His beloved mother had named him for the profession she wished him to have. Eryx, in myth he was the King of a massive city on the isle of Sicily, the son of Poseidon. He was a beloved king, champion boxer, and due to his lineage, he was naturally a lover of all things equine due to his paternal lineage. In life, however, upon the streets of Athens, Greece, Eryx was a lowly member of Grecian society. Luckily enough for him, while he was a man of questionable backgrounds he was simultaneously a free man, fully able to make a path for himself despite his lack of extensive monetary backing. He’d used his freedoms to pursue the career of his dreams. It paid well, and offered him free lodging and as much food as he could consume; it certainly was a respectable position, if not highly sought after. Aside from that, it placed him in competition against some of the best competitors in the world.<br/><br/>Eryx was a mounted jockey, as well as an up-and-coming chariot racer in the Olympic Games. The work to gain his position was backbreaking, and the extensive need to continue proving himself even more so, but in his eyes, it was all worth the struggle even if he wasn’t the one who got to wear the laurel crown come the time of his victory. Despite the lack of prizes, however, it was far from a thankless job. His head of house was thoroughly grateful for his continued efforts in, and outside of the arena, and it had earned him a solid step up within the community. Men knew his name now, they praised his skill and bravery, and he was all the happier for it.<br/><br/>He worked underneath one of the most prestigious households in Athens at the time, that of the Constantinides. Airlea, the daughter of Pelias, was the individual who owned the teams of horses that were under Eryx’ care. With her father’s blessing and part of his purse, she’d sought out the glory that few women could proclaim they were the holders of, the glory of an Olympic championship. They’d been working together for three years come the approach of their first Olympic Games, having competed in and ultimately won dozens upon dozens of competitions with their steeds. Whether it was a team of two chariot race, a team of four, or a singular mounted race Eryx dominated the tracks with Airlea at his side. With the biggest competition of his life thus far coming up more quickly than he was entirely comfortable with Eryx couldn’t afford for his attention to be diverted from the task at hand. Working with his mounts was his top priority and nearly every other portion of his life was forfeited.<br/><br/>It wasn’t as though Eryx had much else to look forward to aside from his work. His work left him, while admired, wildly undesirable. He was frequently found to be absolutely filthy, he didn’t have any riches or power to entice people with. He had fame, and honor behind his name, but he was still considered an untouchable. It wasn’t something he minded for the most part, though at times he did thirst for human company outside of his dearest co-athlete Airlea. A simple intimate touch could go a long way in motivating a man, as could a lover’s gentle whisper, or loving kiss. But despite his lack of human connection, Eryx maintained within himself that caring for himself and his mother was more than enough to motivate him, and so he pressed on with his efforts each and every day. That particular day was no different from any other, aside from the fact that he and Airlea were on their way at that moment to purchase him something that would help immensely in his workings in the stables.<br/><br/>Purchasing a slave for the stables was something that he’d resisted even the suggestion of for quite a long time. Having come from the background he did Eryx wasn’t fond of the idea of owning another individual, it left a rather bad taste in his mouth. Airlea, however, had reasoned with him around the idea, stating that she’d pay the money for the slave and that it was clear he’d never mistreat the individual who was under his charge. In fact, he’d likely be saving him from a much worse life, given that they were going to a slave in which many slaves used for physical labor were sold. Clearly, she’d broken Eryx down eventually, as now the pair of them were headed off down the road together with her father’s blessing. Each riding one of the pleasure horses that Eryx had broken and trained early on in his career with the Constantinides family. They were a pair of finely bred mares of rather cool temperaments, perfect for a Grecian lady to mount up and ride upon should the need arise as it had on that day.<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.globetrotting.com.au%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F02%2FMangalarga-Marchador-AM-feature_Pinterest.jpg&amp;hash=e159d8e5eccca696160b06b696a53d36" href="http://www.globetrotting.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Mangalarga-Marchador-AM-feature_Pinterest.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Kyría</a>was the name of the grey that Airlea found herself upon, and<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F7b%2F53%2Fe9%2F7b53e901d736781ba0048d032c124cae.jpg&amp;hash=9e4d9edf7c0319e5d3533495c29e3a16" href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7b/53/e9/7b53e901d736781ba0048d032c124cae.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Ílios </a>was the name of the palomino that Eryx found himself sitting astride. In his hand he held the lead of a third animal, a spirited buckskin mare named<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.clasf.com.br%2F2017%2F06%2F24%2FCavalo-Mangalarga-Marchador-20170624173836.jpg&amp;hash=1d01acf8a7233b95d0418a779d72e0bd" href="https://img.clasf.com.br/2017/06/24/Cavalo-Mangalarga-Marchador-20170624173836.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Daímona</a>that would be the creature the newest member of the household staff would find himself upon on the way home from the auctions.<br/><br/>“Are you sure this is such a good idea, Airlea? I mean, what if the man we end up with is dense? Is there no possibility that he’ll not perform as well as we hope with the horses?” he queried, his tone indicative of clear stress relating to the situation.<br/><br/>“Of course there’s that possibility, dear Eryx, but sometimes we must take a chance in order to reap potential benefits in the future … We’re only transporting one team to Olympia, we need someone to care for the remainder of the stables while we’re gone. Besides that fact, bringing this man on staff now will give you time to train him up sufficiently, and he’ll also be able to help you with your work, free up more of your time to put the teams out on the track,” she pointed out pleasantly as they rode along. She spoke to Eryx as her peer, which spoke to the respect he’d earned through his career thus far.<br/><br/>“I understand that it’s just … It still feels like a mistake, I can’t shake the sensation that we’re doing something wrong here.”<br/><br/>“We aren’t, Eryx, in fact, if anything we’re doing something very right. This man is going to be delivered into the lap of luxury if we’re comparing his upcoming existence to that of what he was likely in before. I’m sure he’ll be exceedingly grateful to work in the stables and with the horses as opposed to erecting temples. We’ve discussed this. The work will be easier on him than anything he’s had to do, I’d wager, and it will benefit you and me in the long run as well. It’s a universally good situation.”<br/><br/>Eryx sighed, nodding quietly. It wasn’t as though he could argue with the woman’s statements, she was correct after all. Working in the stables was hard, sweaty work, but it wouldn’t have been anything in comparison to the dangerous task of construction in that day and age.<br/><br/>“What if we don’t find a suitable man today?” He queried as he glances back at the young woman. She laughed softly at his remark, her voice tittering like precious little bells.<br/><br/>“Oh, my dear, don’t you worry your pretty little head. We’ll find a suitable man, there’s said to be hundreds of them in this particular auction at this time of year,” she commented reassuringly as they made their way up towards one of the many city squares, within which the auction would be taking place on this boiling hot spring afternoon.<br/><br/>The unlikely pair of friends made their way through the crowd after discarding their horses to a couple of stable boys near the edge of the massive crowd in attendance at the auction. Eryx kept a hand on Airlea at all times, making sure she wasn’t whisked away in the crowd as they made their way towards the front of all the bustling bodies to get a look at the stock in question. A number of men stood up on the various podiums awaiting a sale, but one, in particular, caught Eryx’s eye. A large, heavily built slave who looked to be of Germanic descent. Airlea saw him too and she grinned, nudging Eryx playfully.<br/><br/>“Look at that one there, Eryx. You’d get a strong and able hand in the farms and I’d get something lovely to look at,” she commented playfully.