Hi readers~

Note: Hvedra's name is pronounced as "Vehdjrah".

Enjoy reading and leave comments if you like it.

Thanks!

Hvedra leapt forward, greasy hands gripping hold of the gray tree-trunk-like thigh of her opponent, an urgal ram one year her younger, yet already pushing six and a half feet tall. Her nails bit into his skin as he lumbered sideways, off balance. With a bellow he smashed her left forearm against her back in an attempt to hold her in place.

The young male was a good childhood friend of hers named Beorsvog, but right now he was just her opponent and neither of them were holding back. Their grease slicked bare hides worked against her just as much as they worked for her and she lost her grip on his leg just as she wriggled her slim brown body out from under his arm. Sand grated off a thin layer of skin on her right shoulder and hip as she hit the ground and slid.

Ignoring the burn, she rolled backwards twice pushing herself away from her opponent, then settled into a low crouch trying not to visibly favor her left leg where she'd carelessly gotten punctured during her last match by the curling corkscrew horn of her previous opponent. She snarled as saw Beorsvog take his stance opposite her looking hardly worse for wear.

They had only just started the match and she was already starting to feel battered. Her last two opponents didn't know her methods of attack as well as Beorsvog and she'd been able to win with her agility and unpredictability. And if not in bulk, at least in height, she and her previous opponents had been more evenly matched. Now Beorsvog was definitely using what he knew about her fighting style from their practice scrimmages against her. So not only were strength and mass against her, she'd have to be even more cunning than he'd expect.

Jeers and roars came from the crowd of urgals, kull, and a smattering of humans in the stands surrounding the field. The announcer's voice reverberated excitedly from the speaker system. In their momentary pause, the voice was noting something about Hvedra's techniques in the previous matches and she narrowed her eyes in concentration. She needed to take a different approach.

Remaining squatting, pressing her fingers into the dusty soil for balance, she calculated Beorsvog's next charge and her counter attack. Her dark skin felt like it was sizzling in the heat of the mid-day summer sun. Sweat dripped down her brow and stung her eyes. She forced herself to ignore all of the unpleasant sensations.

The ram lowered his horns and rushed her. Twenty yards, 10 yards, 5… Hvedra sprung upwards driving her ashen elbow upwards into the unprotected soft area between his stomach and his rib cage. He doubled over with a bellow of pain and she used the new change in height to secure a grip on his right horn and the black mane of hair running down the center of his skull. Hefting her thin form up and over his shoulder, she wrapped her muscular legs around his thick neck in a choking grip and flattened her bare chest against his back, reaching to restrain his arms behind his back.

"Hvedra goes for the viper strangle! Can she hold on?!" The voice of the announcer rumbled over the cheer of the crowd roaring in her ears.

Beorsvog is fighting her, tossing his head in an attempt to jab her with one of his horns, but they won't reach and the movement only makes her squeeze her legs tighter till she can feel the cords of his neck pressing hotly against the inside of her thighs. He's losing oxygen and she knows it by the way he stagers sideways. She needs to get him on his knees, then all she has to do is grab his foot and pull till he gives. She curses her light weight because her muscles are starting to burn with fatigue. The blood is rushing to her face, her tongue is parched and heavy in her mouth, the sweaty skin of her cheek pressed against his oiled back is barely grounding her. She feels like she's hanging on for dear life.

A grunt and pull of effort on his part and suddenly his bulging left arm is ripped from her aching grip. There's a momentary wash of relief at the release of tension before his hand grips hold of her foot and dread takes over. Then she was weightless, and stunned faces of spectators are momentarily spiraling below her. This is followed by an awful crunching sensation, and then blackness swallows her whole.

To Be Continued

Note: This is the first fiction I am posting on so if you like it, follow and fav, leave comments and let me know what you think. I know none of the familiar characters have appeared yet, but Angela will be making an appearance next chapter, and characters like Eragon and Saphira, and possibly Arya, Murtagh, and more (immortal) characters will be making an appearance.

Thanks for reading!

~Momiji