***********************Chapter 2*******************************************
I awoke to someone gently shaking my shoulder. My eyes opened and I blinked in the low light. I could still feel the stiffness in my muscles which meant that I had not slept through the night. Groaning, I tried to turn away from the light, but the hand held me in place.
"Don't even think about it, buddy. It's time to get up for evening meal." Kahlen frowned as she looked down at me. "But first, let's get you dressed." She handed me a uniform and went to stand by the desk where she proceeded to study the latest assignment while I dressed.
As I finished tying my vest, I had the feeling that something was missing. I checked all the ties, but everything was fine. Frowning I looked around the room before it hit me.
I didn't have my pike! I had forgotten to pick it up after Derhan had knocked it from my hands. Shame and fear filled me and I moaned. If one of the trainers found it, I would be cleaning the Pak'ma'ra washrooms for months.
Kahlen heard me and come to my side, concern etched on her face. "What's wrong?"
Shaking my head slowly, I sighed. "I forgot to retrieve my pike!" I growled, starting towards the door.
Kahlen's giggling stopped me in my tracks. Frustrated I turned back to her. "What are you giggling about now, Kahlen?"
She stopped giggling and turned serious. "Do you really THINK that the others would let you get in that kind of trouble? You're a hero to them."
I started to reply but she cut me off.
"And don't you dare think that it has anything to do with you parents. How they feel about you has nothing to with them. They like and respect you for
yourself, Davdan. They would do anything for you. WE would do anything for you."
I frowned. "So who picked it up?"
She just smiled. "Mareni brought it by while you slept. He caught it when Derhan sent it flying. He closed it and hid it in his robes until he could come by."
I grinned. "That sound's like something he would do. For a Minbari, he has a pretty wide mischievous streak."
"Well, he is Warrior Cast. They do tend to be a bit less . . . formal then the Religious or Worker Casts." Kahlen reach into her sleeves and pulled out a closed pike. "Here you go, " she said as she tossed it to me.
I checked it over, extending it and testing the balance. It felt perfect. As if it had been made especially for my hand. Which, of course, it had. It had been a parting gift from my father when I left home.
We reached the dinning hall a few minutes later and joined our friends at a table. They had already filled plates for us so we did not have to join the throng at the service table. While most of Minbari society was governed by strict rules and rituals, they had decided that at the Ranger training facilities, meal times would be more social and less formal in nature.
"So THERE you are, DAVDAN! Mareni was just telling us about your BATTLE with Derhan."
I sighed around a mouthful of food. I KNEW that voice. It belonged to probably the most annoying individual I had ever had the displeasure of knowing.
"Hello, Lucas. I haven't seen you around lately." *It was great! Two weeks without you bothering me every chance you got.* I almost slipped and said what I was really thinking.
Lucas snorted. "Of course not, DAVDAN." The way he said my name made it seem like the vilest oath he could think of. "I just returned from my first solo courier mission."
I tried my best to contain my anger. Lucas was always trying to goad me into a fight. His father had been on Clark's side during the Civil war and had died attacking Babylon 5. Lucas blamed my parents and their friends for his death, and the subsequent suicide of his mother.
"Congratulations, Lucas. How did it go?" I asked as politely as I could. I idly pushed the food on my plate around. For some reason, I was no longer hungry.
"It was fine." He downplayed his excitement, trying to seem like a seasoned traveller. "I got to fly to Minbar and back in a long range flyer." He sighed dramatically. "It's really TOO bad you're too young to be let out on your own. But then, I suppose your parents do have the right to use their influence to get you in here at your age."
A surge of anger swelled up within me. I half rose from my seat but Kahlen froze me in place with a gentle push of her telekinesis. I glared at her, unable to tell her how angry her interference made me.
She simply gave a small smile and nodded to an empty seat to her left. I frowned, trying to understand her message. When she saw that I did not understand, she lifted a finger skyward, as if indicating something of large size. Then she glanced pointedly around the table. I followed her example and her meaning dawned on me. Marcel was not at the table. And that meant that he was in the crowd somewhere, most likely making his way back from the service table.
"The only reason you're here, DAVDAN, is because your fa-ugh!" Lucas' eyes widened as a huge hand clasped his shoulder. There was such a look of fear on his face, I almost laughed. He knew that a hand that size could belong to only one of two people. Marcel and Derhan. The only two beings he admitted to being afraid of.
The only person Lucas hated more than me was Marcel. He had tried to hate Derhan, but since he was one of the instructor, he had to show him some respect. Not ONLY was Marcel his physical superior in every way, he was also Lucas' mental superior. Despite spending his entire life cut off from news services and 'human' contact, Marcel held several doctorates in the physical sciences. There had been an elaborate computer setup that had scanned the vid networks for tech advances and had taught him everything it found.
When Marcel was ten, the computers had secretly enrolled him in a dozen universities. By the time he was thirteen, he had completed all the relevant material and graduated at the head of the class in all the courses that had been chosen for him.
Four years after that, Rangers landed on his island. They found him and for the first time in his life, he saw another human being. And two years later, after spending some time exploring the galaxy and learning how to live among advanced civilizations, he came to the conclusion that he belonged among the ranks of the first people he had met.
"Are you bothering Davdan again, Lucas? I would think you would know better by now." The deep voice rumbled, sending vibrations through the air. Marcel is wonderful at mimicking voices. Especially Derhan's voice.
Lucas set his face and turned. He was clearly surprised to be facing a chest where he expected to see Derhan's face. His head tilted back and back as his eyes climbed to Marcel's face.
"This does not concern you, FREAK." he said when he finally caught Marcel's gaze.
Marcel's eyes lit up like a kid's in a candy store, as my father occasionally said. "Any time you disrespect my shertagh, you make it my concern, skuunar."
Confusion flickered on Lucas' face and was mirrored on the faces of all those nearby. The words belonged to the race that had lived on the planet were Marcel was born. The race were the remnants of an advanced species that had been mostly wiped out in the last Shadow war more than a thousand years ago.
"Shertagh? Does that mean he's your boyfriend, or your pet? And what in the name of Valen is a skuunar?" Lucas asked.
Anger flashed on Marcel's face and was quickly gone. "A skuunar is a small rodent that is so stupid it eats its own feces and young. Roughly a shertagh in your language would be a 'blood-brother'. The tie is deeper than that, but there is nothing sexual in the meaning. As Davdan's shertagh, it is my duty to protect his honour and to guard his life."
"So now he needs you to look after him now? Jeez, you'd think his PARENTS would be enough protection."
By now, everyone within earshot was listening. I could see in their eyes that some of Lucas' anger was mirrored by them. Many of them resented the fact that I had been accepted for training at my 17 years of age. Some agreed that it was only my parentage that had gotten me accepted. A few resented the fact that it was my skill that had earned me the right to come here.
Marcel's grip tightened and he lifted Lucas off the floor. He held him there, at arms length, as easily as I lifted a fork. He looked Lucas square in the eyes and laughed.
"Lucas, Lucas, Lucas. I am not protecting HIM from YOU. I am protecting YOU
from HIM." With that, Marcel let go and turned away to get to his seat.
Lucas just couldn't let it go at that. He's the type of person who always has to have the last word. I'm sure you know the type.
"Where are you going, you coward! Are you afraid to face me in a fair fight?" he taunted, a smirk on his face.
Marcel froze in place. I could make out the rippling of his muscles under his shirt as he tried to move. I knew why he wasn't moving and glanced at Kahlen. Sweat was already beginning to drip from her bow as she concentrated on keeping the giant in place. She couldn't hold him long, but I didn't know what to do. Luckily (or maybe unluckily) Lucas helped by opening his big mouth.
He turned to stare at Kahlen. Everyone knew about her abilities, even if no one talked about it. Lucas knew that Kahlen was holding Marcel in place, and the idiot resented it.
"Well look at this. Another freak." Lucas' voice was so hate filled, I nearly lost what little of my meal I had gotten down. "And of course, she's holding the big freak in place." Lucas bent over the table and leaned close to Kahlen's ear. He whispered something to her and I saw her eyes widen as they struck a chord. For a second, just a second, she lost hold of Marcel.
With a roar, he leapt for Lucas. There was a blur, and a pike slammed into his massive chest, knocking him off stride. This gave Kahlen enough time to order her thoughts and freeze him in place again. From my seat, I could just make out the glimmer of tears as they rolled from her eyes.
Lucas looked up at the distinctive thud and smiled. "Ahhh. So there you are. I was wondering where the last of this freak show was."
Shannon faced him impassively. "I was in a meeting with the Pak'ma'ra. They asked me to help them with a project they were working on." she explained, more to us than to Lucas.
Lucas laughed. "That's hilarious. A schlan like you helping those filthy disgusting THINGS?"
Now, let me say this. A schlan, for those of you that don't speak Brakiri, is one of the worst things you can ever call someone. It has a dozen meanings. The nearest, in human terms, would be a half-breed fool's fecal matter with little intelligence and no redeeming qualities. Of course, that is a polite and loose translation, but I'm sure you get the idea.
I had had enough. I can control my anger when Lucas' insults are directed to me, but to use that word when talking to my friends . . . . I have to admit, any mention of half-breeds tends to anger me. It was a sensitive topic to my family.
I leapt to my feet and pushed Lucas away from the table. He reacted quickly, drawing his pike and levelling it at me with near textbook precision. Shannon tossed me her pike, which I caught smoothly and levelled against Lucas'. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the others forming a circle around us.
As we circled each other, more people joined the circle. I ignored them, concentrating on Lucas' eyes. These would be what betrayed his movements. I had learned that the hard way, sparring against my parents. Though my father never quite got the knack for handling a pike.
His eyes darted left, followed by the pike. Without that fractional second's warning, he would have easily broken my arm. But because I DID have the warning, I was able to position my pike to block the blow and lash out with one of my own.
Lucas' eyes widened in surprise. He had never expected me to be able to move fast enough to block him. He never gave me any credit for having skill, passing it off as the instructors going easy on me because of my parents. This was most definitively not true. If anything, they were harder on me than on anyone else.
We exchanged a quick flurry of strikes. He hit me once, adding to the mass of bruises on my body. Most of my strikes managed to land on him. It took less than 30 seconds for me to realize that he was nowhere near as good as I was. I could end it at anytime in any manner of ways and there was nothing he could do about it.
Looking into his eyes, I saw that he had also recognized this fact. Yet, gasping and panting for air, he continued to fight. He simply refused to allow me to win without a fight.
It was at this point where I began to respect him a little. He knew he was overmatched, yet he continued to try. He was tired, bruised and bloody, exactly as I had been against Derhan. The difference between us was that he held no hope of winning. He was simply trying to land a few lucky blows. When I had fought Derhan, I had held on to the hope of beating him, no matter how skilled he was. I never gave up hope that if I could spot a faint error, I could prevail and beat him. I would not give up. I would not give in to desperation.
I had decided to end it, when a murmur went through the crowd. I got distracted for a moment and Lucas hit me in the head. Dazed, I tried to defend myself, but I was still sore from the earlier fight. Lucas knocked the pike out of my hands. He slammed the end of the pike into my diaphragm, causing me to double over. He reared back and brought the pike crashing down on my head.
I rolled over, trying to get to my feet, only to find Lucas' pike at my throat. There was a gleam in his eyes and I knew what he was going to do.
"So this is the GREAT Davdan?" he sneered. "Where are your parents now, DAVID? Who's going to protect you now, Mr. SHERIDAN? Your FREAK of a mother or TRAITOR of a father? Perhaps your FRIENDS?" He looked at the people in front of him. "I don't think so. No one can help you now, Davey." He pulled the pike back and looked around. "This is what you've placed your hopes on? A boy who couldn't do anything without his parents interference and aid?"
As he babbled on, I looked behind him, trying to find what had caused the murmuring that had distracted me. My jaw dropped when I caught sight of the figure standing right behind Lucas. The figure nodded gravely to me and pointed to the pike that was lying a few feet away. He had recognized that it wasn't mine and guessed that I still had it hidden on me.
He then made a gesture towards Lucas, who was still ranting to the crowd, and I understood. I grinned widely and nodded. He flashed a grim smile and faded into the crowd.
"Well, boy. What do you have to say? Speak up, oh useless one. Share your wisdom with us." Lucas was leaning on his pike, staring down at me.
"Well. . . " I started, slowly reaching into my sleeve for my pike. "I do have to say that. . . " I trailed off when my hand closed on the shaft.
"What?" Lucas leaned over me eagerly.
With a surge, I kicked his pike, causing him to stagger. I rolled to the side and lunged to my feet, pulling out my pike in the same motion. It extended and I struck with a back handed blow, knocking his pike away and sweeping his feet out from under him.
He fell, his head slamming into the ground with a crack. I winced, worried that I had hit him to hard. But he stirred and moaned, his eyes flickering open and looking around unsteadily.
"This is OVER, Lucas. This is the LAST time this happens." I said as I closed my pike and returned it to my sleeve. I saw Shannon bend over and retrieve her pike, while another student handed me Lucas'. I looked down at him. His eyes had cleared a little and he was staring at me with hate pouring out of him. I sighed. "On your honour, swear that you will never approach me again."
He looked up at me and spat at my feet. I lifted his pike, holding it horizontally in both hands.
"You will swear this, or I WILL break your weapon."
He just continued to look at me, not even trying to hide his hate and rage.
I sighed. I knew that he would force me to do this. I gripped the pike as tightly as I could and brought it down on my knee. The metal held for a moment before it snapped, breaking in half as neatly as if cut.
"You honour is no more, Lucas Traveri. If you cross my path again, I WILL kill you." Saying this, I tossed the broken ends of the pike at his feet and turned to leave the room. I had only gone a few steps before the dizziness caught up to me and I started to fall. Luckily, Kahlen and Shannon were there to catch me.
As they helped me stand, the crowd started to murmur again. Someone was standing in the doorway. Looking up, I smiled.
"Isthil'za veni, Enthil'za. In Valen's name." I said when he reached me. My friends tried to bow, and I nearly fell again. Luckily, Enthil'za reached out and steadied me.
"Isthil'za veni, Ranger Davdan." He looked me and my friends over carefully, as if seeing us for the first time. "If you do not mind, Rangers, I would like to take Davdan to his chambers with you. We have much to discuss about what happened here today."
Shannon blushed and lowered her eyes. She mumbled her agreement, unable to look up at this figure of legend. Beside her, Kahlen nodded enthusiastically and Marcel shrugged. They were honoured to be in the presence of Ranger One.
As they half-dragged, half-carried me to our room, I wanted to say something, anything, but I passed out again.
I awoke to someone gently shaking my shoulder. My eyes opened and I blinked in the low light. I could still feel the stiffness in my muscles which meant that I had not slept through the night. Groaning, I tried to turn away from the light, but the hand held me in place.
"Don't even think about it, buddy. It's time to get up for evening meal." Kahlen frowned as she looked down at me. "But first, let's get you dressed." She handed me a uniform and went to stand by the desk where she proceeded to study the latest assignment while I dressed.
As I finished tying my vest, I had the feeling that something was missing. I checked all the ties, but everything was fine. Frowning I looked around the room before it hit me.
I didn't have my pike! I had forgotten to pick it up after Derhan had knocked it from my hands. Shame and fear filled me and I moaned. If one of the trainers found it, I would be cleaning the Pak'ma'ra washrooms for months.
Kahlen heard me and come to my side, concern etched on her face. "What's wrong?"
Shaking my head slowly, I sighed. "I forgot to retrieve my pike!" I growled, starting towards the door.
Kahlen's giggling stopped me in my tracks. Frustrated I turned back to her. "What are you giggling about now, Kahlen?"
She stopped giggling and turned serious. "Do you really THINK that the others would let you get in that kind of trouble? You're a hero to them."
I started to reply but she cut me off.
"And don't you dare think that it has anything to do with you parents. How they feel about you has nothing to with them. They like and respect you for
yourself, Davdan. They would do anything for you. WE would do anything for you."
I frowned. "So who picked it up?"
She just smiled. "Mareni brought it by while you slept. He caught it when Derhan sent it flying. He closed it and hid it in his robes until he could come by."
I grinned. "That sound's like something he would do. For a Minbari, he has a pretty wide mischievous streak."
"Well, he is Warrior Cast. They do tend to be a bit less . . . formal then the Religious or Worker Casts." Kahlen reach into her sleeves and pulled out a closed pike. "Here you go, " she said as she tossed it to me.
I checked it over, extending it and testing the balance. It felt perfect. As if it had been made especially for my hand. Which, of course, it had. It had been a parting gift from my father when I left home.
We reached the dinning hall a few minutes later and joined our friends at a table. They had already filled plates for us so we did not have to join the throng at the service table. While most of Minbari society was governed by strict rules and rituals, they had decided that at the Ranger training facilities, meal times would be more social and less formal in nature.
"So THERE you are, DAVDAN! Mareni was just telling us about your BATTLE with Derhan."
I sighed around a mouthful of food. I KNEW that voice. It belonged to probably the most annoying individual I had ever had the displeasure of knowing.
"Hello, Lucas. I haven't seen you around lately." *It was great! Two weeks without you bothering me every chance you got.* I almost slipped and said what I was really thinking.
Lucas snorted. "Of course not, DAVDAN." The way he said my name made it seem like the vilest oath he could think of. "I just returned from my first solo courier mission."
I tried my best to contain my anger. Lucas was always trying to goad me into a fight. His father had been on Clark's side during the Civil war and had died attacking Babylon 5. Lucas blamed my parents and their friends for his death, and the subsequent suicide of his mother.
"Congratulations, Lucas. How did it go?" I asked as politely as I could. I idly pushed the food on my plate around. For some reason, I was no longer hungry.
"It was fine." He downplayed his excitement, trying to seem like a seasoned traveller. "I got to fly to Minbar and back in a long range flyer." He sighed dramatically. "It's really TOO bad you're too young to be let out on your own. But then, I suppose your parents do have the right to use their influence to get you in here at your age."
A surge of anger swelled up within me. I half rose from my seat but Kahlen froze me in place with a gentle push of her telekinesis. I glared at her, unable to tell her how angry her interference made me.
She simply gave a small smile and nodded to an empty seat to her left. I frowned, trying to understand her message. When she saw that I did not understand, she lifted a finger skyward, as if indicating something of large size. Then she glanced pointedly around the table. I followed her example and her meaning dawned on me. Marcel was not at the table. And that meant that he was in the crowd somewhere, most likely making his way back from the service table.
"The only reason you're here, DAVDAN, is because your fa-ugh!" Lucas' eyes widened as a huge hand clasped his shoulder. There was such a look of fear on his face, I almost laughed. He knew that a hand that size could belong to only one of two people. Marcel and Derhan. The only two beings he admitted to being afraid of.
The only person Lucas hated more than me was Marcel. He had tried to hate Derhan, but since he was one of the instructor, he had to show him some respect. Not ONLY was Marcel his physical superior in every way, he was also Lucas' mental superior. Despite spending his entire life cut off from news services and 'human' contact, Marcel held several doctorates in the physical sciences. There had been an elaborate computer setup that had scanned the vid networks for tech advances and had taught him everything it found.
When Marcel was ten, the computers had secretly enrolled him in a dozen universities. By the time he was thirteen, he had completed all the relevant material and graduated at the head of the class in all the courses that had been chosen for him.
Four years after that, Rangers landed on his island. They found him and for the first time in his life, he saw another human being. And two years later, after spending some time exploring the galaxy and learning how to live among advanced civilizations, he came to the conclusion that he belonged among the ranks of the first people he had met.
"Are you bothering Davdan again, Lucas? I would think you would know better by now." The deep voice rumbled, sending vibrations through the air. Marcel is wonderful at mimicking voices. Especially Derhan's voice.
Lucas set his face and turned. He was clearly surprised to be facing a chest where he expected to see Derhan's face. His head tilted back and back as his eyes climbed to Marcel's face.
"This does not concern you, FREAK." he said when he finally caught Marcel's gaze.
Marcel's eyes lit up like a kid's in a candy store, as my father occasionally said. "Any time you disrespect my shertagh, you make it my concern, skuunar."
Confusion flickered on Lucas' face and was mirrored on the faces of all those nearby. The words belonged to the race that had lived on the planet were Marcel was born. The race were the remnants of an advanced species that had been mostly wiped out in the last Shadow war more than a thousand years ago.
"Shertagh? Does that mean he's your boyfriend, or your pet? And what in the name of Valen is a skuunar?" Lucas asked.
Anger flashed on Marcel's face and was quickly gone. "A skuunar is a small rodent that is so stupid it eats its own feces and young. Roughly a shertagh in your language would be a 'blood-brother'. The tie is deeper than that, but there is nothing sexual in the meaning. As Davdan's shertagh, it is my duty to protect his honour and to guard his life."
"So now he needs you to look after him now? Jeez, you'd think his PARENTS would be enough protection."
By now, everyone within earshot was listening. I could see in their eyes that some of Lucas' anger was mirrored by them. Many of them resented the fact that I had been accepted for training at my 17 years of age. Some agreed that it was only my parentage that had gotten me accepted. A few resented the fact that it was my skill that had earned me the right to come here.
Marcel's grip tightened and he lifted Lucas off the floor. He held him there, at arms length, as easily as I lifted a fork. He looked Lucas square in the eyes and laughed.
"Lucas, Lucas, Lucas. I am not protecting HIM from YOU. I am protecting YOU
from HIM." With that, Marcel let go and turned away to get to his seat.
Lucas just couldn't let it go at that. He's the type of person who always has to have the last word. I'm sure you know the type.
"Where are you going, you coward! Are you afraid to face me in a fair fight?" he taunted, a smirk on his face.
Marcel froze in place. I could make out the rippling of his muscles under his shirt as he tried to move. I knew why he wasn't moving and glanced at Kahlen. Sweat was already beginning to drip from her bow as she concentrated on keeping the giant in place. She couldn't hold him long, but I didn't know what to do. Luckily (or maybe unluckily) Lucas helped by opening his big mouth.
He turned to stare at Kahlen. Everyone knew about her abilities, even if no one talked about it. Lucas knew that Kahlen was holding Marcel in place, and the idiot resented it.
"Well look at this. Another freak." Lucas' voice was so hate filled, I nearly lost what little of my meal I had gotten down. "And of course, she's holding the big freak in place." Lucas bent over the table and leaned close to Kahlen's ear. He whispered something to her and I saw her eyes widen as they struck a chord. For a second, just a second, she lost hold of Marcel.
With a roar, he leapt for Lucas. There was a blur, and a pike slammed into his massive chest, knocking him off stride. This gave Kahlen enough time to order her thoughts and freeze him in place again. From my seat, I could just make out the glimmer of tears as they rolled from her eyes.
Lucas looked up at the distinctive thud and smiled. "Ahhh. So there you are. I was wondering where the last of this freak show was."
Shannon faced him impassively. "I was in a meeting with the Pak'ma'ra. They asked me to help them with a project they were working on." she explained, more to us than to Lucas.
Lucas laughed. "That's hilarious. A schlan like you helping those filthy disgusting THINGS?"
Now, let me say this. A schlan, for those of you that don't speak Brakiri, is one of the worst things you can ever call someone. It has a dozen meanings. The nearest, in human terms, would be a half-breed fool's fecal matter with little intelligence and no redeeming qualities. Of course, that is a polite and loose translation, but I'm sure you get the idea.
I had had enough. I can control my anger when Lucas' insults are directed to me, but to use that word when talking to my friends . . . . I have to admit, any mention of half-breeds tends to anger me. It was a sensitive topic to my family.
I leapt to my feet and pushed Lucas away from the table. He reacted quickly, drawing his pike and levelling it at me with near textbook precision. Shannon tossed me her pike, which I caught smoothly and levelled against Lucas'. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the others forming a circle around us.
As we circled each other, more people joined the circle. I ignored them, concentrating on Lucas' eyes. These would be what betrayed his movements. I had learned that the hard way, sparring against my parents. Though my father never quite got the knack for handling a pike.
His eyes darted left, followed by the pike. Without that fractional second's warning, he would have easily broken my arm. But because I DID have the warning, I was able to position my pike to block the blow and lash out with one of my own.
Lucas' eyes widened in surprise. He had never expected me to be able to move fast enough to block him. He never gave me any credit for having skill, passing it off as the instructors going easy on me because of my parents. This was most definitively not true. If anything, they were harder on me than on anyone else.
We exchanged a quick flurry of strikes. He hit me once, adding to the mass of bruises on my body. Most of my strikes managed to land on him. It took less than 30 seconds for me to realize that he was nowhere near as good as I was. I could end it at anytime in any manner of ways and there was nothing he could do about it.
Looking into his eyes, I saw that he had also recognized this fact. Yet, gasping and panting for air, he continued to fight. He simply refused to allow me to win without a fight.
It was at this point where I began to respect him a little. He knew he was overmatched, yet he continued to try. He was tired, bruised and bloody, exactly as I had been against Derhan. The difference between us was that he held no hope of winning. He was simply trying to land a few lucky blows. When I had fought Derhan, I had held on to the hope of beating him, no matter how skilled he was. I never gave up hope that if I could spot a faint error, I could prevail and beat him. I would not give up. I would not give in to desperation.
I had decided to end it, when a murmur went through the crowd. I got distracted for a moment and Lucas hit me in the head. Dazed, I tried to defend myself, but I was still sore from the earlier fight. Lucas knocked the pike out of my hands. He slammed the end of the pike into my diaphragm, causing me to double over. He reared back and brought the pike crashing down on my head.
I rolled over, trying to get to my feet, only to find Lucas' pike at my throat. There was a gleam in his eyes and I knew what he was going to do.
"So this is the GREAT Davdan?" he sneered. "Where are your parents now, DAVID? Who's going to protect you now, Mr. SHERIDAN? Your FREAK of a mother or TRAITOR of a father? Perhaps your FRIENDS?" He looked at the people in front of him. "I don't think so. No one can help you now, Davey." He pulled the pike back and looked around. "This is what you've placed your hopes on? A boy who couldn't do anything without his parents interference and aid?"
As he babbled on, I looked behind him, trying to find what had caused the murmuring that had distracted me. My jaw dropped when I caught sight of the figure standing right behind Lucas. The figure nodded gravely to me and pointed to the pike that was lying a few feet away. He had recognized that it wasn't mine and guessed that I still had it hidden on me.
He then made a gesture towards Lucas, who was still ranting to the crowd, and I understood. I grinned widely and nodded. He flashed a grim smile and faded into the crowd.
"Well, boy. What do you have to say? Speak up, oh useless one. Share your wisdom with us." Lucas was leaning on his pike, staring down at me.
"Well. . . " I started, slowly reaching into my sleeve for my pike. "I do have to say that. . . " I trailed off when my hand closed on the shaft.
"What?" Lucas leaned over me eagerly.
With a surge, I kicked his pike, causing him to stagger. I rolled to the side and lunged to my feet, pulling out my pike in the same motion. It extended and I struck with a back handed blow, knocking his pike away and sweeping his feet out from under him.
He fell, his head slamming into the ground with a crack. I winced, worried that I had hit him to hard. But he stirred and moaned, his eyes flickering open and looking around unsteadily.
"This is OVER, Lucas. This is the LAST time this happens." I said as I closed my pike and returned it to my sleeve. I saw Shannon bend over and retrieve her pike, while another student handed me Lucas'. I looked down at him. His eyes had cleared a little and he was staring at me with hate pouring out of him. I sighed. "On your honour, swear that you will never approach me again."
He looked up at me and spat at my feet. I lifted his pike, holding it horizontally in both hands.
"You will swear this, or I WILL break your weapon."
He just continued to look at me, not even trying to hide his hate and rage.
I sighed. I knew that he would force me to do this. I gripped the pike as tightly as I could and brought it down on my knee. The metal held for a moment before it snapped, breaking in half as neatly as if cut.
"You honour is no more, Lucas Traveri. If you cross my path again, I WILL kill you." Saying this, I tossed the broken ends of the pike at his feet and turned to leave the room. I had only gone a few steps before the dizziness caught up to me and I started to fall. Luckily, Kahlen and Shannon were there to catch me.
As they helped me stand, the crowd started to murmur again. Someone was standing in the doorway. Looking up, I smiled.
"Isthil'za veni, Enthil'za. In Valen's name." I said when he reached me. My friends tried to bow, and I nearly fell again. Luckily, Enthil'za reached out and steadied me.
"Isthil'za veni, Ranger Davdan." He looked me and my friends over carefully, as if seeing us for the first time. "If you do not mind, Rangers, I would like to take Davdan to his chambers with you. We have much to discuss about what happened here today."
Shannon blushed and lowered her eyes. She mumbled her agreement, unable to look up at this figure of legend. Beside her, Kahlen nodded enthusiastically and Marcel shrugged. They were honoured to be in the presence of Ranger One.
As they half-dragged, half-carried me to our room, I wanted to say something, anything, but I passed out again.
