We Are Enemies

"No." I said, "I don't care how your System works; mine operates the way I'm telling you."

"I find that highly dubious." Malkin said, taking a leg sweep at my ankles. "Twelve legendary weapons, twelve distinct Systems. No crossover points for either."

I snorted. "Kornath disagrees."

"He WILL kill you, when next you duel." Malkin said. "I've seen how you fight. It is the very blessing of Loki that you live. He might even slay Rakkal, the false Axe Hero."

"Might?" I asked, "shouldn't the true Axe Hero prevail? Always?"

He blinked at me. "Fool. There were twelve legendary heroes, and they were not enough to stop the dragon of black wands."

"So your lesson from that is..."

"The ONLY lesson from that is that the strong will win, and reign over the weak." he said. "The strong, the swift, the clever. And when the dragons and giants turned on each other, when they were weak, THAT was the time when we the common races showed our strength."