“It’s nice.” Syllis said to Clyde as she scanned the massive battlefield. ‘What an odd thing to hide behind such an otherwise wholesome estate?’

It was wrought with blood that was stamped into the very ground. Countless battles had to have been fought here for this dirt to have been stained such a violent shade of crimson.

Dozens of seats lined the sides of the rectangular arena, escalating in height the further back they got like a large amphitheater. it wasn’t even an arena exactly… It was more just a massive clearing devoid of rocks or trees, the ground was flat and even. It was there for pure carnage, no fancy additions, only nothing to disturb the two individuals who clashed within.

“I know right!” Clyde spoke enthusiastically.

They made their way to the center of the arena. It was tradition to shake hands before walking to the other end and beginning the fight. Clyde was wearing his usual white button up and brown pants. Syllis, out of the stained white dress, reflected the man in front of her.

That dress wasn’t suitable for a violent game such as this. Though her current clothes weren’t exactly the most suitable either… Her pants only fell to a couple of inches above her ankle and her white button down was even worse. The sleeves were pulled a few inches before her wrist. The top couple of buttons couldn’t even be done up due to the tension on her sleeves.

‘Indeed it’s not exactly the greatest idea to shove a six foot nymph into the clothes of a five foot ten human man… Regardless, it’s better than before. Aside from one thing.”

“Clyde?” Syllis placed her arm on the man’s shoulder.

“Yeah?” Clyde jumped slightly before responding shakily. It was unexpected. His complexion was rose colored and he would glance away before turning back, seemingly at random.

“If you’re distracted, you might get hurt. I recommend you cast away any thoughts but our fight for the moment.” Syllis spoke slowly and in a low tone, she was confident.

Clyde was taken aback, his eyes widening at her words. It had been a while since he’d felt like this. “Right.” He stuck out a hand, ready to begin the fight.

Syllis took his hand before they walked towards their opposite ends of the battlefield. ‘This is… I feel…’ She was excited it had been a long while since she invoked her bond. ‘I hope… I hope that this is a good fight…

“Are you sure that you want to do this? I mean we can kill time doing other things. Like we could play more card games or…”

‘This guy has an ego.’ Syllis rolled her eyes and opened her mouth slightly. “Coryzan. The visitor from beyond Acciliant, doomed to watch everlong. A wasteland, cold and doomed to get colder.” She muttered the incantation to invoke her anathemic bond.

The air gradually grew colder until the temperature around the nymph was well below freezing. Patches of frost glistened below her feet and even the slight evaporating droplets of rain seemed to freeze and shatter upon impact with the ground.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Syllis once again opened her mouth, this time looking over to Clyde. “Don’t look down on the outer ring, Clyde.” She pointed her wooden partizan towards him, its crossguard at the end was like a pair of wings.

Her seafoam eyes locked with his. Even with a hundred meters between them, Clyde felt the sentiment behind them.

Not needing to respond. Clyde invoked his anathemic bond. His presence gradually faded until he was almost unnoticeable.

Syllis felt her eyes wander from the boy repeatedly. ‘What an interesting bond…’ She had never encountered such an abstract bond before. ‘What kind of ‘god’ would be able to turn away mine and thus Coryzan’s gaze?’

Feeling inferior, Syllis utilized some of her bond. Ice manifested in rings around her and spun violently as it contorted as if it had a mind of its own. She reached a single arm out and pointed at the noble boy. ‘How will his bond deal with this?’

It was only smart to see what an opponent’s bond could do before engaging in direct combat. Anathemic bonds often acted in ways that weren’t exactly expected. If someone had a bond that allowed them to detect lies, then they would also practically have the ability to detect truths. This could be countered by speaking truth but hiding in obscure language or as a smaller part of a larger sentence.

This strategy was one such way to see if she could counter this boy’s bond. The bond to make one’s gaze shy away was powerful, but more so at close range. At a distance so far, it was weak, since they occupied such a small field of vision. Though only time could tell what the impact would be when this boy comprised nearly the entirety of Syllis’ vision.

‘What?’ Syllis questioned as she watched the scene unravel in front of her. In the corner of her eye, the ice wrapped around the side of the noble boy. ‘It would seem that my bond is also being influenced, turned away.’

She was overtaken by a grand feeling. It was a feeling of selfishness, of naivety. Syllis didn’t have much, not a home nor any belongings. All she had was this cursed bond. Of a god that she didn’t worship, of a being that she hadn’t taken in by choice.

After living in the outskirts for long enough, she figured the bond might as well be used. If she was unfortunate enough to be cursed by it, then it should be used. After all of the torment she went through, she deserved such a bond. Especially one as powerful as hers.

Naturally, she took great pride in a bond so powerful. Her reputation grew in outer Asanoch and earned the nymph her title, the siren. It wasn’t a flattering one, but it demonstrated her talent.

‘To so casually overcome my bond… Why does a noble with the ability to coast through life have the ability to deal with my bond so easily?” Syllis wanted to overshadow this boy. She wanted to show him that she was beyond any of these people that could live so easily, without the need to fight everyday.

“That’s a neat bond!” The boy spoke with genuine joy. It had been a while since he last fought someone so unique.

It was a fair thought. Most fables that were told after all didn’t feature abstract things like the manifestation of ice. This was a complex ability, it could do many things. It could be shaped and bent to the user’s will. It could be made into a weapon or risen from the ground before being shattered causing the enemy to succumb to gravity.

Instead, most fables featured simpler concepts: a person whose touch could turn objects to gold or who could lift weight ten times the amount a normal person could. So a bond that could manifest and manipulate ice was definitely unique.

“I could say the same about yours…” Syllis spoke quietly. Formulating a plan internally, she got ready to lunge towards the fellow, and close the distance. Unfortunately for her, Clyde seemed to have the same plan. And even acted quicker on it.

Soon enough, they clashed. Their weapons caught on each others cross guards with deadly force.