Excerpt: Hyenonn Kaze - Indifference

Year 317
My blade cut deep into the tree trunk. I was inexperienced. I took a while to get it back out. Before I began swinging again, my father Hyolinn interrupted me. He was not only my father; he was my teacher and my guide through this world. He taught me to care for and to control my emotions. To know when they were needed.

“The sun is almost set, Hye.” He spoke with a rough passion.

“I know father-”

“You call me sensei.”

“I know sensei..” I felt anxious looking up to him. But he taught me to always look into the eyes of who I speak to. “But how will I ever get better if I do not push myself past my limit!”

He had a long pause. Instead of responding, he put his hand on my back and started to make me walk alongside him. He brought me to the fountain outside of our clan's home. We were the royal clan of the Nation, the most respected, the most feared. The fountain was luxurious.

With a feral sweep of his hand, he blasts the statue in the fountain into gravel. The marble breaks with ease to the slicing winds from his finger tips. Awe explodes inside me. Why would he do this? Is he trying to make a point?

“You see my student. Anything that is beautiful is worth destroying.” He stares at me with his soul piercing eyes, speaking with a dark, monotone voice. “Do you know who taught me that?”

“Your father?” I was barely done speaking before he yelled over me

“I taught myself! That is how the world works, pupil. You teach yourself what you need to know.” His glare goes to the rubble of the fountain. The water seeps out of the huge fountain bowl. “You fight for yourself. When you are in that arena, do not think of your country. Think of your life. You do not win in death.

“I understand, sensei.” I did not understand. I thought, why else would I compete in this tournament if not to bring honor to my Clan? To my Nation? This was the day I finally understood my father- my sensei.