Glatorian Comics
2009 - Glatorian Comic 3: A Hero Reborn
Adapted by Michael Larson. Edited by Jeff Douglas.
Mere days had passed since the Vulcanus raid, and yet Gelu was already back on guard duty for traveling caravans. It was nice to be back to business as usual — as usual as the desert could be, anyway. Recreational travel between the villages had dropped drastically, but demand for commercial transport had surged, and there was much profit to be made. One most days, it was good pay for pretty easy work.
This was not one of those days.
Gelu threw himself behind a rocky bluff, just barely dodging the two Thornax that ricocheted off overhead. He peered over to get a view of his attackers, only to duck right back down to avoid being hit by another Thornax.
Well, I thought this was going to be an easy job… small caravan, short route, far from Vorox nests… a cinch, he thought. I should have remembered—this is Bara Magna. There are no easy jobs here.
He fired a Thornax at the rocks in front of him, slowing the Skrall platoon attacking him. Spinning around, he surveyed his position.
“Okay, if I can make it to those rocks up there, I can hold them off for a while,” he muttered, spotting a cliff with a better vantage point—higher, and with a sharp corner for cover. “It’s not far, right? Few hundred feet.”
As stray Thornax flew overhead, Gelu jumped and rolled, dodging the attacks of Skrall who’d been closing in. “Only it seems like a million miles!” He leaped forward, grabbing onto the ledge and pulling himself out of view.
The Skrall commander pointed. “Drag him out of there… piece by piece if you have to!” he barked.
Now that’s a truly disgusting suggestion! Gelu thought, trading shots with the first two Skrall that appeared on the rise. I just wish I knew how to stop them, but that might take a miracle. And—
The shadows on the rocks darkened as the rocks themselves were brightly lit. The entire landscape seemed alive as now the shadows moved abruptly, arcing around as a glowing object in the sky above shot by overhead, glowing with a luminescence brighter than Solis Magna itself. “What is—?” Gelu began.
“—that?” a Skrall finished for him. The warriors raised their swords to shield their eyes.
“It’s falling to the east!”
“Is it a weapon?”
Gelu thought fast. Now, while the Skrall are distracted, time to move, he thought scrambling down the rocks to circle back to his clients. I’m not sure what made that light in the sky, but it just became my favorite thing in the world. Ever.
✴ ✴ ✴
For months now, the Skrall had been capturing Vorox and training them to be “guard animals'' for Roxtus, the city of the Skrall. The training was brutal and some Vorox didn’t even survive.
A trio of Vorox wailed from deep within a Roxtus prison. It had been so long since they’d hunted, been fed, or seen the open sands of their home.
Vorox were desert dwellers. They were used to open sand and endless sky, and they hated to be chained.
Some hated it more than others.
One of the prisoners strained against his shackles, throwing the full force of his considerable might against the rusted metal. The chains were nailed into the wall, but as he pressed, he felt the slightest give. The Vorox strained, ignoring the pain and the pressure. With newfound energy, it groaned with the desperation of a captive beast.
And the chains came out.
The Vorox fell hard into the dirt, but it didn’t notice. Scrambling upright, it unleashed a blood-curdling roar. Even among the Skrall, a maddened Vorox could be a menace.
At least sometimes.
The Vorox shot out the prison door only for an armored gauntlet to catch its throat and raise it into the air. “What have we here?” a gruff voice growled, carrying the Vorox back into the prison. He lifted his spiked club, ready to skewer the beast. “On your leash, you’re a piece of Skrall property. Off it, you’re just one more miserable beast to be put down.”
“Stronius!” barked a voice from behind him. “Do you have nothing better to do than torment the livestock?”
The elite Skrall did not move. “Would you rather I let it run loose? You know the damage these filthy animals can do.”
“This is what we have warriors for—to clean up the mess. Put it down. Now.”
Stronius’ strong and armored form never wavered or strained as he lowered the creature back to the ground. Sensing an opportunity, the weakened, breathless Vorox tried to scramble away, but the two warrior-class guards darted in and subdued it.
“I must have some amusement,” Stronius said, following Tuma out of the prison. “It has been weeks since Atero, and the army is chained to this place just as much as those Vorox are. When do we attack?”
“So impatient,” Tuma chided. “The Glatorian and Agori cannot eat or sleep, as they wait in fear for our next strike. Where will it come? When? These questions torture them. Let them sweat a while longer.”
“They live in a desert… they are experts at sweating already,” Stronius muttered. “Meanwhile, our legions lose their edge, like blades too long unused.”
Tuma took a step closer, looming tall over Stronius. “Do you question my—what is that?”
A bright light flashed by overhead, shining bright light within the dark halls of Roxtus.
Stronius shielded his gaze with his Thornax launcher. “Some Glatorian trick? An attack on us?”
“Not unless they can now travel through the heavens,” Tuma said. “No, this is no doing of theirs… but double the patrols anyway.”
Stronius chuckled and lowered his weapons. “Ah, I see it now—only a shooting star,” he said, watching the streak of light fly overhead. “Nothing to worry about. After all, how important can it be?”
✴ ✴ ✴
“I’m telling you, it’s true! I saw it!” Tarduk insisted. He, Gresh, and Vastus were making their way along the outskirts of the village of Tesara.
Gresh laughed. “Come on, Tarduk. We’ve all heard tales of strange things up north. Why should we believe yours?”
“Because I was there, along with some other Agori!” Tarduk shot back.
“I know you aren’t one to make things up, Tarduk, but… shapeshifting monsters? An entire valley that’s a maze?” Vastus asked. “Anyway, we have too much to worry about here these days to go running off searching for myths.”
“Vastus is right,” Gresh nodded. “There are Bone Hunters all over the last few weeks. We need to get new walls built.”
“Right, like that will stop the Skrall when they come,” muttered Tarduk.
“Well, all we can do for now is keep our eyes open,” the veteran Jungle Glatorian replied. No sooner had he finished his sentence than he raised the bottom of his staff and fired a marksman’s shot from the Thornax Launcher at the end. The hardened projectile slammed into the torso of a Hunter not far away with such force it threw him from his perch. He let out a grunt of pain from the impact and flew backward into the rocks behind him.
“That was… incredible!” Gresh reacted. “How did you know the Bone Hunter was there?”
“Well, if I was a Bone Hunter, that’s where I would have been,” Vastus replied with a grim smile.
As the trio of Jungle dwellers approached the Hunter’s unconscious form, they didn’t find much with or around him. It was strange for a Bone Hunter to be alone, as they tended to move in packs. At a glance it seemed he was likely a scout, a messenger, or maybe even a deserter, at least until Gresh found something buried in the dirt where it had just been dropped.
“Hey, this is a Skrall shield…” the young warrior remarked, lifting the protective equipment off the ground. “What would a Bone Hunter be doing carrying this?”
Vastus gave it a look. Gresh was right—it was a Skrall piece of equipment, not that one of those warriors would ever surrender such a shield alive. “I don’t know… maybe he scavenged it, or stole it.”
“Or maybe… a Skrall gave it to him?” Tarduk suggested.
Vastus chuckled. “I think the ‘giant maze’ story made more sense than that, Tarduk. You can’t really—what?”
A pinpoint reflection had appeared on the shield, growing bigger and brighter. All three of them looked skyward to see a meteor descending to Bara Magna. It wouldn’t be the first time, but was certainly uncommon.
“Hmmmm. Looks like Bone Hunters aren’t the only thing falling today,” Vastus murmured.
✴ ✴ ✴
In Vulcanus, Raanu watched as Kiina dodged a swipe from Ackar’s fire sword and flipped over, nearly striking a hit with her trident. “Ha! I’m faster than you remembered, Ackar—stronger, too. It’s all that practice with Tarix.”
Beneath her aerial attack, Ackar grunted, “Maybe. Or maybe I’m slower than you remember.”
“Not giving up, are you, old friend?” Kiina taunted, cartwheeling into a kick.
“No, just taking a rest,” Ackar answered, grabbing her legs and throwing her behind him. “You look like you could use one, too.”
“Hey!” Kiina yelped, landing hard in the sand. “Ouch! Next time, I won’t go so easy on you!”
The Fire Glatorian chuckled and helped her up. “‘Easy’ isn’t in your vocabulary, and you know it. ‘Overconfidence’ is, though.”
Kiina’s eyes narrowed. “It’s only overconfidence if you can’t back it up. And you know I can.”
Raanu cleared his throat. “If you two are quite finished… Ackar, you have a match with Strakk later. You’re going to need to be sharper than that if you are going to win.”
Kiina flared, whirling on the elder. “Hey, sand mite, this Glatorian just saved your village from Bone Hunters a few days ago. Show a little respect!”
“Kiina, it’s alright. Calm down,” Ackar said, grabbing her shoulder to restrain her. “Raanu has a point—Strakk is quick, and he fights dirty. I’ll need to be—” He stopped, abruptly looking high into the sky. “Kiina, look at that!”
Kiina, along with Raanu, turned to see a ball of fire soaring overhead, its streak splitting the tapestry of midnight stars. It was only in view for a few moments, but such a spectacle was a rare gift on the surface of Bara Magna. “Wow, what do you think it is?” Kiina asked. “Maybe a flying ship—something I could use to get off this sand pile?”
Ackar frowned. “More likely a dead star plunging to a last resting place in the desert…” Kind of like me… he added to himself.
“Yeah, I guess that’s what Bara Magna is good for,” Kiina said sadly, turning to enter Vulcanus as the star’s light faded from view in the wastelands. “A place to die.”