6 A Bet of Nobles
On the opening many nobles of Westeros and most of the richest merchants of the free states gathered in the private lounges of the colosseum of Lys.
The Rogare family took care of the bankers and was ready to accept any bets. The Maar and Ormollen family offered the finest wine and the most beautiful woman to accompany anyone that was able to afford it. And to be fair, this price excluded anyone that was not of power or immense wealth.
The free people of Lys were excited and thousands of free folks erupted in enthusiasm. Oberyn Martell was extremely aroused. The smell of wine and perfume, the touch of beautiful woman, the cheers of the masses and the upcoming fight to death. He never experienced something quite like that in his life. He was extremely grateful for his decision of stealing a boat with his men and participating in this event, even if his parents would probably be extremely mad upon his return, as he might delay his sister's engagement.
The nobles of Westeros and Merchants of Essos were very willing to participate in public bets. The most amount of money and the biggest achievement will stay in the very small noble cycle in the private lounges of the colosseum.
As long-term rivals Oberyn's primary goals have always been the Tyrells and the Lannisters. The hate between Dorne and the Reach is as old as time.
"Mace, how many Gold Dragon coins has your mother allowed you to bring?" asked Oberyn.
This sentence brought laughter upon the nobles of Westeros, as everybody was aware of the strength of Lady Olenna.
"Oberyn! How about betting 500 Golden Dragon Coins upon the first fight? Can the poor dornish maggots afford it? Or would you like to pay in sand?"
500 golden dragons were already quite a lot. Three hundred gold dragons represent a formidable ransom for a knight, even if he belongs to a large noble house, while 100 gold dragons represent a reasonable ransom for a younger son of a noble family.
Oberyn was visibly disturbed by this large amount. But suddenly a small arm tipped his shoulders. He saw a kid looking roughly ten years old giving him a sign, as wanting him to agree.
The child seemed to belong to the Di Natale family, as he has seen him together with Amando and Emilio Di Natale. The owner of the colosseum wanted him to agree. This might be a bet worth taking, even if he didn't really carry 500 golden dragons with him. Nobody would ask a Martell to prove his worth anyways.
Shortly after accepting the bet the child stuffed him with a note "Attilius" and left, not even talking to him for the rest of the night.
As the opening match was about to start, the names of the Gladiators were announced:
Attilius, a young orphan sold by the slave traders of Astaphor and trained by the Di Natale family. He was captured as a young boy in Elyria and trained by the Di Natale family for over 10 years. Pretty much the best elite the training camp of Di Natale can produce, yet still a slave in position. The colosseum was a way for him to bring honor to the Di Natale family and find a way to freedom, as offered to him by Victor himself. You can imagine the desire Attilius, a literal war machine, had for something like freedom. After spending a decade in cruel training and war, seeing the death of dozens, even hundreds, of his comrades, he yearned for freedom more than anything.
His opponent was a Dothraki. His name is Jhiro.
The Dothraki are a race of nomadic horse-mounted warriors in Essos, the continent to the east of Westeros across the Narrow Sea. They inhabit the vast central plains of Essos, known as the Dothraki Sea. Their bond with horses is such that Dothraki are said to be born, fight, and die in the saddle.
Dothraki warriors are commonly referred to as "horse lords". They are also often (and half-derisively) called "Dothraki screamers", because of their fierce war cries as they charge into battle and raids.
The Dothraki are divided into several nameless clans known as khalasars, each led by a single leader called "khal". The khalasars roam the Dothraki Sea, always on the move looking for new pasture lands and new targets to plunder. The Dothraki frequently raid neighboring regions, such as Lhazar to the southeast or the Free Cities to the west. The Dothraki live by taking what they need including supplies, valuables, and new captives to serve as slaves. The Dothraki respect force, and thus only respect those who can successfully resist them, while conquered slaves deserve only contempt.
The Dothraki traditionally fight with curved swords known as arakhs, but also employ bolas, daggers, and whips, or huge, recurved bows with impressive range and striking power that can be fired from horseback. They also shun armor, considering speed and freedom of movement to be more important in battle. Dothraki warriors wear their hair in a long braid and only cut it when defeated, so the world may see their shame. The most capable warriors therefore often have a very long braid.
Jhiro is no ordinary dothraki. Jhiro is a Ko. Kos are lieutenants of a khal, commanding subdivisions of a khalasar. On the death of a khal, a ko may try to become the new khal, or split off his own riders to form a new, smaller khalasar. Jhiro was captured by his enemies and sold for a large amount of money to Astapor, as a slave. The Lohar family of Lys offered him as a participant for the very first fight in the colosseum. Jhiro was way bigger, looked stronger and seemed more dominant than Attilius. No wonder Mace Tyrell, as well as nearly every viewer in the arena, insisted on betting on Jhiro. After major discussions Oberyn "reluctantly" agreed on the bet, but Mace would have to add his very well-crafted saber to balance the bet, as Oberyn was "clearly" at a disadvantage. This saber alone was worth quite a lot.
The only people that really knew how unfair this bet was gonna be, was the Di Natale family. As a military family they knew very well how deadly a well-trained elite like Attilius was on the battlefield. Dothraki warriors were strong in groups and on horseback, but compared to sword elites like Attilius, they were more like a beast, ready to be slayed by a prepared hunter.
