The Awakening 8th of Dasad, 1329

Voonik’s eyes open slowly… His head hurts and his stomach is quite empty and complaining that he has been days without any food or water. Voonik turns over in his cushioned bunk bed and sees another figure, with it’s back to Voonik, lying on a bunk located on the opposite side of this, um, cell? Voonik quickly realizes that his ankles are chained to the bed posts, yet his arms and torso are both free, allowing Voonik to turn around and even sit up. Voonik calls over to the sleeping figure, and after a few minutes and a few attempts, the figure begins to mumble and wake. Rah awakes, also with his head pounding and his stomach screaming for food and water. The two exchange glances, words and confusion for a few seconds. Rah looks around the cell and notices how clean and perfect the cell is. The walls are made of pure marble, the tunics he and Voonik wear are clean and pressed. It seems to Rah that if he is a captive to who ever is the owner of this place, at least he was a well taken care of captive. Rah attempts to break his chains, but to no avail.

A man by the name of Torge introduces himself to the duo from behind the cell bars. Torge enters the cell with two armed guards, and immediately asks Voonik and Rah if they would like a meal and drink. Voonik and Rah quickly agree, and Torge sends one of the guards to fetch a meal for both of the famished warriors. Torge then escorts both of the men to an observation room.

In this observation room, a large velvet curtain masks an entire wall, stretching to what it seems to be a couple hundred feet in this conclaved room. The three sit at a large stone table. Torge explains their current situation...

You two were freed from a slave ship. This was no ordinary slave ship, but one commanded by the Dread Ove’Raj Sam the Demon Worshiper. Since the waters between Ove’Raj Sam and Ove’Raj Eiglek share a volatile boundary, battles are quite common and prisoners are taken on a weekly basis by both sides. The only difference is that prisoners taken by Ove’Raj Eiglek have a chance to become something better while Ove’Raj Sam would most likely use prisoners as food to feed his legion of devils and demons. You two have been chosen to be taught the ways of the pit here in The Borrs. As kind as Ove’Raj Eiglek is, she has no use for more citizens in her already full islands, so, you two will either be used as work horses for the mines, or you can earn your right to work for Ove’Raj Eiglek in the pits, and maybe one day earn your freedom.

Voonik and Rah hesitantly accept their no choice bargain.

Voonik and Rah are brought to their room. They notice that the room is made of pure marble and the wooden window shudders and thick door are made of a very dense, lacquered wood. Food is brought to them a few minutes later, and they completely destroy the dish of burnt Chebbl. Pure, clean water is gulped in hast. The next few hours is spent by Voonik lying on his metal bed while Rah searches the empty walls and window, finding nothing of interest. A hand maiden is brought to the room, and the elven female washes the two confused men before their scheduled bed time.

9th to the 19th of Dasad, 1329

Voonik and Rah are brought to the R’Gar, or training pit. They are out fitted at a weapons storage room. Here, they are given back the weapons which they were found after their capture. Their weapons have been sharpened and their armor cleaned and repaired.

Voonik and Rah enter their first of many battles in this particular arena. During one battle, Voonik and rah began to argue over some trivial matters, and while they were bickering, a zombie caught Rah off guard and flat footed. The zombie proceeded to claw Rah so hard that the unlucky rogue nearly died on the spot. Instead, the bloodied Rah was knocked out and Voonik dispatched the monster on his own.

Voonik displayed a type of heroism that impressed the Tiro’Raj (pit master) 3 Eyes. Zombie after Zombie were cut down like wheat. Some days were taken off to heal large wounds. Trainee pit fighters, at their low rank, were not permitted to benefit from the magic of the arena priests. Experience in battle was beginning to take shape in Voonik and Rah.

Voonik and Rah learned a valuable lesson of teamwork and battle tactics against a particularly crafty wizard. Tersoal was their first human opponent. Voonik and rah were informed that this fight was not to the death. For a few aggravating rounds, Voonik vainly was attempting to attack the wizard head on, but he couldn’t make contact with Tersoal due to some bluish unknown circular force between Tersoal and Voonik. After felling a small zombie, Rah leapt to aid the confused Voonik and ran to Tersoal’s side, and slashed at the wizard with his short sword. No blue force impeded his unsuccessful attack. Voonik quickly realized this and stepped to Tersoal’s exposed flank. Voonik cut Tersoal down with one blow to the wizard’s temple. The fight ended. As Voonik and Rah took a few breath gathering seconds to understand what just happened, a few wooden arrows whisked through the air from somewhere in the observatory and blasted through Tersoal’s chest, killing his unconscious body instantly. Voonik and Rah quickly realized that failure in the pits meant certain death whether the scheduled fight was training or real.

20th through the 26th of Dasad, 1329

Voonik and Rah were given an opportunity to take a week off of fighting to train and study their arts of war.