"Lord of War"

(Traduction by Cristina Figueras)
(Illustration by Fran Galán)
(Sculpture by Pedro Fernández Ramos)

Countless nicks were decorating the odd sword, besides giving it this rough aspect to that forged in thousand skirmishes. A cutaneous roughness riddled with scars indicating that his seniority was not only due to the passage of time, but also due to the numerous of fights in which he had been embroiled. Indeed, the most of them had been tempted and caused by his warlike nature.
He was not a good man, but a brave chap in whose dictionary did not exist the word fear. Not uselessly he was called by all “The Lord of the War”, nobody better than him had gained such an appellative. No one could use the arts of the fight and the confrontation to work out victorious.
But it was his calm, his regular words before any conflict, which really frightened his rivals.
This time it was not the case, since that beast that was blocking the way to him neither knew it, nor the fact that he was someone to be afraid of.
With a rude and arrogant sign that was trying to make happen as something generous the warrior extended his left hand aside and said:

- I would not like to disturb you, my friend, I only want to cross this territory. -
- Ughh! - was the beast´s answer if it would be considered an answer itself.
- Pay attention! - began to say with resignation - I know it probably bothers you, but if you do not shift I will have to kill you, and be sure I will do it. The only quandary I have is to know where I am going to hang your dead hand from, since you can see I have the replete belt and in addition yours must weigh a hundredweight. -
- Ughh!, Aghh!, Ughh!-
The warrior breathed heavily lowering his head and, after a few seconds, he lifted the sight answering:
- ...That´s what you wanted! -
Then, the sound of his fingers pressing the leather of the hilt, preceded a change of expression in his eyes that there would freeze the blood of the most merciless rival of the kingdom. Everything was ready, the die was cast and the content was going to begin from one moment to the next.

Pepe Gallego