Chapter 18
"Dude, where did everybody go?" Beast Boy asked the room in general, and he and Cyborg, well mostly Cyborg, kept going over the video of the attack.
"Well Brend'r said she had to get back to her post, and Kim'r said she had something to discuss with Robin," Cyborg replied, as he paused the video again, "And he and Raven are sitting with Star."
"No I'm not," Raven said as she entered the room at the tail end of Cy's last line, "She woke up a few minutes ago, and she's fine," she told them.
"Dude, that's great!" Beast Boy said happily
"Well alright!" Cyborg said, then gave Raven a questioning look as he thought he noticed something about the expression on her face, "Rae, what's up?"
"I'm not sure," the dark Titan replied, "Galfore literally threw me out of Starfire's room after she woke up," she related. "She's confused and upset as to why Robin wasn't and isn't there."
"Well we don't know all their traditions and customs," Cyborg said.
Raven didn't look satisfied with that answer, "What do you know about this shalocfa thing?" she asked Cyborg.
"It's more of an honorary title," Cy replied, "It just shows that the Royal involved has a very close, romantic involvement with someone."
Raven nodded, but noticed the look of surprise on Beast Boy's face, "Cy I know that you know better than that," he said, and got an angry glare from the titanium Titan. He looked over at Raven and saw her confused expression, "According to the database that Star had set up, as her shalocfa Robin is what Cyborg said," he went on, "But Robin also becomes responsible for keeping her safe and well for when she's required to marry."
"What do you mean, 'required to marry'?" Raven asked, impressed with Beast Boy's knowledge, and honesty
"If Tamaran is threatened, the Grand Ruler may arrange a marriage, even though she has a shalocfa, to keep Tamaran safe," Beast Boy replied.
"Yeah, but Tamaran would have to be under direct threat," Cyborg argued. "Something like when that Lord Trogaar threatened to blow up Jump City. I didn't tell you guys about that part of it because I don't believe it's going to come to that," he added.
What ever Raven was going to say was cut off by the door sliding open and a girl, a little younger than Starfire came in. "My apologies for the interruption," she said, with a slight bow, "but the princess has instructed me to bring you to where you may eat."
"Thank you," Raven said, and they followed her out into the corridor. The first thing that Raven found odd was that the guards that had escorted her from Starfire's room had vanished. After a while they turned a corner, and saw three warriors coming from the opposite direction.
"Well if it is not the princess's friends from Earth." the one in the middle said, his voice derisive, and scornful, "and the little green one who gave Galfore such amusement," he sneered, seeing Beast Boy, "So green one, do you still think of Galfore as a nursemaid to the princess?" he asked, his tone hostile.
Looking the bigger man straight in the eye Beast Boy replied, his voice firm, "No, he is your Grand Ruler, and I believe deserves more respect than you are showing."
Raven noticed that the other two warriors were nodding their heads, and giving Beast Boy admiring looks.
"So, you think to give me lessons in proper respect?" the warrior demanded.
"No, Captain he was only speaking the truth, and the obvious," Robin said as he walked up. He noticed that the two lower ranked officers saluted, but the Captain did not.
"Shavota shalocfa cathan," the two officers said in greeting.
"Shavota, shavokana," Robin said, returning the salute and greeting, then he turned and faced the Captain, "Shavota Kemach," he said addressing him by his rank, rather than calling him warrior.
"You do not greet me as warrior!" he asked angrily.
"As you choose not to show common courtesy and greet me at all," Robin shot back.
"You are ruthasha, off worlders, and not worthy of courtesy."
"So you would dishonor our people by being so discourteous to our guests?" Starfire asked as she walked up.
"Highness." the two officers and Robin said, and dropped to one knee. At her nod they rose to their feet, the two Tamaraneans looking at the captain in disbelief, and Robin glaring at him in cold fury at the fact that he had remained standing.
"I see you wish to lose your place of command Captain," Starfire said, her anger at the insult rising.
"That would be a concern only if you were a princess," he sneered, "As it is you are naught but troq suvasha."
The heartbeat of silence that followed the captains statement was broken by Starfire's shocked gasp, and the hissing ring of steel as three swords were drawn. The last sound that was heard was the thud of a body being shoved against the wall.
Robin had moved quicker than the two warriors as he took the insult to Starfire more personally. He pinned the Captain against the wall, his left arm pressed across his breast plate, and his katana resting across his forearm guard, and pressed against the Captain's throat. "You will apologize for that insult or by your own law you will die!" Robin hissed, then heard Raven's startled gasp, Beast Boy's whispered, incredulous, "Dude," and Cyborg's stunned "whoa."
"Robin you can not do this," Starfire said firmly.
"After what he just said, as your shalocfa I have no choice," Robin countered.
"Unless I command otherwise," Star said firmly, "You will stand down. . .now."
Robin looked over his shoulder, and met Starfire's steady gaze. He thought he had heard almost every tone of her voice, but the one she had just spoken to him in he hadn't heard before. A tone that he heard echoes of his own voice in, as he gave orders to the Titans, 'And she fully expects me to follow that command,' he thought to himself, 'and she's right. We're not on Earth, here she's the one in her element, confident, poised, a princess,' he concluded, realizing that he was seeing another side of her, one he hadn't seen before.
The two lieutenants watched as Robin struggled with what honor demanded, and duty called for. "As you command Princess," Robin growled, and stepped back, sheathing his katana. Their eyes widened in surprise when Robin turned to face Starfire, and he dropped to one knee before her, "My apologies Princess, for putting my desires before your command," he said, his head bowed.
Starfire touched his shoulder, and tugged gently so he would stand, "I accept your apology as the provocation was most strong," she told him, giving the Captain an angry glare, "An honor tribunal will decide about him," she said.
"Your actions confirm my beliefs, Starfire. You choose a person for your shalocfa who isn't warrior enough to defend his own honor let alone yours."
"No Teranc'r, she chooses one who puts duty and loyalty to herself and the Grand Ruler above honor," one of the lieutenants said, "He is far more a warrior than I."
"Do not be fooled by this other worlders cowardice, he. . . " Teranc'r began. As he started speaking, Starfire nodded slightly to Robin and at the word 'cowardice' he moved and moved swiftly. His roundhouse kick slamming into Teranc'r's jaw and smashing him back against the wall. His right jab that came straight from the shoulder slammed between his eyes as he rebounded from the wall, knocking him out cold.
As Teranc'r slid down the wall, both lieutenants sheathed their swords and saluted Robin, then turned to include the whole group in their view. "I offer my apologies to all of you for his behavior," the lieutenant who had spoken earlier said, "His views are not shared by either of us, or by the majority of our people," he said then turned to Beast Boy, "I know not your name, and calling you 'green one' seems wrong to me."
"Call me Beast Boy." he said, discovering that he liked the warrior, unlike what he felt about Teranc'r.
"Beast Boy, I admire your courage in standing up to a bigger and stronger antagonist," he said, "Why do you smile?" he asked seeing Beast Boy's grin.
Beast Boy glanced over at Robin who nodded, and instantly a hulking green gorilla stood in his place, causing the two warriors to step back in surprise. Just as quickly he morphed back to his human form, "Let's just say that there's more to me than meets the eye," he said with a chuckle.
"I can see now why you are called Beast Boy," the lieutenant said, "I am Mik'l, and this is Stev'n of the ROSHON'R," he told them, "If you have any need for assistance please consider us."
"It would be an honor to aid the princess, and her friends," Stev'n added.
"Thank you both," Starfire said, "The Declaration will begin soon. You had better get him somewhere where he can recover before then."
The two nodded, then each took an arm of their captain, and carried him off. There was an awkward silence for a moment. "Now I see what Kim'r said about a division among your people," Robin said, then traced his fingers along where she had been cut, "I'm very happy to see it was not worse," he said softly, then withdrew his hand and stood almost at attention, "Galfore wants me on the bridge again, highness, I beg your leave," he added, and hated the confused look on Starfire's face at his formal tone.
"I was hoping to have my mid day meal with you," she said almost sadly.
'Star this isn't his fault," Raven's 'voice' said in her head, 'I know he mentioned something about acting distant toward you, but there's more to this than that.'
"Princess please." Robin said softly, and she could see the subtle changes in his expression that he did not want to go, but had to.
"Of course Robn you may go." Star said softly, "Shu vata ne mathad," she said softly enough that only Robin could hear her as he walked past her.
"E shu vata nema," he whispered back, telling her that she was his.
Starfire watched as Robin strode down the corridor, and she could tell by his stride that he was angry. She glanced over at Raven and saw that she was watching Robin as well. For once her expression was easy to read. "You are right Raven, this is not his doing," she said.
"I know," Raven replied, "It's not him I'm so angry at," she added, and Starfire nodded her head sadly knowing who her friend meant.
"Sher'l it is alright now, Captain Teranc'r gone," Starfire said to the young girl that had been escorting the Titans. Since they were stopped by Teranc'r, she had been all but hiding behind Raven. "As I have told you before he can not harm you any more."
"He did something to hurt her?" Raven asked, the tone of her voice indicating her anger.
"When I was just past the Vartoch selana, he mistook my lack of control as defiance to his commands," Sher'l related, but stopped.
"Galfore found out that Teranc'r had been using her as a hand to hand combat training partner, and dealt her several severe beatings," Starfire finished for her, "She is now one of my handmaidens and safe from him."
"Highness why did you not challenge him to shavek hifa?" Sher'l asked.
"Because I do not believe it will be necessary," Starfire replied, "Knowing his feelings toward me and my shalocfa cathan, he will not remain silent during the Declaration or Confirmation."
"So Robin will deal with him when he's challenged by him," Raven said, and Starfire nodded.
"Friends will you kindly join me for the mid day meal?" she asked, "It will help to pass the time until the ceremony," she added.
They all agreed, and walked down the corridor together. "What was that Teranc'r called you Star?" Beast Boy asked. "I recognized that 'T' word, but not the one that followed it," he added, his avoidance of saying the word troq making Starfire smile softly as she remembered how hard it is for Robin to say it.
"Troq suvasha." Starfire said softly, her eyes narrowing at the fact that someone, especially a fellow Tamaranean, had called her that, "It would translate to servant of a troq," she explained, "It means that the person called that is so worthless as to be useful for nothing but to be a servant of a troq."
"Whoa, no wonder Robin went off like that." Cyborg said.
"He's lucky I didn't know what he said," Raven said darkly, as they entered a large room that was obviously a cafeteria. Instead of going through the line, they went directly to a table.
"I have taken the liberty of placing a request for specific dishes that I hope you will each find enjoyable," Star said after they had taken seats. No sooner had she spoken than six Tamaraneans in white clothing walked over, each carrying a covered dish.
"For you friend Cyborg I choose Hinfel steak with roshas and quirtl," she went on as a plate was placed before Cyborg. "The roshas are very much like your Earth potatoes, and the quirtl is like your mushrooms," she explained, then looked expectantly at him.
Cyborg eyed the steak on his plate as though it might come to life and bite him, rather than the other way around. Looking up and seeing that the rest of the gang was watching him, he took his fork and knife and cut a chunk off and quickly popped it into his mouth, fully expecting to have to spit it back out from the taste, "That is delicious!" he exclaimed quickly chewing and swallowing it, and he attacked the plate with gusto.
Starfire gave a small sigh of relief, "For you friend Beast Boy, I had the cooks prepare a vegetable dish using the mijoro plant," she said, "I realize the color may be odd, but it tastes very much like eggplant," she explained seeing the look on his face when he saw the near black colored slices of vegetable mixed in with some others in a brown colored sauce. Again she sighed with relief as Beast Boy thought it was delicious.
"Frankly Raven you were most difficult to decide on what dish to have prepared for you," she said, "I do not recall you having any preference for any food, so I tried something with both meat and vegetables called Chapena," she said, "and I can tell you that Robin found it most enjoyable."
"Who is that plate for?" Cyborg asked seeing a plate that had been put before an empty seat.
"It is. . .was to be for Robin," Star said softly and sadly.
"Highness I can take it to him," Sher'l volunteered. "I will even take my meal with me so he will not be alone."
Starfire looked fondly at the young girl, then nodded, "And please tell him how much I wish we could be having this meal together," she added as Sher'l walked away.
Robin strode down the corridors, glad for the anonymity his helmet gave him. In the back of his mind he had finally felt comfortable in his armor, not so out of place as he did in the Tower. Here he looked like everyone else, unless you looked closely, and noticed no rank insignia, or the fact that he carried a katana as opposed to the rexano swords that male warriors carried from the time they took their Oath of Acceptance
The few warriors that gave him any notice quickly found other things to occupy them as they saw the look of slowly boiling anger on his face. For the first time that he could remember since he tried to get information from Slade by becoming Red X, he blatantly lied to Starfire, and it was Galfore's fault. He was not heading for the bridge as he had been told to tell her, but for an observation lounge, to wait until he was needed for the Declaration ceremony. When he entered the room he saw that the view was of Earth, but in his present mood he had no desire to look, so he threw the switch that closed the blast shields over the ten foot long, six foot tall window. The result was a darkening of the room that he wanted. How long he sat there letting his anger bleed away he didn't know, but his head snapped up when he heard the door sigh open.
"Robin, are you here?" Sher'l called softly as she stood in the doorway, letting the light from the corridor illuminate the room.
"Over here Sher'l," Robin called then reached over and tabbed the control for the lights bringing them up to full intensity.
"I bring you your mid meal, as the princess desired," she said, handing Robin the plate, "And she asked me to tell you how much she wished you could be together while eating."
"Thank you," Robin said as he took his plate and uncovered it, "Where in the fleet did she find chicken?" he chuckled as he looked at his meal.
Sher'l had almost gotten to the door, but Robin's question brought her back, "That is most likely chfol," she informed him.
"Please have a seat," Robin told her, then hit the switch for the blast shields, "Welcome to Earth," he added dramatically as the globe filled the view.
"X'Hal, it is so beautiful," she almost whispered in awe, "Thank you for letting me eat with you," she added, and they fell silent while they ate their meals and admired the view of the Earth, "Robin you are very close to the princess are you not?" she asked after they had finished eating.
Robin smiled softly as he thought over that question, and how to answer it so the young girl would understand, "I would not be her shalocfa cathan otherwise."
"I saw how angry you were at Captain Teranc'r when he called the princess that awful name," Sher'l said, "I thank you for wanting to defend her like that. I could see that it went beyond what would be required by your being her shalocfa."
Robin was surprised that the youngster had seen that in him, "You're very observant," he said with a chuckle.
"A true warrior notices all things, as to find a weakness in his enemy," Sher'l recited, then changed subjects again, "Why were you so angry at the Captain?"
"I believe him to be a warrior without honor or loyalty," Robin replied, "Do you know the Oath of Reaffirmation?" he asked, and she nodded, "The last line is that a warrior will obey the commands of the Grand Ruler," he said, "What is the Grand Ruler's orders concerning my friends?"
"They are to be treated as honored guests."
"And was the way he was treating Beast Boy in keeping with that order?" Robn asked, and Sher'l shook her head, "That shows that he has no loyalty to the Grand Ruler, does not honor his own Oath, and lets his personal feelings interfere with his doing his duty. Without honor, duty and loyalty a warrior is nothing."
"I thank you shalocfa cathan, for teaching me these things," Sher'l said, standing then dropping to one knee in front of him.
"Do not kneel to me Sher'l, you have the training, and situations like this should have been part of it," Robin said.
"I have fallen behind in my training, but should be taking my Oath in four years," Sher'l said softly.
"Four years." Robn gasped, "that means that you are. . . "
"In your Earth years I am ten" she finished for him, "I am behind because of injuries received in hand to hand combat training" she added, then saw the look on Robin's face, "What is wrong?"
"Nothing that you have done," Robin replied, "It is just that I have little respect for an instructor that does not take the care to prevent injuring his pupil."
"I could not get the technique of a series of moves correctly, and he corrected me most fiercely," she told him.
"What was the move?" he asked as he stood up, and positioned himself so they were facing each other in front of the seats. Without warning Sher'l threw a series of punches and a kick at him, which he blocked almost effortlessly. "Okay, now lets do that very slowly," he said, moving to stand beside her and very slowly he made like he was throwing the first of the punches, "On Earth this is called Tai Chi, and it's used to make sure that the student is making the move correctly before bringing it up to full speed," he explained.
For the next few minutes Robin watched Sher'l closely, making corrections to her position as she went through the moves one at a time. "Now try again," he said, taking a defensive stance opposite her. "Yes, Sher'l very good," he said as she performed the moves properly.
"But you blocked them all," She said, confused as to why she was being praised for failing to hit her opponent.
"Only because I knew they were coming," Robin told her with a smile, which faded as she knelt before him again.
"I thank you for instructing me Master," she said.
Robin stood there for a moment, and the image of him standing before Slade flashed in his mind, "From now on I want you to call me Master," Slade had told him. Shaking his head to clear the image, he took Sher'l by the shoulder and pulled her to her feet, "The pleasure is mine in helping you with your skills, and passing on my knowledge. You may call me what you will but do not refer to me as Master again." he told her, "It does not feel right to me."
Robin saw that she was about to kneel again, but was pleased to see that she stopped herself, "I apologize shalocfa cathan, I meant no disrespect."
"And you gave none," Robin assured her, "It is just that I have some things in my past that make me uncomfortable with being called Master."
Robin was surprised when Sher'l hugged him tightly, "The princess is most correct, you are kind beyond words," she said, then left the room.
"Now I wait alone." he muttered to himself as he sat down again. After a while he noticed that he was tapping his fingers as he grew nervous about the Declaration ceremony. Nervous as he was though he couldn't help but admire the view of the Earth from orbit, 'Looks like a nice day back home,' he thought to himself as he saw the west coast of the United States and the bordering Pacific Ocean clearly with no clouds. After a moment he turned from the view and started pacing. He reached the far end of the room and turned to find himself facing two members of the Palace Guard in full armor, helmets, robes and the rest. He struggled to fight back the reflexive urge to draw his katana, and he saw that the Guard on his left saw the twitch of his right hand in that direction.
"You are Robin of Earth, leader of the Teen Titans? That warrior asked.
"Pe va Robin, shalocfa cathan du vidi'an Koriand'r," he replied, identifying himself as Princess Starfire's suitor select.
"You will come with us," a voice from behind him said, and Robin watched as the two Guards before him drew their swords. He also heard at least two swords drawn behind him. Keeping his face calm, and his hands in plain view, he turned slowly to see the Guards behind him, and almost sighed in relief when he recognized Kim'r as one of them.
"You will give us your sword," Kim'r said, in a commanding voice.
"The only person who will take my sword from me is the one who defeats me in combat," Robin said, drawing his katana, and quickly jumping to his right so he was no longer between the four Guards, "Which one of you will be the first to try?"
"No shalocfa cathan we do not wish to fight you," Kim'r said, and Robin noticed the admiring glances he was getting from them all, "but you can not go before the princess armed."
Just then something clicked in Robin's mind, "The princess herself has ordered me to go nowhere unarmed," he told them, "Only she can change that."
"Then we are at an impasse," Kim'r said.
"You can contact her with this," Robin said, taking his communicator out, "Call Starfire," he told it, and was told that hers was turned off, "Call Raven," he said, then handed it to Kim'r. He heard Raven answer, and Kim'r told her to give her communicator to the princess.
"Robin?" Starfire's voice asked, uncertainly.
"No highness, it is Kim'r. Your shalocfa cathan refuses to surrender his sword, and claims you have ordered him to go nowhere unarmed," she explained.
"Yes I did tell him that," Starfire admitted, "You may tell him that he may surrender his sword to one of you," she went on, "And before he says that he must hear that directly from me, which has been forbidden by Emperor Galfore, I know he can hear my voice," she added, and the channel went dead.
"Was that your intent?" Kim'r asked.
"No," Robin replied, "That call did two things. First it rescinded the princess's order to me, and second it told me that she is alright, and the rest of the Titans are near her," he explained, then slid his katana and it's scabbard from his belt and handed it to one of the Guards, "Guard that with your life or I will have you in a shavek hifa," he told him.
"I will guard it as my own."
Robin soon found himself as Starfire did when he and the others took her to the room for her Reaffirmation ceremony at the Tower. Two Guards behind him, and Two in front as they walked through the corridors.
'We're getting near the hanger bays, if I'm not mistaken,' he thought to himself as he started recognizing his surroundings from when they had come aboard.
Suddenly they stopped at a unmarked door, and Kim'r knocked on it with the hilt of her sword. Almost instantly the door slid open and Robin was pushed roughly through it to bump into another door only five feet away. Before he could turn around that door he had come through slid shut, and a quick search told him that there was no way to open it from this side.
"Nice little cell," he muttered after he had looked around the five foot square room he was in, then his eyes widened in sudden recognition, 'An airlock!' he thought, and he renewed his search for any type of controls that would give him more of an idea as to where he was. His search was cut short as his head snapped around as he heard the clunk of the door unlocking. Taking quick breaths to almost hyperventilate himself he flattened himself against the wall beside the outer door, and braced himself for the decompression. Hearing the door mechanism start to work, he blew all the air from his lungs, and reminded himself that he would have most likely half a minute before the vacuum of space caused enough pain to make him unable to move. Death would follow quickly after.
The door opened, and nothing happened. Taking a grateful breath, Robin poked his head around the door.
"Rest easy shalocfa cathan," Kim'r said as she and the other three of his escorts stood on the other side, "All of the access ways to the hanger decks are fashioned as an airlock in case of battle damage," she explained, "You have done well, by not panicking," she added.
Falling back in to the way they had been walking the went down a short corridor which opened into one of the hanger decks. Robin had expected to see rows of fighters lined up in preparation for launch, but the large room was empty except for almost a hundred Tamaraneans who were standing around the perimeter of the room, leaving the center empty. Empty that is except for a small dais behind which stood Galfore, Starfire, and Raven.
Robin was lead before the dais, and Kim'r and the warrior that had his sword took places behind it.
"Robin of Earth, you have been chosen by Princess Starfire as her shalocfa," Galfore said, "What say you to this?"
"That I gladly accept the responsibility," Robin replied, "Vidi'an Koriand'r vata ne mathad, e genthalas du penefa."
"And do you know if the Princess returns those feelings?" Galfore asked.
"She has said those same words to me, and shown me by her actions that she does share them with me."
"Did someone witness this?"
"I did." Raven replied, then stepped forward to stand beside Robin, "I am Raven, daughter of Arella of Azar, and I am also a Teen Titan. A few weeks ago Starfire had been injured in battle, and Robin realized that he had been hiding his feelings for her not only from her and the rest of us but from himself as well," she related, "When she had recovered some, he gave her a card with a letter inside in which he informed her of his true feelings for her."
"And that is all?" Galfore asked.
"No, the next time Robin visited her, she called him mathad, and genthalas du penefa, and he returned those feelings," Raven continued, "At the time I didn't know what the words were that they were calling each other, but they claimed that it wasn't necessary as my being able to repeat what they said was the important part." she concluded, and when Galfore nodded, she joined the other Titans in the crowd.
"I am Commander Kim'r of the Palace Guard," she said when she stepped forward, "I was instructed by the Grand Ruler to see how near our own Robin's fighting skills are," she announced, "In keeping with that I watched videos of him in combat, that the princess had brought with her. For not having the powers that we do I found him to be an exceptional warrior," she said, and an excited buzz went through the room, "I chose that word most carefully," Kim'r continued, "To consider Robin as anything but a warrior is foolish, as I discovered when I went to a training room to speak with him. He had his back to me, and was leaning on the heavy bag when I stood up from leaning on the doorframe," she related, "I do not know what alerted him to my presence, but I barely had time to defend myself from the blade he had thrown, and then found myself at sword point."
"I am Second Lieutenant Pelno'r, also of the Palace Guard, and I will attest to his having the sprit of a warrior at least," the warrior that had Robin's sword announced as he came forward to stand beside Kim'r, "As required Commander Kim'r demanded that the shalocfa cathan surrender his sword," he related, "Before she could give reason, he jumped from between us and drew his sword, telling us that defeating him in combat was the only to take it from him, and he asked which of us would be the first to try."
This statement was met with murmurs of approval, then Starfire spoke, "What reason did he give for not surrendering his sword, after he was told the reason?"
"As you well know, highness," Pelno'r replied, "He said that you had given him a direct order to go nowhere unarmed, and he did not fail in that until he heard your voice telling Commander Kim'r that the order was countermanded."
"So his loyalty to the princess is not in question," Galfore said, then turned to Starfire, "Princess your shalocfa cathan has declared his feelings for you and that he will gladly take on the responsibility of becoming your shalocfa," he said, "Do you still return those feelings, as witnessed by Raven of the Teen Titans?"
Starfire fixed her gaze on Robin, but he couldn't read his expression, "I do my lord with all my heart and soul," she said, "Robin vat ne mathad, e genthalas du penefa."
"In keeping with our most time honored traditions, Princess Starfire, and Robin of Earth have declared their feelings for each other, and willingness to enter into this level of relationship," Galfore proclaimed, "Is there any who would challenge this?"
There was silence for a few moments and just as Galfore was about to speak, a warrior stepped forward. "I challenge this ruthasha who thinks he can claim the title of warrior amongst us," he said.