Bijali is an island between two oceans near the edge of the world. The locals will tell you the land is favoured by the gods of lightning. This belief is supported by the fact that for the whole year, save for one week, there are constant flashes of lightning and frequent thunder storms. The locals will tell you this, of course, if you are lucky to be alive when the island can be reached.
Sitting between two oceans makes the waters around the island dangerous to sail in. Converging currents and turbulent waves will destroy any vessel heading to or coming from the island. But once every hundred years, during the week when the lightning stills and the waters are calm, the island can be reached.
People from across many lands sail to Bijali when the time approaches for the island to open. Merchants, soldiers, princes, and warriors all travel in hopes of setting foot on the land, seeing its mysteries, treasures, and exotic foods.
The people of Bijali are not so simple that they welcome foreigners with open arms. They have seen the cruel nature of those who come from far shores. In days long past, a general and his fleet happened upon Bijali. He saw the people were primitive and backward and sought to force his will on them. Their treasures he took; the people he turned into slaves, forcing them to mine and dive for the precious rocks.
But when he sent loaded vessels to return to his homeland, the waves crashed and sank them all. The general had stayed more than a week, and his window of escape was gone. The people of Bijali rose up in revolt, led by a warrior whose name is lost to time, but the people now look to his statue and affectionately call him Bija.
"Bija led a small uprising and successfully overthrew the general's men overseeing the mines he worked. The rebellion spread to neighbouring mines and dive spots. Soon Bija had a sizeable force and marched on the general and his men. The general knew killing Bija would suppress the people and so challenged him to a duel.
They each fought with the weapons of their expertise; the general with his sword and fire rod, and Bija with his fishing harpoon. The general mocked and taunted Bija, believing him no different than a beast. But Bija had the patience and stillness of one who hunted the Machi. They fought a long battle, but the general tired first as he swung his sword fiercely at Bija, but all his swings missed because Bija was always out of reach.
Desperate to win, the general drew his fire rod. Many of the onlookers ducked or ran away. The rod spat fire and iron wherever it was pointed, and a man was sure to die. But Bija was not moved. He faced the general head-on. And as the hunter reads the Machi, so Bija read the general and slew him as the rod spat its fire and iron.
The general slain, his army fled to their boats, sitting in the safe waters of Bijali. Bija and the people kept watch for many months as the boats could not go past the waves and the men could not come ashore. When the general's men all died on their boats, the people of Bijali took back their treasures and sailed all the boats into the waves, save the general's.
The general's boat is a reminder that people will come from far shores and bring with them cruelty. Bija was celebrated as the warrior who carried the will of the gods. A statue was raised in his honour over the arena he fought the general. And every year, warriors from among the different clans of Bijali fight for the title of Bija.
He who holds the title of Bija defends the island from the foreign peoples when the waves calm and the gods sleep."
"Tell the story again, papa!"
"No you should be sleeping. Tomorrow you start training with the other children."
"But..."
"Sleep Nia. A good warrior needs their rest."
Nia slept well that night, dreaming of duels and defending the island from the outsiders. The next day, the children gathered in the village square. All the adults were gathered around them as the elder began the ceremony. The elder retold the story of Bijali and the stories of other great warriors who defended the island.
He went on to talk about the change in tradition. How the island warrior challenges the outsiders in the arena as a memory of the past and no longer to keep them from the island. Although there are still some foreigners who try to rule over them like the general. The warrior fights to the death and sinks their ships after the waters close, like Bija did.
The children were kept separate from their families and were trained near one of the dive spots. They were taught to hunt the Machi like Bija. The elders believe that hunting the Machi teaches the patience and skill to be a good warrior. They were also taught other skills, as not all the Bijas were Machi hunters. The fighting skills they were taught were developed over many years of combat between the clans and against outsiders.
The trainers were the best in their craft or former warriors. Nia's grandmother and grandfather were two of their early trainers. Grandmother taught them about vine whips and poisons. Grandfather taught them to strengthen and harden their arms. A technique he used to challenge and defeat grandmother when she held the title of Bija.
Grand-mother and Grand-father's lessons were hard. Even harder on Nia, as they expected her to be among the best, especially since she begged to take part, despite their many warnings. All their training was hard. Nia cried herself to sleep many nights, but never voiced a complaint.
Many children grew tired of the training. Like Nia, they had hoped to be warriors like Bija, but the training was harsh and long, and their teachers unrelenting. The children knew their trainers. In the village, they were kind and caring. Here there was none of that kindness. As the fantasy of being a warrior faded, many of the children retired from the training. Half of them quit after the first month.
Nia's mother was among the mothers waiting for the children who wished to retire. Like the others in Nia's family, she believed Nia would give up wanting to be a warrior once she experienced the training. So when Nia didn't retire, she was confused, but proud Nia would continue.
The children who did not retire had passed the first test of determination. Now their training would truly begin. If the children believed the first month of training was hard, what came after was a nightmare. They slept less, with longer training going on into the night. Despite the longer training, they were given a whole day as time off to rest.
On those days, Nia and some of the other children would still practise, or spar with each other, or dare to challenge their trainers. On one such day, Nia and five others challenged their club trainer, Pli. The others all went before Nia and fought frantically but lost bravely.
At Nia's turn, she too fought Pli frantically. As she charged Pli one last time, she decided to try something different. Nia braced her arm along the club and ran at Pli with all her might. Pli had a moment to register what Nia was doing, then raised his club to block her and stepped forward. The force of their clash threw them both. Pli had staggered back, but Nia hit the ground and rolled once.
"You have lost Nia." Pli said, as she stood up ready to charge him again.
Nia bowed and left the ring, dejected like the others before her. The children spent the rest of the day reflecting on their duels against Pli. Nia was angry at the loss. She spent much of the day planning to strengthen her feet so she would not be so easy to fall next time.
The next day, their training with Pli was led by Nia's grandfather instead. Pli's arm was bound tightly. Pli and the other children were surprised that Nia herself was not injured, considering the extent of Pli's bandages.
"How are your hands fine Nia?" a boy same height as her asked as he grabbed at her arms.
"Do your arms not hurt, Nia?" Pli asked as he approached her.
Nia shook her head and stretched out her hands for those gathered around her to see. Her arm had a small bruise that no longer hurt, but Nia really was fine. Grandfather challenged Nia to take a punch from him to prove she really was fine to continue the day's training. Nia halfheartedly agreed. Grandfather lifted his fist and stepped forward; Nia raised her arms in a guard.
The force of his fist again pushed Nia back and left her arms feeling a little numb. Nia shook her arms and rubbed the spot where her grandfather's fist had connected. Grandfather took Nia's arms and examined them himself, squeezing and twisting them with a practised haste. He nodded at her and patted her head.
For a while, Nia was famous among the other children as the first one among them to injure a trainer. The event and subsequent approval of her grandfather spurred Nia's determination to keep training. Nia was determined to keep improving herself and soon developed ways to counter the unique skills of her fellow trainees during their duels. While she wasn't the best among them, her tenacity drew the attention of the trainers and encouraged the other children to keep looking for new ways to combine their skills.
After the first year of training, the children were again given a second opportunity to retire. This time around, a handful of them did. They were asked several times over the course of a week whether they wished to continue the training. Their elders warned them that going forward, the training would be harder, deadlier, and they would no longer have the chance to retire. The only end for a true warrior is death.
But the children had made up their minds. They had spent one year learning basic skills. The training was not easy, but they knew their limits and believed they could take the next set of challenges. The children who stayed to continue on to be warriors were given the title Sia.
Sia Nia she was now, Nia was overjoyed. Whether or not she could become the next Bija, she didn't care. She may not be Bija, but people on the island, across the clans would recognise her as a warrior, Sia Nia a Bija inheritor. She had one year to make it to the next stage, to become Sia Nia, a child of Bija. Then she would have another 2 years to become Sia Nia, an heir of Bija. If she succeeded in becoming an heir of Bija, she would be able to take part in the islandwide tournament that appointed the next Bija. She would be "the chosen heir of Bija' if she won and would earn the right to challenge the current Bija, Sia Boran.
All that lay in the future. Now, Sia Nia just wanted to keep training, to keep getting closer to becoming the warrior that defended the island from the foreigners, Bija.170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuGWiAEU5H
