Ixalon was a very rich man and the school was located inside a huge palace located on the outskirts of Rome on a hill beside the sea. Although very isolated, the location and the palace were beautiful. On their first day their, Andros and Urius were treated like royalty. Ixalon spent the day with them showing them all around the palace and getting to know them. He introduced them to several of their school mates and showed them to their luxurious quarters. The boys, too young to realize what laid ahead of them, were delighted and happy. It was a vast improvement over the poverty they had known all their lives.

As the sun set over the sea, their bellys full of fine food, they were ushered off to their quarters. Exhausted, happy and content, they talked a while before falling asleep. They exchanged stories of their homes, families, etc. They seemed to like each other very much and as such, their bond of friendship began.

The next morning they were woken at sunrise and escorted by one of the trainers, Phalox, to the common eating room. Before them were long tables amply filled with every imagionable kind of food. They though they had died and gone to heavan. They shared their breakfast with the other 100 or so of their school mates. The 100 or so students varied in ages from very young, 8 or 9, to late teens. They thought what a wonderful place and looked forward to their "studies" with great anticipation.

Breakfast over, Phalox and the other trainers came into the dining hall and sounded a horn. They followed the others and soon got their first taste of what they were really involved in and it was not reading, writing and arithmitic ! They found themselves in a large, open-aired, court yard covered in sand. All around them were various exercise equipement; some strange looking apparatus they had never seen; and two marble pits. One with about 6" of sand at the bottem, the other with 6" of what looked like oil. Andros and Urius looked at each other with expressions of confusion on their faces wondering what this was all about. But they would have to wait to find out.

Phalox, a very handsome, charming man was to be their personal trainer. He was of average height; very muscular; and wore only a pair of tight leather shorts that left nothing to the imagination as to what laid just under the leather ! He took his new charges into a room filled with clothing and dressed them both as he was. They then left the palace and ventured out into the countryside. The first item on the agenda was to run. They ran and ran for miles. As tey began to tire, Phalox encouraged them to continue on saying it wasn't much further.

The day continued with running; swinmming in the sea; carrying heavy rocks up and down the sides of hills; and several, short-lived rests to eat and regain their strength. They returned to the palace a couple of hours before dusk and back into the exercise courtyard. One look at their school mates told them that they had been through a much harder day. Some were bruised; some looked totally battered; some were covered in blood, others in sand, sweat and oil. They were all led off to the common bath where they were allowed an hour to soak in hot tubs; experience the pleasure of oil massages by their trainers; and to just relax and talk with each other.

Then came dinner in the great dining hall where again there was more food than they could eat. Tired, exhausted and yet relaxed, they gorged themselves on the food. After being escorted back to their quarters by Phalox, they had much to talk about. Wondering just what kind of education they were to receive; why their mates looked so bruised, battered, dirty and exhausted. They felt fear and were very aprhensive about their future. It was then that Andros and Urius hugged each other and promised that they would always stick together and protect each other. This was the beginning of their love for each other.

They fell into their beds, exhausted, but feeling secure in knowing that they had this day developed a bond that would last a life time. They soon fell into a deep sleep dreaming of their homes and families.