The Bear

Vtorak was dragged to a huge building. It was a large amphitheater. A spacious oval arena surrounded by the marble seats. Who will Vtorak have to fight with? Dwarf Gods are immortal. They are stronger than any person. It would be a meaningless battle. A mortal would have as many chances of survival as a prisoner with bound hands at the scaffold before the executioner. It means, that the opponent will be someone else. Most likely, some kind of animal will be brought out for Vtorok. He did not know what disgusting, dangerous creatures could be found in these mountains, but his imagination already painted before his inner eyes truly deadly monsters.

- It's okay, - thought Vtorak, - now that I am one step away from freedom, I will not back down. I will fight to the very end and kill anyone who gets in my way! Just give me a sword or a lance... Even if luck turns its back on me... well... dying for freedom is also honorable". Now, leaving behind the dank walls of the cell, which had already become native, he was ready for anything. Pain is also diversity. Death is also can be an entertainment. Dwarfs released Vtorak into the arena and closed the grate. One of the dwarfs approached him with a large glass.

- Drink this broth, son, - said the dwarf, - He will give you strength to fight...

- Thank you, of course, - said Vtorak, and drank a decent sip. The broth was bitter, but it was warm, - But I would have preferred a sword.

- Drink everything, - the dwarf pointed with a finger at the cup. - You don't need a weapon. Not it will decide the outcome of the battle.

- What? - the man asked, but the dwarf, having taken the empty vessel, left the arena without answering a word.

- Vtorak! - the man raised his head. Dwarfs gathered in the stands. On a small pedestal stood their leader, who had previously ordered the captive to be taken to the arena. His voice resounded loudly in the emptiness of the cave. From below, the dwarf seemed much higher and inspired much greater respect and even awe. He noticed that the fighter turned his attention to him and continued, - You have avoided this battle all your life. You were afraid of it. You were hiding from it. But now you won't be able to turn away. Let the main battle of your life begin!

"The battle I fled from? Which was afraid ..?" - Vtorak grabbed his head, - "No ... no, no! This can't be! Only not this! How? How is this possible ?! He could not be allowed into this kingdom! Is it really him?.." A high shadow danced on the wall. Someone of impressive growth with a drawn sword came out of the corridor opposite. A heavy tread was heard. Right leg. Left leg. Right leg. Ringing of chain mail. Hard breath. How is this possible? Another moment. Another moment and he will appear. A figure appeared around the corner of the corridor.

Varaha...

The warrior went straight to the student. There was contempt and anger on his face. On his shoulder lay a sword forged in these caves once. So this is how it is. They decided to set the teacher on the student. Why, Varaha, why are you doing this!? The old mercenary stopped in front of Vtorak and looked into his face.

- Why, Varaha..? the man asked in a trembling voice. The enemy sent a sword blade in his face. One of the dwarfs on the podium laughed out loud.

- You are an uninvited guest in our world! We need to get rid of you. You are an outrageous fire fired into our dry world by evil. You need to be repaid before you will burn even more. Until you kill even more. Until you destroy everything here.

- Why... Varaha, why... I'm your student... I'm... I'm sorry... please...

- You are death itself. And I swore to defeat it!

Varaha threw up his weapon above and struck so swiftly that even if he wanted to, Vtorak would not have been able to dodge. The sword touched his face and all of a sudden disappeared.

To his great surprise, Vtorak continued to feel everything around him. He opened his eyes and looked around a little. He was in a beautiful flowering meadow. In the clearing grew tall fragrant herbs knee-high, and an oak grove framed it along the edge. There were no dark heavy clouds in the clear, bottomless, deep blue sky. Only in some distance, above the horizon, whipped feather-beds of cumulus clouds floated. He looked at the sun. How beautiful it was. Like the concentration of all the light of the universe. It was a deity whom he wanted to serve. Vtorak looked directly at him until his eyes hurt. Feeling severe pain, he turned away, squinting, and shook his head. That's right. The gods do not like it when unworthy mortals look at them for a long time. The sun is a proud and powerful deity. But why is he here? Wtorak looked around again. His gaze slid along the grasses, flowers, oak grove, sky, stream, until, finally, he stopped at the huge scarlet bear walking to him along the edge of the forest. Skin of that bear was decorated with mysterious patterns, painted with black paint on fur. He did not take his eyes off the Vtorak. Glade looked incredibly dear and familiar. Even the bear seemed familiar, although it frightened man. The beast loomed menacingly over man. Fury boiled in his eyes, and now came the moment when he stopped holding her back. He waved his heavy claws and turned the earth in front of him, throwing a piece of soil along with grass far into the forest. Vtorak barely managed to dodge the blow. The bear burned with fierce fire. At first, he continued to tear the ground with his claws, uproot trees and cut down their trunks, but now this was not enough for him, and he went straight to the man, like an indomitable, devastating tornado.

The bear moved quickly and beat accurately. No one could evade his attacks for a long time. Beast brought up his paw again and with force brought it down on the enemy. Vtorak closed his hands like a shield: he ulready would not have time to dodge. He desperately wished to protect himself from huge claws, when suddenly at that moment a large circle of a solid copper shield appeared on his arm. Sensing the severity of the blow, the man collapsed on one knee under the shield, but did not fall. The claws slid over the copper and entered deep into the soil at the feet of the warrior. "It's time for me to strike!" thought Vtorak, when suddenly a gloriously sharpened one-handed sword materialized in his hand. Without losing an extra moment, the warrior with all his strength drove him into a bear's paw. It only angered the bear even more. His muscles were swollen, bloodshot, and he threw Vtorak back a few meters.

The warrior did not have time to prepare for a new blow. This time he did not have enough time to dodge or take cover under the shield: the claws touched his left shoulder. He was so furious that he no longer felt pain. The fiercer the Wtorak fought, the stronger, faster, more dangerous the bear became.

This battle lasted a long time. The copper shield was covered with deep dents and scratches from the claws. Vtorak broke several swords and spears, summoning a new weapon into his hand with the power of thought, every time the previous one was scattered into pieces. And now, after a while, collapsing on one knee from fatigue, the man examined the battlefield. In the place where once there was a flowering meadow, mottled with bright colors, now was a mash of blood and mud was blackening. Debris of swords and spears lay everywhere, the earth was torn with claws of a monster. Glade a terrible ugly spot now contrasted with the forest surrounding it. In the midst of all this stood a bear and a man. Wounded from head to toe, they almost did not stop the fight, until the man was left without strength. And now, only now, Vtorak realized that he could not defeat the bear. He again looked around the whole place and suddenly realized why it seemed to him so familiar. It was his world. It was him inside. Turning his eyes to the bear, he saw an unquenchable fire in the eyes of the monster. Fury.

The bear scattered and jumped, pushing itself off the ground with such force that it left several new deep furrows from its claws on the ground. Then Vtorak let go of the sword and shield. Belts slid easily over his arm, and the metal plunged into the dirt. The man stretched out his hands to his own fury, which rushed at him. "I know why you are like that," thought Vtorak, "you just want to protect me... I don't blame you. I have been inflaming the fire in myself all these years. But I don't get angry anymore. You don't need to either." The bear stretched down its paws and, clinging to the ground, landed earlier than expected. Having taken several steps, he approached the person closely, allowing him to touch himself. Vtorak hugged the beast and felt the softness of a bear coat on his fingers. He wanted to caress the animal which was also native. It was part of the Vtorak. His fingers buried in fur on his neck, scratched his fluffy cheeks and ears. The beast pressed its head to the owner's stomach more strongly. Now the man clearly felt the bear. Now he saw peace in the heart of the beast. The hearts of both now became calmer. Stopping the battle within himself, combining efforts with his own fury, Vtorak felt stronger.

He opened his eyes, and the arena reappeared before him. He lay in the middle of her, on the ground. The dwarfs were still looking at the fighter from the stands.

- Varaha... - Whispered whispered. His head ached, and the body could not move from unimaginable fatigue, - Where is he?

- He is far away, - the chief dwarf answered, - The most fierce battles take place in this arena. In this battles, the price of defeat is not life, but reason. Here people fight with themselves. But you won, "the dwarf rose from his seat, and the others followed his example," you passed our test.

- So I... earned the patronage of secret cousins?

- No. This will decide our council. During the council meeting you will be settled outside the city, at the main gate.

- Where? - Vtorak was horrified, having risen with difficulty to his feet, - How long will the council sit?

- Two or three days, no more, - the dwarf waved. - We will come for you.

Vtorak felt a bear wake up inside him again, but he immediately abated his fury, imagining how he fondle the neck of the beast. The anger disappeared, and the warrior humbly wandered after the guards. They led him outside the fortress wall and left him alone. A few minutes later a bundle with his things and his old sword fell from the wall to the ground. The man looked around. Under the spacious vault of the cave, in which the whole city was located, a real fortress wall stand, separating the city buildings from the rest of the caves. Whether she stood here for protection, or was simply a designation of the boundary of possessions, Vtorak could not understand.

There were few options: it was necessary to somehow settle down behind the wall. Still, two or three days was not a short time, it was necessary to build a shelter, to find wood in order to light a fire, and in general it was necessary to look around. First of all, Vtorak decided to scout the area. He went around all the nearby tunnels, in one of which he found a way out. Finally, he saw the world that the jailers had taken from him for so long. Dead trees, ash plains, sharp cold rocks and the eternal blackness of the clouds. It all looked so unusual. Now Vtorak felt that he loved this gloomy world. Compared to the cold chamber, everything here was endowed with the warmth of memories and the cool, stormy wind of freedom.

"Run away!" - thought flickered in his head. His legs refused to listen to the arguments of consciousness and, obeying a desperate impulse, carried the body that did not have time to come to their senses. He jumped over sharp rocks, slipped on small stones, scratched his legs by dry branches of bushes, but fled. He ran until he crashed into a rough skin, apparently stretched on a rock. Rising from the ground, Vtorak examined the obstacle and with horror discovered Polyphemus. The giant also froze in indecision, crossing his legs and folding his numerous hands on his stomach. Vtorak drew his sword, but Polyphemus with a flick of his fist knocked out a weapon from the hands of a warrior. The blade soared under the sky and soon disappeared far behind the rocks.

- Human are back again! - the giant exclaimed, - Polyphemus got over three mountains, and the little man found him again!

- You can talk! - the man was surprised.

- Maybe, - the fear began to fade away. The giant sat on a large log near the fire and looked at the guest. Vtorak noticed a large ugly scar on the knee of the giant that had once made with a sword. Polyphemus noticed where the gaze of the old enemy fell. - It hurt. Don't do this anymore...

- Forgive me, I...

- I got out of the gorge with difficulty... the knee does not bend... now a little better.

- I thought I killed you...

- A giant of kin for dwarfs. Dwarfs are immortal. That giant is immortal. But it hurts - it's bad... no longer do so. No more swords. No more people. Yes...

- You threw stones at us, we had to protect ourselves, - Vtorak looked at his interlocutor. A single eye of the giant blinked in dismay at him.

- Polyphemus hunt. He wanted to fry a goat. You came in vain when he hunted. Foolish people...

- Yeah, foolish, - Vtorak sat down and thought deeply. The giant said nothing. They sat like this for a while, and each thought about something else, until the low bass of Polyphemus broke the silence.

- The man emaciated... he wants to eat? Where did he lose so much weight?

- The dwarfs threw me into prison so that I understood something... - answered Vtorak.

- Polyphemus is fat... would be useful to be held captive by dwarfs.

- Interesting... how long did I stay there in prison?..

- The man was gone for a long time. Dwarfs are very bad cooks. Polyphemus can share food, - with these words he moved on the log and made an inviting gesture with his left hands. A mountain goat roasted on a spit over a bonfire. Vtorak only now smelt a mouth-watering aroma that completely captured his mind. He sat next to the giant and together they took up the meal. The giant said nothing. Vtorak felt terrible, realizing that after everything he had done, Polyphemus treated him with understanding and kindness. He was thinking of dwarfs. Did he really decide to run away from them, or should he now strangle this impulse and stay in the cave until the council decides? In the end, he had already passed his test. Or ... even two ... now it seemed to him that a long imprisonment was also a kind of test. Who knows, if he had understood what he should have done before, maybe he would have been released many days ago? Dwarf methods were ruthless, but effective. I wonder if they release unworthy? Those who remained captive in the darkness of their own thoughts, or did they die sooner or later in their cells? Did Varaha pass through this? He wanted to know a lot of things, but the dwarfs would definitely not answer. Their appearance alone inspired respect and awe. Even despite their growth, they could not be looked at otherwise than from bottom to top. Secret smiths preferred not to give ready-made answers, so Vtorak decided not to hope that they would satisfy the guest's curiosity and answer a swarm of questions. The giant at this time gnawed bones and picked out the bone marrow with his teeth.

- Polyphemus, I need wood. For several days I will have to wait for a decision of the Dwarf council. Will you tell me where to find it?

- Over there, at the foot of the mountains, an old forest. There is a lot of wood, - said the giant, - and there is a spring there if he wants to drink. But people are afraid of the mountains. They don't even go for the water.

- And what can I eat here? Maybe cave mushrooms? Or ... some root vegetables?

- There are mushrooms. There are roots. But the goats are tastier. By the way... there are magic mushrooms too...

- What do you mean?

- In the sense of color pictures seem to eat.

- No... not necessary. Thank you... I'm really sorry, I am very sorry that this happened with our last meeting.

- Come talk again. Polyphemus miss the interlocutor. Dwarfs are laconic.

- Thank you. I'll come again, - Vtorak promised. He found a sword that had been knocked out of his hands almost at the very foot of the mountain, thinking that, in the absence of an ax, he would chop branches for a fire with a sword. The sword chopped wood a little worse, due to the fact that its weight was not entirely directed to the point of impact, but was distributed throughout the blade. An ax with a heavy butt would handle the branches much faster, but even so the Vtorak managed to chop enough wood for his bonfire. He returned to the caves when everywhere was already dark. With the help of his flint and dry bark, he made a fire at the entrance to the cave and warmed a little. He did not know how much he would have to wait, but he was ready to live here, for the sake of recognition, at least for ages.

After five days of waiting, no one came out from behind the city walls of the underground city. Several times a day Vtorak came to stand in front of the gates, but no one was visible either on the wall or in the windows of the towers. No sound of footsteps, no voices of someone's speeches came from behind the wall. Vtorak thought that they had forgotten about him. He was bewildered, scared, and then began to get angry. Several times he tried to climb over the wall, but the stones were too smooth, and he couldn't cling to them well. "Wait. They will come," Polyphemus repeated to man's questions. A few days later, the rage inside the warrior seethed, as in a cauldron left for a long time on fire. He struck the wooden gate with malice with his sword, but his sword only bounced off the magic oak plank and cut his master's forehead. At that moment Vtorak again felt that the bear raging inside. He remembered what he had learned in the arena and reassured him again. "It's okay, my friend. I'm sorry I woke you up again," he said to the beast. "We just have to wait. Sleep. They will come."

From that day, Vtorak ceased to live in expectation. Rage and anger left him, and the inner strength in the form of a bear finally calmed down. He lived: he ate, slept, drank, thought a lot, and once he realized that he wanted something else. When the struggle with enemies left his life, he saw that he had nothing to fill in the emptiness that appeared inside. He wanted to do something with that, and then, as if divine insight dawned on him. Vtorak decided to make a flute for himself, similar to the one that Uttama had. He cut a stick elbow-long, found a metal rod among the ruins of the old settlement at the foot of the mountain, and began to burn out the tunnel inside the workpiece. This work went slowly. He glowed the metal rod over the fire and burned wood incede. When the metal cooled, he re-laid it in flaming coals. Every day he burned the workpiece to the distance of the index finger and in three days made a full-fledged pipe out of a stick. He did not burn it from morning till night, but he worked at his pleasure for a couple of hours a day.

Looking at the pipe on the third day, Vtorak felt that he knew from somewhere what to do next. He burned a whistle hole and carved a wooden wad, to directing a stream of air at the divider, and then burned game holes in the tube. As soon as he brought the flute to his lips and blew into it, she immediately began to make a sound that could not be confused with anything. Light, bewitching, bright... divine. Music poured from the instrument with an amazing hypnotic stream, from which a little more sunlight began to break through the clouds during the day. Vtorak could not stop rejoicing at the fact that he created real magic. "What if every person in the valley would make a flute for himself and play on it..." he mused in the evenings, "Maybe the clouds would have left us long ago... and the light descended on the whole world?"