Chapter 4
A battle of the braves
Baldur wasn't always the god he is today. A thousand Nordic winters ago, he was a god loved and adored for his kindness. Nevertheless, despite his apparent smile and sympathy for the gods of the nine kingdoms, Baldur felt unwell once home. The god was plagued by violent visions at night, nightmares that boded ill for his death. Naturally, he told his mother Frigg, who was devastated to think that her son could die.
"No... No, I refuse. I'll never let anyone or anything hurt you!" she exclaimed, grabbing her son.
But Frigg began to have the same visions her son had told her about, seeing Baldur's death in her dreams. She set about finding a way to prevent this from happening. Frigg travelled the nine realms, making everything promise not to hurt her son. She succeeded, obtaining a promise from every living thing, plant, object and element not to harm Baldur; all but one: mistletoe. This soft, harmless plant couldn't possibly want to hurt anyone, could it?
Baldur's new invulnerability amused the gods, who tried to hit him, but to no avail. Even Thor decided to take on his half-brother's resistance.
"Let's see if you can return this." exclaimed the god of thunder, throwing Mjolnir right at Baldur.
The divine hammer ricocheted against the god's skin and crashed further away. Thor was speechless, which made the gods around him laugh. But Baldur didn't share such a point of view.
The god may have become insensitive to pain, but this also applied to things as simple as touch. He could no longer feel his wife Nanna's skin. In trying to protect him, his mother had condemned him to a fate worse than death.
During a harsh winter, Baldur broke down the door to his mother Frigg's house.
"What have you done to me?!" he exclaimed.
Frigg was distraught.
"M-My son? What's happening to you? I've saved you!"
"Saved me? You took everything that made me a living being!" he shouted, grabbing his mother by the throat.
Frigg struggled as best she could, almost breathless.
"W-Why do you feel so ang- "
"Feel? FEEL?!" Baldur raised his voice. "That's the problem, I can't feel anything!"
His hand tightened even more around his mother's throat.
"The heat, the cold, the pain or even the feeling of love... you've ruined my life."
He loosens his grip on Frigg, the latter falling to the ground while rubbing her throat and catching her breath.
"I never want to hear from you again." Baldur said monotonously.
The god left Frigg's house and disappeared in a blizzard.
"What was it?" Rhymus wondered.
As Baldur looked down at his body, Shaka rushed towards him, iklwa in hand. The African king's spear pierced the god's arm in a violent outpouring of blood. Shaka withdrew his spear as Baldur looked at his wound.
"I- I can feel that. The pain... I can feel it!"
For the first time in thousands of years, Baldur was happy. His eyes rose to the sky.
"The air is so soft today..."
Further up the stands, Frigg was in disarray.
"My son... why..."
"So that was his weakness, mistletoe?" Odin retorted.
Frigg straightened up to face Odin, who was still seated.
"He's your son as well as mine! You could show more empathy."
"And he's still alive, so sit down and stop whining." Odin says firmly.
On the other side of the arena, Druca was rejoicing.
"H-How did he find out?" Phearl wondered.
Druca doesn't answer.
"Wait, what? Is this a fluke?" exclaimed Selira.
"Shaka may be perceived as a savage, but he's a very intelligent man." Druca finally says. "I think it's fair to say that this was a stroke of luck and his military genius."
Baldur looked at Shaka Zulu.
"Thank you... human. You've finally cured me."
Shaka lowered his weapon and looked back at Baldur.
"I'm glad you take it that way." replied the king.
"It's a shame this fight can't be stopped."
Shaka smiles.
"Then give me the mother of all battles to thank me."
Baldur seized his spear in response.
"Looks like the fight just took a whole new turn!" Rhymus says.
The Nordic god rushes towards Shaka with renewed strength. The Zulu warrior raises his ishlangu and parries Baldur's violent attack. He thrusts his iklwa at the god and manages to wound him superficially in the hip. Once again, Baldur was delighted.
"Yes! YES!"
The pain was beginning to make Baldur react in a very strange way. Although the light around his body had disappeared, a yellowish aura is forming around him. Baldur himself didn't know what was going on.
Indeed, this is a kind of response to Shaka Zulu's War Cry. Baldur was always brave and benevolent before his mother's spell, and he seems to have rediscovered that spirit.
"What's happening to Baldur? This aura is non-threatening, unlike the one before." Rhymus observed.
This aura is indeed a boost for Baldur the Brave. If a name were to be given to this technique, it would be The Bravest of the Gods. He hurled himself towards the Zulu warrior at near-light speed. Shaka tried to hide behind his shield, but despite a quick reaction on his part, his arm was cut deeply from his right shoulder to his hand. He winces in pain; his right arm has already been bruised in the shoulder and this new injury is not going to be to his advantage.
"Shaka, I beg you..." his mother said in a trembling voice.
Dingiswayo, for his part, remains unmoved.
Shaka didn't let it get him down, this wound was just one more in his life. He began to strike his torso again, this time without speaking, just letting out a war howl.
Baldur's spear began to glow once again, as with his previous technique, but this time the glow wasn't black. Shaka thrusts his ishlangu into the ground, piercing it as if it were a thin layer of ice.
"SPEAR OF ODIN!" Baldur shouted more vigorously than before.
The arena was submerged in an orange-yellow glow. When it disappeared, Shaka's shield was still there. It hadn't moved, but Shaka wasn't behind it.
"Where is he?" said Rhymus, turning his head in all directions.
Suddenly, Shaka could be seen circling the arena at high speed on all fours. The illusion is such that he looks like a cheetah hunting.
"Wait- what the hell is he doing?" Selira says.
Druca chuckles.
"The speed of a cheetah." she just says.
"Huh?"
"This is one of Shaka's ways of fighting." Druca explains.
Indeed, the Zulu king has developed a unique ability. What could be better than the name Merging with Savannah to describe it? Shaka pivoted 90 degrees to stop his circular run and charge towards Baldur.
"Fury of the Savannah: Speed of a Cheetah!" exclaims Shaka.
He then pounces on Baldur, slashing his chest violently and swiftly with his iklwa before leaping over the god and landing behind him. Baldur's chest began to bleed profusely.
"What speed, what ferocity! Shaka Zulu has just put on an impressive display of speed despite his injuries!" Rhymus shouted
The humans enthusiastically cheer Shaka on.
"You're going to do it!"
"You are the strongest!"
Baldur turned to face Shaka, but the latter had already disappeared. He then suddenly appeared behind the god's back.
"Fury of the Savannah: Strength of a Lion!"
Shaka's fist resembled a lion's paw and he delivered a violent blow in Baldur's direction, but the latter dodged at the last second. Shaka's attack hit the ground, his iklwa sinking into it. There's no doubt that if Baldur had been hit, this attack could have been fatal.
"It's incredible, Druca! Shaka fights in such a unique way that Baldur can hardly see it coming!" Phearl says amazed.
"That's true, but look at him."
In the arena, Shaka seemed out of breath.
"These techniques, incredible as they are, tire him out enormously." Said Druca.
"But he can resist, right?" asked Selira.
"Not indefinitely. At some point, his body will give out and he'll pass out."
Phearl and Selira look towards the arena, more preoccupied.
The Nordic god faced his opponent, seeing that he was beginning to tire. He understood that it was not going to last much longer. He rushed towards Shaka to attack him with his spear. The African king, deprived of his shield, couldn't counter or even dodge.
"Fury of the Savannah: Durability of a Rhinoceros!"
Baldur's attack pierced Shaka's torso, but only superficially.
"What?" wondered the god.
"The rhinoceros's skin is so thick that it resists weapons." replied Shaka
Shaka managed to slash Baldur's left hand, causing him to leap backwards.
"They're going at it blow for blow!" shouts Rhymus.
Indeed, both manage to injure themselves without too much harm, but this doesn't seem to affect their determination to win this fight. But suddenly Baldur's voice was heard.
"Are you really fighting for redemption? I wonder what you have to be forgiven for to give yourself so much in this fight."
Shaka looked up at the god.
"It's for all the suffering I've put my people through, in my mother's name."
At the height of his reign, Shaka Zulu had succeeded in creating a people of organized warriors who respected him. But just as he had reached such a status, a piece of news was about to set him off.
It was in 1827 that Nandi kaBhebhe lost her life. Shaka worshipped her as one would a goddess. King Shaka ordered a whole year of mourning in his late mother's name. No crops would have to be planted, and no one would be able to consume milk, an essential food for the Zulu people. In addition, any woman who became pregnant during the year was killed, along with her husband.
This rite, barbaric as it was, was not the work of Shaka; it had already been observed in Zulu tradition. Nevertheless, many resented the king for this.
"My king, this is madness... the people will not follow you after this!" said one of King Shaka's subordinates.
"If they don't feel enough grief, kill them. People need to know the pain I feel." he replied.
And indeed, after this, over 7,000 people were executed because they were clearly not sad enough about Nandi's death. But it wasn't limited to humans. Many grazing animals such as cows were killed so that their young would feel the loss of their mother too.
And shortly afterwards, in 1829, Shaka died. Was it a set-up by his aunt and half-brothers, as many believe? No. If King Shaka Zulu was killed, it was purely out of revenge. He was stabbed to death by some of his own people in retaliation for what he had done to them. The same people who had been fortunate enough to be led by such a charismatic and powerful king, ultimately betraying him.
Was it a mistake on the part of these men? Killing the one man who could have saved this people from the events that were to follow. But one thing is certain: it was in the afterlife that Shaka was able to meditate on his actions and choices.
"If only life would give me a second chance... I would do everything in my power to restore my honor among the Zulu people."
And who'd have thought that a couple of centuries later, he would get the chance. That's why this man must win.
Shaka is losing a lot of blood and the fatigue his body is feeling would have made anyone give in. And yet he's about to add another layer.
"I'm not going to lose, Baldur." Shaka says, finally calling him by his name. "Fury of the Savannah:"
No sooner had he started than many realized what this meant.
"Dru-Druca..." Phearl worried.
"Yes... he's going to use the power of the Four Beasts. His body won't tolerate it for long." added Druca.
"Cheer up, mate…" Selira says.
All three of them held their breath, hoping for the best for the mighty warrior that is Shaka Zulu.
"Vision of an Eagle." concludes Shaka.
Now possessing increased speed, strength, durability and vision, the African king seemed invincible. Baldur threw his spear, but Shaka managed to catch it in mid-air.
"UNBELIEVABLE!" shouted Rhymus "Shaka's reflexes have clearly improved, and he really does have the vision that an eagle could have, if not more!"
He threw Baldur's spear back at him at even greater speed than the god had thrown it. He managed to dodge and the spear slammed into the arena wall behind him. Baldur took the spear from the wall before grasping it with both hands and pointing it at Shaka. He rushed towards the human, closing the distance between them in an instant to attack him.
Using the power of the Four Beasts, Shaka attacked with a speed and strength that Baldur could hardly do anything about. The god tried to retaliate, but the Zulu warrior's enhanced vision enabled him to dodge most attacks, his durability absorbing those that hit him. Baldur nevertheless managed to push Shaka backwards.
"What a fight of rare intensity! The two fighters don't seem to give up."
But the human got down on one knee. He began to spit a mixture of blood and saliva, his body reaching limits that were no longer human.
"Please my son! Get up, I believe in you!" Nandi shouted, pleading her son.
She was followed by every human in the arena. They were all cheering the same man, no matter where they came from. As for the Zulu warriors, they sing the name of Shaka.
"My King!" each of them exclaimed.
It was then that King Shaka Zulu understood.
"Even if I die, I will have achieved my goal…" he thought to himself. "I'm redeemed."
Drawing on unsuspected strength, he got to his feet.
"He's still at it!" says Rhymus.
Baldur smiles. The two fighters walked towards each other, respectful of each other. They both knew it, but this fight must end in the death of one. Shaka leapt into the air, grabbing his iklwa with both hands, ready to pierce Baldur's head with all his might. The god positioned his own spear above his head to parry, and a powerful shockwave ensued.
Baldur's spear crumbled in his hands.
"Wh-What- how?" Rhymus didn't understand.
Gods and humans alike were shocked that a divine weapon could be in such dust.
"How did he do it?" Thor says surprised.
"This human... I curse him!" Frigg added, full of anger.
Odin remained impassive once more.
"That's it, he's going to fucking win!" Selira says cheerful
But Baldur knew he didn't need his spear to win…