The Art Of Sword

After dinner

Archibald: You all have 30 minutes before I take Sunz and Jihu home.

Laikan: Thank you Archibald.

Sunz: Now it’s you guy's turn to tell me everything.

Laikan: Jihu you look like you know more than me and you know Sunz so you can explain better.

Jihu: Sure, so which part do you want to know first

Sunz: The history of how all of this begins.

Jihu: You know the thing people called ability, that is the catalyst for our origin. Back in the day when ability doesn’t have many varieties as of now. Many people will have the same kind of ability, but not all can master it at a high level, so they form clans based on the type of ability.

Sunz: So how different is the ability from back then to now?

Jihu: Throughout history, humans made different inventions that give the ability more variety like steam control, android… but at the start, the most common abilities were elements fire, water, earth, air…

Sunz: OK so you guys start out with shooting element to wielding sword of that element. How does that make sense?

Jihu and Laikan looked at each other for a sec and at the same time said: who said you need to have the ability of the element to wield it.

Sunz: Wait how does that make sense?

Laikan: The part Jihu just told you is the boring basic part of our history, Jihu mind if I take this part it’s kind of my favorite.

Jihu: Sure I think all students like this part most.

Laikan: The story starts with 4 boys in this village, born with no ability but each has a clan they want to join. They heard stories about how amazing each clan is from all merchants that cross the village but they always end with “It sucks that you need an ability of the clan in order to join them”. The boys always happy and eager to hear stories from travelers but it’s always sad when they hear that sentence.

The only person who always cheers them up is the daughter of the town blacksmith who is around the same age as the boys. She always encourages them with her own quote “ Before you can become special your body needs to be strong enough to control your special.”, until one day while the boys looking for merchants that come into their village to hear their story. A merchant sitting near the blacksmith’s shop calls the boys over to have a chat with them, the boys then ask if he has any stories about the clan.

The Merchant just laughed and said “Why do kids these days just like to go training with old guys on the mountain.” the kids responded, “Because it is our destiny to become the best !”.

“Destiny is something you think you have to achieve but one moment can take you back to the start of your destiny and wish that you have listened and if you did you all will be happy together.” the merchant said.

Suddenly the blacksmith’s daughter comes out and says while holding something covered in cloth “ Sir your weapon has been repaired” and sees the boys with the Merchant “Hey what are you guys doing here” The merchant answers for the boys “ Oh they just listening to my life story. And is that my sword?” the girl answered “ Yep fixed and ready to go, sir !”.

The Merchant took the sword, did some swings, and said “ Very well done give my thanks to your dad.” the girl just smiled and said, “ Thank you for choosing us, Father would be happy because he managed to help out another customer !”. The Merchant told the boys “ It’s time for me to go but thank you for listening to my story, and I have some gifts for you kids.” He then handed each boy a book and said “ This is the start of your destiny” Then walked away.

While the other boys and the girl checking out the books there is only one kid who runs after the Merchant for one last question “ Sir from your story I now hesitate to follow my destiny because I’m afraid of losing my family” the Merchant pat the kid on the head and squat down to the kid eyes level and said “ It’s true that destiny causes me to lose my family, even in that moment something inside me telling me to not go. I have a choice but did I follow it, no, of course, I was young and full of ambition and now what I miss is the time I could have spent with them, but this is what I’ll tell you “spent time with the people you love, emotion is your power, and remember the destiny you choose will always have someone that walks with you, wait for you, and support you.”

Then the Merchant walks away leaving the kid pondering about what he learned today and looking back at his friends. After that, the boys gather at the blacksmith’s shop to check out the books and to their surprise, the book contains each clan's sword skill, giving them hope that they now can join the clan but after looking at each other book the boys see that all moves set are the same which make them all doom and gloom. The girl comes out to tell them that the smithy is closing and sees them in that state so she comes over to ask, and they give her the books to analyze. But she can see what the boys didn’t realize was each clan has different movements and postures to initiate the skills.

So she assures them and tells them the requirement for each clan skill is “ The fire clan skill is fast and destructive so your attack should be strong and always in offensive stance”, “ For earth skill, you should be sturdy like an immoveable wall fighting in a defensive style”, “ The water clan skill is the combination of both offensive and defensive, and with a calculated mind”, “Lastly the air clan skill mostly relies on their movements combine with reflex to make them unpredictable”.

The boys are amazed at her analysis and ask how she knows all of this, she reminds them of all the other merchant's stories and when looking at the books it all makes sense to how each clan works. Before the boys can ask any question she just tells them to go home and come back here tomorrow early in the morning.

Tomorrow the boys came to the smithy half awake then the girl welcomed them in and gave each of them a wooden sword. She explains that none of them have an ability so they can’t use elements but if they take an object and use it as the catalyst combined with form and attack style maybe it can work. She also points out one bizarre detail that all of the clans don’t use weapons but the book of each clan has a person wielding a sword.

The boys have no idea and are confused, but she reassures them that with her guidance they might master it. The journey is not as easy as they think because their teacher whom they have known since young became their worst nightmare, but who could blame her she has to help her dad out at the smithy while training four knuckles head.

Throughout the year up until the boys are 18 each of them experiences different kinds of training, obtains the clan element they want, and advances their own basic skill or diverse their basic element. About the girl, she matures into a beautiful young lady, a well-known blacksmith, a teacher that the boys can’t beat, and the ability to repair weapons. Now seeing their reward at the end of the training, the boys now have new goals are killing the clan leader, allowing more people to learn the skill without ability, and letting other students develop their own clan with different styles.

Laikan: And that's how we’re here the boys kill the master to become the new one.

Sunz: That's such an interesting story do you have like the book or something because I'm kinda curious about their training and the master battle.

Laikan: I do, you wanna borrow it?

Sunz: I’d love to but I don’t trust myself holding onto other people's stuff without them being near.

Jihu: Don’t worry I can just grab one from my house. We actually bring some over to give to those that mastered our style and want to join the clan.

Sunz: Oh that would be nice thank a lot Jihu, you too Laikan thank you for the experience.

Laikan: Don’t sweat it, it’s rare to see an outsider join our world.

Sunz: haha, and thank you Mr. Archibald for the dinner and for driving me home.

Jihu and Laikan become surprised: Wait… we’re in the car!

Sunz was surprised that Jihu and Laikan didn’t notice: Yeah!

Laikan: Archibald could you stop doing it pls!

Archibald laughed: No can do young master, and all of you were lost in the story so I couldn’t interrupt. But our conversation must stop here because you’re home Sunz

Sunz thanked Archibald for driving him home and said goodbye to Jihu and Laikan. Archibald says that he wants to meet Sunz's parents so they can know his face. Sunz walks back to his home with Archibald, he rings the door’s bell and they both hear hasty footsteps and Sunz’s dad opens the door with his mom behind him. Archibald then introduced himself, Sunz’s parents exchanged small talk with Archibald and he gave them his phone number in case of an emergency then Sunz’s family went inside and Archibald went back to the car.

Meanwhile, Jihu and Laikan have a small talk

Laikan: Your clan is running out of time right? The tournament is a pretty risky move

Jihu: Well we have no choice but if he could win we will have a trusty ally.