HavenGuarde

Chapter 62 - Fury

Chapter 62

Fury

- He smote him in righteous anger, a tremendous blow, but he did not fall -

The spectator court was a massive training hall with tall pillars of darkened stone. It was open air and daylight streamed in from the outer courts. The tiles upon the floor of the spectator courts had many interesting images depicting beast, bird, man, weapon and machine. A ring of darkened tiles denoted the area which was out of bounds for the viewing public. Only contestants could enter this area. However, within this black ring of tiles was another smaller circle of blackened tiles. Within this circle of blackened tiles was the area where the fighting would take place.

The tiles in this area had carved upon them the images of blade, bow, stave, fist and chain, representing the various classes. There was a dark grey tent just outside the second larger ring of tiles where the contestants would report and find out about their rounds and opponents. Floating high above the tournament was a medium-sized hovering platform where the judges of the tournament would stand, assessing the performance of the contestants, before pronouncing their judgment.

Thonavar swallowed as he gazed upon the daunting scene before him. Burly black-cloaked figures moved rapidly throughout the hall, measuring steps and paces. This was a tournament only for members of the class of Fist. 

Thonavar tried to recall the moves that Namarie had taught him yesterday on how to dodge and move quickly with nimble footwork, a skill that members of the blades classes were required to perfect.

"You will find this very useful on the morrow when you contest in the Fury, for many will be strong but heavy and therefore slow in movement. Herein lies your advantage", said Namarie with an air of seriousness. 

With a few short demonstrations, she taught Thonavar how to use his quick feet to move and Thonavar quickly grasped and applied the techniques as she instructed. Thonavar smiled to himself as he recalled the day yesterday. She was a good teacher and from what he had gathered, she was very good with the blade. Barely a few months after she had recovered from the fall from the battlements, Namarie had excelled to become the best in her host. She was eventually recommended to undertake her classification and went on to pass it on her very first try. A dark look passed over her face as she recounted her experience to Thonavar.

"In the dreamscape, I too ended up in the dungeon fighting the demon of fire and smoke. There, I was fortunate enough to chance upon two small twin blades from the nearby weapon rack", she said, her orange-yellow eyes bright with intensity. 

Thonavar had nodded, imagining the scene play out in his mind for the memories were still somewhat fresh. "I fought the fell beast for what seemed like hours before I finally realised that when it swung its massive blade of fire, it left its head unprotected. Thus, I seized the opportune moment and as it swung its sword, I leapt up to plunge a blade straight into its eye."

Thonavar was amazed. 

She had undergone a few more similar scenarios as Thonavar had but the rest of the simulated projections she had undergone were vastly different.

After the bulk of the time spent training together, the two talked and shared their stories with each other. Thonavar told her animatedly about his friends, Lyla and Chaeron, and to his delight, Namarie listened to every word he said and even laughed when he recounted how they had sped their way toward the Cold Mountains on their faithful bark-boat and how they outsmarted Gargan Beefheart. Her face grew dark at the mention of Gargan.