Hundara Chapter 2

Living underneath someone’s shadow wasn’t a pleasant experience, especially if said shadow came from your own father.

And that was a feeling young Inzo ‘Vadam knew too well.

He was of the few fortunate on Sanghelios who knew their father’s identity, though sometimes he wished he didn’t. It wasn’t that he wasn’t proud of being the son of Thel ‘Vadam, the Arbiter himself, but rather it was because of the expectations that great honor brought. After all, sons were always supposed to be as great as their fathers, if not more, but his problem was that he couldn’t even imagine a way to surpass his father in anything. After all, the Arbiter was a master swordsman, leader of the Swords of Sanghelios, the current Kaidon of Vadam, and these days referred as Champion of the Sangheili by some people.

It was quite a long shadow to walk out of, if one would have his opinion.

And taking into account he and his dad were not… on precisely good terms lately.

In fact, he was stuck helping with the Hundara instead of training with the rest of his ‘brothers’ as punishment for talking back to one of the Elders.

Inzo muttered under his breath as he dropped a large portion of Colo meat into one of the metal stalls, stepping back just as one of the creatures ran forward and started devouring it, its talon holding its meal and tearing large chunks of meat, which it swallowed with little effort. Sometimes he envied the Hundara, they didn’t have to worry about anything other than eating.

Things were easier when he was a child. Back then, his father wasn’t so strict, he could even say they were very close before he was taken to the common rooms to grow with the other children. And soon he learned there was no special treatment. Once a child crossed that doorway, he was like any other warrior-to-be regardless of the parentage. They were taught how to fight, in both martial combat and with weapons, particularly wooden swords to prepare them to wield energy swords later on.

Sometimes he trained with his father. That’s when Inzo noticed how serious his father could be. He was a strict teacher, Inzo noticed that he expected much of him. And it was not only the Arbiter who had high expectations for his son. The whole clan had high expectations of Thel ‘Vadam’s son, they didn’t say it outloud, but Inzo could tell it by how the other members of the clan watched him during training sessions. Their critical eyes watching out for any mistakes, the constant comparisons between him and his father during his youth.

After all, the House of Vadam was one of the most powerful states in Sanghelios. It was only natural they expected so much of him, especially his father the Arbiter, who had more than surpassed expectations in his youth himself. He had read his lines on the clan’s saga wall, and he had to admit his father’s life was… how would humans call it? ‘With its ups and downs’, that was it…

Inzo was startled out of his thoughts once again, this time because of something rattling against the gate of stall he had leaned against, he regained his balance in the last moment, avoiding falling into one of the dirty straw piles. Grumbling, he glared at the occupant of the metal stall. It was a large male hundara, who was impatiently clawing the floor of its stall, demanding to be fed. Unlike the rest of the Hundara, however, this particular male had black scales, a very rare color for the Hundara found around these parts, though its eyes were the same piercing golden, but whenever he saw into this beast’s eyes he saw pride and a very bad attitude.

Inzo recognized it almost immediately.

This Hundara belonged to Thel ‘Vadam, his father.

This creature had been in his words nightmares as a child. He still remembered the first time his father introduced them to each other. Thel had warned him numerous times not to even try and pet him, since Hundara were vicious predators and they saw kids as snacks. And Inzo, of course, had not believed him until the Hundara nearly ripped off his hand. Some of the other kids nearby had laughed at him for weeks.

“Okay, okay, I got the message.” Inzo muttered bitterly as he picked another piece of Colo meat, this one particularly bigger than the rest, and warily threw it into the stall. The black Hundara devoured his meal greedily, glancing at the Sangueili to make sure he wouldn’t take his food away. “I wonder how dad managed to tame you…”

“It’s a long story.” An elder Sangheili approached, chuckling at Inzo’s expression. Like the rest who were currently tending to the beasts, he was wearing a short dark robe. If they wore any longer clothing the Hundaras would grab it to pull any potential meal closer.

“Why does my father’s life consist of ‘long stories’?” Inzo stated. Though Thel’s lines were carved in the Saga Wall, whenever Inzo asked his father about it Thel would say it was a story for another time. He wasn’t sure if his father didn’t like boasting about all his past achievements, or if he hadn’t been in the mood to talk about it. He guessed it was the former.

The elder, Khysan ‘Vadam, a former Hundara Cavalry warrior, shrugged. “Lord ‘Vadam has always been rather humble. It keeps his head cool in battle, and you can see how useful that trait has been to him.”

“Indeed…” Inzo stared at his father’s black Hundara. “Will Father participate in this year’s race?”

Khysan gave a hearty laugh. “The family would never miss it. And didn’t you hear? It appears humans will…” he shifted in his hooves uncomfortably. “…Participate this year.”

“Humans? On Hundaras? I doubt it! They’d be easy meals.”

“Oh, your father is aware of that! Apparently, they will be bringing their own mounts… Hoses, I think they were called.”

“And let me guess. The other Clans don’t like the idea, am I right?”

“The mere idea of humans participating in one of our most ancient traditions infuriates some of our people. Something tells me they will be happy to let their Hundaras feast on the humans’ weaker beasts of cavalry.”

As they walked out of the stables and into the scorching sunlight, Inzo watched the cavalry soldiers atop their Hundara, preparing themselves for the following days, when they would have to guard the family’s Hundara from thieves. Although their people had ships and vehicles to move around more quickly, the Taming of the Hundara continued to be one of the Sangheili’s most sacred traditions.

The House of ‘Vadam’s Hundara were among the purest bloodlines. Each keep had their own breed, but they were always trying to make their own Hundara ‘purer’ or with better characteristics than the others, which often led to sending rustlers after other Clan’s Hundara to breed them with their own. That was the reason the cavalry was under so much pressure, their honor depended on being able to protect the Clan’s precious mounts.

“Oh, I know that look, Inzo.” Khysan said after noting how the young Sangheili stared at the mounted warriors. “You will ask your father again this year?”

“Maybe. Father has said ‘you’re not ready’ so many times I’m starting to think he’ll never let me.”

“He has his reasons to think so and you know it.”

“I’m not reckless, okay? I am impatient, but not reckless!”

“Says the boy who nearly struck an Elder.”

“He started it!”

Khysan frowned. “Even if that were the case, that is not the way to handle it. You should have proven to him he is wrong instead of resorting to a childish reaction.”

“How am I supposed to do that if these days we have no battles to fight? How am I supposed to prove myself when we have no enemies to fight against anymore?” Inzo pointed out, sighing. “I wasn’t born back when the whole thing with the Covenant happened.”

“Someday you will find the answer you seek, young Inzo. For now, keep training hard and hone your skills.” With that, Khysan walked away towards some younger Sangheili, the newest additions to the Cavalry, probably to introduce them to the Taming of the Hundara.

Inzo eyes those two with a bit of envy before walking off to find his father. He better ask him before he went to meet with the Elder Council and had no time for him for the rest of the day, again. He had always wished for an Hundara of his own to mount and train with. He had more interest in the cavalry unit instead of wielding normal weapons or leading fleets of ships. But the right to taming an Hundara had to be earned, in part because the creatures were extremely wild and violent and not everyone had the strength or skill to handle such aggressive animals. Only the high-ranked warriors were allowed to train an Hundara of their own, only those skilled enough to keep their mounts under control at all times.

This meant he wouldn’t get one until he reached the Ultra rank. And in their current situation, that would never happen considering he had no enemies to kill.

As he approached the Council Chamber, he could hear his father talking with one of the Elders, and judging by their tone, it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. Inzo hid behind one of the stone pillars. He had the feeling this was about the humans coming to Sanghelios for the Race, some elders did not like the idea, but their fears were well-founded. They didn’t know about the human mounts, but he did know the how Hundaras would react upon seeing much more smaller ‘prey’.

Thel and others, however, though it might be a good opportunity for the two species to interact and learn of each other’s culture. He wouldn’t be surprised if the humans were the ones to invite the Sangheili over to their natal world for some weird tradition, like that ‘Christmas’ celebration. To this day, he still didn’t understand what was the point in adoring a tree and wrapping gifts in paper if it was going to be taken off anyway, but he did admit the food for that celebration was tasty. The younger generations were much more flexible, to the point a few tried to make their own version of those strange holidays.

Finally, the elder seemingly realized it was pointless to even insist, so he walked off. Inzo waited until his father was alone, but as he was about to go out of his hiding spot…

“Eavesdropping on a private conversation is not acceptable.”

Inzo jumped when his father directed those words at him. Sighing in dismay, he walked out of his hiding spot and towards his father, stopping a few feet away and bowing his head respectfully. “Lord ‘Vadam.” He said. The ‘no special treatment’ included his father as well, and in rare instances could he call him ‘Father’. “I wish to have a word with you.”

Thel had the feeling of what he wanted, but nevertheless he nodded his head. “What is it?”

“As you know, the Race will be held in a week. I wanted to ask you if you’ve chosen a rider for QezoY’asabu.”

Thel remained silent. The question was there, camouflaged, he knew what his son wanted. As always, his black Hundara would be the participant in this year’s race, it was an unbeaten champion. Though it hadn’t always won, it always survived. Every year the Race claimed the lives of many Hundara and their riders, but QezoY’asabu always returned, alone or with the person who mounted it. Thel himself had raced personally a few times, and whenever they did victory was always theirs. Up to date, he was the only one who could fully control the black Hundara, the only one the beast listened to.

That his son thought he could mount it just like that was one of the reasons he knew he simply wasn’t ready.

“Walk with me, Inzo.”

Inzo internally groaned. He knew what would happen next, his father would take him around and tell him the reasons of why he simply would not let him ride in the Race, but by then he knew better than talking back to the Kaidon himself, so he nodded and followed his father out of the room and down the corridors. As they were passing in front of the wide windows, both Sangheili could see the cavalry still practicing, and they saw the black Hundara had been let out unto one of the corrals. It was running around, exercising its legs and stretching out its wings while letting out angry shrieks.

“Do you know what the purpose of the race is?” Thel asked casually, his amber eyes staring at the black Hundara intently.

“It’s a test of survival and strength.” Inzo said almost in autopilot. He had pronounced these words before.

“Exactly. Do you know why?”

“Because only the strongest warriors and the purest Hundara survive.”

Thel nodded. “That’s right, but as you should know by now, having the best mount is of no use unless you earn its respect. It might as well leave you to die in the desert or devour you when hunger overcomes it.”

“I am well aware of the risks of taking part in the Race, Lord ‘Vadam.”

“Yet I see you have not changed your mind, son.”

Inzo was partly surprised his father had addressed to him like that, but he took it as a cue to temporally put the formalities aside. “Father, with all due respect, I think I’m ready to ride. You said that if I kept training hard you’d allow me to ride QezoY’asabu in the Race-“

“I know what I said, Inzo, but your skill is not good enough for you to handle him. You’ve seen what he is capable of, and the last thing the Clan needs is to lose the both of you because of negligence on my part.”

“But father, you said yourself I was progressing quickly for my age! The Elders think I should have tame an Hundara next year!”

Thel sighed. “I know what I said, Inzo. While it is true you do have natural talent at riding Hundara, there’s a big difference between riding an old mount meant for trainees in the corrals and riding a war mount in the middle of the desert.”

“But…!”

“Not another word on the matter, son.” Thel finished sternly. “As for your question, Mrydo will be riding QezoY’asabu this year.”

Inzo wanted to scream at his father, but the seriousness on his face made him reconsider. He was expecting him to do that precisely. Swallowing the growl in his throat, Inzo bowed his head. “As you wish, Father.”

But he would not give up without a fight.

---

He waited until he was certain the rest of the Clan, especially his father, had gone to sleep. There were guards doing their rounds at this hours, but none of them would look for him in the stable. He put on his blue Minor armor quietly, he would need it to use his camouflage, the less possibilities of getting caught, the better. Inzo activated his camouflage and quietly opened his door, making sure there were no guards around.

Inzo quietly stepped out of his room and closed the door behind him, walking down the dimly illuminated hallways of the keep. The disadvantage of having his room in the upper levels was that he would have a long way to go, and right now he couldn’t afford to go fast and make his footsteps be heard by the whole Clan. The young Sangheili quietly made his way down the numerous stairs and levels of the fortress, avoiding the patrols of Honor Guards whenever he could, and narrowly avoiding being detected once.

Thankfully, the courtyards weren’t as heavily guarded as the Keep itself, so getting to the stables wasn’t as hard. However, he still didn’t let his guard down, if he awoke the wrong Hundara, it would make such a ruckus it would awaken the rest, which would in turn make ruckus of their own and that would awaken the entire fortress.

The stall belonging to the Hundara he was looking for was pretty far from the rest, and it was much larger, wide enough for it to run around if it wanted.

He would prove his father that he could do it.

QezoY’asabu was sitting on the ground, soundly asleep, his head hidden under one of his wings. He would not take kindly to being awaked, but now was a good chance to get on top of him without having to worry about losing an arm. Quietly, Inzo climbed over the gate of the stall and crept towards the black Hundara’s back…

The creature opened its golden eyes, its slit pupil staring right at him.

Inzo rarely had time to react as the Hundara shrieked and lunged, its talons landing just where he had been standing a few moments ago. The creature was, like he assumed ,crossed at having been awakened at this hour. He let out another shriek as he ran towards Inzo, his mandibles wide open and his wings spread out. Inzo panicked and made his way to the door of the stall, but the Hundara seemingly read his thoughts and stood just between him and the door, clawing the floor under its claws, challenging the Sangheili to try and go over it.

“Step back, Y’asabu!” Inzo yelled, standing his ground and trying to impose dominance like he had seen the cavalry soldiers do with their mounts. But the flaw was that it only worked with one’s own mount, Hundaras belonging to another person would not heed this warning. Inzo’s resolve started to crumble, and the black Hundara could sense it. “S-Step back…!”

As Y’asabu started closing in for the kill, however, a bullet of plasma exploded at his feet, startling him and making him step back. Inzo took advantage of the opportunity to run towards the door before the Hundara could go after him. He quickly climbed it and landed on the other side just before Y’asabu ran after him, stopping at the metal door and giving another shriek of anger, staring intently at Inzo before turning around and clawing at the ground indignantly.

Inzo had no time to be relieved, however. Standing a few feet away with crossed arms and a plasma rifle in one hand was a very crossed-looking Sangheili who was wearing a sleeping robe, and had many scars on his face and arms, the result of working with Hundara for years.

“You are in so much trouble, boy.” Mrydo ‘Vadam growled, tapping his hoof impatiently.

“I can explain it.” Inzo said nervously.

“Oh, yes, you can. You can explain to Lord ‘Vadam what you were doing inside QezoY’asabu’s stall at this hour.”

Oh, no. If his father found out he would never hear the end of it. “Don’t tell Father!”

“Give me one good reason of why I shouldn’t!” Mrydo growled. “What the hell were you trying to prove?! That Lord ‘Vadam was right in thinking you are simply not ready to handle him of all Hundara?! What would have happened if hadn’t arrived in time?! You’re fortunate enough not to have lost your honor with an injury! How would you have answered to your father had it happened?!”

Inzo wanted to argue back, but he knew he was right. His father was especially sensitive when it came to obtaining injuries, he would have never forgiven him had it happened. He hadn’t seen the scar, but he had heard about the injury his father obtained in the training ring once, and during his time as Supreme Commander wore a doarmir’s fur cloak to hide it.

“Go back to your chambers, Inzo.” Mrydo growled again, pointing to the doorway. “And I will talk with Lord ‘Vadam in the morning.”

Inzo sighed internally as he walked away, feeling both Mrydo’s disapproving gaze and Y’asabu’s angry eyes on him.

He’d have all night to prepare for another of his father’s lectures.