Season Two:
The mystery of the second Auracite
The group of travelers returned to Arkadia, having decided that something must be done to free Arkshag's prisoners from the prison camp inside the mask. While everyone debated what to do, the Tehra suddenly rejected the Auracite, which returned to its former resting place. The city's great sun once again began to fail.
While the crowd gathered to watch the Tehra, Arkshag escaped from the mask, determined to capture Spartakus. While Spartakus kept Arkshag busy, Arkana and Tehrig entered the eye of the mask. They talked with one of the prisoners at the entrance of the camp, who revealed that the prisoners were ancient Arkadians who left the city, refusing to forget their past. The prisoners would never be free and the Tehra would never be restored unless the second Auracite was found. Only a strange oracle gave a clue to its location: "Traveler, if there is no path to your goal, make your own path, step by step." Meanwhile, Spartakus and Arkshag fought inside the Archives, resulting in Arkshag falling to his death... or so it seemed. Once Arkana and Tehrig returned, the Arkadians re-examined the Auracite. When Spartakus approached the metallic slab with his wristguard, a strange set of markings appeared on the Auracite:
Having found more questions than answers, the group of adventurers left Arkadia once again to search the strata for traces of the ancient Arkadians, hoping to discover the location of the mysterious second Auracite. ("Prophecy of the Auracite")
During their new journeys, the group revisited a number of the worlds from their previous travels. They also explored many new worlds of the strata, searching for clues left behind by the ancient Arkadians. The Pirates, as always, remained in pursuit of Tehrig and Arkana.
They met people who knew of the oracle, and of Spartakus' wristguard, which marked him as a descendant of the original Arkadians. (Various episodes)
A journey through the deserts of Barkar revived some painful memories of his youth for Spartakus. As an adolescent, his family was traveling across the desert in a caravan when they were attacked by a group led by the Lanista of Barkar, looking for worthy candidates to serve him as gladiators. Spartakus believed himself to be the only survivor of the attack, and was forced into slavery. As he grew older, he became one of Barkar's greatest gladiators. He was shocked when the Lanista introduced him to the future Lanista--Rainbow, Spartakus' own brother, who was only a small child at the time of the attack, and had been raised by the Lanista as his own son. As part of Rainbow's training to become Lanista, the young man was allowed to institute a cruel new rule where the gladiators would be forced to fight with the lives of innocent spectators hanging in the balance. Spartakus and the other gladiators revolted in response, and Spartakus fled the city, taking Rainbow hostage. Spartakus fled into the desert and found a passage to another stratum. Rainbow, unable to return to Barkar because of the trouble his plan had caused, went off on his own. ("The Twisted Rainbow")
Spartakus encountered Rainbow again, as the group investigated a city where the first Arkadians designed their plans for the Tehra. (The city's inhabitants had even built a prototype Tehra inside a giant reservoir.) Not only did Rainbow try to kill Spartakus, but he tried to steal Arkana and her knowledge of the powers of the Arkadians for himself. After a confrontation that destroyed the dam that kept the molten metal of the prototype Tehra together, The group escaped, leaving Rainbow alone amongst the ruins of the city. ("Rainbow's End")