Solo Head-First Into the Madness

[Kaie]

70th of Fall, 516 AV
11th Bell


Kaie caught the sight of Jeida's nose scrunching as the pair of Myrians wandered the main streets of Sunberth. The corners of her mouth twitched with mirth. She could certainly remember the way the stench of the city struck her the first time she visited it. Piss. Shyke. Rot. Those were the strongest aromas that gave character to the place. Yet what else could be expected from a region where none but the citizens themselves enforced social norms in the absence of written law? It would be a miracle if her younger sister wasn't initiated to Sunberth's nature her first day by tripping over a corpse or something resembling one. For what it was worth, Sunberth was one of the few barbarian cities that at some point felt like a home. She wished the memories and people that made it so had still remained.

"Here it is. The far east shore of Mizahar," Kaie said in their nature tongue, gesturing with mock grandiose to the world about them as they walked. She flashed an unamused Jeida a teasing grin. While in Riverfall, the younger of the pair insisted she the farthest reaches of the barbarian lands. The legendary, chaotic city of the east had been an important part of her itinerary despite her sister's warnings. "Smells like the ass end of a Tskanna...but somehow worse," Jeida remarked bitterly in return. The sentiment only broadened Kaie's smile.

The two meandered the streets with Kaie's memory as their guide. It appeared little had changed. Dilapidated homes had fallen just a little more apart. Cobbles boasted another thick layer of grime. Ahead a boy no older than six reached his daring fingers into the coat pocket of a man walking before him. In a tick his fingers must've closed on something valuable, before in the next moment he was running as fast as his stubby legs could carry him just before the man caught on to his crime. Jeida arched a brow at her sister. In Taloba, a thief sometimes lost a hand. Kaie shrugged. "What'd I tell you? Sunberth has no rules. Don't get caught, don't piss the wrong person off, and don't be a mage. Always pay attention." Before long the pair made their way into one of the city's newer taverns: No Man's Land.

The senior Myrian offered the proprietor a friendly wave upon entering the scene before she guided Jeida to a table in the corner. A small collection of others were scattered about the refuge. It had been some time since Kaie had taken on the detached, furious personality that was The Tigress. Her doings under the pseudonym had been particularly bloody affairs. While she was pretty certain no one that had seen her face during the killings had lived to see the next dawn, Kaie wasn't quite ready to gamble on being jumped by a forgotten enemy on her first day back. While the Myrians waited patiently to be attended, a pair of men a table over were engaged in conversation too loud not to overhear.

"I'm tellin' ya! Ever since them goons arrived a' tha docks, tha city's fallen back ta shyke!" a man with a long black beard griped, bringing a fist down upon the table for effect. His companion, a bit older with a patchy excuse for facial hair, tsked with a shake of his head. "I jus' wis' the madness done. A' least durin' Robern's days ya knew who was doin' the killin's. In our day, ya claimed 'em like a man!" The first speaker grunted with agreement and folded his arms across his chest. He began to pull at the ends of his black beard with gritty fingers. "I ain't never seen a damned thin' like it! Men strung up like animals, lookin' like a pack o' wild ones ripped 'em apart? The dead walkin' a' night? Never in my years did we need a sentry ta guard the Slums a' nigh'!" Kaie furrowed her brow. Jeida blinked as she watched her sister's expression with an evident cluelessness. The elder of the pair turned around to address the gossipers.

[Kaie]

"What's all this you're talking about?" Kaie asked boldly in Common without shame she might've offended the men by accidental eavesdropping. They eyed her warily and exchanged glances. No Sunberth native ever trusted an outsider, and Kaie's accent and dress wasn't doing her any good in winning their favor. "Did someone start lacing that shyke from the plantations while I was gone?" It wasn't the most effective tactic at her disposal, but she hoped it would ease their apprehension enough to offer explanation. The long bearded man cautiously relented. "City's goin' mad again. Volunteers guardin' tha streets a' nigh' after curfew. Jus' a while ago they hanged a man a' tha gallows, aye? Bastard didn't die!" The older sister rolled her eyes and restrained a laugh. She shook her head. "What'd you have? An executioner who forgot how to tie a noose?" The man's eyes widened.
"We know 'ow it sound. Someone went an' shot 'em wit' a crossbow. Right in tha 'ead they did! Still lived!"
"Impossible."
"I swear it! Saw it wit' our own eyes, we did! 'Nother man was put to tha torch an' Dira didn't take 'em!"

"What are they saying?" Jeida pressed her sister from the other side of their table in their Myrian language. Kaie adjusted her jaw, trying not to let the stories she heard noticeably shake her. "They're saying the killed don't die and the dead men walk," Kaie translated for her sister in a dark tone. Jeida's face contorted with expected confusion. It took another moment for her to realize Kaie's words were meant literally. "I'm tellin' ya! One day ever'one healin' up real good, city turnin' up. Then these petchers dock their ship 'nd tha world goes ta Hai! They're a stranger type these folk are! It's their doin'! I swear it! I feel it in me bones!" The man with the long beard took a long sip of his ale before he slammed the tankard back down. His companion nodded fervidly along, seeming to verify the accusations. He opened his cracked lips to add further detail. "Even the gangs are gettin' rattled. Word's out today the Sun's Birth is holdin' free combat classes for all folks!"

"Thank you," Kaie bowed her head a bit to the men before she turned around to face Jeida again, who was yet again left behind in the conversation. Kaie rose from her chair and gestured for her sister to follow. "Come on. We're leaving."
"What? Why? We just got here," Jeida protested but rose from her seat anyways to follow in her sister's deliberate steps. The men watched with curious expression, just as confused as Jeida over Kaie's sudden departure.

"There's strange things happening here. Those two think some outsiders at the docks are responsible. The powerful gangs I told you about that run this city? They're nervous. They're training civilians for free. That doesn't happen," Kaie explained as she offered the tavern proprietor an apologetic wave before pushing her way out the door. Jeida picked up the pace just to keep up. "This doesn't make any sense. No one can defy Dira."
"You can...if you're a mage." Jeida stiffened at that. She reached a hang out to grasp her determined sister's shoulder, pulling her back to face her. "What? Like the Nuits Crazy Rey would tell us about as children?"
"Maybe. They're real. I've seen them. Even if these strangers at the docks aren't Nuits, they're an affront to Dira. That cannot be allowed."
"I agree. Where are we going?"
"The gang running the training today is the Sun's Birth. The two women that hold prestige at their Proving Grounds are half Myrians. They're not us, but they're the only people left in Sunberth I'd be willing to trust."

[Kaie]

The fortress of the Sun's Birth wasn't too far from No Man's. Looming ahead of the approaching pair of outsiders was its great, intimidating walls that cast a deep shadow over the street below in the afternoon sun. More soldiers had evidently been stationed than the last time Kaie had dared to seek passage. Archers were positioned high above and along the wall, eagle-eyes trained upon the populace below. Men armored and toting both longswords and spears stationed themselves near the gate's entrance. One guard, whose helmet obscured his features, noticed the Myrians deliberately moving in the gates direction and began to approach.

"If you seek passage, state your business," he grumbled from behind the giant metal head piece. His gauntlet-protected hand clutched at the sword sheathed to his waist. Jeida couldn't help but reach for her own out of habit, but Kaie stayed her hand from contacting her sword's sheath with a gesture. "We've come to train with Iztel and Eleuia. That is all," Kaie explained plainly to the man, who seemed to stiffen at specific mention of his superior's names. There was a moment of deliberation and silence between the trio. Yet the metal-clad man soon relented to their will. "Open the gate!" he called to his brethren behind him. A great creaking sound was heard before the Sun's Refuge was open to them. "Depart before curfew," was the man's final instruction before the Myrian sisters were beckoned forth by the receiving guards.

The pair carefully navigated the fortress of the Sun's Birth toward the Proving Grounds. The overall mood of the place was clearly different since the last time Kaie had made her way toward an ass kicking under the two half-Myrian instructors. She could practically taste the apprehension and the tension in every body she passed. More gang members lingered on street corners and rarely alone. The pace of average citizens seeking refuge behind the walls moved with swiftness. It felt as though each step outside the safety of their homes was a gamble.

"Why does this place petching feel like Syrlias all over again?" Jeida griped in their nature tongue with an uneasy shifting about of her gaze. Her older sister shrugged her shoulders. "We call them Dragoons here, but they say their founder was a renown knight in Syliras once before he settled here. Hard to say whether they're more or less thuggish than any of the other gangs in the city. The Sun's Refuge is probably the safest place in Sunberth to be right now though," Kaie enlightened just as the Proving Grounds appeared in her vision. She guided her sister through the doors in pursuit of the training sounds of grunts, thuds, and barked orders. No doubt the smile threatening to break across Jeida's visage was due to the small similarities between The Training Yard back home.

"You're petching dead, you useless twat!" The commandeering voice was like welcomed music to Kaie's ears. Standing in the center of the training yard was Iztel over a particularly scrawny underling. The practice sword that was presumably once in his hands had fallen from grasp several feet from reach. As if being stripped of his weapon was not humiliating for him enough, he was quite literally laying prone at the feet of a particularly domineering woman. "What the petch are you doing? On your feet!" Iztel delivered a devastating blow to the side of the boy's torso. Apparently he wasn't finding his feet quick enough for his reigning Marshal. By her side, Jeida was practically rabid with delight.

"The dead hunt the streets by night! Do any of you plan to join their legion?" There may as well have been crickets playing over the uncomfortable shifting of feet. The speaking half-Myrian stared at her pupils with disbelief. She moved to stand before a different student whose attention had drifted elsewhere. A hard slap to the side of his head rung out. "I said, 'do you petching want to join their legion?'" The man winced but collectively offered a firm declaration of "no" along with the others present. "Well petching act like it then! What are you all standing there for? Pair the petch up and get started!" Iztel shook her head in exasperation, turning back around to find the pair of newcomers headed toward her session. At first her lips parted to ream them out for their tardiness. Yet as the faces got closer, she put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

"Well I'll be petched. I thought I heard word you were dead!" Iztel crossed the distance between and eagerly reached her hand out so she might clasp forearms with Kaie. "Apparently I'm as good as staying buried as the corpses in Sunberth," Kaie quipped with a grin before they released their grip. She then gestured to Jeida. "Iztel, this is my sister Jeida." Sister and ally clasped forearms. "Welcome to the Proving Grounds, Jeida," the Sun's Birth Marshal generously offered with disciplined tone. She felt Jeida stiffen with feeling of contempt when it became increasingly obvious Iztel did not even know their mother tongue.

"So it's true then? The rumors of the men that don't die? The corpses walking the streets at night?" Iztel's expression turned grim and she nodded slowly.
"Aye. These are dark times in Sunberth. If it weren't so, I wouldn't be putting up with these petching commoners fancying themselves master swordsmen before I knock them on their asses." The three turned to eye the rest of the group as they practiced in their pairs. Majority were painfully awkward and few even looked comfortable wielding the wooden swords. Evidently, the class at that time was not of the promising type one might expect from natives to the most chaotic city in Mizahar. "Fix yourselves with some training weapons and find your spot. If I don't beat her to it, I'm sure Eleuia will want another go at you." Kaie flashed her teeth before turning and translating the instructions to Jeida. Then the two fixed themselves with their wooden weapons, Jeida with her short sword and Kaie challenging herself with a gladius in each hand.

[Kaie]

"Are you going to put on a better show for these barbarians than you did in the Fighting Pits in Syliras?" Kaie taunted her younger sister in traditional fashion, brow arching as she recognized the offense written across Jeida's face. "Are you going to throw another temper tantrum that almost gets us killed because you miss your boyfriend?" Her eyes widened. Then her teeth bared. Remorse was absent from her sister's gaze. Rather than Jeida, it was Kaie this time who lunged forth to seek injury to answer a dig that cut too deep.

The gnosis blazed upon the back of Kaie's neck just as it did upon her sister's. The right gladius came down high from above, aiming to crash against the side of Jeida's neck. Her younger sister ducked beneath the attempt and tried a horizontal swing at her attacker's exposed rib cage. Kaie lowered the gladius in her left hand and to execute a simple block along with a pivot from her center. Her blessing did help significantly with her coordination, speed, and power with the two weapons. Her Danger Intuition helped lessen the mental burden, too. Still, dual wield was already proving to be a completely different animal. The expert gladius-wielder still require complete undivided attention and focus upon her task.

The next set of alarm bells went off in her brain as a warning of a new attack. Move! The Myrian let the instinct guide her, left foot stepping back and left gladius lowering to meet the smart swing at her legs. The right gladius, more comfortable being in the dominant hand, thrust forward to jab its end into her sister's center. Jeida recoiled with a groan. Still fuming, Kaie offered no reprieve, following her doubled over, retreating sister with a front kick to her body. Jeida crashed onto her back roughly, fighting the wheezes that threatened to reveal the wind had been knocked from her lungs. Even breathless, the younger of the pair moved with a pained hustle back to her feet. Her wooden sword was held up before her in a determined guard. Her dark eyes held naught but animosity. So intense was their confrontation, the pair hadn't noticed that some of the pairs had paused to give watch.

"Easy, easy!" Iztel attempted to settle the warring siblings with boisterous command. The pair still eyed one another and remained in defensive position. "Now there's a petching spar! Let's see if they can't instill that kind of fight in the rest of you sorry lot! Switch partners." Still the siblings wait for the other to make the first move. The others exchanged nervous looks. "If I repeat myself one more gods damned time this session, I'll break out the petching lash. Switch. Partners."

Finally bodies moved and began to mix and match. Kaie was the first to straighten up. She spit at the dirt in Jeida's general direction and forced herself upon a poor sap who hasn't been quick enough to find someone else. Having caught most of Iztel's words the second time, Jeida reluctantly conformed as well.

[Kaie]

The first scrawny man Iztel has humiliated was unfortunately now paired with a very pissed off Jeida. No doubt by the end of his wretched day he will have found Myrians even more reprehensible than ever before. Until the end of the session, however, he was completely at their mercy...or lack thereof. Kaie, on the other hand, was squared against an average man. Young, mildly toned, but eager to learn, he stood before his more experienced foe with plain nervousness. The practice sword had been passed twice from one hand to his other. Very green. Isn't even confident which is his sword-hand yet. Good. I'll exploit that, she mentally coached herself. The awkward left gladius in her hand remained idle while the right was rotated skillfully. A frown of doubt cast over her opponent's face.

"Begin!" Iztel barked. Her students obeyed. Jeida wasted no time lunging forth with violent, aggressive movements. Kaie's gaze was firmly fixed to the man ahead of her, but the sound of a body hitting the dust could've very well been Jeida's unfortunate partner. Kaie's opponent's eyes widened at the young Myrian sister's brutality before turning his gaze back to Jeida's senior. He swallowed hard but indeed raised his wooden sword up with body hands in a shoddy guard. The stance made Kaie's stomach twist. The man slowly inched forward one step at a time. Both of Kaie's gladii lifted in her own guard. Surely she looked intimidating to a novice lacking confidence. The poor man was even more disadvantaged than he'd known.

The Myrian woman made the first move when her patience ran dry. This time she took a risk and challenged her weaknesses. She thrust forward with her left hand toward the man's center. He oddly managed to thwart the advance with the twisting of both his arms downward. Her brow furrowed. The petch is this guy doing? Her right gladius came down from above with an arcing cut. He batted the sword up at hers as though trying to knock something off a high shelf. She pursed her lips. She'd already let him remain on his feet for far too long. The heat of Iztel's gaze was already hot upon the back of her head. So potent was the Marshal's presence, there was no need to turn to known she was standing just behind. And Iztel was no woman to disappoint.

The man tried to be bold under the vision of their instructor. He foolishly rushed and gave the Myrian exactly what she wanted. His sword came from his shoulder in a strange downward cut. Kaie let her momentum carry her past him after she parried the attack away, leg swinging below to hook his ankle and drop him to the ground. He slammed upon the earth with a sharp inhale of surprise.

[Kaie]

"Shyke," he breathed from his prone position. He pushed himself up off the ground and turned back toward his more formidable opponent. His entire front was caked in dust, face unfortunately not excluded. One of his dusty hands tried to brush a patch of dirt from his cheek but only managed to make it worse.

Iztel clucked her approval before she continued to pace about her sparring students once again. Jeida's partner continued to prove utterly helpless. A quick glance his way yielded a man absolutely covered in filth, body sagging forward with both exhaustion and hopelessness. Kaie pursed her lips. He'll be taking a nap in the dust bed before the season's through.

"Again!" Kaie's undeterred opponent grunted at her. The Myrian shrugged. Both settled back into their fighting stances. This time he rushed. His swings were wild and part of her thought he might've been using their frequency more like a lottery. Eventually, the novice probably assumed, one would have to land. He was closing the space between.

Kaie looked down at the gladius held uncertainly in her hand, glanced back to her sprinting opponent, and whipped the right gladius at him. Her aim with the wooden weapon was true and the man was distracted with his own self-absorption. It struck him in the body. He paused, blinking down at the projectile that dropped from his torso to his feet.

"Dead!" Iztel barked so close to his ear that the man jumped. Kaie tossed the gladius in her left hand to the comfort of her right. The man furrowed his brow. "Don't get too comfortable with that foolishness, Myrian." Kaie nodded. It was indeed counter intuitive to throw one's weapon away. Stupid even. Had she missed and been faced with a duel wielder with true skill, she would've required more than Intuition to survive the encounter.

[Kaie]

Exposed once again, her opponent reluctantly bent down to retrieve the gladius at his feet. He gave his shaggy hair a shake before he began his sluggish approach. His eyes remained lowered and his body seemed to sag under the weight of defeat. He tossed the practice weapon back toward the Myrian, who swiftly caught it by its handle with her left hand.

She shook out her wrists in anticipation of another round. Her partner did the same, backing up until he was just out of her range. Iztel destroyed any hallucinations he might've had toward redemption. "Enough! Switch!" She hollered above the sound of wooden thuds echoing about the Proving Grounds.

Kaie and her partner offered each other only a respectful head nod before they parted ways. Her amber sights zipped about the moving bodies in search of a new sparring partner. She caught Zedra's dark gaze as she mixed about the crowd, yet before either sister had the chance to insist on pairing up to finish what had been started, a Dragoon positioned himself before Kaie with a flash of crooked teeth.

"So there is someone in this lot that knows their way 'round a sword!" He broke the ice with his jibe, gesturing toward her with wooden long sword. "Give me a good workout, no?" His friendliness was off-putting at first. She was a savage and an outsider, and any amicable interaction was to be regarded with suspicion given its rarity. Yet she allowed he might've been willing to show more respect under the instruction of the half-Myrian twins.

"Your go," she stated simply before falling into a conventional guard. The Dragoon shrugged his shoulders and fell into his own stance. Long sword. More range than me. Heavier even as wood. She gave the gladius in her right hand a twirl. The Dragoon began to test the waters, inching forward with eager eyes. Let him come to me. Then I need to get in close. He thrust the long sword forward at her middle, prompting the Myrian to awkwardly bat the attempt away with her left gladius as she felt the threat approaching. Her gnosis flared to life once more.

[Kaie]

The Dragoon was quick to test the Myrian again. He swung his sword in a horizontal arc that placed her on her heels in order to avoid wooden edge. He would not let her escape so easily. He made a diagonal swing, sending her left, and then made another to pivot her to the right. This time his forward thrust was just what Kaie had been praying for. Just as the sword came forth, Kaie parried it just off center with her left gladius. Immediately, using the contact of her gladius as a guide, the Myrian recoiled to spring in just close enough so that her right gladius could make its move. The Dragoon's eyes widened and he attempted to pull back his weapon. Kaie's downward swing knocked solidly against his sword-hand.

The Dragoon shouted an obscenity just before the long sword slipped from his fingers onto the ground. A plume of dirt rose up from where the wooden weapon landed. The man grit his teeth and cradled his punished hand. "Had enough?" Kaie inquired with a raising of her brow. He scoffed and spat into the dust. "Not even close, girl." He quite literally attempted to shake off his pain before he bent down to reclaim his sword. A red lump was already visible where Kaie had struck him. Only a moment was taken to recenter himself before he was all in. He rushed her with a shout, sword swinging with the same madness as her previously discouraged partner, however this time it was with more finesse.

The Dragoon was forcing her to pivot, back step, lean, and narrowly avoid with his pattern of swordplay. Sometimes she was able to get her left gladius to do some good. More often than not she saw more success simply getting well out of the way when her senses offered an escape. She was starting to see a predictability to his movements though. Two slashes and then a thrust more often than not. The first slash arrived for her to narrowly avoid just as she suspected. Next thrust I just need to get in there again and then I can--.

Her thoughts were broken along with her balance. The hard surface of someone's back slammed into Kaie's, sending her forward with no chance of recovery until she was hypothetically slain upon the Dragoon's second slash. The strike sent her flat on her back, air whooshing from her lungs just before impact. "Petch!" Her eyes blinked up at the sun. She turned her back to peer behind her, only to find Jeida's dark gaze meeting her's for a moment before attention went back to her spar. She groaned. Since when had her deviant sibling's sparring gotten behind her? Bitch.

Kaie sat up and made haste searching her feet, waving away the Dragoon's smug hand extended down her way. "Hah! And I thought my sisters were right twats!" The wooden gladius that wailed into the back of his knee was stunning. His leg buckled so hard he went down on his face. Kaie laced her fingers through his hair and dug a knee into his back. She gave his locks a tug. "Watch your petching tongue if you want to keep it," she growled in his ear before shoving his face back down into the dirt. He growled something incoherent while the Myrian backed off him and straightened up. Jeida's brow furrowed from where she stood nearby. Kaie found her eyes again and adjusted her jaw, expression cold.

"Stop! Now let's see what you've learned from each other," Iztel commanded so loudly it echoed about the arena. She procured her short sword from her hip and extended it before her. "On a line!" The partners dismantled to stand along her invisible line. Most faces were anxious, eyes roving about to see if others shared their nervousness. "Now this one I like to call 'Last Standing'. I'll choose a pair of you to fight. Those that lose are out! Winners move on and are paired until our champion of the day is crowned." Kaie could feel the place on her torso where the Dragoon's weapon struck her beginning to ache. Wind chilled the sweat beading upon exposed flesh.

"You!" Iztel pointed at the first man Kaie had watched humiliated that day. His gaunt face drained of color and his shoulders sagged. "And you!" Iztel pointed her sword next at a surprisingly equal opponent. A girl not much older than Kaie stepped forth. She was slender with pock-marked skin and arms toned from daily duties. "Step forth!" The two chosen separated from the line and squared up before Iztel. The girl swallowed hard and steadied herself. The boy looked more determined than ever not to lose to a woman. "Begin!"

[Kaie]

For a good bit, as painful as it was to watch, Kaie stood there among the pack with arms folded across her chest. The two combatants before her were as anxious as they were fumbling. The scrawny boy's swings were weak and stopped even by the obviously inexperienced parries brought on by his adversary. Both seemed unsure of their own weapons by the way they clutched their practice short swords with two hands rather than one. One of the men, far burlier than any of her partners that day, shook his head. "What a petchin' embarrassment," he grumbled beneath his breath. Kaie couldn't help but nod stiffly. For anyone who knew their way around a sword, this display way truly heart-wrenching.

It was over within a couple chimes. The woman managed to bat her sword against the boy's chest after a short bout of sword play. "A fatal mark!" Iztel declared, signaling the end of the spar. The boy all but dragged his sword behind him as he fell back in line with the pack. Iztel shooed the woman to her flank to begin her own separate line, apparently for the purpose of keeping track of winners. Then her sword was jutting out to choose the new round of opponents. "You there! Lazy Eye!" A mediocre-looking man stepped forth to stand before Iztel. The Marshal's sword gestured first to Kaie, but then as though she thought the better of it, decided on a different challenger instead. "Bull!" The bulky man beside Kaie grunted and stepped forth to stand opposite of Lazy Eye. "Begin!"

The two set to task with a series of grunts and swings with wooden weapons. Both toted at least average experience, making it rather apparent the Marshal had been familiar with both fighters prior to her choosing them. It would only be a matter of time before Kaie was chosen. She glanced down the line of those still in the audience of the current spar with careful eyes. Most must've been here learning basic instruction from Iztel. Majority of the practice weapons chosen are short swords much like hers. Kaie glanced down at the gladii in her hands and pursed her lips. Then, as discreetly as she could, she withdrew from the line to pace over to the practice weapons rack and returned her swords.

Now...which to pick? There were all sorts of wooden replicas at the Proving Ground's disposal. Long swords, bastard swords, scimitars, daggers, and axes were the least of the variety available to the pensive Myrian. All day most of them have been fighting against short range. Let's see how they fair against a longer one. Kaie picked a spear from the rack with a grin. The weight of the practice replica was nearly the same as the one back in her domicile. Perfect. Cheers erupted from behind the woman, cluing her in that the fight had come to a close. She made her way back to stand on the line. The Bull raised his fist in victory from where he stood in the line of victors. "You there! Red head!" Iztel barked to call a new combatant forth. A red-headed girl stepped forward, only slightly with less trepidation than the first woman that had been called forth. "And Kaie!"

Bound to happen sooner or later. The Myrian moved forward with spear in hand, rolling her shoulders before she squared herself to her opponent. She bent her knees and wrapped her fingers about the shaft of the spear. The wooden spear head hovered a few feet ahead. The red head eyed the novelty weapon with a bit of suspicion. Kaie's gaze settled upon her torso, uninterested in little else but limbs that would soon move to strike her. Myri's gnosis burned with anticipation. "Fight!" Red Head did not lunge in with wild nerves like previous partners. The threat of the spear's range was not lost on even the most uneducated of Sunberth citizens. Thus, as the pair moved about like pacing wolves, it become clear to the chosen Myrian that it would be up to her to lead the conversation.

She tested the woman with a quick, short thrust of the spear in her general direction. As anticipated, Red Head jumped back at the slightest motion with alarm. She held the short sword in her hand out before her as though it was enough to ward off another attempt. Jumpy. Time to get in your head. Kaie let the spear head waver back and forth like a hooded cobra. Red Head eyed it nearly without blinking. Suddenly, another short, testing burst shot the spear head forth to send Red Head reeling back. A twitch of a smile threatened to break upon Kaie's face. A skilled opponent wasn't always easy to beat, but a relatively unskilled one certainly was so long as self-doubt existed.

[Kaie]

Kaie let the spear head once again begin its hypnotic, unpredictable sway before Red Head's eyes. Back and forth the other woman's eyes moved, glaring at the wooden point as though it was a living, breathing enemy rather than the savage wielding the weapon. This time when Kaie thrust the weapon in the testing, short bursts it was twice. Once, twice the other woman found herself reeling backward with wide eyes. The bewilderment was quickly replaced by frustration. Ironically, the understanding of the pattern was exactly what the Myrian wanted. Get pissed. Come on, get pissed at me and do something stupid.

Another single thrust and Kaie knew the chips were falling exactly how she wanted them to. The first jerk toward was met by a swung gladius warding it away. The other fighters made noise in response to the first contact despite it being only that of the weapons. Now's the time. Kaie's next forward thrust was different than the others: an unfortunate fact Red Head learned all too late. Rather than approach with short, timid attempts, Kaie committed. She extended the shaft before her and stepped forward with the action, pushing the spear farther than Red Head expected. The wooden point found purchase in the center of the other woman's torso, doubling her while her sword reached out too late.

The line cheered with the end of another spar, and eager men and women alike seemed to straighten up on the likely chance they were chosen next. "Victor!" Iztel gestured with her sword toward Kaie. The Red Head cursed under her breath and returned to the line. The winning Myrian found her place beside The Bull and the timid girl. She planted the flat end of the spear shaft into the dust, amber eyes finding Jeida's face. For once they were boring holes into Kaie's skull. Instead, they were fixed hopefully upon Iztel. The Marshal had no qualms about obliging her. "Jeida!" Still Kaie's sister did not look for approval even as she walked into the center of the arena. "Jim!" A lanky, messy-haired man moved to stand across from his Myrian adversary. Surprise, surprise, it was yet another short sword upon short sword match. "Go!"

"Mother Myri, Goddess Queen. Guide my sword to this deyhan's flesh. With it I deliver you victory," Jeida prayed lowly but loud enough so those standing near could hear. Jim's face contorted as he listened to foreign Myrian tongue. Kaie couldn't quite tell whether it was disgust or fear, but even so, the confident advance he'd initially started had slowed at the sound. Jeida bared her teeth and crouched, short sword held in a common guard. She circled her opponent like a tiger assessing a rival, growl building in her throat. Jim made the first move. He approached with a diagonal swing Jeida narrowly avoided with a side step. She answered the attempt with a counter that met her sword to his hand.

"Damaged! Switch hands!" Iztel commanded to Jim smugly. The man, still wincing from the impact, stepped back to look at the Marshal as though he questioned her seriousness. "Left hand!" Jim groaned but did as he was bid, switching the sword into his left. Immediately he grimaced. Much like Kaie when she held two swords, he wasn't confident in his skill using his opposite hand. Jeida didn't give him time to learn. That's it. You should be on him. Exploit him. Kaie's younger sister lunged forth as soon as he turned his head back to eye her. Despite her average sword skills, Jim was put fiercely on the defensive. He tried a weak, horizontal hack that Jeida managed to duck under. When she emerged on his other side, her wooden weapon rocketed into Jim's back.

"Finished!" Iztel declared definitively. Jim stumbled forward with a yelp. When he straightened up, it was to throw his head back as if to ask the gods why. "Join your sister, Myrian." Jeida's dark gaze found Kaie's just before she purposefully chose to stand at the opposite side of the line. Kaie rolled her eyes. Only a few chimes were needed for the last spar to conclude so that Iztel might begin to pit the victors against one another. The Marshal's eyes all but lit up as she turned to face the winners' line. "You!" Iztel addressed the first victor, the first girl. "And you!" A sword pointed to Kaie. "Get to it." Both fighters entered the center, flanked on either side as if they were the division between winners and losers. Yet when one really thought about where they were standing and where both might end up when the spar was through, that was exactly what they were.