I should have slept in, it is my day off, though I must have gotten too used to waking up early for Mother's training and all.
It was a strange day off
Despite that, she still got up early, and left the house in her usual armor, sword on her right hip, spear in hand. Though this time, she had a weirdly excited smile on her face. She must of found a formidable opponent
Every few weeks, we would do a bout against each other, to put my knowledge to the test against a practical opponent. It seems like I have failed this test every time
So, I just sat at home, reading aloud from another one of father's text books
"Cloak is the pinnacle of intermediate level magic, perfected by Korinth's Imperial order of Mage Knights, a favor among martial warriors that dabble with magic"
Mage knights, that must be a wonderful spectacle to see. Even within the many stories of fiction I have read and watched, a sword fighter using magic is not as common I feel. I would love to see that, maybe I should ask to vacation in Korinth or something, if vacation is even a thing here
"Though functionally simple, the practical execution has had many issues. Due to the sheer consumption of mana, and the concentration to feed a steady stream of power, it has been placed on the peak of the martial-magical skill set. If you possess a great enough constitution and will, you are given the skill to bath your body and weaponry in mana, and transforming into elemen-"
'Bang Bang Bang!'
A surprising amount of strength slams into the front door, slightly shacking it form it's hinges
It Is far too early for this, the man of the house is still asleep. Just who is crazy enough to be banging on our door so early in the morning?
Oh, wait. I could probably take a wild guess…
As I creak open the heavy door, my intuition is proven right
"Hey Jace! Guess what? You'll never believe it! C'mon! Just guess!"
"Good morning to you too Rider"
"Right, morning!" His usual mischievous smile sprawled across his face
Gods, between him and Mother, I've never scene more smiles in my life
"Pardon me" Rider says, muscling his way past me, welcoming himself into my home
"So, what's got you so excited this time?" I say, slowly closing the door behind me
"There's gonna be a match at the arena in town, there's gonna be these huge explosions, just like boom! Bash! Clang! Just, wow. C'mon, it's gonna be so amazing. You're coming right? You have to! It is between o-"
"Huh? Who's there Jace" my father calls out, stumbling out of my parent's bedroom, severely disheveled, squinting at the two kids in the living room
"It's just Rider, there's some kind of match going on, so I was gonna go with him" I close up the text book I was reading and tuck it under my arm
I might as well, better than just holding myself up In my room I guess
"oh, ok."
'Yawn'
"You boys have fun, I'm going to… Uh…" my father absentmindedly slips back into the bed room
"So" I call to Rider from across the room "who are we watching fight today?"
'Gasp!'
"Right! That was today!" my father yelps "give me a second, I'll take you two (Your mother is going to kill me)"
After some rummaging and banging, father reappears from the bedroom, hastily putting his arms through the sleeves of his coat "Alright, ready?"
"Yes Mr. Bell"
"Yep"
As, we open the door, the rays of light from the morning sun blinds me for a second. But quickly it tempers out towards another bright day in Haven
I would love to see the ocean again
Though it is close by, neither of my parent have remotely mentioned it, and I have not had the heart to ask
My mind has just been meddled, so a something of a break is probably worth while, even if it is just watching some sweaty men wrestle in the dirt or something
I look to Rider, joyfully leading the way into the center of town, arms outstretched, hands weaving through the cool flowing air
It is something like spring here, so the weather is very mild and enjoyable, like the springs back home, kind of comforting
Most of the seasons are very familiar to me. The summers are quite pleasant, only a few days go into the sweltering heat. Though it does get rather cold in the winter season, I have not seen snow quite just yet.
Though that is not entirely a bad thing, with the nice weather, I get to spend my time with Rider for most days, though I do not know very much about him yet, surprisingly
Just how can he spend each day just living like it is his best life?
I can hear cheering and clanging in the distance
"It sounds like were not too late" I hear my Father mutter under his breath
"C'mon Jace" Rider says, grabbing my hand and jerking me in the direction of the arena, almost dropping my text book in the process, barely holding onto it as I am dragged away
He drags me through the now full road, twisting and darting between people and shops, the smiling faces of people as we pass by
I can feel the book finally slip out "Hey, give me a second Rider"
"C'mon, were going to miss it" I can practically feel how impatient he is, practically jumping up and down as he waits "were almost there"
"Gods, I am getting there"
"Uh, kids?" I can hear father calling from behind, as he looks for us, still trying to wake up a little
Rider begins to break into a run, excitedly motioning for me to follow
I follow suite
As I run, I can feel my legs become sore, my breath becoming more shallow, and a smile burst onto my face
We once again dart between wandering shoppers
I spot the familiar pile of apples from the fruit seller. Hastily, I shove the text book under my other arm, and flick my hand, snapping it like a whip towards the apples. I can feel a slight cutting feeling from my hand, as I send my mana out into the wind, lassoing a pair of apples from the table of the stall
"Oi! You little brats! Not again!"
"Nice one" Rider says with a giggle, as I toss one of the apples over to him
We run, laughing at our selves as we go, though it is quickly halted
as were about to approach the arena, I manage to trip on something, falling spectacularly onto my face. As I look up, I see Rider running into a free spot in the make shift bleachers. Though I can not exactly blame him for the spectacle before us
The clanging of metal onto a hard surface pierces through the cheering crowed
In the center of the arena, there is the Sinister looking man, clad in a dark grey armor. I believe his name was something Allistor? He holds a large, two handed, serrated claymore sword. He appears beaten and battered against his opponent, his sword dug into the ground, like a crutch, trying to keep himself up. Though it is a little understandable seeing who his opponent is
The runes tattooed onto almost every inch of the dwarven man's skin glows faintly blue with energy. One of the pinnacles of this town, stands defiantly across from grey knight. Arch-Angel, Theo Walden stands with his hand behind his back, his other arm is completely missing from his body. A snarling beast paces around his short size, a weird mixture of a leopard and a serpent, with scales creating hypnotic patterns on it's hide.
An uneasy pit forms in my stomach, as I lift myself from the ground
"AND WITH THAT! THIS HARD FOUGHT MATCH IS FINISHED. LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR THIS ROUNDS COMBATANTS, THEO AND SULLEN!"
The announcer sounds very familiar, though I have not heard it in years
A cheer erupts from the crowed as I manage to sit next to Rider in the front row of the bleachers
"Aw, I really wanted to see some action" Rider says disappointedly
And almost on que, the announcer reveals himself
Connor, walks out from under neath the bleachers across from me and Rider, holding a deep cobalt blue staff, with a silvery serpentine design coiling up it
he saunters over towards the slightly raised pedestal, where Mother would place her spear during training
"Ahem. Thank you all for coming!"
The Beast circling Theo jumps up, horribly twisting and contorting its body, shifting into his missing arm. The light from the runes on his skin slowly fading. Leaving the Arena
The Grey Knight is helped by a few towns people, lifting his helmet off of his face, though I can not really see from where I am sitting
"Now it is the time I am sure you were all waiting for! The clash between two former maidens of war! The explosive bout of the pinnacle of the Korinthian Military! Allies, enemies, and coworkers! A pair of mothers who can drink us out of all our liquor and STILL come back for more!"
Can we get some one else to do the announcements? He is really taking his time, layering things on. Just get one with it already
"Gods, I really do need to workout more with Cass or something" My Father pants, finally catching up with us
Flicking out his coat like a pseudo cape, Connor comically waddles over to the pedestal "But before that-"
Ugh, C'mon
"-We must make some preparations first"
He firmly grips his staff, a purple smoke emanating form his arms, wrapping around them, tightly coiling around and constricting. I can see his arm, shudderingly twist into a shifting black mass, menacing claws gripping the staff tight. And he begins to chant
"I thank thee, the glory to the Icewind king, to bring honorable death afoot the glorious stage of battle and wonderful victory"
Purple strands of energy begin to encircle the staff
"I beseech thee for proctor of this game, to protect us, to train us, in order to meet upon the holy grounds of war"
He releases it, standing erect on the ground. It emanates a golden aura, tinted purple. The familiar golden strands, paired by shadowy purple and black ones, twist around the iron of the ring. A golden mesh begins to climb on the air, creating the familiar site of a dome encircling the arena. The ethereal "score board" appears and flickers in the sun light
Straightening himself up, Connor continues
"Now! Thank you all for waiting! Now" He drops down into a crouch "Drum roll please"
Huh? Is he serious
but to answer, the crowed begins to smack their legs, erupting in the sounds of the make-shift drums
"C'mon Jace!" Rider nudges me
"Fine" setting my book beside me, I pound my legs
"In the right corner, our Iron blood angel, Lady Rhea Stonewall!"
With a cheer from next to me, out walks Ms. Rhea. Wearing her silvery, flame blackened armor, consisting of a short breastplate covering her upper abdomen, arm guards, and grieves atop her leather shirt and skirt, along with her Valkyrie esque helmet. On her left hip sits her Silvery Long sword, exuding confidence.
"YEEEAA! GO MOM!" Rider yells from next to me, deafening me a little
"Wait" I ask Rider, a little confused "Your mom is Ms. Rhea?"
"Ya, I thought I told you"
Now that I think about, I do see the resemblance, both in a appearance and attitude
"Descendant of the High-Elves of Orin, formerly the captain of the Korinthian Royal guard, she now has laid down roots here as one of our Arch-Angels with her family. Ah, right over there" Connor says, pointing over to where me and Rider are sitting "Is her little rascal of a son. And what a coincidence-"
She really has not changed from all those years ago when I first met her. They both really did drink a lot that day, so I guess it does fit. Though with her tittles, both past and present, I feel like she is a bit underdressed when it comes to protection, I would of chosen to have less skin showing and more armor
...
Wait, they don't mean the other opponent is...
Well, I guess it is not too surprising
"-Right next to him is the son of our next contestant. The former Captain of the Imperial Order of Mage Knights of Korinth, now cheeky wife to one of our Arch-Angels, May he rest his soul... Give it up for Ms. Cassandra Bell!"
Mother comes trotting up from the side line, her usual wild grin on her face, the same as I saw her this morning
The two women begin to walk towards each other
"You sure you're not out of practice Cass? I know you've spent so long mothering around and playing with that pudgy blob of a man of yours, I bet you wouldn't even know the tip of your spear to it's butt even if it skewered you"
I can see father grimace a little out of the corner of my eye
"Oh ya?" Mother says, bearing her teeth and in a wide grin "I'm surprised your awake enough to even be here, I hear all you do is sleep, drink, and have fun with your twig of a man yourself"
The give each other a high-five as they pass, making themselves comfortable at the opposite ends of the Arena and twist around to face each other
"You ready Rhea?" Mother calls out, licking her lips, driving her spear into the ground
"I've been ready longer than you have been born" Rhea responds, unsheathing her long sword with a metallic 'cr-lisk'
It is a very elegant sword. The Silver sparkles in the sunlight. It has flame like etchings, carvings of flames that lick up almost every inch of the blade. The razor sharp edge is stained black from flame exposure, the only blemish on the beautiful blade
With a little chuckle, mother unsheathes hers own sword, gripping it loosely with her... left hand?
All the times I have seen Mother fight, she has always used her right hand... I always thought the way she drew her blade in our bouts was a little awkward though
Connor raises his fist into the air "ANNNNDD, FIGHT!" swiftly bringing it down to signal the start of the match
The pair of women begin to circle each other, watching for an opening. Every flinch, a bait to see who will act first
"What is it Cass? Too scared to act first?!"
"I am sooooo sorry my lady" Mother quickly replies "I didn't want to take-"
Familiarly, she drives one foot into the ground, readying herself
"-That honor from you! Huya!"
She forcefully drives her feet into the ground, propelling herself at a blinding speed, faster than anything I have ever seen her do.
She begins to mutter something under her breath. A cutting gale envelops her blade, a torrent of wind, along with a sour scent
It is a weirdly familiar smell, but I can not quite put the name to it
she positions her arms like a self-hug, readying a ferocious back hand strike with her free right arm on top
Ms. Rhea smiles, at the possibility of her successful bait. Ready to deflect the strike, she grips her sword with both hands
Once they are within sword range of each other, Ms. Rhea begins to swing her sword towards Mother, blocking with a force to force strike. But a look of surprise crosses her face
Mother continues to mutter under her breath, and she releases her back-hand slash, but she drives her thumb along the flat edge of her black and silver blade, casting sparks everywhere. The rotating blades of wind spark and burst into cutting flames. Mother launches a devastating backhand
A 'pinging' sounds from the arena resounds, as the "score board" puts one point to Mother
Rhea is barely able to block it, it cuts into arm, and slides her backwards in a puff of dust and smoke. A strange, fast and metallic 'chinc, chinc, chinc, chinc, chinc' plays from the obscured figure
Ashes begin to fall from the dust, and as things settles, I can see Ms. Rhea kneeling on the ground, a pair of large silvery gauntlets appear on her hands and arms
"Nice hit, I haven't seen that from you in a long time, when was that? Juilius' village in Arianalia?"
'pant pant' "Ya, I think so?"
"C'mon" Ms. Rhea says, getting up onto her feet "Don't go getting tired on me, just one hit is all you got?" flicking her sword to the side
The silver gauntlets seem to retract into her skin with a fire like crackle and pop
"Ah naw, I'm just starting"
The gem in the hilt of her sword begins to glow a feint light
The pair dash towards each other, their blades clashing and striking each other. The pinging of the score board becomes a constant in the flashes of silver and black as they trade blows back and forth
This reminds me of a competition I once watched on TV on NHK-Japan. It was a Pilipino martial art competition, I think it was called Arnis. But the way each blow is blocked by another, the constant striking and blur of weapons very much reminds me of this current fight
I can see that both women have devastating smile's on their faces, they are having the times of their lives
Each time they connect, I can see sweat drop from them both
After a little bit, Mother begins chanting again. "The Acheron, be my fist-"
Her right fist starts to crackle with energy, sparking into electricity
"crackling with retribution: Shocking gr-'oof, ghuh!"
But as she is about to finish her incantation, Ms. Rhea forcefully jabs her hand towards her face, delivering a debilitating throat hit, causing Mother to choke a little, staggering backwards. Giving Ms. Rhea the perfect chance to land a clean strike onto her
"Hhyaa!"
'Chinc, chinc, chinc, chinc, chinc, chinc'
The gauntlets reappear on her arms, a spark envelops her sword in fire, catching Mother in her stomach
ding
'ghu!'
I can feel my stomach drop, a cold sweat forming on my brow, I know everything will be safe with the arena, I just can not help but feel afraid for her
The score board is tied, thirty-seven to thirty seven
Gods, how did it get so high, I could barely even see half the hits
Both the women are covered in cuts, but the golden light of the arena promptly stiches each one up
Both now stand panting
"This is fun, but I'm getting tired, how about you?"
"Ugh" mother sighs "Ya, me too. How about we kick it up a notch?" a mad joy entering her face
"You sure you can maintain that for long enough?"
"Oh" Mother begins to get back up onto her feet, walking over to her spear, discarding her sword "I have to show my son just who's the boss here. Plus, Siph always loves seeing me work" She winks over in our direction
Ms. Rhea does her bellowing laugh, and they begin to walk towards each other again "Ha ha ha ha. Same here, let's put on a show"
They grasp each others arms in a friendly embrace
"Looser buys a round for the winner?" Rhea says, her facing getting close to Mothers
"You're on!"
The pair release each other, taking up position across from each other once more
Mother plants her spear into the ground, the small blue gems begin to hum faintly with energy "Though, I will be at a disadvantage, I am not very good at water magic, But this will have to do"
She begins chanting
"The waters of purity, frozen in time. An aegis against the coming storm. Sheets of ice to protect the bosom of strength. Douse those in the howling syzygy of snow with spears of ice: Silt Cloak!"
Visible beads of water forms on hear skin, growing larger and larger until it connects and creates a shell around her.
White crystalline lattice of ice begins to form, solidifying into sheets, creating unique geometric patterns
I can start to see my breath as the temperature around the arena begins to drop suddenly
The ice begins to resemble that of armor, creating meshes around the torso and limbs, a white snow circling around Mother's sword as lines of frost creep up it
"alright, bring it on!"
Ms. Rhea grins, "Oh, ya betcha! Should I add a little pazzaz to this too?" she says mockingly
"Ahem. Alteris descent, Argos future, a kingdom upon the back of burning blood. Clad in Iron, castaway the enemies of our blood in burning flame!"
A hideous smell, like rotten eggs and burning flesh fills the area
Horrifyingly, Ms. Rhea's skin begins to blacken, like a fourth degree burn, until she bursts into flame
I can not help myself but gasp, then gag in horror, trying not to hurl my breakfast from a little bit ago
I look to Rider, gods, he must be mortified, to see your parent seemingly just die in fire?
But as I look, I am the one that is mortified, I can just see a look of awe bloom onto his face, no fear anywhere near it
'Chinc, chinc, chinc, chinc, chinc, chinc'
Silver armor appears out of nowhere and envelops Ms. Rhea's burning form. It is a heavy set of full plate armor, covering every single inch of her body in ornate silver. The only part of her old self is her helmet, with wings fully extended, and shallow slits where the eyes should be, with the small tendrils of flame lapping up the opening.
There is ornate flames chiseled into the sharp, geometric body. Glowing a faint orange from the heat inside. The brief chill is from Mother is quickly evaporated. The arena is a strange muggy-dryness from the to polar temperatures emanating from the opposing friends
"Oh, it is so on" Mother chuckles
"Bring it dear" Ms. Rhea says, her now raspy voice seemingly echoing throughout the armor
Mother raises her hand, sending a volley of spears of clear ice spears towards Rhea. But as they approach, they are quickly melted away, her free hand swiping away the now twigs of ice
"C'mon lovely, you can do better than that"
Mother grits her teeth "Well... Hells"
Rhea raises her off hand, it retracts to the wrist, sending out a spiral of flame towards mother
She twirls her spear, sending out glittering sparkles of ice, managing to deflect the flames away
But in the mist, Rhea manages to dash forward, swinging her longsword over head into a devastating strike
Mother barely manages to roll away
This feel weirdly familiar, mother pulled a similar move with me during training. I wonder if this is where she got the idea
She braces her spear, trying to drive it through her opponent. But it is to no avail
The spear just deflects off her body and Ms. Rhea grabs it from right under the spear head. She twists it and throws mother away
But Mother quickly recovers, rushing back into the fray
The continue to trade blows, with Ms. Rhea in the lead. The quickly trade offense and defense strikes, trying anything to get ahead
Mother delivers quick stabs with the spear, switching between the sharp head of the spear and blunt strikes with the shaft, like a Bo staff
But I can see her getting more and more tired after each strike. I can see father's hand grip his coat tightly, maybe a little worried
The match is coming to a close
"Wait" Mother cries out, jumping backwards and slumping down, falling onto her butt "I don't have much longer Rhea, how about a deal?"
"Our usual bet? You read my mind"
Ms. Rhea stabs her sword into the ground, crossing her arms "I'll let you win if you hit me hard enough, I'll even double the drinks"
"I thought we were gonna drink everything anyways? You got yourself a deal"
Mother lifts herself to her feet
"Alright"
She brings the shaft of her spear to her fore head, gripping it with both her hands
The gems on the shaft begin to burn a brilliant navy blue light
All the ice and swirling snow begins to slowly creep onto the spear, her hands becoming white from the cold as the spear itself begins to turn white
A hum of energy fills the arena, crackling light blue lightning licking the ground and walls of the ethereal dome
I can see the muscles in her body tense, as she takes one massive step forward, raising the now crackling white spear above her head
she takes a running march towards Ms. Rhea, awkwardly keeping the spear raised, crackling louder and louder, as if this is a game and it is about to be struck by lightning
Anywhere the cool lightning touches, lattices of frost is left behind
Finally, she chucks the spear, creating a massive 'boom!'
Spiraling silt creates a massive drill of snow, propelled by the white lightning
'Sweesh! Floomp!'
The spear strikes Ms. Rhea, creating a sound like fabric ripping as a puff of mist and dust obscures the arena once more
Panting, Mother barely manages to stay up right, waiting to see the results of her hardship
'Gasp, whoa!'
Standing defiantly, Ms. Rhea stands, barely a scratch on her armor
"My turn"
Mother falls to her knees, finally giving up
Ms. Rhea walks over, and delivers a debilitating gut punch
'Ding'
The match is over
"And the winner is... Lady Rhea Stonewall! can you beli-"
A cheer erupts from the crowed, devouring what ever words Connor was trying to say
Rider mantles over the bleacher, and goes running over to his mother, a massive smile in toe. I quickly follow suite, with a very different feeling
A horrible feeling flows through me, a disgusting feeling of almost throwing up as I frantically run over to where Mother should be
As I get close I can see Ms. Rhea is back to normal, albeit some of her clothing smoldering away, almost revealingly, gripping Mothers arm and helping her up
"Whoa!" Rider yells out "That was amazing!"
A proud smile one Ms. Rhea's face hearing the praise
"Oh, hey Jace, you like the show?" Mother says smiling to me
I run and tackle her, burying my face into her belly, beginning to cry
"Oh, shoosh shoosh. It's okay, It's okay" she says, caressing my head "See?"
She holds me by my cheeks, pressing my lips out and lifting my head up "I'm still here, a little battered, but good, I'm alright"
I can not help but feel scared, but it was quite the spectacle
"You okay Jace?" I hear Rider say from above me. He is being held by a man in tattered grey clothing, with a bucket hat
He is a human, must be his father. He is not very strong looking, though he is muscular, it is the kind of bulk that you can get by doing physical labor all of your life. His big, callused hands keeps a stable place for rider to sit as he holds him
Father's hand gingerly touch my shoulder
I can see Ms. Rhea kneel down to my level, fuddling my hair a little
"See, she's all good" now looking up to Mother "Though she did get her ass handed to her"
"now" She says straightening herself up, putting her arm around Mother "How about some good food? Huh?"
Mother shakes her head and laughs a little to herself "All right, all right, you win"
"And, who exactly is paying again?" Ms. Rhea asks teasingly, before the pair burst out into laughter, merrily walking out of the arena
"I guess we should follow them" Rider's father says to us
"I guess we should" father replies
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We spent a very long time in the tavern. It was about midday when Mother and Rhea burst in, with us four men in suite. But it is now dep into the night
The tavern is full of celebration, and drunken singing, especially for the two women
Though it is a new setting, the scene is weirdly nostalgic
Me and Rider ate to our hearts content, while the adults drank and drank. Though two more than the others
It was a great scene to witness, giving me a warm feeling in my chest. I wish I could of seen more of these scenes in my life, though my chest still beats strongly from the previous events
I must of nodded off, because the next thing I knew I was laying on the floor of the living room, being held by my snoring Mother
I had so many mixed feeling yesterday
Awe and amazement mixed with regret with witnessing her amazing strength, just how much has she has been holding back against me? What has she been keeping me?
The fear and disgust at seeing her so seemingly hurt. Remembering that final punch causes me to shiver a little
but seeing her slowly rising chest creates a sense of ease in myself
I do not know what I would do without this