Chapter 3
Call of the savannah
The first fight had just ended with Blackbeard's defeat.
"You have fought a sumptuous battle, my friend. Once again, you did not let death take you easily..." Benjamin Hornigold says sadly.
"Yes, I got to see the real face of this man again, one of the few lovers I've really loved." adds Anne Bonny.
The two pirates looked at each other, expressing the same sense of emptiness but also admiration for the man they had known and who had faced nothing less than the God of the Oceans.
As for the gods, they applauded and roared in Neptune's favor for his victory. They have no respect for humans, not even for Blackbeard, who fought an honorable battle.
"You're weak, you're no match for us!"
"Send in the next one and let him get crushed too!"
The gods in the stands expressed their arrogance, believing themselves invincible. These cheers were not to Druca's liking. The goddess, accompanied by her two attendants, watches on as best they can.
"Why do they act this way?" says Phearl, wiping her tears with her too-long sleeve.
"They are gods, and no longer they take humans into consideration." Druca replies.
Selira also put on a sad face.
"I won't forget you, pal... I'll put up a poster of you in my room."
Druca began to move away from the balcony on which she had watched the fight alongside two young girls, who followed her.
Lower down in the arena, Neptune looks down at the pirate's inert body. He doesn't say a word, but at least he has respect for the human he fought, unlike others. Blackbeard's body began to glow with a powerful, almost blinding white light. And suddenly, his body disintegrated into dust and flew up into the sky.
Neptune followed this luminous dust with his eyes, in homage to this man. Benjamin and Anne did the same, honoring the memory of the famous pirate. Edward Teach's soul had just disappeared forever in an absorbing silence.
Neptune turned back, walking with a solemn step. Just like the day he had saved this village, Neptune moved forward with a similar stride and the same emotion on his face.
While in her quarters, Druca was reviewing the humans who had answered her call to choose the next fighter.
"Who will you choose?" Selira asks.
"I know a man who's dying to redeem himself, and there won't be many more determined than him to win." said the goddess, displaying the silhouette of a rather imposing man on a screen.
Selira stood up to take a closer look.
"No fucking way, it's him?" she says amazed.
Druca agrees with a noise from her mouth.
"But... can he succeed where Edward failed?" Phearl seems doubtful.
"He'll do everything in his power, so have faith in him as soon as he enters the arena." Druca said, smiling and patting Phearl on the head.
The young girl nodded, looking confident and prepared.
In the arena, everyone was looking forward to the second round. The gods are convinced that their representative will win and the humans want to see their next fighter avenge Blackbeard and win a first battle.
"Get ready, the second fight is about to start!" Rhymus stands in the middle of the arena. "As you can see, the arena for this fight will be much more neutral and flatter."
Indeed, while the arena of the first fight represented an island surrounded by water, it has been transformed into something much simpler. It looked like an antique arena.
"But let's not waste time, let's get on with the second duel!"
Humans and gods alike cheered on their respective sides.
"Let's start with the human who will fight body and soul to prevent the annihilation of his species!"
The door opened and chants began to echo from the stands.
"For twelve years, he ran an empire he founded himself. History recognizes him as a military genius, a conqueror on a par with Caesar!"
A huge figure walks slowly along the dark tunnel leading to the arena.
"He turned farmers into pure warriors and created an organized army of over 80,000 men. But who are they?!"
The soldiers in the stands respond with a fierce passion.
"ZULU! ZULU!"
"His empire stretched over most of South East Africa, and even after the death of his leader, the building of this empire enabled it to survive for half a century!"
The man had just entered the arena, a huge lion skin covering him from head to waist.
"The brutal African King of the people whose name he bears, I present to you SHAKA ZULU!"
Shaka throws his lion skin aside, revealing his body covered in scars from his many battles. He has short, curly black hair and a leopard-skin headband. His torso is mostly bare, with a few tribal ornaments covering his neck and arm. A pair of shorts covers his waist, made of leopard skin and other fabrics, and he wears nothing on his feet. He proudly brandishes an iklwa, a short spear invented by Shaka and an ishlangu, a shield typical of the Zulu people.
"Oh Shaka... it's good to see you again my son."
NANDI KABHEBHE: QUEEN OF THE ZULU KINGDOM
"But who will be the god to face this fierce fighter?"
The door to the gods' side opens.
"Having dreamt of his death, his mother made all the elements, beings and plants of creation promise never to harm her son."
A shining figure emerges from the doorway.
"His body has been shining ever since and cannot be harmed, even by the most powerful gods! Nevertheless, this invulnerability and insensitivity to all things plunged him into a madness that drove this gentle god, loved by all, to violence in search of a way to break this spell."
The god approaches the center of the arena.
"The once kind and charismatic god, let me introduce you to BALDUR!"
Baldur has a rather wild appearance. He has long red hair and a beard. His shirtless body features a number of tattoos and symbols. He has several pieces of tissue at his waist as well as a glaive and a few artifacts such as a hanging mask. Finally, he wears sandals and brandishes a spear.
"Ba-Baldur?" Phearl says in shock. "But he's invulnerable!"
"That's fucking cheating." Selira adds.
Druca observes the arena.
"Fear not, Shaka is resourceful and knows fighting techniques that no other human knows."
"He can dispel Baldur's invulnerability?" Selira asks
"I hope so." Druca replies.
Odin appeared in the colosseum and took his place on a large chair overlooking most of the stands. He was joined by Thor.
"This human doesn't stand a chance." Odin said in a deep voice.
"However, the previous one violently wounded Neptune." replies Thor
"Even I couldn't find a way to hurt Baldur, and yet I can see everything. The human faces an impossible task."
Further down the arena, the two fighters approach each other. Shaka is taller than Baldur and looks down on him.
"Ready to go?" Rhymus says before blowing his horn.
The two fighters remain unmoved, only a meter or two separating them. Then Shaka made the first move with a violent attack to end the fight as quickly as possible. He jumped to dive towards Baldur, his iklwa in front. But as soon as the spear came into contact with Baldur, it was repelled.
"Of course! Not even Shaka can hurt the invulnerable Baldur!" Rhymus says.
The Zulu leader expresses his dissatisfaction and then pulls back slightly.
"Is that all? I agreed to take part in this boring tournament to see if someone could make me feel something..." Baldur said boredly.
"Shut up, I'm not here for your amusement. I'm here to redeem what I've done to my people." Shaka says firmly.
"What an egocentric cause..." Baldur grasps his spear with both hands.
Baldur wasted no time in closing the distance between himself and Shaka in an instant. His blow seemed violent, hurtling towards the human at phenomenal speed. Shaka can't dodge and decides to block at the last moment. Baldur's blow collides with the African warrior's ishlangu, but the tip of the Nordic god's spear slides along the shield and wounds Shaka in the cheek. The Zulu chief uses all his strength to push Baldur back with his shield, recovering from this attack.
"He'd better finish this fight quickly, because the more time goes by, the more he's going to embarrass us." Odin says
"If I were him, I'd have finished the fight by now." Thor adds brandishing Mjolnir.
Baldur wanted to get it over with and tightened his grip on his spear as his muscles contracted violently. His body seemed about to explode, leaving the African king perplexed. Baldur's spear began to emanate an ominous black glow. This is a powerful technique he dedicated to his father during his wanderings in search of a way to break the spell he considers a curse.
"It ends now, Spear of Odin."
Baldur unleashes a powerful slash from the tip of his spear, followed by the black aura. Shaka watches this technique as if paralyzed, before being covered by the powerful explosion of black energy. Having taken the full brunt of the attack, the gods began to think the fight was over.
"Come on Shaka, I know you countered that." Nandi whispers.
The black aura took a few seconds to dissipate, but when it did, the Zulu leader had managed to completely counter Baldur's attack with the help of his iklwa and ishlangu. Baldur was surprised, which made Shaka smirk.
In the stands, a woman approached Odin.
"How is our son doing?" she says to the Allfather.
FRIGG: GODDESS OF FERTILITY AND MOTHERHOOD
"It depends on your point of view." Odin replies almost disappointed.
"Don't worry, he'll win." Frigg says, sitting down.
Baldur suddenly kicked Shaka away from him, causing him to spit a little blood.
"I'll find a way to make you bleed." Shaka says in a determined tone.
Baldur replied with a wry smile before rushing towards the African king with vigor. Brandishing his ishlangu, Shaka deflected Baldur's spear but the god had anticipated the angle of deflection and his spear planted itself in the human's foot, causing him to grit his teeth in pain.
"The fight seems to be going Baldur's way! Little by little, he wounds Shaka, who can do nothing in return." Rhymus shouts.
The Nordic god continued to attack. Shaka's foot injury considerably affects his speed, and Baldur took the opportunity to wound Shaka in the right shoulder with a vertical wound. The warrior grunts from the pain but doesn't give up. He won't stop fighting until his opponent is dead.
Shaka pushed Baldur back again with a blow from his shield, but this only destabilized him for a moment. The god planted his spear in the ground to propel himself into the air. Overlooking the Zulu leader, the god made an aerial attack to pierce Shaka from head to toe. He manages to dodge backwards, but Baldur throws a violent punch that sends the human flying across the arena. Shaka crashes into the wall at the foot of the stands surrounding the combat zone.
"What a violent blow! Shaka Zulu seems stunned!"
The African warrior didn't seem to move, which worried many of the humans.
"Is this what it's like to face a god? The pain... the adrenalin... it hurts, but it's nothing compared to what I've been through." Shaka thought to himself.
In South Africa, a young man of illegitimate parentage is about to become one of the greatest conquerors Africa has ever known. Until then, young Shaka, who was taken in by a mentor from another tribe, is training hard to prove his strength.
"Get up!" said the man.
DINGISWAYO: MTHETHWA KING
Shaka, a mere 16 years old, stood up to face another village warrior in a sparring match. He had endured a lot of mockery and beatings due to the fact that he was a bastard, but this had hardened him. He rose to his feet and pounced on his opponent with such speed that Dingiswayo seemed to see a cheetah. He disarmed his adversary and put the tip of his spear against his throat.
"Enough." Dingiswayo said suddenly.
Shaka stood up and faced his mentor.
"You've made excellent progress. As well as being a tactical genius, you have incredible strength and determination."
The young warrior said nothing, simply bowing his head in respect for this man who saw him for what he really was.
Several months later, Shaka was appointed Dingiswayo's right-hand man and spokesman. His charisma earned him a good reputation despite his young age.
While in his tent, Shaka was visited by his mentor.
"My boy, your father is dead." Dingiswayo said softly.
The young man didn't seem saddened by the news, and asked only one question.
"Who will succeed him?"
"One of your half-brothers from what I hear."
Shaka couldn't let it go. He was power-hungry, and becoming Zulu king was an opportunity that would never come again. His mentor gave him all the support he needed, and so Shaka went to his former tribe to confront Sigujana, his half-brother.
Sigujana was sitting on the throne he had just acquired when Shaka presented himself to him.
"Look at that, the bastard is back."
"This throne belongs to me." Shaka says, pointing to the throne with his spear.
Sigujana stood up.
"You're too late, our father preferred to leave it to someone who deserves it."
Shaka waited for his half-brother to approach him before attacking. This surprised Sigujana, who was unable to retaliate. Once on the ground, he tried to topple Shaka, but the latter was far too strong. Both understood that the fight was already over. Without a word, Shaka impaled Sigujana with his spear, killing him instantly.
The illegitimate child, rejected by his father and his people, had just become king by shedding blood. He rose from his half-brother's inert body and when he turned around, he saw many villagers who had witnessed the scene. He presented himself as the new king, and Shaka Zulu was born.
In the arena, the African king rose from the wall in which he had been embedded, and headed for Baldur.
"Always the same, he'll get up no matter who knocks him down." smiled Dingiswayo, who had just taken a seat next to Nandi.
Shaka's mother smiled at her son's determination. She trusts her son, as do all humans who have their eyes fixed on him.
Shaka took a deep breath.
"Perish now, puny god."
He began to violently strike his torso.
"Lalela lalela ukukhala kwamaZulu!" he began to shout in his own language.
"Wena ozobhubha ngamandla ebhubesi!" he continues.
The Zulu warriors responded to their leader's cry with boldness. This is Shaka's War Cry. Baldur didn't seem impressed.
"Damn that sounds so cool! Gotta learn that language." Selira exclaimed.
Shaka leapt at Baldur with a speed far faster than anything he had ever shown before.
"It seems that this war cry has boosted Shaka Zulu to the point where his abilities seem to have increased tenfold!" Rhymus says.
The African king continued a relentless assault on the god, but his body repelled every attack.
"How boring..." Baldur said before grabbing Shaka by the throat.
The Zulu warrior smirked and suddenly spat in Baldur's face.
"Oh, the madman, he really did it!" Selira cheered.
Baldur's body began to react strangely. The light around him gradually faded.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Frigg shouted from the stands.
"What have you done..." Baldur said, looking down at his body.
"Like a snake, I spit poison." Shaka answered.
Druca smiled.
"I've created one especially for you, from a very sweet plant: mistletoe. A unique Poison Spit." Shaka says.