SABIS the SURVIVOR

Chapter 10: Dueling Soliloquys

Chapter 10: Dueling Soliloquys

Ravis and Dreyis were both given a rest period of ninety drips from the elution column. For this final heat of the third round of the Stone Games, each competitor would wear arm and thigh sacks filled with stones. The first competitor to slash open all four of their opponent's sacks would be declared the winner.

Ravis felt fatigued. He had expended too much of his energy reserve in this competition. By her relaxed and upright posture, he sensed that Dreyis had kept more energy in her tank than he had but he did not want to let her know this fact. So he tried to plant some doubt in her mind about what this last heat would entail. He stood up as straight as his tired muscles allowed, drew in a deep breath, then orated as he would to an audience:

"That trophy will fit comfortably on my mantle, you know. It is a wonder that you made it this far. You are like a rat that offers little resistance. You twitch and skitter for cover whereas I am like an owl that swoops down to grab you in my talons."

Dreyis' nostrils flared as she prepared to pull the plug on Ravis' taunts and exhortations. Nonplussed, Ravis continued his tactical verbal maneuvering:

"Are you longing for a better place and peace of mind? All you have to do is fall down like a leaf from an old tree that needs to sleep, that awaits the Spring regeneration and the downpour of light from above. I will quash your plans for victory while I wreak havoc and muster mayhem and implant my will on your soul."

Dreyis listened and processed Ravis' affirmations of his brutality and strength and his assertions of her frail and more fragile sense of self. But his oration did not have its desired effect. She knew deep down that her abilities could surpass any warrior-in-training. Dreyis felt the fire of fury rise up from her diaphragm and spread to her chest and throat regions. Then like a snake coiled around a rock, ready to uncoil and then spring onto a nearby prey, she drew in her own deep and long breath and let the air expand her insides until she felt ready to burst. Then she cleansed her body and mind by blowing out her steam. To give Ravis a taste of his own medicine and figuratively rip off his fake bravado and uncouth camouflage, she launched into her own verbal castigation:

"Your wartis launch misses the mark, and your heart has no empathy, with no words to withstand my onslaught, nor the skill to parry my kicks and throws. I now slam the door on your dreams of derision, on your plans to score. You have no recourse but to abhor, your own trite truths and ill-phrased poetic metaphors. My faith breathes victory while my blade bleeds your blood into the sea of eternity."

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Ravis

Because of the sliding stop that he had made in his preliminary heat against Uris, Ravis wrapped his sore ankles securely with cord that he had fashioned from his wartis webbing. Whatever webbing he did not use on his ankles, he tied into a smaller net with an attached cord so that he could throw it and guide much like a lion tamer would lash a whip to confuse a circus animal.

In this final round, combatants were permitted to use their obsidian knife, helmet, vest, and any other paraphernalia that they could fashion from their existing weapon arsenal. Improvisation was encouraged. Consequently, Ravis broke off his spear tip and fit it snugly into the cord already placed on his left ankle. In total, he sported three offensive weapons and one defensive weapon.

His arsenal included his helmet, his spear tip fastened to his left ankle, and his obsidian knife. He also possessed his quick wit, guile, and roguish tendencies. For defense, he held the re-worked wartis webbing whip, wore his gold-plated armour vest, and possessed his Mother Earth-given gifts, namely speed, strength, and dexterity.

Dreyis

Dreyis stood upright on one leg to practice her balance. From her childhood dance lessons, she could balance her entire weight on the ball of one foot without much effort. She could also twirl, spin, high-kick, and whip-kick. Her athletic talents were not only limited to dance moves. Her upper body strength had been developed from archery at the Arena and swimming lessons in the Sea of Salinity.

Both of her parents had been very involved in her athletic development − her Father worked in the forge and liked to stay in shape in his spare time. Similarly, her Mother worked as a stone collector and also savoured the benefits of physical activities. Dreyis loved her parents and liked to say that she resembled both of them but in different ways: She had her Father's love of sport and her Mother's love of dance. To become a warrior had been her dream since the age of ten. So she relished the chance to gain a one-on-one audience with Elder Eldris, something she believed would improve her chances for extra warrior training and eventual promotion to full warrior status.

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The crowd had quieted down. The arena grounds had been swept and groomed so that no residual blood nor gemstone dust remained in the combat zone. If one listened intently for sounds, it was possible to discern the distant reverberations of the blacksmiths hammering and welding the high-carbon steel that exited the forge on a daily basis. As well, there could be heard the continuous whooshing of the air being funneled into and then recirculated through the underground caves. But if one listened very carefully, there could be heard the extra systolic beats of Dreyis' heart as she beheld her athletic, handsome, and dangerous adversary.

She focused on her breath. Inhaling deep into her abdomen helped to center her thoughts and slow down her slightly erratic heart. She jumped up and down twice, each time flexing her hips and shoulders as if she were crouching into a tight tuck, then as gravity brought her back down to earth, she spread herself out almost into a spread-eagle position, finally landing so softly as to barely muss the groomed earth.

Ravis had no feelings in his heart other than cold, black determination. As he breathed in two slow deep breaths, he imagined the moves he would use to disable his opponent's dancing ability and eliminate any chance for her to escape from her destiny─to lose decisively while receiving a monumental thumping. Then he pictured his arm being raised in victory to thunderous applause.

Elder Bullis strolled over to the two finalists. He adjusted his long robe by cinching its belt, cleared his throat, moistened his lips and announced:

"All ready!"

Then he brought the ram's horn to his wet lips and blew fast and hard. As air raced into the horn and then spewed out through the horn's naturally large orifice, Ravis smiled a knowing grin─he realized that this was his chance to show how much heart he possessed. He would fight tooth and nail, with all of his bone strength, and with both a love of the fight and a lust for blood.