Empire of Silence

Hadrian becomes a myrmidon under the name “Had of Teukros” (273) and is assigned to a team that consists of voluntary participants and criminals. Myrmidons sign one-year contracts, and if they survive, they are then paid 6,000 hurasams (the local currency). A week after joining, Hadrian trains with his team, which includes the pit-fighting veterans Siran and Ghen, the former soldier Pallino and his lover Elara, and Switch, a former male dancer and sex worker who joined the Colosso without any fighting experience.

Siran, Ghen, and Pallino berate Switch for being a liability. Hadrian is dismayed by the lack of skill among the team and relies on his former training to give his team members advice. He tries to help Switch and to instill confidence in the group with a speech about defying the gladiators, but Ghen does not like Hadrian’s imperious attitude, so the two fight. Hadrian wins, gaining Ghen and Pallino’s respect, but Ghen mockingly calls Hadrian “His Radiance” (271), a title that is usually reserved for the emperor.

The night before the team’s first battle, Hadrian cannot sleep. When he slips out of the myrmidon dorms for a walk, he hears someone crying in the showers and finds