Chapter Two:
Malek I
Twenty men sat quietly in a dark room, there was no light, and all of the men wore armor of some kind. "It's almost time." One of the men said quietly, his skin was a light brown, his eyes were brown, as well as his hair, he was fairly muscular, and stood at about 5'9. "It's about time." Said a larger man, the man was large, his body either almost all fat or almost all muscle, he stood at about 6'6.
Soon, the sound of a bell began to ring, as a door opened, and all twenty men exited the room and entered a large Coliseum, hundreds of people filled the audience, as an old man in a white robe stood on a platform with two fires next to him. "Welcome! It's time!" He yelled, his voice loud despite his age as he held a small torch in his hand, he would soon put the torch into one of the fires causing the flame to grow. "No killing or mutilation! This is a test to see who is the best fighter! All of you against the wall!" The man yelled out, as every one of the twenty men stood next to different weapons racks.
"Time to finally prove my worth," Malek said quietly, he would grab a round shield and a sword off of the weapon rack as he readied himself, all of the weapons were blunt and meant for training and practice. "May the best warrior win!" The older man yelled out, he would soon throw the torch into the arena, it would land in the center as a bell soon rang. "BEGIN!!" The white-robed man yelled out, as everything began.
Multiple men charged forward as they began to fight, the sound of swords hitting swords filled the arena. "Time to show them what I can do," Malek said quietly, he would fix the shield on his arm as he gripped his sword tightly and stepped forward and into the arena. Soon, one of the men would charge at him as Malek blocked a strike from one of the swords with his shield, he would soon deliver a strike to the man's knee before hitting him multiple times in the face with the side of his shield until he knocked the man out.
The fighting only became more intense, a large man had slammed his battle ax into the side of a man's head, it would cut him deep but not deep enough to kill. "Stay back!" One man in the arena yelled as he threw his sword at the same large man, the man would raise his shield and block the sword before he continued approaching the small man and soon slammed his shield into the man's helmet as the fell down and against the wall, before the large brutish man slammed his knee repeatedly into the man's head, blood covering his knee. "Anyone else want to challenge me?!?" The large man asked with a chuckle, as another man soon charged at him with a spear, the iron tip digging into the side of the man's stomach as he soon dropped his ax before grabbing the spear and pulling it out.
"You fool." He said as he soon grabbed the man and slammed him to the ground before slamming the spear into the man's hand. "You're lucky that there's no killing. I would enjoy taking the life from you." The large man said before picking up his ax as he twirled it in his hands and approached another man in the arena.
Malek watched as two men slowly walked towards him, one armed with a sword and the other a spear. "My brother and I here are gonna take you down first, then we are gonna take the big guy down and win together." One of them said as Malek stepped back and the other one chuckled. "You're gonna go down quick." The one with the sword said as Malek gripped his sword tightly as the two men charged.
Malek would use his sword to block the other man's sword, as he began to push him off before turning and blocking the spear with his shield. "Little bastard!" One of the men said as Malek used his sword to cut off the end of the spear before quickly blocking another strike from one of the men. "You're gonna regret this kid!" One of the men said as Malek continued to block him as the other man charged forward and towards his side, Malek would soon use this to his advantage as he moved to the side, and would soon push his sword forward some against the other man's to divert it into a different direction. The blade would soon hit the other man across his eye, as he fell back some and onto the ground as he used his hand to cover his bleeding cut.
"You Fucker!!" The swordsman said as he stepped back and watched Malek closely. "I didn't have much of a choice, I'm truly sorry. I hope his wound heals quickly." Malek said quietly as the man soon advanced forward and thrust his sword forward as Malek raised his shield and blocked it before kicking the man in the stomach and knocking him back. "I don't want to have to hurt you any more than I have," Malek said quietly as the man gripped his sword tightly and swiped at Malek, who quickly blocked it, he would soon use his weight and the blade to push the swords downward as the tips hit the ground before Malek soon elbowed the man in the head before headbutting him and knocking him unconscious.
Malek took in a deep breath as he regained his breathing, the sound of clapping soon filled his ears as he looked up to see the largest man in the arena standing a few feet away. "Fantastic, my last opponent will be a child." The man said as he slowly gripped the handle of his ax tightly as Malek adjusted his helmet and looked at him. "I'm not a child. I've come into adulthood." He said quietly as the man grinned. "You're small then, how many years have you lived?" The man asked as Malek slowly fixed his stance and looked at the large man. "Going on eighteen years." He slowly replied which made the other man's grin wider.
"So you've already come into adulthood then, I suppose you'll do." He replied as he stepped forward and soon swung his ax forward as Malek raised his shield up to block, the ax cutting through the wood and cutting it in half as both pieces fell to the ground, Malek's eyes widening as the blade nearly hit his hand. "You really think you have a chance?" The large man asked with a chuckle as Malek gripped his sword tightly and attempted to strike him as the large man raised his shield and blocked the hit before kicking Malek in the stomach and knocking him back and onto the ground before the man soon removed Malek's helmet and punched him in the head before walking back.
"That's all you got!?! I expected a real fight! A REAL CHALLENGE!!!" The man yelled out as he twirled his ax around in his hand and looked towards the audience as they cheered. "THIS FIGHT SHOULD BE LEGENDARY!!! All these people here want to see me, Bolkan of House Frig win!!" He said as he looked back towards the audience as they cheered even louder, Malek watching him as he slowly stood back up, his vision slightly blurry and his helmet now gone. "I haven't given up yet."
"The man still has some fight in him! Perfect." Bolkan said as Malek picked his sword back up and held it tightly as he advanced towards Bolkan and attempted to swipe at him, the large man stepping to the side, not showing any sign of slowness despite his massive size. "I'll let you have one free hit," Bolkan said with a grin as Malek slashed at the man as hard as possible, the sword hitting his chest plate and cutting through and grazing his chest as Bolkan smirked. "You'll leave me a nice scar, but you've lost," Bolkan said as he raised his ax and swung at Malek, who quickly raised his sword up and blocked the blade of the ax, the ax blade going through the sword's blade and breaking it in half.
"What are you?" Malek asked stepping back as Bolkan looked at him and laughed. "I'm the God of War! I'm his champion!" He said as Malek stared at him and stepped back. "You're no God," Malek replied as Bolkan smirked and stepped back as he tossed his ax to the ground and removed his chest plate. "I'll give you a fair fight, I won't wear any armor and we will see if you can still win." He said quietly, Malek's eyes watching him as he saw the man's large muscles as Bolkan picked his ax back up, the women in the crowd cheering and yelling at the large brute of a man.
"Come on! This is your last chance!" Bolkan said as Malek held what was left of his sword tightly, he had one chance and he knew he had to take it. "This is it." He muttered quietly as he gripped the handle tightly as Bolkan soon swung at him, Malek quickly diving forward barely dodging the blade as he rolled across the sand and soon slammed what was left of his blade into the side of Bolkan's stomach, blooding dripping from his wound as the large man let out an angry grunt and soon turned as he slammed his foot on Malek's chest.
"That was a good effort, you'll leave me a bad wound," Bolkan said quietly as he used his free hand to grab the handle of the blade as he pulled it out and tossed it to the side, blood dripping down his size and onto the desert sand below. "But it wasn't good enough," Bolkan said as he gripped his ax with both hands and soon raised the weapon high in the air above his head. "W-what are you doing?!?" Malek asked in horror as Bolkan smiled. "Simple, I'm killing you. To show, that I truly am the best warrior, and I don't play by any rules." He said as Malek watched as the man went to swing down before the ax flew from his hands as two arrows entered his hands before he soon began to fall forward as Malek rolled to the side barely avoiding the man crushing him.
Malek closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief, he slowly opened them as he looked back towards Bolkan to see multiple arrows in the man's back, but he still seemed to be alive. "MALEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" A voice yelled out as Malek slowly turned and looked up towards the stand to see his father, Lord Trock standing with multiple archers around him. "Shit." He muttered quietly as guards soon entered the stadium Alo with doctors as Malek was picked up by two guards and taken home towards his father's house.
"How many times have you asked me if you can participate?!?" His father asked as Malek stood quietly and looked down towards the ground. "Countless." He said quietly as his father poured a glass of wine and downed it before turning back towards Malek. "And how many times have I told you no?!?!?" He asked, his hand gripping the glass tightly as Malek continued to stare down. "Countless." He replied as his father stepped towards him.
"You're my oldest son, my oldest heir, you are the rightful ruler of Arida and you nearly got yourself killed today!! You selfish, idiotic fool!! You may as well be my bastard!!!" Lord Milton said as he stepped forward and stared down at Malek. "You are not a warrior, you are not a fighter, you are my son! And you will be the next Lord and ruler!" Milton said as Malek slowly looked up at him. "I don't want to be a Lord father." He said quietly as Milton clenched his fists.
"What then? You want to be a Knight? A fighter? A dumb-ass who marches into war and gets himself killed?!?!?" Milton asked as Malek looked up at him. "I want to defend and protect people." He replied as Milton stepped closer and into his personal space. "What do you think I do?!? What do you think every Lord in Tellus does!?!" He asked as Malek looked up at him and into his eyes. "I don't want to be a Lord Father, I'm a good fighter, I'm good in combat, I want to protect you, my brothers, my sister's, and mother." He said quietly as Milton slowly turned around and poured another glass.
"Fine, if you want to fight so much, I'll send you South. They need more soldiers after two of there's were somehow killed, and if you change your mind you can always leave and come back." Milton said quietly as Malek looked at him. "You'll leave and two days time, tell your mother and siblings goodbye," Milton said as Malek slowly nodded. "Thank you, Father." He said quietly as he slowly exited the room. "I need to give you something at dinner tonight if you're leaving." Milton slowly said, as Malek nodded and looked back. "The man I was fighting, is he dead?" Malek asked as Milton looked at him. "Somehow, he's surprisingly alive. He's tough and strong, and dangerous." Milton said as Malek looked at him. "Well, maybe I can fight him again someday." He said quietly before closing the door and walking away.
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