by Reece Dinn
The other statue was of a short, stocky man with a bald head and a face scarred with claw marks. The man carried a short sword and a shield, something ancient Kitaz warriors used, that covered most of his arm. Use shield to block attacks. They look big, clumsy. You lose speed to protect body. Shield for bonokok. This was a statue of Owoklz, Kitaz's younger Sal. It was said that he got his scars from a powerful, fire breathing creature that neither he nor Kitaz could defeat. It was the warrior Dajimoz who'd slain the creature, though the stories said Owoklz did wound it badly. Owoklz eventually died from a terrible illness when their people settled this land and his body was burned here, at the foot of the mountains.
Beroz examined the two statues, remembering the tales the Lial regaled to him and the other Sehnal when he was a child. He traced his hand along Owoklz's shield. Why need block when can attack with Raiz?Maybe he can't use Raiz? How beat fire breather with no Raiz? Kitaz could, he was one of the first men to learn how to use Raiz, and he'd passed his skills on to the first people born in their new homeland. The first Sehnal.
Beroz's favourite story about Kitaz was of the journey through the forest in the sea. Their people had rowed out to sea sat upon two big logs and had found the forest. The gola there rose high and their thick leaves shrouded the forest interior in darkness, only small shafts of light broke through the cracks. The forest was full of viscous beasts, some twice the size of mirac and deadlier than a sehseh or ankaroc. Owoklz had been ill and wounded, leaving Kitaz the only one able to defend their people. He single-handedly slew everything that attacked them and kept everyone safe, fighting battle after battle, never tiring, so the story went. The journey through the forest was long and dangerous.
Eventually though even Kitaz's strength waned and the people became scared. They were lost, trapped with no way out. Then, just when hope was fading, they were visited by strange creatures that floated in the air. Their fur glowed with many colours and they emitted a beautiful, calming light. The creatures wore strange smiles and frequently laughed in an odd, echoing way. They would vanish, then reappear some place else moments later. These creatures guided Kitaz and their people through the forest to safety, healing Owoklz and the other wounded. Nothing attacked while the creatures were with them. Two days and two nights it took to escape the forest. When Kitaz and the others were clear the creatures instantly vanished, never to be seen again.
There are some who say that those creatures were imaginary. Beroz didn't believe that though, he liked to think that there were other creatures out there, kind creatures that were stronger with Raiz than even his people were. If the stories were true then many strange and dangerous lands lay beyond Kitaz. One day, if he was lucky, he'd go and visit them. One day.
His scarred hand throbbed as if on cue.
The village of Owoklz was considerably larger than any other village. It started at the foot of the mountains, encompassing a whole area inside a huge gaping alcove in between two mountains. The village rose up the side of the mountain beyond it, up to a rock shelf where Nam-Lialaz stood overlooking the village below.
Beroz wandered into the village. Owoklz was alive with the usual daily activities of Kitaz life. Men and women went about their business, churning nibec, skinning and butchering meat, making and repairing furs for both wearing and for constructing furaz.
What was immediately striking about Owoklz, and what made it livelier than other villages, was the sheer number of Apochal there, three times as many as any other village, by Beroz's reckoning. Every road that he turned down seemed to have another danaz of Apochal walking along it, or at the very least a loner. Most were travellers, but some were residents who'd chosen to stay. There were no resident Sehnal however, the only Sehnal in Owoklz were on their Cubsoz. Children who were deemed worthy to be Sehnal were sent away to other villages to be trained by the Lial there.
Apochal came to Owoklz for several reasons, either to see the statues and learn of their people's history, to take the Trial of Lial, or to duel other Apochal and improve their skills. The first time Beroz had come to Owoklz he'd wanted to duel and gain more combat experience. He'd only just begun his Cubsoz, out on his own for the first time, and he'd been overconfident about his abilities. He'd taken a couple of harsh beatings at the hands of some other Sehnal, but he hadn't lost heart. Standing there with his body and ego battered he'd stayed and watched as many duels as he could, to learn and improve. It'd been worthwhile in the end, and he'd gained valuable experience.
The statues had held little interest for him on his first visit, but now he was finding himself drawn to them. Nowhere else in Kitaz was their any record of their people's history. He admired the skill it must have taken to carve each statue. It was unusual now for people to carve anything except out of wood, although he suspected that was to do with the Enemy and its ludenez.
He passed by the statue of the fire breather. It was twice the size of a mirac at least, its face long and menacing, unlike anything he'd ever seen, yet he'd heard that the creature itself had been twice as big still. It had large horns that pointed upwards and a mane of long, thick hair that ran all the way down its back. It sat on all fours, but upright to display its powerful body. Two huge wings protruded from its back and were spread open wide, their length almost twice as wide as the creature itself, making it even more imposing to look at. Its tail was long and thin, which would have made for a powerful weapon, Beroz imagined. He wondered what the real thing must have been like, the courage it must have taken to face such a creature, one deadlier than any ludenez.
Die. He grumbled to himself, rubbing his scarred hand.
He continued down the road that led to the meet point at the village's centre, passing by other statues depicting various warriors, but he didn't know the stories that related to them. The meet point was were Apochal gathered to duel. The area was always crowded, bustling with people wanting to bet whatever they had with whoever they could on the next fight, and spectators cheering with blood lust, booing, or simply creating lots of noise. It was thrilling, the energy of the crowd contagious, a person could get swept up in it all.
No duel for me. Not today. Need go see Ro-Lial. Warn them. Ask if can go to Nam-Laftoz. No time. Still he was eager to watch some good fights, if only for a little while.
A small crowd was gathered at the meet point, encircling two Apochal. People shouted and yelled, placing and negotiating bets, the bets constantly changing as the duel progressed. Usually people bet with items such as stone knives, other minor weapons, food, or reluctantly their nibecskins. Occasionally though a man would go so far as to bet his wife away, in rare cases even his Al. Duels often brought out a man's ugly side.
Beroz couldn't hear the ring of steel against steel, either the crowd were drowning it out, or, more likely, it was a duel fought hand to hand. As he approached the outside of the crowd the grunts and slapping of flesh against flesh confirmed that it was indeed a fist fight. The crowd circled the duelling pair, each spectator jumping up and down wildly, cheering or belittling the combatants, which made it difficult to find a spot to view the action. He caught glimpses of it through momentary gaps in the crowd, but they disappeared as quickly as they came.
The crowd roared and an opening appeared. Beroz didn't hesitate and squeezed into it. The people either side of him pressed in, but then pushed away when they realised a person was there.
One of the combatants was squeezed into a headlock, then his opponent slammed his free fist repeatedly into his stomach. The crowd howled, the thrill of battle driving them wilder and wilder, the energy intoxicating. We love fighting. Not fighting ludenez, but this though. This we love. The fingers of his good hand tingled, his hand moving to Mutumuz's hilt. Beroz pushed his way to the front, being struck several times by flailing limbs. The Apochal that'd been in the headlock landed an uppercut to his opponent's jaw, snapping his head back, and loosening the hold enough for him to slip out of it. The Apochal then attempted to follow it up with a second blow, but his opp
onent quickly recovered and blocked it. His opponent unleashed a flurry of counter-punches, pummelling him, then slammed his shoulder into his exposed chest, breaking open his feeble attempt at a defence. Grabbing him around the waist, he heaved him up over his head then slammed him down, ending the duel.
The victor stood over his defeated opponent, looming over him with a blood drenched face, breathing heavily, satisfied. The defeated Apochal didn't move for a few moments, but then, finally, resuscitated. He raised his hand up to him and waved, signalling his forfeit.
The crowd roared with applause. Winnings were exchanged, then the duel was instantly forgotten as the next two duellists stepped into the circle, the previous combatants helping one another up to make way. As they left they were laughing and joking with each other, seemingly bonded through their duel. Duels between Apochal were rarely fought for any other reason than the joy of battle. To test one's skills against an equally skilled opponent and see who was the greater warrior. All Kitaz people, whether Sehnal or not, enjoyed the thrill of a good fight.
Beroz pushed himself out of the crowd, as much as he enjoyed a good duel he hadn't the time to waste watching another. His attention was drawn up to the towering presence of Mir-Akaz that the village of Owoklz had grown up in the shadow of. The black mountain rock held an ever present violence in it that the softness of the snow never seemed to temper. Beroz followed the rise of the village up the mountainside, then the steep path that led up to the plateau above. The path was dotted with furaz that were only visible because of the thin plume of smoke that rose from their tops. Nam-Lialaz's rock shelf was no longer visible from where he was, yet he could feel its presence somehow, as if it were staring down at him through the rock, beckoning him.
He headed for the mountain path. The route he took led him past a statue of a man wearing strange looking furs. His head was covered with a fearsome looking mask that had large eyes and teeth. The rest of its head was covered in peculiar little tufts of hair, each strand spread out flat. Its furs weren't as thick as ordinary ones, and its arms and legs were exposed, its wrists wrapped in bone chains. In each hand it held a large bone club. The statue depicted a war chief from the hot lands, a leader of one of the many tribes that had tried to destroy the ancient Kitaz people when they'd first discovered Raiz. The other tribes had been scared of them, fearful that they were possessed by evil spirits and would destroy them all. The other tribes hunted and slaughtered Kitaz and Owoklz's tribe, showing them no mercy. They'd fought back, but there were too many enemies, and the survivors were forced to flee. The stories said that it was Kitaz who had gathered up the people and led them north, to eventual safety, but only after years of fighting for their lives.
Beroz had wondered why their people had never returned south and reclaimed their land. Surely the dangers of the south were nothing compared to the ludenez. Story not say where hot lands are. Only south. No man of Kitaz who had left this land had ever returned, which didn't inspire him to want to leave any time soon, unless he was sure that he could return. Find a better place? Not want to return?
Beroz wondered what the tribes of the hot lands had been like. How different had they been? Or had they been similar, only unable to use Raiz? What had made them so afraid that they had banded together to kill them? It must have been more than just superior numbers to have been able to beat warriors able to use Raiz.
The mountain path was steep and narrow all the way up to the top. Large torches were placed at regular intervals along it and, even in the morning light, they illuminated the path. There were far less people here than the rest of the village, the only people walking it were Apochal going to and from Nam-Lialaz, villagers that lived on it, or people delivering supplies up top.
The climb was steeper and more slippery than it'd appeared from the ground. Several times he lost his footing and crashed into the wall. Once or twice he fell and nearly tumbled back down the path. When he was halfway up he noticed that the sounds of the village had faded and only the light howl of the wind remained.
As he neared the top he stopped to gaze at the village below. It appeared small from above, a black smear on a white landscape. Tiny dots walked along the weaving white paths that broke up the smear, like bupbup inside a cracked rock. He was amazed that one of the most important places in all of Kitaz could seem so small and insignificant, although everything was small compared to the mountains. Beroz crested the top of the mountain path and emerged on the rock shelf.
Nam-Lialaz towered over him, its imposing presence making him feel like he was shrinking. It was higher than ten furaz stacked on top of one another, made from mountain rock, and rose up like a mountain too. It even had a snow covered peak surrounded by four smaller ones on each side of it. Beroz wasn't sure if the effect was intentional or if the snow had just fallen on it like that. The rock had been smoothed down and formed into massive blocks, then the blocks had been stacked on top of one another. It was unclear how the peaks were made due to the snow covering them. At Nam-Lialaz's base was a huge cave mouth with a large fur covering it. The huge stone furaz was surrounded by regular furaz that Apochal rested in while they awaited their Trial. The whole area appeared deserted however. The rock shelf was large and surrounded on three sides by mountain, the one open side overlooked the village.
Beroz made for the entrance. After a couple of steps though a small man burst through the fur covering the entrance and hurried over to him, shuffling across the snow more than walking, but moving swiftly. The man wasn't Sehnal, his black hair closely cut to his head rather than completely shaven, and he wore no braid. His furs were white, made from a lilnac.
'You here for a Trial? the man asked as he approached. His voice was soft, barely carrying across to Beroz.
Beroz shook his head. 'Need speak with the Ro-Lial.'
'Ro-Lial busy. No time. Five wait for their Trial. Not see them for rest of day. You can rest in the furaz there,' he pointed to a furaz near the right hand corner of the shelf. 'Your Trial will be early in morning. I come for you. Be ready.' The man turned and was about to shuffle away but Beroz grabbed him by his furs with his scarred hand. The man struggled, but to his surprise couldn't free himself.
'Not want Trial. Need see Ro-Lial. It's important,' Beroz said, firmly.
The man smirked at him, the features of his small, thinly bearded face creasing. 'All men think they're important. If what need say is important you can win your Trial. Win Trial, say important thing.'
Die.
The man broke free of Beroz's grip with a wave of his hand, surprising Beroz with his strength. 'In morning take Trial. Rest.' He shuffled away.
That really happen? He say no? Who he? Can I go in? See them on my own? They not be angry. I bring warning. They need to hear it.
The man disappeared back inside Nam-Lialaz. Rest? Yes. I walk all night. Think he right. His thoughts turned to battle as he made his way over to the furaz he'd been given. Take Trial of Lial? I die. Not ready. Need give warning to first Ro-Lial I fight. Can't win Trial as I am. He thought of the beating he'd taken from Lial Seboraz. Luck and his claimed hand had been the only things that had saved his life, the Lial would have beaten him for sure otherwise. He traced two fingers over the rough, bumpy skin of the purple scar that covered his left hand. See Ro-Lial in morning. Give warning. Won't worry about the Trial.
He felt a sharp, hot spike in his mind as someone's Raiz nearby was focused. Instinctively twisted to face Nam-Lialaz. That Ro-Lial Raiz? It was bigger than any he'd ever felt before. It faded away quickly. Don't worry. Don't worry. Not fight them. Just here to talk.
The interior of his assigned furaz was empty, not even any wood for a fire. He threw down his belongings and unrolled his sleeping fur. He didn't even bother to undress, tiredness suddenly overwhelming him. He sank down, wrapped himself in his fur and was asleep in moments.
He awoke sometime later feeling groggy and even more tired than when he'd went to sleep. The starts shone down through the hole above. How lon
g I sleep for? Need more though. He hadn't been woken, his Trial wasn't until morning. He groped around in the darkness for Mutumuz, then ventured outside.
Torches were lit all across the area, everywhere quiet save for the torches' flames and the flapping of the furaz in the light wind. He walked over to the shelf's edge and looked out at the sleeping village below, a sea of small lights flickering in the darkness. There were no moons out this night, everything beyond the torches shrouded in darkness.
A sound to the right drew Beroz's attention.
Further along the shelf's edge two men sat drinking beside a small fire. Beroz wandered over, hoping they might have some nibec to share, to calm his nerves.
Die. He tried his best to hide his discomfort as his scarred hand throbbed again.
The two men didn't notice him approach. They both wore Sehnal braids, were clean shaven and wore black furs and boots. The man furthest away noticed him first and nudged his companion. They both fell silent.
'Mofar. Can we help you?' said the nearest, in an unfriendly tone.
'Mofar. You take the Trial?' asked Beroz.
The Apochal nodded. 'We survive. Three others die though.'
'You win?'
The two Apochal chuckled.
The one nearest said, 'I say survive, not win. We give up. Ro-Lial kill other three.'
