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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] Another derivation is from 'Vanganz,' a word for a ritualized form of vengeance. We know them in history, of course, as Vandals, and I shall so refer to them, trusting that the reader will not allow himself to be misled by any inessential accretions which might now adhere to the name. Their like, you see, may not be unique to our own reality. Too, I do not presume to judge, leaving that for those who feel entitled to do so. My office, in this matter, as I have indicated, is a simple one, merely to tell what happened. "The left forearm!" called Mujiin back to Hunlaki. There was another cry of pain from the boy. Mujiin was skilled, almost as much as Hunlaki. Hunlaki wondered if Mujiin was showing off. Then Hunlaki surveyed the snowy plains about them. It would not do, of course, if the lad were a sacrifice, to distract the guard, while pursuit slipped past them, or might even be prepared to fall upon them. Later Mujiin would learn to be thoughtful about such matters, but Mujiin was young. He was easily distracted by blood, and the sport. Page 21 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html There was another cry of pain from the lad. Hunlaki unslung his own lance. It was not that he wanted to participate in the sport. It was only that the lad seemed too much weakened by the thrusts he had received. Surely he had not lost so much blood. The boy cried again. This time he was struck in the left upper arm. That was the fourth strike. One begins on the right, assuming the target to be right-handed. To be sure, one can be mistaken about such things. Hunlaki moved his mount a little closer, crossing the narrow track of the column, where the ground had been cut, like a wound in the grass. Mujiin then struck the shoulders, the right, then the left. The right thigh, and then the left, would be next. In that way the target can still stand, either for the final blow to the throat or the heart. It would be to the heart, as Hunlaki had had his say in that. Sometimes, if one wants to bring the target to its knees, the seventh and eighth blows are to the back of the leg, behind the knee. As Mujiin had called "ten" the ninth blow would be to the right side of the chest, just enough to draw blood, not enough to throw the target from its feet, then the tenth would be the driving of the lance tip through the ribs, to the heart. The blade of the Herul lance is smooth to the shaft, to facilitate its withdrawal. Else it would be too easy to lose it in combat. If Mujiin had called a "nine," the last blow would simply be to the heart. Or, if he had called "nine" and "the neck," the ninth blow would be to the back of the neck, attempting to sever the vertebrae there. The boy reeled back, again. That had been the ninth thrust, that to the right side of the chest, little more intended than to turn and bleed the target. Mujiin wheeled his mount. The lad wavered. Surely he would fall. Surely Mujiin must hurry! "Beware!" cried Hunlaki. The boy suddenly, raising his staff, as the lance sped toward him, struck it to the side and slipped to the side of the horse, and then thrust up with the staff, brutally into the ribs of the horse, which howled with pain, and the lad then struck the mount twice more, with terrible jabs, and it squealed, moving suddenly, awkwardly, trying to avoid the stick, the pain, to the side, and it lost its footing, and Mujiin, his foot caught in the stirrup, went down with the horse, his leg pinned under it, and looked up to see the boy, wild-eyed, bleeding, over him, raising the staff, but the blow did not fall for Hunlaki rode him down, his lance piercing the boy's back, under the left shoulder blade. Mujiin, cursing, rose to this feet, his horse having scrambled up. Hunlaki drew his lance from the boy's back. Mujiin was furious. He kicked the inert form of the boy. His horse stood some yards off, its eyes wide with pain. It shook the snow from its fur. "Are you all right?" asked Hunlaki. "Dog! Dog!" cried Mujiin, kicking the boy. Hunlaki fetched Mujiin's mount. Mujiin checked the girth strap on the horse. Then he ascended to the saddle. Hunlaki surveyed the prairie about them. It was still. Then he looked again at the form of the boy. "He was brave," said Hunlaki, "to follow us." "He is a dog!" said Mujiin. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |