"Slaves To Their Skills"
May. 18th, 2022 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dochermes"Slaves To Their Own Skill"
5/3/2015
I.
Demrak Jin hurtled up out of the Atlantic, breaking surface as if she had been shot by a catapult. The young Gelydra cleared the rounded boulders which ringed Hawk Island and landed lightly in a crouch on her toes and fingertips. She was wearing the tunic and pants of rough grey sharkhide which fit tightly on her thin body, and the bone-bladed knife was sheathed across her shoulders. In one hand, Jin held a short trident. On its three barbed tines was impaled a twelve-pound salmon.
She grinned at the thought that she would be able to eat this fish raw as it should be eaten. If any her teammates had been here, their stubborn insistence on cooking food would detract from the flavor. The truth was, like many of her Gelydrim countrymen, she really preferred eating her catches while the creatures were still alive. But this was a habit she knew they would not understand.
At three inches over five feet tall, Demrak Jin looked thin and almost frail but that was deceptive. Like all her Race, her muscles were denser and stronger than Human, adapted for life at crushing water pressure. She had the stiff bristly white hair, cut short, common to inhabitants of Ulgor and her wide flat face with its pug nose and cloudy blue eyes was always sullen. Even when she was relaxed and satisfied, her expression remained angry. Haley had once said that Jin had a bad case of 'Resting Bitch Face,' which was accurate enough but which Jin had not appreciated.
Holding the spear so she could examine the still gasping salmon closely, the Gelydra woman stiffened. She had noticed something out of place. Fifty yards down the rocky shore sat a wooden boathouse that stored equipment and two small speedboats. Jeremy Bane had constructed that structure and ordered the boats so that KDF members would have a way off Hawk Island if anything happened to the CORBY helicopters. He always wanted to have back-ups for every contingency. But the boat which was tied up to a metal ring set alongside the boathouse was not one of theirs. It was a thirty-two footer Renegade, white with Kelly green trim and the name LOUISA written in cursive in the bow.
Jin scowled and bent to place the spear with its catch on a flat rock. She did not know any surface person named Louisa, she was sure of that much. Drawing the sword with its bone blade and ivory handle she had crafted herself, the Ulgoran strode grimly toward the boathouse. Just over a mile to her right was the Hawk Island complex. The main building was one story high, made of stone blocks painted white, with a wing on each end. The wing on the left held five rooms that visiting members could use as personal quarters on a first-come, first-served basis. The main building held the captain's office, a command center, a medical ward and a recreation room. The wing opposite the private rooms held training facilities... basically a gym and obstacle course.
Just beyond the complex was the hangar with its wide segmented steel doors. Here one of the three CORBY stealthcopters was stored, while another was kept at the KDF headquarters in New York City and the third was at the HCE Project in New Mexico where Stephen Weaver did maintenance and upgrades on them. The copters were rotated on a regular basis. Demrak Jin glared back over her shoulder, but the hangar door was down and there was no sign of a second CORBY. She became convinced that it was not one of her teammates who had come to the island in that speedboat.
As she trotted silently toward the boathouse, barefoot on the rocky ground but not noticing the sharp edges under her toughened soles, the Gelydra adjusted her grip on her weapon and readied herself to tackle any possible adversary. From around the side of the structure, looming up six inches over six feet in height, came a bearded man in plain white slacks and white polo shirt with deck shoes and a billed cap. He was an impressive example of highly developed muscle, with a V-shaped wedge of a torso above a narrow waist. The big Melgar grinned, showing a flash of white teeth through a thick short beard. Like his curly brown hair, the beard had flecks of grey scattered through it.
"Galvan?!" she gasped, almost dropping her weapon. "How dare you show up here on Hawk Island?"
"I have come to see you," the big Melgar said in an uncharacteristally subdued voice.
Jin reached up behind herself to sheath her sword. "Me? No. I certainly don't want to talk to you. We need not ever meet again. Go away."
"Now, now, don't be like that. I rented that boat in Southport to come here. These are treacherous waters indeed. If I had not already known about the reefs and sharp submerged rocks around this island, I doubt if I would have made it here."
Folding her arms across her narrow chest, Demrak Jin fixed her most ferocious scowl on her face. "I think you have done enough harm to me, son of Androval. Better a broken leg than a broken heart, as the old lore has it."
Stepping closer, towering by more than a foot over the diminuitive Gelydra, Galvan removed his cap and held it humbly in front of him. "I have been thinking about you, Jin. Often. I can picture your face and hear your voice in my daydreams. To be honest, this is new to me. I do not know what these feelings are."
"Oh, please. You are a hundred and forty years old. I am sure you have bedded more women than would fit on this island. You received what you sought from me, now move on as you said you intended."
"I was wrong," Galvan said simply. He lowered himself to sit on a flat rock so that their faces were on a level. "Jin, I did not know what this feeling was until it came to me. I am surprised by the joy. Even if you will not be with me, I have to tell you this."
"Are you serious? You ARE serious." The small white-haired Gelydra visibly softened, her shoulders lowering and her fists relaxing into open hands. "But me? Of all people, you are saying you have feelings for me?"
"That is the truth of it," the Melgar said. He clasped his big rough-skinned hands in front of him and gazed down at them. "I'm miserable, Jin. I had to see you again. But now that I am here, I do not know what to say."
She did not answer for a long tense moment, then came over to sit next to him. "Galvan, I was hurt when you said you were leaving. It still is a cold pang in my heart. But I think I can rise above that and move on. My anger should be a servant and not a master."
Galvan seemed as if he wanted to touch her, perhaps embrace, but he was restrained in a way she had never seen in him before. "At least, we should still work together," he said. "The comradeship you have with your team of Tel Shai knights is a rare thing."
"Oh, I have come to realize that," Demrak Jin told him. Suddenly she untensed. "I realize now that they put up with my moods and temper and lack of manners as few Humans would. I have even mentioned this to them."
"I'm glad I came to see you. Truth be told, Jin, I was more afraid of coming to see you than I have ever been facing Trolls or Darthim." He broke off as they both saw the black helicopter approach from the south.
It was one of the CORBYs, so well silenced that it made no more noise than a gust of wind would. Showing no external lights, bearing no identifying logos or numbers, the Trom-built craft swiftly lowered fifty yards away from them. As the landing gear swung into position and the rotors slowed, they could spot Haley Lawson in the pilot seat, giving them a cheerful salute. The front left hatch hissed open as pressurized air was released. A powerful figure in blue and white jumped out.
Galvan stood up. "Sulak!"
II.
The Champion of Androval was a few inches shorter than Galvan and lighter in build, though still an amazing specimen of hard, toned muscle. Unlike Galvan, he was clean-shaven, with shaggy black hair over a face more rugged than handsome. Blue eyes stood out vividly under heavy black brows. Sulak was clad in his arena uniform, the Royal blue long-sleeved tunic and leggings of silk, with white leather boots and gloves. A white mantle around his shoulders bore a single vertical red stripe as the mark of his rank.
"Galvan, hear me!" Sulak yelled out in his commanding voice. He strode toward where his fellow Melgar and Demrak Jin awaited him. "You are summoned to the royal court. Baron Fargul disputes the borders of your lands and claims your tenants have wandered onto his fields in your long absence."
"Feh!" Galvan snorted in dismissal. "This is a matter the counselors can easily settle. Let magistrates stroke their white beards and pore over dusty ledgers on matters of law. I am busy with something more important."
"What? You refuse the summons?" demanded Sulak, still in a louder tone than seemed really necessary.
"Is it from our King himself? No, I didn't think so. For anything less than a command from the throne, I can let my stewards handle affairs. As you know well."
The Melgar Champion stepped to his left as he spoke, and Galvan moved with him to keep the same distance between them. They headed into a clear space with waist-high boulders forming a wall to one side. Beneath their feet were fine pebbles and the sparse hard dirt that had always made Hawk Island unsuitable for crops. Sulak stood twenty feet away from Galvan, feet braced wide apart and fists lowered to his sides. "Choose your words carefully, old man," he growled.
Haley Lawson had hopped out of the CORBY and sealed its hatch. She was not wearing her Windcatcher outfit but plain civilian clothes of jeans, T-shirt and light windbreaker. Taking the startled Demrak Jin by one arm, she tugged the uncomprehending Gelydra back out of the way.
"Oh, this is gonna be good!" Haley whispered. "These two are ready to slug it out. I'd record it for YouTube but I've been warned by Sable specifically never to do that again."
"Why?" asked Jin, staring at the two giants. "I don't understand."
"Because they're Melgarin! These guys love to brawl. I never met a Melgar who would miss a chance to punch someone's face. Heck, even the little kids and old people enjoy fighting. If they weren't so darn tough, they'd all be extinct by now." Haley made an eloquent shrug, with her shoulders up and a wry grin. "They're like... I dunno, a saloon full of drunk cowboys on a Saturday night in the Old West."
"I... think I understand," Jin answered. She moved back to sit on a flat-topped boulder. Overhead a seagull wheeled by and squawked. The Gelydra settled down as Haley Lawson scooted over next to her.
"If only we had popcorn," the Windcatcher muttered.
Even for Melgarin, Sulak and Galvan were exceptional. They were both heirs to the Legacy of Malberon, the ancient spell infused in the very cells of each Melgar. One male and one female child in each generation developed incredible physical strength and resilience that bordered on invulnerability. Their bodies were reinforced with gralic force that grew more potent as they aged.
Decades earlier, Galvan had been the Champion of Androval but he had been asked to step down and pass the title to the upstart Sulak. Bitter as this was to endure, it had been a direct edict from King Holmir himself and Galvan had grudgingly complied. He had spent most of the years since then wandering the world and other realms. Galvan had considered himself free of his responsibilities as well as his title, so he had given himself over to a life of heavy drinking, gambling, womanizing and general boisterous behavior.
The two powerhouses circled each other without another word. Each spent a few minutes watching his opponent, judging how he reacted to feints, how quickly he moved on his feet, the expression in his eyes. Galvan was a bit taller and heavier than Sulak, and he also had more years of the gralic force accumulating within his body. He had always boasted that Sulak was no match for him, but it had never seemed like that claim would be tested. Until now.
Sitting next to Demrak Jin, legs tucked up under her with a casual flexibility that showed how young she was, Haley said, "Were you guys getting back together? Hope we didn't interrupt anything."
"Never mind that," the Gelydra snapped. "Do you think Sulak will hurt Galvan? My people tell so many frightening tales of Sulak from the days when Androval invaded us."
Haley chuckled and leaned up against the irritated Ulgoran woman. "Wanna put a twenty on your guy to win?"
As she spoke, Galvan wrapped his arms around a rock the size of his own torso, lifted it easily overhead and pitched it fast as any baseball. Sulak did not flinch. He drew his right arm up, elbow back by his ear and met the boulder with a straight punch that made it explode into flying chunks and gravel.
III.
The two gladiators charged each other eagerly. Galvan feinted with a left jab, positioning himself for the right hook that would follow. Sulak ignored the jab which had no focus behind it, slipping in close and crashing an overhand cross that snapped Galvan's head to one side and left him open. As part of the same motion, Sulak then drove his other fist into the pit of Galvan's stomach with a noise that sounded like a rock hitting a slab of frozen beef.
To the amazement of Jin and Haley, that punch drove Galvan skidding back for fifteen feet along the rocky ground before he caught himself. This would happen over and over in the fight. The Heirs of Malberon were so overpowered that their strength overcame their opponent's bodyweight. Every time one of them landed a solid blow, his opponent went flying as if launched from a catapult. It soon developed a vaguely slapstick aspect. Galvan connected with a perfect uppercut that caught on the chin and Sulak went up off the ground completely so his feet dangled unsupported in the air for an instant. As he came down again, Sulak swerved behind his opponent and drove an elbow to the shoulder blades that slammed Galvan face down on the ground so hard it left an imprint. Yet the older Melgar leaped up again as if nothing had happened.
After the first few minutes, it became clear that those who bore the Legacy of Malberon were slightly more resilient to harm than they were super-strong. Sulak and Galvan sent each other reeling back or spinning away in somersaults and cartwheels whenever they connected, but those thunderous blows did not have any lasting effects. Impacts that would have killed a horse were shrugged off negligently. As the fight swayed back and forth, it inadvertently showed aspects of an acrobatic display as much a boxing match.
As Galvan had his arm extended from a straight punch which missed, Sulak seized him at wrist and elbow, throwing him over one shoulder. Haley and Jin barely jumped out of the way in time with alarmed squeals as Galvan crashed down on the flat-top boulder where they had been sitting. He left deep cracks in the rock. Evidently not even noticing the impact, the older Melgar was up on his feet again and rushing at his opponent.
"Gah-DAM," said Haley with a whistle. "His body broke solid granite. And that's the guy you were having sex with?!"
Demrak Jin sniffed and folded her arms. "He is very gentle."
Getting behind his opponent, Galvan brought both arms up under Sulak's armpits and locked his hands together behind the younger Melgar's head in a classic full nelson. Planting his feet, he began forcing his opponent's head down and forward in a dangerous move that could cause serious damage. Sulak responded instantly by drawing his knees up to his chest and then slamming both boots down in front of him. This lifted them both up off the ground and back into the air, crashing down with Galvan underneath. They rolled over into a tangle of arms and legs.
The next ten minutes moved with glacial slowness as they wrestled. Galvan and Sulak were evenly matched enough that they strained with agonizing effort just to get a foot planted for support or to raise up on one elbow in an effort to break a hold. There were grunts and exasperated snorts, but their relative positions did not change much.
"This part is sorta boring," Haley scoffed. "Now is when I would recommend taking a bathroom break if you need one."
Jin shoved her away roughly. "You are not taking this seriously, Windcatcher!"
"Cut me some slack," she said. "Look. These guys don't really need to be doing this. They're enjoying it. I bet they've been hoping for years they'd get a chance to fight each other."
The Gelydran woman seemed uncertain. She watched the wrestling men, then turned back to her teammate. "Can I be honest? I understand how they feel. In Ulgor, we are raised from childhood as warriors no matter what our real trade is. And we do become fascinated by how well our techniques work, how we fare against a foe who is stronger or quicker or trickier. We fight sometimes until the first injury against friends just because we are obsessed with our abilities. We are slaves to our own skills."
Haley Lawson dropped her usual insolence for the moment. "Jin, it sounds like you Gelydrim and the Melgarin have more in common than you realize, you know?"
"I have sometimes thought so," the small blonde admitted. "It may be one reason why our Races cannot stand each other. Oh! Look. They have broken off."
Galvan and Sulak had simultaneously shoved away from each other and rolled out of reach. They got up on their feet, clothes hanging in tatters that barely covered them. Both were glistening with sweat and breathing heavily. Like two bighorn rams slamming together, they met in a flurry of close body blows that smacked frighteningly loud. In theory, Galvan should have been stronger enough to have a real advantage but he had met his match in Sulak. The younger Melgar had studied Kumundu under Teacher Chael at Tel Shai while he had been a KDF member, and he knew moves that Galvan had never seen before.
The Androval arena code regarded kicks as cowardly and dishonorable. The eyes and throat were forbidden as targets, but aside from that anything was fair game. They fought without padded gloves, and many punches were blocked or deflected with open hand slaps. Elbows were used as much as fists.
Slipping under a right cross, coming up with his back pressing against his opponent's chest, Sulak exploded an elbow right between Galvan's eyes. That dazed the bigger man. As Galvan staggered back a step, Sulak whirled and ripped a perfect hooking blow that detonated on Galvan's jaw and spun him around in a complete circle. The older Melar shook his head and raised his fists but he had lost his defenses and was open. In half a second, Sulak blasted a left hook and then backfist with the same arm, ending the attack with an overhand right that sent Galvan reeling like a drunkard. All three blows landed almost simultaneously. This time, finally, the blows were beginning to have cumulative effect. Galvan fell to a sitting position and tried vaguely to get himself positioned to rise. He seemed disoriented.
Pausing to wipe the sweat from his face, Sulak caught his breath. The craggy face was beginning to show some bruises after the pounding he had taken from an equal. Only scraps of white leather around his wrists remained of his gloves and he tugged them off to throw them away. Sulak was smiling with deep satisfaction as he stepped up to loom over the dazed Galvan.
"I must ask you if you yield," Sulak said loudly and clearly, giving his opponent a chance to answer. When no reply came, Sulak cocked his right fist and raised it up behind his own head to ready a decisive crushing blow. "Very well, then-"
He stopped short as the sharp edge of a bone blade slid up against his throat. The big Melgar raised one eyebrow in surprise as he saw a tiny white-haired woman in a sharkhide outfit interposing herself between Galvan and himself.
"I know I cannot harm you," Demrak Jin announced. "My sword will snap and my fists shatter against your unnatural body. But hear me, son of Androval. Before you strike Galvan again, you will have to slay me."
"This is unexpected," answered Sulak, opening his fist and lowering his hand. "I have heard of you, daughter of Ulgor. And you agree with her, Windcatcher! You know you bear a Melgar talisman that was property of the Heirs of Buliwyf many years ago."
"It was passed to me by my mother, Lisa Lawson," Haley said. "I'm going to stand with Jin on this. You've won, Sulak. There is no need to beat a defenseless man."
"So be it," said the Champion. He gazed down and saw that Galvan was recovering quickly and about to get up again on his own. "This is rare indeed, a Melgar and a Gelydra being friends."
"More than friends!" snapped Demrak Jin. "Yes, I have said it. Love is never a thing to be ashamed of."
Sulak smiled. "Ah. I see. This is why Galvan wanted to stay in the real world. What is mere court summons when his heart tells him to remain here? Very well. I myself have loved and lost, and a heart which has suffered is more giving because of it."
Demrak Jim lowered her blade, watching Sulak suspiciously. As Galvan rose to his feet, she went over to stand next to him.
"Haley, if you will fly me back to your headquarters?" asked Sulak.
"Sure," Windcatcher said. "What's the score, I mean what are you going to do?"
"I will return to Androval and report the truth... that Galvan is working with the Tel Shai knights of the KDF. That is a valid reason to ignore a summons. If the Baron is displeased, let him take it up with me if he dares."
Galvan had gathered his wits about him again. His clothing also had been reduced to a barely decent shred around his loins and a few strips of cloth hanging off his arms and legs. Some of the battering he had taken was beginning to show on his body. "Whew. A good fight, fair and unquestioned, Sulak. I congratulate you on your victory."
Starting to follow Haley back toward the CORBY, Sulak extended his hand and Galvan shook it firmly.
"My victory?" repeated the current Champion. "I think you should know our ways better than that, old man. We will face each other again. Best two out of three!"
12/3/2016
5/3/2015
I.
Demrak Jin hurtled up out of the Atlantic, breaking surface as if she had been shot by a catapult. The young Gelydra cleared the rounded boulders which ringed Hawk Island and landed lightly in a crouch on her toes and fingertips. She was wearing the tunic and pants of rough grey sharkhide which fit tightly on her thin body, and the bone-bladed knife was sheathed across her shoulders. In one hand, Jin held a short trident. On its three barbed tines was impaled a twelve-pound salmon.
She grinned at the thought that she would be able to eat this fish raw as it should be eaten. If any her teammates had been here, their stubborn insistence on cooking food would detract from the flavor. The truth was, like many of her Gelydrim countrymen, she really preferred eating her catches while the creatures were still alive. But this was a habit she knew they would not understand.
At three inches over five feet tall, Demrak Jin looked thin and almost frail but that was deceptive. Like all her Race, her muscles were denser and stronger than Human, adapted for life at crushing water pressure. She had the stiff bristly white hair, cut short, common to inhabitants of Ulgor and her wide flat face with its pug nose and cloudy blue eyes was always sullen. Even when she was relaxed and satisfied, her expression remained angry. Haley had once said that Jin had a bad case of 'Resting Bitch Face,' which was accurate enough but which Jin had not appreciated.
Holding the spear so she could examine the still gasping salmon closely, the Gelydra woman stiffened. She had noticed something out of place. Fifty yards down the rocky shore sat a wooden boathouse that stored equipment and two small speedboats. Jeremy Bane had constructed that structure and ordered the boats so that KDF members would have a way off Hawk Island if anything happened to the CORBY helicopters. He always wanted to have back-ups for every contingency. But the boat which was tied up to a metal ring set alongside the boathouse was not one of theirs. It was a thirty-two footer Renegade, white with Kelly green trim and the name LOUISA written in cursive in the bow.
Jin scowled and bent to place the spear with its catch on a flat rock. She did not know any surface person named Louisa, she was sure of that much. Drawing the sword with its bone blade and ivory handle she had crafted herself, the Ulgoran strode grimly toward the boathouse. Just over a mile to her right was the Hawk Island complex. The main building was one story high, made of stone blocks painted white, with a wing on each end. The wing on the left held five rooms that visiting members could use as personal quarters on a first-come, first-served basis. The main building held the captain's office, a command center, a medical ward and a recreation room. The wing opposite the private rooms held training facilities... basically a gym and obstacle course.
Just beyond the complex was the hangar with its wide segmented steel doors. Here one of the three CORBY stealthcopters was stored, while another was kept at the KDF headquarters in New York City and the third was at the HCE Project in New Mexico where Stephen Weaver did maintenance and upgrades on them. The copters were rotated on a regular basis. Demrak Jin glared back over her shoulder, but the hangar door was down and there was no sign of a second CORBY. She became convinced that it was not one of her teammates who had come to the island in that speedboat.
As she trotted silently toward the boathouse, barefoot on the rocky ground but not noticing the sharp edges under her toughened soles, the Gelydra adjusted her grip on her weapon and readied herself to tackle any possible adversary. From around the side of the structure, looming up six inches over six feet in height, came a bearded man in plain white slacks and white polo shirt with deck shoes and a billed cap. He was an impressive example of highly developed muscle, with a V-shaped wedge of a torso above a narrow waist. The big Melgar grinned, showing a flash of white teeth through a thick short beard. Like his curly brown hair, the beard had flecks of grey scattered through it.
"Galvan?!" she gasped, almost dropping her weapon. "How dare you show up here on Hawk Island?"
"I have come to see you," the big Melgar said in an uncharacteristally subdued voice.
Jin reached up behind herself to sheath her sword. "Me? No. I certainly don't want to talk to you. We need not ever meet again. Go away."
"Now, now, don't be like that. I rented that boat in Southport to come here. These are treacherous waters indeed. If I had not already known about the reefs and sharp submerged rocks around this island, I doubt if I would have made it here."
Folding her arms across her narrow chest, Demrak Jin fixed her most ferocious scowl on her face. "I think you have done enough harm to me, son of Androval. Better a broken leg than a broken heart, as the old lore has it."
Stepping closer, towering by more than a foot over the diminuitive Gelydra, Galvan removed his cap and held it humbly in front of him. "I have been thinking about you, Jin. Often. I can picture your face and hear your voice in my daydreams. To be honest, this is new to me. I do not know what these feelings are."
"Oh, please. You are a hundred and forty years old. I am sure you have bedded more women than would fit on this island. You received what you sought from me, now move on as you said you intended."
"I was wrong," Galvan said simply. He lowered himself to sit on a flat rock so that their faces were on a level. "Jin, I did not know what this feeling was until it came to me. I am surprised by the joy. Even if you will not be with me, I have to tell you this."
"Are you serious? You ARE serious." The small white-haired Gelydra visibly softened, her shoulders lowering and her fists relaxing into open hands. "But me? Of all people, you are saying you have feelings for me?"
"That is the truth of it," the Melgar said. He clasped his big rough-skinned hands in front of him and gazed down at them. "I'm miserable, Jin. I had to see you again. But now that I am here, I do not know what to say."
She did not answer for a long tense moment, then came over to sit next to him. "Galvan, I was hurt when you said you were leaving. It still is a cold pang in my heart. But I think I can rise above that and move on. My anger should be a servant and not a master."
Galvan seemed as if he wanted to touch her, perhaps embrace, but he was restrained in a way she had never seen in him before. "At least, we should still work together," he said. "The comradeship you have with your team of Tel Shai knights is a rare thing."
"Oh, I have come to realize that," Demrak Jin told him. Suddenly she untensed. "I realize now that they put up with my moods and temper and lack of manners as few Humans would. I have even mentioned this to them."
"I'm glad I came to see you. Truth be told, Jin, I was more afraid of coming to see you than I have ever been facing Trolls or Darthim." He broke off as they both saw the black helicopter approach from the south.
It was one of the CORBYs, so well silenced that it made no more noise than a gust of wind would. Showing no external lights, bearing no identifying logos or numbers, the Trom-built craft swiftly lowered fifty yards away from them. As the landing gear swung into position and the rotors slowed, they could spot Haley Lawson in the pilot seat, giving them a cheerful salute. The front left hatch hissed open as pressurized air was released. A powerful figure in blue and white jumped out.
Galvan stood up. "Sulak!"
II.
The Champion of Androval was a few inches shorter than Galvan and lighter in build, though still an amazing specimen of hard, toned muscle. Unlike Galvan, he was clean-shaven, with shaggy black hair over a face more rugged than handsome. Blue eyes stood out vividly under heavy black brows. Sulak was clad in his arena uniform, the Royal blue long-sleeved tunic and leggings of silk, with white leather boots and gloves. A white mantle around his shoulders bore a single vertical red stripe as the mark of his rank.
"Galvan, hear me!" Sulak yelled out in his commanding voice. He strode toward where his fellow Melgar and Demrak Jin awaited him. "You are summoned to the royal court. Baron Fargul disputes the borders of your lands and claims your tenants have wandered onto his fields in your long absence."
"Feh!" Galvan snorted in dismissal. "This is a matter the counselors can easily settle. Let magistrates stroke their white beards and pore over dusty ledgers on matters of law. I am busy with something more important."
"What? You refuse the summons?" demanded Sulak, still in a louder tone than seemed really necessary.
"Is it from our King himself? No, I didn't think so. For anything less than a command from the throne, I can let my stewards handle affairs. As you know well."
The Melgar Champion stepped to his left as he spoke, and Galvan moved with him to keep the same distance between them. They headed into a clear space with waist-high boulders forming a wall to one side. Beneath their feet were fine pebbles and the sparse hard dirt that had always made Hawk Island unsuitable for crops. Sulak stood twenty feet away from Galvan, feet braced wide apart and fists lowered to his sides. "Choose your words carefully, old man," he growled.
Haley Lawson had hopped out of the CORBY and sealed its hatch. She was not wearing her Windcatcher outfit but plain civilian clothes of jeans, T-shirt and light windbreaker. Taking the startled Demrak Jin by one arm, she tugged the uncomprehending Gelydra back out of the way.
"Oh, this is gonna be good!" Haley whispered. "These two are ready to slug it out. I'd record it for YouTube but I've been warned by Sable specifically never to do that again."
"Why?" asked Jin, staring at the two giants. "I don't understand."
"Because they're Melgarin! These guys love to brawl. I never met a Melgar who would miss a chance to punch someone's face. Heck, even the little kids and old people enjoy fighting. If they weren't so darn tough, they'd all be extinct by now." Haley made an eloquent shrug, with her shoulders up and a wry grin. "They're like... I dunno, a saloon full of drunk cowboys on a Saturday night in the Old West."
"I... think I understand," Jin answered. She moved back to sit on a flat-topped boulder. Overhead a seagull wheeled by and squawked. The Gelydra settled down as Haley Lawson scooted over next to her.
"If only we had popcorn," the Windcatcher muttered.
Even for Melgarin, Sulak and Galvan were exceptional. They were both heirs to the Legacy of Malberon, the ancient spell infused in the very cells of each Melgar. One male and one female child in each generation developed incredible physical strength and resilience that bordered on invulnerability. Their bodies were reinforced with gralic force that grew more potent as they aged.
Decades earlier, Galvan had been the Champion of Androval but he had been asked to step down and pass the title to the upstart Sulak. Bitter as this was to endure, it had been a direct edict from King Holmir himself and Galvan had grudgingly complied. He had spent most of the years since then wandering the world and other realms. Galvan had considered himself free of his responsibilities as well as his title, so he had given himself over to a life of heavy drinking, gambling, womanizing and general boisterous behavior.
The two powerhouses circled each other without another word. Each spent a few minutes watching his opponent, judging how he reacted to feints, how quickly he moved on his feet, the expression in his eyes. Galvan was a bit taller and heavier than Sulak, and he also had more years of the gralic force accumulating within his body. He had always boasted that Sulak was no match for him, but it had never seemed like that claim would be tested. Until now.
Sitting next to Demrak Jin, legs tucked up under her with a casual flexibility that showed how young she was, Haley said, "Were you guys getting back together? Hope we didn't interrupt anything."
"Never mind that," the Gelydra snapped. "Do you think Sulak will hurt Galvan? My people tell so many frightening tales of Sulak from the days when Androval invaded us."
Haley chuckled and leaned up against the irritated Ulgoran woman. "Wanna put a twenty on your guy to win?"
As she spoke, Galvan wrapped his arms around a rock the size of his own torso, lifted it easily overhead and pitched it fast as any baseball. Sulak did not flinch. He drew his right arm up, elbow back by his ear and met the boulder with a straight punch that made it explode into flying chunks and gravel.
III.
The two gladiators charged each other eagerly. Galvan feinted with a left jab, positioning himself for the right hook that would follow. Sulak ignored the jab which had no focus behind it, slipping in close and crashing an overhand cross that snapped Galvan's head to one side and left him open. As part of the same motion, Sulak then drove his other fist into the pit of Galvan's stomach with a noise that sounded like a rock hitting a slab of frozen beef.
To the amazement of Jin and Haley, that punch drove Galvan skidding back for fifteen feet along the rocky ground before he caught himself. This would happen over and over in the fight. The Heirs of Malberon were so overpowered that their strength overcame their opponent's bodyweight. Every time one of them landed a solid blow, his opponent went flying as if launched from a catapult. It soon developed a vaguely slapstick aspect. Galvan connected with a perfect uppercut that caught on the chin and Sulak went up off the ground completely so his feet dangled unsupported in the air for an instant. As he came down again, Sulak swerved behind his opponent and drove an elbow to the shoulder blades that slammed Galvan face down on the ground so hard it left an imprint. Yet the older Melgar leaped up again as if nothing had happened.
After the first few minutes, it became clear that those who bore the Legacy of Malberon were slightly more resilient to harm than they were super-strong. Sulak and Galvan sent each other reeling back or spinning away in somersaults and cartwheels whenever they connected, but those thunderous blows did not have any lasting effects. Impacts that would have killed a horse were shrugged off negligently. As the fight swayed back and forth, it inadvertently showed aspects of an acrobatic display as much a boxing match.
As Galvan had his arm extended from a straight punch which missed, Sulak seized him at wrist and elbow, throwing him over one shoulder. Haley and Jin barely jumped out of the way in time with alarmed squeals as Galvan crashed down on the flat-top boulder where they had been sitting. He left deep cracks in the rock. Evidently not even noticing the impact, the older Melgar was up on his feet again and rushing at his opponent.
"Gah-DAM," said Haley with a whistle. "His body broke solid granite. And that's the guy you were having sex with?!"
Demrak Jin sniffed and folded her arms. "He is very gentle."
Getting behind his opponent, Galvan brought both arms up under Sulak's armpits and locked his hands together behind the younger Melgar's head in a classic full nelson. Planting his feet, he began forcing his opponent's head down and forward in a dangerous move that could cause serious damage. Sulak responded instantly by drawing his knees up to his chest and then slamming both boots down in front of him. This lifted them both up off the ground and back into the air, crashing down with Galvan underneath. They rolled over into a tangle of arms and legs.
The next ten minutes moved with glacial slowness as they wrestled. Galvan and Sulak were evenly matched enough that they strained with agonizing effort just to get a foot planted for support or to raise up on one elbow in an effort to break a hold. There were grunts and exasperated snorts, but their relative positions did not change much.
"This part is sorta boring," Haley scoffed. "Now is when I would recommend taking a bathroom break if you need one."
Jin shoved her away roughly. "You are not taking this seriously, Windcatcher!"
"Cut me some slack," she said. "Look. These guys don't really need to be doing this. They're enjoying it. I bet they've been hoping for years they'd get a chance to fight each other."
The Gelydran woman seemed uncertain. She watched the wrestling men, then turned back to her teammate. "Can I be honest? I understand how they feel. In Ulgor, we are raised from childhood as warriors no matter what our real trade is. And we do become fascinated by how well our techniques work, how we fare against a foe who is stronger or quicker or trickier. We fight sometimes until the first injury against friends just because we are obsessed with our abilities. We are slaves to our own skills."
Haley Lawson dropped her usual insolence for the moment. "Jin, it sounds like you Gelydrim and the Melgarin have more in common than you realize, you know?"
"I have sometimes thought so," the small blonde admitted. "It may be one reason why our Races cannot stand each other. Oh! Look. They have broken off."
Galvan and Sulak had simultaneously shoved away from each other and rolled out of reach. They got up on their feet, clothes hanging in tatters that barely covered them. Both were glistening with sweat and breathing heavily. Like two bighorn rams slamming together, they met in a flurry of close body blows that smacked frighteningly loud. In theory, Galvan should have been stronger enough to have a real advantage but he had met his match in Sulak. The younger Melgar had studied Kumundu under Teacher Chael at Tel Shai while he had been a KDF member, and he knew moves that Galvan had never seen before.
The Androval arena code regarded kicks as cowardly and dishonorable. The eyes and throat were forbidden as targets, but aside from that anything was fair game. They fought without padded gloves, and many punches were blocked or deflected with open hand slaps. Elbows were used as much as fists.
Slipping under a right cross, coming up with his back pressing against his opponent's chest, Sulak exploded an elbow right between Galvan's eyes. That dazed the bigger man. As Galvan staggered back a step, Sulak whirled and ripped a perfect hooking blow that detonated on Galvan's jaw and spun him around in a complete circle. The older Melar shook his head and raised his fists but he had lost his defenses and was open. In half a second, Sulak blasted a left hook and then backfist with the same arm, ending the attack with an overhand right that sent Galvan reeling like a drunkard. All three blows landed almost simultaneously. This time, finally, the blows were beginning to have cumulative effect. Galvan fell to a sitting position and tried vaguely to get himself positioned to rise. He seemed disoriented.
Pausing to wipe the sweat from his face, Sulak caught his breath. The craggy face was beginning to show some bruises after the pounding he had taken from an equal. Only scraps of white leather around his wrists remained of his gloves and he tugged them off to throw them away. Sulak was smiling with deep satisfaction as he stepped up to loom over the dazed Galvan.
"I must ask you if you yield," Sulak said loudly and clearly, giving his opponent a chance to answer. When no reply came, Sulak cocked his right fist and raised it up behind his own head to ready a decisive crushing blow. "Very well, then-"
He stopped short as the sharp edge of a bone blade slid up against his throat. The big Melgar raised one eyebrow in surprise as he saw a tiny white-haired woman in a sharkhide outfit interposing herself between Galvan and himself.
"I know I cannot harm you," Demrak Jin announced. "My sword will snap and my fists shatter against your unnatural body. But hear me, son of Androval. Before you strike Galvan again, you will have to slay me."
"This is unexpected," answered Sulak, opening his fist and lowering his hand. "I have heard of you, daughter of Ulgor. And you agree with her, Windcatcher! You know you bear a Melgar talisman that was property of the Heirs of Buliwyf many years ago."
"It was passed to me by my mother, Lisa Lawson," Haley said. "I'm going to stand with Jin on this. You've won, Sulak. There is no need to beat a defenseless man."
"So be it," said the Champion. He gazed down and saw that Galvan was recovering quickly and about to get up again on his own. "This is rare indeed, a Melgar and a Gelydra being friends."
"More than friends!" snapped Demrak Jin. "Yes, I have said it. Love is never a thing to be ashamed of."
Sulak smiled. "Ah. I see. This is why Galvan wanted to stay in the real world. What is mere court summons when his heart tells him to remain here? Very well. I myself have loved and lost, and a heart which has suffered is more giving because of it."
Demrak Jim lowered her blade, watching Sulak suspiciously. As Galvan rose to his feet, she went over to stand next to him.
"Haley, if you will fly me back to your headquarters?" asked Sulak.
"Sure," Windcatcher said. "What's the score, I mean what are you going to do?"
"I will return to Androval and report the truth... that Galvan is working with the Tel Shai knights of the KDF. That is a valid reason to ignore a summons. If the Baron is displeased, let him take it up with me if he dares."
Galvan had gathered his wits about him again. His clothing also had been reduced to a barely decent shred around his loins and a few strips of cloth hanging off his arms and legs. Some of the battering he had taken was beginning to show on his body. "Whew. A good fight, fair and unquestioned, Sulak. I congratulate you on your victory."
Starting to follow Haley back toward the CORBY, Sulak extended his hand and Galvan shook it firmly.
"My victory?" repeated the current Champion. "I think you should know our ways better than that, old man. We will face each other again. Best two out of three!"
12/3/2016
