"Ige ton!"
A perfectly straight blow of air, similar to a spike flew past Lanius and crashed on one of the bandits, piercing her side and throwing her on the ground dead. The two sides stopped momentarily in confusion from what they just witnessed. This created an opening for the young man, who stomped his right foot forward, flash freezing a giant spike towards the bandits, stabbing three of them with it. The village warriors also took this opportunity and attacked the remaining bandits.
The battle resumed, tho this time they also had an extra fighter.
"Sorye!" another chant, tho this time the air blade was followed by the one that created it, who sliced two of the bandits. What made him look interesting is that after each slice, the wounded or killed opponents flew about a meter up in the air. He then turned his face towards the bandit leader and Lanius was able to recognise him as the swordsman from the Inn. The young man rushed to his side by forming a piece of ice below him, using it to propel himself forward, slicing a bandit in the process. The clanking sound of the steel and the terrible noise of the battle sounded again, tho this time it was on a smaller scale.
"Sorye!"
"Shaaa!"
"Hasage!"
"Ushaaah!"
"AAAGH!"
"Haa!"
The bandits numbers greatly decreased, with only 25 being left. They fleed to their horses, but both Lanius and the swordsman chased after them, stabbing them as they climbed on them. Only 11 of the starting 120 Noxian bandits survived. The leader, just as he tried to flee got the Winters kusarigama wrapped around his neck and tossed off his horse, where the remaining Ionian warriors proceeded to violently linch him.
Lanius wiped the sweat from his forehead and folded the kusarigamas chain in loops, before he allowed himself to take a breath and look around. The entrance of the village was filled with bodies. The Ionian warriors were filled with bloody wounds and bruises. Lanius looked down at his body and counted at least 5 blood splats on the bandages and a slice at his right femur. He then realised that he was limping.
"We...we did it!" one of the Ionians yelled.
The others soon realised it and began to cheer, drawing the attention of the villagers who soon left their houses and hurried to the entrance. The entire village cheered in front of the torii.
The young swordsman shook his blade to clean the blood and then sheathed it. He proceeded to walk up to Lanius.
"You did a good number on them kid." he told the young man.
"You too. Thank you for helping us as in the end as well." Lanius replied.
"It was natural. Death is like the wind, always by my side." the swordsman looked at the sky. A delightful breeze began to flow.
"Well...I guess I could use your help." Lanius offered his hand and the swordsman shook it.
"I'm afraid that I will have to deny your request. I will follow my path till the end." the swordsman said as he let go of the young man's hand.
"And what is your path?" the Winter asked.
"I'm just an unforgiven man that is looking for a road home." the swordsman said.
"As you wish then..." Lanius turned towards the torii, where the villagers cheered. "... The world is going to change once again. I assure you that something big is going to happen. Something that will be part of history."
The swordsman nodded. "I'll consider this. Where are you heading now?"
"Possibly towards the capital." Lanius responded. "I have something to do. The Spirit trees are currently blossoming and next comes the winter ...and this year will finally see snow."
The swordsman's eyes rose, as if he understood something.
"I wish you the best of luck then." he said as he turned around.
"Follow the wind, but watch your back. Whispers in the wind speak of a masked man with two blades." he said. "He hunts demons...and you give of a feeling similar to them."
"I'll be sure to watch out." Lanius said with a straight face.
The swordsman then took a flute from his back and walked away from the village, begging to play. It was a beautiful melody. Just as Lanius watched him walk away, he took a few steps forward.
" What is your name?" he yelled towards his name.
The swordsman stopped playing after a small distance and turned around.
"Yasuo! Your's?!" he asked back.
"Lanius!" the young man replied.
"I wish you the best of luck Lanius." Yasuo said and resumed his departure.
The Winter watched him fade in the distance. A faint smell of salt flowed with the wind.
.
.
.
About 3 days had passed since the battle outside the village. The bandits suffered major deaths, but casualties from the Ionian side weren't small either. 8 people lost their lives, decreasing the warriors that guarded the village. The Winter advised them to start teaching the young ones to fight after they fully heal. In the span of the week, he also healed and was just lazily staying in the Inn. As for a thanking gift, the female vastaya wanted to allow him to live without paying, but the young man wholeheartedly refused.
"I-Is the esteemed guest sure that he likes this?" the female vastaya, who told Lanius that her name was Fellista asked the young man. She was sitting in seiza style and the Winter had planted his face onto her lap.
"Yes, I like it." he said as he closed his eyes. He was reluctant at first, as it was her that had brought up the idea. But after ten minutes passed, he started to like it. On the other side, Fellista's face seemed to resemble a beet the more the time passed.
"Who would have thought that you have a taste these things?" Freida muttered inside his head.
"I like it cause its like a pillow." Lanius growled, also within his head. The truth was that Fellista reminded him of his mother. She looked almost identical to her, with the exception that his mother had red silky fur that covered her whole body except her hands and face. She even smelled the same as her, cinnamon with a mixture of lavender.
Thinking about it, despite being almost forty, Lanius had the mental and body state of a 25 year old. He couldn't blame anyone but Noxus for that, tho he had heard of the legends that talked about beings hundreds of years old, with bodies equal to a young adult.
After the battle, Freida spoke to him and Lanius wished to known why she wasn't responding. That's when he found out that spirit's also have something like a sleeping state that can come at random times.
Lanius was angry at first but soon he gave up, realising that it couldn't be helped.
"Well best I'll do is relax for now. Tomorrow is the day that I'll head for the city." Lanius muttered. As time passed the young man fell into a deep sleep without dreams...or to be precise, with only a single dream.