Two years might not seem like much, but to the shorter-lived kobolds, it'd be almost like living for five or ten. It makes a lot more sense why we take these Trials around two years old; it'd be no different than coming of age tests children underwent in the medieval ages or where they began their apprenticeships. Now, though, we were comparable to teenagers or even young adults.
Aggel's instructions had given me a long time to contemplate just how much I might grow but my growth spurts seemed to end earlier this year. Winter is setting in and some snow has been falling over the forest... but that's just fine. Last year, we stockpiled plenty of food so even if we fail to be welcomed back I can simply return.
There are only two things that would threaten us in Bailaka's outskirts or within the town; compared to regular kobolds, training and fighting directly alongside me in hunts has made both Ango and Hanaya physically stronger. In a two-on-four or even two-on-ten fight, they'd be able to fight most kobolds and probably hold their own in an even fight with elites. Fighting against someone far more overwhelming in strength brought out Ango's battle acumen to a degree that's similar to a combat veteran if not an elite in his own right. Hanaya's ability to support him also worked her reflexes much higher; if Ango made an opening, she could kill anyone without any hesitation.
But the most dangerous of the three kobolds with me is Nehlka; becoming a druidess was a prerequisite to becoming a tribe shaman. The process involved requires breaking the Mana Divide, a metaphysical barrier that all beings can be born with or without. Although it was a fantasy in my prior life, Aggel's teachings had prepared me for the reality of magic in this life.
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The four walked in a simple formation; Ango at the front, Baik behind him, Nehlka at his flank and Hanaya at the rear of the formation. Snowfall last night had been met with the early morning warmth, bogging some sections of the woods but doing little to slow their progress. The break of the treeline ahead forced them to stop, however; Ango turned around and Hanaya walked up to the front, both of them looking at the mellow-faced prince.
"Well," the green kobold sighed. "We're at the edge of the field."
Baik nodded, moving one hand to his enlargened club with a momentary glance at the distant walls. "This is the tribe I-"
"All of us know already, Prince Baik." Hanaya's words made Baik look down, yet she nor her promised mate looked annoyed. Instead, she looked worried. "We guessed as much over the years... but are you sure it's safe for Nehlka to come with us?"
Nehlka's tail slapped a mound of snow in frustration and she stormed around the other side, glaring between the two men at the muscular female. "What are you trying to imply? I-"
Baik's sail fanned up between the two girls and the druidess huffed, pulling her staff tight to her body whilst the taller male set his attention on Ango.
"Ango," he removed his sash and held it out. "I'm glad you both know this isn't your old village. But, if you do, then that means I'll save us time and be quick. Tie this to your pike and raise it like a banner. As for Nehlka, she is far from weak."
His sole male friend frowned but merely nodded, taking the sash carefully and kneeling to start working. Nehlka's face lit up with pride but Hanaya wasn't convinced. Expectedly so, as neither hunter was allowed to be at the tower during the ceremony. Only Baik and Nehlka knew of what she underwent... and neither of them had seen her staff as anything more than something for show or hiking about. Baik himself knew very little about the reasons save for the information he was given years ago from Aggel, yet his confidence in her wasn't going to shake.
Baik crossed his arms and let his tail fall, turning his gaze onto the stocky female. "Although neither of you believes it, Nehlka might be stronger than even me in an individual battle. Based on our sparring rankings, that'd make her the strongest."
Hanaya turned about and waved her tail dismissively, letting it go for the time being. Whether or not they trusted in her skill personally, his word was law.
Who'd have imagined their trust wavering and then coming back so strong?
"We're ready."
Ango stood back up, all three of the kobolds looking to the tightly-tied sash as it billowed in the light gust.
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"After the trials, how do kobolds come back home? I mean... they do come back home, right?"
Aggel laughed, gently ruffling the bed-tucked Baik's hair.
"Well," she started. "I'd say that it'd be showing them something that would let their parents and friends recognize them."
Baik squeezed his fingers around his blanket, remembering its warmth. He hadn't wanted to let go of the first thing he wore in this world. It kept him warm and helped comfort him in adjusting to this newer life. Even kobolds had comfort objects and understood the value of something like that, regardless of how brutal their livelihood may be. He reached out, grabbing one of the dotting shaman's fingers with a smile.
"Then I'll return beneath this blanket. No one would forget it since they all saw me brought in wearing it, right?"
Her eyes filled with shock, yet ultimately her gaze drifted down to the cloth. "You know, that's not a terrible idea, my Prince... not a bad one at all. Should you return, raise it high and proud and Prince Bai and I shall come to greet you personally."
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The four of them walked in a wide line — side-by-side facing the village — across the snowy plains whilst Baik thought back to those days. The walls looked unoccupied but that was merely the work of their scouting towers in the higher tiers; Bailaka likely had seen them coming the instant they left tree cover. Although Ango and Hanaya seemed confident, them and Nehlka kept their tails and ears lowered in unease or dismay. It took everything in his confidence to avoid mirroring it but the Prince kept his stride tall and eyes ahead on the looming gate.
It grew while I was gone; more buildings inside must mean they're probably considering growing soon.
The distance lowered down to only about fifty yards before Baik gestured the group to stop; the gate loomed ahead and two kobolds now stood on the pallisade platforms. Both aimed bows at them whilst the gates slowly lurched open, revealing another squad of kobolds. Each one was an elite bearing bone and scavenged iron armor, numbering almost twenty as they raised their various weapons in unease. There was little way they could see the other three as a threat, but his own presence was a different story entirely.
Aggel told me that the only time princes work together is when one is beaten into submission... otherwise, they always fight to the death.
Baik reached over and grabbed the spear from the stiff kobold, raising the flag over his head.
"I am Prince Baik," he barked, watching the line of elites flinch and the bowmen raise their weapons. "This is Bailaka; two years ago, I took my trial! I returned now to speak to Prince Bai and Shaman Aggel!"
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He lowered and set the bottom of the banner in the snowy grass, looking out over the formation for a moment. None of their faces were familiar to him... but that didn't mean he hadn't met these kobolds before. A few whispered and turned lax at his name, whilst others openly let their jaws drop at Bai's name. Their captain, adorned in an entire suit of iron, stepped forward and raised his onyx-tipped spear directly at him.
"If you are who you say you are, then face me in combat; if you beat me, then I'll let you in to meet with them!"
Nehlka worryingly lifted her staff, yet Ango stepped in front of her and looked to Baik. "If he wishes to challenge you, let me face him!"
"No," the prince answered, gently offering the sash-bound pike back. "Your trials are done."
Baik turned his attention on the smaller kobold, stepping forward from his friends and letting his eyes shift crimson. The sail on the end of his tail flared out an extra inch and stiffened into its natural blade, whipping across the grass and slicing through no differently than a sickle. The challenging elite merely took his weapon in both hands, ignoring the curses and baffled banter of his soldiers. Whilst it was merely shifting into a battle-ready state, Baik knew why he didn't care; elites were often exposed to what a Prince could do all the time, with most of them even sparring or training under them. Compared to Bai, Baik might as well have been a wolf in a chimera den. Equipment and experience all weighed heavily in the elite's favor, no matter what his foe was.
Baik, however, grabbed the shaft of his ring-bound axe, snapping it free from his back and letting it swing out just above his tail. Even though it wasn't iron, the weight of its stone head made its obsidian edge no different than the bite or cutting might of a poorly made iron weapon. The look of confidence went to one of caution in the elite, letting Baik smile.
"You've realized it, then?" Baik took the shaft in both hands, grabbing the bindings below the head and near the base like one would hold a pitchfork in a side-carry.
"Yes," the iron-clad kobold grunted. He hoisted his spearhead ever slightly higher, waiting for Baik to reach a distance of fifteen feet away. "You and I don't fight with a shield."
"Law number three," Baik laughed, hunching over and taking his axe into a mid-height guard.
Kobolds must survive before they thrive. That law has many interpretations beneath its most common one; one of these is that a kobold must value their life. That's why most kobolds are differentiated into two sides of the same coin. Some like Ango carry shields or use bows, prioritizing their own survival to return home and thrive...
"Survival," the elite growled, waving his tail in annoyance. "You mean to dare imply that you-"
Baik leaped forward, crossing nearly ten feet in a single bound. The elite masterfully shifted into a forward step and drove his spear forward, only for Baik's axe to twist up and smack the shaft off-course. Comparing the two of them, the advantage for Baik was that he didn't fight wearing full armor; his natural physical advantages shined without anything slowing him down. Reflexes and a much higher speed meant that the elite was left dumbstruck as his spear skidded away, yet his experience brought him back just in time to thrust his arm up and grab the shaft just inches from slamming into his waist from the bottom and side.
Unrelentingly, the prince's tail smashed into the snowy grass and propelled him forward; his axe may have been stopped but the deflecting shaft smashed against the elite's shoulder pauldron mere seconds before Baik kicked him dead in the stomach of his breastplate. It hurt his bones to kick iron but the pain was fading as the combat and bloodlust in the prince raged forward. The elite stumbled but didn't fall, using the weight of his armor and a slight stance shift to finally dismissively toss the prince away to the side. Baik rolled and tumbled, pulling his axe taut to his form so he didn't accidentally cut himself and allowing him to center his weight instantly.
He rolled up onto one knee and planted his foot, feinting his guard back as the elite hastily retook his stance. The trio of kobolds wasn't nearly as shocked as the other elites were, even amidst the clear dent in the iron from where Baik had kicked him. Although the elite's face was hidden, Baik felt the anger welling up and probably giving him a mean scowl. Bailaka's pride came from being strong, so he didn't blame the kobold for doubting his resolve.
Kobolds like me, however, realize we can survive if we beat our opponents! We don't need to worry about surviving if our foes are dead!
The prince surged forward again, albeit this time running; the kobold had gauged his speed before but this time he needed a better attack plan. Baik swung his axe in the first attack, baiting the kobold's stab; the elite easily dragged his spear upward and caught the back of the axe's hook, the pair of them snapping their hands to try and disarm the other. The skill of the elite's disarm countered the raw might he had, stalemating and forcing Baik to parry his weapon in a meaningless deflect. His opponent's counter came in with a swinging knee, striking against the side of Baik's lower leg.
He's fast.
Baik let go of his axe's lower shaft, reaching out and grabbing the still spinning spear; he snapped the weapon's tip in a single twist, sending the spearhead sailing and leaving the weapon useless. Its momentum and stability didn't do enough to slow his fall, however, forcing him to catch his dead-legged side and attempt to recover while the kobold delivered a punch to his exposed kidney-spot.
More importantly, he can fight better than me. He's probably killed one or two enemy princes among a sea of enemies.
The exchange of blows finally caught up, letting Baik grab the man's helmet just as the kobold turned and grabbed him beneath the arm. Baik's underheld arm reached down, fruitlessly grabbing the pauldron of iron and snapping it off; the grey-scaled kobold didn't skip a beat even though he had a weak point now exposed, twisting and tossing Baik into the palisade wall with enough force to shake snow on its top. Ango stepped forward but Hanaya rushed out to stop him, Nehlka watching worriedly as Baik immediately pushed himself out of the snow. None of them could do anything for him, even with the elite charging back in with a newly drawn stone knife.
But he hasn't fought one like me.
Baik's crimson eyes and sail dimmed purple, the ridges of his tail sparking electricity along their ridges. The elite slowed and tried to retreat at the sudden energization, yet it was too late to distance himself from the rising prince. Arcs of energy danced along Baik's spine, spitting sparks of mana-fire over the palisade whilst he clapped his hands together at the elite.
"Spark!"
Mana cut through the air like an arrow or bolt, slamming into the man's chest before converting into electricity. The iron wrapping his body conducted the electricity and brought him to his knees, shaking as an equivalent to a taser surged over his smaller form.
I broke my Mana Divide, too, after all.
All of the elites rushed either into the city keep or to their friend's side, whilst Baik slowly rose to his feet without any gloating. Without the use of his magic, an opponent in iron would have been too much; but with all of that metal, he had set himself up for failure from the start. Magic in this world wasn't fantastical; it was brutal and dangerous, making those who broke the mana divide well and above those who didn't.
"History told us that kobolds learned magic to benefit the demons," he stated to the group and the convulsing kobold, turning and walking around them to rejoin his allies.
"But history also told us that the Kobold King harnessed its power to defeat them. For one to become Prince, they can't truly inherit that position if they're held back by a petty thing like the Mana Divide."
Ango and Hanaya were both staring in awe, but Nehlka's demeanor ensured him that he wasn't too far off the mark. Baik smiled and took his place back at her side, looking at the pair of confused kobolds.
"You... used magic?" Hanaya's disbelief left her unusually short for words. "When did-"
"Not when! Why didn't you use that in any of our spars or tell us?" Ango still held the spear, but nearly struck Hanaya when he spun around not even considering it was in his grasp.
"Because it's dangerous," Baik said as respectfully as he could. "Surely you both know that magic makes you a prime target for an enemy force. Besides... as I told both of you, I'm not the one we should be aware of. It'd be-"
Their conversation ended when the grass and snow ahead of them suddenly burst upward, making four-foot-wide pillars and catching incoming arrows. Kobolds on the wall were baffled but immediately alarmed, watching the pillars fall and sharing the same alarm as the duo the pillars protected. Nehlka's staff had raised, both of her eyes glowing a brilliant shade of blue and steaming the air with the heat of her mana. Prince Baik crossed his arms, smiling at the kobold girl's display and then back to the entirety of the Bailaka kobolds.
"Unlike me, Nehlka's talent for magic seems natural. If I were to compare us, she's already more advanced as she can create spells of her own. Spark isn't even worth mentioning compared to someone who has her level of mana manipulation."
Baik ignored the babbling kobold pair, looking toward the highest leveled tier of the village. The gates leading up to it were being opened, with many of the elites who had run ascending the stairs a few feet behind other locals. After the spar, they had gone to likely share news of the visitors; now that there was more display, their frantic ushering only made Baik pleased that his homecoming could be so well.
We didn't just prove we could survive, Aggel. We proved that we could thrive... even with so few as four of us. The only question left now is whether you and Bai will see this as a success or failure.