Chapter 2
Renown
A long steady breeze swept through the field while the two stared at each other intently observing their opposing stances. Maxith’s stance was one created for beginners, its purpose was to teach a new swordsman to react to the opponent while keeping himself safe. While this sounds ideal it of course means you could never be the aggressor, and when against an opponent as skilled as Novius waiting for a mistake from him would be asking for nothing short of a miracle.
Novius’ stance was one he was very familiar with, its name was Dragons Presence. This stance was something Novius spent most of his life mastering in his dojo, so much so that he surpassed his own father's use of it, who is also the man that created it. The technique of this stance was much more complex than Maxith’s. It consisted of mastering several forms of combat to even begin using. It first requires perfection of one-handed sword combat such as with Novius’ Falchion. Secondly, it demanded hand-to-hand combat expertise interwoven with swordplay to forcefully create more openings in the opponent's form. Next, a fluid transition from one-handed swordplay to two-handed swordsmanship to smash the foe's defense when deemed necessary. This of course can only be brought together with one last necessity, the courage to risk everything, even your own life, for pure offensive capabilities.
The one problem with Dragons Presence is its severe lack of defense. The flexibility and speed needed to pull off this form meant little to no armor and parries rather than blocks. Blocking would cause you to be held in place and defeats the whole purpose of the stance. Parries with a sword instead of a shield are extremely risky, if not pulled off with perfection they can lead to the loss of a limb or even your life. This is why blocking is more common among fighters.
The breeze through the empty field finally halted, providing an unspoken signal for the start of battle. Novius immediately charged towards Maxith with a frenzied look in his eyes, his first strike was a swiping motion towards Maxith’s legs with his weapon. Maxith immediately realized if he didn’t block this attack his left leg would be cut clean off. With his sword in place for the block he was ready to transfer the fight into his favor. That's when he realized the strike never came, 'ITS A FEINT!' Maxith thought as he looked back up towards Novius only to see a fist slamming right into his face. This threw Maxith off balance but his sturdy build kept him on his feet. Novius transferred all of his weight onto his front left foot allowing for a spinning kick connecting at Maxith’s stomach. This sent Maxith stumbling back creating some distance, allowing for him to recover.
Now at least ten feet apart Novius readied himself for his next bombardment of attacks, but Maxith had other plans in mind. Standing only six feet tall Novius was at a huge size disadvantage, using this to his benefit Maxith took a massive step forward closing the huge gap between them with ease. Such a bold offensive move from Maxith threw Novius off momentarily. Hands overhead with his sword tight in his grasp Maxith brought it down with all his strength. Novius knew such a strike would require a two-handed parry. Raising his sword to meet Maxith’s side-by-side mid-air with expert timing he forced it to the left slamming the blow into the grass, sending dirt flying into the air. The impact resulted in both of their weapons interlocking on the ground, this disabled Novius' use of his Falchion because of Maxith's overbearing strength.
Knowing both of Novius’ hands were on his sword Maxith decided to follow up swiftly with a headbutt, before he even got halfway Novius was already in action. He loosened his right hand's grip on his Falchion allowing him to rocket his elbow directly into Maxith’s abdomen. This made Maxith buckle over spitting everywhere, before he could even comprehend what happened he felt a knuckle slam into his chin forcing his head back upward like a rocket ship.
Novius decided to go for his hand next, disabling his defense would allow for a swift end to the battle. He brought his Falchion back up from the ground in a slashing motion towards his mark. Missing his target of Maxith’s wrist by a couple of inches he cut off the tips of his index, middle, and ring fingers. This pain woke Maxith from the temporary blackout caused by Novius’ uppercut. He immediately jumped backward using all his force creating a huge distance between the two once again. Maxith’s face was distorted with pain as he shouted, “FUCK THAT HURTS!” He whipped his hand back and forth as if to shake the pain away but all this did was send the blood flying, leaving streaks of crimson red in the grass.
The duel still not being over Novius once again charged forward with the intent to end it this time. Maxith readied his sword but his grip with his left hand was now weak from the pain shooting through it. Novius sent in a flurry of two-handed attacks Maxith thought was meant to break his now weakened defense. To compensate for the strong attacks flying at him he backed up while blocking to prevent them from destroying his guard. Novius began attacking primarily from Maxith’s right side, now backing up slightly to the left Maxith thought it was weird Novius was doing this since his left side was the weak one. Suddenly Novius backed up and jumped forward using his Falchion as a spear out in front of him. A move like this Maxith couldn't parry due to his lack of ability, even if he managed to pull off a parry his large build would still get hit giving the flesh wound Novius was looking for. This gave Maxith only one option, simply back up and dodge to the side leaving Novius wide open. As Maxith went to jump back again he slammed into something hard behind him. “What the fu-,” Maxith began to say as Novius’ Falchion impaled him like an arrow.
Novius immediately backed his sword out of Maxith’s now cut-open stomach allowing blood to spill out everywhere sending him to his knees. As blood flowed out of Maxith’s mouth like a waterfall the look on his face was one of indescribable shock and pain. Novius kneeled next to Maxith and said, “Try not to bleed on my clothes buddy,” with a happy smile on his face. He grabbed Maxith’s shoulder with one hand tightly and whispered, “And here comes the relief.” Suddenly a faint light appeared under his grasp and on all of Maxith’s injuries.
Once the light faded his body was as if the duel never happened, fingertips reattached, no more gaping hole in his stomach, hell even his headache from the uppercut was gone. Maxith and Novius then stood up together and immediately Maxith turned around while saying, “What the hell was behi-… THE FUCKING TREE!” Both of them met eyes and immediately burst into laughter. “Out of -bahaha- the whole open field -haha haha- you backed up right into the ONE fucking tree- AHHAHAAAAA!!” Novius said while wheezing in and out of a laughing fit. While both were still laughing Maxith grabbed Novius by the shoulder and pulled him close with his excessive strength and shook him around in an exaggerated manner just adding to the already ridiculous situation.
Once they were satisfied after laughing for a couple of moments they wiped away their tears and sucked in a deep breath and let out a satisfying sigh of air. Tyra who had been watching the tail end of the duel from a distance away approached, "Ew Novius, did you really have to cut him open?" Still seeing the humor in it Novius responded, "See but the loser doesn't get to choose his death," and winked at her. “Well since you decided to empty my stomach contents all over the ground, you're buying us food at the tavern,” Maxith said joyfully. “Ok ok, I’ll buy this time for being a bit brutal, besides I'm starving too,” Novius said while smiling, “besides I still owe you for the last thousand times you paid.” Still grossed out by the bile mess on the ground Tyra said, "How can you two even think about food after seeing that? You guys are weird." Slyly putting his arm around her Novius handed her something small folded up in paper, "Ah but I'm not too weird to love though huh?"
Opening her mouth slightly making a shocked face she unfolded the paper to find a silver hair clip in the shape of a treble clef imbedded with diamonds. "No way! It's so cute!" she squealed while clipping it in her shoulder-length, fluffy hair. It pulled the hair back slightly on her right side making her emerald green eyes more prominent than usual. "Happy anniversary," Novius said proudly. As he hugged her he looked to Maxith who gave a silent thumbs up and nod of approval. Stepping back Tyra excitedly pulled out a slim rectangular box from her pocket and presented it in front of Novius. "Mmmm I get it now, this is what you ran off to get isn't it?" Novius said teasingly. "Oh shush, just open it already," Tyra said slightly embarrassed.
Pulling the lid off the box a wave of sadness washed Novius' face. His stone-cold eyes held back tears to try and keep his composure while pulling the necklace from the box. Looking at it Maxith realized what it was, his mother's old necklace. She used to wear it all the time before she got sick and it broke. Tyra had taken the liberty to repair it for him as a close-hearted gift. It was a steel chain with a Dragons tooth as the pendant supplying a bold appearance. Novius slipped it over his head, it hung down to around the middle of his chest. The slight yellowness of the aged tooth matched the warmth of his hair while the cold steel reminded you of the rigidness of his gaze. Walking around him now Tyra dragged her hand along him teasing, "Look at you! So handsome with that on." Novius suddenly turned around and hugged her tightly as his thank you. Not completely shocked by this reaction Tyra looked at Maxith who gave her the "ok" sign with his hand and another approving nod along with a funny face. Tyra smiled and held back a laugh meanwhile Novius held back tears that filled his eyes and threatened to streak down his face. Before pulling away Novius quickly swept his thumb and middle finger across his eyes to rid them of the tears so neither of the two would see.
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After thanking her he gave her a kiss on the forehead, to which Tyra responded by poking Novius by the heart while squinting her eyes and creasing her mouth to one side, "Hmmm, Mr. tough guy I see." Understanding how Novius truly felt on the inside she didn't prod anymore allowing him to keep his rough exterior, "Well sadly I can't join you two for dinner. Martha told me were having special guests at the castle today so I need to help her prep the meal and dining room. I hope you boys don't have too much fun without me." As they all walked back to the street Maxith joked back, "You bet we will, what better way to spend his anniversary than with his bro and without his woman!" Stopping by the dirt street Tyra responded sarcastically, "How rude!" Once their goodbyes were said they split ways once again leaving Maxith and Novius alone.
As they made their way to the tavern Maxith asked Novius about the tooth, "So that's from the dragon your father slayed right?" Grabbing the pendant and looking at it Novius responded coldly, "Yeah, my mom used to say it was a symbol for the strength of our family. Now when I look at it I just remember how things used to be when she was still around." Maxith felt bad but was glad it was passed onto him, having a dragon's tooth is a symbol of a strong bloodline and a prestigious family because of how hard it is to kill one. Once his father died in battle the money from the military stopped coming in and sent their family into poverty since Novius was too young to work at the time. "I guess that means it's a token to remember them both by," Maxith said to try and cheer him up.
Eventually, the subject changed to something more cheery which involved shooting jokes back and forth and reenacting Maxith getting skewered on the tree. Suddenly a group of fancily dressed men all wearing different distinguishing colors riding horses passed by them on the street. “Hey check it out those are the uniforms for Nobles from Sintia,” Novius said, “Aren’t they at war with the Kadince region?”
“Yeah they are I don't know what the hell they're doing here,” Maxith said as they watched them continue down the street toward the castle. “Those are probably the guests Tyra mentioned,” Novius assumed. Turning back around and continuing towards the tavern right down the street Maxith said, “I guess I’ll find out what's going on later.”
Back at the castle, a brown-haired maid entered a large dining hall with Maxith's father sitting at the head of the long table. "Lord Decimus, your guests have arrived from Sintia. Shall I send them in?" Adjusting his gold crown embedded with several gems he replied, "Not yet you fool," Decimus said harshly, "Go get Emerson, I wish to speak with him first." Getting down on her knees she avoided eye contact by staring at the floor, "My apologies master, I'll fetch him n-" interrupting her were two large doors from the side of the room swung open as Emerson walked in. Decimus looked over at him making his long, wavy, shoulder-length, black and grey hair sway slightly, "There you are. Sit, we need to talk before those Sintia weirdos come in." Unaware of what to do now the slave began to ask, "Should I bring them-" Interrupting her Decimus yelled, "For god's sake, yes! Now get out!" Without speaking she left through the doors she entered closing them behind her for their privacy.
Emerson looked to Decimus and waited for him to speak. "You have been too easy on Maxith," Decimus began, "I fear you aren't taking this job I've given you seriously enough. You allow him to do whatever he wants as if he has power over you." Emerson looked at Decimus' large bulbous nose as he took a swig of his red wine, "Sir, raising Maxith in harsh conditions will make him resent you and the task of being king. It might not end up in the way you think it will." Pounding the rest of the wine in his glass he placed it down on the table and looked at Emerson, "Did I ask for your opinion Emerson? I told you what I think and you are to follow it. If you don't plan on acting according to my will then I have no use for you. If life amongst the commoners in the slums is not something you want Emerson then I suggest you do as I say." Lowering his head in submission Emerson made it clear the point was made. As if on cue the front two entry doors swung open once more ushering in their special visitors.
While the king's meeting began Maxith and Novius finally approached the tavern. It was the usual one they enjoyed hanging out in, it wasn’t particularly a nice place and it was located in the slum part of town near where Novius lived but that's exactly what makes a place like this fun. As soon as they stepped foot inside the atmosphere brought laughing and good times. Upbeat happy music filled the small, crowded, alcohol-scented building. Every table was filled with customers yelling, laughing, smiling, and drinking or eating. What the two best friends liked about this tavern is that being in the area it was in meant people from other species would hang out there too. Upscale places in the fancy part of town wouldn't allow species other than humans and definitely wouldn't allow slaves to go in. This meant people like Tyra could come in and you would see the occasional Mantipol, aka a Mantis person, wander in for a meal. Mantipol were local inhabitants of the continent Interivar, where the Opik empire was located.
Once seated at the bar the two boys ordered a round of drinks and began conversing with others at the bar telling stories of adventures. Eventually, the bartender joined in saying, “Novius, this Mantipol over here doesn’t believe we have someone local here with a Renown.” Maxith looked over to see a large greenish-yellow Mantipol at the other end of the bar looking over while tilting its head to the side out of curiosity. “C’mon Novius!” Maxith said excitedly feeling the buzz from the alcohol, “Let's show him your Renown!”
“Ah c’mon man it just refreshed like three minutes ago from using it in the field,” Novius complained knowing he can get something out of doing it. “Do it and the next round is on the house!” The bartender exclaimed happily. This clearly wasn’t the first time this has happened before. Happy with the promise of free drink Novius gets up with Maxith and walked over to the Mantipol. At this point, everyone in the bar knew what was coming and crowded around to watch. “Renown my ass! Let's see this half-ass party trick,” The Mantipol said tauntingly but in a friendly manner. His voice had a slight raspiness permanently attached to it.
“Well big man if you think this is no big deal how about you put one of your claws on the line,” Novius said while Maxith grabbed one of the claws forcing it on the table. “What the hell?!” The Mantipol exclaimed, now in a more serious and worried tone. Everyone circled the small table looking intently not daring to blink, smiling, waiting to see the display of Novius’ gift. Quickly and without notice Novius drew his Falchion slamming it onto the table, chopping off the Mantipol’s claw to make sure he didn’t pull away from fear.
A raspy insect-like shout emitted from the creature's mouth as it screamed in pain. The claw lay lifeless on the table while Novius immediately began to “fix” the Mantipol’s damaged body. As the light emitted from the bug man’s now stub of a claw the appendage on the table disappeared into thin air and reappeared on the Mantipol’s body reforming his arm as it was. As the shout in pain stopped it was quickly followed up with a look of amazement from the crowd and the Mantipol himself. Looking over at Novius asking, “A Healer Renown?” Novius responded, “No, healing Renowns are said to be incapable of regenerating limbs. Mine is Time Echo, I can bring a living being's physical body back to a point in time from minutes ago. It works similar to an echo, if it hasn’t been too long the sound is still there and I can reach out and grasp it, just with time instead. Along with that, there has to be physical contact between the person and I.”
“Wow, that's even better than a Healer Renown!”
“Well it has its drawbacks, I can only use it once an hour and it doesn’t affect memory so I can’t make someone forget what happened,” Novius replied as he motioned to the bartender, “Make it two free drinks!” Pleased with the influx of customers buying drinks and food from the excitement of the show the bartender happily obliged. Novius slid one to the Mantipol, “As an apology for the pain brother.”
“Thanks, but I must say I’m curious how you got your Renown. These things are myths to most people,” He asked while pinching his drink between his two claws and bringing it up to his mouth to drink. “Ah it’s just a luck thing you get from birth I suppose. No one I was related to had one and I’ve always had mine.”
Maxith took a big swig from his drink and joined in on the conversation adding, “My father said the last time a Renown user was born in our country was over 300 years ago. The only other time a Time Echo wielder was recorded in history was Veigar The Red during the war against Cylateth on the baron continent around five hundred years ago.” Novius looked over at Maxith like he had three heads, “Since when do you ever know some random shit like that?”
“Well it will be my country one day, I have to know its history.”
“That’ll be the day everyone moves to the Kadince region,” Novius said jutting at Maxith. The three of them erupted in laughter and continued to have a pleasant evening. After some hours it became dark out and was time to call it a night. Maxith and Novius said their farewells as they walked out the door to the tavern and split ways both headed home.
As Maxith approached the castle he saw the Nobles departing from the castle on their horses. This reignited Maxith’s curiosity and he ran inside now that his buzz from drinking was gone. Once inside he found his father drinking more of his special wine in one of their living rooms. The fireplace gave an orange glow to the room filled with red velvet furniture and a Massive rug with their family crest on it. Above the fireplace was a painting Maxith always hated, one of his father depicting when he was slightly younger, looking pompous and full of himself as ruler. His father's name was Decimus Fredrick Opik, the current ruler of the Opik Empire. He was heavy set but not fat, giving him an even larger appearance, and had a black wart under his left eye. He definitely wasn’t something one would describe as a ‘looker’.
Meeting eyes with his father he spit out what was on his mind, “Why were Nobles from Sintia here?” His father looked down at his wine swirling it in its cup, “This is none of your concern boy.” Angered by his limited response Maxith blurted out, “Going to war isn’t something to take lightly Father, you shouldn’t agree to join with glory in mind!” Decimus threw his wine glass still half full across the room shattering into the wall, standing up and looming over Maxith he locked eyes with him. “Don’t delve into politics you wouldn’t understand child,” he said while poking a finger into Maxith’s chest, “Commit yourself to your training and be ready to serve your country when needed, now get out of my sight before you regret it!” He yelled with his booming voice.
Looking to the side, clearly put in his place, Maxith walked away and headed to his room disappointed at the idea of his father’s greed potentially ruining the country’s peace. The alcohol from earlier along with the long walk home made him tired. He decided to go to sleep early so he can be ready for his training tomorrow like his father said.