Giants in the Arena
Most honored matriarch,
I write again after quite a harrowing day here in the city state of Sparta. As you know we waited with bated breath for the contest of Ouroboros. He did not disappoint. His opponent was a massive Spartan in gladiator panoply with a bestial motif. I think Ouroboros toyed with the man for a while early on, feinting attacks that just missed with his spear, only to eventually hurl that spear by his opponent to land in the sands of the hippodrome. Around and around, they fought, at one point the cast aside spear rolled as if possessed, slowly toward the Spartan champion. One of the king’s men rushed onto the field and plucked the writhing thing from the sand and whisked it away. Eventually Ouroboros tired of sporting with the Spartan moving in for the end game. With mighty blows of fist, knee, elbow, and foot he lashed out at the Spartan driving him to the sands as he masterfully captured and held onto the prized spear arm, preventing him from escaping.
The crowd went wild, chanting both for Ouroboros and eventually a resounding call for life indicating the people’s will that the gladiator live. The younger king stepped forward on the reviewing stand, looked down to Ouroboros. The young king did something unexpected and gave a thumbs down, indicating that Ouroboros should execute the gladiator. My noble companion stood there silently for several moments before he moved to his conquered foe, lifting him to his shoulder. He flipped the man’s shield with his massive foot and laid him gently upon it. Ouroboros shared words briefly with the king, but with the noise of the crowd I fear I don’t know what was said. What ever it was however, it clearly didn’t please the king. Several of his guards moved onto the sand surrounding Ouroboros, and eventually the king came to the sand himself. Again, words were spoken, but it was far to quiet a conversation to make out well. Just as I was moving amongst the spectators to be more proximate to the field, a cloaked figure dropped from the stands. The Amazon Niobe shrugged off her concealing cloak and called the young king to task. Shimmering behind her was the figure of the god of war Ares, while the hulking form of the hero Hercules shimmered behind the young king. Both aspects blessed their champions and the king and Niobe fought.
It was an electric contest, Niobe was fierce, graceful, and cat quick. The king was slower, but each blow was that of an ox, mighty and without remorse. They fought for some time, going round and round for some minutes. I wasn’t clear who had the upper hand, but none of us would find out. It wasn’t many minutes into this contest when a voice from outside the Hippodrome sounded. It reverberated such that the very stones underfoot shook. Looking west from Sparta seeming to rise from the very mountain depths to the sky was a Titan Uranus. He called with a snarling howl for the capitulation of Sparta. He promised power with the fall of the gods. The Spartans within the hippodrome took up the chant that both the king’s started. The chant of ‘Hoo-ah’ and the pounding of spear butts against the ground or beating against shield rang out and spread over the whole of Sparta. In minutes the din of Spartans rivaled the voice of Uranus and spoke as clearly of their unwillingness to take a knee. Uranus dragged a godly knife along his arm and flung blood across the land. Where that blood fell, gigantic creatures of stone like flesh rose. These giants must have been twenty-five or thirty feet in height. The kings and most of the Spartans dashed out to meet the foes as the helots fled. My companions and Niobe were all that remained as three such drops of blood landed on the sands of the hippodrome.
What followed was a most harrowing confrontation. I sped down to the sand to stand back-to-back with Niobe, hoping that we could cat and mouse one of the behemoths. Ouroboros emerged from the annex with the most finely crafted gauntlets I’ve ever seen. He seemed to swell in potency as he finished setting his hands in place. I no not what became of the ladies Alexandra and Thalia in those most immediate moments, nor our newest companion Silenos. Nicolos made his way to the edge of the stands and looked like he was going to vault to the sands any moment. With howls of rage the giants started in earnest. A massive fist easily the size of a giant’s torso apparated from thin air and landed a crippling blow to one of the giants. Arcane energies played along the edges of the construct, making me think it was likely the work of lady Alexandra. Lady Thalia lept into the very air, spreading the most amazing, feathered wings I’ve ever seen. They radiated like the dawn itself. She sped to near Ouroboros, and I lost sight of her there. Surely as I’d expected with a mighty leap Nicolos landed on the sands and called forth a mass of flying cyclopes, each wielding miniature forge hammers which danced about the recently punched giant. With silent communication Niobe and I both broke toward the giant engaged with Ouroboros, trying to gain some parity on the field as quickly as possible. Each giant struck like falling doom, leaving terrible wounds on my companions when they met flesh. The combined might of Thalia, Ourorboros, Niobe and myself nearly laid one of the monster’s low. Arrows sped from king’s viewing stand as Silenos struck the third giant stinging wounds.
Lady Thalia cast the same spell of stealth she used on the ship when we met with the sharkmen. This time it encompassed both her and myself. Silenos’s companion dove out of the sky attempting to rend the fist engaged giant, while arrows flew against the other as before. The giant absently swatted backward narrowly missing the bird but not before I seized on that opportunity to strike at the same spot, making it seem as if the bird were more formidable than it would appear. After turning to look up at the bird, the giant reached out and snatched up Nicolos and threw him like a child’s toy to his companion the giant Silenos was pecking at with arrows. It seems the cloud of cyclopes followed with Nicolos much to the chagrin of the beast in question. No sooner did the throwing giant, return his attentions to the giant fist before him, that same fist landed a telling blow to the giant’s nose, mashing it flat and caused the giant’s eyes to roll up into his head and it collapsed like a felled tree in the forest.
Not moments later a second giant joined the sands as Ouroboros slew his, and I saw him take several running strides and cast what looked like a javelin at the giant now holding Nicolos. That javelin flew for a moment before it twisted and elongated into a stroke of lightning thick as a man’s thigh, striking the giant soundly. As we all whirled on the remaining giant, from the stands a small red bead flew and blossomed into a blazing sphere as hot as a forge badly burning the remaining giant. As it was taking a moment to orient itself after the blast, the cohort of forge spirits went mad striking the giant in so many places at once. They were truly a sight. The giant sank first to his knees, then reached out a hand and then collapsed to the sand, finished. In the quiet moments after, we could hear the Spartans were in battles all over against the other giants. The couple of battles we could barely make out, seemed to be going against the giants. They hadn’t understood the practiced might of the Spartan military. While each giant could deal impressive blows, the Spartan formations would flow around the giant’s reach and strike hard against them. Soon the giants failed against the Spartans, but not without cost.
Knowing we would not have long, I turned to see how Niobe was faring to see Lady Thalia tending her wounds as they conversed. I suggested that time grew short, Niobe too understood the need to go. She felt obligated yet, so I suggested she could join us on our ship. She redonned her cloak and left the hippodrome before the return of the Spartans. Lucky too, as about a quarter of an hour later the Spartan king did return. My companions had made poses over the fallen giants anticipating the return of the kings. The elder king spoke to Ouroboros and the gathered Spartans. He noted Ouroboros’s valor and strength. He notes his prowess in combat, but he could not make Ouroboros a Spartan citizen over the willingness to defy the younger king over the gladiator. He instead set Ouroboros free and said he clearly had more to do in the wider world. He would be welcomed back to Sparta. With that the Spartans again let out that rousing call and clashed their spears and shield, mixed with Ouroboros’s name. It was truly a day for the poet’s mother mine. I love and miss you.
Your adoring son,
Gyasi