Challenge of the Losa Tribe

There's something new to discover about the Lost Desert every day. New ruins to be explored, new oases to be mapped, and sometimes...

      ...New tribes to encounter.

      One day, I was in Sakhmet with my friend and rival, Culroy the Spotted Uni. We were discussing her most recent arena fight while waiting for a caravan to arrive.

     "The caravan's late," I overheard someone say.

     "That captain is NEVER late," added another. "Something must have happened."

      Culroy and I looked at each other.

     "Should we go take a look, Urasina?" she asked me.

     "Let's give them a few more minutes," I suggested. "If they're not here by then, then yes, we'll go take a look."

      Just as Culroy and I were about to take off and go try and find the caravan, they arrived. But they had clearly been in a fight, and every Neopian in the group was injured. I ran to help, because with my Light magic, I was a very competent healer.

      But the captain had something to say.

     "We got ambushed by a tribe of Unis," the he told us. "One we'd never heard of before."

     "They called themselves the Losa tribe," said the second in command. "They were incredibly vicious warriors. We were lucky to escape with our hides."

      Culroy and I looked at each other.

     "I've never heard of the Losa tribe," I said.

     "Me neither," she responded.

      Word spread through the city like wildfire. General Dacon himself spoke with the caravan leader, trying to get any information he could about the Losa Tribe.

      For my part, I went to the Royal Library and found an old book about the various nomadic tribes of the Lost Desert.

     "The existence of the Losa tribe has never been officially confirmed," I read aloud to my owner, a man named BG. "They're supposedly a secretive tribe of Unis who pride themselves on their strength in combat. They're rumored to be very territorial and merciless when their territory is violated, either by accident or on purpose."

     "Aside from the vicious, merciless, and territorial parts, it sounds like you may have Losa blood in you, Urasina," he said jokingly.

      I giggled at that. I'm a Royal Girl Uni, but I'm also one of the best Uni combatants in Sakhmet, and a regular in the Sakhmet Arena and Battledome League (SABL). Culroy is also a SABL fighter, just younger and lower ranked than me.

     "Maybe I could pass for a Losa Uni?" I joked back.

     "If General Dacon needs someone to stand up to that tribe and put them down a notch or two, you'd be the ideal candidate," my owner responded.

     "I wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly what he does," I half-joked.

     **********

      More merchant caravans came under attack by the Losa tribe. General Dacon quickly decided that something had to be done to stop these wild Unis. And it didn't take him long to decide that he would do exactly what BG thought he would do.

      The general sent an emissary to the Losa tribe with a challenge: He would send one of Sakhmet's best Uni warriors to challenge the Losa's champion. If the Sakhmet champion won, the Losa tribe would have to cease attacking the caravans immediately. If the Losa champion won, then Sakhmet would pay a tribute to keep the tribe away from the trade routes. Not surprisingly, the Losa Unis took that challenge gleefully.

      And General Dacon turned to me to represent my homeland.

      On the day of the challenge, my family gathered to wish me luck.

     "Remember, you're only supposed to fight one Uni, if the Losa tribe is trustworthy," BG said, rubbing the sweet spot between my ears. "If they break that promise, let them have it."

     "Believe me, BG, I'm not expecting them to play fair," I reassured him. "And I'm more than ready to deal out some serious tail-kicking."

     "I'd love to go with you, my lady..." my younger sister and squire, Ming the RG Bori, sighed wistfully. "Be careful, OK?"

      I nodded and nuzzled her.

      After saying my goodbyes I headed out to the area where the Losa tribe had carried out their attacks. There were no caravans scheduled to come through that day, so I'd appear to be an easy target for the Losa. And not surprisingly, shortly after I arrived, a Lost Desert Uni approached me.

     "What are you doing here?" he hissed. "This is Losa territory."

     "I'm the champion of Sakhmet," I hissed back. "I'm here for the challenge."

      He stared at me with wide eyes.

     "They sent... a mare?" he asked, tilting his head to look at me better.

     "The best mare they have," I retorted. "What, is your champion afraid of losing to a girl?"

      He pinned his ears and looked angry.

     "We're not afraid of anything!" he said. "If you're really the champion, then follow me."

      He headed off into the sand. I followed right along, mentally preparing myself for a fight.

      After about a half hour's walk, the Losa Uni and I reached a rudimentary stockade made out of thorny cacti. Two other Unis, one red and one yellow, were standing by the only opening into the stockade. Both were painted from horn to hoof with various colors of war paint, and both of them stared at me with wide eyes as the Lost Desert Uni told them who I was.

      The guards exchanged glances, then let us pass without question.

      The look on my guide's face said it all. He hadn't expected the guards to give in like that. The whole concept of a mare being a champion must have been unnerving to them. And if I was somehow scaring the Losa Unis, I had an advantage already.

      In the center of the stockade was a wooden platform surrounded by palm fans. Standing on the platform was an Island Uni, also covered in war paint. He stared as well as my guide introduced me, but rather than a look of surprise, he had a look of scorn in his eyes.

     "I asked Sakhmet to send us a champion, and they send us a mare?" he snorted in amusement. "Why did I even bother accepting that challenge if this is all they're going to send us?"

      I glared at him.

     "You're a coward," I said coldly. "You're so certain of your superiority that you're scared of putting your own champion against a mare. Do I look like a helpless little girl to you?"

      The chief stomped a front hoof in anger at my verbal attack.

     "You don't look helpless at all," he snarled, eyes blazing with fury. He wasn't used to taking back-talk from a mare. "In fact, you look capable enough. But we'll see if you really are as good as you claim."

      He looked back over his shoulder.

     "Tycho, come out here," he called. "Your opponent has arrived."

      Tycho turned out to be a heavily-muscled Shadow Uni. He eyed me cautiously, then nodded.

     "I've never faced a mare before," he said. "This will be a learning experience for me."

      I could tell that Tycho wasn't quite as smug and superior as the other Losa Unis were.

     "All right, you two, listen closely," the chief said suddenly. "The challenge is a simple fight to exhaustion right here before me. My warriors will mark out a ring that you cannot leave, otherwise you forfeit."

      He glared at me once more.

     "Let's see what you're made of, 'champion,'" he sneered as a bunch of other Unis arrived and surrounded Tycho and me, clearing out a small fighting ring.

      I was more than ready. With my years of training, plus my considerable skills with Light Faerie magic, I was going to show the Losa tribe that I was no helpless little girl, as they all seemed to think.

      The instant the chief gave the "Fight" signal, I charged right at Tycho. He charged to meet me, but instead of trying to strike me with his horn, he turned away so he could kick at me as I ran past. Other Unis I'd faced in battle had done the same thing, so I turned as well, making his kick miss. Before he could slow down enough to turn, I had whirled around and body slammed the Shadow Uni hard.

      Tycho staggered, knocked off-balance by the force of my tackle. Even though I was smaller than him, I was stronger, and much more agile. He shook his head violently, trying to clear his vision.

     "Girls can be warriors too!" I bellowed, charging right at him as he struggled to get his focus back. I ran up beside him and launched a powerful hind leg kick, staggering him again, before jumping over him and slamming all four hooves down as I did so. He went head-first into the sand.

      I ran a circle around Tycho as he got back up. No sooner was he back onto his hooves when I hit him again with a terrific shoulder tackle square in his side. The impact was so great that I shoved him a good fifteen feet across the sand, and almost out of the ring. Then I jumped over him again, lashing out with all four hooves once more. He cried out in pain and crashed to the ground, and this time, he didn't rise.

      I skidded to a stop and turned to look at my opponent. He was struggling to stand up, but couldn't do so. Then he sagged to the sand and lay there, limp and weakened, panting hard. I felt kind of bad for thrashing him; this whole thing wasn't really his fault. So I walked back over to him.

     "Here, Tycho, let me help," I said gently, placing one front hoof on his side and healing him.

      He staggered to his hooves, looking perplexed yet grateful.

     "You're not only tough, you're gracious as well," the Shadow Uni said. "You beat me fair and square."

      He bowed low to me, then headed back over to the chief.

      I looked at the chief as well. He was standing at the very edge of his platform, staring at us with amazement in his eyes.

      Finally, he spoke.

     "It seems I underestimated you, champion of Sakhmet," he said, looking both shocked and ashamed.

     "I'll say," I spat at him.

      Some of the Unis surrounding us bristled at my retort, but the chief waved one front hoof and they were quiet again.

     "I have to admit, Tycho is not our champion," he went on.

      I had known that was the case. My research on what Neopians knew about the Losa tribe revealed that the Losa chief was also the tribe's champion. He or she claimed their position by fighting the previous chief.

     "So, it's time to get serious," I said coldly. "Get down from that platform and face me."

      He sighed and hung his head, knowing what would happen if he did.

     "Tycho is my second in command," the Island Uni went on, looking defeated. "If you made such short work of him, you'd do the same to me. I surrender. The Losa tribe will leave your caravans alone."

      I had won. Just as I had known I would.

      The chief hopped down from his platform and walked over to me. His head was held low, his tail was held low, his ears drooped, and there was fear in his eyes. He was indicating submission. I had never had a Uni stallion submit to me before. Most of them tried to make me submit to them!

     "Join us, just for tonight," he urged me. "We'll celebrate your amazing skills and induct you as an honorary member of the tribe. Then you can go home tomorrow and tell General Dacon that we've agreed to his terms."

      I could sense the truth in his words.

     "Then I accept," I said gently.

     **********

      I've never liked parties of any kind. It's something I picked up from BG. But the Losa tribe's idea of a party was quite simple.

      Before things got underway, Tycho painted me with Losa war paint.

     "This marking I'm putting on your shoulders is the mark of our greatest hero of the olden days," he said. "Not even our chief is capable enough to wear this."

      He suddenly seemed a bit bashful, and avoided my gaze.

     "Truth be told, I've only ever lost a fight once before," he admitted. "And that was to our chief. A lot of the other stallions would be devastated if they lost to a mare, but I actually feel honored that I got to face you, even if you beat me. If... if you'd be willing to come back every now and then, and teach me and the others how to fight better, I-I'm sure we'd all appreciate it."

      I couldn't help but smile.

     "I might take you up on that, Tycho," I replied.

      He looked even more bashful as he ran his paint brush across my shoulder, painting a complex symbol. By the time he had finished, I looked like a living work of art: blue paint in all kinds of patterns on my pink fur.

      I spent the rest of the night on the chief's platform with him and Tycho. The Losa warriors paraded before us, and the Losa mares sang songs of my victory. Foals of all colors came up to me to see who I was, then darted away, giggling, when I leaned down to look at them.

      I had to admit, I could have gotten used to this. But I didn't want to stay with the Losa tribe. My home was with BG and my siblings.

      The next morning, I got ready to head back to Sakhmet. Tycho had a weird look in his eyes as I said my farewells, and didn't meet my gaze.

     "He's a little smitten with you," one of the Losa mares whispered to me.

      I found that amusing. I had no interest in Uni stallions beyond friendship.

      After saying goodbye, I headed back towards the city. I was still wearing my war paint, and now I was decorated with feather anklets and a large ornamental headdress that only alpha mares of the tribe could wear.

      No sooner had the gates of Sakhmet come into view than Ming came running up to me.

     "Urasina!" she cheered, flitting around me on her Faerie-like wings. "You won! And just look at you, all dressed up!"

      I giggled and swatted at her.

     "Go tell General Dacon that I'm coming, please?" I asked her.

      She nodded eagerly and zoomed away as I continued towards the city.

      I met General Dacon, BG, Ming, and several members of the Sakhmet Army at the gate.

     "You don't need to tell me," said the Tonu general with a big smile. "You won the Losa tribe's challenge, and they've accepted you as one of them. Maybe we can make them our allies now."

     "If you want me to propose an alliance to them, I'll do so," I answered.

     "I'll think about it," Dacon responded. "You'll hear from me again if I decide it's worth it."

      BG came forward next, and I reared onto my hind legs, placing my front hooves on his waist.

     "How does it feel, Urasina?" he asked me. "You've never been accepted by other Unis due to your tomboy nature, and now you've got a whole tribe at your back. Doesn't that feel good?"

      I sighed happily and leaned against him.

     "It does," I replied. "They even asked me to come back and teach them how to fight. I think I'll take that offer. They could learn a lot from me!"

      Everyone started laughing, me included. Victory had never felt so good.

      That wasn't the last time I got involved with the Losa tribe. I kept my promise to go back and visit them, and help them train. Tycho gave me the title "Lady," an elite title that only superior mares could carry. I didn't like that, but soon the whole tribe called me "Lady Urasina." And not long after that, the tribe became a mercenary group under the banner of the Sakhmet army, with me and Tycho as co-leaders.

      If Sakhmet is ever threatened, the Losa Unis and I will rally to defend our city and our land. For most of my life, I had fought alone. Now, with the tribe at my back, I can really help make life in the Lost Desert better for everyone.

      That's a very good feeling.

The End