chapter 8: the antagon begins

Once Gora and Secomi have the logs standing up straight they step around fifteen feet back"OK Secomi log splitting isn't a test of strength like shot put or stone lifting. log splitting is purely about ability"

Secomi looks a little confused. When he heard log splitting he figured 1 foot tall logs that they were to split with some kind of brute force. Yet the log is 15 feet away the only way he could hit it would be with his geia though he not sure how he could split the eight foot tall log with his flames"Gora this is insane how am i supposed to even hit it?"

Gora grins and points to a table to the side of the ring near them, the top of it would have man various weapons on display. gora walks over and picks up not the many swords axes and other sharp objets but instead picks up a sling. Grabbing three yellow stones she makes her way back over to secomi and presents the little yellow stones to him."do you know what these are secomi?"

Secomi looks over the yellow stones quite curiously as he goes to pick one up to get a better look the little pebble shocks him. As he quickly pulls his hand backs he looks at gora looking quite amazed"geia infused stones? Where do you people find this stuff?"

Gora laughs a little"find? You have to make this kinda stuff bozzo. Its no surprise you violent astrans wouldnt know anything about geiaworking. You might live in those impressive stone castles and build impressive stone bridges but us sokarans are a master of working with geia!"

He looks quite confused now as he looks at the stone again"your people forged these how?"

She laughs and belittlingly pats his head"sorry Secomi thats a Sokaran secret that we would never tell you hot heads"

Secomis eyebrows once again twitch as gora continues to antagonize her."just hurry up and demonstrate how you sokarans do this event"

Gora grins and puts one of the yellow stones into the sling. Getting into a proper stance she starts swinging it. Her focus shifts towards the logs; she swings the little stone in the swing only for a few moments before releasing it.

little sparks of electricity crackle through the air. secomi watches with much interest as the stone flies over the log rather than hitting it. Though the second the pebble is right above a bolt of lighting shoots down from it into the core of the log almost splitting it in half as the wave of geia had came out the side rather going straight through.the log still stood as the part where it splits is more to goras left the further down it goes on the log. she was mere millimeters from hitting the center perfectly but with a sport like this precision is everything.

Secomi hair stands up straight though not just from the impressive discharge of energy but through the new terror he felt for the sokarans. He had never known the sokarans to be such skilled workers of geia nor had he ever seen such a casual display of such destruction. The log started to catch fire causing it to finally fall over.

Gora quickly rushes over to it carrying a large leather blanket and proceeds to start batting the flames with it. The fire is quickly put out and gora makes her way back over to a still shocked secomi." what a frightening display of geia if that were to hit me id be finished"

Gora shrugs"these little stones cost a fortune and are only used for ceremony like this ive heard stories of them used in war against the luutons but theyre not something youre likely to see on the battlefield. though i guess i do use something similar to them"

Secomi breathes a little easier hearing this. He looks at the sling then back at the stones"well gora i guess your were being quite honest. i too have no idea how you could teach me an astran to participate in this challenge. Are you sure i cant do discus i might be able to win that one ive played the sport a few times and seemed to be quite good at it"

Gora rolls her eyes seeming quite annoyed by the astrans neediness."no secomi the winner of the antagon is decided by which side won the most challenges meaning we can only afford to lose one. If my grandfather decides he doesn't want to lose to me in discus this is undoubtedly his second choice and to be honest im not sure i could beat him in log splitting. So i'll win discus no matter what, you'll lose log splitting , and i doubt theres anyone that could beat Utum so thats two challenges in the bag. Suck it up buttercup this is for the good of your people im sure your massive astran ego could be taken down a few pegs."

Secomi fist clutch down"no ill find a way just you wait and see!"

His voice was filled with fighting spirit he seem to determined to win no matter what. Though it seems gora is unaffected by his moxy as she just shrugs"well try your best i guess we still have a little longer until noon. im gonna go find that stone then im going to throw a few discs"

She waves goodbye and starts searching for the little stone. Leaving secomi by himself. With another sigh of disappointment he makes his way over to the table of weapons. It seems most of them were simple weapons designed for these challenges.

He sighed though as he looked upon the swords this day just keeps getting more disappointing. He had hoped the sokarans preference in weapons was a bit more different than the astrans but atlast all the swords in front of him were swords meant to be used with a single hand.

He grabs one of the one handed swords regardless and begins to examine them. While most of the sword the sokarans used were not too different from swords his fellow astrans used the one he grabs looks quite peculiar. The blade was oddly curved and the edge was only on one side. It reminded him of the curved blades of the lisad though the curve seemed to be more pronounced on the the lower end of the blade where the lisads swords curve closer to the end giving them the appearance of a sickle. Secomi didn't know quite what to make of these short swords but decided this would be his weapon of choice.

He knew there was no point in using his geia a flame can not cut it can only burn so any fire he sends towards the logs will be fruitless. Instead he has a different appreach in mind. He stands in front of the logs 15 feet away like gora had shown him. Pulling his right arm behind him he holds the short one handed curved sword back. He braces his body for a second then slings the sword towards the log. It spins like a wheel as it cuts through the air. though as it approaches the log it spins forward one more time before hitting it causing the front of the hilt to hit the log.

Secomi swears to himself as he once again lets out another sigh of disappointment. He wasn't going to lose this challenge without giving it his all.

As the sun rises further into the sky secomi spends his time trying many different ways to split the logs as utum does some light exercise. gora relentlessly keeps throwing discus pushing herself through the next one further than the last. As noon finally arrives all the contestants gather in the center of the field.

Gora looks around anxiously as it seems people from within the village had heard about the event and have started to fill the stands on the outside of Dyueses field . Though only those competing were allowed to be on the field. Six people in total stand in the center of this field suddenly a man. In a yellow robe runs up to them hold a board with a sheet for writing and some writing material. He walks up to Dyues and Gora; separately handing them both a sheet of paper"please write whose competing on which events"

He says in a rather nasally voice as he talks to the two most powerful people in the city. After a few odd moments they both hand their sheets of papers back. The man in the yellow robe looks at them and nods and writes a few of his own notes. He then looks toward the crowd" fine people of Doanertoffia; today is the antagon between the current Sokaran grand chief head of the Kalos clan, Dyues Kalos!"

The crowd cheers loudly it was clear he was very loved among his people while the event had only came into fruition last night around a thousand people have already poured into the stands that guided the edge of the field "and his ever daring successor lady Grigora kalos having just returned from the lands of astra, protecting them from the luutons advancing onto their lands! She inatianted the antagon to secure her grandfathers aid in the conflict!"

The crowd doesn't seem to cheer for Gora. They'd look a bit confused and uneasy as they learn she wishes to bring the war to them. Gora sighs and just waits for him to announce the events" lady grigora has chosen discus as her event unsurprisingly. Lady grigora has been undefeated in discus in for quite some time now. Our grandchief dyues has chosen log splitting and boxing. Boxing? Thats right the peaceful dyues has chosen boxing and i know it is custom to tell the challengers chosen competier first but ladies and gentlemen not only has lord Dyues picked boxing he himself has chosen to compete!"

As he announces to the crowd of now almost 2000 people this news. his voice is crackling with excitement as he yells at the top of his lungs. Though as he loudly makes his proclamation, silence falls onto the crowd. Gora looks at the announcer with a look of terror"wait wha-"

The crowd is sent into an uproar as they all start screaming at the top of their lungs to see the great dyues kalos fight is a rare spectacul indeed. Though as the crowd seems pleased gora clutches at her hair. a new sense of dread pierces into her very soul as she looks over to grandfather"what is the meaning of this grandfather!"

Dyues grins as he looks at his foolish granddaughter" what did you think i was gonna challenge you in discus? How big of a fool do you think i am gora? I know when im beat and i knew there would be no challenge to defeating the astrans in log splitting. No if the astrans want my help gora they will have to earn it!''

Gora grits her teeth"you shitty old man"

She says under breath with quite abit of hostility. She then grabs secomi and pulls him to her"secomi were fucked its up to you man utum doesn't stand a chance"

Both secomi and utum look towards gora a new sense of dread now feeling them as well"wait what you cant be serious right? I havent even been able to split a single log yet more than half way down!"

Gora eyes start to water"than were doomed! Its over im gonna have to stay here and your entire kingdom is gonna be wiped off the face of the map. This is awful!"

Goras eyes would now be slowly leaking water down her cheeks as she still holds tightly onto secomi. Utum makes an offended gasp as gora counts him out already"what but hes over 120 gora don't count me out so easily please?"

Gora shakes her head and lets secomi go"no utum you don't understand my grandfather is the strongest man to ever walk in the lands of iskra. while hes certainly past his prime. hes a behemoth of physical strength they use to call him dyues the god of the sky as his wrath came upon his foes with the fury of the greatest of storms."

The two astrans look at each other not sure how to feel"its fine i never planned to lose to begin with!"

gora wipes away her tears and pats secomi on the back trying her best to give him a smile"thats it secomi don't give up hope yet your people depend on it"

Secomi's eye brow twitches once again at gora's lack of faith in him. Though before he can say anything the announcer continues"since i started with dyues ladies and gentlmen i shall continue with his team. On log splitting is kompsos kalarvis the heir of the kalarvis chiefdom."

Gora and the two astrans looked shocked they look on the other side and sure enough behind dyues giant body kompsos had been standing by his side. He gives them a little wave with an uneasy smile as they look at him. Though the announcer continues so they're unable to say anything" and for discus dyues has trusted his loyal head of guard stou the oneyed chariot racer!"

While kompsos didn't get much cheering it seem this guard was quite popular as the crowd is once again sent into an uproar. Gora looks at stou quite offended"STOU! Are you kidding me he hasnt been able to beat me in discus since i was fucking six grandpa!"

Dyues laughs as his granddaughter lashes out on him"yes quite humiliating isn't it? To be not only denied the chance to challenge me but to be put up such a unworthy opponent kompsos is a talented user of geia he will undoubtedly win his challenge and i will beat your large friend in boxing. Gora i believe you to be a strong spirited warrior but you have alot to learn about being a leader and what it means to truly be in charge. This antagon was never going to be decided by you but by the astrans. So it is them who should face the hardest challenge not you as they have the most to lose."

Gora grits her teeth once again as the announcer continues."now to goras team obviously lady grigora is competing in discus. The swordsman secomi is competing in log splitting how he plans to beat kompsos is anyones guess. And the giant utum is the lord dyues unfortunate opponent in boxing this antagon is to decide the fate of the astran kingdom"

The crowd once again erupts into cheering, excitement fills the air. Gora sighs all of her planning had been for naught as her grandfather had always been one step ahead of her. Her eyes dart away from her grandfather focusing back onto the announcer as he finishes talking" now without further delay the discus have already been brought to the field so let us begin. Lady grigora and sir stou shall flip a coin to see who goes first"

Gora and the guard named stou move to the edge of the field close to the crowd. Stou was a middle aged man far past his youth as he looks more likely to be mistaken for someone's grandfather rather than someone's father. As they look eye to eye the announcer approaches them standing between them pulling out a bronze coin. "Call it in the air!"

He then with much force flicks the coin into the air. Gora blinks not being ready as she was too focused staring down her opponent" shield!"

The old guard calls with a stoic voice. Gora shakes her head" sword!"

She yells out quickly before the announcer could catch it. The announcer catches the coin and flips it onto the back of his hand and reveals it"its shield!"

Gora sighs not really caring as stou stoically nods as it seems hes satisfied with the results. The announcer points to a decent sized circle drawn into the dirt"ok fine denizens of these land for anyone unfamiliar with the rules of discus the thrower must stand in the circle if they fall out while throwing they are to be disqualified. Whoevers disc lands the furthest is the winner!"

Stou grabs his discus as the crowd passively cheers. Once inside the circle he concentrates closing his eyes he turns his body to face the crowd. He holds his disc out keeping it on the same level as his hip. Quickly spinning around he throws the disk as he makes a complete 180. On the spin he had start to build an upward momentum he raised it higher before releasing it. It was quite the spectacle as it flew well over 80 feet in the air it went up and up. crashing down it landed within dirt field. Two young men run to stou one presses the start of a roll of cloth onto the edge of the ring as the other starts running to where the discus landed. Once there he hold the roll on top of it and snips the ribbon. Once snipped both young men lift the ribbon and carry it to the anouuncer laying it in front of him it was somewhere around 45 feet.

The crowd cheers as they see the size of the ribbon in front of them. he makes 2 more throws each getting around the same distance but ultimately the first throw was the farthest. Gora's teeth would be making an audible grinding sound as she waits her turn to throw. As the ribbons are done being measured the announcer is told the best throw"ladies and gentlemen today our beloved stous best throw is 48 feet!"

The crowd burst into cheering as secomi and utum look at eachother quite confusedly" that throws hardley worth their cheering i mean ive thrown into 60s and utums thrown into the 100s isn't this man supposed to be your grandfather top guard?"

Goras audible grinding comes to screeching halt as she looks at secomi quite furiously"that old bastard over there is decades past his prime and i don't think hes ever even played discus before in any form of competition. hes stou the chariot racer for fucks sake! That shitty old man chose the weakest opponent he could find for me!"

Secomi looks a little worried gora is practically seething over this"you must take discus really seriously"

Gora grabs secomis shirt her eyes violently sparkle with electricity the effect of terror is amplified as she pushes her forehead against making her unrelenting gaze of aggression a truly soul piercing stare"why do you have a problem with that!"

Secomi could only look it her eyes with the utmost horror"no maam!"

was the only phrase he could mutter gora scoffed and threw him aside as she made her way to the throwing area as its finally her turn."aunouncer im not gonna waste my time any more than i have to i will make only one throw understand?!?"

The announcer gulps abit before nodding goras hair was sticking up more than usual as large sparks scorch the ground where she stands. she holds both arms out straight as she holds at the discus her knees are aligned with her hips as she gets ready to turn. With a sudden snap she turns lifting one leg up to freely spin on her toes. After doing a 180 she pushes her left foot in front of her and onto the ground now lifting her right leg up to do another full rotation. landing on her right foot she releases the discus her left leg coming around pushing her right leg off balance she nearly falls over but throws her right leg up and catches herself on left leg. The discus though is out sight no one sees where it went. People look in all directions for it her spin was so fast their not sure if she released too early and sent it flying the wrong way, but mere moments later a large crash can be seen as the discus hits the ground.

It had landed several hundred feet outside of the field. The crowd is silent for a moment a look of shock cascades the whole crowds faces. Though only for a moment as they switch to look of boredom as they start clapping unetheusaticly as they all realize where it landed" oh i thought for sure she slipped up this time"

"A decent throw for lady grigora i guess."

"Thank god she decided to only through one i don't know if i could watch her throw even two let alone three."

"Huh it landed outside the village again? Shocker"

The crowd seems completely desensitized to goras skill in the sport. Though secomi and utum cant close their mouths. They simply continue to stare into the distance even as gora sits down still looking quite unhappy though her anger had been reduced to more of a pout than the bloodcurdling rage it was moments ago.

The announcer shrugs"well im not even sure we have enough ribbon so grigora wins no contest first round goes to lady grigoras team."

He sas sounding quite bored as a rather uncaring look is across his face. Though that all changes as he claps his hands together"and that concludes the first event ladies and gentleman please wait a moment as the logs are hauled onto the field!"

His once again enthusiastic voice returns and so does the crowds cheers as well as the sound of goras gritting teeth"ya ya whatever move right along i guess. Cheered more the event ending than for me ,fuckers"

Gora says sounding quite sour about this whole ordeal. Secomi sighs and stands ups"well wish me luck gora"

She barely acknowledges him as shes just grumbling at this "ya sure whatever"

Seems shes not really paying attention as secomi goes to stand in front of kompsos both warriors have a very serious look on their face"im sorry secomi but i will win this. I have nothing against your people but your battles are not our own i only hope gora can forgive me for ending her little adventure."

His voice was calm. secomi wasnt sure how to feel about this man yet he believed he every word he said without fault and yet it made this no easier" you know kompsos you seem like a nice guy but you sokarans are really starting to piss me off. I didn't come to your lands for your aid i came for the request of a friend and with the blessing of my king. This whole time you sokarans act like were begging for your help but i don't remember saying a dam thing. Im here so that gora can come back with us. To hell with your aid!"

Kompsos is taken aback abit his eyes widen at hearing secomis confidence though confidence fails to do it justice: This is the pride of an astran warrior he thought. He grins and nods holding out his hand"then let the best man win"

Secomi grins savagely and locks arms with him and nods"let the best man win''

The announcer who had standing between them looks incredibly excited around 1500 more people had showed up after goras match people starting to pour into the stands the background was starting to become more lively, as an enteiratiner he was ready to roll with it.

Grabbing a large cone he holds it up to mouth reaching new levels of noise previously undisplayed." ladies and gentlemen for the first time ever an astran has participated in one of our antagons! A knight of the astran kingdom secomi the bladesman!"

The crowd erupts into cheering matching the announcers new level of excitement..

gora just sighed finally calmed downed enough to watch secomi."phh didn't cheer for me that loud you traitors."

Utum sits up straight looking quite excited to see how this turns out" come gora cheer up arent you a little bit excited to see your childhood friend go against secomi?"

Gora rolls her eyes at utum"why does everyone keep calling him that? I really don't care utum, i doubt secomi has a chance to win this was a very unfair choice when i went to the lands of astra youre people had never even heard of log splitting. Something im sure my grandfather surely knew"

Utum frowns abit himself now" come on secomis clever im sure he can figure this out"

Gora just shrugs as the announcer prepares for the coin toss" call it in the air!"

Once again he calls it in the air. The focused secomi confidently proclaims his choice first "sword!"

Kompsos sighs and picks what he can "shield!"

The announcer catches it once again in his hand flips and flips it over onto the back of his hand. He slowly reveals it to himself for dramatic effect before holding it up"its sword!"

Secomi grins and goes to grab the oddly shaped one handed curved sword of the sokarans as the announcer starts explaining the rules" now to the second event log splitting! While normally the goal is to split the logs with geia weve made a special exemption for that rule today for our competing astran. Today its a complete free for all secomi and kompsos may use any method they wish to split these logs who ever splits the logs down the furthest wins if both split a log then the winner will be determined by who can split the most logs!"

The crowd once again cheers once the announcer stops speaking leaving no room for silence. Secomi looks at the sword as he gets back to where he must for the competition. He looks at the logs standing tall 15 feet away from him. He sighs and looks back to the announcer.

The announcer grins and looks at him and nods"begin as you wish challenger secomi!"

Though sadly a day isn't nearly enough as the spits only goes down halfway on the tree as his cut was way off center the cut shifts further to the left the further down it goes. eventually He nods and refocuses his gaze onto the logs. He closes his eyes and begins to hold the sword back. holding it by the blade instead of the hilt. Secomi reopens his eyes and focuses in on the log and throws it. The blade spins violently like a saw through the air itself makes a sound as its cut through so violently. The top of the blade edge unites with the top of the tree cutting the top of the log. As the blade makes its rotation it goes all the way through the top of the log. Though the cut wasnt deep it sends a split downwards on the tree. The tree starts ripping itself apart under its own weight as the little cut forced apart the tree from itself. Everyone looks quite impressed with secomi's feat. gora actually stands up not believing her eyes. In only a day he had found a way to actually compete in this sport.

coming out the side. The announcer grabs his cone once more and breathes in heavily preparing to give his commentary"this is incredible folks the astran actually managed to split the log while it is not a perfect cut. The ingenuity is simply outstanding! though ingenuity will only take you so far i guess if our clever guest wants any hope of winning this challenge i have a feeling he'll have to do better than that to beat kompsos!"

Secomi sighs and goes to get his sword, he knew the announcer was right hed have to do alot better than that. His sword would have plunged itself into the ground with a quick tug he pulls it up and moves back to his throwing position. He pulls back his arm again. he tries his best to aim for the center as he throws the blade once again.

Though right before he releases the blade into the air the blade slips from his hand merely a second too early. Sadly though that is all it takes as the sword is thrown slightly off course it hits the side of the top of the log completely missing the center the cut splits as it goes heavily side ways the now loose bits of log fall off as the uneveness of the cut causes the log to rip further down itself.

Secomi hands run through his hair as he watches it all unfold. The cut only goes down ¼ of the tree. Gora slaps her forehead as she watches herself"great way to go secomi!" she yells quite sarcastically.

Feeling humiliated secomi quickly goes to retrieve his sword and gets back in his spot to throw. Though as he walks to retrieve his sword he naturally walks past the things he threw it at. Secomi examines the split logs quite thoroughly. With a grin he picks the borrowed blade up and jogs back to his spot preparing his final throw.

He once again looks at the log that hes to split. Through a new look of confidence is upon his face that he previously lacked. Holding the short blade further back than he has ever before. A savage looks is upon his face kompsos who is not standing too far from him would feel quite disturbed. He throws the blade at an angle it whirls through the air like a crying banshee as it slices through the top of the log with a rather obtuse angle that goes from the top right corner of the log to the center.

The part that was cut starts to fall but as the cut never fully disconnected anything from the tree. the cut grows larger as its ripped apart down the center. The crowd starts to cheer as the log splits completely in half from secomis precise cut.

Gora and both utum faces are quickly overtaken by a look of joyful bewilderment as the announcer begins his commentary"truly amazing ladies and gentlemen by making a cut that went from the corner to the center the log simply split itself under its own weight!"

Secomi walks back a bit and goes to give gora and utum a rather cocky looking grin. Gora claps with quite abit of excitement before looking at utum"this is great utum we actually have a chance now!"

Utum smiles quite abit himself now"so if he wins does that mean i don't have to fight your grandfather?"

Gora shrugs abit and gestures toward the crowd"i guess you could surrender but i think if you deprive these people the chance to see my grandfather fight you might have to fight all of them."

Utum looks down and whimpers abit not seeming to have any resolve for the oncoming fight. Though as the crowd finally dies down, Kompsos steps up to his logs holding a whip in his hands.

The announcer grins and once again gets ready to yell his head off"now ladies and gentlemen it is kompsos's turn to take part in this event!"

Kompsos feeling abit agitated simply just waits for the announcer to stop speaking once he does he frustratedly cracks his whip across the ground. Sparks start to escape from his body passing through him onto his whip.

His focus is trapped onto the log in front of him. a grin cracks his serious demenoir as he swings his whip in a motion to have it come straight down. The sparks form a line of electricity going downwards that heads for the log. With kompsos first cut he nearly splits his first log in completely in half only be ⅛ from splitting all the way down his swing seemed to go a little towards left as he hadn't kept his hand straight.

Secomis confidence fades as his score is already so closely beat. Not needing to retrieve a weapon kompsos simply moves over in front of the other log and prepares to go again. This time though he perfects his technique and completely splits the log in half.

Secomi can only watch in horror as without skipping a beat or waiting for the announcer to speak kompsos moves onto the next log. as the crowd starts to erupt into cheering and as he makes his final strike he signals the end to secomis chance of winning as he splits the last log.

The crowds cheers ascend even higher but the announcer seems to still outmatch them"and that is it ladies and gentlemen! This challenge is over kompsos of the kalvaris clan takes the win by fully splitting two whole logs! Making this antagon 1 to 1!"

Secomi once again clutches his hair as kompsos walks past him gently patting him on the back"im sorry secomi but i could have never let you win"

And before secomi can say anything kompsos takes his leave never stoping to hear his opponents response. Secomi goes back to sit with gora a look of defeat is painted across his face as he shamefully looks at the dirt as he walks back to them.

Gora instead focuses back on utum a new sense of panic has overwhelmed her"Ok utum listen youre pretty tough right? Maybe you could just let my grandfather hit you until he tires himself out. Hes old you think that could work right?"

Utum feels disturbed by the normally hard headed gora looking so uneasy. Was her grandfather really that strong? He thinks to himself. Though he simply shakes his head and stands up" sorry gora but idk but i don't plan to lose regardless its all up to me now"

Secomi claps his hands rather slowly giving a very sarcastic tone."well good for you mister last to compete.''

Secomis voice was quite melodramatic as he still seems to be quite sour about losing the match. Utum sighs once again and makes his way to the center of the field. The two young men from earlier would have been drawing a circle in the field by carving the dirt. He stands next to his opponent. The announcer looks at them his face seemed to hide a great amount of excitement that breaks through as he looks at the two" gentlemen please remove your clothes except for your undergarments. Then proceed to wrap your hands.''

they nod and strip down to their underwear. Utum looks upon dyues physique with horror as where he expected to see the body an old degraded warrior he sees the physique that rival-NO! Surpasses the bodies of even the most exaggerated physiques hes ever seen. Age has not weathered this old warrior one bit every muscle on his body bulges with each little movement. his limbs are wider than the logs that secomi had been splitting . his broad shoulders makes the long connections of arms look like bulky wings. His torso shows no loose skin as his chizzled torso carries much muscle itself.

The naturally bulky utum looks underdeveloped next to him as he wraps his hands his eyes survey his body with each further inspection making the last one even more terrifying." now gentlemen please step into the ring!"

the crowd watches quietly, not bothering to disturb the atmosphere as they step into the ring. The announcer watches them excitedly as they look at each other seriously from across the little ring.

The two giants just stare at each other menacingly waiting for the announcer to speak. The announcers focus finally breaks from the competitors and focuses back onto the crowd."alrighty folks the final event that you have all been waiting for! Utum an astran who came here with lady grigora shall face off against our very own lord dyues!"

The crowd had started stretching outside of the stands and now surrounds the whole field it seems as if the entire village has arrived to see this fight. Gora and secomi watch from the side, feeling quite a bit of dread as they looked onto the field.

The announcer looks back to utum and dyues and coughs into his hand before beginning to speak."now for the rules"

he pulls out a decent size sheet of paper much to utums surprise." no punching of the crotch region. You are not allowed to strike anywhere on the head except the chin and cheek area, no striking of your opponent's right lower side of their torso. No attacking of the calves. No biting or scratching. If your opponent is female, no striking their front chest area. No head butts. No elbows or knees. Grappling is allowed but you may not throw your opponent out of the ring.there is no point system you either score a ko or your opponent surrenders. If you wish to surrender simply raise your index finger. And thats all you may begin at sound of the bell!"

Utum looks a little confused trying to remember all the rules so suddenly"wait hold on can you repe-"

The bell rings and utums focus immediately shifts back to the charging dyues. In a panic utum quickly throws up his guard though as dyues attacks his guard is meaningless as with the first punch dyues pushes through his guard and lands a solid blow on utums shoulder.

The blow sends his left shoulder forward opening his guard to dyues right. Before utum can even catch himself from dyues first attack. dyues sends another unrelenting fist past his shattered guard and lands a blow on his chin sending utum to the ground.

Secomi and gora look horrified as the fight had only just begun and utum was already on the ground. Utum tries to get back up but everything is now shaking dyues looks down at his foe with no remorse"do you surrender yet boy?"

His voice was cold and rough but utum resolve has yet to be deterred as he throws himself up"you wish"

Utum now goes on the counter attack as he rushes dyues. Utum tries sending him a barrage of punches but the mighty dyues puts up his guard. As each punch is softened by his guard he pushes closer to dyues until dyues finding his oppurtunity releases a powerful jab to the center of his chest.

Once again utum is sent back as the unimaginable force of dyues attacks is to much to stand their and take. Already showing signs of bruising things are not looking good for utum. Though still on his feet he once again charges dyues. Though instead of punching this time he drops down and grabs dyues waist and stands back up lifting the elderly lord in the air before throwing him back onto the ground violently.

A painfully gasp escapes dyues mouth as his body is slammed against the ground. As he still laying there utum not giving him the chance to stand back tries striking him while hes down. Dyues though grabs his arm with both hands and slams him to ground with him. Standing up dyues plants his bare foot on utums back as he pulls his arms behind his back stretching them in an unnatural way"surrender boy this isn't going to end well for you''

Utum groans as his arms are pulled back though not just taking it he pushes himself to the side to take dyues off balance not letting himself fall to ground again dyues simply lets go and backs up letting utum stand back up.

Utum says nothing as he pants heavily once again he charges dyues. Though it seems hes getting tired of his charging as once he gets closer; as utum goes to through his first punch dyues parries and clocks his chin once again.

Utum stumbles backwards as dyues just watches. Utums entire world would be shaking once again. He gets close to falling out of the ring but catches himself. He grabs his head as to try and stop the ringing but to no avail. Dyues just stands there waiting for utum to get his bearing once again. After he does dyues charges himself this time. As he gets closer he grabs the off guard utum and throws him to the ground and begins a series of furious punches as utum can do nothing but take the barrage.

Gora looks away as utum gets sensley beaten. Secomi though watches in horror as his friend takes hit after hit. His eyes swell with anger as he clenches his fist"what the hell are you doing utum! Get the fuck up!" he screams from the top of his lungs.

Utum rolls over taking dyues who had been staying over him off his feat. though utum is unable to capitalize on his falling opponent as he rolls away from him .Slowly getting back up utum is able to get back on his feet as the same time dyues managed to."your crafty boy ill give you that but youre 100 years behind me in skill, experience and might. The longer you fight the longer your tormenting yourself i have faced and defeated thousands of young men like you and bested them all"

Utum takes no head to his words as he charges him once again with his fist raised. Utum lands a hit on dyues cheek his fist flies across his face dyues actually for the first time in this fight is sent backwards"shut up you talk way too much.''

Utum says looking at dyues with a tired body and an annoyed voice. Though hes bruised and beaten utum still stands tall. Dyues looks at the young man and smiles" fine utum if thats how you want this to go then i shall honor your request!"

Dyues charges at utum, utum starts charging at dyues both of them with raised fist. They both throw a punch each others way both connecting with the others cheek. Both of them are sent back a little bit before both start punching the other unrelentlessly. Neither of them bother to block or parry anything. both men stand there taking hit after hit from each other. The crowd would be in an uproar as the two behemoths of men go at each other so ferociously.

Gora and secomi can only watch with amazement as utum is taking hit after hit and giving them back. Though after just a minute of this they both stop and look at eachother panting heavily both of them have their arms down as they catch their breath.

The announcer eyes light up with joy as he observes this fight"this is truly incredible ladies and gentlemen not only has the gentle giant utum lasted this long it seems hes actually tiring the mighty dyues out! What is the man made out of to take so many powerful blows!"

The crowd is once again cheering and yelling with excitement as the two men catch their breaths. Utums chest would start bleeding as one of dyues punches had split open the top part of his chest as his fist slid across it.

Though bruised and bleeding utum starts back up the assult before dyues. allowing him to land a few good hits in before dyues begins back up himself. Both men take wide stances as their fist collide against each others bodies.

Both men start flinging blood off eachother as their skin keeps getting busted open ociasonaly from one of the attacks. No progress seems to be made either man as they senselessly attack each other. They would go on and off like this for quite some time. 40 minutes into the fight the punches have started to die down no longer a furios barage the two men simply take turns slugging eachother. Dyues actually looks quite beaten and bruised himself the excitement from the crowd has died down as everyone silently watches these two swing at each other.

Utums punch connects to dyues chest his arms fall to his side and dyues fist connects with utum's. While theyre definitely slower their punches haven't lost any of their force. Utum hits dyues shoulder. Utums eyes no longer met dyues they were covered by his bangs as his eyes look towards the ground.

Instead of hitting back dyues steps back and stops" you know utum my boy im getting really sick of you not going down"

Dyues looked completely worn random cuts littered his body with hundreds of bruises. Though his voice showed little sign of his wear as he speaks to utum energetically"tell you what utum if youre still standing after this punch im going to give up im too old to go one on one with a young man like this"

Utum says nothing still just looking at the dirt he simply awaits the hit. Dyues get in a sturdy stance and pulls his arm back as far as possible. Turning his hip with him to allow to pull it back even further then he snaps his arms fully extends as he pivots his hip his arm rotates as it sent towards utum. He hits his right shoulder. You can vsiualy see it dislocate as his arm is sent aback. Utums body tries be sent back with him but utums sturdy keeps him standing.

Dyues looks at the still standing utum with a sense of bewilderment and pride. He cant hep but chuckle and raise his index finger" what a sturdy young man fine i think you deserved this one utum im not sure how much energy i even have left myself you win"

The crowd looks like in complete shock gora and secomi cant believe their eyes the announcer stands there for a moment himself before snapping into his commentary"this is unbelievable our grand chief dyues has just surrendered! Utum is the winner!"

The crowd erupts into cheers once again though utum doesn't move his eyes still looking towards the ground. He takes a step forward and as if dyues was still in front of him and swings for him though only to fall to ground as his fist connects with nothing.

Everyone falls silent as dyues approaches utum. Fliping him over to his back he looks at the boys eyes with a great amount of shock. Utums eyes would be completely glazed over. The lights were on but nobody was home. Dyues cant believe it"utum your even more commendable than i thought. what resolve to not even stop fighting once beaten to the point of consciousness."

Dyues throws the young man over his shoulder and carries him off the field walking past the announcer as he heads into his manor giving him a pat on the shoulder and saying a few words" gora is the winner of this anatagon im going to lay this fine warrior down in a bed id say hes earned some rest"

The announcer simply nods as dyues walks off, clutching his cone he screams louder than he has ever before" lady grigora has won the antagon 2 to 1!"

The crowd cheers but its certainly not full hearted many concerned faces litter the crowd as this means the sokarans are now once again at war with the luutons. Though despite some concern gora seems to be as cheerful as possible" he really did he actually won i cant believe now i don't have to stay here with my grandfather forever!"

Secomi looks quite concerned on the other hand" gora what about utum it looks like your grandfather really did a number on him?"

Gora shrugs and looks at him with a rather stress free look"im sure he'll be fine though we may have stay here longer than expected."

Secomi feels disturbed about how care free gora can be about utums condition he looked pretty beaten, but not wanting to press further he simply hopes for the best. The two young men from before come over puting wreaths on to their heads. Secomi looks quite confused as the wreaths seem to have the affect of boosting goras ego as she looks more smug than ever as their put on." um gora what are these?"

Gora scoffs arrogantly and adjusts her read"these are leaves from the elaio tree a symbol of peace and prosperity to the sokaran people. Its a sign of our victory it proclaims to the world for us that we have won the antagon! I finally beat that old man i cant believe it!"

Gora seems quite happy with herself secomi just sighs and sits back down on the bench"so now what gora?"

Gora smiles and sits gown with him on the bench" i imagine my grandfather will want to rest first but after that hell probably want to speak with me so i guess for now we should just wait around.''

Secomi sighs and gets up"well lets at least go check on utum id like to see how hes doing"

Gora gets up and nods"ya my grandfather probably took him to our healer to rest just follow me.

As they head off to find utum the crowd starts to disperse light commerce could be heard through out the entire village as they discuss the spectacular event they had just seen and the day moves on.

Gora and secomi arrive at their healers room and would see the large utum resting on a blanket on the floor. His body was mostly covered by linen wrapping even his face had several little pieces of cloth on top of him the color of red bleeds though most of them but not deeply.

They look towards the healer wanting some answers"oh he'll be fine most of the cuts are tiny have him remove the cloth and wash the wound. His bruising will probably be the worst of it ive already pushed his arm back into his socket i think its best you let him rest for now"

The older man that would be their manors healer would sound quite stern about this causing gora and secomi to lose interest in seeing him for now. they reside themselves to believe his word and step out. Gora stretches and starts to aimlessly walk around the hall" so i guess well have to wait for now wanna go see if we can go find kompsos and rub the defeat in his face"

Secomi chuckles abit at hearing that but shakes his head"nah considering he beat me i don't feel the need to boast."

Gora chuckles abit herself now"ya i guess you're right"

As they continue talking a man would yell from behind for gora"ah there you are lady grigora your grandfather is wanting to speak with you."

She turns around looking a little confused"huh already? How is that old man not off taking a nap somewhere?"

The man gives gora a stern causing her to back down"fine fine im going"

As gora arrives in her grandfathers throne room hed be sitting on his little raised platform. His wounds would be already wrapped as well. Kompsos leans against wall glancing at the entering gora before looking back at the ground. Gora stands in front of her well composed grandfather. His face was the very definition of dread as he looked at gora"gora you have won the antagon before i make my final decision let me ask you this. Why help the astrans further? Why drag our people into their war"

Gora lets a heavy sigh before looking her grandfather in the eye"grandfather i have seen achievements of the astrans personally i have squabled with their nobles, ate their foods, and fight among them. I walked their halls have been humbled by the sophistication of their palaces. Just as much as they have yet to learn so do we. the astrans will be a beneficial ally in the growth of our realm. And most importantly I have seen the new terror of the luutons. I doubt once they are done devastating the astrans theyll simply be content. So i say we fend them off together strengthening our bond with our neighbors"

Dyues now lets out a heavy sigh himself" i too am impressed by the astrans drive and ingenuity gora i think you may be right in wanting to offer our neigborhs aid in their time of need i will join you along with my men to fend off the oncoming luutons"

His voice is soothing like the gentle rain of a cool spring night to the present astran. This is the first good thing secomi has heard in months their mission out here was a total success!

Gora squeals and lunges at her grandfather squeezing him tightly"heh so you do actually believe in me huh you old man?"

Dyues sighs and pats his granddaughter on the head with a look of gentle smugness upon his face. Kompsos coughs into his hand feeling as if his presence had been forgotten. Gora anoyedly looked over to him wonder what he could have to possibly say right now" and though i couldn't possibly ask my father for his aid as well i kompsos kavalaris will join you on the battlefield."

He seems quite proud of himself as he says this but it seems his enthusiasm isn't shared by anyone else in the room as they all give him a look of indifference. Gora looked even a little bit annoyed at his declaration"huh who asked you to join?"