Malreki sighed deeply. Visions of both twins soaring ahead of him flashed in his mind. If his progress continued to stagnate, he'd never catch up to those two smug...
Malreki's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of swords clashing. He ran toward the sound, coming across a massive courtyard protected by a black steel fence, with a single phrase written into the top of the archway.
"The sword of the emperor."
"The Shogun's residence," Malreki breathlessly whispered.
The clash of swords brought him back to reality. He realized there were two Tiberian males circling each other.
Malreki entered the courtyard and sat at the side of the battle ring. At first, neither man swung his sword. One man had two lines, and the other had three.
The man with the two lines suddenly stepped forward and swung his sword overhead. Before the point of impact, the man with the three lines moved, causing the other man's sword to crash into the ground. The man with the three lines put his sword to the other man's neck.
"We make our blades heavier intentionally. It teaches caution and patience about when to strike and when not to," came a voice directly behind Malreki. "Forgive me. I am Tairo Alorin Brandbreaker."
Malreki turned to face the Tairo. Brandbreaker. From that name, Malreki knew that the Tairo was the son of somebody who had run from battle—a violation of the Tiberian honor code of the highest order.
This meant that this man, Alorin, had clawed his way out from under the shadow of his parents' cowardice and climbed the ranks of the military. Even more impressively, he had become a Sakai, an elite warrior of the Tiberian Imperium. Not only that, he had become the second-highest-ranked of the Sakai. For a moment, all Malreki could do was stare at this relatively young man in awe.
"Malreki. My name is Malreki," he finally responded. "Can I train here? Can you train me?"
Alorin looked shocked, then nodded.
Malreki spent the next several months training in Sakai combat. He circled his opponent, a man with two lines on him, while Malreki had one.
The blade felt like a lead pipe when he swung it. That was why, when the man swung, looking for Malreki's blade, he denied the impact by pulling away, then spun and brought his blade to the man's midsection.
Malreki was stunned. He had won.
Alorin clapped and stepped forward.
"Here"—he grabbed Malreki's hand and raised it—"we celebrate each other's victories."
The other Sakais raised their weapons.
"Hail!" they shouted in unison.