His opponent was using a version of Drowning Tide Style, knees bent and turned partly to one side like a surfer. Arlen stepped forward and made the arena jut upward in three spots, sharp enough to hurt but not impale.

Agni leaped and water flowed from beyond the arena to pass under her feet, carrying her into his path. He sidestepped but the wave arced sideways without its rider. It crashed into him with such force, he toppled and fell backward into the muck beyond the ring. He crashed and got a hard slap to his back and tail.

The hunter flung a blade of ice at him, bigger and sharper than most casters'. Arlen ducked so that the water shielded him from all but a scratch. By instinct he thrashed his tail and surged up onto the platform again, rolling to avoid another icicle. He countered with a thrown stone rather than a strike from below. It caught the huntress off guard and bruised her arm.

She charged, he tried to spear from the ground, and she switched direction, now circling and pelting him. Weak snowballs? What was that supposed to be? He learned quickly when she switched to more blades. One glanced off his armor but another jabbed deep into his left thigh. He staggered in pain. She rushed him. He grabbed her slashing knife arm and yanked forward, crashing her down onto the stone floor. He brought his knife up and said, "Surrender."

She rolled and tripped him on his injured leg. He winced, buckling. She tried to tackle him but her weight only made him stagger backward without falling over. He kicked Agni aside, then reluctantly made the ground jab up at her. A blunt blade whacked her in the stomach. She stood with her hands on her knees, coughing.

"No," she wheezed. With renewed fury she slashed at him, fast but unable to connect for more than a close shave. She kicked and caught him in the good leg. Before he could counter, she'd whapped him with an ice ball that struck his back and made him topple into the water.

"Stop doing that!" he said.

She responded by hopping down and grabbing him, wrestling his knife away. He had strength but was fighting in the water, where she could wriggle and pin his arms. He wrenched one arm free but couldn't get up to the surface to breathe. She grinned fiercely as she kept his head underwater.

So he kissed her.

She slackened her grip in surprise. Arlen shot away and let the water flow with him, up to regain his footing on the arena. He stood in a tense pose with frost around his fists, watching Agni get one arm up on the stone and begin pulling herself up. She was fast, tough, skilled.

He said, "Well? How do you want to end this?"

Agni coughed. "What was that?"

Arlen stepped closer and reached down to offer one hand. There was an audience of tribal wise men judging him, but he didn't care. She might be about to stab him again.

The huntress took his hand and let him pull her up. "Good enough," she said. "Teach me?"

The two of them went off to the village outskirts to discuss an alliance in more detail.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

#

Arlen returned to the first Mire village he'd reached, to pick up his remaining guards. The rest and Meadow had gone back to Decim as planned. "You look pleased," said one of the men.

"They agreed to leave off the fighting for now. I owe them some weapons soon, if they behave. Meanwhile, they've got the best road they've ever had, and more housing."

He sailed back to Decim to report to high chief Voz. After a long ride, he arrived to find the smithy bustling. He had recently produced hundreds of pounds of bars and ingots to play with, and given advice on how to use them.

The smiths he'd first met on the island had scrambled to keep themselves in charge. They legitimately were the most experienced around, so after some grumbling they'd listened to his ideas and decided to be the most enthusiastic teachers rather than the best of an obsolete style.

Arlen had insisted on letting girls train. When he arrived he found a rivalry in progress, with two nearly complete work stations. "What are you making?" he asked.

The male apprentices said, "A whole other set of tools. A better one. They broke our best hammer."

The three girls trying to develop their own parallel smithy were also making tools, and accusing the boys of wrecking the good tongs. Arlen rolled his eyes and gave a quick lesson on safety and crafting. The rivalry might do the group some good. Unfortunately he hadn't had time to develop smithing schools on the other islands, but that could wait.

Meeting with Voz could not. Arlen soon went to the palace, where the high chief was overseeing a tedious land dispute. When it was dealt with, Voz dismissed the court so he could speak privately. "Your guards said your trip was a great success. You actually found a Builder alive?"

"Yes. The most important thing for now is that the Mire is less awful now, and less of a threat. Over time, the old Builder might be great for making useful things."

"And their language? You'd sent back plates with a translation."

"Ah! I'd forgotten. That'll be useful too."

"Any amazing new powers?" asked the chief, grinning.

"No, but I got instruction from Sachin, the Builder, and that might help. I've hardly had time to practice."

Voz said, "I can still hardly believe it. I did take an afternoon to visit the spirit cave and see if the spirits would advise me any more clearly. What I got from them was that they sensed an improvement to the Mire, and wanted us to stand on guard."

"We're on the way to a better future for everyone here. What's next, then? More smithing? Or Newshore?"

The ruler climbed down to Arlen's level and paced. "I've been thinking about this vague threat you speak of. When it arrives, I'd like to be able to show any foreign people what Newshore looks like. Let them see the horror as an example of what can go wrong if we fight."

"Did the spirits say that?"

Quietly, Voz answered, "They want the problem dealt with, I think. But it should wait. Go and help, but don't get yourself killed trying to solve it all, not today."

Arlen went outside and made a triumphant public appearance at Voz's side to assure everyone both of his victory and of his loyalty to the high chief, who had wisely directed him to begin fixing the worst problem in the isles. Voz repeated the new order to "aid the Newshore people and make sure anyone can come and go freely", and Arlen bowed.

From Arlen's point of view, he had no desire to personally rule when he could be the adviser to someone less ruthless than Thoko. He also didn't want to find out what ticking off the spirits might do. Nor was he eager to be cooped up in a palace, however nice. There was too much to do!

In private he asked, "What are you doing with your own power? The spirits blessed you strongly."

He conjured an orb of water floating above his hand, and stared into it. "I have some intuition now about how the Roaring Storm worked. It repelled and channeled wind and water, including clouds. I think that with the right enchantment I might improve a boat so that it cuts through the waves and wards off some of a storm's danger. I've been studying the idea. Besides that, though the spirits most wanted me to fight you, I've learned more about healing. It's something I want to spread knowledge of."

"That's a good idea. And writing?"

Voz laughed. "I support the idea of teaching more people, but I can only cast so many nets into the sea at once."

"Fair enough. Soon, I hope!"