Hector, Hugh and Kevin
{Elysium-Underworld, September 28th 2003}
"So Ozzy what are you doing in here?" Hugh asked, I mean it's nit everyday you see a living being in the Underworld especially Elysium.
"I'm completing a labor. You?" I said the question laced with a slight amount humor in my tone.
"Got killed on my own quest turns out fighting a giant doesn't really turn out well."
"I could drink nectar to that." I replied remembering the time I fought Alcyoneus and his shades and nearly died.
"Where's Kevin is he here too." I asked since it had been a few years since I lasts saw him (obviously cause he died on his quest).
"Nah sorry man, he isn't here decided to reincarnate since he wants to reach the Isles of the Blest." Hugh replied sadly, maybe cause Hugh and Kevin had arrived here together without knowing anyone else and he was then left alone in this new place.
"Why didn't you?" I wondered after all tales of the Isles of the Blest were things normally discussed back at camp, making almost everyone dream of reaching it.
"Too much of a hassle besides I ain't guaranteed to actually ace my next two lives, this place is good enough for me."
A voice then interrupted our conversation as Hugh and I walked across the streets.
"Uhm, Ozzy when should we start your labor I have stuff to do."
"In time Hector, let me catch up with my friend here."
The three of us walked around Elysium, visiting the hearths, monuments and temples. Hugh came to a stop as we came before a suburban modern house in mostly white and black with shades of grey throughout.
"So this is my place, it's been nice talking to you again, you can always come visit me as long as you stay here. Now go with Hector the dude is redder than a tomato."
I looked back at Hector and he was indeed as red as a tomato, no even redder than that he looked like a burnt chilli pepper. Hugh walked into his house with a final goodbye after which I turned to Hector.
"Ok, Hector no need to get so pent up about a slight detour we can start our spar werever you want."
"Slight detour, slight detour!! We have been in a detour for 4 hours!"
Amidst his yelling which I wasn't really paying attention to, I noticed something we had been talking in Ancient Greek the whole time, I wasn't even making a conscious effort or realized it until now.
Finishing his rant between ragged breaths Héctor simply looked at me with a ferocious look.
"Soooo where are we sparing?"
With a tired sigh he replied "Follow me, we are gonna need to walk a bit more."
Hector's strides were long and determined, almost as if he was trying to leave his frustration in the dust behind us. We followed a path that snaked through groves of trees, their leaves shimmering like silver. It wasn't long before the an amphitheater looking structure came into view.
We walked into the structure and I noticed the tens of smooth round arenas, a huge amount of rows of seats encircling all of them and a smaller one planted at the end of every arena probably for people who wanted to watch a specific match.
Hector led me to one of the middle arena's a small crowd of past heroes gathering already as I heard murmurs of people coming to see the battle of Hector against an unknown fighter.
As we neared the arena, Hector grabbed a spear from one of the of the weapon racks at the side of the arena, he turned to look at me but my hand simply shone slighlty my trusty spear appearing in my hand as a response.
Hector looked at the spear a grim face appearing in his visage probably since he recognized the spear that had killed him in the mortal realm.
"Looks like upyou have a good one, I'm gonna enjoy beating it out of you." Hector said an impish grin spreading across his face, it was clear to see that while he had no feud against me, looking at the spear had given him a small fire of excitement for our fight.
We took our positions spears at the ready when suddenly a man I recognized clearly from his tendril like black hair, my dad just now that he was porting a referee attire and cap.
"I'll be the overseer for this match. The rules are simple you can only rely on your spear that is to say you can't use powers of any type, the match will end once you have landed that would have killed your opponent." My father's primordials rang through the arenas the rules more related to me than Hector but who cares.
"Now 3,2,1 BEGIN!" At the exact moment he called our match to begin hundreds of replicas of my dad took place inthe stands with big baseball gloves with the number 1 on it and t shirts that said GO OZZY.
"COME ON OZZY!"
"SHOW HIM WHAT MY GENES DO!"
"MAKE YOUR DADDY PROUD!"
"BOO, HECTOR."
"HECTOR YOU'RE WASHED UP!"
My dad kept on shouting words of encouragement to me, while quite literally clowning on Hector, which made me feel slightly awkward, while Hector simply looked at the copies of dad with a befuddled expression.
"Come on I said start, start already!" The referee copy of my dad shouted, sending us out of our stupor before both Hector and I dashed at each other.
A few feet from each other we both performed a lunge with our spears trying to end this as quickly as possible. In mid lunge I noticed that my spear was slightly smaller than his so in a swift move, I moved my backhand to the end of the spear, getting the leverage needed to turn it upwards deflecting Hector's strike and allowing me to close in.
But Hector was still one of the legendary warriors from the Trojan War, probably only bested by people like Achilles or Diogenes if the books were anything to go by. In response to my strike he turned left dodging my lunge and allowing him enough time to take control of his spear once more before bringing it down with a quick ferocity.
Watching the point (yes that is its name) of the spear making its way towards me, I rolled to the side dodging the strike.
The dust settled around the arena as I regained my footing while Hector encircled not going for the win while I was on the ground because I had my spear at the ready all the time, the crowd's (dad copies) anticipation palpable in the air. I didn't know how but I could see or feel Hector's eyes alight with the thrill of combat the same as mine.
"Nice move," I called out, acknowledging his skill. Hector merely nodded, his focus unbroken, the spear blending into his grip showing his mastery over the weapon, but I was better.
We circled each other, each step measured, each breath a silent countdown to the next clash. My dad's copies' cheers faded into a distant echo; in the space between heartbeats, there was only Hector and me and our spears.
Then, like twin bolts sent out by Zeus himself, we struck. Spear in hand I started piercing quickly trying to get through Hector's defenses and land a winning strike. But no matter how fast I performed each of my lunges he blocked with his shaft redirecting my spear slighlty each time.
Our spears met once, splinters from Hector's spear staining the arena at our feet. I feinted left, but Hector read me like a book his almost 3000 years of existence coming in handy. His counter was swift, aimed at where I would have been had I not anticipated his anticipation.
In a fluid motion, I dropped to one knee Hector's spear whisking above my head, using the momentum to spin I swept Hector's legs. But he seemed to expect even that move as he jumped over my improvised trap.
Mid air he took control of his spear with an unforseen speed and thrust it at my chest. Time slowed, and in that moment, I could see through my vision every single of Hector's muscles twitching his course laid bare before me, I could win. With a twist of my wrist, I redirected his spear into the ground, pinning it momentarily.
Still on the ground, Hector's spear nailed to the ground and his body a few inches above I aimed my own spear at Hector's heart, impaling him slighlty as Pelian (my spear) seemed to shake in joy at winning against Hector with both of its users.
"I win." I muttered a tired yet prideful smile gracing my face,after all it had been a long time since I last fought without my powers it made me realize how much I depended on them.
My dad announced me as the victor immediately, showing the true end of the match. Hector conceded, "Well fought," he acknowledged, a slight bitterness in his voice (probably cause he lost to a 13 year old though spears were my forte).
The cheers of my dad's copies kept on roaring at my victory like a proud father at his son's baseball match.
Yet as I enjoyed my father's roars of approval all the copies formed into one appearing in front of me once more "You won the spear match kid honestly I expected it woul take you a few more tries until you beat Hector at this but hey you proved me wrong," he said, his voice a blend of pride and challenge. "Now you just have to beat him at everything else." he continued with an impish grin.
Hearing his words I could only reply with one sentence that encapsulated my feeelings "OH COME ON!"Hector seemed to have heard my father's words as he cracked his knuckles a smile from ear to ear appearing on his face, because if it had been this close with a spear one of the two weapons I was proficient in he was going to beat my ass at the rest.
[Greek Myth Fact: Today's fact is gonna be about Hector since I haven't talked about him yet. Hector was a prince and hero of Troy, the firstborn son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, and thus the heir to the Trojan throne. He married the princess Andromache, with whom he had a son named Astyanax. Hector was a great warrior, much admired not only for his military skill and bravery but also for his nobility and sense of duty. During the Trojan War, he led the Trojan forces against the invading Greeks for nearly ten years. When Achilles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, refused to fight because of a quarrel with the Greek commander Agamemnon, Hector nearly managed to drive the Greeks from Troy once and for all. He also fought Ajax the Great to a draw previously giving him his prized sword, which Ajax would later use to kill himself.
But when Hector killed Achilles' best friend Patroclus in battle, Achilles turned the full force of his anger on Hector. The two heroes fought before the walls of Troy, and Hector ultimately fell to Achilles. With Hector dead, Troy had lost its greatest protector.]
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