^^ Menai Without Robes ^^

--- Lord Fallon Ira's POV ---

My broadsword swung in a tight riposte, knocking my sparring partner across the room. I tsk'ed and sheathed my sword as the healer got to work on the hole in his chest.

Garth huffed in annoyance. "Why are you training so hard? He's just a Platinum Knight. You're a Bronze Grand Knight. He's got no chance in hell." He shrugged, and sipped wine from his crystalline glass, watching us with a mixture of patience and noble aggravation, just as I'd taught him.

I smirked. "I taught you to never underestimate an enemy, didn't I? And he's at least five thousand times stronger than you, SQUIRE Garth, so don't mock your betters. He is also a Lord now. He has accomplished, in one year, what took our family centuries. You would do well to learn from him, and bring honor to me, instead of sitting around, lazily, while you could be training!" I chastised him.

He grinned. "Yeah well. I'm still faster than you, Gramps. I'm a Platinum Squire, and in Two years. Took you six." He shrugged.

"Indeed. But I never got lazy. I never quit training. And in twenty years, I became a Grand Knight. But did I stop? No. and look at me now, forty years after that? 60 years of training, and I'm a Bronze Grand Knight." I laughed.

He smirked. "True. But if I keep up my pace, I'll be the same in twenty years."

"Ahhh... but think of Lord Polisavich. He is a Platinum Knight, in only a few short months! Hmm? Neither of us are very special, Grandson. Don't ever think yourself superior to your fellow man until you've proven it. And right now? We've proven nothing. But once I kill him and regain our family Mines, along with his Archipelago, our family will get even stronger!" I laughed.

"Hmm." He stared into his wine, swirling it slowly, and suddenly his eyes glowed, while he halted all movement, even breath.

I rushed forward, and gripped his shoulder, intending to warn him to breath whilst dreaming only to be pulled into his vision.

---

I stood much lower to the ground, suddenly, and looked up. In front of me was myself, my own body, readying my sword. The body I was riding in filled with an unimaginable magical energy, and pumped it into a sextuplet of Sikh Runes, before the referee, my servant Menai, dropped his hand, beginning the match.

The body I rode in darted forward faster than I had ever moved or even dreamed of moving, swinging his sword in a simple Iai, but my head dropped to the sand in one instant, completely severed in one swift movement.

The vision continued, as several more Knights appeared, challenging the body I was in. I darted forward, laughing. The sound itself was simply unpleasant, an almost sadistic bark of pure, unadulterated joy at the violence around him.

He slaughtered the Knights, and then started stabbing the bodies, and absorbing them into his sword like they were Dragons' corpses, gifting himself their magical reservoirs, as well as inscribing their individual Sigils onto a set of blank pendants on his belt.

Then suddenly I grew a set of wings, and I knew whose body it was.

Just as soon as I realized whose it was, I was standing in a dark plane, next to Garth. Across from us stood Wren. He smiled. "Interesting... I've managed to catch you snooping... such a shame, really. You should've taught your grandson how to breath while in a Vision. Looks like he's dying... not my fault, I assure you, but my condolences anyway. I'm sorry, Garth. You seemed like an okay guy... I'd have loved to have you on the Council for my Archipelago..."

Garth's spiritual form flickered, and then suddenly dropped to his knees. I rushed to his side, but Wren got there first. He placed a Talisman on Garth's Forehead, and the Third Eye appeared on one side. Our family Sigil appeared on the other.

He tucked it into his pocket, and started walking away towards a door made of light as Garth's Spirit died. "Such a waste of talent..." He sighed, before stepping through the doorway and disappearing.

I picked up the dying spirit, and leapt through as well, coming to in the same position, but Garth was laying on the ground, convulsing as the healer applied burn cream to his forearm.

I almost asked why, until I saw his sigil was gone, and in its place was a gigantic blackened patch of skin. I growled and poured magic into his reservoir, directing it to his Ankh, but it was no use.

"Oxygen deprivation has severely damaged his brain. He's alive, and will stay that way, but he'll never do much as blink on his own again. What happened to him in that vision?" The healer snapped at me.

Like all good healers, she hated failing to save a patient, so I forgave her anger. "He... he meddled with something he shouldn't have, and paid a terrible price. If I'd have known he had such a Strong Sight, I would've trained him harder... I accept full responsibility..." I sat down, and placed my head in my hands.

She picked him up gingerly. "I'll get him to a hospital before his heart shuts down again." She said simply.

"Yes. Do so." I nodded.

She sprinted out, and I cursed under my breath. "Damn him... damn that boy! DAMN HIM!" I threw the table across the room, shattering it on the far wall.

The door opened, and the source of my rage entered, smiling. "Such a shame. You should've taught him to control his visions, hmm? I know I would've. Perhaps we're just fundamentally different, after all..." he sat down in the last chair, directly across from me, and crossed his legs at the ankle, leaning back comfortably.

"I hope you rot in hell after I kill you. I hope you burn for your sins." I spat at him.

He raised an eyebrow. "My sins? List them for me. I'd like to know. I'll list yours afterwards, like a trade." He laughed softly.

"Murder."

"Of whom do you speak?" He asked simply.

"My grandson."

"That was in no way my fault. I'm not a Seer. I didn't pull you into that vision. I'm not the one who didn't teach him properly. That sin is yours, my friend. Also, he's not dead. So, negligence, on your part, is one of your sins. Go on, then." He smiled.

"Arrogance." I growled.

"Arrogance? No. I fake arrogance often, to make people drop their guard, but I do not own true arrogance. Only Confidence and Drive. You, however, have been Incessantly arrogant at every single point in our short time together." He countered again.

"Thievery." I hissed.

"Is that a sin? Surviving is a Sin now?" He laughed. "And what about you? You steal children from their homes, just because they're bastards. Then you send them to die. That is Murder. Stealing their futures, their excellence, their potential. Who is the Thief, then? The Murderer? I admit I've killed and stolen before, but never have I Sinned while doing so." He smirked and motioned me to continue.

I stood, infuriated. "How dare you mock me?!? You?!? Some Upstart wannabe Noble whose only claim to the title is the possession of a paltry Archipelago the size of my fist?!? You're just some Ex-Noble, Bastard Son of a wh-"

"Finish that comment and I'll make your death extremely painful, Lord Ira." His eyes glowed a baleful gold, elongating into Dragon's Slits.

I sat down, confused by the weakness his eyes put into my knees. He stood slowly, and stalked towards me, placing his hands on the arms of my chair, and leaning until our noses were almost touching.

"I warned you, not long ago, that I was not an enemy you wanted to make... you should have listened. Do you remember the words I spoke to you as I left your class that first day?" He asked softly, in an almost kind voice, but the horrendous, deadly energy, all-but roiling off his tongue, said otherwise.

I gulped slowly, and shook my head. "I don't speak Russian." I answered.

"Mm. I figured... I said that my path wasn't as dangerous as it seemed... Because I wasn't the one walking on Crumbling Stones. The second time I warned you, at the Auction, I told you to enjoy your final steps, as your path finally becomes dust under your feet."

"What's that supposed to mean?!?" I growled, confused. "That I walked a treacherous path?!? I am your Superior! I always was, and I always will be! One day, perhaps, you would've understood that! That was my path!"

"The path to becoming my enemy was the treacherous one. Not the path to me recognizing you as my superior, as you wished you were on, but the true path you walked, along with so many others... would you like to know how it ends?" He asked with a grin on his cheeks.

I nodded slowly. "Yes. I'd like to see the end."

"At the end of your Chosen Path is one final stone, standing tall. Inscribed on the Purest Obsidian Monolith, the message is clear, a warning to both enemies and allies alike: Here Lie The Broken." He smiled a sweet smile, and walked away.

He spoke forever softly, but the murderous rage I felt from his gaze and voice was unimaginable. My imagination couldn't even come close to creating this feeling. I knew I couldn't be dreaming, simply because of this fact.

I shivered, and as soon as he had left my sight, I wretched, spilling my lunch upon the floor, coughing and hacking to get rid of the acrid taste of utter defeat. He'd beaten me, and he hadn't even touched me. He hadn't done more than make one idle threat, and I'd shaken and frozen like a deer before a hunter.

"Lord Ira?! The Duel is beginning in a few minutes! Shall I call it off, or will you be ready?" Menai knocked on the closed door.

"I will attend." I forced myself to speak evenly.

"Of course, Milord. I'll begin the preparations for the winner." He walked away.

Wren's voice filtered into my mind. 'I learned a long time ago there are no heroes, nor villains, no good or evil, only survivors and the dead. I am a Survivor. What are you?'

I centered myself, and stood. "I am a Survivor as well. Thank you for reminding me. I will make sure you receive a proper burial, Wren. You have earned that courtesy. But I don't know what will be left of you to fill it..."

I armored myself, and took down my family sword, so rarely used, buckling it to my hip. The Runic Blade would pass through his Runes like butter, and stick the little bastard like a pig on a spit.

I also placed my claymore on my back, which held all the dragons my clan had ever slain. It was heavy, even to me, but fell far short of Lord Paladin Arthur's Ex-Calibre.

(Though, That might be an unfair comparison, as her clan had been killing dragons and turning out paladins when my ancestors were still turning tricks in Council Islands First Tier whorehouses, almost 400 years ago... Oh well.)

I melted it and absorbed it into my skin, shivering as the power chased away the feeling of fear that had been festering. After all, I was a Grand Knight. What could he possibly do to harm me?

--- Wren's POV ---

I breathed deeply, centering myself. Masa was jabbering about strategies in my ear, but I'd tuned her out a while back. The strategies were decent, so I memorized them, but I kept the majority of my brain focused on the duel.

I touched the talisman with Garth's sigil, and hummed when I felt the sigil's ability. Damage reflection... any damage done to him would reflect back at me... so I had to beat him in a way that I would survive... or rip off his sigil and just kill him.

The giant grate started opening, and I smirked. "Wish me luck, Teacher." I patted Masa's head, and strode out onto the Sand, absorbing all the energy in my magical reservoir, and pouring it into my armor, which was already under my skin. The 1,752 dragons I'd defeated recently had added a good chunk of power, as well as my Roanokian DNA, but perhaps that wasn't enough. My feathers were still Platinum...

I blinked, and laughed, realizing why. I was still a Candidate, according to Uruk Order's ranking system! The ranking couldn't change until I became a Grand Knight or Paladin in Title as well as strength!

I smiled and looked at Lord Ira, who was now standing in front of me, about twenty yards away. A broadsword was his apparent weapon, as well as the fire Rukh he had all over his arms. His Urn Runes were decent, for a Knight, but I'd tear through them in seconds. They were about the same as Masa's.

I grinned. "Looks like you're ready to fight, huh? Good. I'd hate to beat you too soundly, hmm? Wouldn't want to embarrass you like that... or would I?"

He smirked. "You can try. Menai! Begin the Duel!!!" He barked.

Menai shook his head. "My apologies. There are rules that need stating, and the Paladin must speak them, as well as the Wager that was placed on this Duel." He explained.

Paladin Arthur stood on the edge of the Arena Walls. "Greetings, Knights of the Uruk Order! I am Lord Paladin Arthur Uruk, and this is the First Death-match of the second semester, remarkably, meaning some of you may not understand the Rules..."

She sat down slowly, and drew Clarent, ramming the hilt into the Rail next to her to create a massive sound, which shut up the audience.

"Now. The rules are easy enough to explain. '1: No Attack shall harm the Spectators. 2: No Attack shall disrupt the Island's EMField. And 3: Killing your opponent is optional.' If you can manage to make your opponent submit, then they lose, and you win the match, and may force them to leave the Order, forever."

The crowd fully silenced, and she nodded. "Good, so you understand the weight of that sentence... however, In this Wager, they've taken it a step further. The winner shall receive the entirety of the Loser's possessions, Titles, and literally everything else."

She tsk'ed, but continued, obviously displeased with the rest. "In addition... All members of the loser's family and Clan shall become lawful Servants of the Winner. In the event that the loser survives, they will also become the winner's Servant, until the day they die. Their children, and their children's children, will also be servants."

Alba shot up from her seat in the stands, looking horrified, until my confident smirk made her sit down again, thoughtful.

"And finally, the last condition... is that the Loser be Disavowed completely by the Southern Archipelago." She sighed, and sat down in a chair.

I grinned at Lord Ira again. "You really shouldn't have been so thorough... it'll come back to bite you in the ass." I said warningly.

He snorted. "I'm sure you think so. Arrogant Brat."

"Ohhh, you didn't call me a Bastard this time! Wonderful. I'm touched. I think you're warming to me... oh, and to squash that? If I win, your family becomes my servants... I hear your wife is rather fetching. She'll be a wonderful addition to Ursa Minor's collection of Escorts. And your daughter... and Garth's Sisters... a little young, perhaps, at only 19, but... There are, after all, no end to you Nobles' Fetishes." I smiled sweetly.

He growled. "And I'm sure your sister will grace my Mines with her brute Strength."

I laughed. "Oh you're still confident! That's adorable. Here's a Hint: Give Up while you can, and I'll let you walk away, bet done and gone..." I kept baiting him repeatedly as Arthur continued, stating rules about how we weren't allowed to blow up the island, and not to hurt the spectators.

His teeth clenched, and when she finally shouted 'Begin!', he drew his broadsword, which I realized was a Runic Blade.

I laughed and drew my Runic dagger. "Aww, lookit you! So adorable. You'll probably hate me for this, but I have to say it... how do you think I should charge for your wife? What would you price a night with her at?" I activated all of my Runes, and dodged by the skin of my teeth, as he darted forward and thrust his sword at me like he had suddenly become a gust of wind.

My foot connected with his chin as I bent backwards, and he was knocked back a step, his lip busting.

My own lip twinged, but didn't crack, telling me all I needed to know. His sigil was powerful and all, but my body was more sturdy than his.

I poured magic into my Ankh and Sikh simultaneously, and dodged his sword again, grabbing his wrist. I activated all of my Lightning Rukh Runes, and then pulled Electricity out of my new Organs, channeling it all into my palm.

His body stiffened, his eyes turning glassy and white, before he fell to one knee. I was perfectly fine, which led me to all I needed to know. 'If the damage doesn't hurt me at all, like electricity, his Sigil can't do anything about it!'

He stood back up shakily, and then suddenly flames swarmed through the arena, catching me off guard as his Rukh Runes activated, and he finally let himself enjoy the fight for what it was, a simple free-for-all.

I grinned, and dodged as best as I could, throwing arcs of lightning at him as often as I could, sprinting in a random pattern around him at full speed to confuse him. I knew I wasn't a match for him in brute strength, or even Runes, but I was much faster, and I could take all the punishment he could dish out.

I waited patiently for him to run out of steam. After almost twenty minutes of pyrotechnics, he slowed down, but I knew he was saving his last hurrah for when I got in close for the kill. I let all my Runes except my Urn Rune dissipate, like I was finally out of juice as well, and charged him recklessly.

His sword flashed up, and I pulled my head to the side as the gleaming Rail Blade sank into the flesh of my shoulder an inch or so, pressing the flesh back, but not piercing it. I grinned and snaked my hand out, holding my dagger, and stabbed him completely through the knee.

I twisted, and ripped, stepping back as his leg came off at the knee with a sickening sound, and he fell, screaming. My knee cracked, but my Ankh fixed it before it did too much damage.

I stabbed the second, and did the same, grunting in pain as it came back to bite me quickly. Then I stabbed his hands, thoroughly ruining them, (which hurt marginally less,) before closing the holes and stopping the bleeding. I stood over him. "Yield, Ira. Yield, and I'll do my best to heal Garth." I threw my last dirty card onto the table as he readied up to throw the last of his magic at me.

He flinched, and my unwavering gaze somehow convinced him. He dropped his sword slowly, and I grinned, holding up my dagger. "How's that, Arthur?!?" I grinned.

She smiled. "Well fought. But you didn't have to cut his legs off."

"No, no I didn't." I agreed. Then I set the stubs back together, channeling my Ankh. I was almost out of magic, so I just reconnected the bones and skin, for now. The ligaments and muscles would have to be reattached later by a professional.

Then I picked up his sword and claymore, as it came out of his body, and absorbed both into my own sword, pulled from my body. I then unceremoniously ripped his Sigil out of him, as well as all of his Runes.

He screamed and passed out, and everyone silenced as they realized what I'd just done. I pulled the Runes into myself, adding the massive amount of saved-up magic into my own sets of markings. I grinned and stepped back from his body as the healers took him away, flexing the new Runes like muscles that had just been shot up with serious steroids.

I tried the new armor, and shivered in anticipation at using the new power coursing through me. I deactivated it all, and cracked my neck. "Fun stuff... and now I'm dead tired." I sighed.

Masa supported me. "Did you mean it when you said you'd heal Garth?"

"I did. I'm a man of my word, Masa. You know that. I will do my best to heal him." I grinned tiredly.

She chuckled. "Hmph. Alright. How do you plan to do so?"

"I have a few Ideas." I laughed.

---

I blew glass dust out of the Monolith's Abyssal South-Face, and landed on the ground, admiring my work.

As I'd promised, I had built a 200ft tall, 100ft wide, hollow Monolith out of Obsidian, and carved 'Here Lie The Broken' into every side in glowing Runic Lettering of every language imaginable. No one would ever forget seeing this monolith. I dug a hole around it, 500ft by 500ft, 100ft deep, and the monolith was only accessible by a single bridge to the pillar of rocks it stood upon.

I dumped Ira in the hole, and left him to rot. There was water, flowing through the mud at the bottom, as well as food, if you killed and ate the Rats I'd taken the time to allow to infest the hole.

A Rail surrounded it, with an electric fence, right below the bridge, so nothing got in or out without my permission, not even the rats. All the cities sewers and gutters ran through the hole, emptying through a thick mesh gate that someone would have to muck out daily if they didn't want to drown in filth.

The monolith sat in the center of my Island above Gantegüt, inside the biggest Lotus, which was nearing completion, and there was a large office and conference-room inside of it, as well as a bar and aviary, from where I would both do my work and view my enemies suffering.

I promised Ira that I would watch as he learned true despair, and that's what I would do. It was a tad dramatic, and perhaps even cruel, but I had made a promise, and I was, if anything, a man of my word.