The Choosing (41 page)

Seth barely managed to place himself between Sara and the oncoming blow of their opponent, and with no time to react he was forced to take a glancing blow to his arm.  Though the ring mail took the brunt of the assault, pain exploded in Seth’s arm causing him to fumble with his sword nearly dropping his only weapon.  Seeing him nearly incapacitated, the young man lunged in again to finish Seth off, however was caught mid lunge square in the chest with a small crossbow dart, and losing his wind instantly, this man too fell to the ground to be quickly hauled off back to the lines of healers.  Seth spared Sara a quick glance, showing his appreciation, and that single moment was to be his last mistake.

As Seth spared the woman he loved a thankful smile, unseen to him, another attacker rushed him, just beyond his peripheral vision, and before Seth could turn to assess his next opponent, his side seemed to explode in searing pain as the air rushed from his lungs and he was bowled over onto the slick paving stones of the courtyard floor.  Just before his head smacked into the stone below him, the last image Seth remembered before he blacked out, was his brother cleaving another man's leg off with a single blow, and with the same swing turning to witness the fall of his twin.

Garret fought as skillfully as he was able.  Other than a stray goblin, the only sword practice he had had in his life had been dueling his twin with sticks as children.  However fighting came naturally to Garret, and even now he put to use lessons learned with a stick against his brother what seemed a lifetime ago.  He had felled many of his peers already today, but it seemed to Garret that each he removed from the test was replaced by yet another, who was stronger and more able than the last.  The man he faced now he could only assume had some training with actual weapons.  Each slash he swung was met by the man’s blade and turned aside.  Every lunge he attempted was met by a parry, and Garret felt he had found his equal in this battle, but he also knew that for his brother and their friends, he could not fail.  Garret swung at the man again and again only to be thwarted each time, and each time his enemy attacked he mimicked the man’s moves, learning quickly how to dodge such blows.  Back and forth he went with the man, who though slightly smaller than he, was obviously more accustomed to such strenuous labor.  Knowing at this rate they would fight on for all eternity Garret decided to improvise.  Swinging his massive blade as if to slash for the man’s chest, Garret watched as his opponent leaned back just out of range of his blade, and as the blade swung harmlessly past, Garret lunged mid swing driving the blade just barely through the man’s ring mail and into the flesh of his chest.  The blow had done little real harm, but the man already leaning back to avoid the blow, was forced back further throwing him off balance.  Trying to negate the effect of Garret’s blow the man raised his leg to change his center of gravity and regain himself.  Then Garret saw his opportunity, and using every fiber of every muscle in his body, Garret twisted to stop his previous swing and with all his force brought his blade back the direction it had come.  Catching the man just above the knee, Garret cleaved his opponent’s leg clear off, but such was the force of his swing, his body continued to spin after the blow, nearly turning him completely around to face what had before been behind him.  What Garret witnessed tore at the core of his being.

As Garret spun, he watched as Seth, sword protruding from his ribcage, was thrown from his feet, his head banging off the blood coated cobblestones with a cracking sound, all light fading from his eyes.  Garret turned his focus from his brother to the man who had felled his twin.  The man was recuperating from the blow, and his sword still wedged in Seth’s ribcage, the man now stood unarmed.  Garret succumbed to rage as his mind seemed to explode, and his vision turning red with a berserkers fury he lunged over Sara who knelt to tend to the man she loved, and Garret, raising his sword well above his head brought it down with the full weight and momentum of his body, nearly cleaved the man in two from shoulder to mid abdomen.  Such was his fury at the loss of his brother, he did not witness as his twin’s seemingly lifeless body was dragged to the perimeter to be tended by healers, and Sara was forced to stand and defend herself.  Garret went on a blind rampage stomping through the carnage that had once been a courtyard, felling mercilessly anyone who dared stand in his way.  Such was his fury that all who remained in the ring of the Kings soldiers sought him out, seeing him as the biggest threat, and in what felt like forever from those on the sidelines, in Garrets mind only moments passed as he cleaved and hacked his way through all his remaining foes, all the while a disheartening chuckle escaping his lips, until all had fallen around him but one.  Garret blind from rage, turned his gaze of seething anger on the only opponent remaining on the courtyard, and striding across the blood covered stone courtyard he stalked her.

Seth had no idea how long he had remained unconscious, and as his eyes fluttered open he lay on his undamaged side, the sword having been removed from his ribs, and a healer currently worked to mend his organs, flesh, and bones.  He felt the ecstasy of the healing Goddess's power flowing through him as the healer continued to work, but willed himself to ignore the pleasure.  Pleasure subdued, Seth’s eyes began to focus as he heard several gasps from those around him as the spectacle played out upon the courtyard.  His thoughts turning to fear and panic Seth craned his neck around to see what it was that had those around him so enthralled.  At first he could see nothing, but he could hear the clanks of steel, and thuds of body meeting body, and many other indistinguishable sounds, but above all, he could hear his brother's raving mad chuckle.  The sound could not be described any other way, but knowing his brother still stood, Seth wriggled beneath the healer’s hands to gain a better view of the courtyard.  What Seth witnessed in those following minutes was a memory he would never forget for the rest of his days, no matter how much he wished he could.  Garret didn't walk around the courtyard.  He didn't run or give chase.  Seth could find no word to describe in his mind the way in which his brother moved about the slick cobblestones.  Garret seemed a whirlwind of motion, his great blade swinging this way and that in menacing arcs, and when his blade found no purchase his feet kicked out with ferocity snapping bones.  When neither his sword nor his feet gained him the advantage he used everything available to him, head butting one opponent and biting another, throwing an elbow to one man's face, and crushing another man's chest with the pommel of his sword.  Garret had become akin to a force of nature, those he approached dared not turn their back to flee the rampaging warrior for fear he would strike them down from behind, and as each stood to defend themselves, each fell in a flurry of blows, blood raining down in all directions.  Garret unleashed his rage on one opponent after another, and if two sought to gain the advantage of numbers, Garret leveled them without thought to his own safety, bearing his wounds as if they were naught but scratches.

Seth watched as the last of Garret’s would be foes were dispatched and his brother seeing no more men in his path, spun on his heels to appraise the courtyard around him.  Seth watched Garret turn a quarter of the way around and freeze, his eyes locking in deadly menace upon some unseen target.  Seth again wriggled beneath the healer's hands who this time berated him for it, though he heard not the words.  As Seth followed his brother's gaze, his own eyes fell upon Sara, who stood transfixed in the center of the courtyard, horror plainly upon her face, having watched Garret butcher anyone else that moved.  Garret began to stride across the courtyard, slowly at first, and then picking up pace as he closed the distance.  Seth believed his brother went to comfort Sara, as the small woman appeared so pale she might very well pass out, but instead Seth’s hope turned to horror.

Seth watched as Sara dropped her crossbow and raised her hand to protect her face, showing submission to her advancing opponent.  Garret was lost in bloodlust however, and Seth watched as his brother, gaining speed began to raise his sword above his head as if to fell Sara in a single blow.  Seth could not wrap his mind around his brother's actions.  Garret knew that Seth loved Sara, he had himself fought with her to save Seth’s own life little more than a week before.  They were friends, and being such Seth expected any moment for Garret to regain himself as stop his butchery before it went too far.  But there was no time, and as Garret careened nearer to Sara Seth panicked, and unknowing what he was doing, reacted upon instinct, his very heart and soul working with his subconscious beyond his conscious control.

Seth reached inward toward the power rushing through his body.  The Goddess's power felt familiar and alien at the same time, but Seth knew instinctively that he could use this power.  Latching onto the power the healer was bending to its will to repair his damaged body, Seth poured his own will against the power and ripped it away from the healer.  Knowing there was no time to think how best to use the power, Seth reached out with his hand as if to grasp both of people he loved most in the world and screamed.

"Noooo!"  Seth wailed.  It was all he could manage as he unleashed the stolen power within him, and like a raging river the power exploded from his palm, racing like a torrent across the cobblestones spraying blood into the air in a pink mist, the wave of invisible power expanding as it went, reached its intended targets.  Just as Garret brought his sword down in the blow that would sever Sara’s life, and the love and trust of his twin, a great wall of air collided with both him and Sara sending them sprawling across the cobblestones soaking them both in blood and adding dozens of new bruises to their already battered bodies.  But the sudden blow had served its intended purpose.  The powerful blast had interrupted Garret’s train of thought, breaking his bond with whatever force had overtaken him, and as he slid across the bloodied stones, his vision cleared and he realized he had nearly attacked Sara, and looked now to see if she was unharmed.  Gaining his feet as soon as the blast subsided, Garret rushed to help Sara back to her feet, apologizing repeatedly for his near assault.  It was then that the trumpets blared from across the courtyard, announcing the end of this test, and declaring Garret, its champion.  Seth feeling exhausted beyond measure, merely clung to consciousness, hardly baring witness to his brother's triumph.

Nearly an hour passed as healers mended those final victims of Garrets viscous assaults that they were able, and with that hour all those who had come to the choosing ceremony were divided into groups, a couple such groups having already been ushered off to their intended positions in service to the Kingdom.  For the most part however, the majority of those who had come to the ceremony remained, returned to the courtyard in three separate groups.  As far as Garret could tell the first group contained those who had stayed to fight, but had fallen early on in the ensuing battle, though these people were lined up and each questioned by a procession of high ranking officials of the court and the military, and then subdivided further into smaller groups which were summarily led away from the courtyard.

The second group as far as Garret could tell were those that had lasted longer in the melee, showing more potential perhaps, and these were questioned more vigorously and also subdivided into smaller groups and ushered from the courtyard as well.  Those who remained in the courtyard now, were those who had lasted the longest in the battle that had been used to test their abilities.  Though still near a hundred and fifty strong, this group was the smallest of the three larger groups, and before long all those needing mending were mended, and Garret was happy to find his brother conscious once again, and surprised to find that Ashton remained in this group as well.

Seth had come in and out of consciousness several times as the healer worked to piece his various body parts back together.  He had witnessed glimpses here and there of the happenings within the courtyard, though his understandings of those glimpses were tenuous at best.  As he woke for the final time he was happy to find Garret, Sara, and Ashton all gathered around him, each of them smiling down upon him as he struggled to sit.  The aged healer proclaiming his work done, Seth was helped to his feet by Garret, and summarily hugged by Sara who clung to him as if he had just arisen from the dead.  After a few moments Seth’s companions filled him in of the events of the last hour or so, and Seth was impressed to find that thus far he had managed to stay with both his brother and Sara, the only thing he really hoped to do at this point.  However he also knew now, that the ceremony was not over yet.

The day had seemed an eternity, and now that evening approached, all who had witnessed the events of the day felt the after effects of their earlier actions, knowing all too well, that this day was nowhere near over, and after another quarter of an hour those remaining in the courtyard were instructed to form a line, and as before Seth, his brother, and companions found themselves near the center of the line.  Looking up and down the line Seth was appalled at the condition of all those that remained.  Every single face was smeared with blood, each person's leather armor was drenched in both blood and sweat, though beginning to dry lending the air an unpleasant scent.  Everyone remaining looked on the brink of passing out due to exhaustion, each of them looking worn well beyond their years.  This Seth thought as a procession emerged from the canopy at the end of the courtyard, and began stopping before each of those in line, where several from the procession questioned the bloodied and battered men and women who yet remained.