“What is it?” he shouted to the jubilant Kai, who was about to start another round of his brave story to an eager new group of Aklesh who hadn’t heard it yet. The celebrating tribe had become rather raucous.
“It’s called Amsu” replied Kai. “I’d be careful if I were you. It can have a nasty effect for those who have never tried it.”
“Please,” said Gar, waving off the warning. “I’ve been immunized to every possible poison in the galaxy. Historically it’s the best way to kill a monarch, you know, not excluding an all-out execution.”
“Immunized?” asked Kai, wrapping his mouth around the word, which he often did when Gar said something that didn’t quite translate.
“Basically, I could drink thruster plasma and I wouldn’t feel a thing, “ Gar replied. “If it wouldn’t burn a whole through my body first. What’s this stuff supposed to do, anyway?”
“It lifts the spirits,” Kai said before he was nagged enough by his tribesmen to tell the story. Gar left him to it.
Besides, he knew booze when it was described to him, and that was definitely something Gar hadn’t had for a long time. The best kind of drink was always the kind made locally and without any regulations. When visiting another planet and out from under the political eye, he always made it a point to try the local ‘fruits of the vine.’ This would prove to be a great treat. He brought the wooden cup to his mouth and took a hard swallow of the thick brown liquid inside.
Kai had been right, the stuff wasn’t meant for amateurs.
It tasted like fermented tree sap, and he probably wasn’t far off the mark. For a moment he thought he would have been better off drinking the thruster plasma. With a strong burning sensation the Aklesh liquor immediately stripped his throat. He coughed hard, thinking he was about to lose his dinner.
After a moment of hacking and choking, he recovered himself. Several of the Aklesh who had been watching enjoyed a good laugh at his expense.
“The stuff’s not so bad, once you get used to it!” Gar shouted to Kai when he was at last able to speak…
…then promptly passed out.
***
Wake up!
Gar grumbled as he dragged himself from the dark depth of sleep into consciousness.
Wake up, Gar!!
The prince could have done very well not having Kai’s mental voice ringing like bells in his brain.
It felt like he was shouting into a cave and the echoes were ricocheting off every surface. Gar pried his eyes open, instantly feeling as if he was going to throw up.
Gar had been hung over before, many times in fact, but at that moment the dull ache was so acute he felt as if he’d crashed his shuttle all over again.
Wake…
He slammed a hand onto Kai’s head, not hard, but enough to get the point through.
“Kai, you’re killing me with the thought stuff. Lay off, will you? I’m not feeling well,” he grumbled, pulling himself to his elbows on the cot. “What’s wrong?”
Gar looked around. They were both in Kai’s hut.
Obviously, he’d passed out and Kai had brought him back and put him to bed. That was about all he had done since Gar was still fully dressed from the day before. As the spinning room gradually ground to a halt, he took a look out of the little window. It was still dark outside.
“How long have I been out?” Gar asked. Kai had stepped back to give him a little air.
“All night. It’s almost dawn. I’ve been trying to wake you for almost half an hour.”
Gar lay back down, putting a hand over his sore eyes. In fact, most parts of his body were sore.
“Dawn? Why are you waking me before dawn?
Did I do something to you that you want me to suffer?”
“You know,” Kai said in response, his arms crossed like a teacher might. “Most people sip Amsu. They down swallow it all in one gulp.”
“Now you tell me,” Gar groaned. “Did I do something I’d regret last night? I can’t remember anything past the horrid drink.” A few ideas popped into his head in regards to what he might have let slip in a drunken state. He made sure to keep those thoughts well hidden, although the pounding headache that was hammering his brain wasn’t helping any in organizing his thoughts.
“No, you passed out pretty quickly. When it was clear you were done for the night, I brought you back here. Which is too bad, you missed the best part. Now get up, there isn’t much time.” He said with an added urgency. Gar noted that Kai’s outside voice was much more tolerable at present than his inside one.
“Time for what?” He said, rolling to his side and starting to sit up all the way. He could see that Kai was already dressed and ready to go for whatever he was so impatient for. Either that or there was a good chance he hadn’t even been to sleep yet.
“There’s been a challenge.”
The way Kai weighted the word ‘challenge’ gave it an ominous tone, as if some dark cloud were hanging over it. Gar struggled to his feet and once there, he faltered a little bit. Kai was by his side in an instant to bolster him. Once again Gar became highly aware of the young Aklesh’s strong, muscular arm as it griped his back to prevent him from falling. His skin was nice and cool next to how warm and dizzy he felt. He leaned on him more than he actually needed to and Kai obliged as they headed out the doorway of the hut.
Gar added as they walked, “Just as long as this challenge has nothing to do with anything I did.” Once outside the hut Gar soon regained his composure. It was a nasty hangover but the brisk mistiness of the early morning air felt good and made the fogginess in his head clear up a bit.
They were headed down to the lower village and they weren’t the only ones. The whole keep seemed to be making its way in that direction. As they went Kai explained all that had happened after Gar had passed out. He actually offered to show Gar through his mind’s memory, but the young prince’s brain hurt enough as it was and he opted for the verbal narrative instead.
“Well, after I’d brought you to the hut, I came back to the celebration. Most of the warriors had taken a lot of the Amsu by then. Of course, they sipped it.” Gar greeted that comment with a look of annoyance. Kai continued. “Anyhow, we were being asked all sorts of things about the hunt. It was amazing. People wanted to know everything, every detail. It was unbelievable, to us anyway.
Well, Vol had drunk a good deal of the Amsu at that point, we all had really, and she came over with her group and began putting us and our kill down. She implied that our Rasclaan had been sickly or we wouldn’t have been able to make the kill. She implied that somehow we had cheated and it didn’t change the fact that we weren’t a real hunting group. I told her that her group hadn’t backed off at the checkpoint like they were supposed to. She denied this, then started to lay into the twins and…”
Gar knew that Vol couldn’t leave Kai alone and she’d probably said some things that stung pretty deep. He chose not to delve and continued to listen to Kai’s story.
“During all of this, Tyro hadn’t said a thing, but you could tell from looking at him that he was angry. Suddenly he stood up. Everyone stopped, even Vol. I mean, you’ve seen Tyro,” he said, using his arm to indicate his friend’s generous size.
“We all waited to see what was going to happen next. He calmly told her it was a fair kill and she had no right to call it otherwise. He demanded she withdraw the insult she’d made to him and his group.”
The two of them began to slowly make their way down the stairs along with many others who were whispering to each other as they proceeded to the destination unknown to Gar. He noticed that the people of the tribe had brought furs with them. He was regretting not bringing one as well since the pleasant and sobering cold air was now turning down right chilly.
“What did she do?” Gar asked, interested in Kai’s story.
Kai took a breath before he responded.
“She spit in his face. Her group thought that was funny and they started to leave and then Tyro did it.
I mean, I couldn’t believe it, but he actually did it.”
“What?!” Gar exclaimed, frustrated by Kai’s vagueness, although doing so made his head feel like it was going to split. He brought his voice down, “What did he do, Kai? You can’t just leave it like that.”
Kai’s eyes were wide as he recalled the memory, almost as if he couldn’t believe it himself.
“He challenged her.”
Gar was getting frustrated. He started to think that being ‘shown’ might have been the easier way to get information out of Kai.
“But, what does that mean?”
Kai replied. “It means he’s challenged her leadership. He’s taking her on as lead warrior.
They’re going to fight.”
***
The dawn had broken over the water on the great river and the people of the Aklesh tribe had gathered around on the stone ledges, rocks and anywhere they could find a place. No one was bathing, they just sat and waited.
A space about 20 feet around had been left clear.
This was where the challenge would take place.
As the rest of the people filed into place, a hush fell over the assembled crowd.
Vol was standing with some of the members of her hunting group and she looked confident. She stood, loosening up her body. By her physical language and the ease of her movement, it was readily apparent that she saw the challenge as nothing more than a petty nuisance to be dealt with. Gar had no idea what a challenge actually entailed, but a fight seemed to be the most obvious scenario.
Tyro stood at the other side of the space. Cho and the twins were near by but stayed slightly away.
So the large warrior stood alone. He was calm and barely moved.
The large warrior only stared at Vol who, in turn, taunted him with her looks and expressions.
The full council was present at the far end of the cleared area. At first Gar thought this was a lot of drama over nothing, but their presence indicated it was a much bigger deal. When the sun had officially risen, the High Mother stood up and addressed those present.
“A claim has been made for the position of Lead Warrior among our tribe.” Her voice rang loud and clear as usual. “Is the candidate present?”
“I am,” said Tyro firmly. Vol sneered as he spoke.
“Very well,” answered the High Mother. “The counsel has reviewed your complaint and claim.
We find it is merited. It has been decided that you shall have your chance to prove yourself.” Then her voice suddenly changed. It went from the harsh tones of a leader to something different, something more personal. “Tyro, you understand, if you fail you will be removed as lead warrior of your group and it will be disbanded. How you are used as a warrior for the rest of the season will be Vol’s decision.”
Tyro eyes scanned for Seema in the crowd. She was holding Tilo, who looked on expectantly, not understanding what was going on. Tyro’s partner nodded her head resolutely. She supported him no matter what. It was all the reassurance he needed.
“I understand, High Mother. My claim still stands.”
The High Mother slipped back into her role as leader and turned to address the opponent”.
“Vol, are prepared to defend your position?” The corner of her mouth turned up a bit on one side and her eyes seemed to have a glint. “Oh, yes.
Let’s get this started.”
“So it shall be,” said the High Mother. “Each of you will be given a small blade. With this blade you must mark your opponent three times in combat. Whoever is the first to do this will be awarded the title of Lead Warrior for the rest of the season and for the next year unless another challenge is made and the counsel approves. Do you both understand?”
The two warriors nodded.
The High Mother took her seat with the counsel.
There was some drumming as the two opponents were fitted with their blades, tying them into their hands so they wouldn’t come free. When the beating drums stopped, the High Mother spoke.
“Begin.” The tribe seemed to take a collective breath as the two fearsome opponents slowly began to circle each other, their stances wide and agile. Gar instinctively thought that Tyro, being her superior in size and strength would be able to take her. But, he’d seen how people had treated Vol.
They were afraid of her. Gar assumed she was like many of the politicians he knew on Orestus; they might look weak but once cornered would attack.
His estimation was not wrong.
With a quick leap and fierce jab Vol succeeded in making the first mark. It had been so fast Gar nearly missed seeing it. But sure enough, the unmistakable red stain of blood began to weep from a wound on Tyro’s large shoulder.
They paced some more, shifted on the balls of their feet and kept eyes locked, waiting for the other’s movements. Suddenly, Vol moved to one side looking as if she were going for his arm. Tyro went out to block but she slipped under him. Her arm made a vicious slash at his chest as she did this. The whole thing took less than a second but when she pulled back another red gash had now opened up on his chest.
Tyro made no move to cover it although the pain on his face showed. He still kept his eyes focused on his opponent whose smile was wide. She was certain she’d won and was getting cocky.
“You should have given up when you had the chance, Tyro,” she taunted quietly. “No one would have blamed you. But now, you’ll lose everything.”
She lunged forward for the final strike, but this time Tyro was ready and blocked her, using her own momentum to throw her on the ground. She hadn’t expected this and rolled over, quickly doing an inventory to make sure he hadn’t made a hit all the while keeping him at arm’s length with her blade. Vol had venom in her glare.
“I was going to go easy on you, Tyro,” she spit.
“But now I…“
The great warrior’s arm darted out and he turned so fast it was a blur. Tyro was behind her and clear before she’d had time to react. And when she looked down, her abdomen was bleeding. With her free hand she felt her back, and when she brought it around her fingers were stained with blood.
In one move, he had gotten two strikes. Gar could hear people in the tribe gasp.
“You talk too much, Vol,” said Tyro.
Fire flared in her eyes and she bared her teeth.
Now she was mad.
They lunged for each other, both going at full force.
He was remarkably agile but she was all over the place. Yet every time she’d try to strike, he’d block her or maneuver just out of her reach and counter with his own thrust. Gar’s heart was in his throat as he watched, riveted to the action.
Next to him Kai was so tense he was practically pulsing.
This all-out slugfest continued for several moments. Finally Vol knocked Tyro backwards off his feet and he landed with a hard slam into the ground. He reached a hand out to grab Vol’s foot and pull her down. He had her for a moment but with a violent kick she was able to get away. In a flash she knelt on his throat strangling him and pinning one arm down. She grabbed the other, then with her blade she made a long cut down his forearm, slowly and with the intention of causing as much pain as possible.
“Stop!” shouted the High Mother.
She didn’t stop until her blade reached his hand and he cried out. Several of the Aklesh protested.
“Vol! Stop!!” said the High Mother standing.
The warrior dropped his arm and let him up.
Tyro began to cough as he gulped for air and pulled himself to his feet.
The High Mother walked to the two warriors.
“We have a clear winner.”
Vol stood proudly, thrusting out her chest.
The High Mother addressed them both as well as the tribe.
“They have fought well and the decision has been made.” She looked upon Tyro who was now standing and applying pressure to his wounded arm and then over to Vol who clutched her stomach but still stood with smug satisfaction.
“I shall enjoy disbanding your pathetic group. They were never fit to be warriors,” she seethed to Tyro.
“Vol'zhal” said the High Mother evenly.
“You are stripped of your position as Lead Warrior. The title now falls to Tyro’shal. Tyro, may you command our warriors with wisdom.
Vol’s fate is in your hands.”
The crowd began to murmur in surprise. But no one was as shocked a Vol herself.
“That is wrong, High Mother!” she protested. “I have marked him three times! The title is still mine! Are you blind? Did you not see?!” The High Mother sighed as she addressed Vol.
“Look down at your feet, child.”
An expression of confusion was written on the warrior’s face, but she did look down and, to her horror, saw her foot covered in her own blood. It took a couple of moments for the truth of what happened to sink in.
Tyro had not tried to throw her off balance.
He’d actually gone in for a strike when he grabbed her foot and had gotten it. She’d just been too focused on him to realize it. He had marked her a third time before she had pinned him.
“But…but…but, this can’t be right,” she stammered. “He can’t lead us. He’s only been in charge of a group of outsiders and freaks. No one will follow him.” Vol turned to the crowd. “Do you really want someone like that leading the warriors? He’s weak. His group is weak. He’ll make us weak!”
She was met with the empty eyes of the tribe. No one would back her.
“I made the third mark, High Mother,” she said desperately to the crowd. “I marked him three times! Surely you can see I am the better warrior. I should be the lead. Not him. The only place he will lead us is to chaos. Can’t you see that?”
“That is not what I see,” said the High Mother to the bewildered Vol. “You have grown careless in your position. You have misused your authority and abused others with it. This is not the mark of a true leader. We will not guide this tribe with fear.
It is time for you to step down and let another take your place.”
Vol became bitter.
She was surrounded by the entire tribe yet no one supported her, not even her own hunting group.
AKLESH (Under Strange Skies) Page 24