No man or beast knows
where Beowulf Zanzibar Hrethel was birthed,
appearing as if from the mists one day
in search of a Gigan most specific.
A wrestler of such great renown
that she had been forced to withdraw from public life.
A wrestler of such skill, strength, and courage
that her very form defied nature itself:
Brecca the Unbeatable, Brecca the Dwarf.
Though heads above most humans
she stood in the shadow of her countrymen
though never for long.
Beowulf eventually found his aim
in a small cave, far from any Gigan city.
Upon first sight, it is said she nearly settled upon killing the young man
before reconsidering at the last moment
Why have you come?
she spat, the battered youth rising to his feet.
I have come to train under you,
the greatest wrestler known to man or Gigan!
He beamed in admiration, his pain insignificant.
Bah! I've no time for a soft, pink human wretch like you.
Begone!
But Beowulf knelt before her
and pleaded for 3 days and nights
never once relenting
In frustration, Brecca agreed to train the boy
expecting no more than a handful of days
before the young human would wither and break
Every day, she would strike him
demean him
and wrestle him into submission
unleashing punishment the likes of which
would have reduced any man
or any Gigan
to pitiful tears
But after the 30th day
of Beowulf's grateful acceptance of her treatment
Brecca realized this was no mere opportunist
here to ride the coattails of greatness
and so
his training began
Techniques, holds, tricks
all were revealed and drilled
until they were as much a part of Beowulf
as they were of Brecca
With every passing month, a closeness grew,
that of teacher and student
warrior and rival,
friend and companion.
And at dusk on the 1111th day
Brecca greated Beowulf for the evening's training
but instead told him
Lo, there is no more that I can teach.
The path to greatness is more than training,
and if you truly intend to follow that path,
it leads away from here.
They locked eyes, and no words
would even again be needed between the two.
The sounds of their epic final wrestling match
were heard across the valley
though some claim
it may have been, "wrestling."
Upon the morning light,
Beowulf departed,
never to return,
the knowledge and skill of Brecca the Unbeatable
strengthening every fiber of his being.