Fuel the Fury
Guard Captain Rach’nell grumbled irritably as he glared at the batch of recruits he was currently training. They hadn’t shown much promise aside from their actual aptitude with a weapon, each of them lacking the will to follow through with their attacks. Currently he had them standing in formation all looking sheepish as he drilled them with his own voice.
“I hate to think that I’ll have to fail the lot of you; metal knows we could do with a new run of recruits, but no we’re going to have to try again with another batch because you’re all soft! Don’t get me wrong, you boys and girls know how to swing a sword and I like that, shows that you’ve at least got that bit right. If you could only get this… hesitation out of your heads!”
A clawed finger tapped his shoulder and he turned to chew out whoever it was that was interrupting him, only to stop and have to quickly collect his temper.
“A-ah, Malakun, to what do I owe the honour of a visit from Her Majesty’s aide?”
Malakun dipped his head in polite greeting before holding out a rolled scroll, the Empress’ seal adorning the ribbon holding it closed. “The Empress has this for you, your eyes only.”
The captain took the scroll and unrolled it, reading through it before rolling it back up and tucking it away in his armour. “Let Her Majesty know that I will comply.”
The royal aide nodded. “She can probably hear you from where she is,” he said, moving so that the captain could see past him to where the Empress was standing with her arms crossed, “though I’m sure that she appreciates you following procedure of messenger. If you’ll excuse-“
“Malakun, I have a question.” The captain quickly interrupted, grabbing his shoulder. “My recruits are… somewhat wet around the tail, though I’m certain that even they have heard of your recent efforts down in the Great Trench. Could you tell us why, or how, you managed that? What drove you?”
Malakun chuckled. “When I was growing up, and even to this day, the only person who has been constant in my life has been our Empress.” He said calmly. “I mean…”
He was interrupted by their Empress, Amalna’Hash striding towards them and clearing her throat. “Captain, if I could take a moment of your class’s time, I believe we can demonstrate.”
The Captain nodded furiously, unwilling to deny his ruler her wishes. “Of course, Milady, anything.”
“Good,” she said, “Loan Malakun your sword, would you? I assure you that any damage done to it shall be repaired.” The captain nodded and pulled his sword from its scabbard, handing it to Malakun almost reverentially.
Malakun eyed the blade. “I take it that this is a family heirloom, or family Plan?” He asked, to which the captain grunted affirmative. “I shall take extra care not to drop it then.” He joked, earning a chuckle from the elder male. After this healthy laugh, however, Malakun’s face grew steady and deathly steely, his gaze unnerving the recruits.
“Thr- no, five volunteers, please.” The Empress ordered, the recruits looking between one another nervously before the requested number stepped forth.
“Five, Milady?” The captain asked worriedly. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Now, boys and girls, a lesson;” she stated confidently, “Malakun has had no combat training, whereas you all have. Your objective is simple: defeat him. The moral of this lesson is also simple: here you are with your training and your armour, before you a simple man who aids his Empress in day to day matters, not an ounce of fighting training or real muscle to his frame; even the small, however, can be strong, as shall be demonstrated.” She leaned over to Malakun’s ear and mumbled something to him, the male nodding before she leaned away and stepped back.
“Begin.”
With that word, Malakun roared fiercely and charged forth, the recruits taken off guard by his sudden change in behaviour. He closed the distance between himself and the closest of the recruits and, sword held high as if to take a swing, punched the recruit to the ground with his spare hand hard enough to knock the wind from him.
The captain called out. “Down!”
His voice, however, was almost drowned out by Malakun’s own as he yelled. “One!”
“Imagine you fight against a Behemoth gone mad, or a beast from the Great Trench,” the Empress began as Malakun parried a swung blade before tripping the offending recruit up and slamming his foot to their chestpiece.
“Down!”
“Two!”
“This hostile has aims on your parents, your brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, wife, children,”
One of the recruits’ swords managed to slash across his back deep enough to cut him, earning his ire. He swung around and grabbed her throat, slamming her onto her back and winding her before roaring in her face.
“Down!”
“Three!”
“What would you be willing to do, what will you give up, to protect them? That is how you should act within our guard. That is how you should fight when in combat; whether in practice or not. Even Malakun, who has no direct family, can do this. Your foes will not show you the kindness of relenting; they will not waver in their assault. You need to do what you must,”
The only remaining male managed to hit the sword in Malakun’s hands hard enough for him to drop it, the blade arcing across the courtyard and directly back into its owner’s hand. Undeterred, Malakun only got closer to the male, grabbed the collar of his armour and head-butted him with such ferocity that he was out cold in an instant, and he dropped his opponent to the ground.
“Down!”
“Four!”
Malakun turned and made a swift beeline directly at the remaining female recruit. He’d lowered halfway to the floor, supporting himself with his hands momentarily in an almost feral rage. The recruit swung her sword and he ducked, grabbing her foot and swinging her in a circle before throwing her at the other recruits.
“Five!”
“Come on, I know you’re better than this! Prove your captain wrong, fight! Fight for your friends and family, not me! Fight for something you love, not something you respect!”
The fifth guard shook her head, looking up at the Empress for a moment before standing and dropping her sword. Her face split into a feral snarl and she charged for all she was worth at Malakun.
For an instant, the world grew still.
The two remaining combatants met, catching one another’s hands and beginning to wrestle for supremacy. Rage met rage, each snarling as they glared at their respective opponent. Claws scraped against the brick floor as their fury drove them towards one another. This only continued for a few moments before Malakun changed his tactic and rolled to one side, catching her off balance and once again swinging her around and onto her back. Despite her claws digging into his arm and leg, he planted a foot squarely on her chest and roared furiously into her face.
“Down!”
The Empress nodded with a sigh. “Malakun, that’s enough.” She called.
Her voice seemed to calm him the instant he heard it, his rage and bestial ferociousness fading almost instantaneously. He panted heavily and helped the fifth recruit back onto her feet.
I hope we have learned a lesson.” Amalna’hash said authoritatively. “While falling to rage and fury can be somewhat… demeaning to many races, it is a part of who we are. If you are to fight at your fullest, if you are to truly fulfil your role as our town’s guard and army, you need to forget taboo and social stigma; you need to use everything at your disposal. You carry not a weapon, for the blade is an extension of yourself in combat; tooth, claw, foot, fist- give everything and fight to your fullest. In our army, you fight not for me; you fight for everything you hold dear.
“Let me put it another way; has anyone seen the Lamb Ordeal?” A chorus of negative answers returned to her and she sighed. “It is an old shepherd’s trick for dealing with dogs with a mean streak or have been discovered harming or killing lambs. The dog, a lamb, and the lamb’s mother ewe are locked within an enclosure, usually one in which the shepherd can watch. The dog will, inevitably, menace towards the lamb. How do you think the ewe reacts?
“Mother Ewes have been documented as some of the most docile, and at the same time most dangerous of farmyard beasts. During the ordeal, the ewe will protect her lamb violently, ramming the dog over and over until death if she can. Typically the shepherd will step in and stop the dog from being killed, but a lesson will be learned.
“Parents, lovers, and family members can, and will, go to most any length to protect those they love. That is what you must do. Act as if your family, your lovers, your children, are on the line. Fight like you are the last line of defence. Do you understand? Your hesitations could cost you everything, do you want that? Every guard before you has been taken through the same process of breaking that hesitation; I know you can do better than you have been, please don’t disappoint me.”
The recruits chanted the usual ‘yes ma’am’ in reply and she smiled.
“Good. Now, Malakun, we should see to your back; come along, we’ll go direct to doctor Asarnach.”
“At your side, Milady.”
His shoulder was caught by the captain as he passed him, and he stopped as evidently was requested.
“The lesson was informative, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who has this on their mind;” he began, “but the Empress said you have no family; where do you pull that kind of ferocity from?”
Malakun looked back over at Amalna’hash who watched him interestedly; also curious as to how he would answer this question. He gave a short chuckle.
“In the Trench, as is now common knowledge I protected our Empress from a Great Beast,” he started, his eyes growing faintly distant and misty, “and I fought to protect the one I love.”
With a final nod, Malakun walked over to where the Empress was waiting and, with the eyes of every recruit and the captain upon them, they shared a short yet intimate kiss before walking on.
“I hate to think that I’ll have to fail the lot of you; metal knows we could do with a new run of recruits, but no we’re going to have to try again with another batch because you’re all soft! Don’t get me wrong, you boys and girls know how to swing a sword and I like that, shows that you’ve at least got that bit right. If you could only get this… hesitation out of your heads!”
A clawed finger tapped his shoulder and he turned to chew out whoever it was that was interrupting him, only to stop and have to quickly collect his temper.
“A-ah, Malakun, to what do I owe the honour of a visit from Her Majesty’s aide?”
Malakun dipped his head in polite greeting before holding out a rolled scroll, the Empress’ seal adorning the ribbon holding it closed. “The Empress has this for you, your eyes only.”
The captain took the scroll and unrolled it, reading through it before rolling it back up and tucking it away in his armour. “Let Her Majesty know that I will comply.”
The royal aide nodded. “She can probably hear you from where she is,” he said, moving so that the captain could see past him to where the Empress was standing with her arms crossed, “though I’m sure that she appreciates you following procedure of messenger. If you’ll excuse-“
“Malakun, I have a question.” The captain quickly interrupted, grabbing his shoulder. “My recruits are… somewhat wet around the tail, though I’m certain that even they have heard of your recent efforts down in the Great Trench. Could you tell us why, or how, you managed that? What drove you?”
Malakun chuckled. “When I was growing up, and even to this day, the only person who has been constant in my life has been our Empress.” He said calmly. “I mean…”
He was interrupted by their Empress, Amalna’Hash striding towards them and clearing her throat. “Captain, if I could take a moment of your class’s time, I believe we can demonstrate.”
The Captain nodded furiously, unwilling to deny his ruler her wishes. “Of course, Milady, anything.”
“Good,” she said, “Loan Malakun your sword, would you? I assure you that any damage done to it shall be repaired.” The captain nodded and pulled his sword from its scabbard, handing it to Malakun almost reverentially.
Malakun eyed the blade. “I take it that this is a family heirloom, or family Plan?” He asked, to which the captain grunted affirmative. “I shall take extra care not to drop it then.” He joked, earning a chuckle from the elder male. After this healthy laugh, however, Malakun’s face grew steady and deathly steely, his gaze unnerving the recruits.
“Thr- no, five volunteers, please.” The Empress ordered, the recruits looking between one another nervously before the requested number stepped forth.
“Five, Milady?” The captain asked worriedly. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Now, boys and girls, a lesson;” she stated confidently, “Malakun has had no combat training, whereas you all have. Your objective is simple: defeat him. The moral of this lesson is also simple: here you are with your training and your armour, before you a simple man who aids his Empress in day to day matters, not an ounce of fighting training or real muscle to his frame; even the small, however, can be strong, as shall be demonstrated.” She leaned over to Malakun’s ear and mumbled something to him, the male nodding before she leaned away and stepped back.
“Begin.”
With that word, Malakun roared fiercely and charged forth, the recruits taken off guard by his sudden change in behaviour. He closed the distance between himself and the closest of the recruits and, sword held high as if to take a swing, punched the recruit to the ground with his spare hand hard enough to knock the wind from him.
The captain called out. “Down!”
His voice, however, was almost drowned out by Malakun’s own as he yelled. “One!”
“Imagine you fight against a Behemoth gone mad, or a beast from the Great Trench,” the Empress began as Malakun parried a swung blade before tripping the offending recruit up and slamming his foot to their chestpiece.
“Down!”
“Two!”
“This hostile has aims on your parents, your brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, wife, children,”
One of the recruits’ swords managed to slash across his back deep enough to cut him, earning his ire. He swung around and grabbed her throat, slamming her onto her back and winding her before roaring in her face.
“Down!”
“Three!”
“What would you be willing to do, what will you give up, to protect them? That is how you should act within our guard. That is how you should fight when in combat; whether in practice or not. Even Malakun, who has no direct family, can do this. Your foes will not show you the kindness of relenting; they will not waver in their assault. You need to do what you must,”
The only remaining male managed to hit the sword in Malakun’s hands hard enough for him to drop it, the blade arcing across the courtyard and directly back into its owner’s hand. Undeterred, Malakun only got closer to the male, grabbed the collar of his armour and head-butted him with such ferocity that he was out cold in an instant, and he dropped his opponent to the ground.
“Down!”
“Four!”
Malakun turned and made a swift beeline directly at the remaining female recruit. He’d lowered halfway to the floor, supporting himself with his hands momentarily in an almost feral rage. The recruit swung her sword and he ducked, grabbing her foot and swinging her in a circle before throwing her at the other recruits.
“Five!”
“Come on, I know you’re better than this! Prove your captain wrong, fight! Fight for your friends and family, not me! Fight for something you love, not something you respect!”
The fifth guard shook her head, looking up at the Empress for a moment before standing and dropping her sword. Her face split into a feral snarl and she charged for all she was worth at Malakun.
For an instant, the world grew still.
The two remaining combatants met, catching one another’s hands and beginning to wrestle for supremacy. Rage met rage, each snarling as they glared at their respective opponent. Claws scraped against the brick floor as their fury drove them towards one another. This only continued for a few moments before Malakun changed his tactic and rolled to one side, catching her off balance and once again swinging her around and onto her back. Despite her claws digging into his arm and leg, he planted a foot squarely on her chest and roared furiously into her face.
“Down!”
The Empress nodded with a sigh. “Malakun, that’s enough.” She called.
Her voice seemed to calm him the instant he heard it, his rage and bestial ferociousness fading almost instantaneously. He panted heavily and helped the fifth recruit back onto her feet.
I hope we have learned a lesson.” Amalna’hash said authoritatively. “While falling to rage and fury can be somewhat… demeaning to many races, it is a part of who we are. If you are to fight at your fullest, if you are to truly fulfil your role as our town’s guard and army, you need to forget taboo and social stigma; you need to use everything at your disposal. You carry not a weapon, for the blade is an extension of yourself in combat; tooth, claw, foot, fist- give everything and fight to your fullest. In our army, you fight not for me; you fight for everything you hold dear.
“Let me put it another way; has anyone seen the Lamb Ordeal?” A chorus of negative answers returned to her and she sighed. “It is an old shepherd’s trick for dealing with dogs with a mean streak or have been discovered harming or killing lambs. The dog, a lamb, and the lamb’s mother ewe are locked within an enclosure, usually one in which the shepherd can watch. The dog will, inevitably, menace towards the lamb. How do you think the ewe reacts?
“Mother Ewes have been documented as some of the most docile, and at the same time most dangerous of farmyard beasts. During the ordeal, the ewe will protect her lamb violently, ramming the dog over and over until death if she can. Typically the shepherd will step in and stop the dog from being killed, but a lesson will be learned.
“Parents, lovers, and family members can, and will, go to most any length to protect those they love. That is what you must do. Act as if your family, your lovers, your children, are on the line. Fight like you are the last line of defence. Do you understand? Your hesitations could cost you everything, do you want that? Every guard before you has been taken through the same process of breaking that hesitation; I know you can do better than you have been, please don’t disappoint me.”
The recruits chanted the usual ‘yes ma’am’ in reply and she smiled.
“Good. Now, Malakun, we should see to your back; come along, we’ll go direct to doctor Asarnach.”
“At your side, Milady.”
His shoulder was caught by the captain as he passed him, and he stopped as evidently was requested.
“The lesson was informative, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who has this on their mind;” he began, “but the Empress said you have no family; where do you pull that kind of ferocity from?”
Malakun looked back over at Amalna’hash who watched him interestedly; also curious as to how he would answer this question. He gave a short chuckle.
“In the Trench, as is now common knowledge I protected our Empress from a Great Beast,” he started, his eyes growing faintly distant and misty, “and I fought to protect the one I love.”
With a final nod, Malakun walked over to where the Empress was waiting and, with the eyes of every recruit and the captain upon them, they shared a short yet intimate kiss before walking on.
12 years ago
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