The Chosen by Jeremy Laszlo Page A

assistance rose to his feet. Xanth was in no mood to be left behind and he too stood to walk beside his master. They crossed the field to where their comrades remained sitting in the blood-stained grass.
    “How did your match go?” Sirus asked Philip as they approached.
    “It was a bit unmatched in the beginning, and terribly unmatched at the end,” Philip replied with a sarcastic grin.
    “How did it end then?” Sirus continued his questioning.
    “In defeat, as most battles do.” Philip again danced around a specific answer.
    “So you defeated Zorbin. That is fine. How did he perform and how serious were his injuries?” Sirus persisted.
    “Most of his injuries were minor. However, two would have needed immediate attention on an actual field of battle. But you might find it surprising to know that he was not the one defeated.”
    “Indeed I am surprised. He bested you in battle?” Sirus asked sounding astonished.
    “Let me explain. The fight started much as you and I assumed it would. I was able to maneuver around his attacks fairly easily, until he got creative, that is. After tormenting him a while he decided to crush my sternum with his fist which, might I add, is quite unpleasant but not unbearable. Then I decided to stop my charade and end the fight. After I landed a few more crucial blows, I was caught by surprise by his ally here.” Philip gestured towards the giant wolf just paces away. “The tables turned dramatically. Xanth pinned me to the ground and then I made the biggest mistake of the battle, or perhaps the best decision. I lashed out and injured Xanth, which in turn caused Zorbin to receive his blessing from Gorandor. But wait, that is not all. Not only is Zorbin blessed but so is Xanth. It’s unbelievable! I have never heard of Gorandor blessing an animal before. I wish you had seen it. I was caught completely off guard as well as poorly protected against such a force,” Philip recounted rapidly, clearly showing how much the event had excited him.
    “Truly Xanth is blessed as well? That is amazing. Well, as I was unconscious at the time, I must enquire what gift have you been blessed with, Zorbin?” Sirus asked, his own excitement hard to contain.
    “First I think it is much like yours. I am granted size and strength. But there is something more and I think I now have a grasp on how it works. I think in some way Gorandor has linked my mind with Xanth’s. From time to time I see flickers of images from his point of view. It just started today. I do not know its limitations but I hope to test them. Also, I do not believe Xanth has been blessed so to speak. I think that because we are somehow linked, when I assume my blessed form he receives the blessing as well. At least at this point that is how I understand it,” Zorbin explained as best as he was able.
    “Truly this is astounding. No matter how it works, your blessing is two-fold. I have never heard of such a thing in any of the histories. We must strive to learn your full capabilities and limitations as soon as we are able. Perhaps with some experience you will be able to communicate with Xanth more precisely,” Sirus said before pausing briefly to imagine the possibilities. “So, can you guess at how big you got or how strong in your blessed form?”
    “It is hard to tell, Sirus, to be honest. I know I was much, much stronger. In size I would say near double which, compared to a tall human, wouldn’t be extremely large. But for a stout dwarf, nine feet is gargantuan!” Zorbin replied.
    “We shall definitely set aside plenty of time to learn your limits. However, it will have to wait a few days. We already have plans for tomorrow,” Sirus concluded.
    “Well I have to ask, Philip stated. You know of our battle, but how did yours go?”
    Sirus turned back to Garret seated just feet away from him and they shared a smile before Sirus answered.
    “I would say we were fairly evenly matched. What I had in experience, Garret made up