The steady clunk of wood striking wood, and occasionally flesh,  could be heard throughout the training square Korbis was already sparring against one of the other gladiators. He didn't know the man's name and truth be told he didn't care to. The man was slow, inaccurate, and a complete fool. The fact that he was muscle bound to the point that his body seemed to be a single slab of meat didn't do anything to hide his lack of skill. It would only mean that he would be all the more disappointing to any who bet on him when he entered the arena....if he even made it that far.<br/><br/><br/>Korbis continued to block the man's ineffective strikes as he let his mind wander and review his day so far. He'd woken up as he always did. His eyelids slowly parting and the feeling entering his body. From there he'd rolled out of bed without a scrap of clothing on his body. Some time back lanista had seen fit that he, as house champion, be given a slightly more comfortable bed than his fellows. Something that Korbis was great full for every time he woke or went to sleep. From his bed he had immediately suck to his knees before his modest shrine. He spent several minutes in prayer to his gods. They were not the gods of the Romans; nor did he wish them to be. For while their demands were greater so were the eventual rewards that awaited their followers.<br/><br/><br/>After his prayers he had stood up and dressed himself in his robes taking care to insure that the house's colors were unsoiled. He was quite proud of the trim that he was allowed to carry on his clothing. Another symbol of the honor and prestige he'd won for the family Caelius over his years of service. And my how those years had seemed to stretch on. Eleven of them had seen him within these walls, he still remembered the first day he'd arrived. Little more than a pup not even having sharpened his baby teeth. Even after his previous work he would never have believed that he could rise so high... But such were the gifts of the gods when one made the proper offerings to them.<br/><br/><br/>Once dressed he had awaited the call to training and made his way out to train once it had sounded. It hadn't taken him long to best the first few sparring partners he was pitted against. Fools that they were, and now here he was, fighting against another such fool. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the image of several members of the Lanista's family standing at the balcony.<em>I'll give them a show!</em>He thought to himself, bringing his focus back on the fight that he was still taking part in. In his right hand he held a wooden Falcata and in his left he held a blunted spear. He'd chosen the spear over his wooden Flaxian sword for his first few rounds of sparring. The ability to simply thrust it forward into an opening in his opponent's defense meant that against fools like the one before him he could essentially end the fight when he became bored with a single quick strike.<br/><br/><br/>A cruel smile spread across his face very similar to the one he often wore when fighting in the arena. Many times this smile had been the last expression his opponent would ever see before he was at the feat of his gods. His sparring partner wielded a gladius and shield, Korbis quickly took a step back as the other man came at him with an overhead vertical strike. With his feet now properly braced he was able to smoothly block the blow with his Falcata. But rather than striking at the man's sword he struck out a bit lower driving what would have been the unsharpened side of his Falcata into the man's wrist. As he expected the man lost his grip on his weapon which went sailing forward past Korbis's head and onto the ground. Before his opponent could even react Korbis was pressing his advantage. Striking several times with his Falcata each blow landing against the man's shield as he forced him to give ground under the rain of blows. He didn't intend for any of them to actually strike the man himself. He just wanted to force the man into hiding behind his shield. After several more strikes had followed Korbis decide it was time to end things. Taking a large step forward and to the left he brought his Falcata against the edge of his sparring partner's shield in a cross body swing from left to right. The man was holding his shield in his right hand and so the blow swung him just off his balance. Before he could regain his footing Korbis had sidestepped his large shield and drove his 'spear' forward the blunt tip striking the side of the man's neck. Had it been a real fight he would find himself unable to stop from bleeding to death. As it was he simply found himself defeated. "You're done" Korbis said to him "now go find me someone else to beat."<br/><br/><br/>"mrrow" whispered Korbis's cat as it lay in the shade watching it's master move about in the sun.<br/><br/>