To bare fangs, and bite victims

A month and a half passed, and I mastered sword play with the help of my uncle. I learned to parry, riposte, feint, and even learned how to make use of my Kragnin to heighten my physical capabilities. The sparring was painful, but I absorbed the lessons intuitively and with ease. Most of my training was actually mental, rather than physical, so Frasmul really deserves all the credit for cultivating this strength. If I could ever meet him, I would like to thank and praise him for building such an adept, talented body and blessing me with it.

I donned my padded cotehardie, my mantle, and stepped out of the house. I looked at the hall on the mound and let my imagination take the reins. Today is the day I’m going to demonstrate my might to the tribe, and get a step closer to my destined seat on the throne. I will prove it to myself: a king is what I’m meant to be.

“Once on the throne, I will make sure no goblin goes hungry.” I talked out loud to myself, looking away from the hall and marching towards the first barrack. “I will make sure that no one is wronged by injustice. I will make it so that everyone has basic rights that cannot be infringed!” I hyped myself up for the fight.

I arrived at the first barrack, the one located behind the hall where I had initially gotten my drills from. After a two months of training, I had come to learn who the highest captain of the barrack was, and so I approached him, while he stood in front of a band of soldiers performing their regimen. He turned to me.

“I request you to draw your blade, and to show me your skill.” I said to him in a polite tone. “I wish to know my own aptitude at the sword.”

The captain, a Crawgoblin, wore a poker face, not displaying any emotions. No irritation, no fear, no scorn, no pride. He just gave me a silent look, lowered his head in deference, and put his hand on his sword. “As you wish, sir,” he said stoically.

Perplexed, I felt a feeling of unease rise in my stomach. I was confused why this guy submitted and even addressed me politely without so much as questioning my motives. I thought I had lost all face in my trial, so why was he courteous?

A goblin stepped up and gave a shout, and the duel begun.

I opened with a taunt by lowering my sword, exposing my left shoulder, his eyes immediately caught it and his sword nudged towards it, whereupon I quickly heaved my lowered sword from the right and tried to cut him with my false edge. Suddenly, I sensed something about him. He gained an aura of some sorts, and with the speed of light, he stepped to the side and dodged my attack, promptly retaliating with a right cut to my shoulder. I backed away from the captain to create distance.

His eyes gained a fiery glow, his muscles pumped up, and he exuded strength. It made me remember the Crawgoblin I met in the forest, Ekermun, when he ambushed the lagsrik. He had the same aura surrounding him—it must be Kragnin!

The captain tried to close the distance between us, and clocking into my own Kragnin, I jumped forward with impeccable speed and thundered down a right cut as he raised his guard and blocked my attack once more. However, this time I followed it up with swift thrust from the left and pierced him in his chest. Stunned from having his momentum broken, I kicked him down on the ground, winning the match.

The goblin shouted once more, and I looked expectantly into the crowd, but no one wore an expression of awe. No one was amazed. No one was impressed. Instead, they wore somber expressions of powerlessness as they looked at the humiliated captain with sympathy.

My expression turned to disappointment and shock as I dropped my guard and let my arm swing with blade in hand. With nothing left to say, I thanked the captain for his time, and made my way to the next barrack. A few goblins from the crowd walked up to the captain with concern, and carried him off into a building, tending to his wound as they did so.

***

“Ah, man.” I sighed out loud as I made my way to the next barrack. The captain’s Kragnin had caught me off-guard. My uncle did warn me that any fight with a Crawgoblin or higher would result in both parties using it. He and I barely used it during my training though, because your body apparently consumes a lot more energy when using it, so this was my first real fight where I had to use my Kragnin seriously. “From now on, I have to expect this power from both myself and my opponent whenever I face a Crawgoblin or higher,” I voiced my thought out loud.

At the second barrack located at the front of the gate, much the same happened. The captain submitted to my request with humility, a sad smile on his face. He armed himself with a spear.

“Sir, I am most skilled with the spear. May I use it to bring out the best of my ability?”

I had no experience in countering a spear. I wanted to impress people with my strength, and fighting someone who was disadvantaged would be counterproductive, so I accepted.

The fight begun and I was swiftly prevented from getting into my strike zone. The spear tip kept me at bay and the thrusts kept me from collecting myself. However, as soon as I got used to the spear’s movement, I could keep track of it with my eyes, and quickly, I managed to out speed any thrusts and attempts to keep me at bay. I closed in on the captain, and hit him with the hilt of my sword, knocking him out on the ground.

The same thing happened; every spectator looked on in pity towards the captain and refused to grant me any look of reverence. Dejectedly, I thanked the captain and moved on to the last barrack, my hopes of recognition slowly crumbling down.

The final barrack was different. It was close to the town square, with many townsmen in the area. This was the region’s military headquarters, in charge of all the guards, barracks, and soldiers in service of the capital and its surrounding areas. Whereas the other barracks had mostly Hobgoblins in service, this barrack mostly employed Crawgoblins, showing how it served as the gathering point for elite warriors.

As I reached the barrack, I was greeted by Baldrenraz and four other Highgoblins. Their mouths slightly downturned and their brows knitted together in a frown. They looked in silence as I approached them.

“We hear you have been challenging the captains of the other barracks,” Baldrenraz said in a suspecting tone.

“Since my loss to chief Hardalgmar, I have been busy strengthening myself to prevent that from happening a second time,” I explained nonchalantly. “I’m just here to see the fruits of my training. That’s all. No ill-intent,” I tried to reassure him and the goblin spectators that I was not acting out of malice.

“WHAT purpose does that serve?” Baldrenraz boomed with a demanding voice. “Why do you not put your strength to value, and hunt down the dread lynxes causing our food shortage? Why do you instead incapacitate our command structure?” He vented in frustration and confusion.

I remained silent. I did not expect to upset the stability of the settlement by dueling the captains. I simply thought that the barracks could function with the second-in-command taking charge, but who knows if the goblins even had such a structure. Even then… that’s just an excuse. In truth, I really did not even consider the consequences, I guess. I was too self-absorbed to notice.

To add to that, I can’t spill the beans and admit that I was just hoping to be recognized for my strength and power; that would render everything pointless! I would be embarrassed for seeking strength out of vanity rather than purpose. Well, I’m doing it for my purpose, but that’s still be vain in the eyes of others.

“I ask you to return home,” Baldrenraz said curtly as he turned away to face the barrack.

“Draw your blade,” I responded with a desperate crack in my voice, my sword already in hand. He turned back to me, and gave me a mean look.

Here was my chance to defeat a Highgoblin; the final step before I could claim my throne through might. With an ever-increasing crowd ready to witness my victory, I wasn’t going to let this chance slip away, and return home without completing my initial goal of besting all three barrack captains. Since these are the central headquarters of the tribe’s military, it would make sense if the captain in charge was a Highgoblin instead. Which meant… two birds, one stone.

With a grunt, Baldrenraz accepted my challenge and we moved to the training field next to the barrack with the audience in pursuit. He picked up two round shield sitting next to a barrel filled with weapons. He threw me one, and unsheathed his falcata. I had no experience nor training with a shield, but I accepted it regardless, not willing to look cocky. One of the other Highgoblins gave a shout once we got into position.

…

The fight was nothing new. You know the drill by now: we clash a few times, blocking each other’s attacks, I get used to the opponent’s rhythm, and with my superior biological constitution and Kragnin, I utterly out speed and overpower him. Compared to my uncle, everyone fell kinda flat. Sure, Baldrenraz and the previous two captains provided me with new experiences—me circumventing the spear attacks, and learning to fight against an opponent with a shield—but eventually, my raw strength would win out.

Baldrenraz laid out before me. A large cloud cast a deep shadow over the field and crowd. Once again, the audience did not show awe, admiration, wonder, or anything related to the kind. They looked grim and downcast—plain and simple.

“Oh…” I realized. They had long known that I stood above them in force and vitality. My victories simply struck them as cruelty. Not glory. Not dominance. But brutality.