“The aesthetic part of the Moon Games is behind us,” the Master of Ceremonies announced as the attendees returned to their seats. “Ahead of us are sweat and blood. Raw strength, no magic. Before your eyes will duel the masters of swords, spears, and fists, some of whom are already legends. This time only the skills of contestants count so no applause is necessary to determine the winner.”
In spite of his words, the stands filled with thunderous applause, shouts, and whistles. In a fight, elegance was always disregarded.
Since enchanters specialized in distance fighting, Lannahi rarely had the opportunity to see close combat, but this wasn’t the only reason she couldn’t take her eyes off the arena. After the Master of Ceremony announced the start of the Tournament of Swords, two contestants in silver armor made of mailfiber entered. One of them was Askarr, a landshaper from Copper Valley, who won the title of King of Swords almost as many times as he lost it. The second was the youngest participant of the Tournament, a student of swordmaster Nahid from Winterfort who in his youth held the title for twelve consecutive years.
Ashared.
Taking advantage of the turmoil that erupted after the Halit’s words, Letiri leaned over to Lannahi. “You should cheer for him,” she whispered in her ear. “He was the first to applaud your performance.”
Lannahi was so surprised that she failed to control her expression and Letiri smiled with the satisfaction of a frog that caught a juicy fly.
“For those who don’t remember, let me remind you,” the Master of Ceremony continued. “This is the second time Ashared has fought in our arena. Last year, he was defeated in the third stage, fighting against his same opponent here, Askarr. I do not know which of them will win today, or how the fate of the Tournament of Swords will play out, but one thing I can promise you: it will be interesting.”
The audience, which had previously treated the Master of Ceremony with aloofness, now rewarded his statement with enthusiastic applause, but Lannahi barely heard it. How did Letiri know that Ashared had been the first to applaud her? She’d been sitting on the opposite side of the stands. She couldn’t have seen well…
Lannahi recalled the moment when she’d stood in the arena and her pulse quickened. She remembered that when she’d turned toward the landshapers, her attention had been attracted by a white shirt standing out from the surrounding colorful outfits…
…and several minutes later she’d met Ashared, who left the stands during the Dance Tournament. Letirimightbe right.
Instead of leaving the arena as he’d done during the artistic performances, the Master of Ceremonies remained with the swordsmen. When he retreated to a place from which he could watch the upcoming fight safely, he called out, “May the best one win!”
Ashared dashed toward his opponent as if the patience that had held him in place had just run out. Askarr had no time to counterattack. He was forced to defend himself.
The clash of blades mingled with the feverish noise of the crowd. The swordsmen fighting in the arena moved with such speed that the bronze swords in their hands resembled flashes of lightning.
Askarr feinted and suddenly the roles were reversed, but Ashared parried the blows one by one, until it wasn’t clear anymore who was attacking and who was defending. One had fifty years more experience than the other, but Lannahi saw no difference between them. Both fought like starving wolves.
She suddenly regretted not sitting in the front row. It was hard to believe that the fierce warrior in the arena was the same calm and composed man she’d spoken to earlier. The one who looked at her with kindness.
Her gaze moved over his stature. Tall, broad-shouldered, muscular. When she walked past him earlier, he’d seemed like a mountain. How was it possible that he was now moving with such speed and grace?
So many contrasts…
Askarr’s movements slowed, but Ashared didn’t stop pushing against him. What at first seemed to be impulsiveness now resembled a methodical execution of the plan.
Despite his admirable speed, the swordsmanwaslike a mountain. Unwavering. Unbreakable.
Unyielding.
Ashared slowed down the pace of his attack, but when his opponent dug in his heels, Lannahi realized that he did it not because he was tired but to brace himself. The clash of blades started to resemble the steady beats of a hammer. Lannahi felt each one like the beating of her own heart. She held her breath. She realized that she wasn’t alone in this as the din from the audience dissipated, leaving behind only entranced silence. The only sound that arose were the sharp clashes of the swords and grunts from the men below.
Askarr’s sword tilted at an odd angle. He gripped the handle with his other hand.
Ashared dug in his heels and pushed forward, increasing the pressure on his weapon.
Askarr’s hands trembled under the weight of Ashared’s onslaught. A long tense moment elapsed before his sword fell free from his hands and hit the floor with a loud, defeated clank.
Ashared immediately stepped away.
Before the Master of Ceremony could speak, the stands broke into applause and cheers. Contrary to the art competitions, in the martial arts tournaments, it didn’t matter where the competitors came from. There was no room for doubt and subjective appraisal. Everyone knew who the winner was.
Ashared tucked his sword into his scabbard and bowed slightly to Askarr. His opponent reciprocated the gesture, then raised his sword and also sheathed it. The two swordsmen turned their backs to exit the arena, waiting to be joined by the Master of Ceremony.
“The winner is Ashared!”
A more civilized round of applause echoed through the stands. Ashared moved his gaze over the crowd. For a moment, Lannahi had the impression that he was looking directly at her and felt a strange knot twist in her stomach, but soon the man turned away and made a bow, much shallower than artists usually did.
Lannahi felt Letiri’s gaze on her, and instead of watching Ashared leave the arena, she pretended to focus on the Master of Ceremony who began introducing the next contestants. She wasn’t particularly surprised to learn that the participants of the second duel were landshapers again. Because of their physical strength they usually dominated in the athletic games. Normally, there were separate weight and gender categories, but in the Moon Games as in the Royal Duels, fairness was a secondary matter. Only victory mattered.
