Hero

Scene

Once, in a time long since past, there was a man with the strength of an army. With naught but a single blade, he would rend entire armies asunder. He traveled the length and breadth of the known world, conquering lands and bringing glory to himself and his home land, a small village in a countryside. But one day, when the great hero returned from his journeys, an illness had overtaken the people of his village. Slowly, one by one, his people died before him. It was not long before his own family took ill.

Two days after his return, a horseman arrived with a letter for the man. It was from no one he had ever heard of, from a land he did not know. But the message was clear: Ilasa Teiya - the person who had sent the letter - could cure the illness plaguing his land. So he immediately set forth to find this person. Now, he was not slaying enemies for glory or honor, but out of pure rage that they would stand in his way. He would not stand for such things - not when the lives of those he loved were at stake.

After months of traveling and searching, he found his destination. It was a tower, as black as the night and as high as the heavens. For the first time in his life, he was a bit intimidated - he could simply tell, with every bone in his body, that this was a place filled with tremendous power. But regardless, he pressed on, and gained entrance to the tower.

The feeling of power got stronger and stronger as he did so, and grew to its ultimate as he was approached by a woman with raven hair and a gown which looked just like the night sky. At her waist was a rapier with a hilt made from one solid ruby, which was studded with sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, and amethysts. She had eyes of the bluest sky, and lips of the most beautiful pink.

The great hero had no words when he saw her. He was simply awestruck at her beauty.
"Am I so beautiful that you have no words?" The lady asked, after a hearty laugh.
"Ilasa Teiya, I presume?" the hero replied.
"Mmm, yes, 'tis I. I have been wishing to meet you for a very long time. I have heard tell of thy power. I must know, are the stories true? I have been told that you quite literally single-handedly razed the entirety of the eastern armies in a single day."

"Is that what they say? Well, allow me to put those stories to rest. It took three days to finish the task."
Ilasa laughed again as she said "Even so, it is a worthy feat!"
But, growing impatient, the hero thusly demanded that the conversation ceased and that she cured his people of their ailment.
"Hmm. Yes, I could do this. Indeed, it would be a rather menial task for me. But nothing in this world comes easily. No, I will not do this for free. You must do a thing for me first..."

Then, faster than the blink of an eye, she appeared behind him, her rapier to his throat, and her free hand roaming his body, as though she could not decide whether she wanted to kill him or make love to him... her hand knew for sure, based on where it found itself. But, although she was most pleased with what her hand had grabbed, Ilasa spoke thusly:
"Fight me. Unleash thy godly strength upon me. Let me taste and partake of the power that has made thee into a legend. When one of us reaches the point of exhaustion, then..."

She trailed off, knowing that he knew what would come next. So, she pushed him away, and he turned on his heels to find her in a perfect stance, as though she had practiced that one stance every day since she was a child. The hero drew his sword, matching her stance with one of his own - in an equally perfect fashion.
"If it be a fight for which you wish," he said; "Then it is a fight you shall have!"

It was a truly immense battle. Over the course of three days, the hero and Ilasa Teiya shaped the very earth with their duel - the winds blown by the swinging of their swords created tornadoes which ravaged land and sea; the sparks from their blades grinding together and the clashing of their impacts made the crashing of thunder and lightning; volcanoes were fashioned when they swung down and struck the earth.

But, as with all things, it had to come to an end. For though they had the speed, the stamina, and the power of gods, their weapons were still made from earthly metals, and it was truly miraculous that they had survived such an epic clashing for so long. But eventually, they struck so hard that both of the blades simply snapped. When this happened, the hero and Ilasa looked at each other, and they both collapsed from exhaustion.

Of course, Ilasa upheld her end of the bargain. Though the illness had overtaken the hero's home over the course of many weeks, it was gone in only an hour. But that was not the end of their business, oh no. For during that battle, the hero found himself falling in love with Ilasa, and Ilasa with the hero; for there are things you only ever learn, and only ever speak, by the way you fight. Which is why in the wake of the battle, when they both lay on the ground, the hero mustered the strength to crawl over to be by Ilasa's side.

And so, when they had regained their strength, they married as soon as they could. The wedding was so large and ceremonious that even the nations and kingdoms which had spent years preparing to defend against the hero would attend. And though Ilasa and the hero both wielded the power to rend the greatest of nations on their own, together they found the strength to transcend the confines of life, and shaped for themselves a place where they could live together in peace and harmony, forever.