“Ouch”, shrieked Jumko as Nadia dabbed at his wounds with the ointment. “Sorry”, she replied as she stepped back. Jumko was lying across the dining room table. He was almost naked except for a towel across his hips. He had finished his bout about an hour previously. He sustained a few wounds during it. His opponent was some 2nd or 3rd born son of a warrior from a neighbouring village. He was definitely harder to defeat than Jumko’s first opponent the day before. He managed to get a few good hits on Jumko, especially one to his left leg. However, Jumko was able to hit him back twice as much and there really wasn’t much of a contest. Once his opponent was worn down after about 80 or 90 pendulum swings, it was just a matter of time before his exhaustion caused him to make a mistake. Jumko won his bout in 121 pendulum swings.

Jumko’s mother entered the dining room from the kitchen to see what was happening. She had a bowl of grapes in her arms. “Oh honey”, she cooed, “I know it hurts, but we need to get you back to ship shape for tomorrow’s bout.” She came over to inspect Jumko’s wounds. She touched the large bruise on his left leg and was genuinely concerned. “Tomorrow is the most important fight”, she added, “tomorrow you become a warrior.” Yuli winked at Jumko. “Then you get to pick a beautiful girl to be your bride.” Yuli winked at Nadia. Nadia smiled sheepishly.

“Or he becomes a Gulaka!” Rachel shouted from the kitchen.

“Stop teasing him”, Yuli shot back. “That’s not gonna happen is it Jumko?” she asked.

“No way!” he replied arrogantly.

“That’s my boy”, Jumko’s mother gloated, “you surely are your father’s son. And in about 5 days, you’ll be drinking the wedding wine I’m making today.” Yuli retreated back into the kitchen to continue manufacturing the wine for the Night of Marriages that takes place on the last day of the Metzakal Ritual.

The Night of Marriages (also known as the Festival of Love) is the culmination of the week’s events. On this day, the warriors and their brides are married in an elaborate ritual. The best dancers from across the empire perform for the couples. The best musicians assemble to play music. The best actors put on extravagant plays. The royal family attends and bestows gifts on the grooms and brides. The chief shaman marries them off in a unique way, bestowing the love of the gods on them and their offspring. It is only on this day that the sacred cows are slaughtered to create the wedding stew and a special wine is brewed called the Wedding Wine. It is a special blend of grape juice, spices and aromatics; blended according to an ancient recipe and drunk by the young couples during the closing hours of the festival before retiring to their honeymoon chambers. As is told, drinking the Wedding Wine creates a portal to the Otherworld through which the God of Love can infiltrate the body and bestow her special powers upon it. As the wine is absorbed into the body over the hours, the young couples will find it increasingly difficult to focus on anything other than fornicating. Eventually, like a powerful aphrodisiac, the desire to copulate will override any resistance and a young couple will have wild, passionate sex. Hopefully, they are in a private location when this happens.

Tales often tell of a time when the wine was abundant that couples would begin making love in the middle of public and could not be stopped without physical force. The God of Love is a powerful god that also numbs any pain that might be felt and ensures that the reproductive organs never tire, nor need rest, nor need replenishment. Couples will fuck for hours on end. As long as they are stimulated they will feel immense pleasure and orgasm repeatedly until the God of Love vacates the body. Legends speak of a time when couples would drink so much wine that they would perish during their bouts of intense lovemaking due to dehydration. They’d be found locked in a sexual embrace, their bodies drained of fluid. Couples would have non-stop sex for hours on end, even days. However, nowadays the newly-weds will only drink about 3 or 4 cups of the wine each. They would only emerge from their honeymoon chambers in the afternoon on the day after. They’d be exhausted, hungry and dehydrated after a 10 to 12 hour non-stop, fantastical fuck-fest.

Despite the exhaustion, the warrior and his new wife will be eternally bonded. He would never be able to look at another woman with sexual desire again. Her womb will undoubtedly be fertilized with her husband’s seed. The offspring will absorb the spirit of the Gulaka that was consumed by the bride and the cycle is complete. Nine months later, one month after the first harvests, the young maiden will give birth to a healthy young boy. With the genes of his strong warrior father, the nourishment of his beautiful mother’s womb and the spirit of the Gulaka she devoured, he will grow to become an even better warrior than his father. A future protectant of the Empire.

Nadia was patching up the last of Jumko’s wounds when Yuli entered the dining room again, stirring a pot of wedding wine. “How’s it going?” she inquired.

“Good “, replied Nadia, “I’m almost done. How’s the wedding wine?”

“It’s coming along. It still needs to ferment for a few more days before its ready. Oh what I’d give to be 16 again and drinking this wine.”

Nadia smiled up at Yuli. “Reminiscing about your wedding night?” she inquired. Yuli seemed lost in thought. “Oh my”, she replied while wiping the sweat from her forehead, “what a night that was. I don’t even remember much, I’m sure my eyes were closed for most of it.” Yuli tried to hide a short snigger. “It’s such a blur. I haven’t even felt a tenth of the pleasure I felt that night.”

“Mom!” Jumko exclaimed disgustedly.

“Sorry honey”, she snorted while trying to hide her blushing smile. “I do remember being so hungry when I woke up”, she continued. “It was almost dinner time the day after and I just couldn’t stop eating. Anything I could get my hands on I ate. And Guro, I swear, he drank an entire bath tub of water he was so dehydrated.”

“Oh, and the mess”, laughed Yuri, “We made such a mess, you wouldn’t believe.” Nadia frowned in confusion. “Oh, you guys wouldn’t understand, you’ll learn all about it during your sexual education classes in a few days’ times”, Yuli informed them. “Let’s just say, the lion hides were as hard as rocks, we had to peel them off our bodies.” Yuli laughed loudly.

“I sure do miss your father”, she said as tears swelled in her eyes. “I wish he were still alive.”

“Anyway!”, she exclaimed while beginning to vigorously stir the wine. “Jumko, when Nadia’s all done you need to go to bed. You need to be on top of your game for tomorrow.” Yuli went back into the kitchen as Nadia washed up her hands having just placed the ointment away. Jumko sat up and shuffled to the end of the dining table. Nadia approached him and stared at him. She looked worried. Jumko reached his left hand out and placed the hair behind her ear before softly rubbing her cheek.

“What’s wrong?” Jumko asked.

“I’m nervous” she replied, “I really don’t think I’ll be able to watch you tomorrow. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, hey”, Jumko whispered assumingly, “everything’s going to be okay. This time tomorrow, you and I will be celebrating. I’ll be getting sized for my war gear and you’ll be getting fitted for your wedding dress.”

Nadia smiled. It was a fake smile, she was immensely worried. She hadn’t been sleeping well, couldn’t eat and at times felt physically ill. Worst of all, she had a nightmare where she tried to warn Jumko as a giant Xanthe approached him. She had tried to scream but nothing came out. In horror, she watched as Xanthe grabbed Jumko and shoved him into her mouth. Nadia watched in shock. She could see the outlines of Jumko’s fists punching the inner right cheek of Xanthe as he desperately tried to get out only for it to disappear in one giant gulp down her throat as she smiled. She then settled her gaze on Nadia. It was at this point that Nadia woke up screaming in a cold sweat. She couldn’t bear the thought of Jumko becoming a Gulaka. It absolutely terrified her.

“I wish we could just escape into the jungle together and live there happily ever after”, she whispered.

“I’m going to be a warrior”, Jumko stated as he stared into Nadia’s sullen eyes.

“You promise?” she pleaded as her left hand cupped Jumko’s right cheek.

“I promise.” he swore, as he leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips.

Nadia smiled again. It was forced. “I should go” she sighed. “Get rest, you need to be the best you can be tomorrow.”

“I will be”, he replied arrogantly, as Nadia left the room. Jumko retreated to his room and forced himself to sleep even though he wasn’t even tired. The next day couldn’t come soon enough for him.

---

“Ziv!?” Jumko asked in disbelief.

“Yes, Ziv, in bout number 12”, the ref replied. “Is something wrong?”

“No, everything’s fine.” Jumko couldn’t believe it. Of all the people he could possibly face today, it was Ziv, Nadia’s childhood friend. He looked around the War Palace and noticed Ziv was looking at him. Ziv looked distressed. Jumko had often sparred with him and won almost all the time. Jumko felt awkward. He was uncomfortable. He couldn’t think of anything to possibly say to Ziv. He left the War Palace and entered a throng of people. He was amazed at the amount of people. Hundreds, thousands, maybe tens of thousands. From all corners of the Empire to watch the third and final day of the competition. Possibly to see who will be crowned the Warrior of Warriors.

Suddenly, Jumko noticed Xanthe. She had been leaning against a tree close to the entrance of the War Palace. She smiled as Jumko locked eyes with her. She stood up and began to stroll towards him. Jumko was in no mood to talk to her. He really couldn’t put up with any of her games today. He sighed and ducked back into the War Palace. Women weren’t allowed in. He felt it would be better to stand in there in awkward silence then talk crap with Xanthe.

The starting Gong was struk. “BOUTS 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 AND 16!” shouted the chief ref. “GET INTO YOUR POSITIONS BOYS!” Jumko walked out onto the grand parade and trekked over to his bout position. Ziv was already there. He was pacing. He looked nervous. He stopped when he noticed Jumko approach. He walked to the centre of the court and stood beside the ref. Jumko took his position unnaturally close to Ziv but opposite him, with the ref standing to the side between them. Jumko wanted to intimidate him. He wanted to win quickly and possibly be in the running to be crowned the Warrior of Warriors. What a feat that would be.

“Alright boys, you know the rules. Have a good fight”, said the Ref. Ziv placed out his hand for Jumko to shake. Jumko grabbed it and squeezed hard. He was causing Ziv pain. He pulled him in closer and sternly looked straight at him. “I can’t wait to watch Nadia devour you seconds before we fuck”, he huffed aggressively. Ziv was taken aback and looked on in shock as Jumko released his hand from its tight grip. Jumko walked over to his starting position. Once there he turned to face his opponent who was sweating with fear. He tightened the grip on his shield and straightened the staff in his hand. He waited for the gong to sound the start of the fight.

The gong sounded and instantly, Jumko pounced onto Ziv. He swung his staff and Ziv managed to block it effectively. However, Jumko proceeded to quickly spin around and continue attacking his opponent aggressively and quickly. He struck him twice, three times, a fourth time and even a fifth time before Ziv attempted his first counter strike. It was a good hit, but Jumko expected the move and blocked it expertly. “This might be easier than I expected”, he thought to himself.

150 pendulum swings into the fight and Ziv had actually managed to strike Jumko’s body six times, including a good wallop to the left leg. Jumko wasn’t worried though. He had hit Ziv about 16 or 17 times, including 3 thumbing blows to his chest. Ziv was started to show signs of fatigue, he was making more mistakes and it looked like he was starting to panic. “Any second now and I’ll finish off this fight”, Jumko believed.

250 pendulum swings had passed since the start of the bout. Jumko could not believe that Ziv was still putting up a fight. He had managed to strike him over 40 times, including about 11 solid good blows. Jumko even swears he had broken his wrist, yet Ziv continued to fight and Jumko was starting to get annoyed. Half of the bouts had already ended and Jumko was slowly realizing that at this rate he was unlikely to be the Warrior of Warriors. Ziv was exhausted, he was short of breath, struggled to maintain his composure and made numerous mistakes, yet continued to put up a fight. Jumko was starting to get tired now, he didn’t want to drag this fight out. He didn’t want to lose because of a stupid mistake. He collected his anger and used it to strike the side of Ziv’s shield.

The blow was intense, more than Ziv could handle, the shield flew in front of his body, but his arm remained attached to it. He was in an awkward position now as both of his hands were on the left side of his body. His right arm tied up the left arm holding his weapon. Jumko realized that this could be his chance for a finishing move. He leapt past the right side of Jumko’s body and spun himself around so he could land behind him, facing the back of his head. With Ziv’s arms tied up, he wouldn’t be quick enough to block or avoid a strike to the back of his head.

When Jumko landed back on his feet, his left foot failed to grip the ground. As his leg’s spread apart, he lost his balance and his torso tipped forward. He dug the lower end of his shield into the ground to catch his falling body and as he dragged his left foot towards himself, he saw from the shadows in front of his face that Ziv had managed to turn around and his arm was raised ready to strike. There wasn’t even time for Jumko to raise his shield as he watched the shadow of Ziv’s staff connect with the shadow of his head. Jumko felt an immense, sharp pain in the back of his brain and then everything went black… and quiet.