Summary

In the region of Thrace, a young boy is not only separated from his mother, he is abducted by Romans and forced into slavery. But he is soon taken under the wing of an older slave resulting in the latter secretly training him to be come a warrior. The young boy grows up and becomes a gladiator, but he only embraces the occupation as a key-attempt to search for his mother.

Genre: Action/Drama

Author: Liam Barath-Lane

Status: Excerpt

Chapters: 1

Rating: n/a

Age Rating: 18+

Prologue

“Breathe, dear,” the nurse calmly yelled, “breathe.”

While gripping the nurse’s hand, the woman in labor did just that. It should go without saying that she was in severe discomfort. But thankfully, that discomfort didn’t last long.

“Ready, and — push!”

Right then and there, the woman in labor screamed. Luckily enough, she felt only a little bit of agony, just before the infant finally came out of her womb. And of course, said infant cried immediately afterwards.

Upon holding it in her hands, the nurse gazed at the infant. “It is a boy.”

“What?” the woman (now a mother) asked; she was breathing so heavily that she didn’t quite hear what the nurse had said.

“Your child that I hold in my hands — is a beautiful boy.”

A smile of joy and relief grew onto the mother’s face. She then held out her hands. “Give him to me if you would.”

Without hesitation, the nurse walks slowly over toward the mother. She then gently handed the infant to her.

Upon gently grabbing ahold of the newborn, the mother gazed at the child with the same smile on her face, shedding a tear in the process just before the infant’s crying ceased.

“Have you thought up a name, my dear,” the nurse asked, “or is it too early for that?”

“Nonsense,” the mother quietly answered. “I have thought of a name …”

“What will it be?”

“I thought up a simple name …” the mother elaborated, “Demetri.”