PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

The next few days were hard on Xaine. Even with his accelerated healing, his wounds were taking time to heal. He had several broken ribs, which because of his accelerated healing, had to be broken again several times as they kept healing incorrectly. Arixae had analyzed this, and simply told him his body hadn't fully developed to the changes he was experiencing. Arixae was not gentle when he re-broke his ribs.

On the fifth day, Xaine awoke feeling refreshed. His Bones had healed completely, and only a couple sores remained from his battle with Guual. When he left his room, he found his father sitting at the table, sharpening his sword. Gordon had also polished what seemed to be new armor, which sat on the table in front of him. Xaine grunted upon entrance to the kitchen. Even though his reflexes had improved and his body healed fast, he still didn't want to get a sword chucked at his head. However, Gordon didn't say a word. Xaine came to the conclusion that his father knew he was standing there the whole time. Xaine made an attempt to start conversation, however, Gordon didn't listen. Several minutes stretched by before Gordon spoke.

"Xaine." His voice was stern. His voice had an extremely serious tone. "I talked with the mayor this morning. He wishes to see you."

Xaine was confused. "Is that all you needed to tell me?"

Gordon stopped sharpening his sword now. He placed it gently upon the table and looked at Xaine for the first time since he had entered the kitchen. "I don't know what to say to you son." His statement somehow hurt Xaine. The tone of Gordon's voice said only one thing. Disappointment.

 "If this is about the demon I fought—" Xaine stopped after Gordon raised his hand to silence him.

"This is not about the fight with the demon. This is about you having a demon's powers." Gordon stood up from his chair and started putting on the armor. This was the first time in Xaine's life that he had felt like an outsider. Gordon wrestled with his chain mail undershirt for a second before adding in a grim voice, "The villagers are afraid of you. They don't know what will happen, or if you will turn on the village. Frankly, I'm not so sure what will happen myself." He grabbed his helmet and placed it over his head. His dark hair poked out from beneath the front of the helmet. "Only time will tell." He picked up his sword and opened the door.

"You don't really believe that I could be a threat?" Xaine let his voice trail off when his father turned around to face him.

"I don't know what you are capable of son. That's the honest truth. Come with me." He waited patiently as Xaine slowly walked out the door before closing it behind them. Not another word was said as they made their way to the Mayor's house. The village was unusually quiet, and whenever he saw someone, they would duck out of sight. About halfway to the Mayor's house, they came across a young couple whispering to each other. As soon as they walked into earshot, the couple looked at Xaine and stopped talking, and walked away down an alley. Xaine turned away, bottling his hurt.

Eventually, they stood at a beautifully carved door made of oak. His father knocked on the door, before hearing a small voice from the other side of the door. "Enter." Gordon opened the door. It swung open noiselessly. Xaine looked around nervously. The room they entered was rather small, especially considering the size of the house. It was the room where the Mayor governed from, the rest of the house was off-limits to anyone besides the Mayor and his family. A red carpet lined the marble floor from the doorway, to a desk sitting at the end of the room. Three pillars crafted from marble lined each side of the room, following down either side of the carpet. Only now did Xaine notice the small man sitting at the desk before them. He was balding, and wore a blonde mustache that awkwardly covered half his face. He wore glasses that looked too big for him, and his nose was long and crooked. Xaine recognized him as the Mayor.

"Ah, Gordon!" The Man's voice boomed with excitement. His voice didn't fit him at all.

Gordon bowed slightly, placing his fist on his heart. "Sir. I have brought you my son as you requested."

It was only now that the mayor even acknowledged Xaine's presence. "Ah. I see." He scratched his chin slightly as he spoke. His eyes were small, and he stared at Xaine with a gaze that made him uncomfortable. "I assume you know why you are here?"

"I believe so." Xaine responded quickly, trying not to meet the man's eyes.

"I have decided, after listening to Gordon's pleas, to let you stay within the village." Then the mayor added quickly, "had your father not held the status he currently does, I would have had a different answer."

Xaine understood the Mayor's perspective. "I understand. I will do my best to serve the village, and to build the trust you have given me." He then placed a fist on his chest, mimicking his father, and bowed.

"However." The mayor's gaze intensified. "You will be facing your father in a duel tomorrow afternoon at mid-day."

Xaine was shocked by the Mayor's statement. "A duel?"

"Yes. You will fight your father in open combat. Obviously, you will not be using sharpened blades, but the ones provided will still hurt if you hit each other too hard. This will be a test of skill and—he added with a raised finger—self control."

"I understand." Xaine bowed again.

"You may leave. Your father and I have more to discuss." The mayor beckoned for him to leave.

Xaine breathed a sigh of relief as he exited the building. The sun was relentless on his walk back. Once more he witnessed people darting out of sight upon seeing him. Guess I should probably lay low for a while. The rest of the day was uninteresting. Xaine ended up falling asleep thinking about the duel with his father. He woke up several hours later, looking at the familiar designs of his ceiling. He turned his head. It was dark now. The sun was nowhere to be seen, but the dim glow of the sun could still be seen behind the mountains. It must be late afternoon. Xaine rolled out of bed and rubbed his eyes. He could hear his father snoring quietly in the next room. If Gordon is sleeping already, it must be later. He had only now realized the small buzzing in his ears. It was extremely annoying. He looked around for the sound but he was the only one in the room. Frustrated, he walked outside. It only got louder. He then decided to follow the noise. It sounded like an alarm clock in his ear. He got to his window when the sound got unbearable. Blinking confusedly, he looked at his window. A fly was trapped inside one of the wooden shutters outside the window. How did I hear this? Annoyed, he squashed the fly with his thumb. The sound ceased. He then realized it wasn't his father's snoring he heard, but one of the neighbors. When he got back into his bed, he placed his pillow over his head before falling back asleep.

When Xaine awoke, it was already late in the morning. The sores he had the day before were fully healed. He stretched all of his muscles, feeling much better. His ears seemed to be normal too. For now, he thought. He walked out to the kitchen. His dad wasn't home. He could hear the clash of metal from the workshop. He walked to the kitchen and opened the door on the reverse side of the front door to see his father working on a long piece of metal. Xaine walked in, closing the door behind him. He watched his father work the tool for several long minutes before Gordon realized he was there.

"Today is the day." Gordon said quietly.

"Yes." Xaine replied.

"Are you ready?"  Gordon raised an eyebrow at Xaine's expression.

"Not really." Xaine wasn't too excited to fight his father.

"Don't worry. I know you'll do fine. I thought a lot about it last night, and no matter what, you are still my son. I had my doubts, as does everyone, but in the end, I went with my gut. Gordon finished the tool and placed it in a small bucket of water with a pair of tongs. Steam hissed into the air as the metal cooled. "Keep your head held high son."

Xaine brightened at his father's acceptance, and opened the door to return to the kitchen as a customer entered the shop. Gordon nodded at Xaine, and proceeded to greet the small man who made his way to the counter. Xaine closed the door before the man saw him, and returned to the kitchen. He then proceeded to prepare himself, and his nerves, for the day ahead. Several hours later, his father walked beside him to the arena located a mile away from the chasm. Even though the village was relatively small, it still took almost an hour to reach the south side of the village. After walking across a barren field, they reached the arena.

The arena was small. It was surrounded by a quarter mile of metal bars, made into a makeshift fence. Spectators watched from outside the fence. Even though the fence was only chest high, it made a good arena. Xaine looked with disappointment. He realized that the entire village had come to witness the duel. This is a lot of pressure. He thought grimly to himself, wishing he were someone else. He just wanted to shrink and disappear. They all stared at him with disdain as they saw him approach. Xaine and his father entered the arena without a word. The metal gate was closed behind them, and together, they walked to the center of the arena.

Even though the duel wasn't a real fight to the death, his father adorned his polished armor, a Kite-shield that was half as tall as he was, and a long piece of metal made into a make-shift sword that looked like it should have been wielded with two hands. Even with Xaine's increased reflexes, he knew he was no match for his father's skill with a sword. Xaine was not skilled with a sword, but with a bow. However, the duel was to be fought with swords only, so Xaine was given a clunky piece of dull metal that was no better than a club in his hands. In his left hand, he held a small buckler. He didn't wear any armor. Xaine feared that this wouldn't be a duel, but more like a fight to survive.

Several minutes passed, and the mayor joined them on the field. The wind blew dust through the air, and several minutes passed before they were visible to the spectators again. By then, the mayor had somehow found his way to the fighters and turned to speak to the audience. He raised a hand to silence the crowd. They gave him their full attention. "Citizens of Guino. Gordon has brought his son here today to allow you all to bear witness to Xaine's humanity. We have all questioned if he is still human, or if he is indeed a monster." Xaine shuttered visibly at being called a monster. The mayor continued, "I spoke with Xaine last night, and he seemed to be confident in his ability to have restraint. Let us bear witness to the honesty of his words." With this, the mayor slowly made his way out of the arena, and stood outside the closed gate.  Xaine and Gordon stared each other down for several moments. Dust had already covered Gordon's helmet, and he held his shield up to keep the dust out of his eyes. Xaine had done likewise.

Without warning, Gordon charged at Xaine. Xaine felt his adrenaline surge as he just barely managed to block his father's fierce attack. Sparks danced off his buckler as the metal met the shield. Xaine was more afraid now than when he had fought Guual. His father was a legend in battle, and Xaine had only scratched the surface. Gordon followed up his attack with another, aimed at Xaine's head. Xaine had just barely managed to block the blow when he realized he had been feinted. Gordon swept Xaine's feet from underneath him with a foot sweep, and pushed him to the ground, catching him in mid-air with his shield. The force of the ground underneath Gordon's shield took his breath away. He rolled out of his father's reach just in time to avoid a thrust from his metal stick. The metal hit the ground with a dull thud that sent dirt flying into the air. Once more, Xaine stood up to stand face to face with his father.