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“This is gonna be fun. Judging by the unique energy my sword is picking up from him, this should be a good fight. I have not had a good fight in a long while.” The mysterious boy thought to himself. He had a long grin on his face as he gripped the handle of his sword tightly.
“Hmm. I do not want any trouble. I told you, you’re wasting your time here.”
“Do not consider me a fool, old man. My sword is telling me that your energy, your warrior’s aura, is very unique. I do not know who you are, but judging by this energy, you should be able to handle anything I throw at ya. Now, do you need me to give you a chance to find your little sword in your home?” As the boy was about to draw his sword and reveal it to him, Grandfather Kiev raised his hand in the air.
“STOP, BOY!” Grandfather Kiev smiles. He catches the young boy off guard when he yelled that out, making him lose his balance while he was in his battle stance.
“Huh? What now? Is this a trick?” The boy yells out, annoyed, waving his fist in the air.
“No trick. To answer your question, no, I do not need a sword. I do not own one anyways. I can tell you're excited to show off your weapon. But if you're so eager to do this, I shall fight with you, but only on one condition.” Grandfather Kiev raises his index finger and closes his eyes with a confident expression on his face.
“You do not need a sword to fight me?” The boy raises an eyebrow. “Now I’m curious. What is your condition, old man?”
“We fight in a more suitable area, outside the village. It’s very cramped here. Houses, fences, and other structures are in our way.” Grandfather Kiev looked slightly toward Shella’s house. He could see it in the corner of his eye. He knew he didn’t want to provoke her, seeing the battle and getting her all pumped up, would cause her to burst out of that house and try and help him. That was the last thing he wanted, was to have Shella get emotionally stressed and run out the house. He didn’t want her to get in the way. It was best for everyone for him to lead the mysterious intruder outside the village and handle matters there.
“Fine. Lead the way, old man. It does not matter to me what spot you pick. Here, there. Just know this…” He takes his grip off his sword’s handle, “That I’m going to be the one to defeat you in combat and we’ll be right back here in this very spot. You’ll be showing me every young person that has a warrior’s aura.”
“Hmm. We will see about that. Now…. Follow me.” Grandfather Kiev turns and leads the mysterious boy outside the village to the very same training grounds that Shella and him fought earlier that day.
“Okay. Here, yes. This is the perfect spot to do our little battle.” Grandfather Kiev looked at the boy as the boy looked around the open fields of the training grounds while nodding his head.
“Finally. Well, it is a spacious location after all. You’ve been dragging this out long enough, old man.” The boy walked a few steps away from him, turned around, and positioned himself facing Grandfather Kiev across the open field. He takes off his black long cloak dramatically with a confident look on his face and reveals once again the sheath that carries his sword. He tosses the cloak to the side. “I am excited to get things started. A warrior using no sword. I have seen this before but never came across one in battle. Let’s see what you got.” The boy cracks his neck. He does a cross arm stretch and loosens his shoulders as he gets into his battle stance. He takes deep breaths and hovers his hand over the handle of his sword. Finally the boy places his hand on his sword's handle and grips it tight. He pulls the sword out slowly and reveals the magnificent blade for Grandfather Kiev to see.
The gold-like metal shines in the bright sunlight as Grandfather Kiev squints his eyes to see it. He was some distance away from him in the open field, it was difficult for him to make out exactly how the sword looked. “Wait a minute. That…. That sword!” Grandfather Kiev opens his eyes wide and is visibly astonished. “If I am not mistaken .... That sword is…. No. It cannot be. How can a boy possess such a weapon? There is no way.” Grandfather Kiev practically has his mouth open. He is confused and doesn’t know what to say.
The boy smiles and points the sword straight at him. At the base of the shiny intricately crafted blade were six glistening colored stones embedded in the blade. The crest of the Aleeyah warrior’s was engraved in the metal at the base of the sword, on the opposite side of the brightly colored stones. “You ready!?” The boy yells out across the open field. His voice echoing in the wind. The boy steps forward charging at full force at Grandfather Kiev who was still shocked after seeing the sword for the first time. “Ayyyaaahhhhhh!” He moved at blinding speeds but Grandfather Kiev could easily see every step and movement the boy was making. Grandfather Kiev didn’t move an inch from where he was standing as the boy got closer to him. The boy was just about to make contact with the right side of his body, swinging the sword in a smooth horizontal motion, the blade unexpectedly began to glow brightly and started pointing itself down. “Huh? What the….?” A bright yellow light, emitting from the sword, caught the eye of both the boy and Grandfather Kiev.
Suddenly the blade became extremely heavy as the boy started to stare at the sword rather than his target, Grandfather Kiev. The boy struggled to pull the sword up and without warning the blade slammed itself down to the ground right next to Grandfather Kiev. The boy has his mouth open, in complete shock. “Are you…. Are you doing this!?” The boy takes his left hand and pulls on the sword’s handle but it would not budge. He grits his teeth and then uses both hands now to try and pull the glowing blade from the ground, but to no avail. “IT. WILL. NOT. MOOOOVE!!” The boy pulls and tugs with all his strength but the blade was just too heavy.
Grandfather Kiev turns toward the direction of the sword and begins to chuckle. “Hahahah…. Looks like your sword has a mind of its own. Hmm…” Grandfather Kiev takes two steps forward toward the sword to examine it closely as the boy just keeps trying his best to pick it up. The boy closes his eyes, grits his teeth, and pulls on the blade’s handle as hard as he could. His veins were bulging from his neck.
“It’s NEVER done THIS before!!” The boy pulls on the sword while talking to Grandfather Kiev. He takes two steps back to take a breather and points at the sword, completely frustrated with the situation. “You’re toying with me, old man! You did this!”
“No. No. Not me.” Grandfather Kiev shakes his head with a big smile on his face. “I have not done anything yet. Now, let’s see, here. Hmmm.” Grandfather Kiev kneeled down to take a closer look, analyzing every detail of the glowing sword. He strokes his beard while looking at it with a curious expression. “Ah yes.” He points his index finger up.
“What!? What is it!?” The boy was getting impatient. He was no longer cool, calm, and collected like he was before when he first met Grandfather Kiev. “What does ‘ah yes’ mean? What’s up with my sword!?”
“Now that I can see it up close, I can confirm what exactly this sword is.” Grandfather Kiev nods his head, closes his eyes, and strokes his beard. “This is the one and only Legendary Sword.”
“Arghhhh! Are you kidding me, old man!? I know that! Cut to the chase and tell me why the hell is the stupid thing glowing! And why all of a sudden the thing weighs a million tons!”
“Geez, calm down. And you do not have to yell, I am right here. Young people these days, so much energy yet so little manners. Hmm, now also fun fact, did you know this sword was once carried by an ancient warrior, the legendary warrior, might I add, that used to serve in the Iniberan Kingdom? His name was… Arcavist. Yes, Arcavist The Brave they would call him.”
“Yes. The elite that gifted me this weapon told me all about the stories involving the sword. Starting from its inception with the elemental stones that it holds at the base of the blade to the very important person that once wielded the thing. If you know something that I do not know, just spit it out already!”
“Ah, so you say an elite gifted you this special blade, huh? You must be a very high ranking Aleeyah warrior to have gained his trust like that. Well, I have a hunch as to why your sword all of a sudden stopped dead its tracks before touching me.” Grandfather Kiev gets up from kneeling. “Actually to be honest, you were moving very slowly. You would not have had a chance of touching me.”
“What!? How dare you? Me? SLOW!? My movements are impeccable. I move as quickly as lightning.”
“Ha. Yes, lightning. Sure. More like…. a… snail.”
“WHAT!? Arghhh, just tell me why my blade is like this! Why is it acting strange?”
“Okay, okay. You’re almost blowing out my ear drums here.” Grandfather Kiev places his pinky finger in his ear, annoyed at the boy's constant yelling. “It could have something to do with this.” Grandfather Kiev rolls up his right sleeve and reveals the symbol of the Aleeyah warrior.
“Uhh, no way!” The boy gulps hard and falls to his knees with his mouth wide open. “You’re… you’re an…. elite! Y-you have the tattoo of an elite Aleeyah warrior.” He was in shock. The boy suddenly bows his head in respect. “I did…. I did not think there were any elites that live outside of kingdom walls. I have made a fool of myself…”
“Get up. That is not necessary. You do not need to bow to me. I am but a simple warrior.”
“No… no you are not Sir. I-I have been very disrespectful. I can no longer show my face to you. The mark that you bare is the ancient markings. Those are of high ranking elite, elite that once came from the ancient Kingdom of Inibera… Many believe that elites of your caliber no longer live in our world. They say that they have long perished many moons ago.”
“Your sword could sense my unique energy but once you started to wield it against me, it took matters into its own hands. It stopped you from attacking me. It was basically telling you that I am not your enemy. But it's alright boy, you did not know who I was. You are forgiven. My name is Kiev. It is a pleasure, from one Aleeyah warrior to the next.”
“Wha…?” The boy looked up as he gasped to take a look at him. “The Kiev? The… the Iron Wings… I was… I was just about to attack an elite. What a shameful act.” The boy's hands start to shake, feeling embarrassed, and ashamed.
All of a sudden Grandfather Kiev grabbed his sword and the sword stopped glowing. Grandfather Kiev picked it up with ease and held it in the air. He looks at how the gold-like metal reflects the bright light of the sun. “Such a beautiful blade indeed. Crafted by the best of the best. Powers sealed away deep within this blade were said to only be fully unlocked by him, the Legendary warrior known as Arcavist. He was the first and the only one to do it. No other warrior could step up and achieve what he could. Princess Aleeiona, founder of the Aleeyah warriors, trusted him with her life and in the end he was said to serve her well to the bitter end, in the final moments of that kingdom, the Iniberan Kingdom.” Grandfather Kiev admires the intricate craftsmanship of the sword for a while, lost in thought, reminiscing about the past, then takes two steps forward and presents it to the boy.
The boy formed two fists with his hands and proceeded to punch the ground. He refused to lift up his gaze. He didn’t want to look Grandfather Kiev in the eyes, ashamed at challenging him, calling him ‘old man’, acting harsh, and aggressive in front of an elite.
“This rightfully belongs to you. What is your name, young warrior?”
“I no longer deserve to wield such a precious weapon, after I’ve made a fool of myself here today in front of you. M-my superiors back at my kingdom would be very disappointed in me. That is not the way an Aleeyah warrior should behave himself. I have shown a lack of discipline and I am ashamed of myself. I let my emotions and frustrations get the best of me.” The boy stared at the ground, feeling defeated.
“Nonsense. Like I said before, you had no idea who I was. I refused to reveal it to you because, just like you with me, I did not trust you. We are living in very dangerous times. People are frightened more than ever because of Evalios and his Darkness warriors. We are all on edge. We trust no one, because as soon as we drop our guard we could end up dead. You said it before, our time is running out. I fully understand why you went about all of this today in this fashion. Disrespectful, yes, but I sympathize with you. I’ve made my mistakes in my day. I wish every day I could take what I have done back in my inexperience, in the days of my youth. Get up, young one and give me the honor of hearing your name.”
The boy looked up at Grandfather Kiev. He still had a disappointed expression on his face. Grandfather Kiev held his sword in his hand and offered it back to him as the boy decided to get himself up from the ground. “My name… is Geoni. And I do sincerely apologize for everything I have done today.”
“Here, take it…. Take your sword.” The boy grabs the blade by the grip and realizes that the sword is now as light as a feather. He positions it near the sheath and slides it in smoothly with ease in one single fluid motion. “Once again…. Aleeyah warrior Geoni, do not feel discouraged, you did not know who your opponent was. It is not your fault. If you knew from the beginning you would not have taken those actions. So do not beat yourself up over it.”
“It was an honor meeting you, Sir. If it were under better circumstances, it would have been more ideal. I have wasted enough of your time today. If you excuse me, I shall be leaving now and continuing my urgent mission. If you say there are no young people here in this village with a warrior’s aura, then I should take your word for it. Do I have your permission to leave?”
“Yes, yes you do. You have my permission.” Grandfather Kiev nods his head as Geoni bows his head slightly with his eyes closed one last time with his hands placed on either side of his body showing the greatest respect. He walks up to his long black cloak, puts it on and walks away.
“Oh, and next time try and relax! I know time is a factor but take it easy and do not go around swinging your sword at every old man you find, they could secretly be an elite after all! Hahahah!” Grandfather Kiev smiles as Geoni smiles too. Geoni lifts his left hand in the air and waves goodbye. He disappears into the dense forest.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfe3l1IADCY
