Birth of a Shadow
Chapter III: King Piast
Argh.
Uhhh….
More cries of pain…
I don't know if there was a day, when more parts of my body have hurt.
For days I and my Sis had trained with dad.
And with training he meant above all Sparring with him. And he didn't hold back.
Besides this he let us run through the forest. Through water, wood and stone. Without a break for an eternity. At least I remember it so.
Also he let us lumberjack. Or at least let us try to lumberjack. The axe was heavy and the trees harder than stones.
And all of this the whole day. From Sunrise till Sunset.
Today I know that I got better every day, but back then….you will hear it soon enough.
One day I was panting, hands on my knees. Couldn't stop that….
My Sis was sitting not far away. She had already time to rest, but she didn't look like she liked this training more than me.
"Already tired?" my dad asked me with a sarcastic undertone.
I glared at him. During these days I hated him.
"No.", I replied stubbornly, "But I don't see where this will bring us."
"What do you mean?"
"Lumberjacking, running and fighting against you. You didn't even give us hints how we should fight you. It looks more like you would beat us up."
He grinned again. This smug Grin. I hated it.
"Everyone can fight, son. It is in us all." he made a break like always, when he explained something, "Yes, I could show you, how I fight. It would make your fighting style more efficient and much more dangerous. But this is not what I want to teach you."
"Then what do you want to teach us?" my Sis intervened.
He looked to her.
Then he pointed at his head.
"To use this. I can't give you hints. You need to learn to fight more efficient without help. Only in this way you will be able to act correctly in every fighting situation. Find your fitting fighting style yourself.", again a break, "Although everyone can fight, not everyone can adapt to every situation he encounters. You need to learn to adapt to fight with a much more experienced, much stronger and faster and in every matter better fighter than you are. When you learned to fight me, I don't guarantee you to beat everyone, but you would belong to the few I mentioned already." he made again a break, but more in thoughts than usual, "I admit that learning to fight more efficiently with my help could bring you benefits. Like some Warriors I met. But you two will learn it differently."
We both moan.
And I hoped already.
My Sis reacted as well.
"And how we should use our head? I used every trick I know on you and you blocked It.", I replied angry.
He looked at me with a face, which I would call later that of a wise master.
"Then you need to learn more tricks. And by the way anger is not a help."
"Ah isn't it?" I said sarcastically.
"Yes. Your head needs to be empty and full in the same time. Guile and Honor. Anger and Coolness. Fear and Courage. Happiness and Sorrow. Wrath and Love. And Despair and Hope. You need nothing of it during fighting and simultaneously all of it, when you know how."
Are you confused? Then you know how I felt in this moment.
"This doesn't make sense!" I replied angrier than before.
He grins again.
"That is the reason, why I don't give hints. Only when you get it yourself, you will know what I meant."
Then he turned around.
"Make a break. Liz it is your turn."
"What!" I yelled, "But I can still…"
"No. Now it is time for you to become cool again. Your next training session is tomorrow."
It is difficult to explain how much anger in me boiled in this moment. I felt like a fool, who couldn't even understand the simplest thing. And everyone would laugh about me, although there was no one laughing.
Before I realized it, I charged him.
He didn't move an inch.
Before I thought that I had maybe surprised him, I tripped cause of a root.
My face still hurts today, when I think about this.
"Ow…" I muttered.
"Do you see now, why anger is not such a good option?" he asked me with his knowing face, which I mistook with arrogance.
"Now move over. It is your sister's turn."
I glared at him.
"Fine!" I yelled, stood up and turned away.
My Sis looked at me with a look of caring, but I didn't care back then.
I ran through the forest. Back home.
I think I cried even.
Of course I allowed only as much tears as a real man would allow himself. So….one tear….maybe two…
….Ah I didn't cry! Don't look at me with these eyes!
….
Where was I? Ah, yes…
I reached my home. Mum was washing our clothes in the lake.
I grabbed a stone, which was lying close to the banks and throw it not caring, if it would dap or not.
Then I yelled very loud.
The anger didn't want to subside.
"Something happened, honey?" my mum said with her warm and calm voice to me.
I looked back to her.
Her warm smile welcomed me.
Although I tried already back then to become a real man, in front of her I became always a young kitten.
"Nothing. Dad is stupid."
"What have he done?"
I sighed.
"He can't teach."
"Ah is this so?" she said with an amused face.
"Yeah. He can fight, but don't want to show it to us."
She kept silent after this, but her face didn't change.
"Has he a reason for this?"
I grumbled.
"Yes. But a crazy one."
"Hmm…so where is the problem?"
I couldn't hide it in front of her.
"I didn't get it."
To admit this was very hard, but somehow her warm smile could wash away every shame.
"So….you are angry on yourself?"
When she said it loud, it became clear to me also.
"Yes…"
She came closer to me and hugged me. I hugged back.
"You shouldn't be angry on you, because you didn't get it by the first time. No one is a master from the beginning. It needs time."
Then we talked for a while. She told me some stories like always. Also a story how my dad have met my mum for the first time. He had acted more a fool than me.
We laughed together.
It lasted a while till we realized that we were observed. Shi Li, who looked much better than earlier, looked at us with his eye. It looked sorrowful.
My mum went to him.
She was the only one, who could talk with him. During our training she had tried to teach him our language.
Then we heard horns.
And a noise, which I recognize as marching today.
We looked at the village.
The armored guys have returned and much more than last time.
They gathered between the village and our hut at the lake.
We went closer.
Everywhere was seen the banner of the white eagle with the crown.
All of these guys – like earlier most often dogs and wolves – gathered around a circle in their middle.
Then we heard again horns, but this time from above.
There were seen pigeons and hawks with horns. And behind them was something much bigger.
They were eagles. And one of them was seen better than the remaining. His front had white feathers, which were shining like gold. His clothes – pants and shirt – tried to project this shining through the clothes and I admit that they had achieved this almost. But still the wings, where the real color was seen, looked much more…..majestic.
Yes this word fits the most for his whole look. Majestic.
When this eagle landed we could see his back feathers: brown….no, more bronze with a small Silver tinge and the face completely silver with except the golden bill.
His black eyes were as sharp as dad's. He wore also a golden crown, which resembled wings. And he wore a broadsword in its sheath.
He landed in the middle of the circle and I bet everyone in the village as well as we could see him in his complete glory. Behind him in a semicircle landed the remaining eagles, but no one looked so glorious like him.
In front of him landed a white pigeon with a horn, on which the banner was hanging. He used the horn as the last one and much louder and longer than earlier.
Then he began to talk in a much deeper tone I had imagined:
"This is Duke Piast, First of….", "Pssst!" a voice interrupted him. It lasted a while to realize that it was the eagle himself. The pigeon turned around to him and whispered:
"Your Highness?"
I bet most of the people couldn't hear this, but we were closer to him than the remaining village.
Then a wing slapped the pigeon hard enough that he landed on his belly.
"Have you forgotten my new title?" the crowned eagle said with a deep voice.
The pigeon seemed to realize his mistake and stood up again.
He cleaned his white tunica fast and picked up his fallen horn.
Then he began again like nothing happened:
"This is King Piast, First of the Eagles, Sovereign of the Wolves and Dogs, Leader of the Hawks, Pigeons and Falcons and Ruler of the Western Lands. He is the conqueror of the lands of Sulfur and the Hot Geysers. Victor against the Bull of Sandstein and the Furious Sea Serpents. He, the most glorious ruler of mine, wants to speak to you all. So listen very carefully."
Then the pigeon disappeared in the crowd behind this King and the King stepped forward.
The people had begun to chat with each other in a quiet volume. Somehow it looked like they had heard this name also before his army had declared the occupation of this land.
When the crowned eagle began to speak, every chat stopped at once.
"Dear people of Granica Swiata, I am King Piast.", his voice was more majestic than earlier, "I have come to you cause of a warning."
He made a break and everyone began to whisper with the people standing next to them.
"In some years a big threat from the west will come to you all. And not only you. Every one of people, who live here at World's End. This threat is so big, that it will kill every one of you. It is called the Plague."
Now the whispering got a panic undertone. I think the villagers know this name somewhere.
"The Plague had destroyed already dozens of villages and even countries. The Plague has left nothing where it passed. The Plague has only one goal: Destruction."
The panic got bigger.
"But you don't need to worry." he continued with a confident smile, "I brought my army here to protect you. And only cause of this.", again a break, while the crowd calmed down, "But….I must admit that my army alone isn't able to stop this threat. ", the crowd got more panicky again, "For this I will need castles and walls. But to build this, I will need workers. Tough and strong workers, who have no fear to work to protect their loved ones. I need you."
The whispering got louder.
"Who wants to help me to protect this village? To protect World's End? To protect your loved ones?"
It lasted only a while till the first one raised his arm and said "Me!" The remaining joined without a big break. Almost every one of the villagers had raised his arm.
I admit that I wanted to do this also. These guys looked like warriors. Real warriors. Hard and experienced and tough guys. Maybe one of these guys could teach me. Maybe I could get stronger than by dad. But before I could raise my arm, an arm stopped me. It was dad, who had stepped in front of me. He shook his head in my direction.
I haven't even realized that he had come back. My Sis was back also.
"Great!" King Piast began again more cheerful than earlier, "Let us protect World's End together!"
"Not….World's End…." I heard a broken voice behind me. I looked back and realized that Shi Li had said this, before he turned back again and entered our hut.
This confused me back then also.
Then I looked at the crowned eagle again. He had found us. And he stared at us.
The glance…..was different from everything I remembered till then.
But I will learn soon enough what it meant.
Third chapter. Enjoy it.
Kung Fu Panda belongs to DreamWorks.
This part of the world, the idea and these characters belong to me.