Cheiron's Warriors Transcript
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Young Hercules: Cheiron's Warriors
Young Hercules: Cheiron's Warriors
Written by Keith R.A. DeCandido.
Based on the hit TV series created by Rob Tapert and Andrew Dettman & Daniel Truly.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the following: Howard Zimmerman, without whom I would not have written this book. Anne Greenberg, editor extraordinaire, and Rodger Weinfeld, assistant extraordinaire, for phenomenal work under ridiculous pressure. The good folks at Studios USA, who kept their eye on me and let me play in their sandbox. Ryan Gosling, Ian Bohen, Dean O'Gorman, Chris Conrad, Jodie Rimmer, Nathaniel Lees, Joel Tobeck, Meighan Desmons, Stephen Tozer, Stig Eldred, and the amaing Kevin Smith, as well as the remaining cast and crew of Young Hercules (not to mention Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess), for ongoing inspiration. GraceAnne A DeCandido and John E. Peters for invaluable editing. Scott W. Langman, aka Miltiades, for equally invaluable research assistance. The Millenium Britannia Hotel in London and the Jens home in Chicago, where parts of this book were written. Lisa Clancy and Ginjer Buchanan, for general niftiness. And also, in no particular order, The Greek Myths by Robert Graves, Atlas of the Greek World by Peter Levi, the Greek exhibit halls in London's British Museum, Ashley McConnell, Kimberly Rector, Martha Wells, Rachel M. Bailey, the wonderfully twisted denizens of the KSmithAres and Hellmouthy Internet mailing lists, Laura Anne Gilman, and most especially my beloved wife and the best muse a guy could hope for, Marina Frants.
Chapter One
Iolaus never saw the staff coming.
Hercules watched his childhood friend balancing on a pair of flat-head poles, staff in hand. Over a dozen pairs of poles were arranged on the floor of the training room. They were raised about a foot off of the ground. The idea was to not fall off the heads of the poles while fighting your opponent. Iolaus's opponent in this case was Lilith. She stood facing him.
Then Hercules had first come to Cheiron's Academy to be trained as a warrior, he'd thought the poles were stupid. "when is that ever gonna happen in real life?" he had asked Cheiron, the centaur who ran the Academy.
Now Hercules knew better. for one thing, he had had to fight on similar poles in real life. For another, it was good practice. If you could fight while keeping your balance, fighting on solid ground was a lot easier.
Or at least it was when you weren't exhausted. Unfortunately, Iolaus had been sparring for six straight hours. Sweat glistened on his forehead and matted down his curly blond hair.
Then Lilith's staff clubbed Iolaus on the side of the head.
"Oooh, that's got to hurt," Hercules said.
Standing next to him, Jason said, "Hey, it's okay. She got him on the head. It's not as if she hit anything important."
Hercules nodded. "Good point."
Despite the banter, Hercules was worried. The son of Zeus - king of the gods - and a mortal woman named Alcmene, Hercules had greater strength and endurance than such mortals as Iolaus, Jason, and Lilith. But after six hours, even he with his half-god stamina would have been on his last legs. He couldn't imagine how exhausted Iolaus must be.
Lilith, the Academy's only girl student, swung her staff around at Iolaus's shins.
Iolaus made a low jump and bent his legs under him. The staff swung beneath them.
His right foot came down smoothly on a pole.
His left foot didn't.
As he tried to shift his weight to his right foot o keep from falling, Iolaus swung wildly with his own staff.
Lilith, of course, blocked it. she blocked it so hard that Iolaus lost his footing. He dropped his staff and somehow managed to break his fall with his hands. Hercules was impressed with the quality of the fall. But then, how to fall properly was one of the first things Cheiron taught. That was at least as important as landing a blow.
If only Cheiron was here now, Hercules thought.
"Pathetic!" came a voice from behind Hercules.
Here it comes, Hercules thought as Iolaus struggled to rise.
The voice said, "No, don't bother, thief. If this were real combat, yuo'd be dead after that idiotic stunt, so you may as well stay down."
Iolaus took the advice and let his head slump to the floor. Hercules couldn't blame him.
A week earlier Cheiron had cone off to attend a wedding. Having learned his lesson the last time he had taken leave, the centaur did not put the Academy's bursar, Fiducius, in charge. Instead, he brought in Kostas, "an old comrade," as a substitute.
Hercules, Iolaus, Lilith, and Jason were thrilled when they heard. They figured a sub meant an easy week. "Probably some retired general or something," Jason said. "He'll spend more time complaining about his lumbago than training us, and we can spend most of the week at Kora's."
No such luck. Cheiron's "old comrad" was an active soldier from Crete, not a retired one. He worked the cadets harder than they'd ever worked and gave them no breaks. they spent very little time at Kora's, the eatery where the cadets usually hung out during off-hours.
Kostas didn't think the Academy was a fit place for a son of Zeus, as he "makes everyone else look bad." He didn't think much of Jason, Iolaus, of Lilith, either. Jason was the crown prince of Corinth destined to become king once he had graduated from the Academy. Iolaus had been a thief, but he'd chosen to attend the Academy in lieu of jail time. And Lilith was "just a girl." Kostas didn't like the idea of princes, thieves, or girls "playing soldier," as he put it.
Never mind that all four of them were quite serious about what they were doing at the Academy. Never mind that Hercules was no better or worse than anyone else there, even if his father was a god. Kostas had his own ideas about what was what, and the Fates help you if you didn't go along with him.
"Look at you," Kostas said to Iolaus, "Off balance, sloppy - you move as though you're stuck in honey."
Hercules turned to look at Kostas's scarred, tanned, bearded face. This was a man who had seen a lot of action.
"That's because I've been sparring for six straight hours," Iolaus muttered.
"You ever been in a war, thief? The enemy won't stop because you're tired or because you're hurt. Now get up, get back on the poles, and get it right this time. To be beaten so badly by a girl is embarrassing."
"Hey!" Lilith said. "that's not fair."
"Life isn't fair, girl," Kostas said with a slower at the young blond. "You of all people should know that." He looked down and then kicked Iolaus. "Get up, thief!"
That was going too far. "Hey," Hercules said, "you don't have to kick him."
"That's your opinion, godling," Kostas said with a sneer. "And when you run this Academy, you can make that decision. For the moment, be silent."
"Now, wait a minute," Hercules said. "you can't-"
"I can do what I want until Cheiron returns."
"That doesn't mean-"
"Quiet, godling. You will speak when spoken to, understood?"
Hercules was about to argue more, but then he caught Iolaus's look From behind Kostas's back, Iolaus mouthed the word "Don't."
Only then did Hercules force himself to calm down. He folded his arms and gritted his teeth. The cadets had been putting up with Kostas's abuse for a week now, and Hercules was starting to get tired of it. Kostas had all of Cheiron's worst qualities and none of the centaur's good ones.
