25

Lycurgus stepped out into the arena. This time everything felt different. His heart raced, sweat dripped down his brow, and the air tasted tart and salty. It wasn't far passed midday, and when he looked at the stands, they seemed a little fuller than earlier. He guessed everyone had finished up what business they could to catch the semi-finals.

His weapon, weaver's spindle, rested unwrapped on his back. The weight had become virtually unnoticeable to him, but he always felt its presence. The hum of tarmata was deeply embedded throughout it, sung to him like waves lapping gently upon the shore on a cool morning. He touched the hilt, and it calmed him.

It rested his rather restless soul inside and he, for the first time it seemed, could release the breath he held in his lungs.

"Hmm, I understand now." He said to himself in a low tone. 'Yes, I finally understand what mother was talking about.'

His mind flashed to the moment of naming the weapon, the true importance of a name, but he had realized even more now. Not only was the original purpose important but also…

"The way in which it is used." He said as he swung the lance off his back, planting the edge into the ground.

Taezu's eyes looked at weaver's spindle, then those brown eyes slowly traveled up to meet Lycurgus's eyes. A sardonic smile crept across his face as he twirled his bow in his right hand before smoothly getting into a combat stance.

In response, Lycurgus raised weaver's spindle over his shoulder and held it with both hands just before it touched his shoulder. The two held their prospective stance for a breath of time, Lycurgus slowly closing his eyes.

Memories of him, Lysander, and their mother raced through his mind. It reinvigorated his rage which had become a controlled and silent fury. As he opened his eyes, he saw with a new clearness and sharper focus. Once the breath was exhaled the two dashed at each other.

Taryu watched intently as the two met in the center of the arena. Lycurgus came in with an overhead downward swing and Taezu met with an upward strike aimed at his neck. The force of the two's clash cracked the ground and sent a shockwave through the stadium.

Taryu was so focused on the match that he didn't notice Kyden, who was now sitting next to him.

Kyden stared at Taryu for a moment, his sea-green eyes studying every move and twitch Taryu made at the clashes between the two combatants. His eyes shifted down toward the battle to catch Lycurgus attacking with a wide sweeping attack that Taezu barely managed to block, Kyden winced slightly.

"I have to ask Taryu, is my sister safe?" Kyden asked with a voice as calming and cold as the waves on a midnight shore. Taryu slowly sat up, eyes still on the battle, and responded with,

"Yes, Sylla is fine Kyden."

Kyden let out a low sigh, one that seemed on relief, and sat back in his chair as well.

"You know that's her nephew, right?" Kyden said the coldness in his voice slightly dissipated, replaced with a more lukewarm tone. Taryu raised an eyebrow in question, "That's your son?"

Kyden shook his head no with a playful smirk on his face, "Do we look that much alike? No, he's the son of my younger brother Lazu." Taryu's eyes focused on Taezu as he spun quickly around Lycurgus and struck at his heel, the strike barely missed as Lycurgus stepped out of the way.

Though far away Taryu seemed to begin to see the similarities between Taezu and his uncle. Not in the look of the two but with the grace and ferocity and precision with which he fought. He thought back to the first time he encountered Kyden when he attempted to raid their village. He never fought him, but he saw him in action and knew he was nothing to scoff at. What made Taryu respect him, however, was his willingness to achieve peace. It was he, that first suggested his sister marry Taryu.

It had been a rough agreement, but Kyden saw something that Taryu would have never thought of, something he'd never make even his daughters do, marry the man that killed your previous husband. By the time they both realized the truth of the matter Taryu had already fallen for Sylla and had vowed to make things better for the village, now Kyden sneakily tacked on a feeling of guilt that would forever bind him to leave Sokou alone.

Taryu let out a sigh, silly how he had forgotten that all due to his heart set on conquest. The women that held his peace made any moves difficult against any village. The only ones that wouldn't care would be Joyle, for she had a burning resentment toward her village of Soren, and Shezira.

A sigh from Kyden broke Taryu's concentration as he looked up at the battle. The two simply traded blows and parried one another's counters. "I wonder why Lycurgus fights in this tournament if he's banished?" Asked Kyden as he leaned forward placing his hands together to form a triangle in front of his face.

His long salt and pepper dreads hung his face as he turned his head slightly to look into Taryu's maroon-brown eyes, "Is he going to try and go against your decree of banishment?"

Taryu didn't meet Kyden's gaze, instead, he opted to remain focused on the battle between Lycurgus and Taezu, "It would seem so," He finally answered after a moment of silence.

Kyden's eyes floated back toward the battle. Taezu flipped over a wild swing Lycurgus attacked with trying to counter midair, but Lycurgus simply ducked to dodge it. "And would you stand against it?" Kyden asked in a quiet voice, so cold it sent a chill down Taryu's spine.

Taryu breathed out slowly before answering, "I wouldn't back down from my decision, no."

Lycurgus stabbed at Taezu, who easily dodged. Lycurgus' blade lodged into the ground, but he used the momentum to launch him forward into a kick that landed squarely in Taezu's chest.

Kyden leaned back, his dreads now fully covering his face as his menacingly green eyes peered from behind the murky curtain of hair, "And would you fight him if it came down to it?"

Taryu didn't answer, not for lack of an answer but simply because he couldn't bring himself to. His son, his pride, his joy, he didn't want it to come to that. Kyden studied his brother-in-law closely before saying,

"You and I both know that boy will destroy the fragile peace we've worked to garner. The sacrifices we've all made. I sacrificed my own sister so that way the young boys of the village could live to see another day."

Taryu whipped around ready to counter but Kyden cut him off before he could say anything,

"I heard his words Taryu, the words that were a reflection of your heart." Taryu's eyes drifted to the ground unable to respond to the truth. Kyden leaned forward placing a hand on his shoulder.

His voice still cold he said, "I know that you will keep the peace, despite the desires of your heart."

Taryu looked up and held his gaze for a moment before drifting his eyes back to the battle. He didn't even focus on the exchange, instead, he simply stared off into the distance, wondering. 'How did I end up here?'

Kyden looked at Taryu's face for a moment before leaning back into his seat, "If Lycurgus wins and you honor his proposal, the combined might of the other villages will destroy Tiziano before we leave."

Kyden had said it so coolly that Taryu almost missed the threat, he blinked his eyes several times snapping himself back into reality before turning to face Kyden, He stared at him, speechless that he'd even say something like that to him. For a second he thought he was joking but quickly dismissed the thought,

"Do you fear one boy that much?" Taryu asked shock and surprise heavy in his voice. Kyden turned his head and looked back at him, "I learned long ago that fear is an emotion to be used, not ignored."

Lycurgus retreated and refocused himself, after exchanging blows with Taezu he finally uncovered how to beat him.

He closed his eyes and breathed in, channeling his energy into his lance. In his mind, he saw the weapon needed to defeat Taezu, one where he could gain the perfect balance of speed and strength, one where he could keep reach, but also be light enough to quickly defend.

He ran his hand along the spine of the blade, pulling the threads he saw in his mind's eye, ever so slightly changing the lance to his desire. As he slowly opened his eyes his vision was made manifest. The blade was the length of his arm, a single-edged, two-handed sword. The extra mass of the lance folded in and created a razor shape edge. The new form hummed with power as it radiated a silvery tarmata that rose from the weapon like steam.

Lycurgus swung the weapon feeling the decrease in weight, the speed and power increased nearly tenfold. He brought the blade before him gripping it with two hands, "I name you Tarsori," Lycurgus whispered softly.

He took in another breath and dashed forward with an upward swing. The slash was so fast Taezu barely could react in time to dodge, Lycurgus wasn't aiming at Taezu. As Taezu jumped back, his weapon split at the handle in between his hands. Taezu twirled each half in his hands, switching from a reverse grip to a thumb-support grip.

"I have no clue what you did to your weapon Lycurgus but cutting through Dyokuda is impressive, to say the least," Taezu yelled as the two walked in a circle waiting for their chance to strike.

Lycurgus had the speed advantage, but he wasn't used to this type of weapon. Longer than the traditional knives and long daggers used in the islands, Tarsori felt awkward in his hands. All the weight being distributed to the spine of the blade meant he had to hold it with both hands, and though lighter than weaver's spindle original form, it placed a strain on the forearms of Lycurgus. The strain caused Lycurgus to constantly shift resting position to find which was the most comfortable.

"Taezu, I wanna ask what fish is that bone from?" Lycurgus said gingerly, combing his stance and footwork to see when a good moment would be to strike.

Taezu doing the same but having difficulty due to the constant movement of the blade responded with, "It was the skull bone of two corner fish, the distant cousin of your lancer fish." Lycurgus raised an eyebrow in interest and as he did Taezu lunged at him.

Swinging his right blade first, Lycurgus stepped back, allowing Taezu's attack to glance off weaver's spindle to alter the momentum slightly. The follow-up swing came slightly faster than Lycurgus expected, making his block slightly off-timing, placing him on his back foot. Lycurgus was surprised by the weight and speed of the attack.

He wasn't sure if it was due to the fatigue building up in his arms or the grip of the blades, but he began focusing, funneling more of his energy throughout his body. A silvery aura seemed to glow off Lycurgus as he strengthened his body. The increased power allowed him to slip into a counter in between Taezu's next assault.

Lycurgus simply wanted to throw him off balance, going for the disarm of at least Taezu's left hand, being his dominant. Taezu seemed to read Lycurgus's movements opting to spin away from the strike instead of his usual parry, or maybe?

Lycurgus quickly lunged in with an upward slash. Taezu dodged using his blades as a buffer between him and weaver's spindle. Sparks flew off the weapons as the resonant energy clashed against each other. Lycurgus followed up with a quick downward diagonal slash, which Taezu sidestepped falling to his back foot.

Lycurgus was finally seeing what was happening from that one exchange. Taezu didn't want to test the durability of his blades. Having this knowledge, Lycurgus followed his assault with a forward lunge. Taezu had no choice but to block the attack with his weapon, but as he moved to block Lycurgus pivoted his blade into an upward swipe. Lycurgus freed the blade from Taezu's left hand and half of Dyokuda went flipping through the air.

Taezu quickly countered going for a sweeping kick that caught Lycurgus' ankle tripping him up in the process. As Lycurgus hit the ground Taezu went for his disarmed weapon. Lycurgus quickly recovered, changing the weaver's spindle into the form he called 'Rezewys,' extending it out piercing Taezu in the back of his right shoulder.

The force of the attack knocked Taezu forward, but he was somehow able to counter. Throwing his blade with his left, he forced Lycurgus to retract Rezewys and turn it back into Tarsori in order to make a last-minute block. Taezu had managed to recover his other blade though at the cost of his right arm.

The two combatants faced each other, knowing the outcome but still full of fight. Taezu held his blade firm in his left-hand reverse grip and dashed forward. Lycurgus stood still and waited for Taezu to get in range, only stepping forward slightly before slashing downward diagonally. As the two passed by each other Taezu stumbled forward before dropping the other half of Dyokuda to the ground.

Taezu grabbed at his shirt as a visible red line appeared diagonally across his chest, through the fabric. Taezu dropped to his knees as the blood stained through his garment. Lycurgus stood motionless, still in the pose he made after he struck Taezu. He saw no blood, for his eyes were closed, but he felt warm liquid drip from his left eye down his face. The slight stinging from the wound inflicted by Taezu. He didn't open his right eye until he heard Taezu's body thud to the ground in defeat.

Two men and a woman came running out with a woven stretcher, placing Taezu on it. As they did Lycurgus wiped the blood off his face and for the first time noticed the cheering of the crowds. He gazed upon the cheering audience members as his eyed floated to the chief's section. There he saw an expression he had never seen before, his father giving a smile that was filled with fear and worry.