This is my first Inheritance Cycle fanfic going up. And while the Clans deal runs a good bit like the WarriorCats, it has nothing to do with them other than the basic ranking system. DISCLAIMER: I do not own Murtagh, Thorn, Eragon, Saohira, Nasuada, or any of the other characters from the Inheritance Cyle that might appear. They all belong to Christopher Paolini.
Murtagh jumped back. He was panting for air, his new sword held next to his head, the blade pointed at his opponent, just as he had been taught here. Tsukiko also jumped back, but much farther and higher than he, doing a back-flip in mid-air. She stood on a landing, much straighter than Murtagh. She, too, was panting, but no where near to the extent that Murtagh was. They lunged at each other, Tsukiko with her long, ghostly katana, Nopperabo, and Murtagh with his new hand-and-a-half hilted, flamen crimson, streight bladed Hono.
The two exchanged several blows for several moments, then Murtagh went for an elongated stab at Tsukiko's gut. She saw this coming, though, and hoped aside, landing on the palm of her hand, then springing back to her feet several feet away. Again, the two charged, and the Great Clearing rang with the clang of swords.
The sound of the crowds composed of all the different Clans was lost to him, for it was only a distraction. This was the event of the year for the Clans; the Warrium. It was where the finest warrior from each Clan- DragonClan, WolfClan, CatClan, BirdClan, HorseClan, BearClan, and BoarClan- is pitted against eachother, face-to-face, until each warrior has faced all of the others. There was no killing or unnecessary ruffness. However, there was also no Magic using, which put Murtahg at a bit of a disadvantage. He was not as naturaly strong as the Clan warriors because he was entirely human. The Clan-born people looked like humans, but with pointed ears (their faces not like that of the Elves') and they were also capable of turning into the Clan Animal. His current opponent, Tsukiko of WolfClan, (daughter of the Clan Leader and deputy of DragonClan, Moonstar, also known as Moonwing) for example, could turn into a silver wolf, her pelt the color of her long, smooth, glistening hair. However, that was considered a type of Magic, so none of the warriors could turn into their animal form while in battle. However, the Clan-borns were still naturally stronger than he. So it was usually necessary to use wit instead of brawn. He had managed to beat every opponent he had faced, even the biggest, buffest warrior of BoarClan. That had definately been scarry. And he had only beaten the quickest, most vicious of CatClan because he was so small, and he managed to grab him by the hair and used most of his weight to shove the derranged warrior to the ground for over 5 seconds.
Now he was up against the daughter of the ClanLeader of one of the three Dominant Clans. She wore a silver half-mask shaped like the upper face of a snarling wolf. He himself, being of DragonClan, one of the other Dominant Clans, wore a silver half-mask shaped like the upper face of a slender dragon. Tsukiko was of a powerful build, but still swift enough to get out of Murtagh's way when he tried to strike. He was of a similar build, but still was not quite as powerful and swift as she.
His whole point for being in the Warrium in the first place was so that he could prove himself equal to the Clan-borns, that just because he was an outsider didn't mean he was incapable of defending himself. However, his chances at that seemed rather bleak. He had to think quick so as to win the duel.
Despite their fatuige, her strength was apparent in her next stroke, a Yakamanuchi ment for his shoulder. When he countered it with a roof-block, the force of Nopperabo coming down so hard on Hono nearly forced Murtagh to the ground. he had to come up with something tactical if he were not to loose the duel. He felt a warm presense in his mind now, a familiar one.
Thorn! he cried with an amount of relief at the fact that he was nearby. Where have you been?
Oh, just watching you duel the other Clan warriors and munching on a deer, he answered simply.
Another one of Tsukiko's strokes made him involuntarily cry out, and it messed up his train of thought.
Well, that's good to know. He wondered where on earth Thorn was watching the match from.
From the skies, of course, said Thorn, answering Murtagh's question before he had time to ask. Just then, he saw an opportunity.
Tsukiko was holding her sword only with one hand now. They had once again put distance between eachother, but it was only a couple of strides. If he could be quick enough… He wouldn't get his hopes up, though. Last time he tried to take advantage of someone holding their sword with one hand, he had gotten stabbed in the gut.
Well, take it! Thorn urged.
And so he did. He strode foreward, catching Tsukiko off guard, for she usually made the first move, and when he was close enough, Murtagh took Hono and flung Nopperabo from Tsukiko's hand. Shock was evident on the visible parts of her face. This warrented a small grin on Murtagh's part. He tried for a finishing blow, with the pommel of Hono, but Tsuki ducked low and then roundhouse kicked Hono out of Muragh's own hands, and it landed several yards away with a clang. Left defensless in terms of weapons, Murtagh could only stand there witless for a moment as Tsukiko assumed a horse stance. Murtagh did his best to stance himself well. He had his right foot foreward, his left behind, and his hands held open flat and perpendicular to his body, elbows at an angle of about 140°. Tsukiko stood from her Horse stance, and assumed the same stance as murtagh. They began to circle eachother, watching for any sighn of an attack or an opportunity to do so.
Suddenly, Tsukiko lunged, a bark audible from beneath her half-mask, sweeping at Murtagh's legs. He thought quick as he could, and jumped just above her sweep and brought his forearm down diractly on top of her head just as she was standing back up. He realy hated hurting her...Murtagh's train of thought was interrupted by the crowd cheering and crying out louder than usual.
"AAAHH!" She cried out in pain and placed both hands on top of her knoggin. He went up in front of her and tried to throw a couple of punches, but she managed to block them with her palms and forearms. She mirrored him, and instead of trying to fend off the blows as Tsukiko had, Murtagh went down low for a very good sweep. Tsuki, still dazed and in pain, had no time to jump over his swift leg, and so fell to the leaf-covered ground with a thud. There was no quick recovery for her, and she stayed on the ground for more than five seconds with no attempt to get back up.
And so, Lupa, with her chocolate colored fur and silver eyes, stood in a beautiful, flowing motion, threw her head to the sky, and howled, announcing Murtagh as the Warrium Champion of the Year. Now Murtagh could afford to listen to the audienc's near-defaning cheers. He turned back to Tsukiko, just starting to try and stand once more.
"Here," he said, his word inaudiable over the combined Clans all shouting and roaring. He offered her a hand, with a friendly smile on his face. Tsukiko was hesitant, but took hold of his wrist and was hoisted back onto her feet.
Murtagh woke up in a cold sweat. Something was wrong. He didn't know exactly what, but it wasn't right.
Thorn! he called, waking the dragon from sweet dreams with a start.
Eh? What's going on? he waked, his brain in a sleepy scramble.
We need to go. Something's up.
Yeah, you. Thorn let loose a wide yawn, and streached out his wings and legs like a tired cat.
Whatever. Just get something to eat because we won't be landing for a while. We're going back home.
Oh! We are?
Murtagh paused what he was doing to get ready, and said sarcastically,No, Thorn. We're going to the heart of the Hadarac Deasert to live as moles.
Sensing Murtagh's humor, Thorn responded, But I don't wanna be a mole…
It had snowed sceince the Warrium, leaving the ground in a cold blanket of white, illuminated by the light of the full moon. All of the Clans were spending the night at the Clearing. As he stepped into the stark white clearing, he heard quiet footsteps behind him. He turned to see Tsukiko, her silver hair close to glowing, her azure eyes shimmering in the pale light of the moon. They had known eachother for some time, and he liked hanging out with her, for she was one of the few who didn't juge him for being an outsider. She was the daughter of the WolfClan leader, and DragonClan deputy, MoonStar, also known as MoonWing.
She seemed just to notice him as he had noticed her. "What are you doing out here?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
Not wanting to share his anxiety, he answered her question with another question. "Well, what are you doing out here?"
"We wolves aren't afraid to hunt by only the dim light of the moon. Especially me." Her words were sightly tinged with bitterness, and Murtagh knew that she was upset that she hadn't won the Warrium.
"Oh. Okay then. Look, I did what I had to in order to get people's respect. i would at least like a little. That's something I never had back where I come from. People respect and care for you no matter what, because you were born here," he explained to her.
"No, I know." The bitterness in her voice had left for the most part. "It's just…well, me and Mom…we kind of had an arguement, and it made me determined to prove to her that I can take care of myself." She looked rather down about it, so Murtagh didn't push the subject any farther. He just nodded in understanding.
Tsukiko suddenly looked puzzled. "So, what are you doing out here?"
"Just…decided to have a midnight flight. That's all." It wasn't a total lie.
Tsukiko crossed her arms and gave him a look. "Mm-hm. Then what are all of the supplies for, Champ?"
Murtagh groaned and said, "Look, something's come up that needs taking care of back home. I'll be back soon enough."
Tsukiko looked thoughtful for a moment. "Let me come with you!"
"What!" he cried.
Does she even know where Alagasia is? asked Thorn
I certainly don't think so, Murtagh responded.
"Please," Tsukiko pleaded. "I never get to go do stuff without my mom breathing down my neck and jumping in at every little problem when I can handle it myself!"
"Oh, so this is about your mum." Murtagh tried to hit a point to show her that he wasn't going to let her come.
"So what if it is? I could help out, alot. And how many other girls do you know can fight with both a sword and with the Art of the Empty Hand? And how many other girls do you know can hunt big game and small game with ease, can build a fire using the bow technique, and can still be fun to hang out with?"
Murtagh began to protest, but then he thought better of it. Better not to argue with a wolf, unless you want to get bitten. That was both common sence and experiance. He sighed. "Fine. But don't go and do annything too bold to try to prove yourself to your mum."
"Yes!" Tsukiko cried out, jumping up with a fistpump. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret it, I promise! Lemme go grab some stuff first." and she sprinted off towards her own den.
Murtagh sighed a sigh of frustration. This would be an interesting adventure, at the least.
Tsukiko came back with her bow, a quiver full of arrows, a spear, Nopperabo, some small scrolls, a wolfhair brush, and a small ink stone.
"Really? What are you going to do? Write an encyclopeidia while we're off?" Joked Murtagh.
Tsukiko looked somewhat insulted. "No, smart one. I'm going to record everything so i can show mom and the rest of the Clan for sure."
The two of them went off into the woods and into a smaller clearing, where Thorn was waiting. Murtagh checked the saddle, and packed everything into saddle bags, as did Tsukiko.
Suddenly, they both noticed that Great Mother Wolf Lupa was standing cooly at the edge of the clearing. Her silver eyes gleamed in the moonlight, and her chocolate coat looked lighter than it had during the day. It startled them both to see her there.
She spoke to them, not with words, but with basic telepathy, and the turn of an ear, the twitch of a whisker, the blink of an eye.. Be careful. There are many dangers brewing in the Southernlands. Not even its pack leaders are safe.
The three of them bowed to the giant wolfess, and took off into the glittering night. But those last words sent Murtagh's heart plunging, and his stomach in a twist. No, no. It can't be. It won't be. She'll be safe. However, his thoughts harboured no true faith in that. Please be safe…
So, whaddya think? This origionally was going to have nothing to do with the Clans and Tsukiko, but I had the urge to write about her. so, R&R! ! PLEASE! I may post some links later for some artwork for the series. Hope you enjoy! more to come soon!
