by R. K. Star
She relinquished her weapon, she knew it was a lost cause and she wouldn’t be able to keep up with Kylan at that distance. After withdrawing to a safe distance, she placed a hand across her wound. She began the process of rapid regeneration, first by proliferating her skin cells to close the wound thereby minimizing the loss of blood. Kylan however, had no intention of letting her recover and he pounced on the chance to go on the offensive again. She managed to close the opening in a halfhearted attempt leaving a grotesque scar behind. Quickly she grabbed the hidden weapons strapped to her thighs. They were hand-held weapons, one was a claw with three prongs of twenty-five centimetres in length, she grabbed with her right hand. The left she grabbed another hand-held weapon with a razor-sharp blade of thirty centimetres in length from the base of the attachment to the tip. Kylan came at her with his spear very quickly. The two of them clashed together at a rapid pace to the sound of the blade singing. It was an elegant performance, with the loser being the one that made a mistake.
The blades clashed for a short period of time but Kylan spear eventually won out, or perhaps it would be more correct to say his skill carried him through. He slashed her again across the chest while she backed up leaving her with another gouge about a centimetre deep running parallel to the unsightly scar. Sallon took a deep breath in and held it for a moment before releasing it. Her body starved of oxygen as she was gasping for air but she had to calm herself down so she wouldn’t hyperventilate. She couldn’t keep her hands from shaking now, the pressure from clashing her blades against Kylan has strained her muscles. She needed a break to recuperate and she was about to have it.
From the distant she saw the water in the river evaporate in a thick misty fog. Her elementalists had finished their preparations unnoticed. She distracted Kylan for long enough and surely he had no clue what was happening underneath his nose. The elementalists dammed the river upstream to prevent water flowing down and they began to vibrate the molecular structures on the floor of the river to generate heat again. When significant heat was generated they release it up and the heat immediately vaporized the liquid state of water and evaporated it. Kylan now sensed the water molecules evaporating again, he looked behind him and his face turn pale. The glow in his eyes faded into the dark. His facial muscles naturally tensed into a slight frown and he didn’t want to breathe. This spelt disaster for him.
The water snake slowly shrunk as the water from the river that was feeding to its size was now retracting back its water. Kylan severed the water snake from the river as a doctor would to a placenta after delivering the baby. The snake maintained its current size but there was no water to regenerate it if damaged. Kylan was distracted for a moment and Sallon plunged into the water snake to retrieve her weapon. As she had suspected, the viscosity of the snake has lessened now and she was able to reclaim her hideous life snatching sphere. Sallon stained the snake red with her blood, the red diffused throughout the snake to a soft pink. Kylan recoiled the snake to ready it for the next launch, he was hesitant to advance now.
Sallon twirled the sphere again readying it for the next move and without a thought she advanced forward with blood still oozing down her chest. The blood pulsed out with each heartbeat. She knew if she wanted to win this fight she would have to put everything on the line. There was no room for hesitation.
The snake shot forward opening its jaw wide again to swallow its prey. Sallon swung the sphere and smashed the head apart and continued sprinting forward. The snake split and reformed into two smaller pieces and came at her from behind. Sallon stopped and spun around in rapid sequence while spinning her sphere to severe the snakes as it approached. Kylan retracted back the water snake back to his side as Sallon sent her sphere flying at him. He dodged the first strike with ease but the fury from the sphere didn’t stop there. It came at him again and again without hesitation. He dodged and parried what he could but one small misstep and the sphere grazed him, one of the spike left a cut two centimetres deep. He couldn’t fight at this distance against her, her weapon had the advantage. He slowed the movement of the water molecules in the snake and rearrange them to form a crystalline structure. The snake expanded almost ten percent and he reorganize the shape into a serpent dragon. It had large icy spikes on its head and large glossy ice scales plates covering the entirety of its body. The dragon opened its mouth and a freezing chill came from its breath.
Kylan raised the dragon high above into the grey cloudy sky until it disappeared from view. Then the sky trembled from a sharp roar as the dragon descended down screeching in agony. Sallon could feel the cold air first, freezing her bones. The skin on her arms tighten and goosebumps raised with her soft sparsely hair sticking up. Freezing droplets kissed her face as she stared into the ice blue eyes while the dragon descended on her. She held on the chain very close to the head of the sphere and spun it with great resolve. She churned and churned then release the sphere directly above her into the mouth of the dragon. She let go of the chain to let the sphere carry it forward. The sphere climbed up three metres then collided into the mouth of the dragon furiously. The sphere overtook the dragon disintegrating it into small shards. As the dragon came down the sphere climbed up demolishing it. The sharp shards of ice then rained down on Sallon in a frenzy. She pulled out two small daggers and knocked the shards away and shattering them into small ice slivers. A few fragments pierced her flesh going as deep as three centimetres but luckily none hit any vital organs. Many other fragments sharp as knives, skewered everyone vulnerable and unskilled, piercing through them. The last thing to fall was her sphere and chain which she grasped with comfort. She figured that was his last offensive move and now she had him. She forced the shard out of her body and the projectiles flew off piercing its next unsuspecting target.
Sallon didn’t waste any of her focus to close her wounds. She was going to finish this with one last strike. She lifted her right foot and place it in front of her left foot then her left foot in front of her right. It felt there was a weight strapped to each leg. Her legs were so fatigue it wouldn’t move unless she forced it. As she lifted her leg she could feel something pulling it back down. There was nothing restricting her leg but her fatigue muscles were ready to give way. She fought on the soreness and aching spasms that twitched around her flesh. One step then the next and repeat, in this manner she brought herself to a slow jog but she forced herself faster until she was running at a fast pace. With every step blood oozed from each wound. She could feel her heart hammering against her chest, harder and harder, louder and louder. The taste of blood crept up her throat, she could feel it coming up. As she ran faster she started coughing. She coughed air at first then a thick mucus, then she tasted blood on her tongue and she was coughing up blood. She stopped the coughing by holding her breath. This was it!
Kylan saw Sallon running at her now. He could see her legs almost buckle with each step she took. He was fatigue from fighting but more so from controlling the water. Moving and manipulating the water had taxed his body heavily and he was more fatigue then Sallon. Although the outer appearance of Kylan seemed rather unscathed besides the wound on the shoulder and some minor scrapes and bruises. He felt exhausted but he knew he had to finish this himself in this last move. He was the Daigon of Honar and the Watnar district, they depended on him. Not all the water had evaporated, water from the severed snake and fragments of the dragon still remained that was soaked into the ground now. He pulled all the water around towards him. There wasn’t much water left but it didn’t matter as he couldn’t manipulate any more than what was available.
“Raging water,” Kylan shouted. The water crept up from the ground and merged with his body. His energy merged with the water molecules as it flowed upwards.
“Roaring,” Kylan opened his mouth wide and water flow from his lips outward and a small sphere of water formed. A light blue colour flowed around the sphere and the water sphere slowly increased in sized. The water molecules were being compacted and compressed into the sph
ere while being vibrated rapidly.
Sallon was almost close enough to release her sphere. She looked onwards and when she heard Kylan started a chant for an attack, fear slapped across her face but it was too late to retreat now. She didn’t think he had the mental focus to execute such a technique. She clenched tightly onto her sphere and trusted herself. She strengthened the head of the sphere and increase the weight, please, she whispered in her head. “Stay true to me,” she whispered as she started rotating the sphere.
“Cann,” the water spun and shot out in a projectile, “…On.” The water jet increase in size and speed as the chant completed.
Sallon released her sphere to meet with the water jet. The sphere pierced through the jet of water and raged on. The smooth jet of water deflected off its course into smaller jets. The high-pressure jet of water curved back and pierced through her, just above her right clavicle bone. Another water jet curved back in and pierced through her below her left clavicle. Kylan tried to bend the other water jet back into play but didn’t have the mental strength. He tried to move the water jets across to sever the top of her body off but she forced the water jets to stay in place. He was weakened and couldn’t control them anymore. Suddenly he felt a sharp sting on his chest.
The water fell to the ground and the battle was over. Kylan tipped his head down slightly and he could see the chain through his chest. Blood oozed from the gross cavity and drenched his garments in red. He could no longer breath or feel his heartbeat. It surprised him that he felt no pain or agony but he felt heavy. His eyelids felt heavy and he let them close. His legs were weak and crumbled to the increasing weight his body was feeling. A soft breeze blew the droplets of water across on his face and lifted his soul. He felt the summer misty breeze on his skin and he remember back to a time centuries ago when he really was a young man. He was standing on the platform ready to fall backwards into the lake and enjoy a cool dip on a hot summer day. He brought his arms up and let himself fall into the cool water. He imagined the impact of the water hugging his skin as he soon would embrace it. Slowly he fell backwards and his mind drifted away, his conscious was no longer in his body. His body slammed against the scorched ground and his might, slowly person by person saw he fell. They immediately fled one by one as the fear carried across the entire might. People in the distance soon stopped fighting as well when they realized Sallon had won. The entirety of Kylan might was in full retreat and panic struck across their ranks.
Sallon pulled back her chain claiming her prize, the Daigon of Honar. She dragged the lifeless corpse back with her, with excruciating difficulty. Her body was spent and badly battered but she had to stay strong and standing. She couldn’t let Kylan’s might see her collapse as it would give them hope. A quick survey revealed she had lost more troops in the battle compared to Kylan. Three of her allied bodies laid on the ground for one of his, quite an unfavourable trade off.
Kylan’s scattered might would return to the city of Honar and fortify it. But most of the land in the Watnar district surrounding Honar would be undefended and could easily be claimed by her banners. Eventually she would be able to claim Honar as well. All she would need to do was set up a siege outside the city and it would fall with time. But that was no concern for her now. She would come back to claim her prize when she was healed.
23
Songnar outskirts, Yhonar
Layana’s mind finally adjusted to what happened. She still hasn’t seen Kaylon since he brought her here. Nonetheless she started to enjoy the morning scent of crisp grass, the sweet smell of summer flowers. She could detect a hint of jasmine and possibly lilacs or lilies. The breeze carried many different scents throughout the room and it was especially soothing with the bright moon at night. She had moved from the city to the outskirts where it was quieter and she could begin her training. She stayed in a luxurious mansion in the vast empty fields of overgrown weeds and aged trees towering high to the sky. She had gotten use to the unique taste of the food and the difference in culture. What she couldn’t get used to, was how transparent her sleep attire was, always revealing her genitalia. Although for them nudity and sexuality is not a big deal. Many times she saw people of both gender walk out in public with clothing that was completely revealing and no one seem to be bothered. She was making a big deal out of something trivial in their eyes.
They were all standing in the open field. “It’s time for you training to officially begin,” Jhan said as he waved the maid over.
The maids carried racks containing various weapons. They also brought out tables which they laid larger size weapons on. The light reflected off the polished metal and a beautiful glimmer bounced off each blade.
Jhan walked with Layana as she looked at the weapons. “Feel them and try them out, you will have a sense of comfort and satisfaction with the right one,” Jhan said.
The weapons started off simple. A sword, a sabre, a bow and arrow, a spear, a halberd, a mace, and a nunchaku were all place on a rack. She reached her hand to pick up the mace but Jhan stopped her. “Not that one my daigon, at least not yet.”
“Why not?”
“That is a basic weapon for you to compare with, if after you’ve seen the others and you still feel this is the right one for you then so be it.”
She continued looking, “I don’t think I can feel comfortable with any of these, they look too grotesque for my liking.”
“Please continue on,” Jhan urged.
She continued on but didn’t feel comfortable selecting any of them. They were either too big or too intimidating. She saw one with spikes and blades curved and bent in an eerie manner that she wouldn’t want anyone to be struck with, not even Lisa.
“This one looks nice,” Layana reach forward to grab the hilt of a weapon that was lain on the table. It had a matte finish of silver glaze and was about a metre and a half in length from hilt to tip. On the blade there were ‘v’ type marking all along indicating segments in the weapon. As she picked up the weapon it drooped similarly how a whip would. It took Layana by surprised she thought it was just a slim sword with a longer blade that was easier on the eyes and elegant.
“Excellent choice my daigon,” Jhan nodded in approval of her choice but she was already hesitating now. “This weapon is dependent on its reach and the user’s agility to out maneuver its opponent. It doesn’t hit as hard as most other weapons but its blade is certainly lethal. The mastery of this weapon is challenging but I believe someone of my daigon’s abilities will be able to control it gracefully.”
“I thought this was a sword, but it’s not solid and straight as I imagine it to be.”
“It can be, by grasping these three points on the hilt you can activate the magnetic strips to pull the weapon taut.”
Jhan demonstrated this process to her. Apparently those ‘v’ shapes weren’t for decoration but were magnetic strips that controlled the form the weapon took.
“Alternatively you could control the form of the weapon with your mind but in a battle it would be wise to conserve your mental focus on other things. Try it out.”
Layana took the weapon by the hilt and tried a slash through the air. It was incredibly light, just looking at it you would imagine it was excessively heavy. She fumbled with the locking the mechanism. She wasn’t able to quite figure it out and Jhan showed her again. The mechanism was quite simple, underneath in the hilt there was three buttons that could be depressed if you pressed on the hilt. The secret to activating it was to press them simultaneously which either block the magnetic strips or unblocks them. The maids set up a small training area with targets.
Immediately Layana felt at ease with the weapon in its relax state, she used the weapon with ease like a whip, trying to slash the enemy targets. But with one haphazard flick of the blade she sliced a three centimetre gouge into her left arm. She could see her bone as it was quickly covered by the blood oozing from her arteries, veins and capillaries.
“My daigon,” a maid gasped as she rushed towards
her. The maid placed her palm over the wound and began to reattach the large vessels. The other maid rush to her side and place her hands around the wound and began reattaching the muscles and closed the wound. In a few minutes the arm was as good as before. Layana pressed on the area but she felt no pain and it look as it had before the accident.
Layana realized how finely sharp the blade was. She didn’t need to use force to cut her opponent, just running the edge across would create an open wound.
“It’s as Jhan said, this weapon is dependent on speed and its reach to carry the victory. Do not use the weapon to block or parry, you must dodge and counterstrike.” Layana turned around to finally see Kaylon.
Jhan and the maid quickly bowed, “Daigon Qunor,” they spoke in harmony.
Layana realized she should refer to him as Qunor now instead of Kaylon, since that was an alias. “Where have you been?” She demanded.
“There were matters that require my attention. I presume your reaeslave and maids have taken care of you well.”
“Yes, but you should have made things clear to me before vanishing.”
“There were too many things to tell you in such short time. I did say your reaeslave would answer all your questions, did he not?”
“Yes, he did.” Layana felt he had a good point and there was no point in pressing the matter further.
“I am also quite fond of this type of weapon, although few can actually use it effectively in battle.”
“Can you give me a lesson with this blade.”
“Of course,” Qunor took hold of the blade.
It was in the solid form and he began to move around as if he was dancing so very elegantly but very swiftly. The blade seemed as if it was rubber, bending backwards and forwards. Even when the blade segments were anchor together with the magnetic strips it moved about as if Qunor was twirling around a ribbon baton. She couldn’t take her eyes off. She thought he must have cut himself several times by now. Earlier she was moving slowly and cautious, trying to cut the atmosphere and ended up wounding herself. Yet he made it look so easy, she was ready to give it a try again.