Heir Apparent - a Summoner FanFic

At What Price?

"At least if I were against you, I know I wouldn't find myself paralysed from the neck down." Celia muttered in a hushed voice. Dorien rested his head against the wall that divided their cells. Between them they had worked out that only Barrik and Traeliorn had gone through with them to the combat round. Apparently Lytar, the only one not successful in the summoning round, had once again lost control of his Lycan. Now there were four and Dorien was unsure of his chances.

Celia can hold her own on a battlefield, Dorien thought to himself but she knows as well as anyone that she won't go through to the last round of the Tournament, no matter who she faces.

"If not you," she continued from the next cell "then I'd prefer to face Traeliorn than Barrik. There would be no hope but Traeliorn isn't as cruel as Barrik."

To you maybe. Dorien snorted. If he ended up facing Traeliorn in the arms contest he doubted he'd have any more chance than Celia had. Which probably means I'll end up against him. Samil had been stacking the cards against Dorien from the start. He'd ensured a two-on-one duel for round one, tried to trip him up with the time limit in the summoning challenge, it would only be logical that he would also put Dorien against the one swordsman that outclassed him in speed, stamina and strength.

"Do you know how Barrik fights?" Celia asked.

"No." Dorien had never seen Barrik fight. Even during their failed raid into the Orc camp the prince hadn't seen Barrik so much as draw a weapon.

"Moira told me she saw him training once, using a dwarven war hammer." An edge of panic had crept into her voice. "Imagine how much damage he could do with a war hammer, even with a Barrier spell up?"

"And imagine how slow he'll be." Dorien cut in, unable to bear her terror. "I don't care how strong he is, no human is built to use a dwarf hammer." She didn't respond, so he pushed his advantage. "Get in close to rob him of a decent swing, don't let him build up any momentum. Don't let him strike your blade with his hammer, it'll likely break it."

"You think I'll be facing Barrik, don't you?"

"I think Samil wants me to face Traeliorn, so yes." He heard her give a deep sigh and stifled one of his own. Now I just need a strategy for my own fight.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Dorien's arm trembled under the force of the blow and he staggered back a step, giving yet more ground. Traeliorn drew back his arm for the next blow, his sword whistling. Dorien dove forwards, ignoring his bruised and straining muscles, even the creak of a broken rib, rolling under the blow. Coming back to his feet he turned in time to meet the elf's back-handed response to his dodge. Once again he staggered, his arms beginning to feel like jelly.

It felt as if they'd been at it for hours, but it had really only been a handful of minutes. Even so, Dorien reflected as he and Traeliorn parted and each assessed the other's stance, something's happened to him. Usually the elf defeated Dorien within seconds. Something in a previous round must have weakened him, slowed him down. He was distracted.

But he was still an elf. He's faster and stronger than any human I've ever sparred with. And Dorien's half formed strategy had already failed. Now it was just about keeping away from Traeliorn's blade.

"Even now," Traeliorn hissed in a barely audible voice meant just for Dorien "when I am weakened and you have had months to study my fighting style, Hominum's best is still a disappointment." His pointed features twisted with disgust as he looked Dorien up and down. "My chief was wrong to send me here to find and aid the heir to the Hovat lands, to help him reclaim his heritage. I refuse to take a fall for Alfric's puppet!"

He suddenly charged, bellowing. Dorien back-peddled rapidly, desperately parrying the furious blow. They crossed swords once, twice, three times more before Dorien somehow, reflexively, trapped Traeliorn's blade between his own and the elf's body, their faces inches apart. The tendons in his arms seemed to pop as the two strove against each other. Dorien had the leverage but Traeliorn's brute strength was enough to deny him a victory.

"It isn't even as if I can wait for you to produce your own heir, and offer my support to him if he is worthy." Traeliorn croaked, his eyes bright as if with fever, his brow sweaty. "Humans are weak! You'll never find her and you aren't intelligent or strong enough to move on without her."

Dorien saw red.

He disengaged from the blade lock and spun with all his might, swinging his sword like a club. Any human would have been decapitated but for the Barrier spell, but Traeliorn managed to block. Just. It was the elf's turn to give ground as Dorien executed the most complex pattern of powerful blows he'd ever attempted. He didn't think, but acted on pure instinct. There was a brief look in Traeliorn's eyes, an emotion Dorien couldn't quite identify, consumed as he was by rage, before those eyes began to lose focus and roll.

Finally, Dorien delivered an overhead blow onto Traeliorn's upraised sword, the elf's arm shaking from strain. A second blow and Traeliorn fell to his knees. Samil called an end to the bout but Dorien didn't hear. He learned later that Alfric had overruled the Inquisitor, claiming that the fact that Traeliorn's sword was still raised was proof of his ability to continue, otherwise he would have been in serious trouble for ignoring the command. Just before he brought down a third blow a voice shouted his name. A girl's voice.

Dorien halted his sword with a great deal of effort and turned to the stands. Tilly stood staring at him in shock, her face pale. The red veil cleared from his vision as she simply stated "Enough, Dorien." He turned back to find Traeliorn just barely conscious, his sword discarded on the ground beside him, his eyes wide and unseeing. The elf was breathing in short, ragged gasps and he didn't seem to know where he was. Dorien planted his own sword in the sand just as Inquisitor Samil and Provost Scipio approached. If I'd killed him, Dorien shuddered that would've been war with the elves.

"Well fought, Highness." Scipio offered cautiously, using Dorien's honorific for the first time. "Please return to your cell whilst we see to Cadet Traeliorn. His struggle in the summoning round and the spectacle we have all just seen have obviously taken their toll." Scipio looked over to where Alfric and Harold sat. He wants to chastise me for going too far. Again, much later Dorien realised that the Provost wouldn't dare when the continuation of the fight had been sanctioned by the old king.

"Yes sir." Dorien replied, still surprised at his own ferocity and the fact that he'd won. He turned once to look back at Tilly. She looked worried but smiled reassuringly when she noticed his gaze.

He sat in the corner of his cell in the dark and tried to clear his mind. He'd never lost his temper like that before, having trained himself to deal with barbs from nobles and commoners alike as well as from the Inquisitors and Alfric himself. The Minotaur! He suddenly became aware of emotion flowing from the corner of his mind his newest demon was closeted. He hadn't noticed before, and it was shocking how quickly the beast had made in-roads into the rest of his mind. The Minotaur had provided the rage, and now was feeling smug. Dorien was well versed at blocking off a demon from accessing other parts of his mind, but that would have to wait. It took time and concentration to achieve that much control. For now he would just have to be mindful of the Minotaur's influence.

He thought about his standing now among the generals and nobles. Before this round many had looked upon him with approval and even a little awe. He'd impressed them with his skill during the summoning round. Now? After this round the few he had seen on his way out had looked cautious. Now they're worried about what I can do.

With a minimum fulfilment level of thirty six there were very few summoners in Hominum that could match him in terms of brute strength. And he'd just defeated an elf in one-on-one combat. They're going to be wondering what I could achieve with the Captaincy and Hovalli, Dorien mused, or who I could threaten.