Adonis - A young man to the rescue.

As the walls of the city crumbled from the relentless by the many armies and mercenaries looking to claim some of the wreckage, you slip by in the shadows, carefully navigating through holes in the walls and piles of debris. You nervously clutch the short sword in your hands, unsure if you will even be able to use it effectively. You hoped to avoid any fighting at all; your body is frail and gaunt from the long travels you made to reach the walls of this city. Living as a laborer on a plantation let you build some strength, but you are only a few days past your nineteenth birthday and surely no match for the muscled beasts tearing this city apart. You have no armor, wearing only a ragged tunic bound at your waist by a short piece of hemp rope over your loose pants and a worn pair of scandals that have been repaired too many times.

You wish you could have some time to rest, as you have been moving almost non-stop for several weeks. You've crossed deserts, mountains and forests to reach Athenapolis, and are weak from lack of food and water, as well as insufficient sleep. The meager money you stole from your former master before abandoning the plantation only lasted a week, forcing you to fend for yourself. But you cannot stop now, not now that Athenapolis is under siege. While the chaos will make sneaking in easier, and you feel a surge of vengeful glee at the plight of the foul city, you dare not think of what the mercenaries will do if they find her before you do.

Eudora. The name sends thousands of chills through your body, yet sets you mind aflame. You have known her since you were just children, and even in her youth she was a vision of beauty. You were both bought by the same household as slaves to work for them as you reached the age of manual labor. You lived, worked and played as you grew up together. While your body stayed thin and plain, Eudora blossomed into a young woman you could only assume was a goddess in the form of a human. Even when she was broken, beaten, and covered in dirt and grime, she still radiated a deep beauty that could outshine any imperfection. When she smiled at you, you heart would melt.

The day the merchants from Athenapolis came to your small village was the worst of your life. Fat, greedy pigs in expensive silks roamed through the streets like they already owned it, sizing up what they wanted to take. When a beastly creature, the merchant Pyrrhus, came to the plantation, he immediately took a liking to Eudora. Even now, the memory of the large man licking his lips and fondling her body with his thick sausage-like fingers fills you with rage. It took three other servants to hold you down when Pyrrhus purchased Eudora for a handful of silver. That day half a year ago is the last time you saw her and the look of sorrow and desperation she gave you over her shoulder as she was taken away to join the disgusting blob's harem haunted you every night since.

And now you are here, sneaking into the city to come to her rescue. You originally wanted just to save her from Pyrrhus' harem, but it now seems you will have to rescue her from the violent, lustful mercenaries their way through the city. As vulgar and unpleasant her life with the merchant most likely was, at least she was safe, something she isn't now. You're low on time and you must get to her before someone else does.

You wonder if she will still be the same innocent girl with the beautiful smile you remember. You dare not contemplate what being the sexual of that vile man has done to her. You banish the thoughts from your head and yourself to stay in the moment. You have no idea where she might be, but you have to start somewhere. You glance out from the shadows of the wall into the broken and crumbled square that used to be a bustling center inside the city walls.