Chapter: 1 The Beast And Its Mark

Olympus was a sight to behold. Beautiful green fields, mountains that rose high into the sky, oceans teeming with life and deserts crawling with various life. Rain forests were on the edge of the capital city, the Citadel. The Citadel was essentially the only city on planet Olympus. It was full of Olympians engaging in everyday activities. The Citadel stretched far and wide across Olympus as a massive infrastructure that united everyone. Cherry blossom trees lines the edges of the streets and gave the Citadel a sense of peace. Crime didn't exist here, everyone was comfortable as far as living standards went. The Citadel was guarded by the strongest army that was run by Zeus himself. The Citadel hosted many events that brought everyone together. You had the amphitheater that hummed through the day with song and dance and even plays. You had the market streets that were filled with various antiques and shop goods. Of course, you had the taverns that were filled with Olympians when the sun laid to rest. Best of all, you had the Arena. Smack down in the center, next to the Tower of Council. The arena tested our warriors in glorious combat against the galaxies most vile beasts. Who other than Hercules himself to be the gladiator champion! Hercules stood nearly six feet five inches tall, brown haired and blue eyed. His strong jaw line caught the attention of many women. He was broad shouldered and very muscular.

The arena stood nearly a hundred feet high with an oval shape, giving its attendees the best view possible. Rows upon rows of seating, split by vertical steps, giving each part of the arena a section to sit in. The arena was a white marble with black rock lining each and every corner and crevice. The inside of the arena flooring was a sort of stone slab with thousands of pounds of sand laid evenly on top. Multiple pillars were placed inside the arena to give the arena grounds some sense of environment and giving the warriors a chance to out wit their opponent. Chained hung from the inside wall of the arena, nailed into the walls. Past beasts were chained up here before the cages inside the arena walls were built and reinforced to ensure safety of the viewers.

Today was the day, a new creature had been brought in. But this time, its origin wasn't from some foreign planet. This beast was found slaughtering an entire ecosystem on the other side of the planet, its origin was deemed not of this planet. I was in the gladiator side cage of the arena. I donned my thick leather and metal plating and looked for a suitable weapon. I like to mix it up a big, sometimes, I will use the javelin or spear, the axe was definitely one of my favorites. But nothing beat have a simple sword. Although gladiators were not permitted to use their own weapons in the arena, the weapons provided weren't that bad. A little dull for my liking, but that's why I usually got here a few hours early to hone them. I was in the middle of sharpening my dagger that I kept on my thigh when I felt the dust from the ceiling fall down and coat my armor. The crowd was cheering and stomping their feet in excitement at the upcoming display of battle. Of course, real battle wasn't this simple, but I would never take away the beauty of the arena from its people.

"Boy, I hope you're ready for this thing, it's got quite the bite I've heard" Fjorn said with a slight grin.

Fjorn was a long time friend of the family. We often did many adventures together and even captured a few beasts to bring back for gladiatorial combat. Fjorn was a short stocky dwarf, long beard, big mustache and a wide nose. He was bald on top which I found hilarious, seeing as he was so hairy even his knuckles had some. One of a kind I always said, considering he was the only one of his kind on the entire planet of Olympus. Rumors had it that when Zeus traveled the galaxy, he had found a desolate plain that held virtually no life. Then there was Fjorn. I could feel that Fjorn still held out hope that one day he would reach upon the stars once again and be reunited with his people, but for now, Olympians were his people and we welcomed him. Fjorn had one big contribution to our society believe it or not. He was a mechanical genius. He built the one star ship we had, although we hardly used it. Zeus told Fjorn he could tinker with anything he wanted, but did not desire a technological advancement for his people. "We are prosperous and happy. We have no negative dealings with our people, let us not create any." Zeus would always say.

"Don't they all have a bite Fjorn?" I said without making eye contact but still grinning back.

"Except that one freaky shapeshifter thing." Fjorn said with a bit of disgust.

"Yeah, that thing freaked me out to be honest, was a great pleasure giving it peace in the arena." I said.

"Well, don't let me keep them waiting for their champion, get out there and give it hell!" Fjorn said adding a bit too much enthusiasm.

I walked to the gate that led into the arena grounds. I whispered my old mantra. "Gods, I praise the and beg for strength yet again. Allow me to give this beast its final resting place and carry on the mantel of gladiator champion." I drew my sword high and I heard the crowd fall silent. I banged the hilt of my sword against the gates metal bars and it rose slowly. The crowd once again erupted in cheers and stomps of praise for my arrival. I raised my hands up high, embracing every bit of the honor. I walked to the center of the arena and looked up to the main seating where the arena commissioner sat in his bright red garb, signifying he was the judge of the match. The arena commissioner was the one who dictated the match had ended, whether the beast was defeated. Most of the time it was unnecessary considering anyone and everyone could tell that death had surmised the beasts. Fjorn had designed this microphone that hung around the commissioners ear so that the whole crowd would silence as he spoke. He began to speak.

"The rules are simple, there will be one victor today. If the beast survives, it will gain its freedom on a desolate planet. If the gladiators opponent is not of beast origin, the opponent will be banished from the Citadel and will live their life in the wild. The crowd will not and may not interfere with any battle, even in favor of the gladiator. The gladiator has been givin a selection of weapons and will now display what they have chosen to the crowd." The commissioners mic had cut off. I raised my sword high in the air to display to the crowd as more cheers filled the air, it was almost like clockwork that they had stopped cheering the instant the mic had clicked back on.

"The gladiator has the option to bow out at any moment, giving the duel a stalemate. The opponents are not given such honor and they will have to battle another day. If the gladiator now chooses to continue on and fight, remain standing in the center of the arena for thirty seconds and the opponents gate will rise and the fight will begin." The commissioner finished.

The crowd cheered and roared once again. Shouts of "Hercules! Hercules! Hercules!" Filled the arena. Seeing as I have done this cadence many times before, I shut out the sounds and focused on my upcoming battle. I took a deep breath and counted down the seconds for my opponents release. 5...4...3...2...1.. The gate rose slowly, I could hear the creaking of the chains inside the walls that hoisted the gates open.

The beast came out of its gate, standing nearly fifteen feet high. Its feet had five clawed toes. Its skin was a greenish color with scales. It was very muscular, and broad shouldered. Its head had no hair and it wore no clothing. But you could clearly see there was no reproductive organs on this beast. It stumbled a few more feet and let out a deafening screech that turned the crowd silent. I have never faced a beast with such stature. It had a wide mouth with rows of what I presumed were very sharp teeth.

The beast eyed the arena a few times before locking eyes with me in the center of the arena. It barreled towards me, knocked over the two, twenty foot tall pillars beside it, causing a few others to tumble over due to sheer force. It was sprinting on all fours, teeth chomping at the bit to get to me. I readied my sword. There was no way I could match the sheer strength this beast held. I had to be strategic here. As it drew near, it seemed to want to run into me. Which I am sure it had done many times to the large animals that Olympus had. I dove to the side, slicing at this leg and only catching a tiny bit of its scaly flesh. In return it let out a low growl and swiped at me. I dodged the first few swipes but then was caught with a backhand that sent me flying into a pillar, causing it to crack and tumble backwards almost taking my footing with it. I laid there for a split second in pain. I heard the beast come running towards me again, I quickly jumped to my feet but it was too late. Another swipe caught me, cut straight through my armor and I felt a claw cut into my ribs. I could feel blood pooling slowly in my left side shirt. I was getting angry and needed to focus. This thing was fast, but it fought rather sluggishly. I need to take advantage of my own speed with the sword. The cut I had made on its left leg was gone now. It must have some kind of healing factor.

I ran to the nearest pillar and stood beside it. I now saw the beast had some kind of tail coming out its back, but on further investigation, it turned out to look more like some tentacle, and there were three of them. Right in the center of the tentacle, there was some kind of branded image on the beast. A skeletal horse rising up on its hind legs. The beast came running on all fours towards me, I quickly side stepped punched the pillar with all my strength causing it to collapse on top of the beast. These pillars were heavy, but I am sure, he will have it up and off him in no time. I quickly dove for its leg and cut its left leg clean off. It thrashed around in pain, screeching even louder now. The pillar came flying off the beast and it had a look of anger in its dull face. Teeth bared, it attempted to lift the half pillar that laid next to it, but it quickly fell over due to the imbalance of its missing leg. Now its speed was gone, it was simply sluggish. It sat on the ground and I noticed where I had cut the leg, that it was repurposing itself. Tentacles grew out and meshed together, I had to do something now, before it got back to full strength. I rolled towards the beast, ducked under its swipes at me and cut its left arm off. Its hand flopped around on the ground until all the cells in it had died off. The beast reached over with its right arm to grab me and I plunged my sword into its palm and kicked its chest. It had laid down flat on the ground when I hopped on top of it, I drew my dagger from my thigh and pierced deep into its skull.

The crowd cheered and followed with a thunderous applause. The shouts continued "Hercules! Hercules! Hercules!" I pulled my sword that was in the beasts palm and held it high, black blood dribbled down the sword and onto the hilt. My face was covered in splats of blood from piercing its skull. I jumped down from the creatures chest and landed on the sand. Now that the adrenaline was fading, I could feel my wounds. My left side ached in pain. The blood had attempted to dry, but given the amount of sweat, it failed to do so. The crowd stopped cheering for a second as I sheathed my dagger. I felt the beast attempted to rise up again, I turned and ran full speed with my sword swiping. I cut its head clean off its body. The black blood spewed out and pooled over the sand. Its head was rolling about and eventually stopped against the arena wall. The crowd once again cheered in my victory.

I hid the pain from the battle and walked as casually as I could arms raised and cheering with the crowd, which caused me an overwhelming amount of pain. I had reached the gate that I entered from. Fjorn waited there and greeted me.

"Herc, I have never seen such a thing, even for you to battle."

"I don't know what that thing was, but it had one intention, kill. How the hell did we even capture that thing?" I asked in disbelief.

"Someone said Zeus himself had captured it. The military had its hands full and he supposedly claimed that he was bored in the council room." Fjorn said shrugging.

I shook my head. How will I ever be that powerful? Simply able to tame a beast of this magnitude, let alone him assuming I wouldn't struggle with it. I turned back one last time toward the beast and noticed they had flipped the body over to transport it. The brand on its back gave an orange glow and looked as though it was burning.

"Let me bandage you up boy, and I would recommend you speak to your father about this creature. Imagine if there were ten of those things." Fjorn said with a hint of worry.

"Well, if father can tame one with such ease, I am sure ten aren't a match for him." I said with such confidence and defeat at my own lack of strength.

Fjorn was right though, I need to speak to father, if this thing originated from Olympus, where the hell has it been hiding all these years?

Fjorn patched me up and told me to take it easy for a few days. I unequipped my armor, it was soaked in blood of my opponent and blood of my own. I exited the arena in a simple cloth shirt and leather pants. Boots still tight on my feet, felt heavier than ever. That beast had drained me of all my strength. I walked over to the council lobby and asked if Zeus had been upstairs in the council room. The lady who worked in the lobby said he just exited the building and had a message left for me. Her name was Marie, I had only seen her a few times, but she was very kind woman. I nodded and opened the message that father had left me.

"Son, wash up, get some rest and meet me at the top of the mountain behind the Citadel. Follow the stone steps to the top and instruct the oracles to allow you entry. They will expect you." The bottom of the letter held Zeus's stamp of a lightning bolt to give it a little authenticity. I left the tower and began my journey to my home just a few blocks. I entered my home and began to draw a bath. I undressed and found my cloth shirt had little specks of blood that had fought through Fjorns bandage. I embraced the warm bath and clutched at my side. I felt relaxed and soon found slumber.