By the time they reached their next camping site everyone was so tired that all they wanted to do was lie down and simply remain as still as possible for the rest of the day. They had to climb most of the way and, that added to the badly slept nights and the scarce food supplies they managed to gather, tiredness was finally catching up with them. Still they all assembled at the ninth hour after ManDaozao just like the day before.

“Today you will all draw lots. We will be staging an old good, traditional sword fighting tournament,” the Calzai declared to the excitement of some and to disappointment of others.

“There will be four different arenas and you will have to fight one duel in each one of them. For that you will be divided in eight groups, and draw lots again every time you reach a different arena in order to decide your adversary. The fact that you belong to the same group does not mean you won’t fight each other. You will not, however, fight the same person twice. Since the numbers don’t add up, three of my men, MaoZao, FanSai and RouZen,” he enunciated and three men stepped forward at the sound of their names. “will join the competition to fill in the blanks. To make things fair, and taking into account that you’re all still just a bunch of brats, they will follow a different set of rules, granting you a handicap of their own choosing. The rules of the duels are easy enough to understand, so please do make sure you follow them!” he declared with a threatening glare and ZaiWin could almost swear that he’d been staring at the twins, both standing to one side, apparently unwilling to mingle with the rest of the group.

“Since this is a sword contest the use of daitai is forbidden. We will provide the swords and no other weapon will be allowed. You will all start with eight points. One victory means you add one point. One defeat means you lose one point. If there’s a draw both contestants won’t lose or gain any points. Draws are called when both contestants lose their weapons at the same time, be it because they were disarmed or because the sword became damaged and is useless as a weapon. No swords will be replaced during the entire competition, so make sure you keep that in mind and that you take care of them accordingly. Lastly, even though we allow minor injuring, deadly or maiming blows will result in the immediate termination of the duel and the penalization of the perpetrator with the reduction of five points. Are there any doubts?”

Everyone remained silent, even though ZaiWin could see some blank, lost expressions here an there.

So killing and severely injuring was not allowed, but the only punishment was a deduction of five points? ZaiWin frowned. Before they’d been told that they’d be disqualified for the entire Gathering, that they could even be punished by law, if they killed someone. Apparently the “not allowed” this time around wasn’t as forbidding as it sounded.

“If there are no doubts quickly line up so you can draw your lot and know which group you will belong to,” the Calzai went on. “Once you’ve drawn your lot and received your sword, gather beneath the corresponding symbols nailed to those trees. What are you waiting for? Move it!”

As if they’d all been shouted awake, everyone started forming a line.

As to be expected the first ones to draw lots were the royals, and they proudly made their way to their designated places. NimRen beneath the cloud, CalWan and LinWan under the mountain symbol, FeiWan and GinWan next to what looked to be water. Apparently none of them had drawn a tree.

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The rest of the kids quickly followed their example.

It was almost ZaiWin’s turn when someone grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him back, making him fall on his bottom. Looking up he was faced with a bunch of boys staring mockingly down at him, one of which he easily identified as the kid from the other day, the one they’d called CarFan.

“Know your place, filth! How dare you stand in front of us?” he spat and ZaiWin simply lowered his head, holding his tongue until they were gone. His hands itched with how much he wished he could send them all flying, but he knew better than that. And he would not risk everything that ZenTar and him had tried so hard to build during the last six years, just because he couldn’t take some spoiled brat’s insult.

Standing up, he dusted off his clothes and went back to the end of the line.

Being the last one, even before he’d pulled one of the four remaining sticks, he already knew he wouldn’t be joining the tree group, since they already totaled eight elements. And his heart almost stopped beating when he looked down at the three black waves painted on his stick.

Holding his sword, that was exactly the same as everyone else’s, he forced himself to make his way to his designated group, all the while trying his best not to look up. He could already feel it, FeiWan’s hateful glare locked on him.

The three men the Calzai had nominated to participate on the event also took one stick each, one of them, FanSai if he was not mistaken, inevitably ending in his group as well.

With dark-brown hair and dark-brown eyes, all dressed in black from head to toe, he was an even sorer thumb than him, amongst all those light-haired kids. The fact that he held a noble name, however, said more than enough about his worth and valor as a soldier, since it had probably been granted to him as a sign of recognition for his courage and service. ZenTar had told him about them, commoners with noble names, and that that was practically the only way a commoner would be able rise to a noble’s stand, short of being lucky enough to end up married to one.

“As you may have noticed, some of you drew a white symbol, while others have a black one. This will determine your rotation groups. Each group will be accompanied by one of my men throughout the entire competition. Their role is to act as judges and to make sure all rules are followed,” the Calzai declared and two men approached ZaiWin’s group, both wearing armbands with waves imprinted on them, the only difference being that one was black with white waves and the other white with black waves.

“You may now proceed to your designated arenas. May you all fight with courage and bravery. Good luck.”

“If you’d please follow us,” one of the men politely said, and they all obeyed in silence, ZaiWin trying his best to keep as far away from the two royals as possible.

Watching them from behind, and even discarding the fact that GinWan was shorter than FeiWan since he was two years younger than his brother, they still didn’t look anything alike.

FeiWan’s hair was a deep, blood-red color, while GinWan’s was a golden-red, almost coppery shade. Even though they were both still growing up, it was clear that FeiWan had an athletic build, his skin clearly burned from long hours under the sun, even though he’s fair complexion would never allow him to have a real tan. GinWan, on the other hand, was the slender type, with long arms, long legs, long fingers, his skin so pale that it was almost bluish, dark circles shadowing his face beneath his eyes. If not for the general red hair and green eyes that characterized most of the El’Dur’s descendants no one would have ever believed that they shared a single drop of blood. Walking side by side they acted as if they were total strangers.

Besides those two and FanSai, there were still three other boys and one girl in their group, all at least four to five years older than him, which wasn’t hard, since he was the youngest of them all.