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Justice Battle
In
the hundred and thirty-first year of the Byzarian Empire’s reign over all
Terevia, Emperor Virgilus Oroacer introduced a new way to show just how much
power he had over those he ruled and just how undefeatable his warriors were.
The Justice Battles pitted those criminals who had been sentenced to death
against the finest warriors in the elite Emperor’s Legion of the Byzarian army
in brutal, bloody duels with only one possible outcome. Lesser criminals also
had their chance to fight in less fatal battles, and should they acquit
themselves well, they would be offered a pardon and a place in the army in
return for swearing absolute allegiance to the emperor. The Justice Battles
quickly gained popularity with the general public, who viewed them as excellent
entertainment. As time went on, the Justice Battles became less and less just
and more and more brutal. The rules against killing in the lesser battles were
forgotten, as was the custom of pardoning those minor criminals who fought
skillfully. A new class of soldiers, the Vengeance Legion was established
simply for the purpose of fighting in the Justice Battles, and before long,
these glorified executioners began to receive more fame than the soldiers who
protected Byzaria. By the time Gratius Thales succeeded Virgilus as emperor,
the Justice Battles had become the bloodiest and most popular form of
entertainment in the Byzarian empire, though those who thought far into them
would likely wonder how just they truly were. Any criminal and any person
judged to be a rebel to the empire could and most likely would end up facing
the swords of the Vengeance Legion. Some brave citizens, especially those who
followed the One God rather than Byzaria’s six deities, saw the perversion and
lifted their voices to speak against it. These people were all too often
branded as rebels and killed in the very events they decried. And so the
bloodshed continued until one fateful summer day.
~~~~~~
“Kill him!
Kill him! Kill him!” The cries of a thousand dusty throats rolled through the
arena and echoed off the walls. Justus, one of the many Justice Legionnaires,
stood in the center of it all, his sword held ready to kill his latest
conquest. He held up a hand, silencing the crowd’s cries, and looked down at
the man lying at his feet. He’d fought many men in his career: men so terrified
they could hardly hold their blades, men who raved and cursed and fought like
berserkers, and men of nearly every attitude in between. Never, however, had he
faced one who acted as calmly as this foe. The man had defended himself
surprisingly well, but he’d never attacked. He’d just blocked, blocked, blocked
until Justus sent the man’s sword spinning from his hands, kicked his legs out
from under him, and planted a foot on his chest to hold him down. Even then,
however, he hadn’t lost his composure. He stared back at Justus calmly, without
any last, begging pleas for mercy or curses upon Justus, Emperor Gratius, or
anyone else. He didn’t even struggle or put up a futile fight to try to get
back up and regain his weapon.
Justus
gripped his sword hilt tighter but didn’t bring it down. In a voice too low for
those in the stands to hear, he asked, “What’s your name, man?”
The man’s
eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he answered in an equally low voice,
“Hykinos.”
“Hmm.”
Justus had never heard of this man among the criminals or the major rebels,
though he seemed vaguely familiar somehow. “And what’s your crime, Hykinos?”
“Speaking
truth,” the man replied, evenly. “Declaiming how perverted our culture has
become and declaring the redemption of the One God.”
“Ah.” A
rebel, then, though the calmest rebel I’ve ever faced. Not that Justus had
faced many rebels; other Justice Legionnaires were usually chosen to fight
them. “How many men have you injured in your so-called truth-speaking, Hykinos?
How many officials’ homes have you attempted to destroy to make your point?”
“None,”
Hykinos replied. “I follow the One God, and His way does not involve violent
protests. He commands me to speak truth and do good to others, and so that is
what I do my best to do.”
Now Justus
knew where he’d seen this man. He was one of the men who went about collecting
food and clothes for the city beggars and offering to pray for people. Justus
recalled one time in particular when he’d noticed Hykinos give his own cloak to
a ragged beggar shivering on a street corner. He wondered, as he had then, what
would prompt the man to do such a thing, and if it was that same influence that
allowed the man to face death so calmly. Was it the One God they claimed to
follow? Or was it something else? Either way, did this man really deserve
death?
“Justus!”
Emperor Gratius’s voice rang out from his private box, cutting short Justus’s
thoughts. “Get on with it! Kill him!”
Justus
nodded. “Yes, Emperor.” He raised his sword higher, ready to bring it crashing
down on Hykinos’s neck. However, he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it.
Killing a murderer, a violent rebel, or another who endangered others was one
thing. They deserved death. But this man did good. Justus had seen it himself.
The crowd’s
chant of “kill him!” began anew. Justus looked up and surveyed the crowd. What
if he’s onto something? What’s good or just about killing a man who hurts
nobody, who helps those who cannot possibly have done anything for him, whose
only crime is speaking his mind? Are we really as great as we think we are when
we view the death of one who does not deserve it as nothing more than
entertainment?
“Justus!”
the emperor called out once more. “I said get on with it!”
Justus took
a deep breath. He knew what he had to do now. He shifted his grip on his sword
so he’d be using the point rather than the edge. Then he drove the sword down-
Into the
sand by the man’s neck. Silence fell like a boulder over the arena. Justus
looked up at the crowd. “No.” His eyes traveled to the emperor. “No. I will not
kill this man. He has done nothing to deserve death.”
Emperor
Gratius rose to his feet. “He has defied his emperor and the ways of our
empire. I have judged him and ordered him dead. That should be enough for you, Justus.
So kill him!”
“I said
no.” Justus’s heart pounded, but he would not back down. “I cannot and will not
kill this man.”
“Then your
own life is forfeit.” The emperor at him. “Guards! Seize and kill them both!”
Justus
didn’t wait to see if the guards were obeying. Sheathing his sword, he bent and
pulled Hykinos to his feet. “Come on. “ He started running towards one of the
archways leading out of the arena and heard the other man following. “We’ll
have to move fast if we want to make it out of here.”
“Indeed.”
Hykinos drew level with Justus. “I’m glad you made the right choice, Justus.”
Justus
didn’t stop running or even glance at the man, but a slight smile crept over
his face. “So am I.”
