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- Chapter Nine -

- The Rat-Man vs The Jakara Lord -

- The Warlock's Folly -

Akrakk's hand closed around empty air. He frowned, having expected to find a crushed skull between his clawed fingers. The man had had the gall to presume to ask Akrakk a question without leave. Akrakk had decided that he wanted to send a lesson to all his court but now he found himself standing at the top floor of a heavily ruined tower.

The tower floor was thirty meters in diameter with a light pale yellow floor of birch wood and walls of glistening stone. Books had been thrown to the ground, a desk lay on the floor in splinters, and a statue leaned heavily to the side in the corner, half shadowed by a piece of broken wall rising up to the dark blue sky of near-dusk. Akrakk turned his gaze behind him and glared out to the broken world ahead. The land had been split into uneven chunks, a spider-web of cracks criss-crossing across the landscape. Faint blue light shone in the cracks, and each chunk seemed to have a peculiar quality to them. One floated a few inches above the ground, another caught fire in spots sporadically, and yet another seemed to vibrate and pulse.

Akrakk crossed his arms and his frown deepened. There was a voice in his head, light and musical; a nuisance. It seems to tell him that he had to fight an opponent of some fashion. To kill or to incapacitate? But where was this opponent and why should he obey any rules given to him anyway?

Akrakk was a Jakaran, a tall reptilian humanoid. He rose a head higher that most humans, with a thick scaly body. His tail was long and thick and his claws sharp and dangerous. Akrakk's snout stuck out from his head, with beady blue eyes and a number of small, piercing teeth. A great collar of blue fur had been wrapped around his shoulders, trailing down to the middle of his back as a cloak. Curled bones stuck out from his shoulders, pointing every which-way, taken from many of Akrakk's foes. He had painted war-paint across his stomach, thighs, and face with white ash from the snow volcanoes of his homeland.

As he peered over the edge of the tower, he saw that he was about five floors above the ground. Would the one he would need to crush be down there? Akrakk heard a faint scuffle behind him. He spun around with ferocious speed, his fist soaring through the air.

It connected with another fist, lined with fur with small claws as opposed to Akrakk's thick scaly fist. Neither fist budged at the point of contact and Akrakk stared into the red eyes of a rat man.

Kai Jaidev wasn't surprised that his sneak attack hadn't worked. In fact, he would have been disappointed if it was that easy. He stood a head shorter than Akrakk, but his arms were thicker, threaded with sinewy muscle. Kai wore a patchwork mish-mash of purple fabric, leaving his arms and feet bare. A hood rested on his head, leaning just above his eyes. His gloves, which were fingerless, thick, and made of leather were scuffed and scratched. Even Kai's appearance seemed worn and old. Small tufts of hair were missing all over his body, with small scars dotted around his hide. Two thick scars ran over both eyes, and one of his short spiked teeth were missing and another chipped.

He could sense the strength behind Akrakk's fist, bulging behind those crimson scales of his. "I should have expected the Lord of Jakara to want to fight."

"You know of me, rat man?"

"It is my business to know."

Akrakk's eyes narrowed. His shoulder twitched and Kai threw his fist forward to collide with Akrakk's blow. Once more their fists stayed still at the point of contact. "I would like to know the name of my opponent."

"Some call me Rat-Man, some the Statue of the Night, some the Whisperer, though another holds that particular title." Kai's eyes glinted. "But you may call me Kai Jaidev."

"Are you a warrior?"

"Sometimes." Kai jammed his knee up towards Akrakk's stomach, but Akrakk slammed his own knee into Kai's. The knees didn't move, but Kai felt that blow more. So Akrakk's legs were stronger than his own. Their fists were still pressed together, unmoving. "They call you Thousand Fangs. I count only thirty."

"My Fangs are my people," Akrakk growled in reply.

"So you command only a thousand people?"

"I command a thousand warriors."

"Funny." Kai grinned. "I command ten-thousand." This time, Akrakk whipped his scaled tail towards Kai's face. Kai responded in kind, his own tail snapping in front of his face to deflect the blow. Both men jumped backwards, each standing at either side of the tower floor.

"Ten-thousand? Do you hide behind such forces?"

"Do I seem hidden to you? Perhaps you should open your eyes." Kai Jaidev pushed off the floor and charged. Akrakk took the cue and sprinted forward himself. He swung, but Kai ducked under the heavy blow and slammed a fist into Akrakk's side. Akrakk didn't seem to notice and drove his elbow down on Kai's back. Kai spun around behind Akrakk and stomped on his tail. Akrakk only flicked the tail, sending Kai into the air. He was surprisingly light, for a beast his size. Kai landed deftly on his feet and sent his tail swinging at Akrakk's feet. Akrakk jumped up and clasped his hands together, bringing them down to club Kai on the head.

Kai darted backwards, allowing Akrakk to hit open air. He drove his foot hard into Akrakk's stomach. This time Akrakk felt it and stumbled backwards only a centimetre, but even that was telling. Kai continued the attack in a fury, slamming his fists and feet at Akrakk. Akrakk barely had time to bring his arms and knees up to defend the attack, slowly moving backwards. Occasionally Kai's tail snapped at Akrakk's face, but Akrakk's own defended him.

Akrakk's foot slipped into open air and he swayed. He turned back, surprised to find that he was at the edge of the tower already. He turned back to Kai but found that he was ten steps away from him. Kai's eyes glinted and he sprinted forward and jumped into the air, thrusting both feet out in front of him. They connected, hitting Akrakk's chest. The lord was flung back into open air. He twisted in the air and put his arms in front of his face.

The impact Akrakk made when he hit the ground was heavy, causing a small crater in a shard of ground. The shard of ground he had landed on was cracking on touch. As he stood, Akrakk's foot fell further into the ground. He jumped backwards onto another shard; this one indented further down that the others.

As soon as his foot fell on it, he felt weight upon his shoulders. Akrakk groaned and fought against the weight, pushing himself upwards. He closed his eyes and confirmed what he had suspected. Magic was flowing through this land. Akrakk opened his eyes to find Kai Jaidev standing at the edge of the tower, high above.

"Let me show you some of my forces, Thousand Fangs!" Kai called down and spread his arms out wide. For a moment, nothing happened. Then his skin seemed to wriggle. Something seemed to be moving under his fur.

Then a large rat burst from his hands, as large as Akrakk's fist. Its eyes gleamed red as it landed on the floor. Another rat burst from the other hand, landing with his brother. Then another rat from each hand, more from Kai's legs, one from his neck. They pushed their way out of his skin, and flowing at his feet. Kai was a fountain of rats as they scurried down his body to join their brothers and sisters on the tower floor. Finally the last one dropped to the ground and Kai pointed at Akrakk. "Let's start with one thousand, and you can judge if they are worthy of your own. Brothers, sisters… attack!"

In one heavy waterfall, the rats flowed down the edge of the building, running down the stone. Akrakk squeezed his hands closed and braced his legs, getting ready for a fight. The first rat touched the shard of ground that flamed sporadically and immediately burst into fire with a scream. Two others followed before the rest had the sense to avoid the shard of ground. A dozen froze solid on a shard, and another dozen expanded into squeaking balls of fur. The rest scurried around the shards, trying to avoid whatever magic was at work.

From the one thousand Kai Jaidev had sent to attack, only one hundred made it to Akrakk's piece of ground. He stomped on the first one to pass the magic line, feeling the bones crunch under his foot. One jumped surprisingly high but Akrakk sent his tail to smack the rat out of the way. The rest had surrounded Akrakk and started nipping at his feet. He spun his leg and knocked a bunch out of the way. They landed on a shard of ground and were flung up into the sky. They squeaked as they flipped through the air, before landing in bloody spots on the ground. Akrakk made short work of the rest of the rats and looked up to Kai Jaidev. Only the rat-man wasn't where he was standing before.

Akrakk felt a sharp pain in his side and looked down to find Kai's clawed hands had impaled his side. Kai squeezed and Akrakk screamed, falling to one knee. "Kidneys hurt when crushed, don't they?"

Akrakk felt sweat bead on his brow, but he spun around with his fist. Akrakk ducked the blow and danced backwards, seemingly unaffected by the heavy weight this shard of ground beheld. Blood spat out of Akrakk's wound and he held his side, panting.

"Do you know of this place, Thousand Fangs?"

Akrakk didn't respond, trying to push away the pain. He was content to stay still, ready to strike at this rat-man.

"They call it the Warlock's Folly. Legends tell that the warlock in question wanted to open a gate to meet the Gods. Apparently the spell backfired and the Gods took out their rage on the mortal who dared to try and meet them. I heard tales that you could find a bit of every kind of magic on these lands." Kai looked around, grinning like a stupid child. "I've always wanted to come here, and what do you know? Here I am. But do you know what this means?"

"I don't… care…" Akrakk breathed, standing up.

"Well you should." Kai tutted. "Information is a wonder, Akrakk. Information is the key to opening all the world's secrets. And do you know what information I have learned? That our captors are using real-life places as their arenas. Isn't that interesting?"

"I don't care!" Akrakk repeated and leaped forward, ready to tear Kai's head from his shoulders. The heavy gravity made Akrakk sluggish and Kai just danced to the side once more. He sent a quick punch to Akrakk's wound, causing the lord of Jakara to fall to his knees in pain once more. To fall to his knees in front of another… Akrakk closed his eyes, feeling shame in the pit of his stomach.

The shame quickly turned to anger. Anger for feeling the shame. Akrakk stood, ignoring the weight of his shoulders. He lunged at Kai with both hands but once again Kai dodged. He pushed on Akrakk's back, pushing him into another chunk of land. As soon as Akrakk hit it, he felt all weight disappear - completely. His feet rose off the ground as he slid into the air.

"Heh…" Kai's eyes gleamed as he watched Akrakk flail helplessly in the air. "I've never seen a lord dance so wonderfully."

Akrakk roared in fury. This mocking little rat-man…! "If not for this magic-"

"I'm sure you would rip me to and fro and feast on my bones." Kai shrugged. "Even if that were true, Thousand Fangs, it doesn't matter. I had a nice little chat with the man who came to visit me. I was intrigued when he walked into my den without any worry. He told me of these battles and that I would have to fight. He also told me, when I inquired as to where we would fight, that it would be in arena's devised to test a warrior. You see, Akrakk, being a warrior isn't just muscles and teeth. I'm sure you and your one thousand Fangs have slaughtered thousands of men and women. But that was in your home, in your mountains, where you knew how to set traps and how to use it to your advantage. But being a warrior means adjusting to the circumstances. You made the mistake to venture further into this magical territory. The sensible thing would have been to scramble back to the tower."

"Don't… presume to teach me!" Akrakk's tail pushed out and wrapped around Kai Jaidev's arm. He used Kai as an anchor to pull himself from the weightlessness and reared back his hand. He smashed it into Kai's chest to tear out his heart.

Instead of blood, rats burst outwards from Kai's chest. They scurried around the empty hole and started to move up Akrakk's arm. He jumped backwards and grimaced. Even he was horrified to see one rat torn apart by the others so its skin could be used to patch the hole Akrakk had made. Kai chuckled as the rats fixed the hole and hide from sight. "You are not a smart man, are you?"

"I am the Lord of the Jakara!" Akrakk threw his hand forward to smash into Kai's face. Kai didn't even attempt to move and let the fist blow through the side of his face. Akrakk thrust his other fist into Kai's stomach, reopening the hole. He continued the flurry of blows until rats scurried this way and that on the floor. Akrakk backed away, panting. Then his eyes widened. He had seen men and women die, seen their innards, seen many, many horrors. But this… he felt the pit in his stomach growing heavier.

The rats attacked other rats, ripping them apart to harvest organs, bones and muscles. They started with the feet, putting multiple small claws together to make the bigger ones on the end of Kai's toes. The endless rats ripped more apart, using the muscle to build up Kai's legs. They moved up, stitching bone together first, then the muscle, then the skin. When they reached organs they pulled apart smaller organs to make bigger ones in a patchwork of monstrosity. Finally Kai Jaidev stood before Akrakk, as naked as the rats he controlled, with a great grin on his face.

Akrakk stumbled backwards, shocked to the core. "What… What are you?"

"A being like you. I expect that's where our similarities end."

Akrakk fell to his rear and just stared at the rat-man. This wasn't right… Kai Jaidev wasn't in the nature of the world, whatever he was shouldn't exist. He was a warrior, a fearless leader… now he felt like one of his victims, cowering beneath a higher power. Akrakk wanted to fight, wanted to destroy him, but… but… how? Akrakk didn't move as the rats sped to his feet. He didn't even move when they started to bite his skin, tearing through the tough scales. Kai Jaidev was neither man nor beast… not even a monster. Akrakk didn't know what he was and couldn't figure it out even as the rats ran across his chest and his face. One pushed between his mouth and pushed its way down his throat. Another followed, and another. Akrakk felt them tearing at his stomach and throat and fell backwards, in his dying thoughts wondering what Kai Jaidev was.

Kai watched with folded arms as his rats devoured Akrakk. After minutes of gnawing and gnashing they finally dispersed, leaving no trace of the Lord of Jakara. Kai looked up as a light cast down on his head, and grinned as the light filled all his senses.