Turning Tables and Broken Glass

Till Death Do Us Part

During the year, Kokkino went east towards Parsa. There he trained with strong men and challenged the best to duels. He defeated all seven warlords of Parsa and recruited them into his army. These men were the strongest people in the Parsan military. They were feared by all throughout the land; their honour and victories were endless. They conceded to Kokkino when he defeated them and joined his cause. The day of the tournament Kokkino walked into the capital of Antakya with the seven strongest men of the east.

During the year, Kryzos went west towards the sea. He took on an apprentice from Samaria named Joshua to become his right-hand man. Kryzos taught the man everything he knew and trusted him with his wisdom. They went south with a large party purchased by the endless gold Kryzos could afford to hunt for Judas. When they killed him, they hired his men to join them. The day of the tournament Kryzos walked into the capital of Antakya with a hundred men serving him, all purchased with gold.

Apart from the two parties, many men entered as sole contenders. They numbered 32, all strong knights dressed in different coloured armor. There was one dressed in all blue, one dressed in all green and one dressed in all black, the rest wore their family colours. Theseus built a gigantic stadium with the city’s treasury to host the tournament. He built small shrines to all the gods and each contender was encouraged to make an offering before the fight began. Every nobleman from around the Empire was present, there were even some from as far as Greece, Rome and Babylon. The money that came pouring in as bets were placed made Theseus very happy.

The stadium consisted of two parts. In the centre was a large circle arena for fighting. Around the circle was a large moat. When all the guests had settled in their seats and the contenders had gathered in the arena, Theseus began to speak: “Honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, we are here to watch the tournament held by the gods. The winner of this tournament will be awarded my daughter’s hand in marriage. The rules are simple, anyone knocked into the moat loses. All weapons are permitted; killing is allowed. Let the death begin!” As he closed, a large cheer was given by the crowd and the tournament began.

Blows were dealt, swords were swung, and men were thrown into the moat. The tournament had started and it was a spectre for the audience; they saw many gruesome things as they cheered. In no time at all the Parsans began raiding Kryzos’ servants. Their force was too much for Kryzos’ men to handle but Kryzos was not idle. He went around watching each of them as they danced. He looked for weak spots or delays in their movements and struck. He pierced their heels or their sides while his men kept them occupied. Once wounded, his men would push them into the water easily.

The fight dragged on for quite a while. Kryzos’ numbers were the quickest to drop, as his men were not the strongest, but Kokkino only had four left; three of his men were defeated. Joshua was left in charge of taking out the sole contenders. He knocked out five when he met one of Kokkino’s men. The man was seven feet tall, swinging a giant war-axe. Joshua, being much quicker, stabbed him before he could even move. The giant barely flinched and swung Joshua’s head off his shoulders.

“Joshua!” screamed Kryzos. He unsheathed a second sword and charged at the giant. He swung but Kryzos dodged it and stabbed both swords through his heart. The man was dead on the spot. Kryzos then rushed at the other two warlords, cutting through their ankles and dropping them both to the ground. His men came in and did the rest. Kryzos’ anger subsided as he wept over Joshua’s body. The last warlord saw his chance to avenge his comrades and charged straight at Kryzos. Before Kryzos could move the Parson was already above him, getting ready to swing his axe down. Before the axe came down, Kryzos was kicked by the black knight and sent flying; the axe came down on the knight’s head instead. The whole crowd gasped at the altruism.

The arena was dead silent for a minute. Kryzos was in shock as was Kokkino. Even though the knight’s head was chopped off, his body remained upright; every contender was staring. Then the strangest thing anyone in that arena had ever seen happened. The knight’s body walked up to where his head rolled, picked it up and put it back on. The crowd went wild. Some were screaming and some were cheering. “It’s a god,” some said, and others “it’s a ghost.” Kryzos looked up at him and asked “Who are you? Why did you save me?” The knight took off his helmet revealing his face. “Mavros! Mavros, my dear brother, how in hades did you do that?”

“I’m immortal,” he replied coldly, as he turned his head towards the Parsan. He took out his daggers and pierced the Parsan in both sides and kicked him in his gut. The man fell back and lay on the floor unconscious. The other contenders were still speechless, most were frozen in place. Kokkino had enough. He rushed quickly, with his mighty spear, and swung the remaining men into the water.

Kokkino spoke up, “Brothers, now there are only the three of us. Mavros, since you do not want the girl, please do not interfere with out fight.”

“Fair enough brother. But don’t kill each other.”

Kryzos and Kokkino both shouted “Agreed!”

Mavros stood off to the side as the two brothers continued fighting. In terms of strength and combat skill, Kokkino had the advantage but cunning was Kryzos’ game. Kokkino, with spear in hand stabbed the ground shaking the arena somewhat. He ran towards an unstable Kryzos and kicked him down. Kokkino walked slowly towards him. The crowd was silent again. When Kryzos saw that Kokkino was getting close, he took a smoke bomb and tossed it close.

The area around them filled with purple smoke. In its cover Kryzos got up and kicked Kokkino in the hamstring, he twisted his arm around his back and kicked him down. When the smoke cleared, the crowd was witnessing Kryzos try to pick up Kokkino. The weight was too much for him; he took a knee. Kokkino freed himself, called forth his spear and stabbed Kryzos in anger.

“Brother!” yelled Mavros as he ran towards them. “Kokkino, you traitor, you killed him!”

“I couldn’t lose to him. I couldn’t lose her.”

“By Heracles I will take you down.”

“You think you can match my strength, Mavros?”

Mavros charged directly at his brother, pulled out two daggers and jumped. Kokkino lunged his spear forward, impaling Mavros, but he didn’t stop. He pulled up his arms and stabbed Kokkino in between his breastplate and legs; Kokkino went down. “This is your sin brother. You will pay for it,” cried Mavros. He then pulled the spear from his chest and stabbed his brother with it; the spear vanished. The crowd cheered.

“And that is the end of our tale,” said our teacher.

“Really?” said one of the girls, “What about Mavros? What about the girl?”

“Ah yes, that’s right. Mavros lamented the death of his brothers for a whole year. As he was the winner of the tournament, he then took Bianca’s hand in marriage. They got married and lived happily ever after.”

“What was the lesson of this tale?” asked one of the boys.

“The tale was a way of showing you children how Fortune and desire shape lives. The brothers’ bad Fortune led them to meeting Bianca and fighting over her, even though they swore and oath.”

“Yay, tell us another one,” said the youngest child.

“No, its far too late children. Everyone go to bed.”

As everyone was leaving I saw another man come in and drench the fire. I waited to see who he was. He looked up at me and said “Hello, little Phillip.”

“How do you know my name?”

“I was watching you the whole time,” he replied as I noticed he looked somewhat familiar.

“Have I seen you before sir?”

“Would you like to know the real ending of the tale? Prometheus always cuts it early.”

I gasped as I realized who he was. “Yes, please tell me.”

“Very well. Mavros marries Bianca. But like all mortals, she died and he was filled with despair. His sorrow reached the highest heavens and the depths of hades. I once found him sitting under a tree in Octavian’s garden repeating the same poem over and over. Eventually I took him in and showed him the penalty for immortality. He watched his children die and then his grandchildren and so on until he believed that he was the cause of their death. His mind was shattered; he now roams Europe calling himself Death. Now go to sleep little one, you have a part to play soon.”

“Where’s the fracture on your chest?” I asked.

“I never had one.”