The Chronicles of Solatia

A Marno’s Shield Prequel

By Scott Norris

Garone eyed the weapons rack curiously and smiled. Today was his day and now he would prove it! He was skilled with two out of the three weapons available to him, and need only slay one beast to be fully recognized and respected as a man.

It was the Ascension Ceremony of Syren. Each boy waited their turn, anxiously yet hopefully, ready to prove themselves before their nation.

And now, it was Garone’s turn! The cheers of the crowd, the energy in the air, all seemed to be more plentiful than ever at this ascension ceremony.

The boys of Eastern Syren moved forward one by one, each getting their turn to slay a beast before the crowd at The Arena.

He looked at those watching and could clearly see his immediate family. They were all there, mom and dad and his younger sister, Chareen.

Garone smiled with a warmed heart as he watched his family continue to be supportive of him.

The boys continued the ritual, as it should be. One boy fought with a sword, one a spear, and one with an axe. Garone cringed slightly each time someone had to fight with an axe, as he had trouble with this weapon himself.

It was nearly time for Garone to fight.

Garone glanced behind him and saw that he would be one of the last boys to fight today. All the more reason to do well!

Aside from being in a memorable spot, Garone also knew that his people — The Syrenese — took the ascension ritual seriously, and if he had failed in his task of slaying the beast ahead of him, he would not be considered to be a man despite his age.

There were now five soon-to-be-men ahead of him. The first one chose a sword and eliminated a boar with ease. The second one chose an axe, while Garone grimaced and looked away. Still, this second boy defeated a crocodile with a double-handed chop. The third one in line now had to fight with a spear.

Garone could not help but smile at this, as his preferred weapon was the spear. Surely this soon-to-be new man would be victorious, right?

He turned to his friend, Charnok, who was directly behind him.

“With the spear, he’s got this. I want one myself!”

“You will be fine either way,” said Charnok.

The third boy stepped forward with his spear while a tiger entered The Arena.

Despite being a wild animal, this tiger had somehow kept his green and black fur shining pristinely.

Before the fight began the spear throwers — established men ready to intervene with throwing spears should one of the boys be in danger — called to each other and asked that every one of them stand at the ready. There were now six spear throwers available, instead of the usual two or three. The young man stepped forward.

The tiger charged and this spear-wielding boy immediately threw a stab at the cat’s chest. The tiger ducked into the dirt and the spear grazed the top of the beast’s head. The tiger knew that he was in a good position and charged at the young man. A spear was nearly thrown in. The young man had not given up however, and dodged by moving to his right side, then tried to stab just past the tiger’s left front leg. The tiger however, raised its leg and forced the spear into the orange sand beneath it. The beast fell forward and snapped the spear shaft into pieces. The boy turned to run away but still got nicked on the leg by a razor-sharp tiger claw, as six throwing spears flew in and quieted down the beast.

The young man hung his head and left The Arena in complete silence.

Garone forced himself to raise his head, as now two boys stood before him about to begin their fights.

Despite the boy’s failure to ascend to manhood, Garone still wanted a trusty spear. That is, until the first boy took one for himself!

The boy smiled confidently and took a step forward, as new throwing spears were issued.

A lion entered The Arena. The massive, hungry male charged forward. The boy held out his spear, defiantly and pointed it at the beast. The lion gave a loud roar and a test charge, but the boy held his ground and remained in position. The lion moved to its former position then faced the boy and roared. Another test charge was given and the older boy still held his position. The lion ran off.

Something changed in the boy with the spear however, as this time he began to back away and did not have the spear pointed directly at the lion! The boy turned halfway and dragged the spear on the ground, as now the lion charged as fast as he could. The boy however, hopped back and immediately whipped the spear into position, impaling the great beast. The lion roared despite the pain but could not escape the deadly spear, as the new man drove the spear home.

The crowd cheered uproariously.

The next two weapons available were a sword and an axe. Garone wanted the sword as this one had both thrusting and slashing capabilities, but the second boy chose the sword for himself.

Garone would have to fight with the axe. He looked at his parents for further support but they could only look on with apprehension.

The next beast entered The Arena, it was a kremblor, an insect like creature with a body as big as a boulder. This creature also had fluttering shovel-like crimson scales about its body that could provide resistance to most weapon attacks. The only way to attack this creature was to wait for it to expose its neck.

The sword-wielding boy took a deep breath and moved forward. The creature moved forward as well, not charging but walking. He stabbed at the beast from the front but this only moved one of the beast’s scales. The beast hissed and glared at the young man. The beast then flung its expandable neck at the boy and tried to bite his leg. The boy got away and immediately swung at the flinging neck but only caught his blade on one of the scales.

The older boy would have to fight the beast another way so he began circling the creature as fast as he could. As the boy gained speed, the kremblor shifted its position and bit again but could not catch the young challenger. Frustrated, the beast now charged and planted its body on top of the boy’s foot, but the boy kicked his foot away and dodged a bite. The boy moved around again and this time, delivered several slashes at the beast’s scales. The beast immediately felt confident that it could bite the boy and threw its neck out, but the boy anticipated this and dove forward while cutting.

The kremblor’s head rolled on the ground, as the crowd cheered again.

Garone picked up the axe and smiled, somewhat nervously. This was not his weapon yet, this was his chance! His time had come and now he had to prove himself before his people! He glanced at his family and they nodded evenly yet hopefully.

Garone moved forward and stared as a wolf entered The Arena. The beast would not have been too much trouble as wolves are common in Syren and fighting them is a frequent thing. However, this was no ordinary wolf. Clearly the beast was from a far-off land.

The beast stood a wolf’s head taller than most adult male wolves, with muscles as sturdy as stone. The fur on the creature was darker than the sky on a moonless night. Its yellow eyes locked on Garone as the beast snarled, displaying its half a foot-long fangs. The wolf growled as it came for Garone, everyone in The Arena could hear the beast.

The extra spear throwers all stood forward, and did not have to be asked to do so.

Knowing that a bite was the wolf’s way, Garone pointed this axe head forward and turned its blade slightly. The wolf came at Garone and tried to bite the boy’s leg, but Garone placed the axe in front of its teeth and took a step backward. The beast tried to circle around Garone on the boy’s left side for another bite but Garone blocked it again, then immediately added a quick snap strike to the beast and nicked its nose. The wolf moved away and stared back at him.

While the beast moved off, Garone stared at the attacking creature and remembered that the wolf’s heart was a somewhat vulnerable area. Garone held the axe outward again and the wolf did not engage, so Garone pulled the axe backward at an awkward angle. The beast came right for him. Garone twisted his body to the left, and then tried to bring the axe blade into the beast’s heart by continuing his turning motion. However, the wolf shifted slightly just to Garone’s right and the blade caught the edge of the wolf’s chest and not the center.

The heart of the wolf had been pierced, but the beast’s final action had been to lunge its head forward and chomp into Garone’s arm. Screams of agony rang out.

Because Garone had swung his weapon, the spear throwers had not intervened. Now however, it was time for them to call for a healer. Because The Arena was near King Sawna’s castle, a Royal Healer was available.

“Aaaaahhh!” screamed Garone. His mother and sister turned away in tears.

“Open the jaw!” ordered the healer. “Use knives to pry the jaw open!” The men who carried short knives presented them and after a few long moments, managed to unlock the beast’s maw. Garone writhed on the ground as the fangs moved throughout his bicep. “Hold him!” called out the healer, the men obliged. The healer then drew a small blanket from his medicine bag and motioned toward Garone’s head, as the spear throwers used the cloth to block Garone’s vision.

The blanket was also lined with a clear oil, dubbed sleeping magic by the Syrenese people. Garone was out, as the healer painstakingly began removing the sixteen fangs from his arm.

Garone awoke in a dark, yet friendly room.

“Where am I?” shouted the man.

“You are in the health ward at Sawna’s castle,” said a healer, who smiled at him. This was the same healer from The Arena. “My name is Rusawn. I am the chief healer here and I will see to your health.”

“I owe you a great deal,” Garone then attempted to move his right arm to shake hands, but failed to do so. “My arm…” Rusawn lowered his gaze.

“Your arm was badly injured. While you did complete the ascension ceremony, it was not without loss.”

“Oh wonderful! What will I do now?” Rusawn looked away. “Without my arm, how will I defend our land?”

“There are other options for a man of your young age.”

“Oh sure!”

“Our ways are not to abandon those in need of employment. We are proud Syrenese and we will find a career for you.”

“Doing what?!” Rusawn did not immediately respond, instead looked closely at Garone’s wounded arm. “I’m a highly skilled defender! No one can outfight me! Well at least not before now…” Garone quieted his voice and blinked his wet eyes.

“We will find a way to use your talents,” said Rusawn confidently. “King Sawna is a good king and is the type of man that feels responsible for those hurt within his presence, which includes you. I’m sure he can help find work in things like manning his stables, training new defenders, and he is in need of new scribes should you decide to write stories for our people.”

“No… Being a defender is all I know. That’s all I am and that’s all I want to be…” Garone’s eyes dampened once again.

“Perhaps you had better rest and think about this.”

Chareen entered the health ward and after getting permission to speak to her brother from an exiting healer, immediately set to do this.

“Garone?” called out Chareen. Garone looked up, surprised.

“Hello,” called out the wounded man. “I did not expect to see you here.”

“Nor I you,” said Chareen. “How are you?” Garone turned his head away.

“That healer seems hopeful. But… My arm–” Chareen nodded, signaling that he did not have to mention that his arm was useless. “I…have a lot to think about.” Chareen held back tears.

“Yes, you wanted nothing more to be a defender of Syren. And now here you are…What did that healer say?”

“Nothing about my arm. I am convinced that the bestal acorn oil has helped heal my skin but, I still cannot move my arm…He mentioned something about working for King Sawna.”

“What do you think about that?”

“I’m a Defender not a politician.” Chareen shook her head.

“Just because you cannot serve Syren as a Defender, does not mean your career is over. Serving Sawna directly is a great thing.”

“But it’s not what I want to do…”

“You have to do something different with your life, and you can’t give up.” Garone nodded.

“I have a lot to think about…,” said Garone abruptly.

“My brother, do not merely say that and ignore it! Seriously consider what we are saying to you. Could you train new defenders?” Garone was stunned, momentarily.

“I…suppose so. Why do you ask?” Chareen shrugged.

“I don’t know, it just seems like a good role for you.”

“I will think about that…” Chareen nodded, satisfied that she had truly helped her brother.

“So why is my sister traveling about Syren alone? Just because this is our King’s castle, does not mean you should be here like this.” Chareen drew two iron daggers seemingly out of nowhere.

“I have been practicing with these,” she said with a smile. Garone smiled as well.

“Father’s iron daggers!” said Garone. Chareen nodded.

“Thank you for suggesting these. And since I added two secret sheathes behind my shoulders, I can carry them easily and get to them quickly.”

“Perfect. Maybe other women will carry blades like this as well?”

“Perhaps,” said Chareen. She started to leave but stopped. “Garone, there is something else you should know about.”

“What is that?”

“Your friend Charnok has expressed interest in courting me. He has even gotten permission from mother and father.” Garone nodded.

“Well, he seems to be a good man. But be careful…” Chareen nodded. “Until everyone knows what kind of a man he is.”

“Surely. Well, farewell my brother and new man of Syren! Get some rest.”