Trials of a Champion

by Thomas O'Gorman

  Winn fell from his horizontal position and hit the ground. He looked over at Yhadi with that terrible gleam in his eye, but he did not rush at her. Instead, he stood up and faced Ajani.

  “Bow before me, my weapon made of flesh,” Ajani said.

  “Yes Sire,” Winn said and bowed as Hezza held in a gasp. Another spell that doesn’t work on him.

  “Are you my humble servant, willing to obey my every command?”

  “Yes, Sire,” Winn said as he straightened up.

  “Then prepare to ride in dignity back to Jabari City. We must not forget your old friend though. Have Chen brought out.”

  “Sire, we thought Chen was our reward,” Yhadi said. “He was to be our sacrifice.”

  “No, I have always had plans for Chen,” Ajani said. “I will send another sacrifice.”

  “A human sacrifice?” Hezza asked.

  “Yes, a human sacrifice.”

  A guard brought Jaunty through the door. He looked relatively healthy.

  “He looks better than I thought. You must have kept him fed for your sacrifice. Its good he is healthy; he needs his strength to handle what he will go through next.”

  Jaunty didn’t understand Menegar but he was sure what was being said wasn’t good for him. Despite that he kept a stoic look on his face.

  “Come, it is time to depart. Of course, I will need one of you to accompany me to make sure he can be subdued if necessary. Hezza I think it should be you.”

  Damn, but maybe it will be easier to escape from Jabari City. It is on the ocean; I will just have to find a ship.

  Ajani led them out of the room and into the vast maze of halls. He took several turns and finally they walked out into the snow-covered exit. There was no jail wagon waiting there, nor was there any fancy carriage for King Ajani. There were many horses, and Ajani beckoned Winn and Jaunty to follow him until they reached two bays.

  “I will allow both of you to ride unbound. An attempt to escape will displease me greatly, and for punishment I will bind you the whole trip and roast you over the fire.”

  Jaunty shook his head but Winn stared ahead impassively and climbed aboard the horse. Ajani went to mount a mighty black Clydesdale, which is what his guards rode as well. Jaunty climbed aboard the bay and had no thoughts of escaping. He wouldn’t know where to go or how to reach shelter or gather food. He remembered the last time he escaped as well, and he didn’t want to run into Jezel again.

  The company moved out and they set a fast pace for such mountainous terrain. The huge horses must have been used to the uneven rocky ground because they passed over it with ease. Jaunty and Winn were excellent horsemen and the steeds they were riding were good with the terrain as well. Jaunty looked at Winn and he still had an impassive look on his face and his body looked relaxed, not tense. Jaunty had not seen him so loose since before they were captured. He wondered why Winn was so calm when his mind was so troubled.

  They camped that night on the base of the mountain. It was a strange group, a sorceress, a bunch of Menegar, and two humans. They didn’t bother to tie Winn or Jaunty up at night, but they did keep a watch. Hezza’s constant stare seemed to Jaunty that it would bore a hole in Winn’s soul. Winn didn’t notice Hezza, Jaunty, or anyone else. As soon as it was fully dark, he bedded down. Jaunty went to sleep uneasily as he continued to watch Hezza and the Menegars. Hezza went off to the side and started her own magical fire there. She kept staring at Winn. Jaunty doubted Hezza would sleep at all.

  The next morning, they rode with speed and only took one break for lunch. Ajani must have been anxious to get back. After all he was fighting a war in Skal. They rode hard all afternoon and when darkness fell Ajani finally called for a halt. He was cursing and screaming at his men. Jaunty decided to speak to Winn as they dismounted and tied their horses to a tree.

  “Winn, what is Ajani so upset about?” Jaunty asked.

  “Jaunty, my only friend, you are the only being here I don’t have to constantly fight with myself to keep from killing. I will tell you what he is upset about, but pray don’t talk to me again until we are out of the company of the wizard and these animals. The King wanted to reach Jabari city today, but we are still twenty miles out by the head guard’s estimation. Ajani just wanted someone to yell at because he is a twisted, vile serpent which I will kill.”

  Jaunty didn’t say anything else to Winn, he didn’t want to get him riled up. The next morning, they woke up and in three hours they reached the outskirts of Jabari City. For the first time Jaunty got to see the city from outside a cell. He noted the huge black granite walls that surrounded the city. They were at least 50 span high. Outside of the gates there were shanty looking dwellings. Once they were inside the gates, the city looked surprisingly civilized. There were well constructed homes, businesses, and temples to various gods. Even Jaunty could figure out the ones for Ures and Melevia. There were also depictions of gods he didn’t know.

  There were many statues and sculptures of Menegar figures. Jaunty supposed they had famous historical figures like any other society. He saw Menegar giving talks on the streets with crowds standing around them listening. He saw shops for blacksmithing, clothing, what he assumed was medicine, and food. There were eateries and drinking establishments dotted along every street it seemed. Most of the Menegar he saw in those establishments seemed to be enjoying themselves. He saw schools and children playing. Many of the boys and girls played at swords but several tossed round balls around as well.

  They approached the Midnight Palace, which it seemed was made of the same black granite that the walls were made of. When they got to the gates of the palace. The party stopped and Ajani dismounted.

  “No human has ever sullied the Midnight Palace with their presence. I am not about to let that happen now. Keep the two humans in the guard barracks under careful watch. Feed them but do not let them out of your site.” He turned to Winn. “Tonight, you will display your loyalty to me in front of all of Jabari City in the coliseum. Your friend will have a part to play there as well. If you do satisfactorily, tomorrow we will sail for Skal, where I will turn you loose on your ancestor’s people. Your reward will be to kill with abandon. Until tonight, my beast.”

  Ajani left and his guards took Winn and Jaunty to the guard’s barracks, which was surprisingly nice on the inside. It had tile flooring, painted walls that were pristine, and a large symbol of what must have been the unit in the foyer of the building. On the walls of one room were built in racks that held swords and armor. Another room had benches in front of nice wooden cabinets that had small doors on them. They were brought to a bar room that was in the back of the building, and the Menegar gestured to a table and they sat there. Food and water were brought for them, and the food was the best that Jaunty had tasted in eons. He couldn’t help but gorge himself upon the magnificent repast that was before him. After they ate a Slavesta that was obviously a servant took their plates away. After that all but one guard left and Winn and Jaunty were alone in the room with him.

  Winn turned to Jaunty and spoke in Xi En.

  “I expect tonight that I will be ordered to kill you. Put up a fight, make it convincing. That is when I will do something unexpected.”

  “Like what?”

  “Remember when we climbed Mt. Edan the first time? That.”

  “OK Winn, just don’t get carried away and kill me by mistake.”

  “Jaunty, you are my only friend. I would never kill you.”

  Winn didn’t say anything else the rest of the afternoon. Jaunty didn’t dare try to start a conversation. Winn seemed calm, but he knew Winn was still deranged. He had no idea what Winn was planning on, but he was sure it would probably get him killed.

  After several hours of waiting, four guards entered the bar room.

  “It is time for you and your friend to make ready,” said the lead guard. “Follow us, arm yourselves, and gird your loins.”

  “They want us to follow them to an armory and dress for battle,” Winn said
to Jaunty.

  They followed the Menegar guards to the armory room they passed earlier. Winn and Jaunty looked for arms and armor that suited them. An attendant brought out the weaponry Winn and Jaunty had on them when they were captured. Winn took his butterfly swords and stared at them like he didn’t realize he had had them since he was sixteen. Jaunty eagerly took his katana blade that his father gave him so long ago when he left with Winn.

  The fitting for armor took a while. Winn was broad shouldered and almost the size of a young Menegar. The attendant found a youth’s chest plate that would fit him. For Jaunty the best they could do was provide a girl’s chest plate, which had little breast cups on it that was embarrassing. The old Winn would have laughed and made fun of Jaunty. This Winn didn’t crack a smile. The hate in his eyes wouldn’t let him laugh.

  The attendant fitted Jaunty with a pauldron, greaves, vambraces, and gauntlets. It was more than what Jaunty usually wore as light cavalry, but he could move well in the armor and he figured he would need it with what was to come. They didn’t give him a helm, and he asked Winn why.

  “They want to see our faces, apparently we are going to put on a show,” Winn told him.

  Winn would only wear the chest plate. Jaunty knew the other implements would hinder Winn’s movements. Winn was so fast, most everyone he fought couldn’t hit him. He wasn’t worried about wearing a lot of armor.

  The attendant told them to warm up, because they were to be taken to the coliseum shortly.

  Jaunty and Winn drew their swords and whirled them around. Winn stretched his legs and his back and practiced some basic Pho Ren moves. Jaunty tested the range of motion he had in his armor and performed some thrusting moves and some defensive techniques.

  The lead guard came back and told them it was time to go to the coliseum. They followed him out of the building, and it was dark outside. Jaunty wandered how people would see them. There was a contingent of 100 guards outside waiting for them, and the lead guard ordered them to walk in the middle of the formation. They were surrounded by the guards and they would have to cut through them to escape. Jaunty looked at Winn as they walked, and he had a grim look on his face, like he knew what was coming and didn’t like it. Jaunty didn’t like that look.

  As they approached the coliseum, they could see a glow in the air above it. It must be magic that is illuminating the stadium. They reached the coliseum and went to a guarded entrance. Twenty of the guards entered with Winn and Jaunty. When they entered the structure, the path led down under the building. They came to an iron barred door set in a wall of stone, and the lead guard pulled out a key and unlocked the door. They entered a rectangular shaped room and the walls on either side were lined with benches and at the far end there was an opening that led to the floor of the coliseum. The opening had a gate that was closed blocking the entrance. Jaunty could see that the gate opened by someone lifting it from above.

  “When the gate opens you are to enter the arena,” the lead guard said pointing to Winn. “I will leave ten guards in this room with you to make sure you comply.”

  The lead guard and half the other guards left. With the ten guards in the room with Winn and Jaunty, it was still crowded. For the first time in a while Jaunty saw Winn crack a little smile.

  “Why are you smiling?” Jaunty asked. “We may die out there.”

  “I am about to get to kill,” Winn said. “I am longing to spill blood.”

  They waited for a while and they could start to hear the rumblings of the crowd building. A booming voice, one that Winn and Jaunty recognized as King Ajani’s voice, rang out.

  “My fellow countryman, tonight I will present to you a marvelous display of violence, blood, and death.” The crowd cheered. “This will all be performed by one man, the once hated Champion of Aviel, Delver Kide!” The crowd booed. “You disapprove now, but soon you will see that Delver Kide has changed sides. Now he will be our warrior, our general! By his hand his homeland will fall!” The crowd roared with delight. “Now I present to you, the victor of the Battle of Tolevo Rise, Delver Kide.”

  The gate started to rise, and the guards pushed Winn out. After Winn walked out into the arena a guard walked out with Jaunty, but they stood close to the gate. It was dark except for the moonlight when Winn and Jaunty first walked out into the arena. Above the arena the night crackled with six wizards that were floating in the sky in a circle shot bright white lightning into an orb that was in the center of their circle. Suddenly the orb shone a bright light that made it look like it was noon on a sunny day on the floor of the arena. Jaunty was amazed by the orb and what it revealed. He noticed that the light only barely illuminated the crowd, but it was enough to see that there were masses of people gathered. The loudness of the crowd hurt his ears. They were booing lustily and loudly at Winn as he walked to the center of the arena.

  “Here he is, the Champion of Aviel,” Ajani said to the crowd, a wizard amplifying his voice. “However, he is the Champion of Aviel no longer, now, he is the Champion of Menegar!” The crowd cheered tepidly, not quite believing their King.

  “To show you how faithful he is, I will bring out twenty captured Aviel seamen, from various ships we have taken. If he kills his countrymen, will you then believe?”

  The crowd roared with anticipation. They wanted to see Winn kill Avish men.

  “Release the prisoners,” Ajani yelled.

  From another gated entrance to the arena grounds, a gate rose and twenty armed Avish men gingerly walked out into the arena. Winn turned and faced them. He broke into a run at them and screamed. He left his feet and flew toward the first man in the formation that the Avish men formed. Winn swung, and the first man’s head flew from his body. Before the severed head hit the ground, Winn had killed three more Avish men with stabs in the neck and heart. Winn hadn’t touched the ground as he flew like a lightning strike at the Avish men, striking so fast they could not react. The crowd could not see his butterfly swords because he was swinging them so fast. Winn was a death machine, hacking and stabbing his way through the twenty men. In less than two minutes, there was only one man left standing. Winn held up and sized the man up.

  “My name is Auk Stelp, we grew up together, you offered to take my lashes,” said Auk. “Don’t kill me Winn, for old times’ sake. Please, I beg you. You were always kind to me and my kin. What did they do to you Winn? You are not a monster, though you betrayed your country, King, your wife, and yourself, by killing these men here today. I beg you, let me live. Start the path to redemption.” Auk fell to his knees and threw his sword down.

  “You are an idiot,” Winn said as he cut Auk’s head off. He yelled up to the screaming crowd.

  “Do you doubt my loyalties now? I will kill all Aviel! All of Aurella!” The crowd went wild.

  Up in the crowd Svae and her companions were stunned.

  “Our mission has changed, we have to kill him now,” Vant said. We can’t let the enemy have this thing that was once Winn.”

  “No, he is still Winn, he has just been bewitched,” Alana said. We can turn him back into a good man.”

  “Svae what do we do?” Peders asked.

  “I don’t know,” Svae said. “He just committed treason, and that is punishable by death, but if he was bewitched or otherwise compelled to do so, I don’t know how that will be looked upon.”

  “The law is clear,” said Resa. “A man compelled by wizardry or dark magic to murder another is innocent but must make reparations to the surviving family in the amount of 100,000 drekels. None of you will attempt to kill Winn.”

  “How do you know the law and who are you to tell us what to do?” Svae snapped angrily.

  “I am Sarah Carrington and that is my husband you are thinking of killing. By my authority as your princess I order you not to do so.”

  Sarah’s six companions stared at her in shock.

  “Impossible,” said Metto.

  “I can’t believe it,” said Peders.

  Ferris just shook his
head.

  “Godsdammit!” Vant swore. “I knew you carried yourself too well, and your voice, I knew that voice.”

  “By the Almighty,” Alana said. “I should have known. Your face is still shaped the same, you are the same height, the same build. I am a fool.”

  “How dare you come on this mission,” Svae said angrily. “You could be killed! What were you thinking? If you get hurt or killed under my watch the nation, and Winn, will never forgive me.”

  “Did you really think I was going to let someone else go in my place to look for my husband? Besides you needed a translator, and now you need my guidance as well.”

  “Your husband just committed treason,” Svae said. “Forgive me for saying that you might be a little biased about how to treat this. All of us but you are in the army. Winn killed his brothers, our brothers, sons of Aviel, and evidently his childhood friend.”

  “If that is how you feel, it is within my power to release you from this mission. Go board the ship and sail home. Spread the word that the Champion of Aviel is coming for them. Sounds like a coward’s way to me, but I won’t hold you up. Meanwhile I am going to get to Winn and figure out what they did to him and undo it. You call Winn a brother, yet you don’t know him at all if you think he is capable of what we just saw without some major undue influence forcing him to act that way. Don’t misunderstand me, there will and must be a trial for Winn, he must answer for what he has done, but crude justice will not be meted out by you unless you are willing to kill me as well.”

  They were all silent for a moment.

  “We will resume the original mission Your Majesty, to find Winn and bring him home,” Svae said.

  On the floor of the arena, attendants had come out to clear away the carnage that Winn had wrought. When they finished, they left the arena floor, and Winn was alone in the middle of the arena staring up at Ajani.

  “He can kill humans, but is he an ultimate warrior? Can he kill Menegar fighters with such ease? We will find out! Now I will release twenty Menegar prisoners who have been sentenced to death for various crimes such as unjustified murder, serial rape, thievery, and political anarchy. We shall see if Delver Kide can punish them appropriately!”