The Lowest Moon Tournament

After some consideration I have decided to split this short story in to two chapters. I will post the second one somewhere near the end of the week or the beginning of the next.

This is based on one of the many stories I have had Thelos tell about his time in Karabor. Most of these stories are about his sons or daughters, or his interaction with them, and have some sort of moral or lesson to them.

Without much further ado, here's the first chapter of the first story - "The Lowest Moon Tournament".

The Lowest Moon Tournament

Chapter 1

The Valley's namesake moon hung low in the heavens and cast its light brilliantly over one of Karabor's highest plateaus. The grand celestial orb was at its fullest and brightest, so that none of the crystal-lanterns that normally illuminated the plateau had to be lit. The young draenei warriors-to-be practiced their ancient martial arts in nothing but the pale moonlight, which proved to be more than sufficient. The students were sparring in pairs, switching dance-partners regularly and working trough their routines with stern discipline.

Slightly higher up, on top of a spire overlooking the plateau, anchorite Thelos was watching the youngsters practice. Decades of diligent routines had drilled his body in to its current prime shape. Taller than most, yet smaller than some; broader than most, yet still slimmer still others, his bald head reflected the moonlight very much like a mirror. With him was his lovely wife, the fierce Atlaua, with whom he had started anew in the temple-city of Karabor not long after planetfall. She was also overlooking the rise, one hand on the balcony, the other on her big pregnant belly. While she was known for having a bit of a temperament, she was looking uncharacteristically peaceful; conversely, Thelos, who was known as a peaceful and spiritual man, was looking uncharacteristically agitated. Atlaua had sharpy noticed this, as she would, but had wisely decided to keep this observation to herself. Thelos had noticed her noticing, which had caused him to feel even more restless.

Finally, the big lug spoke:

'I don’t see Veheena.'

'She's right over there, honey. Almost at the center.'

'With the blue kid you mean?'

'Yes, with the blue boy.'

Thelos snorted derisively. His daughter, a raven-haired and blue skinned draenei with her mother's curved horns and temperament, was combating what looked to be a wimpy inexperienced kid. He was flailing a bit doing Light knows what while Veheena was thoroughly grinding him in the ground. She loved to fight. She loved it, and was very, very good at it. Watching her dodge, parry and riposte like a dancing butterfly amidst raging clefthooves was a sight to behold. There was certainly a raw sort of beauty in it, a beauty which Thelos would have no doubt noticed if she was any one else besides his youngest daughter.

'She was just sparring with a white boy.' Thelos said, 'I saw it. Saw him, I mean. Black hair, long jagged horns; what happened to him?'

'They switch sparring partners. Look – they're about to do so now.'

At the sound of a sharp whistle, half of the flock moved one partner to their right. After the standard courtesy of a bow and some encouraging words, the sparring resumed.

'And now she's with a dark kid, of course. Say, aren't there any girls in the mix? Where are all the girls?' asked Thelos.

'There are plenty of girls. Plenty of them. There, see?' Atlaua started pointing out all of the various girls in a bored matter-of-fact tone, naming their fathers, mothers, and occupation, like she would name all the items on a grocery list. Upon reaching the halfway point, Thelos cut her off.

'Well, none of them are sparring with Veheena. I only see her with boys.'

'Yes, you only see her with boys,' Atlaua said, with extra venom on the you, 'She's had plenty of matches against girls, but by then you're always conveniently looking in the other direction.'

'How is that convenient?'

Atlaua wisely shrugged and allowed for the topic to cool off a bit in silence.

When the whistle blew once more and Veheena got paired up with another boy, Thelos let out an audible grumble and resumed his rant.

'Another boy, of course. Say, who's pairing up these kids? Some lecher, I bet? What's that perverted Telshar thinking? Does he get a kick out of seeing young girls being pummeled by-'

'Nobody's pairing up anybody, dear.' Atlaua said, 'It's perfectly random.'

'It's perfectly perverted, that's what it is! Just look at this poor sod – he can barely lift his hooves, let alone plant a decent kick. It's pitiful.'

The performance of Veheena's latest partner was, indeed, pitiful. A little shrimp in draenei standards, the tendril-less blue wimp got knocked off over and over, yet managed to get back up every time to receive another hoof to the chest, which Veheena provided with glee.

'I bet you half of these so called martial artists are just horny teenagers who are looking for a chance to grope my daughter's chest – just look at this lecher. See how he's extending those palms?'

'It's called a palm-strike, love.' Atlaua quipped.

'Palm-strike!' scoffed Thelos, 'Palm-strike my hoof! Light, don't you think I know the difference between a groping attempt and a palm-strike? If that is an attempt at a palm-strike, it is the sorriest I have ever seen. It's a poorly disguised groping attempt, that's what it is. Don't you see those dirty fingers curling around?'

'Poor technique, that's all it is. Why do you think he's practicing?'

'A poor groping technique, yes. Much too obvious. I can think of many more subtle ways to get a feel that do not involve getting my horns chipped.'

'Once again, Thelos, you only see what you want to see.'

'Or what I don't want to see, in this case.'

'Obviously'.

Another whistle-blow. By now the fatigue was starting to show. Veheena however only seemed to gain in momentum as she lunged herself to pummel another young draenei lad, skipping the courtesies to dive right into it. Much to Thelos' chagrin, she seemed to be evenly matched with this new partner, a hulking violet draenei twice her size. This could only mean that one of them was holding back. Most likely his daughter.

'Shouldn't they be withdrawing to the sleeping quarters at this hour?' Thelos said, 'The moon is already fully out, by the Light, the plateau should be available for peaceful nighttime meditation for the elders, not the sweaty brawling of youngsters.'

'They're not that young anymore, Thelos. They're growing up, our sons and daughter – Veheena will be starting a family of her own soon. She is of age. All of them down there are. At some point you're going to have to stop treating them like children and start treating them like equals.'

'Oh please,' Thelos scoffed, 'they're all little Draenorborns. Starting a family? Why, I remember the day-'

'It's been some time since we landed, you know.' Atlaua interrupted her husband, 'Even the first generation born on Draenor is going to grow up. When they do, they'll want to lord over a second generation, like you have lorded over them.'

'Well, yes, eventually,' Thelos admitted hesitantly, 'but until they do, we're still their parents. And parents decide their children's bedtimes. Shouldn't they be asleep by now? They're not going to be brawling all night, are they?'

'There's a big tournament coming up in celebration of the low moon. It's to be held during the night which it is at its brightest. This is why it has been decided to allow for sparring under the moonlight, and yes, all night should they wish it, though I doubt anyone could keep that up. Honestly Thelos, it's all Veheena has been talking about lately, how can you not know of it about the tournament? Don't you ever pay any attention to what your daughter says at the the dinner table?'

'A tournament, eh?' Thelos said, shifting his tone suddenly from agitated to devious, 'Most intriguing. Most intriguing, indeed. I think I’ll be entering this one.'

'You're going to what?' Atlaua asked, dumbstruck.

'Enter. I'm going to enter'.

'The tournament?'

'Yes.'

'Why?'

'Why not?'

'You never enter tournaments. You never allow any one else to enter tournaments, either. Atlaua had to beg you for days, and even then you only allowed it because I specifically asked you to. In fact you always say that these kind of competitions are “The ultimate expression of twisted Argussian hyper-competitive culture. An archaic relic of a bygone age.” Your words, not mine.'

'I never say that'.

'You always say that.'

'Well, I changed my mind.'

'You never change your mind!'

'I just did.'

'You're just looking for an excuse to beat up your daughter's suitors, aren't you?'

'Don’t be ridiculous, honey,' Thelos said cheerfully, 'What's wrong with entering a tournament? Lots of men do it. It's healthy. Why do you think I allowed Atlaua to? If I thought it was that bad, would I allow my own daughter to suffer it? A sound mind in a healthy body makes for a pure soul. That's what I always say – the spirit of competition! A healthy spirit!'

'You're pathetic.'

'What?'

'Didn't you just call those practicing for the tournament down there “A bunch of horny, sweating, brawling teenagers?”'

'Well, that was before I knew they were practicing for a tournament.'

'But you did know they were practicing for a tournament!' Atlaua flared up, widening her nostrils, 'You gave Veheena permission for it! You just said so yourself! And besides, what does that have to do with anything?!'

'I'm entering.' Thelos simply repeated.

Atlaua knew that there was no arguing with him when he was like this. Thelos' eyes were rapidly scanning the grounds, looking for the first time at the group with the eyes of a competitor.

'Weren't you ever young, Thelos?' Atlaua asked after another whistle-blow.

'No. I was born an old man. That's what you always say'.

'I do say that a lot.'

Thelos turned around and smiled kindly at his wife. He lay his massive hand on his future son, expecting a powerful kung-fu kick but getting nothing. Atlaua couldn't stop herself from giggling when she saw Thelos' cartoony disappointed face. He was good at putting up faces.

'Now, if you don’t mind, I have some talbuks to tame.' he said with one of his faces.

'You're terrible. You do know that, right? That you're terrible?!' Atlaua manged to yell after him as he nearly flew down the stairs. His tail waggled blissfully as it vanished around the corner, almost like a little wave.

When Thelos arrived at the plateau, many of the dreanei youngsters were slumped against the wall, looking tired d yet strangely lit by their post-workout glow. Some of them nudged their heads when Thelos passed, others did a little wave, but most were too busy being exhausted to notice him. Veheena, of course, noticed him before he noticed her, and had called off the match as soon as she did. She was still sparring with the same partner, who Thelos could now see was slightly larger than him.

'Hello sunshine!' Thelos said in a cheery sing-sung voice.

'Oh, hey dad.' Veheena said, doing her best to sound casual.

'Who's your partner?'

'This is Huruma. You know Huruma. Dad, Huruma; Huruma, dad'.

'Hakeem's boy?' Thelos asked.

The hulking violet monster offered his huge hand for Thelos to shake, who did so eagerly. His thick facial tendrils quivered in the night's wind, and his long neatly groomed dark hair hung over his broad shoulders.

'It's an honor to make your acquaintance, anchorite.' Huruma said while shaking Thelos' hand, after which he gracefully bowed. Thelos returned the gesture.

'Likewise, m'boy. Say, Veheena, have you been keeping up with your practice?'

'Of course!' Veheena said, flaring up a little like her mother, 'There's a big tournament coming up, and I've been practicing every day – every night for it. I've never been in better shape! I think I really have a shot at this one, dad!'

'That is peculiar,' Thelos said, 'I think I would have known about any musical competitions coming up. When is this competition?'

Veheena gave Thelos a puzzled look, which encouraged him to elaborate.

'I'm terribly sorry, you must have thought I asked about your martial arts practice, since that's what you're doing right now. Well, if I could see you were practicing something, why would I ask whether you have been practicing something? You don't think I'm that suspicious of you, do you? That I think you'd only be faking it and practicing when you know I'm watching you? No, I was asking about your other practicing. Singing practice.'

'Dad!' Veheena said, turning quite red, not from the sweat.

'Well?'

'I've been practicing for the tournament!'

'So, you haven't been practicing?'

'I have-'

'Martial arts?'

'Yes.' Veheena said grinding her teeth.

'That's fine' Thelos said cheerfully, 'you can just catch up after the tournament. I heard it's going to be something else. I'm joining myself, you know. Should be a blast.'

'You're joking. You've got to be joking.' Veheena said.

'Quite serious, I'm afraid.'

'It would be an honor to compete in the same tournament as you, honorable Anchorite.' Huruma said in a stern voice

'Likewise.' Thelos said.

'No, dad, you can't be serious. Please. You can't do this. I practiced too long for this! You cant just-'

'Veheena, everyone has the right to compete,' Huruma interjected, 'and so does your father. Let's just focus on training even harder so we can defeat him in the ring!'

'That's the spirit! That's the spirit I like!' Thelos turned around to face the spire on which Atlaua was overlooking the scene. 'See?' he shouted at her, 'Competition! A pure soul needs a sound mind in a healthy body! That's what I always say!'

Atlaua, being too far away, couldn't make any of that out of course, but politely stuck out her thumb anyway.

'He does always say that' Veheena said to Huruma, not without some defeat in her voice.

By now, Veheena and Huruma were the only fighters left. As Thelos strut off, quite pleased with his little plots unfolding, the two resumed their sparring, one on one, tireless. As Thelos passed the master overseeing tonight's practice, the old monk clicked his tongue in disapproval.

'Anchorite,' he said, 'A junior tournament, really? Such disgraceful conduct.'

'On the contrary,' Thelos said cheerfully as he clicked his tongue like the monk had, 'It is a token of great respect. I am acknowledging them as equals. You know, Telshar, at some point you're going to have to stop treating them like children. Even Draenorborns will grow up someday.'

ohh that is an awsome story.. a manipulating side of thelos i have not directly had the chance to interact with XD its awsomeXD definatly looking forward to part 2

Positively epic.

"I used to be a wrestler, you know."

dont beleve you delli!! a wrestler? *giggles* if so.. awsome

...I was citing Thelos. He says that like... All the time.

hehe oh yes! still hoping he will teach monny to do martial arts but i suspect i will have to self learn unless yarnaat or vrachos will teach

You think Vrachos can do Martial Arts....?

He can do the way of the rock.
It involves standing in one place and not moving at all.

hehe yeah fun fun fun XD

This story has been festering and mutating beyond my control - I had planned to post it in two parts initially, but I've ended up having to split it in three parts. Expect the third within a fortnight.

Chapter 2

At last the lowest moon rose to herald the long awaited tournament. Excitement was reaching a boiling point as contestants were scurrying all over the plateau to wish each other good – though of course not too much – luck. Many impressive looking athletes were warming themselves up by punching the air, pumping up, and some others, often older draenei, were emptying their minds trough meditation, trying to rid themselves of excess excitement.

Thelos was doing neither, deciding instead to spend what sparse time there was left on striking up casual conversations with other contestants. His genuinely casual demeanor could only be interpreted as an insult by his twitchy daughter, who had found Atlaua on the fringes of the crowd. They were leering at Thelos with great suspicion.

'So, mom, tell me again,' Veheena said, 'who would win in a fight between you and dad?'

'Let me put it like this, Veheena,' Atlaua said coldly, 'If it wasn't for your baby brother bothering me in my belly, I would have hosted a private tournament for two on that spire when he first suggested entering.'

'How very romantic.'

'Sure, they all look very intimidating, but I assure you that with the proper technique, you can turn that weight against them. Just don't focus on force – you're not going to knock them unconscious. You'll have to trick them out of the ring.'

'Mom, you're making it sound like I'm facing dad in the ring already.'

'What?' Atlaua said hazily, blinking several times, 'No, oh no no, I was just talking of big draenei in general. You know, general advice. From one martial artists to another.' Atlaua gently pushed Veheena away from her and into the crowd. 'That's enough advice from me. I dare say you've got someone special to see before the tournament starts.'

'But-' Veheena mumbled, stumbling to her feet.

'No buts!' Atlaua smiled with one hand on her belly and the other waving. 'And make sure to wish him good luck on my behalf! I'll be rooting for you both!'

Not long after Veheena vanished into the thin crowd gathered around the ring, the large gong was struck, and all the competitors shuffled to form neat makeshift lines. Master Telshar climbed up the elevated ring with certain steps. The ring was shaped like a hexagon in which all six “slices” that met up in the center were painted in different colors. When the old monk reached the center, the point at which all colors intersected, he raised his hands for silence, which of course he received immediately.

'Welcome, friends, to yet another Lowest Moon Tournament, an event held to both celebrate our rich Argussian tradition in the martial arts, and our beloved valley's namesake moon, which pale light continues to bless us. I am not a man of great speeches or many words, and I know many of you youngsters are itching to start, so let me get straight to the rules. Let me first remind you that this is a purely physical martial arts tournament: no magic allowed. For those itching to fling a spell or two, you will have to wait for the next occasion. I believe a mixed-martial-magic-arts tournament is to be held the next lowest moon, on this very ring. We're still trying to scrub off the scorch marks of last mixed-tournament finals. I hope to see even more fire tonight – though of a different kind, obviously.'

A wave of laughs washed over the audience, with some of the scrawniest looking draenei chuckling harder than others.

'I have very little tolerance for cheats. Some fouls, mainly of the arcane kind, will equal instant disqualifications – others a penalty, none of which are anything to sneeze at. Striking at vital areas, including the eyes, is a foul. Striking at your opponent outside of a round is a foul. Not admitting to basic courtesy is a foul. Don't get clever, or we'll have to get even cleverer – and we are always, always cleverer.'

This earned the speaker another round of awkward laughter. By now, many of the contestants were starting to get restless, and a low buzzing superseded the silence.

'Each match has a time limit of nine minutes, divided into three rounds of three. A knock out, no matter in which round, means an instant quick victory. Most matches, however, will be decided by way of points, which will be kept by a jury of masters headed by myself. As you know, managing to push your opponent out of the ring will end the round and earn you maximum points. Connecting blows, dodging, blocking, toppling – these will all award you points also. The person with the most points at the last gong of the last round is victorious. It's as simple as that. Are there any questions?'

There were none.

'I see you are all getting impatient,' Telshar said not without sympathy, 'so let us move on to the blessings – Anchorite Olum, if you'd please do the honor?'

Anchorite Olum, a serious looking draenei with dark skin and a strong jaw mounted the stage. He was wearing flowing garments suited for ceremony, and betwixt his hands he carried a large purple crystal. After whispering some unheard words to it, the sphere soared trough the air to levitate several feet above the ring. As the pale moonlight touched the crystal, it began to glow and hum quietly as it rotated around its axis. All the contestants and spectators knelt and kept their eyes firmly fixed on the crystal.

Olum began his prayer in a soft, melodic voice.

'Oh divine Light, Great Illuminator of Worlds – in humble supplication to Your Grace do we bask in You. As the brilliant light of the moon shine trough this crystal, so too does the Divine Light shine trough the Naaru, blessed saviors of the draenei people, so that we partake in It trough Their mercy.

You have lead us to this humble abode, where you have allowed us to erect this great temple in your honor.

You have, in turn, lead our seed here on this magnificent plateau, to bask in the Light you so mercifully bestow upon us trough the blessed Moon of Many Shadows; so called for the intensity of Its light, to which even the most powerful crystal-lanterns are but shadows of shadows. Yet the Light of our young 'uns passions burn brighter still – and we pray that You may receive the gift of their pathos and energy as we have so thankfully received Yours.

May the Light always be merciful to the draenei people – though unworthy of it we may be - as it has always has, and always shall be.

By the Naaru, may it be so.'

All of the draenei present repeated the last of the anchorite's words in solemn unison and rose up as one. At a subtle flick of the wrist, the crystal once more descended back to the anchorite's grip and faded out. The ever-enigmatic Olum quickly melted into the crowd, almost as if he had never made an appearance to begin with. Telshar took his place, allowing the orderly lines to shuffle forward one contestant at a time to charter their names.

Thelos did not see Veheena anywhere, which was, considering Thelos' efforts, a true proof of her stealth abilities. It isn't easy for such a fair lass to blend into a crowd, but Veheena somehow managed to seem ordinary enough. Without having exchanged as much as a glance, father and daughter both entered the tournament.

As expected, neither Veheena nor Thelos ran into any serious resistance in the early rounds of the tournament. The most dangerous opponents Thelos faced were without exception fleet-footed and fast-jabbing girls, as the scrawny boys barely managed to stay balanced after one or two hits. Veheena – again to Thelos’ chagrin – seemed to fight mostly muscled and oiled up brutes. It was quite a spectacle indeed to see such a small and delicate flower chuck hulking elekks out of the ring like a writer discards his poor ideas in crumpled up paper blots, callously tossing them over her shoulder. In contrast, Thelos’ matches seemed like a dull affair as he patiently and methodically broke his opponents down, dodging whatever blows they flung at him with ease and connecting just enough well-timed and well-aimed palm-strikes to win the match by the tiniest margin, which of course was an art form in its own, though not one that enraptures the general audience like a good knock-out does.

It was only at the quarter-finals that a serious challenger presented himself. While most of his opponents had theatrically jumped into the ring to take an actor’s bow, eager to prove themselves to the anchorite with the beautiful daughter, Huruma climbed up with the quiet discipline of a true martial artist, bowing with a swift and simple nudge of the neck. Thelos returned the gesture, and without exchanging a single word, the two men assumed their stances and began their duel.

Huruma lunged at Thelos with an outstretched palm. Thelos deflected his approach with a sound slap, leading the two to exchange many rapid punches and kicks. Each time hoof or fist connected, a thunderous roar resonated across the plateau, deafening the humbug murmur of the audience to an awestruck silence. Finally, Huruma seemed to slip up as Thelos managed to pinch his arm under his armpit. As he tried to swing his other arm behind Huruma’s neck in order to topple him, Huruma quicky snapped his head backwards. Thelos snatched air, giving Huruma a chance to ram his head into his opponent’s chest with great momentum.Thelos grunted and stumbled backwards, allowing Huruma to connect several quick jabs to the chest. Right before Huruma could deliver the finishing kick, Thelos found his footing, and as Huruma lifted his hoof, Thelos caught Huruma’s leg. With a mighty swing, Thelos crashed Huruma to the ground right before the gong was struck and the first round ended.

During all this, Atlaua had worked her way to Thelos’ corner, as Veheena had found Huruma’s corner. There was a short break in between rounds, giving plenty of time for rousing speeches or inspirational taunting. Thelos spotted Atlaua and sat on the edge of the ring, his hooves tapping against the wall.

‘He’s got more points than me’ Thelos said to his wife.

‘He’s got more points than you’ she confirmed.

‘That means he’s winning. He shouldn’t be winning.’

‘What do you mean he shouldn’t be winning?’ Atlaua said with some agitation, ‘If he’s beating you in points, then he should be winning. You’ll just have to try a little harder, love’.

‘Stop treating them like children, huh?’ Thelos grinned playfully.

Atlaua grunted and flicked her hair as she turned her back to her petty husband. Huruma in turn rose from having a talk with Veheena, and the two contestants once again faced each other and took their bows a little more gracefully than the last time. They had still not exchanged any words, but Thelos’ eyes glowed with glee, as Huruma’s did with awe and respect. Huruma assumed the stance he had won the last match with, but Thelos took on a different posture. He shifted nearly all of his weight on his right leg, deeply bending his knee, poking out his left with the knee fully stretched. His hands formed little snakeheads.

Once again it was Huruma that charged at Thelos, but this time he seemed to have a much harder time connecting any blows. Thelos slithered about, dodging rather than blocking or parrying. His proximity to the ground made him a hard target, as Huruma always had to lunge down. When he struck, which he did sparsely, his blows always connected as his wiley fingers poked hither and thither. When the gong sounded again, Thelos had not been hit once, and Huruma had been poked over a dozen times, little red dots marking where Thelos’ soft fingers had stung his flesh.

Thelos turned to the empty spot where he had seen Atlaua, and slumped his posture considerably. Disappointed, he sunk into a lotus position, awaiting the fifth strike of the gong. As he squinted his eyes on the way to closing them, he caught sight of Huruma discussing something with Veheena. The latter was making all sorts of violent and passionate gestures, while Huruma simply nodded a lot. They were too far away for Thelos to make out any thing comprehensible, but Thelos was somehow strangely touched by how Huruma withstood Veheena’s torrent of overzealous encouragement.

One final time the duelists faced each other. Thelos smiled serenely as the two bowed. Huruma’s eyes flared with concentration with a flame no doubt recently inhereted from Veheena. They assumed their respective stances, and Thelos slithered off into a corner, awaiting Huruma’s approach. He was leading, so why bother overexerting? Huruma seemed to hesistate, slowly approaching and keeping his brow firmly furrowed. The two stared at eachother, unmoving, untill Veheena’s shrill voice pierced the silence and propelled Huruma to strike at Thelos, who sneakily slipped away and bit his back with a wiley jab. Huruma stumbled forwards, allowing for Thelos to lunge forward and firmly plant his hoof against Huruma’s temple with a flighty swoop. Huruma fell face down without as much as a whimper, without consciousness. Veheena screeched.

Thelos knelt and lifted Huruma to his knees, gently patting his cheeks. He awoke drowsily, rubbing his eyes with a free knuckle.

‘You did well, Huruma’ Thelos said proudly, ‘You forced me to take you seriously after the first round. None of your predecessors in this tournament can share in that honor.’

‘Thank you, anchorite,’ the warrior mumbled, still drowsy in his speech, ‘you honor me greatly with your blessing.’

‘Oh, not at all, m’boy-’ Before Thelos could finish his kindness, he was rudely ripped from Huruma’s side by his daughter, who softly cradled his head in her hands.

‘Are you all right, Huruma?’ Vehenaa asked half frightened, half livid.

‘I’m fine, Veheena. It was just a match, and I lost. I will continue to train so I can face your father as an equal next time we meet in the ring.’

‘Oh, do not fret about that, m’boy,’ Thelos said cheerfully, ‘You did exactly that just now. Must have been a mighty impressive match to watch, why, if-'

‘Shut up! You just shut up!” Veheena snapped.

‘Now young lady,’ Thelos said calmly, ‘that is no to address your father.’

‘I’ll bloody well decide for myself in which way to address you! What the Fel did you do to Huruma?’

‘Veheena,’ said Huruma serenely, ‘We had a match. Calm down - it was just a match. I hit him, he hit me. So it goes.’

‘Shut up, you!’ Veheena snapped, ‘You don’t know him as well as I do. He did it on purpose.’

‘Well, of course I did,’ Thelos remarked, ‘An accidental kick isn’t exactly what you’d call a kick per se. If your hoof just sort of floats there and somebody’s face just happens to crash in to it-’

‘Shut up shut up!’ Veheena screamed, ‘You know bloody Fel well what I meant! You never go for the knockout! You always go for points! This entire tournament you haven’t even kicked anyone, let alone against the temple, except for Huruma! You did it on purpose - you wanted to hurt him!’

Thelos sighed and shrugged his mighty shoulders. ‘It was just a match, dove. Like I just told Huruma, he was the first opponent that forced me to get serious, and when we get serious, sometimes-’

‘I’ll show you serious!’ Veheena flared, ‘Oh, I’ll show you serious. You’ll be facing me in the semis. Come, Huruma, let’s go. The next match is about to start.’ And indeed; the third quarter finalists had already mounted their corners and were awkwardly staring at the fight, not daring to approach, but obviously itching to start their own. Before Thelos could soothe his daughter or complement the performance of his opponent properly, the two had marched off. Atlaua was waiting at the other side.

‘That was an impressive match, Thicktail.’

‘Why, thank you, my love. I’m glad you liked it.’

‘I didn’t say I liked it.’

‘But you said-’

‘I said it was an impressive match, which it was, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Especially how you handled the aftermath. Seriously now, Thelos, how can you be so daft? Thicktail, indeed.’

Thelos scratched the back of his head in confusion. Behind him one of the contestants, a future loser, was smacked on the hard tournament floor.

‘Well, I wouldn’t know about any of that, I wasn’t sure what it was all about. Veheena said that we are to be matched against each other in the semifinals, though, and I’m very much looking forward to that. It’s been awhile since I’ve last had that exquisite pleasure. I’m looking forward to witness for myself how much she has grown.’

‘Just do me this one favor.’ Atlaua said, sounding a little defeated.

‘What? Ask anything. I’ll do it.’

‘Don’t hold back.’

They smiled at one another.

Chapter 2 (Part 2)

Veheena did not bow and started the match with negative points. She simply huffed and scoffed, holding her chin up high and doing her best to look down on her father, even though he loomed over him like a mountain. Her nostrils flared and rose with her temper.

‘I’m going to make you pay for what you did’ said Veheena.

Thelos said nothing. He simply kept his gaze locked on the referee as he slid into his serpent’s stance.

‘Don’t play dumb with me, you old fool. It’s not going to work. You never go for the knockout. You-’

‘That´s enough, you two.´ said Telshar sternly, raising his hand. When he swung it down again, the match started.

Veheena had assumed an almost feline stance, her weight shifted forward and her hands clawed, ready to strike and scratch. As soon as Telshar had withdrawn himself from the ring, Veheena leapt at her prey with great vigor, claws at the ready to scratch at Thelos. Thelos, much like he had done against Huruma, easily slithered away, half-crouching with his head held low. He was however not given any opportunity to retaliate, as Veheena’s relentless flurry of swipes allowed no entry. Thelos patiently continued on dancing about and let Veheena thoroughly exhaust herself. Right about at the moment she would start would want for breath, Thelos withdrew his left arm and extended his right palm to plant a decisive strike in his opponent’s solar plexus. Veheena groggily gasped for air, allowing Thelos to easily topple her.
The gong rang as she hit the ground.

Thelos offered to help Veheena up, but she violently slapped his hand away and pushed herself up.

‘Such cowardly technique.’ Veheena flared.

Thelos shot a quick look at Telshar, who did a little shrug, signifying that his old friend could take as long as he liked.

‘Not cowardly, Veen, efficient.’ said Thelos in a paternal tone as he squatted to face his daughter at eye-level,‘Listen to yourself pant. Do you hear me panting? No. I barely have any sweat on my brow, whilst you are almost fully drenched. You look as if you fell into a well.’

‘Is that supposed to be funny?’

‘No, it’s supposed to be true. Speaking of the truth, are you ever going to tell me what this is all about?’

Veheena once more punctured the skies with her chin and thrust her shoulders in her father’s direction as she stormed off to her corner, eagerly resuming her stance.Thelos ran a hand across his bald head. He understood his daughter’s gesture well.

He had to beat it out of her.

And beat her he did. Veheena, still flustered and half-breathing, quickly got pushed into a corner as Thelos’ elegant and wiley jabs snuck through every tiny hole and crevice in Veheena’s lacking defenses. As long as she was on the offense, the ferocious feline was nigh unstoppable thanks to her sheer momentum, but when said momentum was flipped, she had little tricks to break the flow. Thelos was the flow, his movements fluid as the eb of water running over an age-old riverbank. As she withdrew further and further, Veheena started to quickly flap her lips, uttering something inaudible under her breath. Right as Thelos got close enough to hear it, a bright blue light flashed from Veheena’s eyes. She pointed a long fingernail at Thelos’ shins, and with a terrible frosty crunch, a hefty chunk of ice solidified around his legs, rooting him to the ground in a cold prison.

Almost instantly, the gong was struck. ‘Foul!’

Veheena grinned maliciously as she put her hands in her hips and cocked her head. ‘Totally worth it,’ she said cheekily.

Meanwhile the ice was slowly advancing upwards. A supernatural chill spread over his body, causing Thelos to shiver slightly. He raised his hand and twisted his hip to look at Telshar. ‘Please’ he said, ‘the round isn’t over yet, is it? We’ve still got a good minute to go. Can you overlook this foul? Just this once?’

A great murmur ran across the crowd. Telshar looked over his shoulder and discussed it with his jury. The ice kept creeping up, having by now reached Thelos’ navel. Veheena started to look a little worried and resumed her stance. ‘Hurry, if you’d please brothers - as you can see, I don’t have much time for dallying’ Thelos said cheerfully in spite of his quickly enroahcing frosty doom. Telshar nodded and simply struck the gong once again, allowing for a final minute.

Thelos let a long breath escape and swung down both of his arms like great pendulums and shattered the ice with a single great blow, sending little chunks and flakes to soar over the audience. Shrugging off the snow with a simple roll of the shoulders, Thelos advanced, resuming his stance and readying himself to finish off his prey with a few decisive bites. Veheena sneered and growled as she managed to block a few blows before being toppled by a wiley leg sweep, crashing to the ground. Thelos, his hooves still covered in frost, looked down on Veheena ominously as he readied his elbow for the knockout. As Thelos fell down, Veheena screeched in terror as her eyes flared with a hellish red. Before Thelos knew what was happening, he felt the ice at his shins melt as the all-encompassing blaze consumed all that was around and in him. There was a great noise and heat for only an instant, followed by a long silence and blackness.

---

The first sense that returned was scent. A strong smell of scorched flesh stung his nose, allowing him to feel his eyes water in irritation. He could feel the pain eb far away, creeping through his skin, digging deeper into his nervous system on the way to hisbrain. With great effort, he managed to lift his eyelids. He saw only the distinctly dreary roof of the infirmary, its dulled once-golden ornaments faded into a bleak smudged yellow. The only light came from a crystal-lantern, giving the room a distinctly ghostlike charm. A soft hand clutched his. It stung.

A shaking sound tore through the stillness. ‘-Ake? Dad, are you awake?’ Pease, say something. Please, anything, can you hear me? Just show me you can hear me. Please.’ Thelos tried to speak, but he could only manage a hoarse whimper as he clumsily turned his head to face his daughter. Though her reddened eyes were glistening wet ,she managed a smile when his gaze found hers. Thelos could just spot her other hand holding somebody else’s before passing out and drifting off.

The next time Thelos awoke the pain properly crashed down on him. His entire body was tightly wrapped in bandages, giving him the appearance of a freshly prepared mummy. Only his nose, eyes, ears and mouth were left free to breathe. Veheena was no longer holding his hand, but was sitting somewhere close by cheerfully chatting with a hulking violet man.

´That was some fire spell,´ Thelos grunted, ´your mother taught you that?’

Veheena immediately dropped her conversation to charge at Thelos, hugging him tightly.

‘You’re awake again!’ she said, ‘Thank the Light!

Sharp stabs of pain screamed through Thelos’ body as his daughter squeezed him with her firm grip. Rather than to complain about it, Thelos gritted his teeth and patted Veheena on the back with his patched hand.

‘I’m so sorry, dad, I’m so, so, so sorry. I’ll never do anything so stupid again, I promise. Never ever. Can you ever forgive me?’

Huruma slowly crept up behind Veheena and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. ‘Easy now, Vee, you don’t want to hurt your father.’

‘Oh, right. You’re right’ Veheena said, blushing a little. ‘Sorry dad.’ She let go of Thelos and let herself fall into Huruma’s embrace, rolling her neck to look at his stern face. Like a sudden burst of lightning ripping through a clear sky, Thelos at once understood something that should have been obvious for some time now. He risked intense pain to cover his face with his palm.

‘You’re in love, aren’t you’ he said, half-embarrassed.

Huruma and Veheena looked at eachother for a moment in silence. Then, Huruma simply nodded, at once abolishing the tension.

‘So when I knocked him out-’ Thelos said laughing, ‘Light, it all makes sense now, I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier.’ Thelos sighed and, suddenly filled with divine energies from this revelation, pushed himself up in spite of the pain to sit and look at the lovely pair properly. ‘How long have you two been seeing each other?’

‘A while’ Veheena said, now obviously embarrassed. ‘Several months,’ Huruma added, ‘many lowest moons.’

‘By K’ure, I’ve been a proper idiot, haven’t I?’ Thelos said in between hearty chuckles, ‘I can’t believe it. You’ve really been seeing each other for that long? How come it’s taken me this long to find out?’

‘I’ve tried telling you,’ Veheena said a little flustered, ‘but-’

‘I didn’t listen. So when Atlaua told me I never listen at the dinner table - Sweet K’ure, I really am the dumbest anchorite preaching at Karabor. Light, if this isn’t the summum of silliness...So when you “thanked me for my blessing”, Huruma, were you really....Well, thanking me for my blessing?’

‘Yes,’ said Huruma, ‘though it now appears as if you could not have possibly meant an approval of our relationship.’

‘Is that why you entered the tournament? For my approval?’

‘Don't be stupid, dad’ said Veheena, ‘we decided to enter before you, remember? In fact, we thought - ‘

‘You thought’ Huruma corrected her.

‘I thought that you decided to enter the tournament out of spite - because you didn’t like me and Huruma being together and you wanted to punish me for it or something, I don’t know...’

Thelos let out another hearty chuckle, one that felt to him like it would blow his lungs up. ‘The opposite, actually. I wanted to enter the tournament to punish you for being so flirty all the time with so many different boys...Or actually, more than you, I wanted to punish those horney boys who were mocking a noble time-honored tradition just to get a shot at-’

‘Flirty?!’ Veheena flared, ‘What do you mean “flirty”?’

‘Well the way you spar with so many different boys during practise...’

‘That’s normal! Light! We change sparring partners all the time, to practise against a variety of styles and levels, and just because there are slightly more boys than girls practising martial arts you just assume that I mess around with half of them? Dad! Seriously!’

‘Well you have to admit it gets awfully intimate sometimes.’ Thelos muttered.

‘Intimate?! Why, you...You...’ Huruma squeezed Veheena tightly and took over her apology. ‘What Veheena is trying to say, brother anchorite, is that it is customary to practise with many different sparring partners. Your concern for...lecherous individuals is not completely unfounded, as there are many indeed who join practise not to hone their martial arts skills, but for...’

‘A shot at groping my daughter’s breasts. Got it. And how do I know you’re not one of them?’

‘I do believe I have already answered that question in the ring, brother anchorite.’ Thelos and Huruma exchanged another look. Once understanding through combat has been reached, a strong bond tend to linger arises. To a true martial artist, jabs and kicks say more than words ever could.

‘You’ve got my blessing.’ Thelos said after a long silence. ‘Now go - leave your father here to wallow in his misery and stupidity. I dare say you’ve spent enough time being bored around his sickbed. Don’t pretend you haven’t - I wasn’t always unconscious, you know. Go on then, scurry off, go have some fun, do whatever it is you do. I’ll be fine. If I was going to die from any fireblasts, your mother would have had ended me a thousand times already.’

Not long after the happy couple had skipped out of the infirmary, Atlaua made her appearance at last. ‘Good too see I haven’t missed the grand entrance of our son’ Thelos said cheerfully.

Atlaua waggled to her husband’s side, her belly poking out from under her fluttering gown. She glared at Thelos with an almost murderous look.

‘You’re an idiot’ she said coldly.

‘I know.’

‘You know I’ve been worried sick?’

‘I know.’

‘Do you have any idea how guilty poor Veheena feels about what she did? About what you made her do? Why in the Light’s name did you decide to prolong that match, even though you saw she was losing control over herself and her magics? Even after she froze your damn legs? How stupid and reckless can you be? You’re supposed to be an anchorite - act like one!’

‘I know.’

‘If you’d had payed any attention, any attention to Veheena at all to, if you’d taken the tiniest bit of interest, all of this could have prevented.’

‘I know.’

‘Did you apologize to her? Are you going to apologize to me?’

‘No, I don’t think so. In fact, if I was transported back in time, I’d probably do exactly the same again. It was quite the spectacular match. I haven’t had this much fun in ages! Do you think I’ll recover in time for the next tournament?’

Atlaua hissed as she prepared a vicious strike. Rather than to plant her sharp nails in her husband’s throat, she instead decided to pick up his hand and seat herself next to him.

‘You’re an idiot. You do know that, right? That you're an idiot?’

‘Yes, yes I do’ Thelos said proudly.

Fin.

Brilliant.

Sheds a shole new light on Huruma the Ashtongue, eh?

Dont Draeneis know the bro code. Mates daughters are a big no no!

(Funily enough I dated a black belts Daughter for a while...)

that was an awsome read thelos.. looking forward to part 3

Thelos wrote:Fin.

It's ended, Monrena.

*sobs and weeps*