The Book of Ominiue: Starborn (45 page)

‘Will we see such a place with our own eyes?’ a female Isradian smiled with the thought of seeing the gas giant.

Kaylan beamed back as she sat herself on the edge of the table. ‘That and more, those of you who are selected will see more worlds than me, or anyone else on this colony. We’re lucky to see two or three other planets, some will see more afterwards. An ambassador such as yourselves will travel to pretty much all worlds within our federation. You will see skies like this, planets that are mostly water and planets almost completely frozen over, you’ll see cities as far as the eye can see, and travel to the most remarkable civilisations. It is one of the luckiest professions.’ The entire classroom began to talk with excitement, including Kíe’arathorne who now desired more than ever to visit these worlds. He committed then to study even harder so that he would be selected. When the lesson resumed his thoughts drifted to Shayne, he grew annoyed that he did not tell him about the moons, they seemed a strange thing to forget.

Afterwards when the class was dismissed Kíe’arathorne went to Shayne’s quarters for their private lessons. They allowed him visitor rights so they could continue to teach each other. Kíe’arathorne was at his apartment almost every day after classes, except on the three days he was designated to teach. The lionman came in and sank into the couch in irritation as he dwelled on the worlds of the Earthmen Empires. Shayne made the lionman his preferred Earth beverage of miloffee, while he held a cup of tea for himself.

‘Your ability to hide your emotions never ceases to amaze me,’ Shayne joked. Kíe’arathorne looked up at him now more annoyed than before.

‘How come you didn’t tell me your moon moved in the sky?’ The journeyman rarely frowned; the look was strange on him. Shayne sat next to him.

‘You never asked,’ Shayne replied. They were conversing in English. Since the three weeks at their new home Kíe’arathorne had come a long way but he struggled with the strange rules. He often mixed the two languages when uncertainty crept through. Shayne spoke strictly in English; slowly at first but as Kíe’arathorne came to understand he picked up the pace. He still had a long way to go but he was well ahead of anyone else.

‘You
assumed
I knew?’ the journeyman continued to frown. He said the word
assumed
in his language.

‘No, but you assumed that our moon was stationary. If you’d anticipated variations you wouldn’t be annoyed with me right now.’

Kíe’arathorne took a sip of the brew and sighed wanting to drop the subject, ‘What is the lesson for today?’ He opened his own
wristcom
, given to him as an enrolled student.

‘More fundamental wave mechanics,’ Shayne replied.

The lionman groaned, ‘When do we get to the interesting stuff?’

‘When you fully understand the boring stuff!’ Shayne retorted in his soft voice and they began their lesson. ‘Besides wave nature is far more interesting then you can imagine, and you
will
imagine, eventually.’

Afterwards when they had closed their
wristcoms
and relaxed Shayne pulled out the golden letter. Kíe’arathorne looked across sleepily, ‘What is that?’

‘It’s the invitation for the tournament tomorrow. They have invited you too,’ Shayne answered, the journeyman’s eyes widened. He sat up and took the letter. It did not state his name, but implied his inclusion as a member of the party.

‘Can I come?’ he half begged.

‘Why wouldn’t you come?’ Shayne casually returned. The lionman became so excited that he struggled to stay still. Shayne took the invitation back off him and looked upon it. He examined characters; with their strokes and fluid motion. The Kérith-Árim “common language” evolved primarily from the Kadalian language, but they both maintained their own writing styles. The common tongues characters ran down the paper like Chinese and Japanese, whereas Kadalian was across the page and the characters were completely different. It was as if an ancient people changed languages but retained their own runes. Shayne did not know many of the characters of Kadalian yet, the few he had managed to learn from the lionman was enough to create the most basic of words, but not nearly enough to read anything. Kíe’arathrone did not have much free time to teach that language as he was the only one granted to learn it. The only time he could study Kadalian was when they were both alone, wandering the township. Shayne was able to learn verbally but there was no chance to study how to write it. At this stage he held a decent enough grasp to see the similarities and differences between the two languages and possibly have a broken conversation but that was all.

Silently Shayne looked at the page; knowing the resentment it would breed, not with the Brigadier Christov Hanniver, it seemed almost impossible to be that man’s enemy, but the other two star-officers. There was no invite for the Prime Minister, perhaps they did not realise he was the leader of the civilian component of the colony. A foreboding feeling slowly grew within him as he dwelled upon the events that might unravel as a result of this letter.

***

The tournament brought a festive atmosphere reminiscent of the council meeting but on a far grander scale. The crowds expressed a sporting excitement, which was well suited to the air vice-marshal’s nature. Tourists flocked from across the land and the national flags of the competitors rose proudly on the two main thoroughfares and around the arena. Betting stations were scattered around the city. People flocked to them and the arena on the opening day was crowded with people trying to gain a seat.

The UeVarda had since set aside a permanent area in the palace grounds for their transporters to land in. The Earthmen hoverplane landed in their new hoverpad, where the party disembarked. Shayne, Hanniver and the journeyman wore their fur cloaks as was expected. The moment they set foot on the ground several guards moved forward to guide them. Shayne had two Imperial Shytardas assigned to him; they followed him everywhere he went; within and outside the palace, to avoid a repeat of the assassination attempt. Shayne was able to relax in silence for a while in his room, with his guards standing vigilantly outside. The level of activity including all the high ranked guests meant the other Earthmen were required to share rooms. Shayne as the Afra’hama was given his own. This time he was given the honourary suite in the far end of the tower-wing, upon the third floor above the common room. He had a grand view of the lake and when he stepped upon the balcony he could see the tower looming darkly overhead. He had an hour to himself in that room before the guards informed him that they were to make their way to the arena.

The tournament eliminations ran over two days. The end of the competition would crown a single fighter to challenge the current champion. The first day had the most intense and uncompromising fighting. The arena was broken up into four fighting pits and the training grounds were also opened for lesser tournaments. They had several levels of categories, plus the main event which was held in the arena. The Elió event was an open fight. The two warriors would choose the rules, from arms to armour and they would duel until someone was defeated. It was open to all races and sexes. Most of the competitors were lionmen; both male and female but there were brave humans who also participated; with the largest representation coming from the Kerwin warrior monks.

Around the arena rose the seating for the spectators where thousands of cheering people flooded in. The king’s pavilion held the best view. Níurthan sat next to the UeVarda in the Elió Champions Chair. His hood was drawn back, but still covered most of his neck and head. The black bandanna and the metal mask hiding most of his face stood out amongst the royal guests.

The title Elió was given to the tournament champion and was created by a historic human who began the competition in the days when Kéirth-Árim was ruled by men. It seemed unlikely that a human would hold the seat of champions with the fierce Lion competitors, but the masked monk was famous for his martial arts skill and this was his third year running as champion. The lionmen came to respect him as a fighter and before he became the appointed advisor and Chancellor he was the Order’s main teacher.

Shayne’s education in Kadalian was coming along nicely. He was still not fluent due to the limited chances he had to learn, but he knew enough to communicate and to divulge the meanings of some of the people’s names. Níurthan meant ‘pale one,’ indicating his light skin. It was not a grand name but he came to Dífrun nameless and the fisherman who found him called him that in his recovery. He kept the name and had the Order convert it into Kadalian when he joined. He would not accept any formal naming, or tell anyone his native name. Shayne even learnt the meaning of his own name, which simply translated as ‘messenger from the stars.’

Shayne was given a seat next to the Venra, and she welcomed him openly as a close friend and she talked long with him until the king rose from his seat to officially open the tournament. The crowd cheered at seeing him rise; more for the miracle of his health than the beginning of the games themselves. He stood stronger and healthier than he had in over a year, as if no sickness had ever befallen him. His black mane glistened in the sunlight and he had returned to his sword fighting exercises; pride and strength a testament to life returning to normal. He raised his hand in the air with his fist clenched and the people cheered all the more while repeating the gesture.

‘Children of Kéaran, welcome to my city,’ he called out to the crowd, quelling their cheers. ‘Today we hold the tournament of Elió. This contest is more than just a championship of strength; it is a battle of character and spirit. Its origins lie in the dark years of war and horror, held so warriors could prove themselves and to strike fear in the hearts of our enemies. Great is the strength of an Elió warrior, who is said to be worth fifty ordinary Orians. Today we uphold the tradition as sign of friendship and not war. To all our competitors, I welcome you and may you prove yourself a worthy warrior today. May the mightiest fighter win!’ He then sat back down and the crowd erupted as the first fighters walked out into their rings.

The Earthmen became immersed in the spirit of the competition. The general at first seemed disgusted at the idea of duelling to the point where people could die: and people did die. It was a fierce battle between two individuals and often they were lost in the adrenaline of combat. Any disapproval faded as the Earthmen were drawn into the danger, all hanging on the edge of their seats willing their chosen fighters on. Dominic and Omar sat in the outer edges of the UeVarda’s pavilion where they cheered the combatants closest to them. Kíe’arathorne was also with them and he too cheered on but he managed a level of restraint compared to them. Most of the members of the Board of Stewards were also present, with the exception of the Trade Master Líol’flend, the priest Tellin’marda and UeShádarn Dun’karter, who had no love for the games. Fagin’daulor the Master Armoursmith Chancellor was also hanging from the rail. He refrained from shouting but his body was taught and his dark eyes held an excitement he could barely contain. The other main members of the royal entourage all displayed dignified restraint, showing their interest in a calmer manner. The UeVarda and Níurthan looked keenly upon the competitors, watching carefully. The king often commented upon good form and style; approving of the quality of the fighting.

The first rounds of the elimination stages saw some very quick and rather painful battles. Despite the fear the Earthmen had for the safety of the human combatants many of them were able to hold their own. The warrior monks did exceedingly well, with a large percentage of them making their way through their first battles. Some of the other humans also proceeded, including the only female human fighter; who hailed from Isradia. When she succeeded in her round the crowd cheered all more loudly. The matches did not follow a time constraint, some of the fights lasted up to an hour and others lasted only moments. Once someone was defeated two new contestants took the stage and began their duel at the bell of the referee.

Upon the third round, on one of the main fighting rings, a large Nakádanese warrior stepped onto the stage. He was extraordinarily tall even for lionmen standards. He was a tower of muscle with thick arms that rippled with anticipation. His fur, which was thicker than the eastern lionmen had tribal patterns shaved into them while other patterns were dyed with blue ink symbolising his clan and his rank. He wore only the most basic armour; covering the vital parts of his body. The most elaborate piece was the helm upon his head; denoting him as the Nakáda Champion, but even that seemed plain compared to the fancy armour of the other fighters. His fame as a gladiator was echoed by the cheer of his arrival. As he entered his ring he arched his back and brought his arms before him as he stretched. His primal looking lion-head stared intently upon his opponent; a heavily armoured female lionman from Bohaníde. They chose to fight with twin duelling blades; the national Nakádaese weapon. The massive lionman brought out his duelling swords, specially made and polished for the event, they glistened as the sun hit them. His opponent looked small in his frame but she showed no fear as they began to fight.

As the crowd cheered them on Shayne noticed the intensity in which Níurthan watched them.

‘That is Da’forlongdinda,’ the Venra leaned over to talk to Shayne. He observed the taller lionman’s skill which was more than just brute strength, there was calm in his movements and skill in his hand. The power behind the Nakádanese fighter was too much for the Bohaníde warrior and she found herself defending the onslaught. Shayne recognised the words of this name: giant and warrior; simple and appropriate.