As Trance and Gracer left the locker room, Trance found that he was still lost in his calm as they continued toward the stalls where their robot horses were kept. He didn’t notice the increased security on the field and in the stands, nor did he notice more Griffins and some other beings there. He also didn’t notice that there was a change set up for the jousts until he was mounted on Odin and heading toward the start of the Swordsmen Joust. That is when he finally came out of his reverie and looked around.
“What’s going on,” Trance asked his two friends, as all three of them were being lead to their starting positions.
“Didn’t you catch the news last night?” answered Zam. “Three Boulthorian battleships were spotted in space apparently heading here, and were turned away.”
“Yeah, and they didn’t give more details than that. My dad thinks that they don’t want to create a panic. What were they doing here? The planet isn’t as powerful and influential as Althora,” added Gracer.
Before Trance could ask more questions he was placed in line and looked across to his opponent. A moment later he charged forward on Odin and the tournament was under way. He was victorious and had a moment to pay attention to the new set up for the tournaments. It seemed that after learning of the Boulthorian battleships the officials governing the tournaments had decided to speed up the events so that the tournaments could be completed and then the kids and their families could quickly and safely return to their home worlds.
For the upcoming jousts Trance learned that all of the participants would be paired as before but this time they would all be lined up at the same time, so half of the participants were on one side, with the other half of the participants facing them. After a five minute break as all of the results were sorted out Trance, Zam, and Gracer, as well as Rex and many of his friends, were being lined up again. Moments later Trance found that he and his friends had made it through another round. Unfortunately, Rex and five of the White Knight swordsmen had advanced also.
Two more rounds later and Trance and Zam were still competing, Gracer having been eliminated by an Azarian knight in this round. Trance could once again sense the anticipation as he saw that in perhaps three more rounds he would face Rex in the quarterfinal round. Somehow he wasn’t nervous or even concerned. If he met Rex again fine, he would face him like every other opponent. Winning or losing to Rex now didn’t mean as much to him. He had beaten Rex many times already here at these tournaments.
On the other side of the field Rex was burning and determined to beat Trance and knock him down just once. In his mind he considered that it would bring him back to where he belonged. He couldn’t ever remember feeling so angry and frustrated. It was as though Trance had set out to absolutely humiliate him here. This would be one of his last chances to gain back some of his glory.
The quarterfinal round came, and, as everyone expected, Trance and Rex were once again opposite each other. Zam had also made it this far and was to face a Samurai warrior. Of the five other knights, there was an Azarian, an Amorite, a White Knight, a Melcorian Warrior, and a Kainanth Knight.
“Okay Odin, here we go again. This is just another joust, we’ve been here before,” Trance said, as he patted the robot horse’s neck before drawing his sword and positioning himself ready to race down the field to meet Rex.
“I’m ready,” Odin replied and the horse proudly stepped up to their starting line. Even though the robot horse was an older model and was surrounded by much newer robot horses, and especially since Rex was astride the very latest model, it knew in its circuits that it belonged here. All of Trance’s upgrades and improvements had given Odin new life and a purpose few horses could hope to receive. The almost organic way the horse processed information told him that though his exterior was rougher and not as sleek and polished as many of the other robot horses, his internal parts and motors were on an even par with the other horses on the field.
Both horse and rider had gone through their struggles and each had learned to trust and rely on each other. From their first ride together to now they had made an unusual team, but as Trance had worked on Odin and had ridden him in every event all year long they had formed a very formidable team. Now the moment had arrived for them to once again ride against Rex and his shiny stallion. It even seemed to Trance that Odin raised his head and neck higher, straighter, and with more confidence. In response Trance sat straighter and steadier in the saddle as he waited for the signal to go.
With the wave of the referee’s hand they were off and in only seconds the participants charged at their opponents. To Trance it was as though time had slowed and it seemed to take minutes for him and Odin to reach Rex. Unknown and unseen to him everyone in the stands was on their feet and holding a collective breath. Wooden swords were raised and ready for a moment to strike a blow that would and could bring glory or defeat. Neither boy wanted to duel on horseback. Trance had won every duel on horseback so far. Trance knew that if Rex didn’t knock him off right now then he would come at him with such fury that they would be on the field and that it could turn out like their last duel. So here they were with one blow to settle the joust once and forever.
Smack! A train wreck would have been more humane. Trance heard and knew that his wooden sword that had survived all year was seriously cracked or broken. At this moment he wasn’t concerned for his sword as much as he was about the impact both he and Rex had delivered to each other. Rex had certainly swung his sword with every bit of strength he had. In fact it was Rex’s wild and powerful swing that Trance counted on to ultimately lead to Rex falling through the air, and to everyone and especially Rex’s surprise, landing rather heavily on the ground on his left side.
Trance on the other hand was truly taken by surprise that he was still astride Odin and holding a definitely broken sword. As he started to feel elation at this sudden victory he was also puzzled by something. For a couple moments he couldn’t explain why he felt something was different. He had fought against Rex so many times in the past year and been struck by his sword too many times to realize something was different this time. Before he could think more about what that difference was, he was startled to see Rex and his coach and team being confronted and seriously talked to by the referees and officials.
Trance saw that Rex was almost refusing to show his sword and was trying to sheath it before having it taken from his hand. In a moment there was a crowd of Trance’s team and friends from other teams including Hamon by his side. Even Corena had ridden over and sat next to Trance as they saw one of the officials raise Rex’s broken sword. Immediately Trance and everyone else on the field saw what was wrong with Rex’s broken sword. Clearly visible in the midday sun was the gleam of metal that was sandwiched between two slim layers of wood. It was obvious that some of the wood on the blade had splintered and broken off revealing the metal.
Moments later more officials converged on the scene and Rex and his coach found themselves in serious trouble. Trance wasn’t quite sure what was being said from where he sat on Odin. As he watched, some of the officials kept Rex and his coach where they stood and watched them while another official with Rex’s broken sword spoke to a senior official. Most of the officials had been on the Swordsmen Challenge decision and all of the others had seen and heard about it. This time around Rex and his coach found that they didn’t have very many supporters. Trance was fascinated as he watched the officials, and he paid attention listening to them as they moved away from everyone. Without the additional voices near them he could hear what was being said.
There were some that believed that Rex should be disqualified from the remainder of the tournaments. Others argued the fact that if they did that it might ruin his future career as a knight. Some reminded the other officials how he had proved himself to be un-chivalrous already. There was also the fact that Trance had won the joust. One of the officials pulled out a palm-sized computer and accessed the tournament rules for more guidance
.
There was a rule related to what Rex had done. It dated from eighty years earlier and stated very specifically that a participant found guilty of using an unsanctioned or altered weapon was to be disqualified from the tournaments. An amendment to the rule changed the punishment from immediate disqualification to being Slashed. The more the officials discussed the situation this seemed the most appropriate. Some of the officials still wanted to disqualify Rex; however, there were a couple officials that remembered how Rex had been in the past and believed that the lower penalty was the better course of action. One official, while feeling that Rex deserved to be disqualified, felt that the amended rule was most relevant.
The head official called the others to give their opinion, one at a time, on what to do. The majority of the officials were of the opinion that Rex deserved to be disqualified yet since they had already marked him and warned him the most appropriate action was to Slash him and demote him from being his team’s captain. With this being the consensus the head official turned back to Rex and made the announcement to the crowd.
Trance did his best to keep from being too happy and celebrating too much. It was hard, but he did his best to keep a straight face and not look too smug when Rex looked at him after receiving the judgment from the officials. Not surprising Rex was truly angry and hateful. Trance felt that the best thing he could do was just look calm and nonjudgmental and let Rex look and act as he was. Don’t do anything to continue to aggravate him, he told himself. Just let the officials settle the matter and let Rex do and say whatever. Don’t get more involved.
He saw Rex and his coach and team leave the field in a very angry huff, Trance was surprised at his feelings. True he was relieved and happy that he had won and advanced; however, with Rex cheating the victory was rather hollow. In a way he almost felt he might have felt better had Rex won and then been caught.
With Rex out of competition Trance became the true favorite to win the Swordsman’s Joust. Trance took a moment to celebrate with his team and friends before being called to line up for the semifinal match. Quickly he retrieved one of his back up swords then with mixed feelings he nodded to his opponent, Jalthord the Amorite. Trance knew that he was the second-in-command under Hamon. He was also a rather gifted swordsman and next to Rex had given Trance the most competition in swordsmen events. Trance didn’t have much time to dwell on this as the official signaled and in a moment they were racing toward each other. It was over just as suddenly as they had started as Trance found himself still on horseback and now about to face the Samurai for the title.
This was it. Once again Trance almost felt destiny at the door as he rode Odin back to the start for this joust. He knew that even if he lost now, he had made a very respectable showing here at the tournaments. He knew better than to lose his focus and concentrated on this joust like he had every joust leading up to this one.
The crowd noise was deafening when the boys collided and the Samurai was unhorsed by Trance. In relief he looked up and said a silent prayer of thanks. It was not thanks to the fact that he had won. It was rather thanks to the fact that he and his team were doing well, in fact very well. It was more than that. Trance felt a need to humble himself and acknowledge that it was a blessing that he was here at all. He knew that he would have still more work to do to get to be where he wanted to go and be what he most wanted to be, and that was to become a Golden Griffin and serve his kingdom and planet.
Late that afternoon all of the individual jousts were finished and Trance learned that he would be in the third group out of eight to joust in the All Weapons Joust. Gracer had told Trance, “Usually in the past this event will come down to the lancers.” Trance was then surprised that he was able to make it to the next round by defeating a lancer while the vast majority of the lancers won and advanced. Trance didn’t feel the pressure as he did in the Swordsman’s Joust so he did his best to relax and enjoy himself as he made it to the fourth round. Trance found himself against another boy with a lance. When he lined up he just had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be a good round for him. Moments later as he struggled to his feet he almost felt relief that his jousts were over and that he could now relax and watch the rest of the jousts and cheer on his friends and Corena.
Trance took Odin back to park him in his stall and then went to the locker room and changed. Minutes later he was with his family in the stands and cheering as the jousts continued. Gracer only made to the next round but Zam advanced two more rounds. Trance’s friend Hamon actually advanced two rounds more than Zam. Trance particularly yelled and cheered as Hamon faced Rex and raced toward him and with one great swing of his hammer blasted Rex right off his horse. Then the same boy with a lance that had knocked Trance out of competition unhorsed Hamon in the next round.
Trance really cheered as he watched Corena advance one round after another. To Trance it was amazing watching her as she jousted with her bow and arrow. She was one of the very few archers jousting. Her aim was straight and true even from the back of her horse. Trance smiled, he loved her more than any girl he had ever known. She was beautiful, vivacious, intelligent, brave, and courageous. He admired her skill as a knight. She was an excellent swordswoman as well as being rather good with her ax, but how could he describe how good she was as an archer. She had such an easy natural ability to shoot that her arrows just went right where she wanted them to go without her really aiming at her targets.
As Trance watched the next couple rounds of both the boys and the girls’ jousts he noticed that both were coming down to lancers. There were a few exceptions, such as Corena as an archer. At the quarterfinals there was still one boy with an ax. But all of the rest of the remaining competitors carried lances. The semifinals were only lancers, and the boy that won was the same boy that had unhorsed Trance.
On the girls’ side Corena was the lone girl competing with a weapon other than a lance. Trance leaped up and down and cheered with his family as Corena made history by becoming the fifth girl in the tournament’s history to win the girls Every Weapons Joust in back-to-back years and only the second to do it with a weapon other than a lance, the first archer.
King Maximus hosted a small party for the boys and girls and their families of the Gray Mountain Warriors. Trance and his family had a great time as they celebrated Corena’s victory. Trance danced with Corena all evening. The party didn’t go too late since tomorrow would be the last day of the tournaments. The ultimate competitions would be held and the top awards would then be handed out. Trance was excited for Corena since she was leading the girl’s standings. Trance was now in fourth position for the boys.
Chapter 25
Noble Stand
Trance stood on the wall of the very large fort. In his sheath was one of the two back-up swords that he had made this year. Knowing that it would be possible that his first wooden sword could be broken, he had taken the time to make a couple more swords just in case. In the fort behind him were half of the teams in the tournaments. He had had a rather rough morning. His thoughts rolled back as he recalled the events of just three hours ago. When he had arrived at the field that morning he was in for a couple of surprises.
The first surprise was when he found out that the White Knights would be on the same side as the Gray Mountain Warriors. The second surprise was that in a very close vote Rex was selected the captain of schools from the Western Constellation Schools. Trance just knew that with Rex as captain he and his teammates were probably as good as eliminated from the event. However, he was determined to do his part and fight for his team.
The Western Constellation Schools would assault the fort defended by the Eastern Constellation Schools. As Trance figured, his team was ordered to the front of the other teams. Rex and his team were at the back of the column as the match was started and they were ordered to march. He hefted his shield and strode forth. He proudly raised his head, looked toward the fort and scanned the wall, noting how the easte
rn schools were preparing to defend it.
He was not surprised to see that they had lined the wall with almost all of their archers and spearmen. Trance and his team were going to face the greatest challenge yet. Even though Rex was the captain of their entire team, Trance found that he could still command his own team.
Quickly Trance rearranged his team and they proceeded in a more protected state. Some of the other teams that were close to them, including the Armories and Azarians, saw how Trance had rearranged the Gray Mountain Warriors and how well they covered themselves that they followed suit. It didn’t take long for Rex and his team to notice that there was a subtle change in how the teams up front were marching forward.
“What are they doing?” Rex angrily asked his nearest teammate.
“It looks like Trance has rearranged his team and they are covering each other more. It also appears that there are other teams that have followed,” he replied.
Rex was furious. He had hoped that his plan of placing Trance and his team, along with some of his other strongest competitors in the tournaments, in the front would cause them to be picked off easily and removed from the competition. Now they were more protected and might last longer in this event. “They have to follow my orders and change back,” he said rather haughtily.
“Actually no,” another White Knight said rather reluctantly. “Sorry Rex, but by rule you are the captain of the whole team and you can place any team anywhere in the column, but their team captain can still command his team and direct them how he sees fit to protect his own men.”
Before Rex could do anything about Trance and his men, they were at the outer range of the bows of the Eastern schools. Moments later the battle really started as the boys that operated the catapults loaded them and launched the heavy foam rubber balls at the fort’s walls. With skill Trance directed his team to form around the archers. He then joined them in firing their arrows at the fort’s defenders.
Space Knights: The Arrival Page 31
