He went down into the dungeons and reached Winn’s cell. Winn was exercising and Jaunty didn’t interrupt. He watched Winn do pushups and sit ups with a fierce intensity. When he was finally done, Jaunty spoke to him.
“That was an impressive workout.”
“Have to stay limber and keep the blood pumping,” Winn said as he wiped his face with his shirt. He picked himself up off the floor and sat on the bench.
“Winn, I don’t think you are the right person to talk to right now about this subject, but you are all I have, and I need to at least get some things off my chest.”
“I am not going anywhere. Say what you need to say.”
“I broke it off with Alana earlier today. I did it because she chose to go with the Queen rather than stay with me.”
“You should have killed her. Women are betrayers.”
Jaunty ignored Winn’s comments. “I have been very upset since that happened, and the reason was that I realized that she was right, she needed to do what she believed was right. The problem was I didn’t care, I wanted her with me.”
“I am familiar with opposing feelings.”
“The more I thought of it, the more I realized that during this whole experience of being captured and locked in a cell for so long, I started to doubt if Alana was right for me and I was right for her. When we were rescued, and I saw her, I didn’t feel the elation that you would expect one would feel after being reunited with someone you loved. We haven’t really been alone since the rescue, and we haven’t been intimate at all since then. We have hardly kissed. I didn’t try, but she did not try either. I think we both have changed, and I think we grew apart from each other. What do you think, Winn? Have we grown apart?”
“Jaunty, I don’t give a shit.”
“I figured you didn’t. You are here as a sounding board, not as someone who’s opinion matters. Yes, we were growing apart, and maybe in a time of peace we could have patched it up, but this is a time of war and chaos. A relationship must be strong to withstand that. Ours wasn’t going to. Now I realize I was looking for a reason to break up with Alana, and I used her choice to go with the Queen as the reason to do it.”
“That all sounds good, Jaunty, but I think you wanted her to choose you, and if she did everything would be fine with you.”
“Is that your madness talking, or are you being serious?”
“Who knows? It just seems to me you were being selfish and acting like a baby. You asked her to deny what she thought to be right to do what you wanted her to do. Hardly fair. If she would have subjugated herself to your desires, I think you would feel dominant over her, and that would have made you feel good, even though it wouldn’t be what is best for her.”
“Fuck you, you mad asshole. I am saying that inside I knew she would follow her heart and I used that to break up with her.”
“Chicken shit way to do it if you ask me.”
“I am not asking you.”
“You literally did ask me what I thought a moment ago. I told you. Now shut your lip about it.”
“Fine. Are you ready for the fights tomorrow?”
“As ready as can be. I have most of my strength back and I have been practicing my moves now that I have been unbound.”
“Good. I am pretty confident that you will survive.”
“I don’t know, Jaunty. I have not fought very many foes who were proficient in the fighting arts. There was Mi Len, the assassins that attacked us at the base, and Samir. My training with Mr. Chen doesn’t really count, he was never trying to kill me.”
“You defeated the God of Combat. That has to make you the best fighter living.”
“Samir wasn’t trying to kill me either. I am sure he could have easily.”
“Winn, where is your maniacal confidence? I haven’t heard humility from you since we were captured.”
“I see defeat. I see me losing to all sorts of foes. I must have lost a hundred duels.”
“No Winn, that is your false memory. You have never lost a fight, you have hardly ever been struck, much less defeated. You are the greatest fighter I have ever seen.”
“I don’t know. What I see is very vivid. Like it was yesterday.”
“That doesn’t make it real. Anybody that has seen you fight will attest that you are amazing. You know you can fly, right?”
In response Winn rose up off the bench and hovered halfway between the floor and the ceiling.
“Use that if you have to,” Jaunty said.
“As a last resort. I don’t want to give it away.”
“It’s late, I should go and let you sleep. Have a good night. I will see you at the trial.”
“I’ll put on a show, no worries. I will just project my enemies on my foes. That will bring out my best.”
Jaunty walked out of the room and back up to his rooms. Winn lowered himself and laid down on the bench. After Jaunty left Winn thought about his plight with Alana. She doesn’t deserve him, she is loose. She threw herself at me several times. Huh, I wonder if that is even true? I remember dancing with her at Rama and there was no hint of any untoward behavior. I just don’t know anymore. I can’t trust anything I remember, only the here and now.
Winn looked and saw that he wasn’t alone in his cell. Floating two span off the ground with his legs crossed was Samir.
“What are you doing here?” Winn asked. “I thought you would be ashamed to be around me since I beat you.”
Samir laughed. “If you think you beat me, then your mind is more fouled than I thought.”
“No, you are right. I didn’t beat you. I can’t figure out why you didn’t beat me.”
“To beat you at that moment would have meant killing you. You wouldn’t have stopped otherwise. I let you think you won to satiate your anger, to calm you down. You were a danger to yourself and your friends. Luckily Allesca’s attempt to heal you took away some of your anger, or we would have had to put you down.”
“Put me down? Like a dog?” Winn stood at that, getting angry again.
“Relax my son, it was not necessary.”
“I am not your son.”
“Yes, you are. All those who devote their lives to the art of Pho Ren are my sons and daughters. You are my greatest son, my greatest son thus far, and the greatest that will ever be.”
“Why me? I am not even of the race of your people?”
“Because I am a son of the Almighty, and He chose you. It was my duty and honor to make it so.”
“Do you know why he chose me? I don’t feel special nor do I have any redeeming characteristics that were not given to me by the gods.”
“You were chosen because when you were a small boy you were asked to be the Champion of Aviel, and even though you were warned it would be difficult, you were brave enough to say yes.”
“I didn’t know part of that difficulty was losing my mind. The Almighty did, yet he asked me anyway. Why would he let anyone go through this? He is not a decent being. He is selfish and plays with people like we are dogs. I hate him for what he has let happen to me. I don’t even know if the Almighty or Jezel is the real father of the gods.”
“Your madness plagues you still. Soon, you will have your mind back. You must focus, you must defeat these three opponents tomorrow. Can you think on that and listen to my strategy?”
“Yes, I will listen to you. Whether I follow your advice is another matter.”
“If you weren’t mad, I would slap you across the room. Heed me. At the start of the trial, there will be ten fighters presented to you. Some will be men, and some women. You will select two of them to fight. These ten will be followers of Ninjutsu, the bastardized version of Pho Ren bent on killing the defenseless in the dark. Do not pick a woman. They are deliberately placed in the group as better fighters in the hopes that you will pick one thinking they are weaker. They are allowed to paint poison on their finger and toenails, and they will try to puncture your skin and kill you with their poisoned nails. As you may guess the smaller men ar
e usually quicker and the bigger men are usually stronger. Pick one at each extreme. The average size men will be more skilled.”
“Pick a big man and a small man, not a woman. I am with you so far.”
“Let the fights between these two last a while. Conserve your strength but play with them. The reason I say this is because Ni will be watching, looking for your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t show her any.”
“Ni? I am to fight her?”
“Did no one tell you? I can see they didn’t. Yes, after your two other duels you must fight Ni. Ni is also a student of Ninjutsu. She is the best Ninjutsu fighter in the world. Her fighting style is to strike and move. She never lets herself get into blow by blow standoffs. Her weakness is her arrogance. She doesn’t believe anyone can land a crippling strike on her. Only one person can. You.”
“Have Ni and Ichi dueled before?”
“Yes, twice. They were both draws. Ichi is good enough not to lose to her, but not quite good enough to beat her. He happened to rise to be the Ichi first. If Ni had, she would be Ichi.”
“Does that mean I am better than Ichi as well?”
“Yes, but the margin is thinner than a hair. You will have to fight perfectly to beat both Ichi and Ni.”
“How do I beat her?”
“Block and counter. Then surprise her. That is the way.”
“That isn’t much help.”
“I’ll be there, watching. If you need help, I will help you.”
“Isn’t that cheating?”
“Not when the fate of Aurella and your wife is hanging in the balance.”
“I suppose not.”
“Control your emotions as best you can. Do not get angry. Remain standoffish, analytical, and keep your composure. Anger will get you killed.”
“I’ll try. My emotions aren’t exactly under my control.”
“Do your best. I will leave you now. Get some rest.”
Samir disappeared. Winn thought about what he said and decided he might follow some of his advice. He really wanted to end the first two fights quickly now that he knew he had to fight Ni. What Samir said made sense though. It was probably better to not show Ni anything she could use or to tip her off to how good he really was. Winn started pacing back and forth thinking about the different strategies and how best he could defeat Ni. When he turned around, he saw that he had another heavenly visitor.
“It’s after midnight, kid,” Ippili said. “Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep?”
“What the hell do you want?” Winn asked. “The way I understand it you are my enemy and have tried to kill me several times.”
“Kid, I am your closest friend among the gods and always have been. I gave you the gift of music, remember?”
“Then you played Luneamore to my mother and sister and seduced them both. My sister was fourteen, you bastard!”
“Kid, that simply isn’t true. Do you even remember that you know how to play music?”
“I swore I would never touch an instrument after that, Ippili. I also swore to end you.”
Winn lunged at Ippili, but he disappeared, then reappeared on the other side of the bars.
“Nice try, but I would never let you catch me. The reason I am here is not to fight, but to play for you and calm you down.”
“I don’t want you to play your bewitching music to me. Who knows, you might try to diddle me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. My proclivities tend toward the fairer sex. Listen, I will play for a minute then if you tell me to stop I will. Deal?”
“Fine if you really will stop when I say.”
Ippili smiled and started playing. Winn paced around a few more minutes then his eyes became heavy and he laid down on the bench. In two minutes, he was sleeping soundly. Ippili finished the song he was playing, which lasted twenty more minutes, then he stopped playing.
“Sleep deeply my friend. Show them who you are tomorrow.” Ippili disappeared.
The next day it was approaching noon, which was the time the trial would start, and Jaunty was rushing over to the arena. He barely arrived at the time he was supposed to meet Ambassador Wells and his wife. He was glad he was on time and had not kept them waiting. Jaunty met them just outside the arena. They exchanged pleasantries, went inside, and took their seats. Each seat in the five-sided arena was spoken for by high ranking Xi En officials or wealthy citizens. Ambassador Ross pointed out where the powerful people were seated. Across the arena was the area designated for the emperor. The vizier was sitting there now with his retinue of advisors, government officials, and servants. In the section to the vizier’s left on the first row was seated Diamyo Matsu Haosuki. He was seated with five geisha and several of the members of his house. The whole group was dressed in fine silks and wore a stunning amount of jewelry. Wells told Jaunty that Haosuki was one of the most powerful diamyos of Xi En and was one of the two men who were vying to be the next emperor. In the same section were seated two more diamyo’s, both who supported Haosuki.
On the vizier’s right was seated Diamyo Toyotomo Tidaaki. He was the other claimant to the emperor’s throne and his party was dressed just as extravagantly as Haosuki’s. With Toyotomo were seated two other diamyos as well. In the next section Wells pointed out the seventh diamyo, Oda Tadanao. He was not allied with Haosuki or Toyotomo, but both needed Oda’s support to outmaneuver their rival. Wells said that it was rumored that whoever Oda’s lovely daughter, Satomi, chose to marry would receive his support for the throne. Both rivals were not married and had been courting Satomi unceasingly since the emperor died. Thus far she had refused to choose one of them. Wells pointed Satomi out to Jaunty and from what he could see, he thought she was indeed beautiful. She didn’t look happy to Jaunty. That is a lot of pressure for a young girl to face.
After about ten minutes Winn entered the arena surrounded by guards. The arena went quiet and the guards marched Winn up to the ring in the center of the arena and removed his chains. Winn started stretching. Ten people were led up to the ring by an official and they stood in a line facing Winn.
“Choose two opponents to duel,” the official said in Xi En.
Winn looked over the group. There were three women. Winn dismissed them immediately. The rest were men of the same general age and of the same general height and weight. So much for picking the small one and the big one. Winn looked the men over more closely, walking down the line and staring each one in the face. Some did look more muscular, some less so but Winn had a feeling that these were the quickest ones. Finally, he picked the most muscled of the group and the skinniest, though there wasn’t that much difference between the two of them. The official was trying to hold back a smile, and Winn knew then that he probably picked the wrong two. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t beat them anyway.
Up in the stands Wells made a groaning sound. He turned to Jaunty with a sour look on his face.
“They stacked the line that Winn picked from. Those fighters are all in the top twenty. Winn picked eight, or Hachi, and twenty, or Nijuu.”
“I hope Winn knows what he is up against,” Jaunty said.
Back on the floor the official picked the skinnier man for Winn to fight first.
“Assume your positions,” the official said. “This is a fight to the death. If the accused wins, he will continue the trial. If the fighter for the vizier wins, the trial is over. All moves are allowed, including death strikes. The only thing disallowed is magic. Now make your bows and start on my mark.”
Winn thought it absurd to bow to the person he was about to kill.
“I, Nijuu, will give you death without honor.”
Winn smirked and gave a slight nod.
“I said bow gaijin! Bow or I will have you whipped.”
Winn growled at the official. I’m going to kill you too. He took a moment, then he made a formal, overexaggerated bow.
“I am known as Delver Kide and thousands have died by my hand. You are next, Nijuu.” Winn looked over at the official. “Happy?”
Winn asked.
The official ignored Winn.
“Begin!” The official yelled.
Nijuu launched at Winn and threw three front kicks in a row. Winn easily blocked them. He had decided to follow Samir’s advice and draw the fight out. He realized to make it look real he would have to let some of Nijuu’s blows land. He didn’t like the thought of that, but he decided after a couple more feeling out attacks by Nijuu that he wasn’t very powerful. Nijuu’s strength was his speed. Winn of course was faster than him, but he didn’t show it. Nijuu launched another attack and Winn let the first blow connect with his abdomen. It hurt a little but didn’t bother Winn. Winn decided he needed to launch some attacks, but he made them slower and softer than normal. A couple still got through Nijuu’s defenses, a back kick and a punch, and they knocked Nijuu backwards. Winn cursed under his breath. He must have hit too hard. Nijuu recovered and jumped high in the air and performed a double round kick. That strike looked powerful, so Winn avoided it. He noticed that Nijuu was vulnerable just after he jumped but before he threw the kicks. Winn couldn’t decide if he would take advantage of that weakness because it would take a very well-timed blow to connect at the right time. They had a few more exchanges and Winn let some more blows hit him in the body and he got some weak blows in as well. Nijuu tried a leg sweep and Winn jumped out of the way, then he popped up so fast that it caught Winn by surprise, and he kicked out and connected with Winn’s head. Winn was stunned for a moment and Nijuu took advantage by launching into his flying double round kick again. Winn didn’t hesitate, forgetting the strategy for a moment, and threw a back kick that connected with Nijuu’s head while he was in the air. Nijuu went flying and tumbling through the air and he landed on his head at a funny angle and his neck broke. The crowd let out a collective “oh” and then was silent. The official went to examine the clearly dead Nijuu. Winn cursed to himself, mad that he had shown such a powerful kick. Maybe Ni will think it was a lucky blow. The official came back to the circle and proclaimed Winn the winner.
The next fighter was called to the ring. Winn wasn’t given water or time to rest. The official bade the fighters to bow.
Trials of a Champion Page 26