1 Son of Heracles
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Creon, Thebes.
Midday in Thebes was a busy time for everyone in the city. Within the deep blue sky, the sun being pulled by Apollo's chariot sat majestically, illuminating the entire earth with light and goodness.
Thebes itself could be considered a majestic empire on its own, though it was subordinated to the great lineage of Sparta. Children could be seen playing around with each other, beautiful women gathered together, making wine from fresh grapes.
In a large amphitheater with a great audience, numerous amount of men could be seen cheering and jeering while drinking to their hearts content, as they watched the series of activities within the stadium.
At the topmost seat amongst the audience, was a beautiful and majestic throne, with an otherworldly beauty calmly seated. Her luscious blonde hair fell to her back like a waterfall, her curvy body accentuated by her golden robes, and her tanned skin highlighted a fierce yet gentle and majestic presence.
Beside her was a beautiful little girl of about 9 years old dressed in a beautiful golden gown and multiple female servants, and able bodied soldiers armed with swords and shields. Her eyes gently and dotingly glanced at a young boy about 13 years old who was currently in the amphitheater, though seated, awaiting his turn for a fight.
The young boy was tall for his age, and his spiky hair, accompanied by the fierce smile adorned on his face, gave him an untamed and wild look.
He was relatively handsome, akin to a sculpture. He was half naked, wearing a pair of leather pants, his muscles were toned, streamlined and appealing and his beautiful dark eyes rested on the two figures engaged in a heated brawl within the amphitheater.
Watching the two men exchange punches, kicks and even smashing themselves to the ground, a primal urge lit up within his body, akin to a flame that ate him up from within.
Under the orders of the queen, his mother, he had to sit still and await his turn, even though the only thing he wanted right now was to just rush towards them fight to his hearts content.
A few minutes later, he watched on, as a man among the two fighters grabbed his opponent by the waist and smash him into the ground violently rendering him unconscious.
Instantly, a bunch of cheers erupted from the audience, as the winner walked around the stadium with his hands raised up high and a victorious smile on his face.
"Who is next?!!!" The man roared out and walked around with a victory pose, while the loser was dragged out by two men.
Seeing all this, the youth smiled and cracked his knuckles, before he walked in with a ferocious smile. Seeing her son walk in, Princess Megara heaved a small sigh and wondered why he wasn't like the Princes from the other kingdoms, or her brothers. It didn't make sense to her at all.
Ever since he was born, Astylos had been different from everyone, just like his father. In fact one could say he was the splitting image of him, a chip of the old block. Astylos, even in his childhood, was never interested in politics or governance of riches.
He was the 3rd sibling among four children and unlike all his other siblings, he was only interested in combat and training. Learning how to fight from a very young age and training in the most brutal ways possible, he sought glory and pride in brawling and warring.
"Mother, is big brother going to be hurt?" Beside Queen Megara, the beautiful little girl spoke with a small frown. "Don't worry Lena, your big brother is going to be fine." Queen Megara replied while rubbing her temples.
"But mother, he has lots of scars and wounds on his body. I don't like it, it's painful..." Lena spoke with a pout, as Megara carried her unto her laps and patted her hair gently.
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"Oh?" Inside the amphitheater, Astylos' opponent sized him up and sneered. "Little prince why don't you take a step back. Don't go crying to the queen after I break both of your legs.." The opponent who was a tall and well built man, with a thick waist like that of a bear. His arms and chest were huge and muscly like an ape.
"Hehehe. Let's see who gets his legs crippled.." Astylos snarled and readied himself for combat. His legs were slightly bent, with his muscles taut like a cheetah ready to pounce on its prey, and his eyes were firmly resting on his opponent.
"What an interesting little boy." On the warriors seat, a tall bald well built young man who looked to be in his late twenties, was bare chested and had a goatee interestingly examined Astylos and nodded.
"What did you think about him Kratos?" One warrior next to him leaned in and asked. "This is my first time seeing him fight. He has potential." The bald man replied.
After a few seconds of a stare down, Astylos finally moved. "Bang!" Like a cheetah, his body blasted forward, leaving, leaving behind a large crater where he stood previously.
A few meters away from his opponent, his body shot into the sky like an arrow and descended like a bullet, while he spun himself skillfully.
He next moment, he clenched his fist and threw a punch.
"Boom!" His opponent took a step back, erupted with all of the strength in his body and threw a punch to meet Astylos'.
The two punches smashed into each other, fiercely, causing a small wave to erupt.
Both fighters were thrown back a few meters. The opponent had his fist badly mangled, while Astylos only felt a slight discomfort.
"He wounded Demos?" The warriors looked on with great interest. Most of the warriors of Sparta were men of renown; hallmarked by their great strength. This was mostly due to the promiscuous nature of their Gods, as such almost every man and woman was undoubtedly from a lineage of a God.
Demos, Astylos' opponent was no exception. He was nicknamed men amongst men by the warriors of Sparta due to his unnatural strength.
Astylos smiled ferociously. Without giving his opponent a chance to relax, he blasted forward with great speed, arrived before Demos and erupted with a flying kick which hurled the big man a few meters away.
He then rushed to a disoriented Demos, maneuvered himself around the legs of the big man, took him down swiftly, and proceeded to choke him till he collapsed eventually.
"What an interesting little kid." The bald and well built man known as Kratos nodded and descended from the stands and walked towards Astylos.
"You're strong boy. What's your name?" He stopped a few meters away from Astylos and asked.
"Who's asking?" Astylos turned his head and examined the tall well built man before him. He wasn't intimidated. Instead, a flame seemed to lit up in his eyes and like a predator, he kept sizing up his prey, and readied himself for attack.
"My name is Kratos. General of the army of Sparta." The mans deeps voice resounded, as Astylos took a second to re-examine his opponent. That ferocious aura hidden deep within the eyes of the man was a caged dragon ready to be unleashed at any moment.
"My name is Astylos, 3rd Prince of Thebes, son of Heracles and Megara." Astylos spoke with a small smirk.
When Astylos mentioned his father's name, he could see the expression on Kratos' face turn unnatural for a moment.
"I know of your father. He was a mighty warrior. You take after him." Kratos mentioned and walked away, leaving Astylos with a raised eyebrow.
