On the sandy beach of the western coast of Yaseiko stood two elfmen. The crash of waves both broke and birthed the peace of silence. The sun led the fiery red charge upon the sky as it began its rise to command the honor of day. The two elves stared each other down, steel at their sides waiting to be drawn, steel in their brows as if eyes could cut.
“Nobara!” shouted Tanaka Ryusei. “This will be your last morning walk on the beach. You are relieved of your duty as the living!”
Nobara stood quietly. As he drew his sword, the steel sang in harmony with the tide.
“I will cut you down lordless savage!” roared Ryusei. “I will take your sword as my trophy. I will lay it before the world crying out ‘I have fought the Wild Rose, and he had no thorns to offer!’ I will cast you into the sea, Nobara. I am Tanaka Ryusei of Raiton the Lightning, and I challenge you Nobara the Wild Rose to Shinobutō! Tengoku to hagane ni yotte!”
Nobara took a step forward, a declaration that Tanaka Ryusei would not be forgiven. The sea breeze ran its fingers through long black hair that tangled around pointed ears. A messy bun held back half the tangles so as not to hide the sleek face with a thin coat of bristly whiskers that lay in violent wait behind the instrument of death that would sing with the sea.
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“Tengoku to hagane ni yotte!”
The tide rushed in loudly and wildly. Sand bounced from footfalls, dancing on the breeze. Swiftly! Tanaka Ryusei stumbled back as blood flowed from his left shoulder. Nobara struck again. And again. A tinge of disgust fell upon the sleek face. The tide rolled back out.
“So Nobara has thorns after all,” said Ryusei.
“When your spirit visits the Tanaka Clan, please tell them I am not interested in committing such a murder again. You were only a threat to yourself, a fate from which no man can be saved.” The man lay still. Nobara knelt to pray over the corpse of Tanaka Ryusei. These words were kept between himself, the All-Father, and the sea. This was Yaseiko, the land of wild steel.