The Kingdom of Roses

8

The Sparring

While it was common for the Tiānshǐ and the soul beasts to wear armors during combats, the King and his Bride never wore them. They dressed plainly, as always. However, each had a sword that was specially forged by the other. Swords are deeply connected to the spirit of the one who wields them. It was no different for the swords of the King and his beloved.

In her possession was the Water Sword. It had a strong, firm hilt of crystalline water. On either side of the hilt and extending in the same direction as the grip were two, smaller crystalline projections that gave greater support and mobility to the wielder. This enabled her to use either hand and switch between holding the main grip or one or both of the side projections. The grip and the side bars had their own bejeweled pommels. The blade that extended from the hilt was made of sparkling, moving, breathing water that knew the mind of its wielder. It was extremely sharp, double-edged, flexible, and pure. On the flat of the blade, words in the immortal language appeared and then they would slowly twist and fade as a new sentence formed from the hilt towards the edge.

There were two soul beasts whose powers were also combined with that of the Water Sword. A magnificent lion and eagle’s head protruded from either side of the blade close to the hilt. At first glance, they looked like they were engraved jewels made of the same crystalline water as the blade. But on closer inspection, one could observe them to be moving and alert. Both were excellent in their offense and defense. When activated by the Bride, they would spring forth from the sword and manifest their presence like two separate streams of water united by their source and their purpose which was to serve the wielder of the blade.

The King possessed the Fire Sword which was vastly different from the one in the Bride’s hands. The pommel looked like the old, twisted roots of a mighty tree. The grip looked ordinary, like a gnarly, tree trunk. A single blade extended directly from the grip. There was no hilt for His aim was true and there was none who could match him in combat, except for his beloved. The lower part of the blade closest to the hilt was straight before extending into a slightly curved, sickle shape which was sharp on both edges. On either side of the blade were three, small, eye-like openings. The central blade turned into burning fire in combat. Each of the eyes on either side of it produced an identical, fiery blade making the Fire Sword split into seven blades that rotated swiftly and independently moved in any desired direction. Yet, the seven blades were all united in source and purpose just like the Water Sword. Since the blades were fiery, they illuminated the path, and nothing was hidden from their light. The King loved gardening, often using his sickle blade, and causing the branches touched by it to grow more fruitful. The Water Sword and the Fire Sword complimented each other in their moves and were equals just like their wielders.

Jiàn Shēng met with the Bride in the northern realms regularly to learn her sword moves as agreed upon.

‘These moves are called the Way of Water. The first thing to remember about them is that they must flow from your inner-most being and steadfast belief. There must be true intention in them lest they become polluted and ineffective,’ she said.

She continued, ‘It is called the Way of Water because the moves are similar to the way water behaves. Water is flexible yet strong. It can be gentle yet forceful. It can start with a move as small as a drop, yet many drops make the vast ocean. Its perseverance can wear down whatever opposes it with even simple, repeated, gentle moves. This is the second thing to remember.’

The Bride held forth her sword and Jiàn Shēng lifted his own in anticipation. She unleashed quick and consecutive slashes mixed with swirling moves. They were very predictable, but her movements were so swift that he was left trying to catch his breath meeting each slash. His heart was racing as he could not even discern the shape of the blade as it moved. At some points, he was quite certain she was not slashing but using her sword in such a way as to swiftly encircle his blade many times causing a whirlpool effect with the downdraft towards him. This caused enough force to push the sword in his hand and cause him to lose his grip on it.

She stopped with her blade pointing to his chest. He was amazed with her speed for he was himself an agility fighter, yet he struggled to keep up with her, let alone defend himself. She smiled as she gestured with her eyes to him. He followed her gaze and turned to see that he was a few steps away from the edge of the cliff they were fighting on.

‘This movement is the current. It uses simple moves, but the aim is to use its constant, forward motion to carry another in the direction of your greatest advantage,’ the Bride taught Jiàn Shēng who was listening keenly. ‘There are two of them that can operate individually or together. One carries the power of fire and the other carries the power of water,’ she continued.

‘Then these two moves would be similar to the ones connected to the lion and the eagle on your blade?’ Jiàn Shēng observed.

‘Indeed, but what is important is that this movement must press forward,’ she replied and prepared to teach the next move.

Before Jiàn Shēng could react, his eyes caught the sharp gleam of the crystal blade as it cut through the air upwards and downwards, to the left and to the right. There was a tremendous amount of energy that seemed to be moving from the very person of the Bride to the tip of her sword and through Jiàn Shēng’s own blade. At times the energy felt gentle like an ebb and flow, but it built towards a greater force that blocked his own moves. This energy pushed his blade down with her downward cuts and on the next swell, it raised his blade way off target and upwards with it rendering his moves ineffective. Its offense was its defense.

‘And that was the wave,’ she continued. ‘As you saw, it transfers as much force of energy from the depth of my being outwards, and its goal is just that. It may seem chaotic at times, but it is always very intentional and organized as per the will of the wielder. Thus, a tiny amount of energy can move outwards and be multiplied such that it hits with greater power than how it started from the source.’

‘That is why your blade is so flexible and can move like the waves of water when you so desire,’ Jiàn Shēng replied. The Bride smiled in approval before continuing with the third move.

They took their stance and the Bride put some distance between them. Jiàn Shēng was surprised when he saw her rushing at him with an outstretched sword, and he stretched his own blade in defense. Just when his eyes caught the glimmer of her blade closing in on him, she suddenly flung her blade past him and ducked as he drew close towards her with great anticipated speed and force. He thought he had struck her, and she had slipped and fallen. He paused and looked down before catching the movement of a speeding blade from the corner of his eye as it encircled him and returned to the hand of its wielder. She was now standing behind him, sword in hand and blade at his neck. He had not expected her to cast her sword so far away from herself. He was also certain that he had struck her, yet here she was, in a position of advantage and victory over him.

‘The third move is the riskiest one as it is a tidal movement. It involves a move so reminiscent of total defeat, that it disarms an opponent in confusion or premature exhilaration in an apparent victory. What it does though is to cast away something very precious as a distraction while drawing an opponent towards the wielder. The opponent fails to notice the returning power drawn back towards the wielder. If the wielder’s move positions them behind the opponent, they can do what I just did. But if they remain in front, they can use their returned weapon or another weapon to disarm the opponent. The real danger here is assumption. Tides are dangerous. They cast away, they fall back, but they also pull and rise with their return and who knows with what power that will be!’ she told him.

Jiàn Shēng listened quietly with his handsome brows knit in deep thought as he saw the wisdom behind the movements. ‘How can each be blocked?’ he asked.

‘Currents can be sullied by anything that stops their movement forward. Waves with counter-waves. Tides with wisdom and humility – nothing else can win against a tide,’ she answered.

‘Then why is it that none except the King is your equal in combat?’ he pressed on. ‘Perhaps you have an unfair advantage which is the Water Sword in your possession?’

‘I play fair,’ she said before adding, ‘It is not the weapon I have. It is not even any weapon that anyone has. You could win this even without a weapon if you understand this simple truth – I am the weapon. Think about the wisdom behind that,’ the Bride advised.

‘Remember, at the heart of the Way of Water is movement. But now, practice makes perfect. Get ready,’ she said as she poised for another attack on Jiàn Shēng.

These were times of happy memories for both, the Bride and Jiàn Shēng. If things had remained as such, the Bride’s heart would have been content and joyful. To her, he was a close friend and son though she never for once considered him anything close to a lover in all her innocence and playfulness. That position in her heart was occupied by the King alone. She found Jiàn Shēng to be like a kindred spirit, someone very similar to herself – playful, free, unrestrained, and joyful. Each looked forward to meeting the other and the cold northern realms was filled with the sound of their laughter and clashing swords. They pulled tricks on each other, and tumbling into the snow causing the other to roll down the steep mountains was a game they took seriously. If only such goodness remained, the realms would have stayed untouched by evil.

However, the northern realms were not safe anymore. Not as long as the darker side of forbidden love was taking root and growing strong in the heart of Jiàn Shēng. He did not see her acts as pure innocence. To him, each smile, each look, each laughter, and act of mischief was the quiet affirmation of love from her with unspoken words. Such is forbidden love that is clinging to vain hope for someone longed for.

In the nights, he wrestled with himself and his thoughts. His mind kept returning to everything that transpired during their times together in the north. It lingered on her beautiful lips and wondered how they would feel to be kissed. It lingered on every curve of her shapely figure and every graceful move of a being who embodied the power and beauty of water and flame. It wondered at the differences between her softness and his own muscular strength. If he had approached the King for help or if he had checked his thoughts, there could have been redemption. But he opened the door to his own lust and fantasies, his own twisted version of a love that was growing into something darker, one that he found reasons to justify. He was growing in his expertise in the Way of Water, but he was losing the battle within himself.

The King and the Bride could easily read all minds and know all thoughts, but they had restricted themselves to allow their created beings freedom to share with them as they saw fit. Jiàn Shēng masked his feelings in front of the Bride and therefore she never felt alarmed enough to take a journey through all the thoughts he had in the past, present or future. To her, the times in the northern realms remained beautiful memories, pure and untainted.

If Jiàn Shēng truly wanted a female counterpart, it would not have been difficult or inappropriate either. The Tiānshǐ were made from the dust of Dàshān which represented the combined unity of the King and the Bride as they were before they chose to be separated into two. For this reason, all the Tiānshǐ held the masculine and feminine aspects within themselves in perfect balance. However, their manifested appearance was always masculine in the heavens, and they were called sons. They felt no urge within themselves to render differentiation between these aspects, or to love and marry as their Makers did. They were happy as bonded brothers and friends and enjoyed their work in the realms. Such was the effect of the balance within them that they were not troubled by these things. If they were, their Makers would have agreed to allow separation within their beings for them to have feminine counterparts. But Jiàn Shēng’s fault was this – he did not want a counterpart from within himself. He desired the Bride and coveted after someone who was not in love with him, thus bringing the seed of evil into the realms and corrupting love into lust.

Jiàn Shēng eventually learnt and became adept in sparring with the Way of Water firsthand. However, he did not learn the Way of Fire though he had observed the King using it in play combats. He had observed the Fire Sword used by the King but did not understand all the principles at work behind it, though he had enough wisdom to discern at least two. He understood that the King himself was the source of the fire, and the fire needed air to breathe. He did not discern fully that the tree was a conduit of the fire and could act as both, a vessel to carry and spread the flames.

In sparring, it is important to know your opponent. What is unknown about them carries the potential for fatal errors. Jiàn Shēng and in fact, no one else in all the realms knew that the tree was an extension of the primordial spirit of the King and the river was an extension of the primordial spirit of the Bride.

At that time, they did not know either that the King and the Bride were triune beings made of an outer mantle of fire and light, a core of water and in between was wind that held the two together. Wind breathes life into fire and water.

A sword is the extension of one’s spirit. There was a third sword that no one knew existed, for none had seen it. It was the Wind Sword which could only be formed by the union of the Bride’s Water Sword with the King’s Fire Sword. It was the most dangerous and powerful sword to ever exist. Its way is the Way of Wind whose nature it is to scatter and gather. It is lethal for it works unseen.