Liner Notes for An Exit From The Arena

 

Liner Notes for An Exit To The Arena

Welcome to the back half of The Oath Of The Gladiator. Now it’s time to start moving people about so they’re in an interesting place when they reappear in the ending. First let’s split up Agonistes quartet of female fighters. Eyes Of The Angel has been unfortunately named it turns out. The Angel Cult doesn’t have much of a sense of humour.

Fortunately for her Lady Amazingha does have a sense of humour, or at least a sense of self that accepts the absurd. When I don’t put something else in Mora is based on Rome (or Roma) in the late republic. A patriarchal society, it nevertheless regarded women as legal persons in their own right. That meant unless specifically banned (and, a patriarchal society, a lot of things were banned for women) women were permitted to take part in society, business, and so forth.

Cribbing a bit from Augustus’s laws, Lady Amazingha as a widow with three children is entitled to keep her dowry and any inheritance she has, not losing any of it if she doesn’t remarry. Also to bring up her children as guardian, holding their inheritance from her late husband in trust for them. This is a minor but significant part of the Lord Amazonus’s family wealth and influence, and so a piece of the political faction he is a head of. As such, they decide to kill her to get back control. Two birds one stone; they even gave her a gladiator as a bodyguard, what more could they have done etc?

I’m not sure how clear I’ve been about this before, but this story makes it obvious. The empire extends through portals to – where? Other places, other lands. Other worlds? The pasture lands, conquered, pacified, colonised. Poor quality land for crops, but good for running cattle or horses. Sheep and goats as well, though Eyes doesn’t see that, they mostly feed the locals, exporting wools, hides, cheese and so forth.

Further out on the plains are stranger creatures, the Pleistocene megafauna that we’ve seen previously. Also border clans, hunters, nomads, escaped slaves and so forth. Pacified? Perhaps for now, while the empire remains strong. But if the garrison is marched through the portal to engage in a civil war who knows what might happen.

Eyes has been on the rise fighting opponents who are, at worst, competent at the job. Here she meets hired killers who are just common bandits. “Was this their first robbery? First assassination? Did no one explain to them what the word gladiator meant?” Still, there are several of them and they have willingness to kill which counts for a lot.

They’re certainly no match for soldiers from the regiments. Still, as Agonistes points out, it’s unlikely they’ll have to fight them.

Eyes ends up down but not out, and Lady Amazingha free to make her own plans. She’s a woman in an empire ruled by men, but that doesn’t mean she’s without resource. Valuable enough to kill makes her dangerous when left alive.