Page 38

“The best archer this town has ever seen.” Lyric took my hand. “Observers have to sit up in the risers.” Multi-leveled seating like bleachers in a gymnasium circled the practice fields. Patches of observers, some dressed entirely in a certain color like sage green or navy blue, sat in various sections on the stands.

Lyric headed straight over to the sword and shield side. It looked intense. Sweat and blood sprayed through the air as we hurried past to some open seats. We spotted Austri sitting on one of the top levels, so we climbed up to sit with him.

“Well, my Rafi, how are ya settlin’ in?” He lifted a greasy brown sack. “Toad chips?”

Lyric crinkled her nose. “No, only you like those horrid things.”

After hearing the name, I knew I didn’t need to try one either. I sat down next to Austri. “I’m settling in,” I said. “Just trying to absorb it all.” As I spoke, I let my gaze wander down to the practice field. Most of the men had taken off their shirts, and the physiques on display were enough to make any mortal swoon. It was hard to make heads or tails of the melee below. Swords arced and lunged through the air, and shields hovered and dashed about. The sound produced was nearly deafening.

“The colors you see are fans of certain warriors. The group of girls with the bright yellow scarfs are all here for Axel. He’s the guy with a yellow X on his shield.” It was easy enough to spot the yellow X. That was when I realized each warrior had a color painted on his shield, like a team color. Axel was big and brutish looking with deep set eyes and a short brown goatee. A group a few seats over squealed with delight about something. It was by far the biggest group, each wearing black scarves. I searched the shields for the black X … and found it. It was hard to believe that I’d missed him the first time. Even with the massive warriors down below, he stood a good head taller than the rest. He was shirtless like the others, and I became instantly transfixed by the movement of his chest muscles, slick with sweat. His arms looked hard and strong as steel as he brought his sword down over his opponent. His opponent looked as if he’d had enough. He struggled to stay on both feet.

“Aha, you already spotted your favorite warrior,” Lyric said in a sing-song tone. “As you see, he has the biggest fan group.”

“Hard to miss him. I feel for his opponent.”

“Revel always has a hard time finding a worthy sparring partner,” Austri chortled.

Revel’s partner lowered his shield in surrender and bowed to Revel. Revel returned the gesture. Another man was waiting on the benches. He looked like a more formidable opponent mostly, because he was still fresh and not covered in sweat and blood.

“Ah, young Esten, he’s a good match for Revel because Revel’s been out on the field two hours, and Esten hasn’t fought yet today,” Austri noted.

Their swords clashed several times before Revel managed to land a blow on Esten’s arm.

Revel glanced around at the seats as Esten regrouped. His gaze swept around, landing on his group of fans. They cheered and a few women blew him kisses.

“Guess he’s eating this up,” I said, realizing I sounded irritated.

“Nah, he couldna’ care less about stuff like that,” Austri said. “Revel is only here to stay ready for battle.”

“Do they ever use guns?” It was a very human-style question, but my friends looked at me as if I’d asked whether they occasionally used nuclear bombs.

“Gun warfare and guns in general are strictly forbidden,” Austri said.

Lyric shrugged coyly. “We’ve seen what they do to the human world.”

“Two men from the village, one was a friend of mine,” Austri started, “decided to take a trip through Dante Fell. They stole a few guns and brought them back to Norvale. They’re spending twenty years in Tribunal Vault.”

Lyric leaned her head over. “Very imaginative name for the Troikana prison. It’s a gruesome, cold, dark dungeon type of place. It’s deep underground, so there’s no escape.”

“Twenty years seems harsh, but I suppose it gets the point across.” I gazed down at the field again and realized Revel was staring back at us … at me. Right then, his opponent got his bearings. His sword cut through the air and slashed Revel’s arm. Blood trickled instantly from the gash. Esten looked as if he wanted to run away and cower under a rock. A collective gasp hissed through the courtyard, and a few of his fans turned angry and curious scowls my direction as if I was somehow at fault.

Austri leaned forward and exchanged a conspiratorial wink with Lyric. “Ya caught that, eh?”

Lyric smiled smugly at me. “Sure did.”

“Caught what?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that Revel seemed to be distracted … by you,” she explained.

“Yes, because I’m an irritant, you know, like a swarm of gnats flying around his head.”

Austri chuckled. “Not sure that’s the way he’d describe it.”

I wasn’t sure what the two were getting at but decided it was time for a topic change. “I have a question, one of many. I noticed that, like Revel, a lot of the fighters down there are wearing beads at the end of thin braids. Do they symbolize something?”

“Sure do.” Austri finally folded up his sack of toad chips. I was pleased not to smell them anymore. “Each bead represents a victory in battle. Revel has three. One for the Battle of Port Rothington. Back when we were able to still use the sea as a fishing and trade port, a ghost ship, all the crew gone, floated in from Halquin. It was bursting at the seams with wine, grain, ale and fine fabrics. The darn ship landed right in the middle of Port Rothington and between the regional borders of Solamere and Norvale. Naturally, the two sides couldn’t agree on which land got the shipment.”

“Sharing was not an option, then?” I asked.