Chapter 5: Failure is the greatest teacher

            Valor wiped the sweat off his brow for the hundredth time, the Kypeeran sun beat down on shoulders and he could feel his skin burning. Another long afternoon of training had taken its toll and his muscles ached. He licked the salt from his lips and sat down in the sand, watching his father stride over to him.

            “You cannot continue to rely on Diargo like you do.” Valor’s father said, staring down at him.

            Valor shielded the sun with his hand and gazed up at his father in frustration. “You say that, but what’s the point? He’s the one who’s doing all the hard work, I just sit there.”

            Valor’s father brushed his long hair out of his face and took a seat beside his son. “There’s a reason why teams consist of racers and riders, why do you think that is?”

            “Well, I guess I can provide a defense for him from attackers that he can’t see but- “

            His father cut him off, “Diargo is an animal, he has animal instincts, his decisions and thoughts are built around those instincts. He may be able to sense things we can’t but that also means those senses can be overwhelmed.”

            Valor threw a small pebble into the sand. He looked up at the gorilla who stood unmoving a couple meters away, keeping an eye on the horizon. The Beast always seemed so human.

            “He’s more than animal dad,”

            “Of course, he is, I know that more than any other person out there, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he needs YOU to keep his instincts in check. You need to be the level-headed one.” The man looked at the stoic gorilla, admiring the size of the muscles that seemed to grow bigger each day. “I mean, I’m not sure what good a couple of swords will do when it comes to ‘protection’ for that guy.”

            Valor chuckled and pushed himself up to feet, ready to continue training.

            “If anything, remember this, each of your roles are equally important, he can’t win on his own, and neither can you. Remain calm for his sake and guide him when he gets carried away.”

            He nodded and repeated those words back to himself, “remain calm and guide him”.

           

            The pack of teams hit the narrow stone passage at full speed, Valor could hear the shouts of panic from the other riders as they tried to control their racers. Three teams managed to squeeze themselves through the chokepoint before the entire pack collided. Massive and dangerous bodies entangled into one giant cluster. Riders were crushed under the weight of their own racers or from colliding with another. Racers bellowed in pain as limbs were broken, and their bodies were hurled against the unmovable stone walls surrounding them. Diargo leapt as high as he could into the air after he heard Valor’s warning, the scent of blood spilling from the cluster of bodies rattled his senses and screams of pain from both animal and human triggered his fight or flight instincts. Valor clung to his neck with all his strength, and he gagged on the overwhelming smell of blood. As they flew, he could see swords and other weapons mistakenly impaled through random bodies. Horns and claws drawing blood, all of which was starting pool on the ground beneath them.

            Diargo cleared the initial group of teams with his jump and managed to reach the entry of the choke point. His thick legs absorbed the impact as they landed in the chasm. Valor could feel the powerful thud of Diargo’s heartbeat through his own legs that were resting on his shoulders. The Trykoori’s muscular shoulders rose and fell as his chest heaved, and for just a second Diargo hesitated to press on.

            “Diargo we have to keep moving, the survivors are starting to pick themselves up.”

            The ape snarled at himself and picked up the pace. The walls towered over them, creating an effective barrier to any aerial form of movement. The winding path of the chasm also made it practically impossible for Diargo to use his pillars, though his agility proved useful when it came to the tight maneuvers and sharp turns.

            Valor sat in silence for a couple moments while Diargo concentrated on precise movements as they sped through the canyon.  The boy repeatedly looked over his shoulder for any teams catching up but focused all his energy into creating a calming presence for Diargo to feed on. A large gust of whistled in his helmet and ruslted the long tuft of hair on the Beast’s head.            

            “We must be near the exit.”

            Diargo let out an internal sigh of relief, the constant twisting and turning of the chasm was hard enough to deal with, not to mention the constant stress of maintaining distance against opponents who were faster. He could taste the fresher air as it flowed into the exit. The two of them turned a particularly sharp corner, revealing a final long stretch to the exit out of the canyon, and freedom from the towering walls. Valor’s heart dropped at what he saw before the exit. A bushy white tail wagging back and forth in more of a playful manner than he would have expected, and a tall girl sitting with a relaxed slump, as though the race itself wasn’t interesting. Beside her was a humongous man practically dwarfing the massive boar that he rode on.

            “Of course, he survived that choke-point.”

            Valor swallowed and lifted a hand up to shield his eyes from the slight cloud of dust that they were running through. “Ameera survived too, but it looks like their riding together, they’re not attacking each other.”

             Diargo shot him a sideways look, “Jealous?”

            “Shut up,” Valor muttered under his breath as he narrowed his eyes, just ahead of the two teams was a third, a jet-black wolf and its rider whose skin was paler than a moon.

            The behemoth swung a giant axe with ease, his long arms making up for the distance between him and the third-party member. Though the weapon was massive, the giant whipped it through the air like a viper, each swing as fast and precise as the next. Regardless of the speed, the blade could not reach its target, the man on the wolf was too quick. He stood with perfect balance on the saddle that was tightly strapped to the back of the wolf, a large cloak draped over his shoulders, as black as the wolf he rode. Instead of a helmet, the man wore a black mask the covered his mouth and nose.  He dodged each strike like a ghost, as if the very matter of his body faded in and out of existence. He carried no weapon from what Valor could see and seemed to occasionally deflect the flat edge of the axe with his bare hand. Soon Diargo caught up with the combatants, the end of the chasm was approaching quickly. Sensing their growing proximity, Ameera checked over her shoulder and her jaw dropped as she recognized them. The nonchalant attitude was immediately cast off as her hand shot for the rope strapped to her hip.

            Valor grimaced at her reaction and hesitantly let his hand rest on the hilt of his right sword. Diargo sent an approving mental wave and forced his legs to move even quicker, bringing the two of them almost face to face with Ameera and Scooper.

            “WHAT DID I SAY VALOR” Ameera’s voice was just barely audible over the wind and the angry shouts from the giant.

            Valor was about to reply when raw instinct took over his body and he ducked. He could feel the Téad léim whip past his head, nearly scraping the top of his helmet. His sudden reaction sent a ripple effect down into Diargo, who screamed in anger and leapt a couple feet laterally while maintain his forward momentum.

            Valor ripped his right sword from the sheath in anger, lifeblood coursing through his veins like adrenaline. “ARE YOU F-“ He ducked again as the rope missed a second time, Ameera cried out in dismay and frustration urging scooper forward. The Fearrat’s six legs moved into a blur and the animal shot forward, nearly bumping into the boar the behemoth rode.

            Valor gritted his teeth and sheathed the sword, the galden was pumping furiously throughout his body. He was able to dodge the Téad Léim, but he couldn’t see it, galden was cloaking it from eyesight.

            “Did you scare her off?” Diargo said, sending a mental image of Ameera pulling away to join the giant.

            “I didn’t really do anything. Just dodged.”

            Valor could feel Diargo’s confusion, but he didn’t elaborate further, he was trying to process the sight in front of him. The giant was still trying to cleave the masked figure in half but was finding no success. Every swing and miss only angered the man further, his bellowing shouts of anger were even loud enough to drown out the announcer. Even Ameera seemed perplexed by the man’s anger her uninterested demeanor was replaced by something new, when she shot a look back at Valor, he saw it. It was the unmistakable look of uncertainty, and Valor smiled. Ameera’s face darkened and contorted into something ugly, she whipped her head back to face the track, her hair whipping wildly around. She grabbed the rope again,  but the distance between them was too far, she was clearly going after someone else.

            “We have to help him Di”

            Diargo snorted in contempt, “Yeah I don’t think so.”

            Valor’s knuckles whitened against his sword hilts, fully prepared to launch himself into the fray, but Diargo’s held him back.

            “He’s an enemy, and clearly a very skilled one, it’s better for us if they can take him out.”

            Valor bit his lip in frustration, and he hesitated against Diargo’s words. There was something about the man who continued to stand stoically against the beast man and the Ameera who now had her Téad Léim raised above her head. Valor could feel his galden pulsing, the powerful aura of galden that was being released by all four teams was magnetizing. An invisible storm of energy, surging around them in the chasm. Ameera’s rope whipped through the air, and this time Valor could see it. The weapon was encased in a layer of galden that snaked out from Ameera’s arm. It wrapped itself around the thick corded material, cloaking it in energy. The whip vanished from the air for a split second, materializing a moment later, the sharp blades at the end flashed dangerously in the air directly behind the masked figure’s head, who was too distracted by the giant to see it.

            Valor braced himself for the impact of the rope, waiting for the lifeless body of the man to topple into the dirt below. Incredibly the wolf rider managed to dodge both the strike from the giant and the whip. Ameera was stunned, froze, for a moment to offer an incredulous look at the man, whose black robes whipped violently in the wind. The figure’s eyes creased in an obvious smile. Beneath him, Valor could feel a tremor run through Diargo’s shoulders.

            “That man… is a predator.”

The axe finally found its mark, not into flesh, but the hard-packed earth beneath the wolf’s feet. The animal yelped in surprise and leapt nimbly into the air to avoid the heavy battle axe. For a fraction of a second the wolf was suspended in the air, but it was all Ameera needed. Before the animal could land on the ground, the Téad léim was wrapped tightly on the right hindleg. With a click of teeth, her Fearrat dug his feet into the ground. The sudden change in velocity was violent enough to pull the black wolf to its belly. The masked man’s eyes widened in shock as his companion was forced to the ground. A  heavy fist smashed into his face and the impact propelled him into the stone wall beside them, where he slid to the ground unconscious. Before Diargo ran headfirst into the prone wolf, he leapt sideways onto the wall before propelling himself over top of the three teams. He landed heavily and grunted as he absorbed the impact with his legs. They had landed outside of the chasm; a vast open plain was all that stood between them and the finish line.

            “We’re in first place… We’re in FIRST” Valor whooped and hollered in amazement, and Diargo immediately began charging forward, rejuvenated by his friend’s excitement and the revelation that they were now leading the pack.

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            “AT LAST FOLKS, OUR FIRST TEAM HAS EXITED THAT NASTY CANYON. AND OH MY GOODNESS WOULD YOU LOOK AT THIS. ROOKIE KNIGHT HAS TAKEN THE LEAD. VALOR KNIGHT HAS TAKEN THE LEAD.”

            The cheer was deafening, and Valor cracked a toothy smile at the applause. In the chasm it was easy to forget that they were being watched by thousands. Now that they were out in the open, the massive stands that encircled the track was all that Valor could see. Thousands upon thousands of people were cheering and clapping, from the distance they were at, it seemed like the stands were teeming with tiny insects. The stadium was alive!

            “DON’T COUNT OUT THESE TWO, LAIDES AND GENTLEMAN, THEY’RE  CLOSE BEHIND OUR UNDERDOG, AND THEY DO NOT LOOK TOO PLEASED ABOUT IT”

            Valor whipped his head around and saw that Ameera and the Giant closely gaining ground. The Fearrats six legs were a blur of motion as the creature scurried across the sandy earth at an incredible speed. The most shocking appearance however was the giant, the boar he entered the race was no longer beneath his legs. It was replaced with jet black wolf that had brought down previously. The man’s giant frame practically dwarfing the massive proportions of the wolf, who despite the weight change, moved at a supernatural speed.

            “DI PILLAR NOW”

            Diargo shook his head in surprise and launched the two of them into the air with a pillar, as they hung briefly in the air.

 Valor glanced down to assess the situation, “What the hell”

            Diargo’s focus was elsewhere as he concentrated on the next pillar, but he could hear the awe and fear in his friend’s voice.

            “What is it.”

            Valor watched in amazement as the wolf flew across the earth, leaving even Ameera in the wake of its dust.

            “That wolf… it’s not possible.”

            Diargo glanced down and the saw black shape hurtling across the ground. Even the speed at which the pillar shot them through the air wasn’t enough to put distance between them and the wolf.

            “Mount stealer.”

            Valor felt a shudder run through his body, in a sport where there are no rules, mount stealing was the closest thing to an enforced rule. It was a highly frowned upon practice, and often impossible to pull off. It was an unnatural form of combat. His father had told him stories about mount stealers, how they jumped from Racer to Racer, able to dominate their minds. They only did it to crush their opponents, mentally and emotionally.

            Valor felt the bestial anger in Diargo’s voice and clutched tighter to his neck. Knowing full well what he what was going to happen. Instead of leaping off the next pillar that rose to meet them, Diargo purposely missed the flat edge of the stone with his feet. Instead, the ape grabbed a hold of the stone pillar and used it as means to slow their descent before the two of them crashed into the earth below.

            “I’m going to crush that wolf’s skull; you deal with the man.”

            The two were getting dangerously close to the team below, and Valor looked at Diargo in disbelief.

            “I deal the man?! Me? HAVE YOU SEEN HIM”?

            Diargo snorted, unimpressed, “I hardly think that’s unfair, beast on beast, man on man.”

            Valor shook his head in incredulously, “That MAN is a MONSTER dude”

            Diargo bared his fangs in anticipation for the fight, ignoring Valor’s complaint, “Too late”.

Diargo leapt at the wolf who was hurtling towards them, his feet smashing into the earth where the dog’s head should have been. Valor didn’t have moment to gather his bearings from the impact before his galden forced him duck underneath the swing of the heavy battle axe. He unsheathed both swords, but the giant began to pull away. The wolf was attempting to put distance between them and separate the fight. The giant struck the dog in the back of the skull, who yelped in submission, obeying the dark command the man muttered under his breath. He turned back to Diargo and Valor who were now leaping from rock to rock to match their speed.

            “Goodbye child” The man said, his voice thick and deep.

            In an instant, Valor felt like his chest was being compressed by a heavy weight, he couldn’t focus or think. He could feel the Lifeblood in his muscles dry up as the galden seemed to evaporate from inside of him. In the same instant, Diargo crashed into the ground. Unable to control his own magic, the rock he expected to leap from never appeared. The two of them tumbled across the ground. Ribs cracked loudly as his bodies rolled and flipped across the hardpacked earth. The Trykoori’s massive body narrowly missed Valor’s own, which would have almost certainly resulted in a quick and unpleasant death. For a moment he lay motionless, his whole body on fire.

            “OUCH NOW THAT’S GOTTA HURT, QUITE THE TUMBLE THOSE TWO TOOK…”

            As the wolf raced on, the oppressive presence of the giant was gone, and Valor could feel the galden flow once more back into his body, like dam bursting. He was suddenly very awake and very aware of how everything hurt. Coughing and spitting sand out of his mouth he forced himself to sit up.

            “Di… are you ok? Diargo buddy”

            From somewhere behind him, Valor could hear a loud groan. Gingerly he brought himself to his feet and turned to see the heavy shape of his best friend slowly get up. The ape pushed himself up to his feet and swung his large head over to look at Valor, concern welling up in the gorilla’s eyes.

            “Valor I must apologize… my galden… I couldn’t…”

            Valor winced at the pain searing in his side as he walked over to his companion. He waved his hand dismissively, “It’s not your fault, I felt it too, I will need some help up though.”

            Diargo gently grabbed a hold of Valor and placed him on his back. As Valor urged Diargo forward, a white shape whipped past of them. Ameera and her Fearrat scurried across the ground, not bothering to look back.

            “DATARI HAS TAKEN FIRST PLACE”

            The crowd roared in applause for the victor.

            Valor grimaced and glanced behind himself to check and see if there were any other races close. “Well, she didn’t kill me just there, that means something right?”

            Diargo shook his head and continued forward, running at a moderate pace before picking up the speed completely. “Yeah I would say that’s the basic requirement for mates.”

            FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY AMEERA, SECOND PLACE”

            Valor grinned despite himself and their situation, up ahead the finish line was close.          “Third place it is,”

            Diargo didn’t bother replying, the mental disgust was enough of a response. He set his jaw and lifted his chin, hoping to salvage his pride as the two of them crossed the finish line.

            “THIRD PLACE GOES TO THE ROOKIE, WHAT AN AMAZING PERFORMANCE BY THESE INCREDIBLE PARTICPANTS, GIVE THEM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE.”

            The crowd was deafening, but it wasn’t enough, Valor and Diargo had suffered a humiliating and total defeat. It would be a grim walk to the podium.

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