“So what exactly is the point of this fight?” I asked, hurrying to keep up.
“It is a contest,” Loor answered. “You have seen how precious water is in the city. The situation has become so desperate, it has turned us against one another.”
“You mean the Batu against the Rokador?”
“It is worse than that,” she answered. “Since the underground rivers have gone dry, the Batu are fighting among themselves in their quest for water. Families guard their small supplies fiercely. It is not uncommon for neighbors to battle one another over a small puddle after a rain shower.”
One look around confirmed what Loor was saying. When I first saw Xhaxhu, the city was an amazing, fertile oasis in the middle of the desert. Troughs of fresh, clean water ran along the streets. There were rich palm trees, colorful hanging gardens and even fountains that sprayed water in intricate patterns around the massive statues of stone. But now, the city was dry. Bone dry. The troughs were empty, except for dust. The gardens were gone. The palm trees were dying. Sand from the desert blew through the streets and collected in every corner. Walking through Xhaxhu, I couldn’t help but imagine that this is what the cities of ancient Egypt must have looked like when the desert began taking over. Unless something changed, I could imagine the city of Xhaxhu one day being buried in sand, waiting for some future civilization to uncover it.
Loor continued, “It has caused a divide among the Ghee warriors. Half of us remain loyal to our mission. We protect Xhaxhu and the royal family of Zinj.”
“And the other half?” I asked.
“They have the same goal, but differ in their methods. The royal family has made it known that they wish to work through this catastrophe peacefully. But there is a growing number of Ghee warriors who feel our only hope of survival is to wage war on the Rokador below and claim whatever water they may be holding. With each passing day, the numbers of this rebellious group grow larger. If this drought continues, I fear there will be war.”
“Smells like Saint Dane’s kind of party,” I said.
“I agree,” Loor answered. “He has found a time in our history where we are the most vulnerable. The question is, what is he doing to make it worse?”
“That’s always the question,” I added. “Tell me about this fight we’re going to.”
“A well was discovered,” Loor answered. “It is not known how much water it contains. It may hold a few feet, or lead to a spring. The dispute is over who will control it. The rebel Ghee warriors want it for themselves, to fortify their strength in preparation for their assault on the Rokador. The Ghee loyal to the royal family wish to have the water distributed to all the people of Xhaxhu.”
“So this is a battle between Ghee warriors?”
“It is,” Loor answered somberly.
“Which side are you on?” I asked.
“I would like to believe I am on the side of Zadaa,” Loor answered. “But in this case I am loyal to the royal family. I do not wish to see a war…for many reasons.”
“I hear you,” I said.
We traveled the rest of the way in silence. Loor needed to get her game on, and I needed to keep a low profile in case a thirsty Ghee warrior saw me and felt like beating up on a Rokador. Loor led me to a city square that was nothing more than a sandy patch of ground surrounded on all sides by towering, sandstone buildings. They reminded me of pictures I’d seen of ancient Mayan temples in Central America.
The buildings rose up like multi-tiered pyramids, finished off with flat tops. Some were taller than others, reaching maybe ten stories high. On all levels were carved statues that I can only guess were famous Batu from the past. Most of them looked like fierce warriors, clutching spears or arrows. It wasn’t a real happy-looking bunch.
In the dead center of the square was an ornate fountain. Dry, of course. The fountain had a statue that was a larger-than-life depiction of a Ghee warrior battling a huge beast that looked like a fierce cat…with two heads. The beast stood on its hind legs, towering over the warrior with its claws out and ready to slice.
“That monster looks familiar,” I said. “But that’s impossible.”
“It is not impossible because you have seen one before,” Loor answered. “It is a zhou beast. That machine on Veelox took the image of the zhou from my memory and-“
“The Reality Bug!” I exclaimed. “I remember! When it burst out of Lifelight, it looked like that thing. You’re saying those bad boys are real?”
Before Loor could answer, a trumpet sounded a fanfare. I looked up to see that people were gathering on the tiers of the pyramidlike buildings.
“How come nobody’s on the ground?” I asked.
“Because that is the battleground,” Loor answered.
“Oh,” I said. “I guess I don’t want to be here either.”
“I would prefer you were nowhere near here,” Loor said.
“But I want to see what happens,” I said. “I’ll be careful.”
If she was scared, she didn’t show it. After all we’d been through, I can’t remember once when Loor was actually afraid. She was incredible. Or incredibly oblivious.
“So…, uh, win. Okay?” I said.
“I always do,” she said with absolute confidence.
I didn’t want to wish her luck because I felt like that would be bad luck. I know, that’s dumb, but what can I say? I left Loor and found some stairs up to the first-balcony tier. Climbing the stairs wasn’t fun. I had to make sure the dark cloak covered my head and arms. Sweat ran into my eyes, making them sting, but I had to keep it on. Man, it was hot. Did I mention that?
I found a secluded spot in the shade of a towering statue and took up my position to watch events unfold below. Looking down on the square, I got the feeling that we were in an arena. The tiers of the buildings around the square were filling up with spectators to complete the illusion. Either the people of Xhaxhu really cared about how this fight was going to play out, or they had nothing better to do with their time. Either way, there was a pretty decent turnout.
As I looked around at the gathering masses, trying to be invisible, I saw something strange. The more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became. All the people around me were dressed for the hot weather, wearing short, lightweight clothes. I saw several Ghee warriors who stood out in the crowd only because they were wearing black, light armor like Loor’s. Everyone else was dressed for hanging out in a blast furnace except for me…and one other person.
One tier above me, keeping to the shadow of a statue, was someone else wearing a cloak over his head. I didn’t think many people saw him because they were all looking down into the square. I may have been one of the few who actually was in a position to see him. Or her. I couldn’t tell which, so I’ll refer to him as “he.” His cloak was dark, but not black. It looked more like a deep, deep purple. Whoever this mysterious guy was, there were two things I knew about him: One, he didn’t want to be seen any more than I did; and two, he was very interested in the battle about to take place. Actually there was one other thing I knew. Unless he was some kind of freak, he had to be as hot as I was. But that only made his being there all the more interesting.
A trumpet fanfare sounded again, and the crowd grew quiet. From two different sides of the square, the contestants entered. Each group had three Ghee warriors who marched in together, their heads held high. Loor was one of them. She was also the only girl. It made me incredibly proud, and more than a little scared. More scary was the fact that they all carried weapons. I had seen war games here on Zadaa a while back. In that battle the contestants used short wooden sticks as weapons to knock colored pegs off their opponents. It was more like a brutal game of capture the flag than real war. Not this time. Here in the dry, dusty square, each warrior had a small shield in one hand, and a short, sharp sword in the other.
Sharp swords meant blood. My heart raced. This was no game.
The two groups of warriors met near the fountain in the center of the square, saluted each other with their swords and stepped back. The crowd cheered its approval. Another Ghee warrior entered the square. He strode to the center and stood between the two trios of warriors. He saluted Loor’s group, then the other. He looked up at the crowd and announced: “The challenge has been set. The stakes are clear.”
I half expected the guy to shout: “Leeeeet’s get ready to rummmmble!” He didn’t.
He continued, “To the victor goes the right to control the newly discovered well. The match will follow in the long tradition of the Ghee. Victory shall go to the warrior who cleanly severs two heads.”
