Chapter 12: The Honor of a Lion
With the dust settled, the corpse removed, and Lyre off on the side winching from the pain she experiences with each movement of her hand, the crowd became eager for the next fight. Sure, the day had been filled with sport so far yet in the heart of the laguz warriors, the fun was only beginning. The sun was still in the sky, and the bloodlust hung in the air. Lethe made sure to not delay the next fight longer than she had to. The announcer yelled, "Beasts get ready for the next brawl! Up next we have Wyler versus Joki!" The crowd cheered as two tigers jumped onto the platform and made their presence felt. This was clearly heavyweight fight and one of the few displayed so far. Kyza shook from the arena floor, he remembered his own brawl with another tiger earlier and recalled the fear for his safety as he entered the fight. "This could get ugly." Kyza said to the group. Many remained silent as they watched the two stretch and ready themselves. Giffca simply snarled and jumped from the group onto the platform. The distance was easily cleared by the lion who landed with a loud thud without any break in his posture. The black lion stood in the ring now with two shifted tigers, yet even in their company Giffca had the stronger aura. It was as if the black lion was simply heavier or seemed larger than the tigers simply by being so renowned. Lethe lingered a stare in awe at the general's actions ut quickly shook her head to regain her senses.
"General Giffca, what are you doing?" she shouted in a booming voice for the crowd to hear. The lion unfolded his arms and cracked his neck back and forth.
"Well, Skrimir took on 7 earlier, and I can't let the younger squirt show me up." The crowd burst into laughter at the statement as they all knew the legendary prowess of master Giffca, the black lion of Gallia. "Let all from my quarter of the bracket enter the arena and challenge me!" The lion barely raised his voice above normal conversational level yet the reaction from the two tigers in the ring would have a man thinking he bellowed forth a ground-shaking roar the likes of which the world had never seen. This was the presence of a king. That thought was one many of the crowd thought, both to themselves and to others when they heard the words of the lion. Several on the arena floor even vocally began proclaiming that Giffca was more than worthy of the crown.
"He's got balls that one." Said the yellow lion, Tax. Skrimir nodded in agreement as he looked upon the field, he knew Giffca was a legend but was curious to see if his might was still that of the godlike presence he was touted to possess.
"Giffca! Don't feel like you need to match my prowess in these early rounds!" the red general shouted. Giffca made no return remark as he continued to ready himself on the stage. "Don't wear yourself out on these guys ol' friend." Despite having made the challenge to the other 7 fighters in his quarter in the five not currently on the platform had yet to move towards the fight. Lethe began noticing the delay in the movements of the others and began calling names in hopes of pushing them onward.
"Would you five please make your way to the stage!" Lethe belted in excitement as she finished calling the roll of the fighters who had yet to bought in this first round of the tournament. Slowly three emerged from the group on the arena floor making a slow and quiet walk to the stage where they feared for their life alongside Giffca and the tigers Joki and Wyler. The three were all smaller cats, Skrimir recognized them, they were all from Ranulf's elite unit; they alongside the right-hand of king were a part of the strike force that in the war against Bengion, attacked directly General Zelgius and his officers. They were no stranger to marching into the inferno, yet they seemed a bit more sobered this time around the bend. There was a bit more of a pause in their step as they stepped upon the platform.
While the three were getting settled and shifted there still remained two hold outs who failed to emerge from the group of fighters and take their place upon the battle royal. Growing impatient Lethe jumped off the stage and marched over to the cluster with a vigor so strong that she seemed to have steam rising from her head. She pushed aside several of the on looking fighters and found the two cats who were hiding at the back of the cluster. "Aran! Barz! Get your butts into the ring now!" The announcer's voice rang true with a solid thunder in the face of the two cats who were upset to have been found by her. They seemed reluctant to make any statement or movement toward the stage.
"He….H…he can't just challenge eight at once!" Barz squeaked.
"YEAH! Its not fair!" Aran spouted in agreement with the other coward. Lethe's nostril's flared from the comments and she nearly snapped from their cowardice. She grabbed both of them by their necks and with a strength that far exceeded her natural power, lifted both from the ground and began scolding them.
"FAIR!" She shouted wildly. "FAIR. NOTHING IS FAIR!" She then threw the cats closer to the ring much to the amazement of many in the group of fighters as she once again showed a strength beyond what they expected from the maiden. "Get in there and die like men!" she spouted once more toward the cats. They both cowered again on the ground, shaking their heads and trying to plead for mercy even before the battle started.
"You can't make us fight like this!" said Aran.
"This shouldn't be how the king of Gallia should be decided!" Barz backed up Aran. The crowd was growing restless and upset from the cowardice of the two cats who entered the competition with the intent of trying to gain the crown of Gallia. Roaring and hollers asking for the cats to be killed for their cowardice began being shouted, the bloodlust of the laguz grew further to the point of madness. The air was thick with rage at the cowardice of the two cats yet to take position. Sure the three cats were tense as were the two tigers in face of the mighty lion, but they were still ready to accept and rise to the challenge. The thoughts of Aran and Barz was everything against that of a laguz warrior at heart. Many from the stands were ready to jump down and rip them apart themselves, even though these two were able to pass the initial test the crowd was ready to die to rid the realm of their cowardice. Howls bellowed forth with end as the six in the ring continued to ready themselves and feel the energy of the frenzy.
"SILENCE!" The voice ripped through the madness and quelled quickly the crowd. All turned their attention to the pulvinus, where they saw their current king Caineghis standing with his hands on the rails glaring in extreme righteous rage towards the two cats refusing to the enter the fight. "You two!" he pointed his finger at Aran and Barz; all were silent waiting for the king to continue his remarks. "You wish to be the king of Gallia? Yet, you clamor for life being unfair. Even worse, you are backing down for a challenge!" the words of the king stuck like a knife into the hearts of the laguz warriors cowering. "You are may have had strength and skill to pass the opening tests, but you are clearly not worthy of the crown!" All applauded the wise words of the king. Skrimir, Kyo and Kyza took special notice of the manners and leadership displayed by their lord.
"He speaks the truth." Said Kyo, his leadership is everything I hope from our next king. Kyza agreed with the young wounded cat. Skrimir found himself taking extra note of the words his friends were saying. He found himself more enamored with the aura of his uncle, and knew in his heart if he were to be king he would to work on being able to bring the same level of power in his voice while still being regal and lordly in all his actions.
"You two cannot fight now!" Caineghis continued. "If you won and became king it would be a disgrace to the nation. However I will not execute you for your lack of pride." The two cats felt a great sigh of relief as they were in a state of complete terror from the moment the King raised his voice. "Therefore I banish you from Gallia!" the crowd cheered and howled at the choice of their liege. "You will be branded by Ranulf around your eyes and will never again be allowed in our kingdom. If you are seen in these lands from tomorrow forward….YOU SHALL DIE!" As the king finished his statement, a blue flash leapt from the balcony to the foot of the stage. Landing hard with poise in his gait was Ranulf, as cool as ice he was in his demeanor. He quickly blitzed over to the cats and with his claws carved an upside down Satori Sign, a sacred relic symbol to the laguz tribes, into their faces. Aran and Barz, screamed in agony as their flesh was carved to show their cursing upon their faces. Once completed the blue cat raised them both to their feet. Neither felt any sort of pride or honor at all; their faces were in pain and marked that they were no longer of Gallia. Ranulf once he knew they were stable on their own feet released his grip from them and bid them to flee for their life. The marked cats scurried away as if fleeing from death itself. The right hand of the king dusted himself off before walking across the platform, flashing a smile at Lord Giffca as he walked past, as if to give the black lion a silent nod of good fortune in the upcoming fight. Giffca smirked back to the blue furred feline as Ranulf jumped up to the balcony, returning to the king's side. "Now that all this is settled!" Bellowed the liege of the land, "Lethe, please have the battle proceed." Caineghis returned to his seat, Lethe bowed in deference to the King and then rallied forth the attention of all as she moved to return the crowd to the normal frenzied state for a good fight.
"Beasts!" she hollered, "One of your six leaves this battle and moves on to the semifinals of this tournament. You win by every other opponent dying or you force a noble submission from these beasts, at which point the fallen warrior is at your mercy." All six signaled they understood and were ready, the two tigers and three cats were shifted and spread about as if neither trusted the other, it seemed to the viewers that their wouldn't be as much tag teaming like when the earlier lot fought Skrimir. Giffca remained un-shifted but was not absent focus and poise. Lethe knew all was ready, her spine gave her a great many shivers of excitement toward the upcoming slaughter about to be before her eyes. "WELL BEASTS LETS BEGIN!" Thus, the fight was on and all eyes were on the arena.
The six-man brawl started without movement from any party, as if everyone was taking a conservative stance toward the bought, all stood motionless, hoping for a fool to emerge and tire or injure another fighter thus growing the odds of survival for the patient one's ever so slightly. Finally after a few brief moments that seemed to the audience like an eternity, the action commenced as Wyler flinched and set off Umber, one of the elite cats. The two set off a chain reaction of sorts as Joki, the tiger began sprinting toward the un-shifted Giffca with jaws and claws open ready to receive a bounty of flesh. Ero and Rint the other two cats made moves to lock on each other but found themselves moving their focus very quickly toward Umber and Wyler. Umber had very tan fur, Ero had something of a calico fur pattern of orange and black, while Rint was the smallest of the three and was completely shaved of fur from damage he sustained from fire mages during the Great War.
Umber was quickly knocked back by the larger and more powerful tiger. Wyler was clearly no amateur to brawling. The tan cat hit the stage hard from the blunt blow, but quickly rose to his feet, shaking off the attack as he attempted to retain his steele focus. Wyler was not about to give the cat a moment to catch his breath his pounced at the cat with his left paw ready to hit and rend to the bone. "CRASH!" the Umber barely dodged the weighty blow from the large tiger. Umber, safely out of the way reached a hind leg up to scrape at the neck hoping to hit an artery. His foot connected, but failed to sink in a claw. Wyler grabbed the leg of the cat and in a fluid motion pulled the cat from the ground into the air by one leg. Umber squirmed back and forth trying frantically to inflict damage and free himself from the grip of the tiger. Wyler seeing this punched the cat several times with his other paw in the head swiftly to try and quell the spirit of the beast he had control of in this moment. The blows to the skull were blunt, but effective in ceasing the squiming and weak clawing that Umber was mustering in desperate attempt to free himself. The tiger had in this moment control and he readied his claws to go for the jugular and end the life of the cat.
"BAM!" the suddenly Wyler was knocked over and Umber was loosed from the grip as Wyler and the tan cat both hit the floor. Umber rose to his feet quickly to find both Ero and Rint free of injury and moving to purpose versus the tiger. The both leaped at the downed beast both seeking to quickly claim a kill on one of the larger, stronger enemies in the battle. The tiger was quick to recover however, and twisted himself around and kicked both cats away creating space for him to arise to his feet. The cats hit the pavement hard but then returned to their feet. They weren't about to mindlessly charge at the beast but were rather seeking an opening to claim the kill. Umber used this moment to thank his former comrades in arms for saving him.
"Its all about tactics, Don't thank us." The shaved and scarred cat replied to the thanks of Umber. "Its all about odds. And if we can't kill these three large cats before we battle each other then we have little to no chance of survival." The cat spoke the truth, while they were highly skilled warriors, the simple advantage the tigers, and lord Giffca had on them in raw power was hard to compensate for in solo combat. The three cats knew they needed to work together to fell the tiger.
"So that's how you pussy cats want to play! Fine, you three together then!" Rather than complain at the odds, or cower, or plea for fairness Wyler was ready and willing to fight like a true laguz warrior.
Meanwhile, Joki found himself in a headlock versus Giffca, the black lion dodged the initial pounce from the berserker tiger and then dropped an elbow into his skull. The blow struck hard and left Joki severely dazed as Giffca then wrapped his left arm around the tiger's head and hoisted up the beast by the neck, thus starting to choke the life from the tiger. The tiger for the first few seconds of the misery squirmed and tried hard to free his neck. He clawed at Giffca's core wildly, thus missing any key area that would actually cause any notable damage to the seasoned mountain of a man. This failure saw the tiger grow angry still and he began hurling insults and jests at the un-shifted lion. "YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME! HUH! YOU A PIECE OF ME!" He squealed as he started crying from the rising pain and fear, his body was being robbed of air by the powerful squeeze of the lion, yet he still wished and hoped for victory. Yet, a few moments longer saw his attitude change as he began to realize the imminence of his own demise the tiger's cries of battle became simple tears and fears. He began whimpering as he tried with a few more weak swings to free himself from the hold of the lion. His tears turned to blood as the grip further tightened and he saw the view of his eyes close more and more until the swinging stopped and his wailing ceased. Joki was dead having never landed a truly harming blow against the lion. Once Giffca was sure of his death he loosed his grip and dropped the tiger's corpse to the ground. The black general cracked his neck once more and then popped his knuckles as his focus shifted toward the remaining enemies.
As Giffca turned, he saw the cats flaying the tiger Wyler who simply was not fast enough to deal with the three special ops elites at once, as they attacked with teamwork and brought him down. Wyler could be heard crying out as he swiped a final attack, which caught Umber under front left leg, the blow was not fatal but forced the tan cat to back off an limp around as the tendons in that leg were severed causing extreme pain. Umber knew the wound would never heal from the second he felt it. However, the fight and passion was still strong in his eyes. With the life gone from Joki the three turned to the final remaining big cat before them, the black general himself.
Giffca readied his stance for the trio as they slowly waltz toward him in coordination. Giffca was ready. "I applaud you three." The general spoke as they moved to purpose. "Working as a unit to fell the big cats to tactfully improve your own odds of survival." Giffca smiled as they approached. All in the stands enjoyed the early rush of bloodshed they saw from the deaths of the tigers, but they clearly understood that this was the moment if any to watch from this brawl.
"Thank you General!" replied Ero, the calico, as the others took position on opposite sides in attempt to surround the black lion. "In the Great War we learned to work in unison was better for survival when hunting grand prey, it is how we survived the assault mission against Zelgius and his officers." Giffca was not present for that battle but knew the tale well, as did every laguz, it was the battle that rose Ranulf from being a noble aide to being named a leading advisor of the crown and a general in his own right. These three were hardened soldiers and knew what it meant to be a team first rather than a mindless tactless beast.
"Let's see if you still got it Giffca." Said Skrimir. The words were spoken faintly but Giffca's ears wiggled from earing that remark from the red lion, he smirked and tensed his back and neck muscles reading for their attack.
"NOW!" cried the shaved cat as the limping Umber and Rint leaped at Giffca from his sides. The cats however being significantly smaller than the lion were much easier for Giffca's large paws to grab. As they flew toward them he clamped his massive hands around each of their skulls and held them in the air. His big hands acted as a muzzle for the beast as they tried desperately to open their mouths and used their arms to try and loose his grip upon them. Ero saw this as an opening and came at the lion from the front. Giffca was not phased by this even despite having both arms occupied by the other two cats. As Ero Reached Giffca's head with his own Ero opened his jaw ready to bite down on the lion's face and rip it to shreds. Giffca huffed as he simply lunged his head forward hard head-butting the cat straight in the jaw. The blow not only knocked Ero back several feet but also broke several of his teeth in the process. Giffca shook off the pain from the blow he now had to the deal with the annoying clawing of the cats whose skulls were in the grip of his large hands. Rint reached high and ran his claws down the lion's forearm as deep as he could despite his poor position.
"RWRHHH!" Giffca roared in frustration from the claws of the cat. The pain wasn't immense and the wound was in no way severe but it was annoying, and the general was through playing around. "ENOUGH OF YOU!" Giffca clamped down hard with each hand in that moment and quickly crushed the skulls of both Umber and Rint. He then threw them to the side. Their nearly decapitated bodies reverted to their normal form, instantly dead and completely unrecognizable. The calico however, was still active. Ero was wallowing in pain from his shattered teeth as Giffca marched over and grabbed the off guard cat and with slight force snapped the cats neck. The black lion was the final remaining fighter among the battle of eight. Much to the amusement and joy of the crowd as they knew they watched something truly grand from the lion.
"Winner by total victory…GIFFCA!" Lethe proclaimed as the lion removed himself from the stage. He was greeted with warm embrace from his friends among the fighter's pool. Giffca smiled at their light heartedness to his victory in this round. He looked around and once his eyes found Skrimir, the lion knew he had to mess with him.
"So Skrimir….was that good enough to match your battle earlier?" The lion jested. "Do I still have it?" The red lion embraced his friend and mentor as they all laughed at the outcome in traditional Gallian fashion. Giffca amazed many with his raw strength in this fight as few believed that he could crush skulls with one hand. While the tournament was still young many began thinking of Giffca as the next king, as his prowess seemed in those moments to be absolute.
Lethe knew this was the end of the first round of the fights, with both Skrimir and Giffca earning their entry to the semifinal round through their battle royals. She decided that while the bodies were being removed from the stage she would remind the crowd. "Alight folks! So that was the end of the first round of battles! Which means you have seen all the hopefuls still left in live combat! So I ask as we prepare to move to the next round…WHICH WILL BE THE WINNER!" The audience roared forth a babel of commentary as they all at once spoke forth the name on their tongue. The noise was random, but what was clear to all is that the battles were only to get better.
Nike the cheetah and former scout gazed upon the frenzied crowd. "Well, I do believe this is when the real tournament starts."