chapter 14 : Special Event

The weeks followed after the party organized by Batiatus and it was getting hotter and hotter in Capua. On top of that, things were pretty hectic in rumors regarding Orion.

 These same rumors which initially remained within Capua crossed its borders to pass from city to city until Rome.

 The magnitude of these statements took on another level when the magistrates and other nobles present at the evening confirmed what was said about Orion whose main references were his beauty and his strength.

 From the first week, noble or rich women came to meet Orion and share his bed. Batiatus asked him to receive them in exchange for favors but Orion refused to touch them. On the other hand, he provided a completely different service, an oil massage.

 Orion had knowledge of human anatomy, both male and female, he knew the areas of pleasure and pain to perfection.

 The women who were subjected to his hands were prey to pleasures that they had never known before and without even having sexual intercourse, Orion gave them orgasms.

 The poor women, completely drunk with pleasure, begged each time to be able to feel him inside them but he ignored their pleas and only told them the same thing each time, "Noble women don't interest me" to their great disappointment.

 Thanks to this activity, Batiatus earned a lot of money, so much money that he was able to repay his creditors and his new champion never stopped talking about his ludus.

 Orion for his part was going through a pretty terrible situation. These last two weeks were strange between spontaneous migraines that tormented him, a change in his emotions and the increase in his sensory faculties.

 For days he couldn't control his emotions, sometimes everything was normal and sometimes, like flipping a switch, Orion no longer had any emotions or moods.

 At the beginning of this phenomenon, Orion was quite disturbed because he no longer had control of his emotions but day after day he practiced it and ended up having absolute control.

 Now he could feel things normally or turn off his feelings at will.

 This new ability gave Orion something that any warrior, soldier or hero on this earth would want, and that was absolute focus.

 Fear, joy in excess of self-confidence, pity, hesitation or anger were things that could cause even the most skilled warriors, artists or tacticians to make sometimes irreparable mistakes.

 The lack of emotions could allow someone like Orion to exploit his full potential, his arsenal and his assets in the most optimal way and all in absolute control of himself, he could still feel pleasure and the pain but it wasn't a problem for him.

 Orion since he could concentrate at his maximum had decided to become more ruthless with himself in his ever more advanced training.

 Orion's enhanced senses gave him a mental image of his surroundings at least 10 meters around him thanks to the concentration he displayed.

 However, this totally inhuman feat had not been acquired overnight. In his first attempts, Orion was trying to move around his environment and he managed to do it perfectly in two days thanks to his gifts, he was the only human being capable of doing this.

 A person blind from birth or for many years could see his hearing or other senses gaining power and could more or less find his bearings thanks to sounds or surrounding elements, it was not as precise as sight but he could find his way.

 For Orion it was pretty much the same thing but on a much, much larger scale, especially taking into account the fact that all his other already improved senses worked together in harmony to give him a mental and precise image of what was happening. surrounded him.

 He began fighting blindly in order to improve himself again and again to see how far he thought the gifts the gods had given him could go.

 When Marius and the others heard him talk about his idea of ​​wanting to play practice matches with this disability, they thought Orion had gone crazy.

 They know he always has crazy ideas but this one was truly the height of absurdity. It was through insistence that they gave in to his request.

 It had been five days since Orion started this training and during the first three days, he accumulated beatings against Marius who was shameless enough to brag about it.

 They fought for hours every day, took breaks and then started again.

 By the fourth day, Orion had taken his perception to a whole new level and could now parry Marius's blows perfectly. The fights became longer and longer and he could win every second fight.

 However, unbeknownst to Orion, he was sharpening one thing essential to every fighter or strategist, it was his Instinct which was also going beyond human limits.

 At the moment Orion was with Marius and was leading a training match against his friend but with real swords. The two clashed seriously and the fight even seemed close. However, since the morning, Orion had been winning each fight more and more easily.

 It was the fifth day and despite his blindfolds and the darkness in which he was plunged, Orion perfectly blocked and resisted each attack from Marius who was becoming more and more desperate.

 « AH!! » Marius shouted as he sent a diagonal attack but to his surprise, Orion did something he hadn't done since the beginning of this training, he dodged the blow.

Grabbing Marius' sword arm, he threw a punch at him before sending him to the ground with a well-placed sweep.

 "HARF!" Marius fell but by the time he tried to get up, the tip of Orion's sword was already at his neck.

 " I win !" Orion said as he took off his blindfold with a smirk as he brought his emotions back to normal.

The others who were training nearby The Greeks, the Gallic couple, Salma, Sura, Marco and Zena looked in their direction with mixed emotions.

 Neither of them knew whether to be impressed or frightened by the abilities of the man before them.

The wooden sword in Marco's hand shook as he unconsciously clenched his fist with determination practically embedded in his eyes as he looked at Orion.

 Celina sitting a little further away with her daughter also looked at Orion with great admiration when she felt a tugging on her clothing, it was Celia who unconsciously clenched her fist while holding her mother's clothing.

 "Uncle Orion is truly a special being! He managed to beat father while being blind, such a big handicap! One day I will be like him! » she stated with conviction and determination as her mother smiled at this.

 Celia had begun her apprenticeship in medicine with Orion as promised. However, just like her brother, she wanted to learn how to defend herself and after insisting, her parents accepted and asked Vayline to introduce her to archery, a task she accepted with confidence. greatest joy.

 Marius: I swear to you my brother, you are a fucking monster! (he held out his hand to Orion to help him up)

 « Then you should consider yourself lucky to have beaten this monster for four days in a row! » he said, picking up his friend.

 Marius: Oh but count on me to remind you from time to time. Tomorrow I plan to resume my revenge.

 Orion: I'm afraid I'll have to postpone it for my next visit here, I've been here five days and I have to go back to the ludus, Spartacus must be impatient to see his wife again and Batiatus to shout at me for being away for so long.

 Marius: Stay at least for tonight! Let us eat and drink the blood of Venus, Apollos and his brothers intend to redeem the prostitutes who had attached themselves to them. They often go to see them in town.

 Orion: Hm, it's a blessing that you live outside of Capua, it saves us a lot of hassle. If they want to make these women their mates let them do so but they know the rule, anyone related to us must be trustworthy and trained to fight when needed. I intend to remind Apollos of this when he takes us home tomorrow.

 Marius nodded and Orion went to his house to clean himself while Salma and Sura did the same. Orion had made an agreement with Batiatus thanks to the many favors that the latter owed him.

 [15 days ago]

 Orion was finishing a massage session and his patient this time was Aemilia, Ilithya's friend and wife of Sextus who had come in the greatest secrecy especially for this as soon as she heard about the new service provided by the Batiatus house, house which now had its place in the mouths of the nobles in Rome.

 Aemilia expected Orion to give in to her advances and sleep with her, after all, she was a beautiful, rich and influential woman. She was the wife of the rich and noble Sextus, she had his attention and Batiatus did everything possible to ensure that she was satisfied.

 Only, although she had pleasure, a lot of pleasure in the hands of Orion, he was really insensitive towards her.

He massaged her and manipulated her erogenous zones for Aemilia's great pleasure but for him, it was an ordeal.

 Even though Orion didn't like noble women, they were still beautiful women and even he had his desires, desires that he struggled to silence and remain unmoved.

 Knowing that she apparently had absolutely no effect on Orion, Aemilia was seriously frustrated and angry. Like all of Orion's clients, she even thought he was gay until Batiatus and his wife told her that he had a personal servant that he slept with every day.

 Just after her massage, Aemilia had confirmation of this fact by standing on the balcony of the villa where she saw downstairs right in front of the champions' box Orion smiling and chatting with a pretty brunette woman until he kiss and go to their room.

 The minutes that followed were accompanied by Salma's moans, moans that disturbed the gladiators during their training and put Aemilia in a rage.

 She couldn't understand what more he could find in a simple servant than a refined woman like her does not have. She left upset despite all the fun she had that day.

 Later, Orion came to Batiatus and submitted to him one of his requests, Sura will now come to live in the ludus under his protection to take care of Spartacus.

 Batiatus wanted to flatly refuse when he saw the dark look Orion gave him. Remembering that he now owed his new champion multiple favors, Batiatus accepted but in the form of a bet.

 Spartacus was going to fight against Barca, a Hoplomachus and the best spear wielder of the ludus.

 If Spartacus wins then his wife can come and live here under the protection and care of Orion. However if he loses, then Orion will have to stop frustrating his clients and sleep with them.

 These women paid quite a lot to see him and have a massage from him. Of course, Orion wasn't crazy and got half the payment but even this small matter had managed to put a lot of money in Batiatus' pockets.

 If Orion agreed to sleep with these women then he will increase the price. He was even wondering if he should open a brothel with Orion as its flagship instead of continuing as a lanista.

 The fight was organized and Orion explained what was at stake to Spartacus who was now in a hurry to get it over with, he couldn't wait to hold his wife in his arms.

 Orion had confidence in Spartacus' combat prowess, he had trained him personally, and could say that he and Varro were already much stronger than the other ludus gladiators.

 Spartacus came out of his dressing room, a dressing room rented by Orion near his and it was the same for Varro because these guys slept during the day and trained all night.

 The Thracian's physique had been carefully worked on under Orion's direction. His muscles were much leaner and more supple, his body was as refined as his fighting skills.

 [Imagine Spartacus from season 1 but with much more defined muscles but with the talent he has in the final season "War of the Damned"].

 This growth was simply normal because Spartacus already had great combat potential but lacked the discipline to channel his talent.

 In addition Orion taught him to fight with his own style [double swords] against different weapons.

 For weeks, every night, for hours he fought in the company of Varro Orion who is much stronger and faster than the two of them combined.

 This accumulation of experience brought out his hidden potential in him and developed a formidable combat instinct.

 Today, the only gladiators in this ludus who could face him were Varro and Crixus. Orion didn't count, there's a difference between confronting someone and humiliating them.

 Spartacus and Barca faced each other in the training yard. Spartacus held two wooden swords and Barca had a long staff carved at the end, a training spear with a wooden shield.

 Batiatus had disguised this fight as a special training match in order to see their progress.

 He looked at his two gladiators ready to fight and gave the starting signal. Spartacus looked at Orion on the balcony next to Batiatus and he nodded at him.

 Barca started the attack with a direct attack, the attack seemed fast and it was but yet, in the eyes of Spartacus who is used to fighting for hours Orion who is much faster and more technical as well with a sword than a spear, Barca's attacks were predictable and slower.

 From Barca's first attack, the fight was over, Spartacus remembered the advice Orion gave him when facing a Hoplomachus, "The first attack of a spearman is almost always a direct and frontal attack." he quickly dodged to the side while closing in on Barca.

 With both swords, Spartacus deflected the blow downward and with his foot, he broke the staff. The shock that all the gladiators had was not small, Barca was after Crixus the strongest gladiator in the ludus with both sword and spear for them.

 He was not a weak opponent but yet Spartacus easily and quickly gained the upper hand with the first attack.

 He then sent a spinning blow to Barca who blocked the attack with his shield but it wasn't over as Spartacus with his second glaive hit the back of Barca's left leg, it was his right leg. The support and the blow was so strong that the hoplomach found itself with its back to the sand.

 Without wasting time, Spartacus attacked again but Barca rolled backwards to dodge the blow. However, as soon as he tried to get up, Spartacus delivered a frontal kick to his chest, he managed to place his shield at the right time except that Spartacus' physical strength was no longer the same.

 Barca was once again sent to the ground on his back he tried to move and get up only to find that his arm which held his shield had been trapped under Spartacus' foot.

 With the tip of Spartacus' wooden sword inches from his eye, Barca stared at Spartacus for nearly ten seconds with fierce, annoyed eyes before raising his index and middle fingers in surrender while looking at Spartacus in the eyes.

 "Barca lost to someone other than Crixus!!" 

 « Spartacus defeated Barca ! It's unbelievable ! »

 "Barca!" Pietros who watched his lover get completely dominated during this short match panicked for him.

 Crixus who had recovered from his wounds looked at Spartacus with a dark look, he knew he was no longer the same Spartacus he could make fun of and was now an opponent capable of beating him.

 He realized something and looked at Varro who was looking at Spartacus with a confident smile and his Instinct warned him against him as well.

 Everyone including Oenomaus knew that it was Orion who was now training Spartacus and Varro but in just a few months they had become very strong and even their attitudes were different. They were much calmer, disciplined and thoughtful.

 "Spartacus has won, you will honor our agreement and his wife will come take care of him here!" Orion said calmly looking Batiatus in the eyes.

 Batiatus: Absolutely, I am a man of my word! You made Spartacus a most formidable gladiator capable of crushing the beast of Carthage in seconds, and Varro certainly has a similar level. If you could also train the others maybe…(interrupted)

 " Dream ! I'm not interested in the rest of your gladiators, but since we're here, I have a second request to submit to you!" Orion said with a sly smile.

 Batiatus: Don't you dare cross the limits gladiator! You…(interrupted again)

 "…owes me many favors for the gold in your pockets Batiatus! All these women who come here, I don't have to meet them because my part of the deal is normally to shine in the arena! You owe me more than agreed!" Orion said without emotion at the end.

 Batiatus: And what do you want?!

 " It's simple ! You will settle Varro's debts and free him! " he returned to an innocent smile.

 Batiatus: You're going too far! THIS IS MY GLADIATOR AND… (interrupted)

 « You're going to free him ! If he wishes to stay and fight for the ludus of his own free will that is fine but if he decides to leave then under no circumstances will he be retained. He could, like me, become a free gladiator. »

 Batiatus gritted his teeth, Orion was forcing his hand but he owed him many favors. Plus Orion was literally his goose that lays the golden eggs, as long as he fights well and gets the attention of the privileged then he won't have any trouble making a few sacrifices.

 Since that day, Sura and Salma are full-time at ludus with him, they also train at night with him, Spartacus and Varro. They only go out to go shopping or to visit Marius with Orion.

 Marius now had as his assistant Zena and Aurelia, Varro her husband had become a free gladiator .

 Varro chose to stay at the ludus for Spartacus because they were like brothers and they both bore the mark of gladiators.

 Aurelia, although she did not completely agree with the choice of her husband, understood his choice and was relieved that he was finally free for her and their son Janus whom he could come see during his free time.

 They did a good job selling their wine and the main consumers were in brothels or taverns but it was only a small quantity to dilute in normal wine.

It was also this part of the sale that brought in the most money because the customer base was larger.

 Accompanied by Apollos and Demiclas, Aurelia mainly sold the jugs filled with pure Venus blood at auction with a base price of 20 denarius and the sum could go up to 50 denarius for a single jug.

 Business was good and thanks to traveling buyers, Venus' blood was also a hit in Rome itself, attracting the attention of some big shots towards Capua.

 [Back to present]

 After five days of absence, Orion returned to the ludus when he arrived, one of the guards, precisely the one whose arm he had broken, told him that Batiatus was asking to see him urgently.

 Orion let the girls go to the dressing rooms and he went to see Batiatus.

 « FIVE DAYS ! YOU'VE DISAPPEARED FOR FIVE FUCKING DAYS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOUR ABSENCE ALMOST DID TO THIS LUDUS?! » Batiatus yelled at a nonchalant Orion.

 Orion: I feel flattered by this importance that is given to me here but I prefer to repeat it to you Batiatus, I am not one of your slaves so watch the tone you use with me.

 Batiatus: And don't forget YOUR FUCKING OBLIGATION TO FULFILL ON THE GLADIATOR MARKET!!

 «Very good Batiatus! Do you want an apology?! I apologize for being gone for so long blah blah blah...now if you could stop yelling and start explaining what I missed or need to do it will save you a waste of time and me a headache. » Orion said as he took a fig from the fruit platter to start nibbling on it.

 Orion : By the way, you look like you have a stomach injury. Who tried to kill you?! 

 Batiatus: Just some dogs who tried to kill me Batiatus in the streets of Capua!! (sigh) The fact that you are a free man brings me so much regret, you would make a good bodyguard!

 Orion: I don't care, start talking!

 Batiatus: In exactly two days the games of the magistrate Titus Calavius ​​will be organized so that the gods will keep this drought away from Capua. The games will pit our ludus against that of this ass-sucker Solonius.

 Orion: I don't see what's so special! Is that why you did this whole scene?!

 Batiatus: That's not all! The magistrate wants to see you fight accompanied by another gladiator against a living legend. I wanted to select Crixus to fight alongside you but he is barely recovering from his injuries, Spartacus will be your partner, his performance against Barca was more than convincing.

 Orion: Wait, you want me and Spartacus to be able to face one man ?! Who is he ?! Jupiter himself ?! It's quite amusing but at the same time annoying what you're offering me.

 Batiatus: You are going to face Theokoles !! This vermin, this species of cock sucker Solonius has hired the services of THEOKOLES, The shadow that precedes death!! A legendary gladiator that no one has been able to defeat!!

 Orion: Never heard of this guy! Anyway I'm going to fight him with Spartacus, as long as I'm left alone I don't care who I kill or how.

 Batiatus: That wasn't all, there will be someone else in Capua, one of the most influential people or should I say THE most influential person in the entire Republic will certainly be present at these games.

 Orion: Who?!

 Batiatus: Marcus Crassus, the richest man in the entire Republic, his wealth is such that even…(interrupted)

 Orion: Never heard of him!

 Batiatus:…

 He quietly went to sit down and looked at Orion trembling, he just wanted to pounce on him and strangle him but preferred to stay calm.

 "Crassus is passing through Capua to meet the man who makes this absolutely divine wine, the blood of Venus. Being the businessman that he is, Crassus wants to negotiate to buy the recipe for this beverage or the manufacturer himself. He arrives here tomorrow and he will be here tomorrow. We have to make a good impression on him during these games. » Batiatus said massaging his temple almost pleadingly.

 Orion meanwhile had a calculating smile on his face that intrigued Batiatus.

 « Stop stressing associate, if you want a show to impress who knows who, you'll get it! Just leave the rest to me to honor House BATIATUS! »