Bellona Achillia

Bellona Achillia is a character in The Fatal Conflict.

Weapon:
A lance, and a Gallic shield (a large, ovular shape), with Medusa’s head as a relief on the front. Also armed with a small dirk, which she kept on her before enslaved.

Abilities:
She can BRAWL, and pardon the cliche, is not afraid of death. Gladiators and gladiatrices are trained to fight, as well as trained to die, if not more so. She was also trained in wrestling and swordplay, which were two other popular styles of combat. Heck, I'm sure if you gave her any sort of traditional, handheld weapon, I'm sure she could do some damage with it. And she can kick ass.

Description:
Lean and muscular, but not to the point where unnatural. Keeps her hair tied back to keep it out of the way. Wearing very little in way of armor; a simple tunic covers her torso, while bronze shin-pads cover her lower legs. Sandals, of course, garb her feet. In addition to a thirst for blood, Bellona had a yearning for knowledge... before she let her obsession overtake her. Being born of a good, wealthy family, her father let peruse whatever subject took her fancy; he in fact, encouraged it. It never took any sort of linear, scholarly track, though, so her general knowledge is patchy.

Biography:
Born of mid-class nobility, Bellona nurtured the fantasy of fighting in arena from an early age. As she matured, her body seemingly betrayed this fact. Unlike other girls of her class, Bellona became fairly husky for a woman… and a bit pugnacious. Her father, heavily involved in the organization of the gladiatorial games in their area (a colony of Rome in Western Asia), provided her with all the necessary tools to rear her fantasy into a full on obsession as an adolescent. Maybe a mother-figure would have reigned this in a tad, but as her father told her when she was old enough, she had passed on in childbirth.

It was expected of most noble women to be obsessed with gladiators, but Bellona took this to another level entirely. She began spending all of her free time at the pergamon ludum (gladiator school) and, of course, watching the training and fights. While her father was away serving royalty, she began secretly take lessons from a former gladiator. He taught her, among other things, to take advantage of her southpaw.

Being around men constantly, and having slightly abnormal interests for her social standings, Bellona garnered a fair amount of attention from the opposite sex. This caused rivalries to form between her and other women. And that lead to a crude, unarmed catfight between her, and a mistress of the current co-emperor, Lucius Verus, the very man her father had been doting on. In Bellona's defense, the whore started it.

Needless to say, that didn’t end well for Bellona. While she won the catfight (finding herself ontop of the other, choking her to near-death), the battered woman whined to her royal lover. As punishment, he enslaved Bellona, and forced her to train and compete as a gladiatrix (female gladiator), a position lower than slavery.

Lucius Verus wanted her dead... or within touching-distance of it. He used his political status to make sure that Bellona was matched up with the most feared and experienced gladiatrix of that time. Ahalita. She was such a fearless and belligerent fighter, that she went by “Amazonia” on the field. Training and wounds kept the two from fighting for almost three years, in which Bellona had about a dozen gladiatrix fights against other women, half ending in death.

When the day arrived, the Emperor’s wife was overseeing the event. After a long, drawn out battle in which neither seemed to have the advantage, Bellona managed to make use of being left-handed, and landed a hit along her adversary’s right side. Anahita, out of commission and her life leaking into the sand, raised a hand asking for missio (mercy). The crowd when prompted by the overseer, overwhelmingly granted it so, evidenced by the cheers that reverberated through the stadium. It had been a good match.

The overseer of a match such as this had the power to grant freedom to warriors that they felt had done a particularly grandiose job of the spectacle. The royal woman raised her hands, and announced to the stadium that from that day on, these women were to be regarded as citizens once more. The cheers broke out again, this time deafening. Bellona grinned, in spite of herself.

Those cheers quickly changed to outbursts of horror and outrage. Anahita, who had never lost a match in her life, had plunged her hasta (javelin) into Bellona’s back. In this ultimate violation of a very short list of rules, Anahita had signed her death warrant, as well as Bellona’s.

--

“My child.”

''Bellona was standing in a coliseum. No. Wait. THE Coliseum. She had only seen etchings and wood relief carvings, but it was hard to mistake it for someplace else.''

It was completely empty, except for a large-statured woman across the field, completely dressed in traditional armor, complete with helm, sword, shield and… torch?

''“You will soon be thrust into the chaos of battle once again. It is your rightful place.''

You are not bound to the Underworld yet.”

''Her voice rung clearly across the ampatheatre, echoing to a crescendo. Maybe as a result, Bellona didn’t comprehend a word of what she said. She dug her feet into the sand.''

“Who…?”

''“I am the Goddess of war, Bellona. Your people have forgotten me, in place of Mars, my younger brother.'' I birthed you. I am your namesake.”

''“So… I’m a god? G-goddess,” she stuttered out. She mentally berated herself for showing weakness, but the most hardened of warriors would quail before their mothers, let alone a god.''

''“Alas, the lineage of a god does not pass through the gentler gender.” Goddess Bellona’s veiled eyes betrayed a hint of mirth. “Regardless, you were clearly destined for something more than that of a mere mortal… not unlike your brothers.”''

''Bellona wasn’t well versed in god and goddess lore, or their family trees, so she just mentally gaped some more. On the outside, she hoped to the goddess she appeared a semblance of composed.''

''“I am needed elsewhere… your country is on the brink of war. Are you aware?” Goddess Bellona took a step forward, and was instantaneously in front of the young adult. She considered the torch in her hand briefly. “You must take this.”''

''As soon as Bellona reached out to receive the crude torch, the flame engulfed her. It hurt… but nothing she wasn’t used to.''

''She looked down at her chest, where a slight weight had formed. Around her neck on a delicate silver chain, lay the crudest piece of amber.''

And then she knew no more.