by S D Huss
Boros blocked her blow easily, launching her sword away with a hard swing, and spun into a flurry of powerful counterattacks. The prince was clearly stronger than her, but she parried and deflected each swing with precision, all the while keeping a condescending grin on her face.
Her smirk disappeared as Boros shouted a cry of anger and hit her weapon so hard she actually lifted off the sand, and back almost a meter. The startled Dae withdrew from him and took a more cautious stance. Boros stood now more aggressively than before, leaning toward his opponent.
“You have been training.” She said, wringing both of her hands now around the hilt of her weapon.
Boros said nothing but lunged in response. Before he could reach her, she tumbled out of the way and brought her hand up toward him with her fingers spread. There was a small spark, then a crackling stream of lightning that flashed from her palm. The bright spectacle brought Daniel to his feet in amazement. The deadly bolt hit Boros, but the young prince managed to block it with his hand. He fell back from from the force and rolled again to his feet. Daniel could see that the hand he had used to block the elemental attack was covered in a gauntlet of stone, still glowing from where it hit.
“Unbelievable…” Daniel said to himself, using only his human logic to process what he had just witnessed. But before he could, Boros stomped his foot into the sand, causing columns of stone to sprout from the ground around his feet.
With a push of his hand, the columns broke into pieces and began to hurl toward Nasha.
The female Dae swung her blade in an arc, releasing a blast of electricity. This did not stop the heavy stones, merely pushed them slightly to either side to avoid her. She darted toward Boros as they thudded into the sand behind her, stabbing her barbed blade at his abdomen. Boros parried her strike to his left and brought his weapon back down in a seamless diagonal slash. Nasha leaned back as far as she could, but could not avoid the precise blow entirely. Her cheek below her eye was gashed and a deep blue fluid sprayed from her face.
The crowd roared in approval; their prince had drawn first blood. Nasha did not scream or cry at the injury, only grunted with the impact and retreated to a safe distance.
She took a moment now to assess her opponent, the blood streaming down her face and dripping off her chin. There was no amusement anymore, only a hard calculation on someone she had clearly underestimated.
Boros gave her no time to think, and rushed toward her. He swung his fist as he ran, calling large stones to rise from the sand. They shot out like long extending spikes at Nasha. She nimbly dodged the projectiles and unleashed a furious blast of electricity toward the charging prince. Boros lifted his sword in an arc, much like she had done before, and almost instantly there was a large protective wall of stone that absorbed the powerful blast. Chunks of stone sprayed from the wall as her assault continued, but as he moved forward, the wall led him.
Daniel’s eyes soaked in the spectacle, his mind of logic and laws in nature shattered before him. These creatures had a power that in his mind was impossible, but here, watching the battle unfold, saw that they used them naturally and effectively.
Boros let out a roar and pushed his battered wall of stone toward Nasha. She had easily dodged his spikes but had managed to let herself get trapped between them. She realized this too late as the solid wall closed in on her. In a desperate attempt to break free of this outmaneuver she swung her blade at the wall. Electricity flared from her weapon and it crashed against the stone. There was a loud crash as the two powers met, and the already battered wall broke into pieces. Boros leaped at her swinging his blade downward; the impact against her weapon brought her to one knee, but she tilted her blade to let his slide to the ground.
The two warriors exchanged blow after blow, in quick succession, but Boros was pushing his attacks more and more.
Nasha swung her blade broadly, catching Boros’ weapon in one of the barbs on hers, she pulled his away for an instant, just enough time to push her palm into his bone chest plate. Her hand exploded with electricity, and the prince was blown back from the surge of power, losing his weapon in the process.
Boros fell to the sand, dazed. The crowd began to shout and cheer at the sudden and violent turn. The Dae clutched his hands to his chest, and there was a black scorch where her palm had struck.
Gritting his teeth, Boros stood in frustration. He stared daggers at Nasha, who stood now twirling her own barbed blade in one hand, and his in the other.
“That is not fair!” Illya yelled from her seat beside Daniel
Boros knelt to one knee and placed his hands in the sand. His fingers clenched around two small lengths of stone that rose. As he stood, the two lengths of stone followed, only from the ground came two polished and sharp swords.
The Dae drew them in front of his body and began charging towards his opponent. Nasha held her ground, crouching in a defensive stance while brandishing her two weapons as well.
Boros came down like a meteor, swinging both of his stone blades with incredible force, but the bone weapons held them at bay. The blows cracked and thudded with each strike, and to Daniel’s surprise, the stone swords were beginning to chip and break. The human couldn’t help but wonder what the hell those weapons were really made of.
Chips and pieces of stone flew, more and more after the weapons collided. And Daniel began to notice that the small pieces were not falling to the sand but floating in the air around the two Dae.
It seemed like Nasha noticed this as well and began attempting to conjure her own power to counter it, but Boros’ onslaught was too fierce. The prince pressed his attack with merciless precision and strength, forcing her to stay on the defensive. With one final swing, Boros lifted both weapons to strike, Nasha held her swords up to defend in response.
Boros opened his hands, letting what was left of his weapons break into small pieces, and slammed his hands into the ground instead. In an instant, the small bits of stone that surrounded them flew at her from all sides. She did what she could to deflect them, but was pelted regardless. While she was distracted, a large pillar shot from the ground and struck her in her unprotected chest. Nasha grunted with the impact and fell to the ground. Boros seized his weapon back and pointed his blade to her throat.
There were several moments of silence as the crowd processed what had happened. Then suddenly Dae warriors from all around stood and cheered at the victory of their prince.
chapter 14
Daniel's eyes blinked slowly as he stared at the pale ceiling above him. Nearly two weeks had passed since the duel in the Glade, and he and his human companions had struggled to comprehend what the incidents had brought. Blood in the streets, warriors training, and the rumble of power they did not understand.
Night had come again, and though his afforded accommodations were comfortable he still lay on his back unable to sleep. There was a draw of constant intrigue in every aspect of this new world, but having spent a decent amount of time in it, Daniel began to see that it was an adaptable place. -I wonder how Henry and Angelo are doing…- He thought. His mind wandered to the words spoken of the other human who was killed.
Daniel was startled by a light knock on his door. He grunted as he stood, and opened it cautiously. There was a young Dae servant who stood wearing a smile on her face.
“I am sorry to bother you so late in the evening, but my Lord, but Prince Oros would like to speak with you. I’m afraid it’s rather urgent.”
Daniel nodded his head and turned to put on his boots and dawn his green cloak.
She led him to a luxurious room lit by the same style of floating balls of flame. Daniel saw that his meeting with Oros would not be a private one. Seated before the prince was his younger brother, Boros, beside him sat Katrina and Robert, each with a golden bowl of wine in their hands. Across from Katrina, somewhat displaced but still a part of the conversation, was Avria and two warriors he recognized as Eslan and Vikko.
“Welcome, my friend!” Oros exclaimed,
standing to greet Daniel. “I do apologize for the late summoning, but there is something your companions brought to my attention that needs to be discussed.”
“And it couldn’t wait until morning?” Avria said sarcastically.
Oros didn’t look at her, just responded while gripping Daniel’s forearm. “Well, I suppose it could have, but you know Royalty, we have no damned patience.”
Daniel sat next to Robert and was offered a bowl of wine by the servants that stood around in attendance.
“My dear?” Oros said, gesturing to Katrina to begin.
“Well…” Katrina started. “We have been here in this world of yours for…” She took a moment to count the days, not exactly sure how long they had actually been there.
“Seventeen days,” Boros interjected with a smile.
“Yes, thank you, Boros. We have been here for seventeen days, and though we don’t know how we got here, or if there is any hope of returning to our world. I’m sure I speak for all three of us when I say that we should try to find a way to live here.”
Robert said nothing, just looked into his bowl of wine. Daniel looked at her, and then to Oros. “Well, I can’t say that I don’t agree with her. There is no certainty either way. We can sit here in your castle day in and day out and wear out our welcome, or find a way to make something of this. I for one would like to see if there are any other humans out there… they could be in trouble.”
“Yes.” Katrina continued. “I have spent my last days going to your practice fields, I see so many warriors there, many of them women. And I’ve decided that I want to try to learn how to fight.”
Robert’s head finally shot up to look at her. “You left that part out of our conversation, Kat.”
“I know.” She replied sternly. “Because I knew you wouldn’t like it. But Oros, I’ve gone over this with your brother, and he seems to think that it is at least possible to permit.”
Oros pondered for a moment, then turned his head when he heard Avria let out a sigh.
“I’m sorry, girl.” She said. “It just isn’t possible. First, you would have to consider the fact that our traditions require more than just a few sparring matches in the Glade. Second, let’s talk about the fact that you creatures don’t even possess the Dunamis, an essential part of our life. Frankly, the fact that you don’t have this ability brings further proof that the Espi-Dea are correct in their theory that you don’t have a soul.”
“We don’t know that for sure.” Boros started. “We all watched as these humans, who by the way were unable to speak our language, learn it somehow after coming in contact with spirits. I think that we should wait and see. And if they are able to? Then we allow them to take part.”
Oros again said nothing, only nodding in his consideration.
“We aren’t evil,” Katrina said, putting her bowl of wine on her lap, clearly emboldened by the alcoholic beverage. “We didn’t come here by choice either. Trust me, I would much rather be at my apartment doing my damn taxes than waking up in a strange forest, or fighting for my life.”
“But learning how to fight?” Robert asked her. “There are plenty of other things we can do with our time. I mean…” Robert looked to Daniel for support but saw in his eyes that he was in agreement with Katrina. “Daniel… come on man.”
Daniel inhaled deeply and shook his head. “I agree with her. Moreso in the fact that we will be here for who knows how long. Like I said though… my first concern is finding other humans.”
“What of your people?” Boros asked Daniel “Surely you will be able to show us some of what humans are capable of?”
Daniel was caught off guard by the question. “Well…” He said regaining himself. “There isn’t much I would be able to show you. Our technology is very different from yours.”
“We have seen you fight; unrefined, but your ferocity is not lacking,” Boros said. “How is your technology different from our own? Aside from not possessing the Dunamis.”
“We have to create things in order to do what you might be able to do on your own.” Daniel continued. “Creating fire for example. You are able to use your magic… or Dunamis to create it. We have to manipulate heat in order to get the same result. Like rubbing sticks together until it gets hot enough to ignite. Or…” Daniel pulled his lighter from his pocket.
“Using a combination of chemicals and heat to create it.” Daniel flicked the lighter on, and a small but bright flame appeared.
The Dae didn’t seem terribly shocked by the flame that came, but more intrigued by the lighter itself.
“That is quite an interesting piece of equipment, my friend…” Oros said finally, breaking his silence. “There is much we may be able to learn from each other, but… without the Dunamis, there is not much I can do to convince my father that you should enter our training sessions. It would be too dangerous.”
Oros sighed and gave a regretful glance to his younger brother.
“Thank you for seeing reason my Prince,” Avria said, standing to leave. “Perhaps there are some other ways they may spend their time.”
Again, Oros chose not to directly acknowledge Avria, only turning to Katrina. “I’m sorry, but this is my final decision.”
Katrina lowered her eyes and nodded slightly. She had clearly been thinking of this for some time, but as Daniel watched the young woman, he could see that she was not yet finished with this.
◆◆◆
Katrina woke the next morning to a throbbing headache. It seemed the Dae wine that she indulged in after the disappointing news had taken its toll on her. She stretched her arms and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
As her mind recovered from slumber, she again came to the conclusion that she repeated every morning. “I’m still here…” She murmured, looking up to the ceiling.
After bathing in the strange Dae fashion; something that she still found difficult to adjust to, she went to the dining hall to meet with the rest of her party.
As she arrived she was greeted by several guards that beckoned her inside. There she found Boros and his sister Illya enjoying a rather delicious-looking breakfast of fine meat and strong-smelling drink.
“Good morning my lady,” Boros said, with a charming smile on his face. His sister mirrored his smile. “Please sit with us.”
Katrina sat and began to fill her plate with the assorted food that was on the table.
“Katrina.” Boros started. “I wanted to apologize for last night. It is unfortunate that my brother and Avria do not share our enthusiasm.” He gestured to his sister, who sat across from him.
“Don’t worry about it.” She said casually and began eating her food.
“Well, we have been going over it this morning and, if our theory is correct, then you might need only a bit of direction to find your Dunamis. All creatures have it, all who walk in Pelemont share this in one way or another, even the Yorga you are eating.” He said pointing to the meat on their table. “So I am going to take you to the shrines of the great spirits today, and we will see what happens.”
“Great spirits?” Katrina asked.
“Yes, The guardians of the elements and the creators of our world.” He answered. “But these shrines are also places of great spiritual energy. It takes time for our children to fully develop their power, but there is always something there, and even if it is just a bit, there is always something noticeable.”
“What he means is.” Illya continued. “Everything in our world is connected to spiritual energy. All things have a unique connection; including our language. The fact that you were unable to speak our language, but gained this knowledge so suddenly, shows us that you have at least been introduced to this energy; it might be similar for the Dunamis. You only became attuned to this spiritual energy after you came in direct contact with a spirit.”
Katrina stared blankly at the two Dae. “Uh...huh.” Katrina was certainly not used to such outlandish dialog but did her best to wrap her head around it.
“So,
what you’re saying is… your language has… power? What about other cultures? What about people who may speak a different language? Are there any other languages?”
The barrage of questions brought Boros to laughter. “No, there aren’t any other languages. There is only the one and it has always been. There are words for all that we see, brought to us by the spirits. These words are known to all who share a connection with this energy.”
“Even the… Yak or whatever the hell this is that I’m eating?” Katrina pointed again to the meat at their table.
Boros again laughed heartily. “By the spirits, this is harder than I thought. No, I’m afraid creatures like this don’t have the intelligence to speak, but there are some who can understand our words to a degree.”
“Like dogs?” Katrina asked innocently.