Dawn of the Unconquered Sun (Part 8 of the Ignaius-Saga)

The Duell

Tanier looked over the list. "Let's see, if we can talk to Norriv-Nelor over lunch then and see ," he suggested. It was still early enough to get this arranged. "And then we can see Umon-Ined in the afternoon. I would like to have dinner at the palace. Would you have a piece of paper so that I can give you a list whom to invite?"

"Sure I have," the other man replied and Tanier started dictating. The meeting with Norriv-Nelor was a rather pleasant one. It was probably the charming nature and charisma of the man that had also qualified him to greet them upon their arrival. He seemed instantly intrigued by the possibilities Tanier pointed out to him and although the king was wise enough to not blindly trust this impression, he still took it as a good sign. If the man was willing to dedicate his talents to their cause, it would be worth two or three of the others, most likely.

Umon-Ined was a different story and almost the opposite. He seemed to be a cautious, yet also very rational man and Variel seemed to actually enjoy the conversation with him somewhat. Umon-Ined seemed less ruled by hopes and fears - yet Tanier wasn't sure yet, if this would turn out to their advantage or not.

Anan-Athas surprised Tanier by having obvious problems to believe their claim that Variel was more than a shy boy, even after he had given his usual demonstration, and Tanier was wondering, how much the impression Variel had left at the feast contributed to it - and if or if not Lekal-Kayla had shared any of his more personal insights with his father, so he watched the councilman rather a little closer when he announced that he had an appointment with his son when it was time to leave, but the mild surprise that he thought he saw on the man's face rather indicated that the young man had not shared any of his knowledge.

When he and Variel entered the room where Lekal-Kayla welcomed them, his first words to the king were: "Didn't you promise to bring your sword?"

"I left it at the door. It seemed like the polite thing to do," the king replied. "But I will gladly have it brought here, if you are still up for a trial of blades and skills."

"Of course I am," the warrior replied, running a thumb over the hilt of his own sword at his waist. The room around them was rather open, and it looked like the furnishings had been moved aside. It was quite clear that Lekal-Kayla had been anticipating such a spar. "Now, will we simply be testing one another, or will there be more at stake?" His gaze shifted momentarily to Variel standing quietly a step behind Tanier before returning to the face of the king.

Tanier reached into his pocked and produced a small item.

"I brought Variel's collar. If you win, you may collar him and use him as you please within the same terms we agreed on last time."

He took the item and placed it on a table that had been removed to the side, like a price that was waiting for the winner.

Lekal-Kayla looked at the collar, then to Variel, then back at Tanier before nodding. "I accept these terms. Now, retrieve your sword and we will see how the years have treated you." He didn't overtly call Tanier an old man, but it was certainly implied. Unlike Vis, however, there was no teasing smile. He said it all with straight-faced stoicism.

Variel's stomach was in knots again. He'd known this was coming, but he didn't know what to expect. Lekal-Kayla was younger and stronger, more active in his training and combat. Tanier may well have more experience, but Variel had never actually seen him fight. He still feared Lekal-Kayla, quite a bit, actually. What he couldn't quite understand was why that fear didn't make him necessarily hope that the Auroran man didn't win. Loyalty made him silently root for Tanier, of course, but even if he was afraid of Lekal-Kayla, he didn't dread the possibility of his victory. He honestly couldn't explain how he was feeling, and that bothered him even more.