TWENTY YEARS AGO.

Taral truly felt alive.

Taral marched down on his horse, with his newly Diamond studded sword out in his right hand. The boring siege which had lasted for almost a year straight was over, and now Taral could finally just march on in, and fight.

He yearned to bathe his Diamond studded blade in enough blood to make him the youngest Platinum. That was because he was the second youngest Diamond. Second of course, to that bastard Hassai.

“Sir,” Boru said, the woman was a young Gold, and Taral knew a monster of potential when he saw one, she had quickly become his lieutenant. “Let me follow you into the assault.”

“No,” Taral said, “You are too valuable, stay back and support. I will march with the other Golds.”

“Okay sir,” Boru said, riding her horse back.

Arrows fell from the walls, the shield bearers ahead raised their shields, creating a ceiling, blotting the sky, and stopping the arrows before they could reach the swordsmen.

They passed under the shadow of the walls, Taral looked up at the archers, and saw his target. The Sage of the Uogin clan. The shield bearers charged onwards, and the swordsmen jumped off their horses and began running through the shield bearers.

Arrows once again split the sky in blinding volleys. Now on the ground, Taral felt truly as himself. He wasn’t very good at fighting on horseback. Arrows fell at him, with no shield bearer in front of him to stop it, Taral just jumped and slashed arrow after arrow after arrow.

He saw one arrow falling at his shoulder, he knew he was too slow for it, he was ready for the blinding pain of the arrow in his shoulder. The arrow was cut in half and fell to the side.

Boru stepped beside Taral, holding the upper half of the arrow that nearly hit Taral, sending the message that Taral needed her.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay behind,” Taral said.

“I am sorry, I got lost, and reached here,” Boru said, smiling.

“Well now that you are here, cover me,” Taral said. The enemy had not expected the Yaroka to send their swordsmen on foot. Their heavy cavalry on horses in large armor all stood there, and there was no one prepared for the assault of light soldiers who could move.

Arrows blotted the sky once again, and this time, Taral didn’t have time to block the arrows himself, he had people to fight. Boru cut the arrows for herself and for Taral, and not a single arrow hit him.

“Good one,” Taral said.

Taral ran at a soldier who was on horseback. Taral jumped. The Uogin soldier slammed his spear forward, Taral grabbed shaft of the spear in one hand and pulled himself up stabbing his sword into the man’s neck. He spun and hit the ground.

Taral continued running through the front cavalry, they began rushing at Taral. Since Taral was not on horseback, in short ranges he was much faster.

Taral slashed his sword, with all the strength in his body, slashing a horse’s leg clean in half, cutting through the bone. The horse fell forward, throwing the rider forward. Taral then slashed a chink in the elbow as the man fell, then cut the man’s neck when the man hit the ground. The horse fell on the ground, and Taral stabbed it in the heart, ending the poor stead’s suffering.

Soon he reached the gates of the walled city. Taral with Boru by his side stepped up, and saw a row of spearmen. The Uogin Spear-Sage stood on top of the wall signaling them.

Taral spun his sword in a showman’s way, and ran into the row of spearmen. He didn’t need to kill them, he just needed to get past them. But he would kill as many as needed to catch the Uogin sage’s attention.

“Defend for me,” Taral said.

Boru nodded. A spearman advanced and slashed at Taral, Boru slashed the spear in half, and Taral stabbed the man in the stomach. Taral then jumped under a lower strike, and Boru dug his sword into the man’s neck.

Four spearmen attacked at once, and Boru cut through all the spears at once, leaving Taral only the job of shearing their heads off.

“Stop stealing all of my glory,” Taral said.

“Sorry sir, I need the promotion to Diamond before the exam.”

“Well, then I’ll let you have some of the glory,” Taral said smiling. The spearmen fell one by one to the fierce assault from the two of them. Taral turned behind and saw that the other Yaroka Golds were clashing with the spearman. Some of these men weren’t used to fighting spearmen they fell. Others were laying waste to the spearmen. The spearmen attacked them all at once, at least ten of them, and Taral and Boru cut through them but still got scratched up.

By the time they reached the gates of Uogin, they were covered in blood both theirs and the spearmen. And they had killed at least fifteen spearmen. During the fight itself, Taral hadn’t the chance to inspect, but when he looked now, he saw that most of them were either Golds or Diamonds. Taral could sense that there would be a Platinum or two waiting for him before he got to the Sage. But now was not the time to go after the Sage.

For now, Taral had to spread chaos.

Taral ran into the city, and retrieved a torch from his belt. He then doused it in oil and lit it with a match. He then threw it out, ready to burn the place down, drawing out all of the fighters that were still cooped here, or on top of the walls.

Taral and Boru stepped forward as more spearmen poured out from the places. Taral had thrown his torch into a bush, and the fire began spreading through the garden where he had thrown it.

Taral and Boru ended up fighting more and more spearmen, Taral constantly kept looking up for the Spear-Sage to come down and fight him, but he just looked at him with a calm ire in his eyes.

Taral looked to a burning house, and saw as people burned and died. Taral prayed for their souls. He did not enjoy killing the unarmed, but they were collateral. It was a tragedy, but not a weight on Taral’s soul.

The rest of Taral’s fifteen man squad began pouring into the city. They began going into the non-burning houses and taking their loot.

Taral had given them only one instruction, not to hurt those unarmed unless they had to. Taral had a little bit of trouble enforcing this rule on some of the others, but he didn’t have much trouble with his squad.

Taral began walking towards the main castle, until Taral felt the air behind thwip. He looked behind as a spear nearly took off his head. Taral jumped back, flipping in the air, and landing on his feet.

In front of him was the old Spear-Sage of the Uogin, Aoin Uogin stood there, his spear in hand. He was bald on the top of his head, but had long hair coming from the sides of his head, and he had long mustaches.

“Why did you have to bring my civilians into this?” Aoin said.

“Because that’s what I need to do to draw you out,” Taral said, smiling.

“Do you not remember your defeat last time,” Aoin said. “I wish I could end this with as little death as possible. I wish I could end this with you just leaving.”

“My father says the same thing, then marches us into the war,” Taral said, holding his sword forward in his firestance.

“I wish this war didn’t have to happen,” Aoin said.

“But alas,” Taral said. “This is our land, you’ve had it for too long.”

Aoin did not respond with words. Instead he began rushing at Taral. Aoin stabbed forward at Taral, and Taral slammed his blade into the haft, hoping to cut it in half.

Aoin simply twisted his spear out of range, it wobbled and nearly hit him in the eye, Taral stepped back out of range as the man swung his spear in a long arc, then stabbed at him once, twice, thrice.

Taral tried to get close, but the man wouldn’t allow him to. Aoin slashed, Taral tried to block but Aoin lightly nudged the bottom of his spear, throwing his spear over Taral’s sword. The spear cut across his forehead.

As a thin sheet of blood poured over Taral’s eyes, he was enraged.

“Surrender,” Aoin said. “And I will let you live.”

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“No,” Taral said, trying to step forward.

They fought in the now burning streets of Uogin, his swordsmen fought the others around him, and Boru tried her best to enter Taral’s duel, but she couldn’t as spearmen began pouring out of everywhere, the army desperately trying to stop Taral’s ruthless invasion.

Taral was on the back foot, dodging long arcs of the spear. The old sage swung his spear and hit it on the ground, throwing himself into the air closer to Taral, then he slashed at Taral. Taral blocked and slashed at Aoin. Aoin jumped kicking towards Taral’s face. Taral stepped back.

He found himself stepping back a lot. But, that wasn’t bad. The more back that he stepped, the closer and closer he went to the castle.

The castle that rightfully belonged to the Yaroka.

Taral continued stepping back, as the old man tired himself out slashing at him. But Taral didn’t know if Sages even ran out of stamina, Taral’s own father seemed to have an infinite well of it even though he was nearly sixty years old.

As their fight moved closer and closer to the castle, they reached the gate. Taral jumped up, kicked off one of the rails of the gate, and flipped over it. Aoin jumped off his spear and slashed down at Taral. Taral’s sword hit the edge of Aoin’s spear. Taral’s sword cut through the spear clean in half.

Aoin hit the ground, and began rushing at Taral with his bare fists now. The man was way too springy for his age. He jumped around kicking at Taral, but dodging each of Taral’s sword strikes.

Aoin punched Taral in the stomach, then kicked him in the jaw. Taral stepped back, trying to dodge. They reached a tree in the courtyard of the castle. Aoin jumped up and kicked the tree, and spear fell from it.

“You’ve entered the den of lions,” Aoin said. “Expect to be bitten.”

Aoin jumped into the trees and jumped down at Taral, Taral dodged to the side, Aoin jumped off his spear and kicked Taral in the face. Taral nearly hit the ground, he chopped at the sky in vain.

Aoin swung at him, and the only way for Taral to have dodged that spear-arc was for him to hit the ground. Taral rolled back on the ground and quickly tried to stand up, but the wooden haft of Aoin’s spear slammed him on the top of his head as he stood up.

Taral fell behind. He continued to step back, blocking and barely surviving. They stepped through the empty evacuated castle. Taral continued stepping back, and soon they arrived in the training hall of the Uogin, the training hall that would soon be of the Yaroka.

Uogin slashed, opening the back door of the training hall. Taral found himself in the garden outside the training hall, Aoin continued slashing at him.

Taral knew that he was going to die now. He tried his best to stay in the fight, but he was nothing compared to the Sage, the gap between Sage and Diamond was apparent to him.

“I will kill you now,” Aoin said. “Unless you run.’

“What,” Taral said dodging a spear-strike that narrowly missed his skull.

“There is no shame in running away,” Aoin said.

Aoin stabbed his spear forward and hit Taral in the heart, but he stopped his spear short of killing him.

“I have isolated you from your army. The Yaroka invasion is failing,” Aoin said. “Now, I have you hostage. Your war has failed.”

Taral did not run away. Instead he fell to his knees and raised his hands into the air, admitting defeat. Aoin then stepped forward, kicked him in the head, and Taral lost his consciousness.

When Taral found consciousness, he was inside a prison cell. He looked around from the bars, and he couldn’t see any other Yaroka he could recognize.

Had the invasion truly failed. Was this the result of more than a year of a siege? Taral sat down in his cell waiting for someone to let him out for when he would be executed.

After a few hours of waiting, someone showed up at his prison cell. It was a woman, she was old and wrinkly, wearing a maid’s outfit. She held a plate of food in her hand.

She opened the door, and picked up Taral and dragged him out. She took the glass of water that Taral was supposed to drink and slashed it on her face, and her wrinkles began disappearing, revealing that Boru was standing in front of him.

“What happened,” Taral said.

“We failed,” Boru said. “But I played dead, and infiltrated.”

“What happened to the rest of the squad,” Taral said.

“Dead,” Boru said, her face going grave. “Your father has given up on the war.”

“No,” Taral said. “I have something to finish, do you have a weapon?”

“I was only able to sneak in knives, and I got one for you, and I have one for myself,” Boru said.

“Good,” Taral said.

Taral accepted the knife, and began stepping through the castle. It was the dead of night, too late for any partying, and just in time for the man to be asleep.

Taral walked through the castle, slowly opening doors and windows. Impact from the war meant that there were fewer guards to patrol at night. So Taral only had to take out a few guards stealthily, and slowly open a few rooms before he found the room he wanted.

He found Aoin sleeping, his spear on one side of his bed, and his wife and his grandson on the other side. Taral didn’t know the details, but the boy’s father was probably dead in the war.

Taral stepped forward, kicked Aoin’s spear out of the way. He then turned Aoin from his side onto his back. He choked the man.

“Are you going to run away now,” Taral said. “Is it a shame to run away?”

Aoin tried to open his mouth, but he couldn’t. But his old wife, and his grandson still woke up, and began running out. Taral couldn’t have that.

As Taral’s attention was diverted away from Aoin, he kicked him in the face, and began running away. Taral ran at Aoin’s wife and grabbed her.

“Are you going to run away now,” Taral said.

“Please, let her go,” Aoin said. “Spare my wife, I will run away, you will never see me or my family ever again.”

Taral looked back and saw that Aoin’s grandson was attacking him with a wooden spear. Taral cut the spear in half then slashed the boys ear off, he screamed in pain.

“Please,” Aoin said. “Don’t do this.”

“Not kiling me there was the biggest mistake you could’ve ever made,” Taral said.

“Run,” Aoin screamed, he jumped at Taral, Taral tried to cut his wife’s neck, but he was too slow, Aoin had pushed her out of his grasp. She was running away. Taral cut Aoin’s neck, leaving him on the ground. Taral looked around, watching as Aoin died slowly.

The boy was hiding under a bed with a wooden spear, cupping the place where his right ear used to be.

“Are you going to use that spear on me,” Taral said, plucking him from under there. Aoin was dying slowly. Taral didn’t have the intention to actually do anything, but he stepped up to the dying Aoin. He couldn’t move, and he couldn’t do anything.

Taral held a knife against the boy’s neck. Just as Aoin lost his breath, Taral faked, dragging his knife against the boy’s throat.

He then threw the crying boy down beside the corpse of his grandfather, and stepped out, where Boru was waiting for him, soon they would escape. They climbed out of the castle through the window.

Taral could never forget the hate in the boy’s eye, as he was covered in blood, both his own from his bleeding ear, to his grandfather’s blood.

With their Sage and most of their Diamonds, and their two Platinums dead, the Uogin soon shattered. A few months later and the Uogin were wiped out, the Yaroka took over their castle.

But more than the victory of getting back the ancestral Yaroka land, where for centuries the Yaroka had ruled before, Taral felt a brutal emptiness.

They hadn’t even had the time to hold a funeral service for all of Taral’s fallen friends until after the campaign. Luckily they had made sure to collect most of their corpses. Some of them didn't have corpses, so they buried their most prized possessions.

As Taral watched one after the other his friends were buried into the ground. As he watched them, he wondered if the remnants of the Uogin felt the same way. Taral couldn’t help wonder what happened to that little child who had lost both his father and grandfather to a single war.

I chopped a child’s ear off. Taral said. Is that what the sword made me do?

When Taral slept that night he saw the families of everyone he killed. He saw the result of his killing for the other side like he felt himself. He hated the killing.

From the day of that funeral service on, Taral only ever touched his sword when preparing for his exams. He soon became a Platinum. He sparred, and trained, but never killed since then. His vow of non-violence lasted for nearly two decades.

Soon enough, Taral’s middle-child turned nineteen years old. His older son was twenty-five years old, with a son and a wife, living comfortably in his own home, and his youngest child had just begun training at seven years old.

That was when Father fell ill.

“Don’t worry grandfather,” Shinra said, standing over his grandfather’s ill-body. “By the time I come back, I will have made a name for myself.”

As Shinra began getting ready to leave, Taral walked up to his son and said, “Please don’t go.”

“You don’t want me to prove myself while grandfather is still alive,” Shinra said.

“I want you to prove yourself, but prove yourself after your ceremony, at your exams. What do you intend to do?”

“Challenge people, prove that I am strong, I will first defeat Inaki-son-Hassai of the Tomoka,” Shinra said. “I will prove that I am the greater prodigy.”

The last time Taral spoke to Shinra, he had such a glimmer of hope in his eyes, that he would be the best in the world. He hadn’t returned with glory, but he had returned in a shroud.

Taral remembered being enraged and going to Tomoka. I try so hard to be a good man, but maybe, as long as I have the sword, I will be as I was.

Now, Taral stood in the same garden he had lost to Aoin, wondering why had Aoin spared him.

Because he had hoped, Taral thought. He had hoped that I could be a better person. Now once again, Taral wanted to spare the man who killed his son.

As Taral stood with his sword against Inaki’s neck, staring at Gonten holding his youngest son, he realized that sparing this boy’s life could be the same mistake as Aoin had made as a Sage.

Why do I want to spare his life so badly, Taral thought.

Because if Aoin had killed Taral, then Taral would have never gotten the opportunity to become Sage, and Taral would have never realized his evils. By sparing him, Aoin had given Taral the chance to become a good man. So Taral did what he could think of. He would pay it forward.

Taral in that instant wanted to drop his sword, but didn’t, he would be dropping his sword later. Maybe he could use his pilgrimage as an excuse to run away.

Nevertheless, Taral stood there, hoping that he could see this image of himself not make the same mistakes as he did.