by Reece Dinn
(Thirty Years Ago)
Chapter Twenty
Melonaz spat blood onto the snow. He gripped his wooden sword tightly, raising it to strike at Nekolz, his opponent puffing out his chest in a ridiculous manner in an attempt to appear intimidating. Melonaz sniggered, then winced as the several large cuts scoring his bruised, red skinned face stretched. Blood dribbled down his face and onto the brown furs he wore, he didn't bother to wipe himself. Flicking his long, black Sehnal braid over his shoulder, he prepared to attack..
Nekolz's two friends, one chubby, one small, stood watching the fight. They encouraged Nekolz while mocking Melonaz, their constant shouting irritating. The towering peaks of Mir-Tolkz loomed in the distance, as though the mountains were watching the fight as well.
'You fight like girl. Want fuck me?' said Nekolz, a smile spreading across his acne covered face, his red skin marred with purple blotches. He raised his own wooden sword, daring Melonaz to attack.
I rip open your throat. Watch you bleed, thought Melonaz. He attacked, charging and swinging a strong overarm blow, but Nekolz easily parried it, then swiftly darted to the side and punched him hard in the nose. He staggered back, his nose stinging, eyes filling with water, but he remained on his feet. He charged again, swinging furiously, slashing and stabbing, using all the strength he could muster. Nekolz blocked each blow, remaining strong and firm.
Melonaz renewed his assault with vigour, but an unseen strike to his stomach brought him to his knees, the force of it winding him. A stomp on the back of the head smashed his face into the snow. Nekolz's friends burst into laughter as Melonaz pulled his head out. Nekolz stood over him, puffing out his chest, a satisfied smirk spreading across his disgusting face.
'You awake?' asked Nekolz.
The three boys laughed again.
I tear off your face. The laughter stung more than any cut or bruise. He spat at the bloody imprint his face had left in the snow.
Nekolz shook his head. 'Want more?'
'Nukuk,' growled Melonaz.
'You weak. Not worth the effort.'
Melonaz pushed himself to his feet and looked his opponent straight in the eyes as he tried to raise his sword, but it fell through his numbed fingers. His three tormentors howled with laughter. He cringed, anger swelling up inside him. Stop it. A strong wind blew across the plain, whipping snow up into his eyes.
'Give him two swords, Nekolz,' shouted the chubby boy, 'Make it a challenge.'
Melonaz wiped the snow from his eyes.
'Look, he's crying,' one of them shouted.
'Nukuk,' Melonaz snarled back. Clenching his fists, he raised them up to his face.
Nekolz threw down his sword, raising his own fists.
Melonaz hesitated, then shuffled a couple of feet towards the older boy, bracing himself for an attack. Lobkak. Gritting his teeth, he swung a right hook at Nekolz's head, then a left, another right, again and again, punching harder and faster, elbowing him, kneeing him. Nekolz dodged and blocked, batting away his hands each time he tried to grapple with him. Melonaz swung again at his head but was knocked back by a knee to the stomach, then a sharp punch to the jaw snapped his head back.
He swung again, wildly now, lashing out, but hitting nothing but air as he pressed forward, launching a flurry of punches. Nekolz ducked under them and grabbed one of his arms, twisting it. Sharp pain blazed in the limb as it splintered. Melonaz screamed, hot tears running down his face.
'Happy?' Nekolz pushed him away and kicked him in the rear, knocking him down.
Melonaz couldn't stop the tears as he lay on his side, holding his damaged arm.
Nekolz's small friend rushed to his side. 'Nekolz, you break his arm.'
'Lial will beat you bloody. Throw you in pit,' said the chubby boy.
'Bonokok not listen,' said Nekolz. 'Needs to learn respect. Come.'
'You're leaving him?' asked the small boy.
'I not carrying him. You can. Village is over there,' said Nekolz, pointing across the plain.
Melonaz glared after Nekolz as he walked away. Ugly lobkak. With his good arm he pushed himself up again.
'He up,' shouted the chubby boy. Nekolz spun around, astonished.
Melonaz's broken arm hung limp at his side. He hunched over, wincing from the pain. I not lose. I stronger than this. Every limb burned as he walked forward, swaying from side to side, his head swimming from the pain.
Nekolz snarled, charging towards him. 'Nukuk,' he snapped, skidding to a halt just short of him.
'Not lose,' whispered Melonaz.
Nekolz's face twisted in rage. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes to calm himself, and raised his hands towards Melonaz. A strong blast of wind blew out from Nekolz's palms, knocking him off his feet. He landed on his broken arm, which caused him to scream again.
'Nekolz,' the short boy cried, 'Lial will kill you if he hears you use Raiz.'
'Lial won't if he not know.'
His two friends mumbled in agreement.
He cheat. Not fair. Not lose like this.
'Enough.' Nekolz turned his back on Melonaz, walking away.
Melonaz slowly raised his good arm. Focus. He tried to push all pain from his mind to calm himself so he could feel his Raiz.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
A faint, warm tingling sensation.
Raiz, the energy which made up his whole being, his mind and body. He focused it, bringing the energy under his control, and thought of lightning, flashes of light, the crackle of sparks, the force of it. Lightning. Lightning.
His Raiz swelled and he pushed the energy out through his raised hand using his mind, willing it to become lightning. Lightning. Lightning. Lightning.
Electric sparks crackled across his palm. A ball of lightning burst into being.
Nekolaz spun around. His two friend's stood watching with open mouths.
The ball grew in Melonaz's hand, crackling violently.
'Little lobkak,' Nekolz snarled.
Before Nekolz could react, Melonaz unleashed one big blast of lightning. It zigzagged towards Nekolz, but missed, shooting off into the distance. Need draw Raiz back, fast. Melonaz felt for the expended Raiz's tug on his mind.
Nekolz growled, quickly raising his own arm. Within a moment sparks formed into a ball in the palm of his hand.
Melonaz detected the tug of his Raiz and drew back the scattered energy.
Nekolz fired, the lightning striking Melonaz in the chest with tremendous force, burning through his skin and jolting body. Maddening, searing pain exploded in his chest, through his lungs and heart. He couldn't breathe. His mouth frothed.
Then nothing. Light vanished. Voices became distant. He tried to focus on his Raiz, but the warm tingling faded until there was nothing left but faint voices.
'You kill him,' said the small boy.
'No, he live,' said Nekolz.
'Nekolz?'
'Sense no Raiz in him,' said the chubby boy.
'Lial kill us for sure,' cried the small boy.
'Not want to die,' said the chubby boy.
'Shut up,' snapped Nekolz.
I lose.
No.
He can't win.
Won't let him.
No.
Something awakened deep inside of Melonaz. Raiz filled him again.
Suddenly his body began to heal itself, unaided. His Raiz grew stronger, becoming a burning prickle throughout his body instead of a warm tingle.
'See? Raiz. Feel?' snapped Nekolz.
'He alive. Wait,' said the chubby boy.
'I feel it too.'
'His Raiz grows' the small boy stammered.
'Look, his arm,' said Nekolz.
Melonaz opened his eyes.
The three boys recoiled in shock.
Melonaz cracked his neck, took a deep breath, then gently exhaled as he sat up.
'No,' said Nekolz, staggering back.
The chubby boy shrieked. 'What happen?'
Melonaz smiled. His Raiz grew stronger with every moment, its heat becoming maddening. He raised his now fully healed arm and tried to focus his building Raiz, but searing pain shot through his head, his Raiz unbearably hot. He struggled for breath and fell back, gasping for air.
He awoke slumped against a cold rock wall. It was dark save for the glow of Rez, the red moon. A light snow fell, the moonlight making them look like falling embers. He brushed some from his face. His rear was numb from the cold, hard floor of the pit. He attempted to stand, but as he did sharp pain burst through his head, bringing him back down. He rubbed his head and found a large lump on the top of it.
No doubt the Lial had thrown him down there. I lose. How much of a beating he'd receive he couldn't be sure, it would depend on what lies Nekolz and his friends had spun. Melonaz's furs and body were covered in dried blood, and there was a hole burnt through the middle of them where Nekolz's lightning blast had struck him. Regardless of whatever they had said it was obvious that he was guilty of something.
What happen? Remember my Raiz grow. How? At first it'd felt like something had awakened within him, but now he wasn't so sure. The Raiz had come from somewhere outside of him, like something had connected with the very fibre of his being and had flooded into him.
The snow thickened, Melonaz shivering as it covered him. He curled up into a ball and attempted to use Nipah, turning his Raiz into internal heat, but as he calmed his mind sleep took hold of him instead.
A slap to the face roused him. It was a full cutlet of mirac meat. He peeled it off, admiring its nice brown colour as it dangled before his eyes. Blood dripped from its bottom and it held a musty smell from the manure it'd been cooked over. He couldn't see where it'd come from, there was only the grey gloom of the overcast morning sky above.
'Eat,' said a familiar, gravelly voice.
Melonaz sniffed it again then took a bite. Blood oozed out into his mouth. The meat was thick, its flavour strong, texture rough and chewy. He swallowed, then eagerly took another bite.
The Lial appeared up above, his tall form and broad shoulders blocking most of the light. His stern features were creased into a frown, his red skin even redder than usual from the cold, the small scars on his chin as white as snow. His Lialstone hung from his neck, the lumpy, round stone's purple hue brighter than normal. In his left hand he held his heavily chipped, long metal battle staff. Melonaz continued to eat his meal.
'What happen?' asked the Lial after Melonaz had finished.
One wrong word and this would go very badly for him, he knew. 'We train, Lial.'
The Lial's eyes narrowed. 'I not a bonokok. You duel with him.'
Melonaz shook his head. 'No, Lial, we train. Go wrong at end.'
'No. They train, you challenge.' The Lial flicked his Sehnal braid over his shoulder.
Lying pieces of kak. 'They lie, Lial. We train. Nekolz challenge me to duel. I say yes.'
The Lial gritted his teeth. 'You do duel with him?'
'No, Lial. We spar.'
'Most duel sparring, Sehnal. You not duel, no Sehnal can, unless I say so.'
Melonaz didn't respond.
'You use Raiz. I punish you,' said the Lial.
'Nekolz use it first.' Melonaz folded his arms. 'I defend myself.'
'Nukuk,' the Lial growled, then spat down at him. 'I see you try strike him. Lucky he not kill you.' He paused. 'Not know how you not dead.'
A moment of silence.
'What happen?'
Melonaz hesitated.
'Answer me,' snapped the Lial.
'Yes, Lial,' Melonaz stuttered, 'After lightning blast I not remember.'
'Think I believe you?' The Lial watched Melonaz intently. When nothing further came from him the Lial continued. 'You hurt, I see that from far away. Snow wet with your blood. I sense last of your Raiz leave you.' He hesitated, 'You die, it feel like. Then Raiz grow inside you. Big Raiz. You pass out. I look at your body, no scratch on you. Just blood. How you heal those wounds? What do?'
Melonaz shifted uncomfortably on the frozen ground.
'Not remember?' asked the Lial.
'No, Lial.'
The Lial growled. 'You hide something.'
Melonaz shook his head and it swam from the motion.
The Lial stared down at him, his gaze penetrating, Melonaz had to look away. I not know. Leave me alone.
The Lial still watched him, contemplating something. 'You remember as boy, with the mirac? You survive a stampede, but not know how you do it. Remember?'
Melonaz shook his head.
'This not right. I know what I sense, what I see. No use Raiz away from me again. I kill you if do. Understand?'
Kill me! A sudden fear took hold of Melonaz. He nodded, shying away again from the Lial's intense gaze.
'You stay here until next night. Then I punish you. Everyone will watch. You not train with old Sehnal. Not go near them, at all. Yes?'
'Yes, Lial.' As the Lial turned away Melonaz shouted up to him, 'You punish Nekolz. Other boys too?'
The Lial held his staff over the pit's edge. 'Their blood stains my staff.' He turned away again. 'Your Mal will bring food. If she not kill you first.' There was no humour in his voice. Without another word he left.
Melonaz curled up into a ball, closed his eyes and smiled to himself.
Chapter Twenty One
Melonaz pulled his furs over his head and laid himself over the rock. He regretted not bringing a piece of wood to bite down on. The other Sehnal crowded around, shouting things he couldn't understand while clapping in a rhythm that matched the pounding of his heart. He clenched his fists. Do it, Lial. Finish this fast.
All eyes were on him, willing him to break down.
The sound of the Lial's swinging staff drowned out the shouts and claps of the Sehnal. He closed his eyes, shuddering in anticipation. The cold tip of the staff brushed his left shoulder, then the right, down the middle of his spine, then along his lower back, taunting him. Do it. His mouth filled with rancid tasting spittle. He spat it on the rock.
The Lial swung the staff again, brushing the back of Melonaz's neck. Then the Lial roared and struck him hard in the middle of his back. Melonaz heard the crack of his bones. He gritted his teeth to stop from crying out, the force of the blow slamming his torso against the rock. The wound stung but he clenched his fists tighter, waiting for the next one.
'One,' said the Lial. The Sehnal clapped harder now, shouting indiscernible insults.
Thud. The second struck him in the same spot. He bit his tongue, blood filling his mouth.
'Two.'
The staff struck his lower back, the staff itself sounding like it'd snapped. Melonaz's knees buckled and he slid down the rock. Burning pain sapped his strength, his will to resist, the skin splitting where the staff had struck. Warm blood trickled down the backs of his legs.
'Three.'
Melonaz tried to pull himself up but he couldn't. The fourth struck him between the shoulder blades, the staff's edge flaying the skin as it was dragged down him. Finally he cried out.
The Sehnal cheered.
'Four.'
Crack. Pain exploded in his left shoulder, the force of it causing him to bite his tongue.
'Five.'
Snap. Pain in the right shoulder. He cried out again, blood oozing from his mouth.
'Six.'
The staff struck him right at the top of the spine.
'Seven.'
The staff struck his shoulders. He screamed.
'Eight.'
The steady beat continued, whether it was the clapping of the Sehnal or his heart Melonaz couldn't say. He opened his eyes, unclenching his fists. Blood dripped from his fingers, running from where his nails had dug gashes into his palms.
'Up, Sehnal,' said the Lial.
Melonaz pushed himself to his feet, using the stone for support. Swaying on his feet, he gave the small crowd gathered around a quick glance, searching for the faces of Nekolz and his two friends. Li
al not let them watch. Good. Slowly, he lifted his head up to meet the Lial's hard gaze.
'It done, Sehnal,' said the Lial. 'You cry, show that you are weak.'
Why cry? All see. Melonaz listened for laughter but there was none. 'Yes, Lial,' he muttered.
'Good.' The Lial raised his staff so the crowd could see, Melonaz's blood dripping from it. 'It done. All of you remember this lesson. No duelling unless I say so. I punish you if do.' He planted his staff firmly in the snow. 'Go,' he ordered the crowd. They dispersed, sniggering amongst themselves.
The Lial turned back to Melonaz. 'Go to the river, wash your wounds. Return to training in one day.'
'Yes, Lial.' He bowed his head. If can walk.
Seemingly satisfied, the Lial followed after the crowd, leaving him standing alone.
Melonaz's wounds stung as he attempted to wash them in the cold river, but couldn't reach around to his back. Instead he tried to use the Raiz healing technique Brubah, but couldn't focus his mind enough to do it. The effort however did take his mind off the pain.
When he arrived home his Mal hit him hard across the head, sending him to the ground, then she filled his open wounds with a mixture of leaves. He rested as she dressed his wounds with fur bandages, then shaved his head, the stone knife scraping hard over his scalp, leaving only his Sehnal braid. He fell asleep shortly afterwards and slept until evening.
He awoke to the musty smell of a meaty broth and the burning manure underneath the pot. Broth? Again? Why can she not cook something else? In the orange gloom of the furaz, his Mal was hunched over the fire, stirring the broth with a wooden spoon, her thick black hair hanging over it. 'About time you awaken.' She gave him a disapproving look.
'You look like a man with that look. Stop,' said Melonaz.
She leaned over and hit his crotch with the spoon. He cried out, hot broth splattering his lap. He rubbed his crotch frantically.
'Nukuk,' he cried. 'Get hit many time today. Not need to be hit by you too.'
'You anger Lial. Make trouble all the time,' his Mal replied.
Melonaz knew better than to argue. He sat up, wincing from the pain in his back.
'He soft on you,' said his Mal. 'Take too little skin off your back.'
