Enigmas - Chapter 1

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of swords striking against one another were heard throughout the entire village. The houses which came in different sizes and colours, which were made from clay or bricks and the street was lined up with small stalls, that were empty as if everyone abandoned the area. The sunlight shone through the windows of the houses, revealing an empty house, void of any living souls.

The same clanging sound was heard again and this time, loud cheering accompanied the sound. In the centre of the village, which was an empty field of gravel and sand were occupied by a crowd of people. There was a wooden platform in the middle of the huge crowd, with two men standing on it, swords in their hands as they faced off each other.

A light-brown haired, fair-skinned man, who was dressed in a dark green cotton pants and black sleeveless shirt, held his ground against another man, who was black-haired. The light-brown haired man skidded back a little, due to his opponent pushing him as hard as he could, his dark green boots scraping against the wooden platform. Both of them were wearing similar outfits and they had the same lean body build too.

However, the only difference was that the light-brown haired man was hardly sweating and panting, compared to his opponent’s exhausted state. The light-brown haired man smirked and he lifted his head up, taking a step back and his opponent only stared cautiously at him, getting into a defensive stance.

The light-brown haired man did something unexpected as he sheathed his swords at the side of his hip, taking another step back but one leg was forward while the other was backwards. Without hesitation, the light-brown haired man inhaled in a deep breath, propelling himself forward as he withdrew his swords quickly and aimed for his opponent.

The sudden movement made the crowd go ballistic as they watched with anticipation in their eyes, except for one particular slim, raven-haired woman in the crowd who was rolling her eyes. She made a face when she felt herself being shoved around in the crowd, making her step back.

The opponent panicked, stumbling backwards as he immediately tried to defend himself from the powerful attack, only for him to lose his balance and stagger back even more. However, he felt one of his leg stepping onto air, making him let out a shocked yelp as he collapsed down to the floor, outside of the wooden platform.

The crowd cheered merrily as the light-brown haired man grinned victoriously, lifting his sword up in the air to celebrate his third winning streak as another man climbed up onto the wooden platform.

“Once again, the winner is Yoan!” The man announced, dressed in a flamboyant manner.

Yoan, the light-brown haired man, continued grinning widely, his emerald eyes sparkling with arrogance.

“Is there anybody else who would like to challenge this undefeatable man?”

The raven-haired woman rolled her eyes again, shaking her head, musing to herself.

If there is even someone who dares to now, I’ll admire his guts for challenging Yoan.

However, to her surprise, there was actually someone willing to and turns out, it was the man beside her.

“I will.” The man beside her spoke and the raven-haired woman raised her eyebrows, her violet eyes widening in shock. Some of the people amongst the crowd snickered at him, especially since he didn’t look intimidating at all. In fact, he didn’t even look muscular at all and he barely reached Yoan’s height. The rest of the crowd cheered encouragingly, even though more than half of them knew he would lose terribly.

Yoan just raised an eyebrow at the man that dared to challenge him. He watched him as he climbed onto the stage, rather clumsily and the announcer jumped down from it.

The announcer searched for anyone who were eager to shout out their bets on who would win, until his eyes landed on the raven-haired woman, who was dressed in a priestess outfit, that covered up to her wrists. Her priestess robe was a mixture of red and white, the top part of the robe was white and it started to split open at the bottom area of her chest, revealing an inner wear inside, which was red in colour. The robe reached down to her ankles and the flat shoes she were wearing were also red in colour.

“Hilia, who would you bet for?” The announcer asked curiously and everyone’s attention turned to her, including her childhood friend, Yoan.

She blinked her beautiful violet eyes at the announcer, a small smile adorning her fair face, which was slightly blemished.

“The man who challenged Yoan.” She said without hesitation and everyone silently gasped, thinking the same thing.

Why would she bet for the losing team?

Yoan only frowned in disbelief and she turned to him, shrugging innocently.

“Is that so? How interesting! Alright, ladies and gentlemen, let the fight begin!” The announcer hollered excitedly, the crowd forgetting about the weird bet and instantly, they observed the two man with rapt attention.

Everyone in the crowd knew Yoan and Hilia were childhood friends but that wasn’t the reason why the announcer focused on Hilia.

It was because it was Hilia that the announcer decided to focus the bet on her. Among the villagers, Hilia was sought after by many men and many girls envied her, however, it wasn’t because she was beautiful. On the contrary, she was considered average, she just had a certain charm about her that made her attractive to everyone.

Moreover, she had a kind heart, which made her more appealing.

Yoan turned his head back to his opponent and the opponent did the same. Both of them took a defensive stance as Yoan withdrew both of his swords and his opponent only had one sword in possession.

Their eyes were both fixed on each other, ready to catch any sudden movement from one another. However, Yoan noticed the man’s eyes poorly attempting to cast a discreet look at Hilia, who was oblivious to what was happening, only gazing at their fight with bored eyes.

It wasn’t due to the fact that she was bored with seeing people challenging one another but because she knew that the winner was already confirmed. There was no fun in observing a predetermined fight.

His opponent still hadn’t glanced away from Hilia and Yoan felt irked. He charged aggressively towards the man, who immediately moved his eyes back on Yoan, blocking Yoan’s attack in a flustered state.

“You should keep your eyes on the opponent.” Yoan growled out, his emerald eyes lightning up in annoyance as he gritted his teeth, showing off the chiseled features of his face.

Amongst the crowd, there were also some girls, who swooned at Yoan, since he was the most handsome men in the village after all.

Yoan’s opponent clumsily took a few step backwards and Yoan let out a frustrated sigh, knowing the motive of his opponent now. Yoan decided to end it quickly, attacking him repeatedly in a swift manner and within seconds, his opponent fell from the wooden platform. The crowd cheered madly at his quick victory and everyone ran forward to congratulate Yoan, who once again, won the title of the being the best swordsmen in the village.

Hilia quickly squeezed out from the crowd, not wanting to be squashed between all the men; especially since she was a small woman and all of them were way bigger than her. She let out a sigh of relief when she directed her eyes to Yoan’s opponent, who wincing and groaning from the consecutive attacks. She was afraid that Yoan had once again underestimated his strength, it was how one of the villagers here ended up with a broken arm and ribs.

Hilia’s lips tugged into a kind smile and she walked to the platform, crouching down beside Yoan’s opponent, observing him with concerned eyes.

“Are you okay?”

Yoan’s opponent instantly stopped his wincing and groaning, quickly standing up and licking his lips nervously.

“Yes! I’m okay! Thank you very much!” He answered with enthusiasm, making Hilia chuckle at him.

“That’s good to hear, and I have to say, you are one brave man.”

“Brave? Wh-what for?” He questioned, fidgeting around.

“For challenging Yoan, no one in this village has ever beat him before. Not even once.”

“Ah, that’s not being brave” He replied shyly, ducking his head down and shuffling at his feet. By now, the crowd had died down and dispersed, some of them glancing at Yoan’s opponent in envy as they walked away. Meanwhile, Yoan eyed them, a frown on his face, he didn’t feel satisfied about his victory.

“Well, to me, that’s considered bravery.” She smiled and the young man scratched his head nervously.

“Erm, Heiliawould you-”

The young man said, only to be interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind him and Hilia looked up, seeing Yoan standing behind him; arms crossed around his chest. The man instantly tensed, the glare on Yoan’s face frightening him. He said his goodbyes and scurried away, not wanting to suffer from Yoan’s wrath.

Hilia trailed after his cowering form and she let out a small sigh, spinning herself back around.

“Yoan, did you have to scare him that badly? Look at him, he’s like a puppy.” Hilia asked, placing her arms at her hips.

“I didn’t mean to.” Yoan muttered out, his expression darkening. Hilia barely managing to catch it and she shook her head.

“Hilia!” Someone called out to Hilia, making her turn her head as brightened up significantly.

“Grandmother!” Hilia greeted happily, running to her grandmother and hugging her.

“You are back! Isn’t it a bit too soon? Didn’t you go for a purification ceremony at the neighbor village?” She asked excitedly, observing her grandmother, whose hair was already a greyish-white and the wrinkles evident on her face.

“Yes, I did, but I couldn’t complete the ceremony.” Hilia’s grandmother answered her, sounding fatigued.

“Why?”

“I lacked the necessary herbs to complete it, you should know how forgetful I am, due to my old age.” Her grandmother sighed and Hilia frowned, eyeing her in concern. Yoan only listened to their conversation, not interrupting them, since it was none of his business, though he’s worried for Hilia’s grandmother too.

Yoan is an orphan and the only real family he had was Hilia and her grandmother, whom was a motherly figure in his life.

“What do you plan to do then? They need a priestess to complete the ceremony, don’t they?”

“That’s right, that’s why I’m asking you to go instead. I’m lacking too much of energy right now, I can’t continue it.”

“It’s fine, grandmother, I’ve done the ceremonies a dozen times, I can handle it. Just tell me where the herbs are.”

“The herbs are at the garden in our house, just follow me, you too Yoan. Accompany Hilia to the ceremony..” Her grandmother said, weakly gesturing to them to follow her.

Her grandmother walked off and her legs wobbled slightly and she was immediately supported by two people at her side.

“Grandmother, don’t push yourself too hardjust tell us what to do, we can do it ourselves.” Hilia warned, her voice soft.

“That’s right, granny. You are pushing yourself way too hard.” Yoan agreed as the both of them supported Hilia’s grandmother, who slowly headed to her house.

“Oh, it’s fine” She responded, waving it off but even her hands were shaking slightly.

Hilia opened her mouth to say something again, only to notice the pale face of her grandmother and she shook her head, deciding not to speak. She didn’t want to aggravate her grandmother any further.