NexLord: Dark Prophecies (28 page)

"It's true," Dono put in, "I have been there
since the start."

Katek paced around the room in thought for a
moment, and then spoke: "I will see this teacher of yours and then
perhaps Taumiz will guide me."

He gathered a few items and put them in a
traveling pack, then picked up a bundle of leather armor that had
three weapons wrapped up inside.  He selected a
quarterstaff and announced that he was ready to go.

"If this works out we can come back and pick
up the rest of your things," Aerin noted.

"This is all I own," explained Katek, "the
rest belonged to Temmen and it will all be buried with his
body."

"Do you need to be here for his burial?"
Aerin asked.

"No, I have already said my good-byes
when I brought him in from the sands.  What is left here
is just clay."  Still, as he said the words, Katek's eyes
traveled to the bloody body of his
master
as if wishing could bring him back.

Aerin nodded, giving his respect to the
strange boy's beliefs.  After a brief moment to let Katek
say any silent good-byes, Aerin and Dono followed as Katek led the
way out the door.  They headed out and started up a
stairway that led to the gladiator's exit from the Arena.

  As they walked through the city
people stared at them; Katek was dressed as a gladiator though his
hair was shorn off into a short nub of a ponytail.  His
body was still covered in Temmen's dried blood, for he had not
washed before departing.  Regardless of the people's
stares, Katek walked with his chin set at a high angle and his gaze
proud, as Temmen had taught.

They finally reached Mara's residence and
entered the courtyard training area.

At Aerin's call, Mara and Tocor came out of
their separate rooms and looked down from the second story to see
why he was making such a ruckus.

Mara's face was unreadable, as always, but
her eyes twinkled at seeing the blood coated
gladiator.  Aerin had been watching to see what kind of
reaction she would have, and this had not been what he
anticipated.

As usual,
Tocor was stoic.

Aerin proceeded to explain the day’s events
and introduced Katek.  When he was finished Katek
spoke.

"Aerin has spoken to me of a master fighter,
so I have come to see if he is worthy of being my teacher," he said
boldly.

Tocor raised an eyebrow at the proud speech
from the blood covered youth.

Mara had not spoken at all yet since Aerin's
return.

Aerin gestured to Tocor; "This is the warrior
I told you about."

Tocor favored Aerin with a frown from his
golden eyes, but spoke to Katek, "I could teach you, but I am not
the teacher here."

Katek was puzzled, "Who then?"

Tocor pointed to Mara, and Katek's eyes took
in the old woman.  She leaned on a cane, and her gray and
black peppered hair hung down on either side of her lined
face.  She met his frank appraisal without complaint or
comment.

"Please
accept
my apologies, as I mean no disrespect, but I do
not think this is the place for me," Katek said, and then leaned
down to pick up his bundle from the ground.

Mara spoke for the first
time.  "How well did Temmen teach you that quarterstaff,
boy?"

Katek paused, "I'm fair, for a
gladiator."

"Tocor, step into the practice sand," Mara
instructed.

Katek left his bundle on the ground and
straightened to see what Mara was up to.

"All right, Katek, you wanted to see if Tocor
was good enough to teach you, so here is your chance."

Katek eyed the large Quarian who stood
holding
a quarterstaff in his
right hand.  The young man stepped onto the sand with his
own weapon held ready.

Mara walked closer, "I did not teach Tocor to
use the quarterstaff, so that isn't a fair test of my teaching
skills, but I did have a hand in his unarmed combat
instruction.  Tocor, I don't want you to use a
weapon."

Tocor stepped to the side of the sand area
and planted the dull end of the quarterstaff a foot into the ground
with one hard jab.  He released it and moved back into
the square.

Katek looked at the ground strangely, since
it hadn't looked that soft to him.  He straightened from
his crouch in puzzlement.  "What weapon are you
choosing?"

"None."

"You’re choosing to fight, bare handed,
against a gladiator, even one un-blooded?"

Tocor shrugged.

Mara spoke, "Force him out of the square or
to the sand and you win."

Katek looked back at Tocor, "If this is what
you wish."  Shaking his head, Katek moved around the
square, staying out of arm's reach.  Suddenly he whipped
the staff around, sending one end headed for Tocor's right
knee.

Tocor moved in a blur and the staff was
suddenly in his hand.  Katek staggered and nearly pitched
out of the square.

Tocor handed the staff back to the young
fighter.  "I think you weren't ready, let's try it
again."

Aerin spoke from outside the fighting square,
"I warned you he was the best."

"Hush," Mara said to him from where she
stood.

This time,
the Quarian stepped to the exact center of the square, put his arms
to his side and closed his bronze flecked eyes.

Katek circled slowly.  He was dazed
by the man's speed.  He vowed to be more careful this
time, and not flag his move ahead of time.  Katek moved
behind and slightly to the side, before suddenly jabbing the staff
at Tocor's left kidney.

Tocor
sidestepped
smoothly and the staff
missed.  
Next,
Katek
swung the other end around in an arc toward Tocor's
head.  The quarian ducked and the staff passed over
him. 

Katek attacked and his staff blurred into
continuous motion.  He delivered strike after strike in
rapid sequence in an attempt to hit the sinuously mobile
Tocor.  Through the onslaught the Quarian moved, spun and
dodged and the wooden quarterstaff never touched him.

Panting, Katek stopped his attacks and looked
at the untouched Quarian waiting calmly before
him.  Katek stepped back and took a knee to the sand
signaling his loss.

"I am ashamed at my arrogance.  I
had not thought such skill possible.  Why is it that you
are not the teacher here?   I have never witnessed
such skill in all my life in the company of what are accepted to be
the country's finest fighters," Katek stated.

"Because Mara is the better teacher," Tocor
answered simply.

Katek studied Mara for a
moment.  "I do not understand."

"And that is why you need a teacher," Mara
explained.  "I could teach you how that man murdered
Temmen, and how you can withstand his power, but it would take more
than teaching you skills with weaponry."

"Then I accept you as my teacher."

Mara gave him a frank stare, "But, young
gladiator, what makes you think I will accept you as my
student?"

"But..." Katek said in
consternation.  "You called me back..."

"Yes, because you thought us incapable of
teaching you and I needed to prove you wrong, but you have not
proved you are a worthy student.  What sacrifices are you
willing to make to learn to fight like Tocor? How do I know
you won't quit what you have started?"

Katek seriously considered Mara's
questions
and looked at the Quarian who
hadn't even broken a sweat from their bout.  "I will give
you my complete attention,
dedication,
and obedience.  I swear on my
master's grave that I will not quit, no matter what you do or make
me do.  If I do not understand I will learn."

"You will have to be willing to give more
than that, Katek," Mara demanded.

Aerin was stunned; Mara had taught him
without making him promise anything.

"Ask me, if you can teach me what I need to
face Phassic, I will pay it."

"You must swear, on Temmen's memory, that you
will give up the life of a
gladiator
if you want me to teach you," Mara decided.

Aerin was shocked.  From what he
had
learned,
the gladiators were a
brotherhood that had raised Katek his whole life. 

But Katek did not hesitate.  "I
will give up the life of a gladiator, but I will not swear to never
fight in the arena again."

Mara nodded, "That will do.  Tocor
will show you your room and tomorrow we will begin at
sunrise.  You may call me Sen Mara."

"Thank you, Sen Mara," Katek replied
dutifully.

"Do not thank me until you realize what you
have signed up for, young man."

Chapter Eight

"Through
loss,
their bonds are found."

-  From the Prophecies of Gold

Dono rejoined the practice sessions after two
days of rest, but it took Lor three weeks to heal. When Lor arrived
via the
roofs
and descended to the
practice yard, Aerin and Katek were sparring with practice
swords.  At Lor's
arrival,
they paused and bowed to each other to signify
the practice bout concluded. 

Lor placed her hands on her slim hips and
frowned at the presence of the new boy, Katek.  "I'm gone
three weeks and I'm replaced?” she asked.

Aerin actually blushed, and Lor laughed at
his reaction.

“You were gone?” Gandarel snickered, “We
hadn’t noticed.”

"You are the boy who was wounded by the
gang," Katek stated, looking Lor over.

Lor gave him an overdone look of respect, "He
states the obvious well, what else can he do?"

Katek scowled.  "I can give you a
set of bruises that will keep you moaning in pain instead of
sassing
your betters."

Lor smiled slyly, "
Ooo
, he's tough, come then," she enjoined him, backing
into the practice sand and giving him a ‘come hither’ signal with
her forefinger.  Lor took the hilt of the practice sword
that Aerin had left stuck into the
sand
and waited for Katek.

Aerin was worried about Lor; though Katek had
gaps in his teachings that Mara was filling, weapons skill was not
his weakness.  Besides, Lor was just returning from an
injury, and Aerin had further concerns because he knew she was a
girl.  "Lor," Aerin said in a cautioning tone of voice,
"I..."

"Are you about to force me to punch you in
the mouth?" Lor interrupted in a questioning tone.

Aerin stopped speaking, shrugged, and
said, "No, it's your funeral."

"Or his," Lor noted as Katek raised his sword
to an on-guard position.

As usual, Mara turned up at that moment as if
she already knew Katek and Lor would be facing off.  She
leaned on her
cane
but did not say
anything to stop the bout.

Lor made the first move, with a quick jab
that was more of a feint than a real attack.

Katek stood his ground and parried
economically. 

Lor smiled at the obvious competence shown in
Katek's
parry
. 

Aerin sighed.  He knew Lor thrived
on challenge, and there was no give in her, even if she was
overmatched.

There was a flurry of quick attacks and
parries.  The wooden swords echoed in the courtyard with
the sounds of quick impacts.  Then Lor stepped back out
of immediate engagement range and tossed the sword from her right
hand to her left.

Katek raised an eyebrow as his opponent
stepped back into range.

Lor attacked and Katek stayed on the
defensive, for a moment, as he sized up Lor's skill while using her
left hand. 

It was his undoing.

Lor was truly ambidextrous, and while Katek
studied her sword skill, she dropped one of her leather juggling
balls into her right hand.  In a flash of speed, Lor took
Katek's sword out of line to her
left
and launched the small
sand-filled
leather ball at his head with her right
hand.

It completely surprised Katek, and the ball
struck him squarely in the forehead.  The impact startled
him more than it stunned him, but Lor spun in on the ball of her
right foot and swept his legs out from under him with her left
leg.  Katek came down hard to the sand, landing on his
back, and Lor's sword smacked him at the base of his
throat.  The blow was just hard enough to make him choke,
but not really hurt him.

Lor was back on her feet in a second, while
Katek massaged his new bruise and looked at her in anger.

"You have cheated!” he declared, after
getting his throat working again.

"Oh, and what rules were we using?" Lor asked
in amused puzzlement.

Mara stepped forward and into Katek's
view.  "Katek, if that sword had been real, what would
have happened?"

"He would have cut my head off!” he
exclaimed, still angry.

Mara continued, "And would you have then been
able to complain about the rules?”

Katek scowled.

"As I have explained," Mara said, "we
practice with the simple rule not to permanently hurt each
other.  That is the only rule, and Lor did not break
it.  This is not about the
Arena
or about games, it is about fighting and how to
win.  It is about survival and beating your opponent. Lor
used a switch to the left hand to hold your
concentration
and then used surprise from a hidden weapon
to startle you.  Lor finished up with hand-to-hand
skills
when you would have
expected the use of the sword.  Have you learned a lesson
from this?"

Katek considered for a
moment.  "Yes, don't focus on the weapon, focus on the
person.  And just because you are more skilled with a
weapon than your opponent, doesn't mean you will be the victor of
the fight."

"Though it doesn't hurt," Mara
added.  "Excellent, now I believe you owe Lor an
apology."