"Father i'm tired". A young 'man' panted. His tight blue robes sticking to his soaked body from the sweat. He had dark blue skin, matching his robes and full pink lips, his oval bright green eyes, shining with exhausted determination. Above those eyes, as if resting on his eyebrows, were two distinct bumps, like underdeveloped horns.
In his bent over position his long black hair cascaded down to his knees, which supported his hands. On one hand was a 1.5 meter long single edged, curved sword. Tightly wrapped around the hilt it was brown leather. The guard, a silver disk separating the handle from the aqua blue blade, making yet another colour match.
"You are still standing, breathing, and having the luxury to complain. You are not tired. Once more!" A man stood a few meters from the boy. He wore the same robes, the same hair and the same facial features as the young man, just more seasoned.
His grey beard signified his age. In his hand, he held a sword, identical to the one in the boy's hand. A white cloth was on his face, covering his eyes, just below the five bumps on his forehead.
Hearing his father's words, the boy took a deep breath, straightened his back and placed both hands on the 50 centimeter long handle of his sword. He dashed forward, covering the 10 meters of distance in a second. His legs however did not move, he glided over the concrete floor.
Raising his sword above, he brought it down towards his father's head.
Slow', the father thought as he raised his own blade, parrying the attack with expert ease. The boy raised his sword once more, going for a horizontal slash, which, like it's predecessor was unsuccessful.
Taking a leap backwards, the boy sidestepped and raised his sword before slashing downwards. The father sighed, and sheathed his sword in such a quick motion his hands were a blur.
Then using one finger, he redirected the slash by pushing the sword aside, following it's trajectory slightly and forcing it to stick into the ground a few inches from his feet.
"Pathetic", the father spat, raising his foot, he kicked his son in the ribs, not with enough force to break any bone, but just enough for the pain. The boy grunted and his grip on the blade tightened, trying to pull it out of the ground.
"You saw me redirect your strike, yet you failed to stop it". Another kick landed on the boy's thigh.
"Father i please, i am..."
"Do not speak of being tired!" the father bellowed, connecting a fully powered fist to his son's face, who was still struggling to pull out the sword. "So what if you are tired?. Do you think a Kragnir warrior will give you time to rest!?" Another kick landed on the boy's side, forcing him to gurgle blood.
Spitting out a glob of the liquid, he grit his teeth and placed his other hand on the handle, using his back to aid in pulling out the sword. Another kick landed in the middle of his chest, this time with enough force that he was thrown onto the ground.
The sword was in his hand though, and a five centimeter deep slit was visible on the hard floor were it had pierced. The boy got back on his feet, using the sword as a support. He held it in front of him with both hands, the tip pointing forward and upward at a fifty degree angle.
The father faced the ground. "Tomorrow is the Noesis ritual, get your rest". he said before leaving the room.
As soon as his father walked through the doors, the boy fell on his back, huffing and panting, then wincing in pain, but never letting go of the sword.
Only his laboured breathing could be heard in the large stone hall he currently lay. When he finally caught his breath, he raised his free hand and touched his eyes, as if massaging his eyelids.
"You okay?" a soft voice said, it came from the sword in his hand.
"I will be, he did not break any bone this time", the boy mumbled.
"Why does father do this to us?" the sword said
"You know why", the boy answered.
"And you know what i mean", the sword quipped.
"He does not believe Kenzo is fit to lead", the boy sighed.
"So we suffer because of Kenzo", the sword snarled. "I wonder if it is time we show him the truth"
The boy stayed silent, instead he sat up straight, the sword on his lap, and began caressing the blade, closely looking at the edges. After a minute, he stood up and walked towards the door.
Pushing aside the wooden barrier, he was forced to shield his eyes from the two suns shining brightly in the sky. After adjusting, what stood before him was a small city. It was about one kilometer in area, filled with stone houses, some bigger than others.
Off in the distance, tall red trees were visible stretching into a forest as wide as the eye could see.
The city was completely made of stone or iron, including the very ground they walked on. A five meter tall iron wall surrounded the establishment, with a single gate due north of the boy. The paved streets were filled with people doing all sorts of tasks.
From children fighting each other with wooden swords to old 'men' and 'women' selling wares in small stalls on the sides of the roads.
Most of the citizens had white cloths covering their eyes, only children the same age as the boy and younger were exempted from this trend. Almost everyone in the streets also had a Katana somewhere on their body, either sheathed somewhere or clasped in hand.
After sheathing his sword on his back, the boy began walking down the street, towards the biggest house in the distance.
Upon arrival, before he even touched the door, a middle aged woman opened it and began touching the boy all over. Specifically his rib area, chest and thighs.
"Thank the sharp gods", she released a sigh of relief.
"He would never gravely injure me mother, not before the Noesis", the boy said.
The woman nodded, "I know, i just worry". She had fully white hair so her blue skin contrasted it nicely. She wore loose blue robes on her slender body.
Like the father, her eyes were covered by a white cloth, and three bumps were clearly visible on her forehead. Sheathed on her back was a Katana blade, while an apron covered part of her robes. Flour residue could be seen on the apron and on her hands.
"Go lie down in your room, i will be right there to nurse your wounds", the mother encouraged. The boy nodded weakly before limping towards the stone stairs in the corner. Wincing in pain with every step.
"Will it work?" the sword wondered.
"Kaito", the mother called. Kaito stopped by the base of the steps and turned back, putting his hand on his side and gritting his teeth. "First off Kai, your father loves you, perhaps too much. Secondly, you not fooling me with that act of yours. You might fool your sword, but not your mother".
"Guess not", the sword said. Only Kaito could hear it.
Kaito smiled painfully, "Sometimes i wish he didn't love me this much". Then he climbed the stairs, not with ease, but also not with much difficulty. Arriving at the first floor, he opened the first door he came across and went inside.
The room was five square meters in area, just like the entire house, it was made of blocks of stone. Only the floor and the roof were wooden since his floor was the roof of the room below him and his roof was the floor of the room above.
The room had a few pieces of furniture, including a sizable bed, a wardrobe, a table complete with a chair, and a couch, made of wood and animal hide. There also was a small window directly opposite the door, overlooking the city below.
Kaito removed his sweat soaked robes, leaving only a pair of shorts, before lying on the bed. During all this, his hand never left the sword, he would move it around when undressing, but it was always on him.
"You excited for tomorrow?" the sword asked. Kaito was lying on his back, his hands above his chest, and the sword in his right palm, pointing towards his feet.
"A little bit". Kaito replied, "The ritual makes me nervous, but i am excited about getting it over and done with. To finally become a full Kitsurai Nexiri".
"Don't worry, everything will go by just fine", the sword comforted.
"You....ire".
"Kaito?, Kaito?....goodnight".
A few minutes later, the door slowly opened and Kaito's mother tiptoed inside. She carefully looked over Kaito's body, releasing a few sighs here and there. Then she opened a small jar she had brought, it was half full of a green paste.
She then uniformly spread the paste on all the parts where a bruise was present. His left side looked especially bad, it had swollen and parts of his skin turned purple. After spreading the paste, she covered every part she had healed with black cloth, being careful not to wake Kaito up.
Her eyes then fell on the sword in her son's hands. When she touched the hand which held the sword, Kaito clenched his fist so hard that his knuckles popped out and veins appeared on the back of his hands. But the soft snores signified that he was still asleep.
"Look over him". The woman softly caressed the swords' guard.
"You are the only friend he has", she added. Then she stood up to leave, only to be startled seeing someone by the door. Recognising her husband, she calmed down and walked out of the room, slowly closing the door behind her.
"You are too hard on him, Kiyoshi". Kaito's mother said as she walked down the stairs.
"I have no choice but to be Maya, otherwise we will both watch him die", Kaito's father said.
"Do you really think this badly of your firstborn son?" Maya, Kaito's mother asked, picking up her apron and wearing it, making sure the Katana on her back did not cut the apron string.
"Do you know where Kenzo is right now?" the father complained, "It seems, the village under chief Dormun in being terrorised by a pack of Korvix, and Kenzo took it upon himself to go there personally".
"He is compassionate, he loves his people", Maya retorted.
"Compassion, not a problem, loving his people, not a problem. However, his compassion and love are a tad too much for the seat. If i give the clan to him, it will be the end of our people!" Kiyoshi exclaimed.
"Kiyoshi cool down". Maya said, "You will disturb Kaito's sleep".
"You know what i heard yesterdawn?" Kiyoshi sat on the chair opposite the table Maya was using to shape a flour mixture. "Remember that small scuffle against the Vallwyn that happened last week?. Rumor is that Kenzo let two of them escape!".
Maya furrowed her brow, "And you believe this?. Kenzo would never do that. He is a proud Kitsurai who know our laws".
"I don't know what to trust about that boy anymore, at this point i would not be surprised if i hear he has been helping Thraks give birth in the blood woods!".
"I will talk to him". Maya said.
"That's useless, the best we can do is help Kaito get stronger, faster, otherwise he will not survive the Patriarch trials come time. Because i will not, and i mean never, pass this clan to Kenzo". Kiyoshi said firmly. "I love Kitsurai clan too much to doom them like that".
After his words, Kiyoshi stood and left, going up the stairs. Maya sighed and shook her head. "One son is powerful but not fit to rule, the other is not powerful enough, but...." with another sigh, she continued tending her dough.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The next day;
"Kaito, wake up, it's time for the Noesis", Maya said, banging on Kaito's door.
"Yes yes mother i hear you!" Kaito complained, covering his head with the fur blanket he used to ward off the cold of night. Maya had already left after making sure he was awake.
"Kaito". The sword said from beneath the blanket. "Wake up, it's time for the Noesis".
That was when Kaito's eyes shot open, his free hand throwing away the blanket. "It's time!"