'Now, that was very impressive,' Melcorka allowed. 'I've never seen anything like that before.'
Kulothunga smiled at her, aware of her admiration. 'Do you want me to show you how I did that?'
'I do,' Melcorka said.
'I shall show you in private.' Kulothunga replaced his sword belt and smoothed a finger over his moustache. 'Where there are no witnesses to learn my skills and use them against me.'
'As long as I have Defender.' Melcorka was reluctant to be unprotected and alone with this dangerous man.
'You will not need your sword for a wrestling match,' Kulothunga said, as the officer took his company of soldiers on a complicated manoeuvre that involved both spear and shield exercises.
'I will trust you.' Melcorka decided.
'Come this way.' Kulothunga smoothed his moustache again. 'Your wandering friend may come as well, although my skills will not be any use to a man such as he.'
Kulothunga brought Melcorka to an enclosed space between a copse of trees and a small temple. 'Here,' he said, 'is where I practice my swordplay and my wrestling.'
'I have never done any wrestling,' Melcorka said.
'Never?' Kulothunga smiled. 'Have you never wrestled with your brothers, or that strange fellow over there?' He nodded to Bradan, who sat on the stump of a fallen tree, watching.
'I have no brothers,' Melcorka said.
'I have seven,' Kulothunga said. 'And three sisters.' His smile widened. 'I wrestled with them all. They never bested me. Not once. Come!'
Melcorka advanced cautiously. Within a minute, she was pinned and helpless on the ground. 'We'll try again,' she said, only to experience the same result.
'You are not as good as I am,' Kulothunga shrugged. 'Nobody is.'
'Teach me,' Melcorka ordered and listened intently as Kulothunga explained each move, step by step. After half an hour, Melcorka had the basics of one movement. After an hour, she had the gist of another, which meant that their bouts lasted longer, although invariably with the same result.
'Now show me how you put these soldier lads to sleep.' Melcorka knew she could practice wrestling with Bradan whenever she wished, while her time with Kulothunga would inevitably be limited.
'Stand up,' Kulothunga said. 'Attack me again.'
Melcorka did so, using every trick she had learned that day, and nearly succeeded in putting Kulothunga on the ground before he knocked her down with a bare touch with the tip of his finger. Kulothunga threw himself down, and they lay on the ground, panting. Melcorka grinned across to Kulothunga. 'You are very good at that.'
'It is called Varmam.' Kulothunga ensured that his moustache was as neat as ever. 'It is a fighting method that we Tamils have developed over the centuries.' When he was talking seriously, Kulothunga revealed his intelligence, and Melcorka realised that she liked the man. He smiled, showing perfect white teeth. 'It is also a method of medical treatment, although I create employment for doctors rather than doctoring the sick myself.'
'How does it work?' Melcorka asked.
'I don't know how it works,' Kulothunga admitted, 'but I can tell you what I do know.'
'Please do so,' Melcorka said.
'Varmam are points in the body, here,' Kulothunga pointed to a spot below Melcorka's left breast, 'and here, and here.' He touched her lightly in various places. 'When somebody touches these pressure points, they can either cure or debilitate, depending on the type of pressure used. You know that the body is made of blood and bones and muscle and sinew? Well, there is also an invisible life force that ten vital channels carry through our body. We call these channels Vaayu, with the most important one being praanan. This vital energy is focussed in one hundred and eight special points of the body, known as Varman points. If we strike these points, we can kill the enemy, or else paralyse him, either permanently or temporarily.'
'How does that work?' Melcorka asked.
'I am not clear about that,' Kulothunga admitted. 'Hitting any of the one hundred and eight points seems to stop the vital energy flowing around it, so your enemy will be disabled.'
'How did you learn these things?' Bradan asked.
Kulothunga shrugged. 'Lord Shiva taught his wife, Parvathi about Varman. Parvathi taught their son, Lord Murugan and he taught Siddha Agasthiyar, who wrote it down for the rest of us.'
'Can you show me these pressure points? 'Melcorka asked.
'I will show you.'
The following day, they met again as dawn painted the eastern sky ochre-red, with clouds the ominous colour of blood.
'I have brought two swords of equal length,' Kulothunga said. 'These are the swords our soldiers carry.'
'I am better with my own sword,' Melcorka said.
'So am I,' Kulothunga said. 'I will be superior to you with either weapon.'
'Possibly.' Melcorka tried the primary Chola weapon for balance. It was shorter than Defender, with a broad, slightly curved blade.
Kulothunga's stance was less orthodox than Melcorka had expected. He stood with his left foot extended and his sword held above his head, point down.
'I've never seen anybody stand like that before,' Melcorka said and realised that Kulothunga was no longer smiling. 'Are we fighting to the death?'
'We are practising,' Kulothunga said. 'There is little amusing about swordplay that results in the death of your enemy. There is even less amusing about swordplay that results in your own death. Defend yourself!' Kulothunga advanced quickly, watching every move that Melcorka made as he closed the gap between them.
Melcorka stepped forward. Although she lacked the skill that Defender provided, the scores of encounters she had fought with the sword had taught her more than just the rudiments. She parried Kulothunga's advance, twisted under his arm and swung at his ribs. Kulothunga blocked her sword, ran his blade up to her hilt and pushed
