It was April 26, 132 AV, Keika's seventeenth birthday. She had requested and received leave for the week so she could be home to celebrate with her family. The seventeenth birthday wasn't anything particularly special to Otanies, but her father had seemed extra excited about this one for some reason, for a couple of months now. He refused to say why, only that he thought she would be very happy with her birthday present. This drove her crazy....she loved to get presents and couldn't wait to find out what the excitement was about.
Valerie had already turned seventeen the month before and she had not asked for leave because Edmund couldn't get off, so it was just Keika and Ani for a change. Val had charge of the Paladins and took command of their patrol duties in Keika's absence. She had been in town since the 24th and had seen Seth both nights. Things between them since October had at first been better, but slowly he seemed to return to his old ways and attitudes. Once again, she was considering if she should continue seeing him or not.
The orchestra was into its spring season and had another concert scheduled for the coming weekend, so she had a couple of events to enjoy during her leave. They would be performing Rachmaninov's Symphony No.2 in E Minor and 'Isle of the Dead', as well as Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 - 'From the New World'.
Everyone gathered at her birthday dinner. Seth and a number of her friends were present as well as the entire family and the Vairs, including Alexander and Vanessa. The food was fantastic and she ate too much of the cake. Then, after everyone was finished, the table was cleared and it was time for her presents. Keika was excited to see what her father had gotten her, but they made her unwrap the other presents first. They were all very nice and she appreciated everything. It had been a fun party. Then her father got up and told everyone he would be right back. He returned a couple of minutes later with a long, thin package. Everyone was quiet as he handed it to her. She looked at him and then it, puzzled for a moment, and she then tore into the package.
When she realized what it was...she screamed out loud. "DADDY!!" she yelled. "You are wonderful, how did you do this?" In her hand was something that, at first glance, appeared to be identical to the sword on the back of her chair, but it wasn't a copy of the same sword. It was a set; she now had the partner blade. She already had the full sized katana. Her present was its matching wakizashi. Together, they made a 'daisho', or pair. It was identical to the katana in appearance, golden blade and all, but had only a 20" blade as compared to her katana's 28" one. A samurai carried both blades into battle, but left the katana at the door of their home. The wakizashi, however, was always worn, even in the house.
She was thrilled. Together they could be fought as a pair and she was very well trained in the art of using dual swords. The wakizashi was excellent in cramped spaces. Sliding both of the blades out of their wooden scabbards, she stepped away from the table and tried a few moves with them. The balance was perfect....and they looked so good. She placed the swords down carefully on the table and ran around it to give her father a hug. "Thank you, thank you," she said, "I love it! Where did it come from? Have you been hiding it from me all of these years?"
"Oh, no...no," he said, "Actually, a couple of months ago, I went down to look at the weapons in the Royal family racks and discovered that the sword that I had given you was part of a daisho. Somehow the wakizashi had fallen out of the rack right below your katana and was lying in the bottom of the case. I just happened to look down and saw part of the color of the scabbard. When I fished it out, I realized it was part of your daisho, and wanted to make it a special present. Your birthday was coming up, so... I'm glad you are so happy with it. The only problem with it is that you can't carry both a second sword and your bow and arrows. You will have to make a choice before battle, or have your squire alter what you are carrying as you need during a battle. As leaders, both you and Valerie are eligible for squires and should be looking for one."
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Firefly Light
Ciencia FicciónIn the not too distant future mankind's world has collapsed. The population of, what had been over 7 billion, has been reduced to a tiny fraction of that number. Nature has reclaimed most of what man had built. Time has been turned back to before th...
