The Last Kinmark - Chapter Six

One week after Kilosian’s sources had revealed the assassination of the emperor, Kiv was in the palace courtyard training with Ahkdo. In addition to their academic learning, the king had seen to it that the boys were brought up as fighters and strategists from an early age. Both were regarded by their fighting instructor, Jindro, as more than capable.

Although each of them was skilled, Ahkdo clearly had taken to the martial arts in a way that Kiv never had. Going back all the way to their first fight at the age of six, Kiv did not think that he had won more than a few dozen of their hundreds of bouts. Even that small number of victories surprised him. This day was no different than all the rest. They were training in hand-to-hand fighting, and Ahkdo had won all three of their fights by quickly maneuvering Kiv into different states of submission.

The most recent fight had just ended with Kiv in a compromising position that had left his arm completely in his brother’s control. While such a position resulted in Kiv surrendering to his brother in their training, it could just as easily be used in a real fight to incapacitate one’s enemy through injury. Ahkdo could have broken Kiv’s arm in any of several different spots or done serious harm to his shoulder if he had wanted to. Even without such malice from his brother, Kiv’s arm was in excruciating pain simply from being placed in such an uncomfortable position.

“Ahkdo wins again. I feel like I’ve been watching the same fight for the past twelve years.” Jindro spoke with disgust in his voice, but Kiv could see the laughter in his eyes. He had been the boy’s fighting instructor for as long as they had been training and had long ago given up trying to be some kind of stern military disciplinarian in his role. The muscular man was far too lighthearted to be taken seriously in any case.

The training sessions had become more about the twins staying in practice than actually learning anything new. Ahkdo’s position as heir prince would keep him from joining the ranks of the Kinmark army, so he had little need to improve his already substantial talent as a fighter. And Kiv was already more skilled than most of those who chose the soldier’s life. If that was the route he eventually took, which he highly doubted, then he would begin to learn his profession in earnest along with his fellow recruits.

“I thought you were going to get me that time, Kiv. I swear your kicks could bring down this imperial assassin single-handedly. Single-footedly?” Ahkdo also spoke with eyes that betrayed the seriousness of his voice. Kiv did not mind. He knew that he was no match for his brother’s martial skills. He was, however, disturbed again by the mention of the assassin. He had just learned about the matter two days ago when Guoryden had announced it to the rest of the court from his throne.

Kiv did not feel slighted that the king had already told his brother about the situation while keeping him in the dark. Ahkdo was the heir prince. It was his right to know such things and to be privy to the king’s deliberations on them so that he could learn to be a good king some day as well. Kiv knew this to be true and approved of it.

It was not even the assassin himself who bothered Kiv. He had no delusions that this man, no matter how powerful, could harm him or his family by himself. It was what he represented that bothered Kiv, a unified Tyte. Such a thing had never existed, and Kiv was not sure that he wanted it to ever exist, even if it was his own family that someday found itself in a position to rule the entire continent.

The position of emperor had been created so that the four families could feign unity, but it had never been a reality. Of course, each family almost assuredly harbored secret hopes of gaining dominion over the other three. But none of them had ever been bold enough to try. This man, this assassin, would ignite those desires more intensely than they had ever been. War was almost certainly coming.

Apparently seeing the concerned look on Kiv’s face, Jindro intruded on his thoughts. “I see Kiv is in no mood for games today. Very well, let’s get back to it then. We can still get in a little swordplay before we’re done.”

Kiv bent to pick up his blunted sword from the short grass of the practice field but stopped himself. “Why don’t we train to use our magic in a fight?” He had been wondering about such things since the rumors of the assassin’s strange abilities had begun.

“Pick up your sword.” Kiv sighed and reluctantly reached down for the weapon. Jindro spoke again as he did so. “No. Use your magic, not your hand.” The instructor went up to Ahkdo and took his sword from him as Kiv used his powers to pick the sword up. It took all of his concentration to lift the heavy object. He found it impossible to hold it completely still. Once the weapon was in front of Kiv’s face, Jindro walked up to him and powerfully swung Ahkdo’s sword at Kiv’s. The latter went flying through the air, completely lost to Kiv’s control. Jindro looked Kiv in the eyes. “That is why we don’t use magic to fight. Because our bodies are much stronger.”

Kiv was exasperated by the demonstration. “That’s not what I meant. I could use the sword and also use my magic. It could at least serve as a distraction to the opponent.”

Jindro just stared at him. “And how much effort did it take just to lift the sword? Do you really think you could spare that much concentration when you’re fighting for your life? All it takes is one mistake,” he snapped his fingers loudly for emphasis, “and you’re dead.”

Kiv knew the man’s reasoning was sound. “I suppose you’re right. The rumors of that assassin just had me thinking about it, that’s all.”

Jindro snorted out a laugh. “Only rumors, Kiv. I guarantee you this madman will somehow be even more powerful than Tyte by the time another week passes. Such is the nature of rumors. Now, go get your sword.”

After another half hour or so of instruction, a messenger came running up. Kiv recognized him as Lox’s youngest son, Feloxus, a boy of about ten who no doubt dreamed of joining his father as a guard when his twentieth birthday arrived. “Heir Prince Ahkdo sir, King Guoryden requests that you attend him in the Room of Differing Opinions at once.” Ahkdo looked at Jindro who nodded his head to indicate that they could be done for the day, so he said goodbye and went to see the king.

Since he was finished early, Kiv decided to return to his reading. He stopped by his rooms to pick up his copy of Magic: Its Uses and Limits and went to his favorite spot to do his favorite thing.

“Due to the extraordinary nature of our most revered ancestor, all Tytans possess an inherent ability to do things that our Mizish counterparts cannot. We call this ability magic. While there are Mizish legends which speak of their own ancestors performing feats which would put even the greatest among the Tytans to shame, serious scholars dismiss such legends as mere fanciful tales told by a people who wish they were more like their betters. This stance is all but proven by a simple fact: we know of no incident in our seventeen centuries of existence in which a Miz has performed magic. It is safe to say that if the Mizish people ever had such ability, then that time has long since passed.

Unfortunately, our own ability to do magic is severely limited. Any Tytan child can move a book off of a table and into his lap without using anything other than his mind, yet that is nearly the extent of our magic even into adulthood. All of us dream of flying off into the sky as Tyte did after his visit to Danyehella or being able to burn our enemies to dust. But such powers seem to be beyond our grasp. However, there are still a great many uses for our magical propensity. The purpose of this book is to aid my fellow Tytans in discovering those uses and honing their abilities to them.”

Due to Amazon's KDP Select exclusivity requirements, I can only have 10% of my book available on this blog. I hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far and will think about purchasing The Last Kinmark in its entirety.