The Death of a Worthy Opponent
The Death of a Worthy Opponent
BY: Emmanuel Barraza
CHAPTER 1
As the young-woman walks through the alley way, she begins to hear the rustling of gravel and footsteps. She turns around at incredible speed. But notices no one. She feels around with her aura to sense if she needs to be in precaution. She then later yells out.
“Come out leech!”
A figure comes out with the sense of a pitch black, evil, hungry, and violent aura.
“So we meet again, Juliya? Now what are we doing outside on this fine evening?”
“I know what I’m doing; the question is what are you doing?”
“Well I thought I would find something to snack on, say for instance, blood?”
“Well not tonight Vincente, because I’m going finish you once and for all!”
As Juliya unsheathes her dagger, Vincente moves in for the attack. Juliya whisks past Vincente and lays the blow on him.
“AH! Is that thing forged by magic?”
“Yes and you’re going to take another taste of it and die! AH!”
She charges in with the desire of killing this creature. She almost screams her head off with her battle cry. She whisks by him again and slits his throat with the Fumata dagger she beholds with her always.
Finally, Vincente falls to his death and burns alive.
Juliya… She is the daughter of the most powerful line of witches/vampire hunters, the Dawn line. Her father, Kaleb Dawn, is the leader of the line. She lives alone with her father. Her mother died while trying to save Juliya from an ambush she received at a ceremony of the Wicca’s. Ever since then, Juliya vowed to seek revenge on the leech that did this to her mother. And now she has done that exact thing.
She arrives home and her father stops her in her tracks.
“Juliya, where have you been? You almost made me call the guard to look for you!”
The guard is a group of Dawn line officers and priests.
“I was out alright. Oh Hera, can’t I take a break just for once with you not worrying about me every second!”
“Juliya, you know very well that the reason I do it is because I can’t let anything happen to the future heir of the Dawn line. Now have you been practicing your fighting techniques lately?”
“Yeah I just tried them out in this weak and pathetic leech.”
“Juliya I told you not to go out fighting with the vampire race while the preparations for our battle are almost complete. You are not to go outside this household for now. I hope that teaches you a lesson.”
“Yes father.”
CHAPTER 2
As Juliya returns to her quarters she finds the locket that her mother gave her when she turned 15(which is 75 years old for mortals). She then evokes a time when her mother told her to be strong and not to be scared to take the name of the Heir of the Dawn line. As she comes back into reality, she realizes it is 3:39 a.m. Juliya falls asleep keeping the memory of her deceased mother in her mind.
As Juliya wakes up, she finds her father sitting on her bed.
“Did I startle you Juliya?”
“No father.”
“I see you still keep the locket your mother gave you. Oh how your mother would give anything to see you today. I know I would if I were in her place.”
“Don’t speak like that father…”
“You know very well that I will have to face that in due time. If my battle with you comes out to my ….. death, I will happily relieve you the title of Hyrula, Heir to the Dawn line.”
That statement made Juliya receive chills up her spine. She couldn’t bare the thought of losing another loved one…… But she knew that it would come to this and she has been training for this all her life. To take control of the Dawn line and lead it to a new time.
“Yes I do father. But you know as well as I do that I might not be able to defeat you in our battle. I know I’m strong but, am I strong enough?”
“Now Juliya, I know how strong you are so don’t try to say you’ll go….”
“Don’t worry father, I know. I will never go easy on you when we are combating. For I know that if I do, I will be dishonoring you.”
“Alright. Oh, I have just gotten word from my Gryuiph, holy men, that the preparations will be over by tonight, so I would be ready if I were you.”
“I already am. Uh, father?”
“Yes Juliya?”
“I don’t know if you’re still upset about last night but, is it all right if I can go out and see the city for a while?”
“All right, but no patrolling this time.”
“Ok father.”
“Do you promise?”
“I promise.”
As the day passes by, night comes into view and Juliya gets ready for a night of relaxation. But, what Juliya doesn’t know is that she won’t need to promise to her father that she won’t patrol because the greatest of predators is coming for her.
CHAPTER 3
Ah, New York City, the city that Juliya grew up in and was born in. Tonight, she is just going to a clique that she normally goes to every night. She sometimes finds herself talking to a stranger and becomes friends with them but not today for she just needs to keep her mind off the ceremony.
As she enters the club, Noches Lindas, she finds herself in a relaxing mood. She starts to dance with different people and moves on to others. She sits out the songs she does not like. When she does this she goes over to the bar to buy a few drinks to pass the time. A dark figure comes toward her with no feeling of an evil aura. And starts to speak to her.
“Well hello there.”
“Hello,” Juliya responds contentedly.
“My name is Adrian, what’s yours?”
“My name is Juliya.”
Adrian…… a strange young man at the age of 23. And so the two strangers shake hands and strike up a conversation. Juliya feels very secure with this person for some strange reason. But she would know, with her mental powers, she can find out by looking at his aura. And so she felt no warning to perceive from him.
“Shall we dance,” asked Adrian.
“I don’t know, I mean I have to get home in ten minutes,” of course she was telling a lie.
“Come on, what’s one dance?”
As Juliya was considering this she thought to herself that she would make it on time even if she did dance one more time.
“Ok.”
As the two dance to the techno music, Juliya starts to come closer to the body of Adrian. As Adrian responds in the same way. The two are entwined in a never ending dance that no being can stop. But as the song dies, so does the urge to go on with the dance.
As the two step out of the club, they bid each other good-bye and both disappear into the onyx black night.
Juliya returns home with the thought of Adrian in her mind. She enters her room, and finds a note of some kind on her nightstand. It’s the confirmation to the ceremony preparations are over. Juliya had totally forgotten about the ceremony and started to prepare by training the whole night and getting her attire ready, which consists of everything leather and tight. She finishes up her training and goes into her room. She falls asleep waiting for the fight she is fiercely strengthened for.
CHAPTER 4
“JULIYA! WAKE UP”
“I’M UP ALREADY FATHER!”
As Juliya gets up and readies herself for the first event, she is thinking of strategies of how she going to perfect the finishing blow on her father. Juliya is not at all happy with but her destiny waits for her and so she must concentrate. As she enters through the hallway that will take her to the arena, she stops at midway and thinks of turning back but, she won’t and also can’t. She approaches the end of the hallway and hears murmurs all around, which is the whole Dawn line of witches/vampire hunters. They are here to witness the rise of the new leader. She then finds herself eye to eye with her enemy. Her father…
The high priest of the Gryuiph begins to announce the commencement of the mêlée in the native tongue of their people which has been past down to the future priests and also lost but, Juliya knows very well what he is saying and it is this…
“My people of the Dawn, we have gathered here to witness the skirmish between these two rivals. How this battle comes out is unknown to me and everyone else. The outcome will determine the new Hyrula. Now those of you that don’t know the rules of this ceremony, each combatant shall choose their own weapon that best suits them and will fight to the death with it. If the weapon is somehow out of the hands of the combatant’s hand they can retrieve the weapon but, if it is outside the arena the combatant is not permitted to retrieve it. Now are there any questions? No? Then let the rivals choose their weapons.”
Kaleb chose the leather whip. And Juliya chose the Tri Bladed Boomerang.
“Now let the fighting commence!”
Immediately, Juliya charged in for the attack on her father, no, her rival. No more is he her father. He is only the person that is standing between her name of Hyrula. Hopefully this attack makes contact with her rival. And it…
CHAPTER 5
Just misses him by a hair. Juliya swears to herself and tries again. But it doesn’t. Juliya is not putting her mind into this fight. She tries again but Kaleb comes in first and charges at her at an incredible speed that she can barely follow. He comes in from behind her and lands the blow on her scapula by using his forearm. She quickly gets up from the dirt floor and focuses her attention on him. He has not yet used his weapon and Juliya hasn’t either. But she will this time. She throws her boomerang at her opponent and it cuts off his left forearm.
“Ah!”
Kaleb is screaming in agony and cannot stop the blood flow of his arm but still continues to fight but did not notice that Juliya had suddenly come out of his view and looks around quickly to see where she is and finds that she is behind. Juliya rapidly swings her boomerang at Kaleb’s head but in the nick of time he ducks and escapes that life threatening attack. Juliya swears again and follows Kaleb around the arena.
Juliya’s wondering in her mind why Kaleb isn’t using his weapon yet. But in that time, Kaleb escapes Juliya’s view and now is at her right side view. He finally uses his whip and snaps it across the back of Juliya. Juliya falls to the ground and screams in anguish. She tries to get back up but, Kaleb again snaps his whip across the legs and leaves gashes across Juliya’s legs. Again she cries out in torment almost wanting to plead mercy, but doesn’t. Instead, she finds what is left of her energy and rises as swiftly as she can. At that moment Kaleb comes toward her and tries to kick her but Juliya catches his leg and twists it. Kaleb falls to the ground and at the same time loses his whip. Juliya gets up and readies her weapon to execute Kaleb when she abruptly stops. She does not want to do this but Kaleb starts to talk.
“Juliya what are you waiting for? Execute me! Execute me now!”
“I can’t do this.”
“Do it now! Please Juliya put me out of my misery and kill me. Don’t worry, when you kill me I will be in paradise with your mother. Please do it. I want you to take my place now. You have proven yourself worthy to me that you are able to take over the Dawn line. Just do it.”
“Alright father, I’ll do it. I’ll miss you.”
“And I you Juliya, my little girl.”
Swing!
The high priest of the Gryuiph begins to address the outcome of the battle and he says this.
“People of the Dawn line, we have now witnessed the rise of the new Hyrula. And she is Juliya Saba Nile Dawn!”
The people in the crowd grow hysterical at the sound of this news. But not out of outrage, but out of bliss. Juliya on the other hand does not celebrate with her people. She mourns for her father. She does not care for the title. She just had one thing in her life that she knew that would always live her but now it is lost. Soon she will cry but not right now for the ceremony has not ended yet. She has to go through the initiation of her role as Hyrula. She must strip her shirt off and bear her back so the Gryuiph can scorch the mark of the Phoenix on her back, since it is the symbol of the Hyrula, she already has on her arm but it just states she is part of the Dawn line but, this mark will always state that she is tied to the people, the guard, and the Gryuiph.
Now, Juliya is the true Hyrula and always will be until she bears a child and then that will be the next Hyrula until she/he, the baby, is 21 (which is 105 years old in mortal years).
Juliya goes away from the celebration and goes to see her father buried in a proper place. She pays respect to her father’s grave and she says something that would have not ever meant anything to her for good until now.
“Good-bye father.”
And as Juliya bids good-bye to her rival, she realizes that he was her greatest and worthiest opponent ever. And then smiles at that thought of her rival, father, and loved one.
