by Kayiri on November 15th, 2010, 6:42 am
A quiet laugh and a small smile played across the man's lips. "You and I both, Edalene. We should speak more often, so that we can ramble endlessly at one another," he chided playfully. Eyes fell upon Vanator as he brought up the story.
Oh Gods, here we go again. The proud warrior shot up to his feet, clearing his throat, shifting his sword on his hip. The Drykas began collecting his thoughts in his head as he decided how exactly to go about this recounting of the tale that everyone who knew him had heard one too many times. "Last Winter, a Zith did something more daring than anyone would expect. It snuck its way through the outskirts of Endrykas, past shining blades and sharpened arrows, and entered my tent. At the time, I was lodging with a woman that went by the name of Hex, whom had arrived in Endrykas only a few days earlier from the southern reaches of the desert," the Drykas paused, nodding at Vanator, as he had known her too. Then, he returned to his tale.
"She detected the animal before I did, as it entered our shared tent. Before either of us could react, its foul, clawed hand had wrapped around my bow, which was laying on the ground. Her screams awoke me from my slumber, and I flew into a rage! A monster had entered my tent, and was defiling my possessions!" a quick glance around them showed him he had enough room to move around while he told the story, and they were out of the way enough that he thought no one would come close enough to them to be disrupted by his actions. His right hand flew down to the leather-wrapped hilt of his familiar blade, pulling it from its sheath. "I rose to my feet, and drew my sword. This intruder would die by my hand! I swung at him, but in my haste, missed, instead damaging my tent," the Drykas mock swung his sword, a quick, overhead slash. "With foul, tainted claws, the monster swung at Hex, slicing open her back! Before I could react, the creature fled, springing into the air like a bird. I thought my bow was gone, but Hex was not out yet. She produced a knife from within the folds of her clothing, and with the eye of an eagle and the hand of a true marksman, flung it at the fleeing Zith!" He pretended to throw a knife up into the air.
"Her knife struck true! The creature cried out in pain. She had injured it! She had caused the transgressor grave injury! It could not escape us now. When she recovered, we tracked it by the smell of its blood, following it non-stop over the vast expanses of the Sea. We were unrelenting in our pursuit, hell-bent on seeing my bow returned to me. About thirteen days into our journey, we met two more men, Vanator and Dachua. Despite the fact they gained nothing, they both agreed to aid us in our quest. However, Dachua was a spineless coward-- as you shall later see-- whom more likely than not perished in the darkness of the night, cold and alone, at the hands of the monsters," obviously, the man harbored some residual hatred for Dachua.
"Seven more days brought us into the depths of hell itself, the heart of darkness. We set up camp in a cave for the night, too frightened to sleep. Together, we discovered a hidden tunnel within the cave, and proceeded to move the rubble before it," Kayiri pretended he was pulling on a large rock, and then threw a glance over his shoulder. "The Zith had emerged from their hiding for the night! By the hundreds, they took to the air, smelling out their prey, be it animal or Drykas. We flew into a panic, prying at the rubble with renewed vigor. Finally! It budged! We entered with no lack of haste, but quickly noticed something was out of place. Dachua, in all of his cowardice, had uped and fled! The coward!" Kayiri spat out the name like it left a bad taste on his mouth. "The path hidden behind the rubble led to a dead end. We returned to the main cave, deciding to make our stand in the more open area,"
The Drykas took a deep breath, collecting himself for the culmination of his tale. The sword finally found its way back into the sheath, and the sheath made its way onto his back. "One Zith stood in the mouth of the cave, holding an object that was so familiar to my eyes that it hurt. My bow!" a face of surprise crossed over the Drykas. "With no respect for the masterful craft, it threw it onto the ground, and proceeded to... proceeded to defile it," Kayiri had to pause for a few brief moments. Even the memory of this insolent act sent chills and rage through his body. "I could not stand for this! I would not! I refused!" He drew his sword from his back, holding it in two hands. "I issued a cry of challenge, one more savage than the monster before me could bear, and with that, sprang forth! With speed as fast as the Striders we love, I closed on the Zith, screaming with pure rage. I would slay him! I would smite him, if it cost me every ounce of power within me! My first blow struck true, tearing the flesh that covered his chest,"
"But it was a trap! Two more monsters emerged from the blackness of the night, and with the third, attacked in unison from all sides. I could not deal with them all! Claws found their way into my arm, leaving it wounded and maimed," the Drykas lifted up his arm, showing the long mark that ran from his shoulder to his elbow. Lovely, knotted scar tissue. He then return to his story. "A torch, flung forth by either Vanator or Hex, found its way to me, and was scooped up in the injured arm. In desperation, I began to fight the Zith back with shining iron and blazing flame. My blade struck true, lopping the hand off of one whilst my fist knocked teeth from the other's mouth," he made a slashing motion and a quick flailing swipe with his fist. "But alas, I could not hold them forever! Another hand was lucky, swiping my face," he tilted his head back, showing off the prominent scars on his cheeks. "My blood dripped to the ground with theres, but I would not stop, I would fight until I could no longer steal breath from Dira's lips!"
"Vanator and Hex saw my struggle, and charged forth to my aid. Van claimed the wings of one with a mighty swing of his ax, whilst Hex lit the second alight with a clever combination of torch and oil. The blazing Zith lit up the battlefield for Van and I, and the final Zith, left untouched, drew a blade. He was mine. I would exact my revenge on him, for defiling my bow! I swung with wild abandon, up from the ground, aiming to cleave through his abdomen and out under his arm!" he demonstrated the strike, a diagonal one from ground level. "It struck, but so did his swipe. He cut my own abdomen, leaving a scar from a blade that had not seen enough care," he pulled up his shirt just enough to show off the pink tissue, and then lowered it once more.
"We had won! The three Zith lay dead or dying on the ground around us, the smell of charred flesh fresh in the air. Everything beyond that is a blur, I remember nothing more than exhaustion, blood and darkness. All I know is that I survived, and I escaped with my bow. That was all that mattered then, and it still is now," Kayiri sheathed his sword, and settled back down on his rock. No doubt Vanator hate himself for starting Kayiri on this path, and Eda had learned never to let Kayiri tell a story, for he rambled.
"Bah, what is this? A place where children do not learn to use a weapon? That is like saying that there is a place where children do not learn to walk!"
