Crusaders Part 18

Nine years ago

"No, I won't allow it." The older man who just returned from the frontier war, is now limping from wounds suffered on his back and thigh. He is looking at the challenge presented to him by the tribe for his name has been challenged. He must reply to fight the challenger himself or by appointed champion. He sit by the table with four of his other clansman who seek him out in the forest.

"Marcus, you know the law of the Tribe.We must fight to defend our clan. Since you been away, we had fought off the other challengers and we won some. But this time the challenger wants you. We can fight no more, as we are also old like you, but .... we did not know you are injured. You left us for so many years but we still respect you as our leader. Come back with us and defend your honor and the clan." The four of them speaks the true as he left the clan when he was accused of betraying his own kind by marrying outside of the clan. He took the abuse until the night the other clans betrayed his birthright and the Holy ones decided to attack him. He fought them off by himself while no one from his own clan came to assist. He left that night and brought his family here to start a new life. It was fine until his foolish notion of joining a war with the human's. He fought with them and he came home to meet the other clan members who wanted to take his life again. He killed them but not before they injured him with their crude weapons. He ran for the forest on killing his enemies but he was rescued by the one he knew as his son. It took him sometime to recover with the help of the old warrior who nurtured his wounds.

He was reunited with his family and to learn of his daughter's death. That grief him for some time but he came to accept that. His son is growing and is now hunting while the father rest at the house. He sees the young lad growing but he fears that one day, his son would be like him. He would then be fighting for the clan's honor and not be freed of the clan. He ran away with his family as he does not want to be part of it but now they come to asked him to return.

"One last time, and no more. After this fight, tell the others to elect their own new leader. I am no more their leader." The four agreed to the terms and they left for the forest.

"The Tribe calls to order now. We have a challenge here today."

The six tribes meet here in this clearing in the forest to solve internal clan issues. Today is an issue with the Xeno and Mons Clan of which that the Xeno claims the Mons' leader killed some of his clan members some years back. Xeno Clan demand challenge to resolve the issue. Xeno has send forth their champion; a young member with four kills to date. The accepting challenger is to have their ailing leader fight by himself.

The two stepped into the circle and faced each other. The young fighter from Xeno was the first to transform into his beast looks. In his final transformation, he is taller than his human height and more muscular. The older man also transformed into his beast form but he is not standing as tall for his leg hurts when he transformed. The wound on his back also prevented him from stretching his full body up. The young beast did not wait for the transformation to complete before he leap onto the older beast. His jump on the older beast caused both of them to fall but the young beast was relentless in his attack.

Suddenly there was a dark shadow who leap into the arena and pulled the young challenger off the older one.

"You would fight me. I am his appointed Champion. So say the son of the Mon's Leader." The new challenger is a very young beast but he stands as tall as his opponent. The Tribe elders stood in to try understand the new challenge, but the two has got underway into their fight. Both fighters used their claws and fangs in the fight and there was blood everywhere. But then the youngest challenger soon had the upper hand on the fight. He was grabbing the other beast by the back of the neck from behind with his knee into the opponent's back.

"Yield or be a cripple?" The losing beast slacked off his struggle and accepted defeat.

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