I shall do as you command!”

     Gennarius immediately took his men, and under cover of darkness, approached the governor’s palace. He was intent on keeping an element of surprise. But fate was against him and Ukonzo. That evening, Plinius had sent his garrison out into the woods surrounding the palace for some war games, to keep his men in top shape. One of the sentries in the trees noticed the lamps of Gennarius’ troops as they approached the palace from the Thracian capital. He immediately alerted his general, who observed the approach also, and then ordered his men to prepare an ambush. He had no idea why the Thracian army was approaching, but he wasn’t going to wait and ask questions.

     Gennarius led his men along a river and entered the woods that he needed to cross to reach the Roman palace. As his men entered the heart of the woods, the Roman garrison fell on them like a plague, and began cutting them down. The surprised Thracian army immediately broke and ran back towards the Thracian capital with the Romans in hot pursuit. The remnants of the army barely got inside the city and closed the gates before the Romans could enter. The Romans immediately laid siege to the city.

     “Gennarius, what happened?”

     “I do not know, Your Majesty! We were approaching the palace when we were attacked in the woods. It was a totally unexpected attack.”

     “Of all the bad omens. They were probably doing some maneuvers and they saw you! Now we must announce my father’s death, and blame the Romans without having the governor as our prisoner! Hopefully, our subjects will rally to our cause!”

      “I will have the crier announce it immediately!”

      The crier went out to the city square and made the following announcement:

“Hear ye! Hear ye! It is with great sadness that I announce that tonight our great and benevolent monarch, Achilleon IV was found murdered in his bed! The captain of the palace guard found the assassin, one Socratius of Athens, still in the bedchamber and killed him on the spot! Apparently, the Roman governor orchestrated the assassination, as 1000 Roman denarii were found on the assassin’s body. I urge all citizens to rally around our new king, Ukonzo I, and drive back the accursed Romans from our walls.”

     The proclamation did no good. The citizens had regarded Achilleon as a usurper and as a regicide for slaying his brother. The usurper’s son was regarded as another member with no right to the throne. They replied to the proclamation by attacking the gates and overpowering the guards. They then opened the gates, allowing the Romans to take the city. The Roman governor had given stern instructions that Ukonzo I  and Gennarius were to be taken alive.

     Ukonzo and Gennarius were taken to the dungeons of the governor’s palace and subjected to hours of torture. Ukonzo, having led a sheltered and pampered life, broke down first, hours before the battle-hardened Gennarius.

     “AAAHHH!!!  I confess!! Gennarius and I conspired to kill my father and blame his death on the Romans! Socratius was just a dupe that we used.”

      Once they had gotten a similar confession from Gennarius, the Roman torturers reported to the governor. He ordered the prisoners confined to a dank, dark cell in the dungeon while he awaited Caesar’s orders as to how to proceed. For now, he had installed himself as the new ruler of Thrace.

      Two weeks later, an emissary from Caesar arrived with his reply. Caesar ordered that the Thracian monarchy be dissolved, and that the Romans take over ruling it directly as a Roman province. The members of the royal family were to be sold into slavery, except for Ukonzo and the captain of the guard, Gennarius. They were to be taken to Rome, paraded through the city, and then sold into slavery there, as they had been the ringleaders in the plot to remove Rome’s yoke.

     Plinius immediately ordered both Ukonzo and Gennarius stripped, chained, and placed in separate cages to be immediately transported to Rome! They affixed a base metal crown to Ukonzo’s head, with the inscription, King of the Thracians!

     Two weeks later, the cages holding Ukonzo and Gennarius arrived in Rome to a circus atmosphere. They were paraded naked through the city to the Coliseum. Both men wore signs around their necks with an inscription in Latin. It read, “Non est Rex praeter Caesarem!” which translated means “There is no king except Caesar!” The citizens of Rome were lined up on both sides of the Via Appia. They threw rotten fruit and small stones at the unprotected bodies of the traitors. Ukonzo was totally humiliated. He had been in many parades, but never one like this.

     Caesar then came to the Coliseum to see those who thought to supplant him.“So this is the great king, Ukonzo of Thrace! Where are your mighty armies now, Your Majesty?”

     Ukonzo replied by spitting on Caesar! A guard immediately struck Ukonzo and forced him to bow before the living God! Caesar wiped off the spittle, and told Ukonzo and Gennarius that they would be sold in the market to ludi, gladiatorial schools.

     The next morning, Ukonzo and Gennarius were paraded naked from their dungeon cell to the Forum so that they could be sold in the slave auctions. Gennarius was brought forth, and once the agents for the ludi saw his well-built Thracian physique, there was very spirited bidding. Finally the ludus of Pontillus outbid the other schools, and Pontillus took charge of his new slave.

     Next, they brought out Ukonzo, the dethroned final king of Thrace. While Ukonzo also had a very good physique, it was obvious that he had led the pampered life of royalty. Only one ludus put in a bid for him, the ludus of Marcus Antoninus.

     Pontillus took Gennarius back to his ludus, and they chatted along the way.

     “So, you are Gennarius, former captain of the guard for Thrace?”

     “Yes, sir!” replied Gennarius, puffing out his chest.

     “That is not something to be proud of, slave! Look where it has landed you! What did you do before you were captain of the guard?”

     “I was a humble fisherman, sir, as was my father before me.”

     “A fisherman! I thought I recognized the body of a fisherman when I was bidding on you. You shall be trained to fight in the arena as a retiarius! Throwing the net will be second nature to you. And with your trident you shall spear not fish, but men!”

     “I have not seen a combat in the arena. What will I wear and what armor will protect my body?”

     “Your only armor will be a manica, an arm guard, and a galerus to protect your shoulder. You will have no helmet, shield or footwear, and normally only a loincloth tied with a belt for clothing. There will be some bouts, however, when you shall fight totally naked. Do not worry, I am an excellent teacher. You will be successful. I do think that we need to do something about your name, though.”

     “You wish to change my name, sir! Why and to what?”

     “Gennarius doesn’t sound Roman enough. I have it! We are in the month of the two-faced god. It is a similar name, and very Roman! You shall henceforth be called Janus!”

    “I prefer my Thracian name, but since I am your slave I shall do as you command, sir!”

     “My, you are quite compliant for one who led men into battle. Why is that, I wonder?”

    “Sir, I have been trained to be loyal to my superiors since I first joined the Thracian Army. As you now own me, I know that I must obey.”

    “Excellent, Janus! We have arrived at my ludus. Follow my assistant to your quarters. We shall begin training in the morning.”

     Meanwhile, Marcus Antoninus found that his new slave was a defiant one.

     “How dare you touch my royal person!”

     “Listen, Ukonzo”

     “That is King Ukonzo or Your Majesty, if you please!”

     “You may have been a member of royalty in Thrace, but here you are my slave, my property! In the future, you will address me as SIR! Is that understood?”

     “I shall never refer to non-royalty as SIR!”

     “You had better be glad that you are being allowed to keep your name. Caesar felt that it would encourage the other gladiators to slay you if they knew you were the ex-king of Thrace! I have had enough of your lip!”

      Before Ukonzo could respond, the guards restrained him, and gagged him.

      “There, that’s better! Now that I have your attention, I think I shall train you as a secutor. I understand that the captain of your guards was much more than your defender; he was also your lover. Also, I understand that before he was in the Army, he was a fisherman. Secutors fight against retiarii, fighters armed like fishermen. You will wear a helmet with two small eyeholes, protection against a head thrust from the retiarius’ trident. You’ll note that the top of the helmet is round, that will make it harder for it to get caught in your opponent’s net. You also get a small rectangular shield. You’ll be armed with a gladius, the Roman short sword. Like the retiarius, you will wear a loincloth tied with a wide belt. On your right arm, you’ll wear a heavy linen wrapping tied with leather thongs. It’s called a manica. And finally, on your left leg, you’ll wear a greave made of boiled leather, called an ocrea.”

     Shortly thereafter, they arrived at the ludus and Ukonzo was locked inside his cell. He was not fed that day as punishment for his insolence towards his owner.

     Janus was a quick study for his master, Pontillus. Having grown up around nets and tridents, he mastered the craft of the retiarius in record time. For about three months, he trained with a wooden trident, and when he showed his proficiency with that, he was allowed to train with the metal one and a rope net. To protect his other gladiators, Pontillus covered the tips of the trident lest Janus get carried away and injure or kill one of the other gladiators. After about four months, Janus was deemed ready for combat in the arena. This was amazing, as he’d only been using real weapons for a month.

     Janus quickly rose through the gladiatorial ranks. From the start, he was paired against champion secutors, and defeated all comers. Pontillus rewarded him by giving him handsome young slaves in their early 20’s as his assistants. Besides preparing him for combat, they also were his bed slaves, and they found out quickly that his trident wasn’t his only deadly stabbing weapon. When he inserted his dick up a slave’s ass, the slave rapidly found out what a fully engorged 12-inch dick could do to them.

     Ukonzo, meanwhile, was still giving Marcus Antoninus trouble. He refused to train, was disrespectful towards Marcus and the other trainers, and had to use wooden swords longer than normal, because when they gave him a metal one, he ran through one of Marcus’ best retiarii.

     It took about three months of punishment, but finally Marcus was able to break Ukonzo’s will. Once that had been accomplished, Marcus was in for a surprise. He had thought that Ukonzo would be an average secutor at best, as he had led a sheltered life. However, he discovered that Ukonzo was a natural with the sword. He quickly blossomed into one of Marcus’ top gladiators. Like Janus, Ukonzo was also rewarded with a stable full of assistants to get him ready for his fights, and to attend to his intense sexual desires. His slaves soon found that his cock was as deadly as his gladius.

     This went on for about three years, with Janus and Ukonzo fighting in various arenas throughout the empire. While their fame was far and wide, they had never been paired against each other, and since Janus was not fighting under the name that Ukonzo knew him by, Ukonzo did not realize that he was his old lover from Thrace. Then, one day, Caesar died, and his son succeeded him as Caesar. The new Caesar ordered massive funeral games to honor his father. They would be held in the Coliseum. All of the top ludi were commanded to attend. It was understood that the ludi would send their best gladiators, and that at least some of them would die to honor Caesar.

     Caesar had ordered a full week of games to honor his father. The final day was the grandest. In the morning, there were pankration bouts and some minor gladiatorial combats, mainly between less experienced gladiators, and in some cases, gladiators fighting wild beasts. They kept Charon busy all morning with his hammer to ensure that the loser was dead, and not merely faking death. At noon, there were executions of Christians and other criminals. Rapists were castrated, and then their genitalia were draped around their necks before they were anally impaled. Finally, they were executed by having their throats slit. Christians were either fed to the wild beasts or crucified, except for those who were citizens of Rome; those Christians were beheaded by the sword.

     Now it was time for the major gladiatorial combats. The champions of each ludus would fight each other to honor the memory of Caesar. There were several epic battles, but all of Rome was waiting for the final combat of the day. It would pit two Thracians, Ukonzo the secutor, champion of Marcus Antoninus’ ludus, and Janus the retiarius, Pontillus’ champion.

     Finally, the moment arrived. Ukonzo and Janus entered the arena from opposite gates, and walked to a point directly below the imperial box. Janus knew that he was fighting his ex-king and lover, but Ukonzo didn’t realize it until Janus approached him for the salute to Caesar. They said nothing, but raised their weapons to Caesar.

    “WE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE SALUTE YOU, GREAT CAESAR!”

    With that, Ukonzo and Janus went to the center of the arena and commenced the battle. Ukonzo was going for the quick kill, but Janus was too spry and quick on his feet. Ukonzo kept trying to wound him with the gladius, but Janus was always just out of reach.

     This went on for about 30 minutes, and then Janus noticed that Ukonzo was starting to tire, ever so slightly. He slowed up, and Ukonzo seeing this, lunged to stab him with the gladius. However, Janus effortlessly stepped to the side, caught the gladius in the tines of his trident, and with a flick of his wrist, sent the gladius skittering across the arena sands. Ukonzo lunged to grab it, and Janus saw his opening.

     He threw the weighted net, and before Ukonzo realized what had happened, he found himself enveloped in its threads. Janus placed his foot on top of Ukonzo’s chest, the same way that Ukonzo had done so many times to his own victims. Ukonzo grabbed Janus’ ankle in an act of submission, and begged Janus to spare him. Both of them then turned their eyes to the crowd and to Caesar’s box. Caesar scanned the crowd, as any good politician would. He saw that while some gave the signal to spare Ukonzo’s life, the vast majority of the people were calling for his death. Caesar then turned to his right, where Marcus Antoninus sat and told him that he felt that Ukonzo would be a worthy gladiator to send to Hades to accompany his father on his journey. At that point, Marcus Antoninus realized that Ukonzo’s fate was sealed, and gave the signal for death. Caesar then stood, and also gave the sign!

     Ukonzo had been trained for years as a gladiator to accept and embrace death when it came. Janus released him from the folds of the net, and Ukonzo then undid his armor, exposing his bare chest to Janus.

    “Strike well and true, Janus my love!”

     “I shall, Ukonzo, my lord and my love!”

    Ukonzo then lay back on the sands, and as he did he noticed that his cock was straining against his loincloth with a massive erection. Janus also was unable to hide his own erection. Janus positioned the tines of the trident so that the two outer tines were directly above Ukonzo’s nipples, and the middle tine was over the sternum. He then gave a mighty thrust, and the tines found their sheath in Ukonzo’s chest, with the one above his left nipple cleaving his heart. Ukonzo let out a cry, and as he died, both he and Janus came at the same time. Charon and his aides then came out and Charon used his hammer on Ukonzo’s skull to ensure that Ukonzo was dead. His aides then took hooks, which they drove through Ukonzo’s ankles, and unceremoniously dragged his body from the arena floor to be buried in the Gladiatorial Cemetery. Janus, meanwhile, fought for many more years, and was finally granted the wooden sword of freedom by Caesar for his bravery, skill and valor. He then started his own gladiatorial school, and became a wealthy Roman citizen.