Kuno and Ral were the first and jumping from their mounts they quickly ran to were their leaders stood the warriors of the Almadra and the Norgonie retrieved their weapons then forming a circle around the King and Queen they watched the forest for any sign of danger.
The Captain of the Spikebacks looked his friend up and down and seeing that his wounds would mend in time he smiled, “you should have stayed and had another cup of wine”.
Arn also laughed “next time I will take your advice”.
Near them Ral looked into the face of his mother but he was not concerned with her many cuts and bruises he wanted to know why she left with a man she swore to kill. “Why do you walk beside this Trofar dung?” he asked angrily.
But the Queen said nothing, then he looked closer into her eyes and there he could see that something had changed, the hatred that once burned in them was now gone, replaced by an emotion that made the young warrior fill with rage.
My mother has forgiven him; the words were like fire in his mind, she has forsaken me and returned to him!
This was something that the Norgonie warrior could not accept and turning to his father he screamed at him “why did you try and kill our Queen?”
Arn could see that the young warrior was angry so he tried to soften his rage, “Your Queen was safe with me,” he said calmly.
But it did no good, and Ral lifted his Kagar at the King, “you and your people are frail legs fit only to sit beside your Washas and weep!”
Hearing the young Norgonie degrade their tribe made the Almadra warriors grumble and raise their weapons, and seeing this the Forest-dwellers drew nearer their Queen and grip their spears tightly.
Ishea could see that tension was growing between the two tribes and not wanting further violence she spoke up, “darkness is here and there are more Sagars in the forest, time to return to safety”.
But her words hand little effect on her son, “the Almadra are dung eaters and Isarie is a body peddler!”
This grave insult was more than the Outlanders could take and they began shouting loudly, “the Norgonie breed with Rockworms!” one called out; “Arm-Ra drinks the piss of our Whiptails!” said another.
This was too much to bare for the Norgonie and they raised their Kagars and made ready to strike, but before blood could be shed the King tried to calm them, “we are all brothers and sisters, and the Gods know their own”.
But Ral would have none of this and he faced the Almadra King, “Isarie is a false God and her people are weak---I challenge!”
Now there could be no turning back for a challenge MUST be accepted if not the person it was directed against would be made Outcast and never again find comfort from the tribe. No one knew this better then Arn for he had once been a fallen warrior and he knew there could be no turning back.
“I accept,” he said calmly.
Hearing this the warriors began to make a challenge ring around the two combatants; their hatred had now been channeled into witnessing a fight between the two greatest warriors of their tribes. And knowing it could only end with the death of either the Almadra King or the Norgonie warrior it would be a story to tell around the campfires for many cycles to come.
Arn began to make himself ready for the challenge, but Kuno who was standing by him could see that the wound in his leg was still bleeding and it would be a great hindrance to his friend in the battle ahead. But the Captain also understood that he would have to fight wounded or not, so he took a small silver canteen that was hanging from his belt and handed it to the King, “drink” he said calmly.
Arn took the flask from the big man and after removing the cap he took a gulp, but instead of fresh water he got a mouthful of well-aged Po, the King continued to swallow till all the wine was gone then handed the empty canteen back to Kuno. “Thank you” he said, then he looked at the young warrior who was eager to begin the duel, “and do you have any wisdom on how to defeat him” he asked.
Kuno took a good look at the strong young man, “yes”, he replied smiling, “let me kill him first”.
Rals blood was now pumping hard in his veins, he had waited all his life for this moment and he was not going to be turned by any words from his mother.
“Now is not the time for fighting” the Queen implored him.
But the young warrior turned a deaf ear to her, “if you cannot send his soul to the Afterlife I will!”
Ishea was Queen of the Norgonie and her words could send a man or woman to their deaths but the laws of her tribe were clear when it came to a challenge and all her power was now useless and only the Gods could stop what was about to come. Now the two men faced each other and both lifted their weapons in a salute, then without any further ceremony the air filled with the war cries of the two tribes and the battle began.
Arn was the more experienced fighter but youth was on the side of Ral and as the young warrior came within striking distance of the Kings ax he jumped to one side. He wore little armor and relied on his lightning like speed to keep in out of harm’s way, so as he moved passed the Nomad he swung out with his spear and struck the King on the side of his helmet. But the hard steel of his headgear kept him safe and he turned to face the Norgonie without harm.
He is fast, thought the King, I will have to guard myself.
Ral moved cautiously as he spoke to his mind, he is strong and his armor thick I will have to move carefully.
Again the two combatants came together, this time Arn weapon swept out and caught the flesh on Ral upper arm and blood began to flow, but it was not a serious blow and in return the young warrior struck out and pierced the chest armor of the King. But again the thick armor saved him and the point of the spear did not penetrate flesh. Once more they circled each other. As they did this the shouts and war cries from the Outlanders and the Forest-dwellers rose higher as all thoughts were now centered on the two warriors whose lives hung in the balance. And standing side by side they forgot the insults they had uttered and let the fighting madness consume them.
But this was not the case with the Queen for she only saw the man she once loved and the son she had born battling each other to see who would live and who would die. I have done this to them, she thought, it was my jealousy that drove Arn away from me and my hate poisoned my son. But no one could hear her now and the only thing she could do was stand by like a helpless maiden.
Ral could see the blood streaming down from his father’s leg, he is wounded he told himself, but he also remembered his own words, a wounded animal is the most dangerous.
And the King was indeed dangerous; the pain in his thigh kept his thoughts centered and prevented him from succumbing to the battle madness that consumes a Nomad when he or she goes to war. Those in turn made him think more clearly rather than the red mist that would have filled his mind.
He is young and arrogant, he thought, use that against him, “are all Norgonie as weak as you?” he called out.
“Any child of our tribe is strong enough to kill you!’ the young warrior shouted back.
And again the two charged forward, this time Ral dunked under the swinging ax of his fathers and seeing an opening he drove his Kagar into the wound that was in the Kings thigh and in spite of all his efforts Arn cried out in pain. But he did not fall, rather he reached down and pulled the spear point from his leg, then with all his strength he twisted the weapon from the hands of the young warrior and threw it from the challenge ring. But this did not leave Ral defenseless for he drew a long dagger from his belt and proceeded to circle his father once more.
Kuno could see that the King was weakening but for all his love for his friend he could not interfere for if he did the warriors of both tribes would kill them, it is in the hands of the Gods now.
Arn also knew that he would not be able to continue much longer but then he seemed to hear words in his head, the same words that he had spoken to Moonbud long ago.
“Find a place for your tooth to bite” and listening to his mind he began to think, he wil
l wait until I am weaker then move in for the deathblow.
But no sooner did he hear his mind say these words the young warrior charged for him again, but this time the King countered his knife hand with the handle of his weapon and the blade found no mark. But seeing the callous action of the Norgonie warrior gave the King an idea.
He is foolish and wants to kill me fast, he thought, he is strong but not wise.
As Ral moved to strike again the King seemed to stumble and fall to the ground letting his ax slip from his hand and seeing his rival helpless the young warrior jumped on the Nomad and raised his dagger to drive into his father’s neck. But Arn only seemed to be helpless to draw in the Forest-dweller and as he was about to be killed he reached out and seized Ral arm in his hand, and at the same time he drew out one of the Dragons teeth from his belt. Now using the last of his strength he forced the young man over on his back and twisted the weapon from his hand, he put the blade of his dagger against the young warrior’s neck.
The shouts of the Outlanders and Norgonie fell away as they waited for the King to drive his knife into the soft flesh, but as he was about to end the life of Ral he looked into his eyes, and for a brief moment he stayed his hand. And in that moment the young warrior spoke to him.
“Go on and kill me”, he said through clenched teeth, “for you were no father to me!”
Time seemed to stand still for the King and it was if the whole world suddenly stopped rotating, he did not hear the gasps from the warriors or the screams of the Sagar cats in the forest. All he heard was the beating of his heart and an echo of a word.
“Father”.
Without knowing why he pulled the dagger away from his son’s throat and let it fall to the ground, he rose up on his feet and stood unmoving as Ral regained his footing. And he did not move as the young warrior once more took up his dagger and lifted his arm to strike. But all could hear the Queen as she called out.
“STOP!”
Ral did stop but only for a moment then as he was about to drive his blade into his father’s heart his mother grabbed his arm, “your Queen commands you to stop and you will obey! And to prove her point she held the tip of her dagger just below her son’s heart.
Reluctantly Ral dropped his weapon and in turn the Queen lowered her knife, then she turned to the King. “Now is not the time for words, for the stars are out and we must move or die”.
And knowing that the Queen spoke wisdom the warriors of the Almadra mounted their Whiptails and the Norgonie once more sat in the saddles of the Rowgors.
Ishea would ride with her son but she would hold the reins and behind her she could hear Rals angry breathing, but she did not turn to look at him and kept her eyes on the path ahead.
Arn sat behind his old friend as they began the journey back to the Fortress but he did not speak to him for his mind was far away and in a place that could not be shared.
Above them the night moons were just beginning their endless journey across the star bright heavens, they had done this for milleniums and would continue doing this for ages more. They had seen the rise and fall of many Kings and Queens; some of them blessed by the Gods while others were cursed by demons. They had seen them shout for the death of their enemies and others beg for mercy as they saw the Angel of Death drawing near. But in the end time and the weaknesses of their own hearts defeated all of them. So when they saw the King of the Almadra weep they took no notice and continued on their way knowing that his tears would soon dry and all pain would someday be forgotten.
Chapter 27.
Battle of the Titans.
Ashra-Doom is the God of the land, when he walks the earth shakes and when he speaks the mountains tremble, do not trend on his shadow for he will blot out the light from the sky and the stars from the heavens.
Law of the Earth Shaker.
Many days had come and gone and the heavy rains had filled large pools in the landscape and brought out dozens of Burrow babies from their underground homes, and with them Valen sat on his mound and in the morning light he watched the steel monster below. When he slept he dreamed of his revenge but when he woke he saw his dreams slipping away for the iron beast that had killed his Klansmen was growing once again.
The Caladon warrior could see many new growths on the body of his enemy, huge appendages that he could not understand they seemed like great arms with giant metal shafts running to even larger round containers. And adding to the strange appearance were the massive bones that once lay about the graveyard, they were fixed to the whole of the creature and gave it the appearance of some long dead titan. There were also two great arms-like extensions that hung from the sides of the monster each one had a huge steel claw at its end. At the back of the metal creature were a series of titanic containers that had great wheels under them like some kind of wagon, but what was the most strange about them was the fact that they were being filled with Eul.
Why would Atos need Eul? Valen thought, for now he called his enemy by the name of the war God, of what need does a God have for the burning rock? It was indeed a question that vexed his mind for he had watched the small metal creatures that were the servants of the God gather up the black rock and load them into the huge Karacks. He knew that Atos had his minions forge weapons for the Gods to wheedle in battle and perhaps the Eul would be used as fuel to heat the forges of eternal Ironworkers? But whether that was the reason or not did not matter to the Outlander, all he cared about was finding a way to destroy his hated enemy.
What did not concern him was when the iron beast sent out several long feelers from its body and then began to suck up the water from the many pools around it, they reminded him of the tentacles of the Cry leaf, all creatures must drink he told himself. So the young warrior sat and continued to watch, he was well rested for he feasted on Burrow Babies and drank deeply from a small pool of water that filled an indention in a large rock nearby. His Whiptail had also eaten well for Valen had managed to drag enough remains of a rotting Trofar back to the hungry animal and now its belly was full.
Now the suns were high in the sky and there was a soft breeze blowing from the North but it brought no comfort to the Caladon warrior for in his heart vengeance still burned.
I must find a way to kill it, he thought, but if I come near it the pain will start once more. So now he sat and beat his war-ax on the hard ground and gazed at an enemy beyond his reach.
“All systems are at maximum and repairs are completed”, the Taskrobot said as it stood before the glowing orb, “we have sufficient combustible materials to maintain an adequate speed to the next vantage point. H20 consumption is calculated at point one nine percent with a maximum speed at level one”.
The sphere hung in its chamber and evaluated the information that the small Taskrobot had given it. And although there was no need to recycle the data through its memory systems it did anyway. But it took only a matter of a few seconds for it to satisfy itself that there had been no errors in the calculations.
“Commence activation of alternative locomotion drive unit’s in point seven six time units”, the glowing light spoke.
Without further words the Taskrobot moved to the main console that filled one corner of the chamber, it reached out with one of its slender tentacles and attached itself to a small access port in the machine. It waited for a moment then began to speak, “interface command report level one, repair work completed restore all power to secondary command mechanisms”.
There was a flickering of light in the room then a soft humming sound, and then three other metal units began to glow with power. They were a bit smaller than the first machine and it looked like they had been pieced together from other machines but there could be no doubt that they were now working properly.
“Weapons are minimal but at working levels”, said one of the machines.
“Both solar and internal power supplies are at maximum levels, waiting interface with alternative locomotion”, spoke another.
“Directional heading will
be based on topographical information and mind-link coordinates”, sounded the third.
The Taskrobot removed its tentacle, “understood”, then it moved back to face its master, “all systems are now working, commence locomotion in point seven five time units”.
There was no response from the Orb other than an intense glow.
The Darkman had completely recovered from the pain that overcame him when he tried to reach the Nomad on the mount. But he sat near the opening to his metal home and continued to stare at the human that was looking down on him. All around him scurried the small metal Spotters and larger Repairbots carrying out last minute tasks and rechecking fittings and plating, but the human paid them no heed for he had long grown use to their activities. What did concern him was why the Nomad was not gone?
He should have returned to his tribe and told them of what he had seen then he realized that the Outlander could not return because he was an Outcast and this made him smile. He has no tribe and no home, he thought, he will die alone and forgotten, it was then that he no longer smiled for he knew that his fate would be the same, for he too was an Outcast, scorned by his people and without a home.
It was then that his mother spoke to him.
“You will not be forgotten,” she said.
The Darkman looked to his left and there standing before him was the woman who gave him birth but this time her face was young and full of life. But he knew it was only a phantom come to taunt him once more, “you are not here, you are nothing” he said turning his face from hers.
The vision came closer to him, “look at me am I not your mother?” she asked.
The Darkman did look at her face and although his right eye told him that there was nothing before him his left eye saw the smiling features of a young Nomad woman, why does this demon come to me? Then he turned away, “leave me, leave me as you did before”.
The Fallen God Page 39