Joshua Valiant (Chronicles of the Nephilim) (15 page)

And all that was left was a man of war.

It only took Joshua’s army a couple
of hours to track the Canaanites down to a confederation of several closely linked villages north in the Negeb. The area was called Arad and had a population of about three thousand people, with about a thousand warriors.

Joshua descended upon the villages with
four thousand men. There was no delay, no preparation, and no negotiations for hostages. They simply fell upon Arad’s first city and mercilessly slaughtered all its inhabitants. When the other villages came to the help of their sister population, Joshua turned, spread out, and cut them down.

It was overwhelming
to experience, even for Caleb and Othniel. Yahweh was clearly empowering them for massive victory. They had truly swept over these Canaanites like the rolling waters of justice. They had been Yahweh’s tidal wave of devastation.

And t
rue to his vow, Joshua devoted the entire coalition of Arad to destruction, every man, woman, and child.

They rescued
two hundred of their women and children who had been taken hostage, and returned to the encampment of Israel.

Less than twenty miles north of Arad was the city of Kiriath-arba. It was
the stronghold of the Anakim where King Hoham ruled and the Sons of Anak were uncontested.

The Anakim were a giant clan
whose legendary height was “as tall as the cedars,” with extra-long muscular necks to match their frightening presence. But their strength and skill at fighting was even more frightful as the saying was known all through Canaan, “Who can stand before the sons of Anak?”

Of all the giant clans of Canaan
—the Rephaim, the Emim, the Zuzim, and others—the Anakim were the most fierce. They worshipped the god of power, Ba’al the most high deity of the pantheon. And that power worship caused pressure to build, tempers to flare, and fights to explode within their own ranks.

To create a cathartic release for their
social unrest, they built the Pit of Death, as a place to work out their hostilities through contests of power.

Whether it was
for a criminal offense, a family feud, or a highhanded insult, Anakim could challenge one another to duels to the death. They could be between two or three or any number of opponents so long as the numbers were equal for competing interests.

The
Pit was a circular arena dug into the earth about two hundred feet in diameter, with ascending slopes for the audience to sit on and watch the entertainment. They nicknamed it “the Gilgamesh Arena” in honor of the ancient gibbor, Gilgamesh of Uruk, a Mesopotamian giant king who would satisfy his own restless power by challenging his citizens in contests of combat. If anyone could best him they would win the right to be his Right Hand of the kingdom. But the difference with that battleground and this one was that in the Pit of Death, only one came out alive.

In the Pit this day were four Anakim. It was three against one. But this was
not an uneven fight because the one who stood before the three was Ahiman, right hand of General Abi-yamimu. He was the largest, most fierce of the Anakim. At fifteen feet tall and twelve hundred pounds of pure muscle, he struck terror into anyone who faced him in combat.

The three who were facing him today were
imposing as well. Two were the personal bodyguards of their king, Hoham, and they were mighty warriors, all between nine and ten feet tall, with necks and arms of iron, the finest of fighters.

But the third
was General Abi-yamimu, or Abi, Ahiman’s own superior in the army.

The reason for this unusual contest was that
Ahiman had claimed to uncover a plot for a coup against the king between these two bodyguards and General Abi. They denied it and charged that Ahiman had a secret agenda that fueled his lies. He wanted to take their place of power beside the king.

As
Abi’s right hand and the fiercest warrior in the land, Ahiman’s reputation was impeccable. But so were the reputations of the General and the bodyguards. And the evidence was not strong enough to indict.

In this warrior culture of honor, such unresolved disputes were often settled by duels.
When a warrior’s reputation was so impugned he felt he could only clear his name of dishonor by proving Ba’al’s favor in a battle to the death. So the General and his bodyguards challenged their accuser to a duel in the Pit to clear their names.

Ahiman
demanded that there would be no weapons. It would be hand-to-hand combat.

This was very personal.

The three of them waited in the Pit for Ahiman to arrive. Abi was quick and nimble, well studied in tactics. His strategic ability to understand the enemy and anticipate battle maneuvers earned him his prized status through many victories. He was also a master of swordplay. Unfortunately that would do him no good today, as there would be no weapons.

The bodyguard
Okrl was the strongest of the three and had a reputation for being vicious and relentless, which would compound his advantage in today’s fight, as well as increase the odds on bets laid down against him.

The other bodyguard
Khta was the smallest of them at about nine feet tall and bald. But he was massively built at close to eight hundred pounds of rock-like brawn, and was a mighty grappler and wrestler.

They were all naked except for their
loincloths and leather belts.

They spread out in formation at Abi’s lead.

The amphitheater was filled today, standing room only, because of the enormity of the event.

The
origin of that enormity entered the pit area and the crowd roared with applause.

It was Ahiman
—strutting proudly to his titanic fifteen feet. His footsteps seemed to shake the earth. With his mere loincloth and belt, the full impressiveness of his physique was on display. He was all sinew and muscle. His extra-long neck jutted forward in predatorial position, his long blond hair had been cut off for this fight, leaving him bald. His six-fingered hands spread out as he walked, then curled into a knuckle tight crunch, ready to pulverize his opponents. And he painted his face with war paint—The lightning bolt of Ba’al across his forehead, eyes and mouth. Looking at him, many people thought of the storm god.

Ahiman, the s
torm demi-god, raised his fists in glory, opened his mouth, and the amphitheater filled with the sound of his roar.

The crowd cheered
in response.

But
his opponents were ready for him.

They circled.
The three had been a team for many years, which would be a disadvantage to Ahiman. They had the ability to move in tandem, like a tag-team of warriors, and they knew each other’s style.

All four of the giants engaged in a ritual display of swaggering their long necks l
ike a cobra preparing to bite—the tradition of the Anakim as they faced duels in the Pit or on the battlefield. It was a way of intimidating their opponents and struck fear into the hearts of their enemies.

Up in the king’s royal box, Ahiman’s brothers, Sheshai and Talmai
, and Sheshai’s wife Izabel, watched the combat seated next to the king. Though King Hoham was himself a tall and powerful giant, he still required protection and these two would provide that during the contest, while his bodyguards fought. These brothers had been the most loyal of the Anakim, performing many feats of legendary heroism during the rise of King Hoham.

Had it been any other
Anakite who had made such an accusation against his guards and general he would not have believed them.

But these three were different.

Sheshai stroked his beard. He was the brilliant one. The middle brother, and leader of the family because of his intelligence. He whispered commentary on the fight into the king’s ear as they watched.

Talmai, the youngest, was also the most restless. He was a hothead with
an explosive temper that had often gotten him into trouble. Sheshai had to bail him out more than a few times through fast-talking or legal maneuvering. Talmai deferred to Sheshai because he owed him his very life over such rescues.

Talmai
stood instead of sitting because he was fidgeting and wishing he could be a part of the fight.

Talmai loved killing. He loved the feel of flesh cut with a blade or the sound and impact of bones and skulls crushed beneath mace
and hammer. The taste of the blood of his enemies on his lips made him delirious with more rage. He was not a very religious man, but the flesh of the vanquished was the height of religious ecstasy for him. The Anakim were cannibals and became known for their art of hanging victims’ bodies stripped of their flesh impaled on pikes. Ahiman may be a thundering elephantine force of power, but Talmai was a wild rabid lion that could rival his brother when unleashed.

Sheshai kept Talmai on a tight leash.

Izabel watched the fight as a good Anakite female should, quietly, and dressed attractively with long strings of golden necklaces on her long and deliciously slim neck. The female neck was a sexual turn on for Anakim males. And Izabel turned many male necks.

Down in the Pit, Ahiman looked around
at his encirclers. His long Anakim neck could stretch around almost to his back.

He knew he would have to take out
the strongest one first because this would give him the advantage in both strength and morale. The strongest one was Okrl, who was behind him.

The three of them moved almost as one. They
signaled each other according to Abi’s leadership. He had practiced with them as a team in preparation.

And that
preparation kicked in as the three of them attacked simultaneously. Fighting one at a time would be to Ahiman’s advantage, but all at once would be to theirs.

As they
rushed him, Ahiman spun around to face Okrl, so that when they hit, he would have Okrl in his clutches.

It was a pounding that would have taken the breath out of any normal Anakim.

But Ahiman was not a normal Anakim.

They fell to the ground in a cloud of dust and rolled, fighting for control.

Ahiman had Okrl’s head in his hands. This monstrous adversary may have had a body of muscle and strength that was impenetrable, but the skull that housed his brain was not.

Ahiman squeezed with all his might and crushed
Okrl’s skull like an ostrich egg.

It sounded like a crunching splat and echoed through the arena.

When they rolled further, Okrl’s body lay dead in the dirt.

Ahiman pulled away from the two others and faced them again
, blood and gore dripping from his hands.

It was shocking how quickly Ahiman dominated. His reputation was well deserved.

But the two others kept maneuvering, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Ahiman’s long arm swung out and clipped
Abi’s head, knocking him face first into the dirt. He got up shaking off the dizziness.

And then he ran away.

The crowd yelled with disgust. Cowards would not live in the Anakim community, so it did not make sense what he was doing. And worse yet, this was the general of the king’s army.

It diverted Ahiman’s attention just long enough for
Khta to leap.

He hit Ahiman in the mid-section and the two went down to the ground. Despite his lesser size, Khta was a rival in strength for Ahiman.

They wrestled for control.

Unfortunately, for Ahiman, Khta was the better wrestler.

What Ahiman did not see was that Abi was not running away. He was running to the edge of the Pit where a soldier threw down his sword to him.

It was a massive sickle sword of iron. And
Abi was a master swordsman. Evidently, he did not care about the consequences of breaking the rules of combat. He was forfeiting his life. But he had figured he would most likely die at the hands of the gargantuan anyway. Better to be able to take him with him to Sheol than go alone in failure.

Khta grappled with Ahiman in a contest of strength and moves that resulted in
Khta’s superior position.

Khta was the better wrestler, b
ut Ahiman was stronger.

Eventually, he pinned Khta
through sheer force, and head-butted him to break his nose. The physical damage would not weaken him in the state of combat, but the blood flow would be a hindrance.

Ahiman was just about
to bend down and use his teeth to rip out Khta’s throat, when he noticed Khta’s eyes shift to see something behind Ahiman.

Someone
behind Ahiman.

Ahiman reacted instinctively by rolling and pulling Khta on top of him, switching places.

He did it just in time as the sword of Abi swung down in an arc of judgment, slicing deep through Khta’s back, severing his spinal cord and cutting through his vital organs.

Khta released his grip in death and Ahim
an rolled out from beneath him to face his attacker.

Up in the king’s box, Talmai moved to jump out of the box and help Ahiman.

“Talmai!” shouted Sheshai.

Talmai stopped.

Sheshai said in front of the king, “He is perfectly fine to take care of himself.”

Talmai gritted his teeth and stepped back down into the box with a growl.

Once Abi broke the rules, Ahiman was no longer bound to those rules, and it would be perfectly appropriate to even up the odds by having his brother join him. But Sheshai knew that if Ahiman did not do so, but stayed within the bounds of the rules to beat the cheater, then his integrity would be elevated in the eyes of the king and the people, and his accusations against the bodyguards proven just.

Abi
swung his sword ferociously in a figure eight, leaving no room for Ahiman to do anything but back up—all the way to the edge of the Pit.

Ahiman whipped off his leather belt, leaving his
loincloth in the dust. He stood naked before the slashing iron.

But he was not without
strategy. He dove to the side and rolled in the dirt as Abi hit the Pit’s stone wall. Sparks flew in every direction.