I climbed
down the ladder feeling pretty good about myself. I was born to rule
Albia; there was none who could get in my way. My infatuation with
Ivy was nothing more than mere Nornplay. I would no longer think of
her other than as another able body.
I began to
make my way to the battleground. As I passed by Speech Rock several
Grendels called out words of encouragement to me. The majority of the
Grendels were still on my side. I felt my chest swell with pride at
the thought of my species. We truly had come a long way in a very
short period. It was almost sad that after today there would be one
less of us to enjoy the aftermath.
Small
groups of Grendels were beginning to join themselves around the
battlefield, all of the trying to anticipate where they would get the
best view of the action. I was watching them, allowing the pride of
my people swell inside me when out of the shadows Spore appeared.
We glared
at each other for a few seconds. Spore had been born not long after
myself but despite our age difference he was still a claw length
taller than me. For some strange reason his eyes didn’t appear to
have any pupils. Unlike most Grendels who had red eyes and black
pupils, Spore’s eyes were entirely red. It was his height and his
eyes that seemed to evoke fear into all other animals and not just
the Grendels. Often when I had seen Spore walking around town there
were many small animals that would go into hiding at the site of him.
The reason for this is probably because there had been more than one
occasion when Spore had murdered animals with his bare hands. This
wasn’t unusual among Grendels, but most of them killed animals for
food or just simply because they were irritating. Spore had been
known to kill simply for the pleasure of it. This made even me sick.
It was one thing to kill Norns without mercy; they were our sworn
enemies. It was built into our instincts to go Norn hunting.
It was for
these insidious reasons that Spore emanated a feeling of fear among
the Grendels. It was probably the same reason that had brought him to
challenge me. Although using fear to control people was a magnificent
implement to use if the occasion called for it, and there was the odd
soul who would benefit from being controlled I preferred to have the
Grendels work as a team. If Spore were to overthrow me and come to
power he would rule our tribe as a tyrant and a dictator.
“This
is the day your short reign ends”, Spore snarled.
I plucked
up my courage and stuck out my chest in a defiant way. “I am a born
leader”, I replied, “Sometimes it takes more than muscle to win a
fight. Maybe you’ll learn that today, not that you will have a
chance to use that knowledge in the future”.
His eyes
narrowed in hatred. With one last snarl he spun around and walked
off. Most likely to say a farewell to his friends, the thought made
me laugh. I walked off to choose my weapon. Most people know how a
Grendel fight works but if you don’t here’s how. Each fighter
chooses an object to fight with. It can be a stick, rock or anything
else. It could even be a flower if you thought it would do you any
good. There are plenty of Grendels who wont get near a flower if they
can prevent it.
I preferred
to go without a weapon. I relied on my own strength and cunning. I
didn’t believe I should need a weapon to be able to defeat any of
the Grendels. Both Claw and Ivy chastised me for it, saying I should
use something, even if it were just some sort of shield. I stuck to
my beliefs however, and there were many who revered me for it.
Both Spore
and I went to talk to our closest friends and warm up. I went over to
Ivy and my brother, Claw. I was feeling pretty proud of myself for
glaring down at Spore and this confident feeling only rose at the
smile Ivy gave me… I mean the greeting I received from my friends.
“Where’s
Hoof?” I asked as a gruff greeting.
“He’s
watching over the Queen,” replied Claw. I met his eyes as he said
this and I saw the visible pain it caused him to think about Hoof.
Another of Hoof’s mad beliefs was that we shouldn’t fight amongst
ourselves. Unlike the Queen’s belief that we needed all the able
bodies we could get our hands on, Hoof thought it was just morally
wrong to kill our own species. The idiot. As well as this idiotic
belief I had noticed that Hoof seemed to eat less meat than other
Grendels. He seemed to satisfy himself with foods more like honey or
cheese. Perhaps he thought that killing other species was also wrong.
Bloody Nornlover.
“This
fight won’t be as easy as the last two were Thorkil,” said Claw.
“But
we know you can win,” said Ivy, “It’s your destiny to rule
Albia, one fool can’t stand in your way”.
I felt
myself swell with pride at Ivy’s comment. “Good to see some
people know what I’m capable of,” I grunted, trying to sound
tough.
“I
trust the Queen,” answered Ivy, “If she believes that you are the
link to ruling Albia then I believe you are too”.
“In
a few minutes I will prove to you that you needn’t just trust in
the Queen. I’ll show you that what she believes is real,” I said
with zeal.
Ivy smiled
sweetly at my eagerness. Then suddenly her expression changed to one
of confusion and sadness. “I wonder what possessed Spore and the
others to challenge you?” she wondered out loud.
“Birth
defects?” suggested Claw.
“Just
plain stupid?” I added.
Ivy laughed
before growing serious again. “No seriously. I mean if the Queen
has the same influence on us as she does on the other Grendels, then
why is it that there are some among us who would go against her
will?”
I pondered
this for a while. The thought had never occurred to me. It was one of
the many things I liked about Ivy. She tended to think about things
other Grendels wouldn’t. Perhaps in that way she was like Hoof,
however Ivy’s faith in what we were doing had never failed. I often
wished there were more Grendels like her. As smart as Claw was it
just wasn’t the same as talking to Ivy.
“The
Queen knows a lot more than we do. There’s probably a reason behind
everything that has happened” I said slowly.
“Perhaps”
said Ivy, but I could see it still troubled her.
Claw gave
me a solid thump on the shoulder, a sign of friendship among
Grendels. “And then again maybe he’s just thick in the head” he
said with a laugh. I laughed along with him. Go get that insidious
dope” he snarled. “Good luck”, said Ivy, giving me a playful
pat on the cheek. My heart gave a small jump. I quickly turned and
walked onto the battlefield so no one would see the dopey look that
crossed my face. I observed the battlefield to distract my mind
despite the obvious fact I had battled on the same field many times
before. The field was mostly open but here and there trees were
scattered.
Grunt was
to umpire the match. He had taken a special interest in umpiring
fights. Not that there is much to umpire. All you have to do is say
which one person can no longer keep going. Still you do get a close
view of the action.
As I was
observing the field he came up to me. “Nice day for it” he mused.
“Splendid”
I said sarcastically. I didn’t particularly like Grunt all that
much. It may have had something to do with his work ethics. While
most of the other Grendels went about their daily routines Grunt was
into some less productive hobbies. He was, as he liked to call it, a
professional gambler. Simply put he found any activity he could, and
wagered with other Grendels about the outcomes. Whether it be how
many times he could hit a target with rocks, to the winner of a
Grendel fight, Grunt would find a way to wager on it.
I didn’t
particularly like the way my personal struggles could fill his belly.
That and the fact his gambling turned him from his more important
jobs.
“So,
is there anything an umpire should know about?” he asked
innocently.
“Such
as?” I asked while I watched Spore take a sharp stick from a pile
of weapons.
“Oh,
just any sort of impeding injury that most of the Grendels don’t
know about”.
I have him
a disgusted look. “I could certainly organize some sort of impeding
injury,” I growled.
He backed
off quickly. I gave a chuckle to myself as he scuttled away. As I
went to get my own weapon I saw he had gone over to talk to Spore.
They stood for a moment before Spore took a swipe at him and he ran
off once again. I laughed out loud. If nothing else Spore had some
good qualities.
Grunt
got ready to start the fight. He called us both over to the center of
the field. All the other Grendels crowded around the outskirts of the
battlefield. They closed ranks until we had about ten square metres
to move in.
Spore and I
eyed each other off menacingly.
Grunt
sucked in plenty of air. “BBUUURPPP” he went. A great cheer went
up from the Grendels gathered.
The fight
had started.
Grunt
wasted no time and charged at me, stick raised. I had just enough
time to see the end of it had been sharpened into a deadly point. I
dodged to one side. The weapon may have been deadly, but Spore was
slow in wielding it.
He circled
around and came at me again. This time I was ready for him. I ducked
under the spear, a move I generally wouldn’t have tried, but with
Spore being so large and inexperienced with his choice of weapon it
paid off. As I ducked I spun myself around and delivered a glancing
blow to his gut, partially winding him.
He
staggered under the weight of my attack and spun around to face me
more slowly. I was tempted to take him while his back was turned and
end the pitiful display quickly but some sense of honour made me hold
my attack. The Grendels were expecting a good fight, and Grunt had to
earn his payment.
Spore
charged at me again, this time raising the stick above his head and
using it as a club. I grabbed it in mid air and used it to throw him
to the ground. I swung him round hard enough that he released the
stick and slammed into the ground sending a spray of dust flying.
The
Grendels have a cheer as I raised the stick above my head
triumphantly. I waited until Spore looked back at me before snapping
it over my knee.
Spore
lifted himself to his feet with a growl. We started circling each
other, giving out the occasional punch or kick. We both landed a few
glancing blows, nothing that could be shaken off with adrenaline.
Suddenly Spore launched forward, catching me off balance and his
clawed foot lashed out at my shin. The attack wasn’t strong, but it
surprised me enough to bring me to my knee. Seeing my vulnerability
he stepped forward and smashed his clenched fist under my chin,
sending me sprawling to the ground. I was lying on my back as he
charged at me again. He raised a leg and prepared to bring it down
into my stomach. I could see his claws were pointed downwards at me.
I didn’t like to fight dirty, but the time was desperate.
I took a
handful of dry dirt from the ground and tossed it into Spore’s
face. His temporary blindness gave me the opportunity to roll away
from him as his claws come down. They landed inches from where I had
been lying, leaving small holes in the ground.
I rolled a
few feet away and jumped up. In front of me was a piece of the broken
stick Spore had been using. I picked it up just as Spore finished
wiping his eyes clean from dirt. I threw the stick with all my might.
He watched as it stuck itself into the ground several feet behind
him. He gave a laugh. “You’ll need to be more accurate than…”
His head
snapped back as I delivered a devastating blow to it. The stick had
been nothing more than a distraction, a way to get him to turn his
eyes behind him.
I raised my
fist over my head. THWACK! Spore had recovered from my punch faster
than I had thought he would. He had hit me in the stomach and winded
me. I stepped back gasping for air. Red spots were flashing in my
eyes. As the spots cleared I saw Spore coming at me with the broken
stick. He lifted it high above his head. I pulled away from him but
it only resulted in my back being exposed. The stick collided with my
back, the end of it hitting me in the back of the head. The dots
appeared again, and then my whole vision went red and slowly faded to
black.
* * *
I must have
fainted for a few seconds. The first thing I noticed was I had a
splitting headache. The next thing I noticed was I was still on the
battlefield and Spore was standing over me laughing.
“So
Thorkil” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “It is my
hand that you die at”. He kicked me in the side. I heard myself cry
out as I rolled over onto my stomach. The red dots were as blurry as
the rest of my vision. Have to concentrate... think...
But it was
no use I was fading...fading...
Then
suddenly I know what to do. I pointed the palm of my hand at the tree
a few metres in front of me. I fired a small pin into the tree; it
was so small no one would notice. That was my secret weapon. No other
possessed the power to shoot their poison.
“Yes
Thorkil”, crowed Spore, “Beg for mercy, I want to see you
squirm”.
“In
your dreams NORN LOVER” I cried as I fired another pin. It hit the
pin in the tree and ricocheted off it and flew behind me. I heard a
yelp of pain (Spore) and grinned to myself. I jumped to my feet.
Spores cried of pain had given me new strength. I spun around to see
Spore clutching his face. I could smell blood. Ha
I though, right in the eye.
I lowered my head and charged. I hit him in the stomach. He made an
“OOF” sound as I knocked the wind out of him. I hit him again and
he went down, never to get up again. For a split second I almost felt
sorry for him. But then the power of my birthright kicked in.
“Well
Spore, looks like the tides have turned,” I said, “I told you the
smartest wins”.
“You
proved me wrong,” he said, trying to sit up. He was still clutching
at his wounded eye. “You really are our leader, you are meant to
rule Albia”.
I placed my
hand to his forehead.
“Pity
you won’t be here to see it,” I muttered. He gave a small gasp as
I fired a pin strait into his brain.
“Goodbye
Spore” I muttered, “Parting is such sweet sorrow”.
* * *
We
celebrated that night. Drink and food was plentiful. But this night
wasn’t going to be all fun. I could feel it. Just as I’d expected
Claw came running.
“What
is it Claw?” I mumbled, more than slightly drunk.
He
placed his hands on his knees and through his puffing said, “It’s
the Queen”.
I
was on my feet immediately and running to the queen’s chambers with
Claw a few feet behind me.
“What
happened?” I called.
“She
nearly collapsed, now she just keeps saying she’s hungry” he
called back. We reached the tree where the queen hangs. I dropped to
one knee and bowed slightly.
“Your
majesty” I said as I got to my feet, “What is the problem?”
“Hungry…need…”
“Yes,
what do you need my queen?” I asked.
“Need
Norns,” she answered. Then her body sagged as she fainted.
“She’s
been bibbling for a while now,” said Claw sadly, “She seems to be
confused about her problem and our mission”.
“She’s
not confused,” I said.
“You
mean?”
“Yes”
I said, “Tomorrow we go Norn hunting”.
