A decade ago, Akisane tried to do a flip from a stump and knocked the breath from his lungs. He was scared because he didn’t understand why he couldn’t breathe. He thought he’d die like a fish doomed to gulp air to no avail. William held him and told him it’d be okay until he could breathe again.
Five years ago, Akisane’s first test brought him into the mystical forests in the north. He’d faced many challenges, but one exceeded his capabilities when he faced a froglike beast with hide so tough his blade wouldn’t penetrate it. When the tongue wrapped around him, and he saw the end come as the tongue pulled him into the gaping mouth, William cut through the rope of pink muscle and freed him.
The gulf between father and son widened when William began to speak of chivalry and restoring balance between the knights and nobility. Some part of Akisane wanted to join his brother and end the Duke’s tyranny. They would be called the brothers who took up the Spear of the Stronghold and let Dunaguard thrive. The Spear used to have a far reach and influence into the realm, but now it was more a myth.
But Duke Akitomo would never be taken down by his sons. He was smarter, immensely stronger, and willing to do things they were not. Akisane never doubted this fact and wasn’t stupid enough to throw away his life as his brother had done.
William kept a merlon behind his back, a strategic move, as he knew the threat of Akisane’s telekinesis. If he stayed in front of the gaps between the crenelations, he would fly from the wall to fall hundreds of feet down the mountain cliffs. “You don’t think we can defeat him. But we could leave, join an order, and return stronger.”
Akisane didn’t want to fight his brother, but he had to and wanted him to know why. “You know what he’s capable of. He’ll see his grand design through to the end. Whether I stop you now or not, he’ll win.”
“I believe it’s worth my life to try.”
“What honor would our family retain if this all came crashing down?”
“Honor cannot be based on lies. You dishonor yourself and everyone in Dunaguard by carrying out his orders.”
“Who would defeat the Duke? Did you see him on the battlefield, alone against the djinn? I rubbed the desert dust from my eyes and saw him split the dunes with magic you can’t even dream of. There are warriors, and there are forces of nature.”
“There are the grandmasters of the knightly orders. They are strong enough to stop him, and I intend for them to listen to me when I heal the Council of the Round.”
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“And where are these grandmasters? I’ve hardly seen an archknight until this tournament. And none will come to your aid.”
“They won’t help until I earn their trust. Don’t question my plans when the best you have is to be his lackey. Has he brought you into the Shadowed Hand yet?”
“Enough of this. Let’s fight.”
William stepped forward with a flourish. “Fine. Let’s see if you listened to me about your footwork.”
The wind rolled down the mountain slopes and pulled at their clothing. They thrust the points of their swords and gauged the other, an action that seemed familiar yet terrible.
The fight exploded, and steel rang along the parapet, hitting at an increasing tempo. The guards in the flanking towers pretended not to watch. This wasn’t the first time they’d turned their back on the Duke’s dirty work.
Williams steel caught the sun, mirrored it, and left afterimages, but a blue glint gave away its nature. He should have been the better fighter, but raw ability wasn’t enough this time.
Akisane had used the whetstone of exotic swordmasters from faraway lands to hone his swordsmanship. He practiced forms in the morning, sparred at lunch, and did it all again in the evening, and it was the one thing his father approved of him doing. The black blade in his hand whistled a tune of murder. “You have a pure sword.”
Ducking and backing up, William flowed along with the barrage like driftwood in rapids. He was amazing for one who hardly picked up the weapon. Instead of practice, he spent his time as a poet, a painter, and a drinker. “A spirit gave its life so I could attain my purpose.”
The clang of steel came to an end when William raised a stump. His arm didn’t go much past the elbow. He just looked at it with a stricken face that turned pale.
Akisane eyes filled with tears at the sight of the maiming. “You're always so good at everything. Why didn't you specialize? Why weren’t you good enough to kill me instead.”
There was no answer, just a look of shock.
Akisane used his mind to send William through the stone gap, and it happened too easily. He raced forward just in time to watch William topple end over end. He’d reach out a hand uselessly, fingers grasping at air.
His brother accelerated into the void as if the great evil that lay beneath the castle had reached out and pulled him down. But the body didn’t go into the deep split in the mountain but hit the bridge with a thunk.
“You were weak.” No matter how many times Akisane said it, an emptiness grew inside him.
Henry
Level: 7
Focus: Telekinesis
Secondary focus: Shadow walker
Weapons: demon sword - 5% corrupt