10 Chapter 9: Hand to Hand Combat

Zane and the others follows Captain Dux to a large open area at the edge of the camp. There were several circles painted on the ground and a large wooden sign with a deer hide nailed to it.

"Alright you wannabe soldiers," Dux began, "time to see what you're made of. It's time for the first part of the warrior evaluation. You will be evaluated on your hand to hand combat skills. Your skill will be evaluated by none other than," he paused dramatically. "Me. Also joining me to evaluate your skills will be Commander Oran, Lieutenant Furtim, and Colonel Lentae. Now, to help us evaluate your skills, we will hold a tournament. Brackets for each tournament were made yesterday when you arrived. Your names were randomly inserted into the brackets this morning during your first evaluation. Everyone gather over there," he gestured toward the old wooden board.

Upon closer examination, Zane noticed that a list of names with numbers were written on it.

"We will begin with the hand to hand combat tournament since it takes less preparation," Dux continued. "There are four circles drawn on the canyon floor. There is a number next to your name on the board. Numbers one through twenty will be in the first circle," he said, "twenty-one through forty will be in circle two, forty-one through sixty will be circle three, and sixty-one through eighty will be in circle four. There will be a sword and free style competition held tomorrow and the day after. Oran will use some voodoo on the weapons so that you don't kill each other. These preparations will take place during the remainder of the afternoon and tomorrow morning. Find your number and form a circle around your assigned fighting area."

Zane walked up to the board and began searching for his number. He was number sixty-six and was in circle four. Aaron was number seventy-two and was also in circle four. Cliff was number seventeen and was in circle one, while Pug was number twenty-three and was in circle two. Shortly after Captain Dux lead them to a cleared-out space in the canyon with four circles of compacted dirt. Zane and Aaron went to circle four while Cliff and Pug went to their assigned circles. Everyone quickly formed a ring around their respective circles. Dux was standing in the middle of circle one, Oran was in circle two, Furtim was in circle three, and a very large man, that Zane assumed was Colonel Lentae, was standing in circle four. Lentae called out the first two numbers for the fight. Two people stepped forward into the circle.

"Ok," Colonel Lentae said in a deep voice, not bothering to introduce himself. "Weapons please." The two that stepped forward handed their weapons to two soldiers who had exited the crowd and stood on either side of the Colonel. One of the soldiers made a quick note on a piece of parchment before they turning the weapons over to a third, young soldier who carried them away into the camp.the two soldiers then stepped back into the crowd and Colonel Lentae continued,

"The rules are simple, you fight until one person gets in five solid hits, someone leaves the circle, or someone gets knocked out. Commander Oran has enchanted the circles so that if you receive a particularly hard blow you will be knocked out but will retain no injuries. However, beware, hits that are not strong enough to knock you out or kill you will still injure you. Bones will also not break within these circles, but the blows will hurt just as bad. Anyone that runs deliberately out of the circle will be disqualified." Lentae stepped out of the way and yelled. "Begin!"

The two people ran at each other and began to fight. The fight was extremely short as one of the fighters was big and the other was small and scrawny. The small one managed to doge the other's blows for a little bit but as soon as the bigger one landed a hit the fight was over. The smaller fighter was passed out on the ground.

"Don't worry," Lentae yelled. "He'll wake up in a couple hours." He dragged the kid out of the circle and called out the next two numbers, as a group of nurses carried him off on a stretcher. Zane wondered if that had something to do with the nursing evaluation. Zane remembered that Pug was the second fight in circle two. He turned to watch but he couldn't see anything past the group of people standing around it. He turned his thoughts to his fight ahead. If they kept on going in the number order as they were, he would be the next fight. He took deep calming breathes to calm his nerves; his stomach was bubbling. He closed his eyes and concentrated hard, trying to plan a strategy. He had barely begun to think when Lentae called, "Sixty-five and sixty-six." Zane stepped forward and began walking into the circle