Chapter 9 - The Race Pt. 3: Failure

"We have to help him Di"

Diargo snorted in contempt, "Yeah I don't think so."

Valor's knuckles whitened against his sword hilts, fully prepared to launch himself into the fray.

"He's an enemy, and clearly a very skilled one, it's better for us if they can take him out."

Valor bit his lip in frustration, and he hesitated against his friends words. There was something about the man who continued to stand stoically against the giant and Ameera who now had her Téad Léim raised above her head. The rope whipped through the air, and this time Valor could truly see it. The weapon was encased in a layer of galden that snaked out from Ameera's arm. It wrapped itself around the thick corded material, cloaking it in energy. The whip vanished from the air for a split second, materializing a moment later, the sharp blades at the end flashed dangerously in the air directly behind the masked figure's head, who was too distracted by the giant to see it.

Valor braced himself for the impact of the rope, waiting for the lifeless body of the man to topple into the dirt below. Incredibly the wolf rider managed to dodge both the strike from the giant and the whip. Ameera was stunned, froze, for a moment to offer an incredulous look at the man, whose black robes whipped violently in the wind. The figure's eyes creased in an obvious smile. Beneath him, Valor could feel a tremor run through Diargo's shoulders.

"That man… is a predator."

The axe finally found its mark, not into flesh, but the hard-packed earth beneath the wolf's feet. The animal yelped in surprise and leapt nimbly into the air to avoid the heavy battle axe. For a fraction of a second the wolf was suspended in the air, but it was all Ameera needed. Before the animal could land on the ground, the Téad léim was wrapped tightly on the right hindleg. With a click of teeth, her Fearrat dug his feet into the ground. The sudden change in velocity was violent enough to pull the black wolf to its belly. The masked man's eyes widened in shock as his companion was forced to the ground. A heavy fist smashed into his face and the impact propelled him into the stone wall beside them, where he slid to the ground unconscious. Before Diargo ran headfirst into the prone wolf, he leapt sideways onto the wall before propelling himself over top of the three teams. He landed heavily and grunted as he absorbed the impact with his legs. They had landed outside of the chasm; a vast open plain was all that stood between them and the finish line.

"We're in first place… We're in FIRST" Valor whooped and hollered in amazement, and Diargo immediately began charging forward, rejuvenated by his friend's excitement and the revelation that they were now leading the pack.

"AT LAST FOLKS, OUR FIRST TEAM HAS EXITED THAT NASTY CANYON. AND OH MY GOODNESS WOULD YOU LOOK AT THIS. ROOKIE KNIGHT HAS TAKEN THE LEAD. VALOR KNIGHT HAS TAKEN THE LEAD."

The cheer was deafening, and Valor cracked a toothy smile at the applause. In the chasm it was easy to forget that they were being watched by thousands. Now that they were out in the open, the massive stands that encircled the track was all that Valor could see. Thousands upon thousands of people were cheering and clapping, from the distance they were at, it seemed like the stands were teeming with tiny insects. The stadium was alive!

"DON'T COUNT OUT THESE TWO, LAIDES AND GENTLEMAN, THEY'RE CLOSE BEHIND OUR UNDERDOG, AND THEY DO NOT LOOK TOO PLEASED ABOUT IT"

Valor whipped his head around and saw that Ameera and the Giant closely gaining ground. The Fearrats six legs were a blur of motion as the creature scurried across the sandy earth at an incredible speed. The most shocking appearance however was the giant, the boar he entered the race was no longer beneath his legs. It was replaced with jet black wolf that had brought down previously. The man's giant frame practically dwarfing the massive proportions of the wolf, who despite the weight change, moved at a supernatural speed.

"DI PILLAR NOW"

Diargo shook his head in surprise and launched the two of them into the air with a pillar, as they hung briefly in the air.

Valor glanced down to assess the situation, "What the hell"

Diargo's focus was elsewhere as he concentrated on the next pillar, but he could hear the awe and fear in his friend's voice.

"What is it."

Valor watched in amazement as the wolf flew across the earth, leaving even Ameera in the wake of its dust.

"That wolf… it's not possible."

Diargo glanced down and the saw black shape hurtling across the ground. Even the speed at which the pillar shot them through the air wasn't enough to put distance between them and the wolf.

"Mount stealer."

Valor felt a shudder run through his body, in a sport where there are no rules, mount stealing was the closest thing to an enforced rule. It was a highly frowned upon practice, and often impossible to pull off. It was an unnatural form of combat. His father had told him stories about mount stealers, how they jumped from Racer to Racer, able to dominate their minds. They only did it to crush their opponents, mentally and emotionally.

Valor felt the bestial anger in Diargo's voice and clutched tighter to his neck. Knowing full well what he what was going to happen. Instead of leaping off the next pillar that rose to meet them, Diargo purposely missed the flat edge of the stone with his feet. Instead, the ape grabbed a hold of the stone pillar and used it as means to slow their descent before the two of them crashed into the earth below.

"I'm going to crush that wolf's skull; you deal with the man."

The two were getting dangerously close to the team below, and Valor looked at Diargo in disbelief.

"I deal the man?! Me? HAVE YOU SEEN HIM"?

Diargo snorted, unimpressed, "I hardly think that's unfair, beast on beast, man on man."

Valor shook his head in incredulously, "That MAN is a MONSTER dude"

Diargo bared his fangs in anticipation for the fight, ignoring Valor's complaint, "Too late".

Diargo leapt at the wolf who was hurtling towards them, his feet smashing into the earth where the dog's head should have been. Valor didn't have moment to gather his bearings from the impact before his galden forced him duck underneath the swing of the heavy battle axe. He unsheathed both swords, but the giant began to pull away. The wolf was attempting to put distance between them and separate the fight. The giant struck the dog in the back of the skull, who yelped in submission, obeying the dark command the man muttered under his breath. He turned back to Diargo and Valor who were now leaping from rock to rock to match their speed.

"Goodbye child" The man said, his voice thick and deep.

In an instant, Valor felt like his chest was being compressed by a heavy weight, he couldn't focus or think. He could feel the Lifeblood in his muscles dry up as the galden seemed to evaporate from inside of him. In the same instant, Diargo crashed into the ground. Unable to control his own magic, the rock he expected to leap from never appeared. The two of them tumbled across the ground. Ribs cracked loudly as his bodies rolled and flipped across the hardpacked earth. The Trykoori's massive body narrowly missed Valor's own, which would have almost certainly resulted in a quick and unpleasant death. For a moment he lay motionless, his whole body on fire.

"OUCH NOW THAT'S GOTTA HURT, QUITE THE TUMBLE THOSE TWO TOOK…"

As the wolf raced on, the oppressive presence of the giant was gone, and Valor could feel the galden flow once more back into his body, like dam bursting. He was suddenly very awake and very aware of how everything hurt. Coughing and spitting sand out of his mouth he forced himself to sit up.

"Di… are you ok? Diargo buddy"

From somewhere behind him, Valor could hear a loud groan. Gingerly he brought himself to his feet and turned to see the heavy shape of his best friend slowly get up. The ape pushed himself up to his feet and swung his large head over to look at Valor, concern welling up in the gorilla's eyes.

"Valor I must apologize… my galden… I couldn't…"

Valor winced at the pain searing in his side as he walked over to his companion. He waved his hand dismissively, "It's not your fault, I felt it too, I will need some help up though."

Diargo gently grabbed a hold of Valor and placed him on his back. As Valor urged Diargo forward, a white shape whipped past of them. Ameera and her Fearrat scurried across the ground, not bothering to look back.

"DATARI HAS TAKEN FIRST PLACE"

The crowd roared in applause for the victor.

Valor grimaced and glanced behind himself to check and see if there were any other races close. "Well, she didn't kill me just there, that means something right?"

Diargo shook his head and continued forward, running at a moderate pace before picking up the speed completely. "Yeah I would say that's the basic requirement for mates."

FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY AMEERA, SECOND PLACE"

Valor grinned despite himself and their situation, up ahead the finish line was close. "Third place it is,"

Diargo didn't bother replying, the mental disgust was enough of a response. He set his jaw and lifted his chin, hoping to salvage his pride as the two of them crossed the finish line.

"THIRD PLACE GOES TO THE ROOKIE, WHAT AN AMAZING PERFORMANCE BY THESE INCREDIBLE PARTICPANTS, GIVE THEM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE."

The crowd was deafening, but it wasn't enough, Valor and Diargo had suffered a humiliating and total defeat. It would be a grim walk to the podium.