the sister planet of his own home world because of the likelihood of further conflict with the Horva and the impending attack of the Baruk.
Tiet as yet had assumed no formal power, but both the Castillian tribes remaining on Castai-Ori and the recently freed Vorn civilian population of Castai-Rexus were looking for leadership.
The Vorn had originally looked to Daooth or Wynn as potential leaders to unite them to face future conflicts, while the Castillians had looked to Estall as the victorious leader of the Aolene who had brought about the capture and subordination of the Vorn military on Castai-Ori.
Wynn had emphatically refused, while pointing out that he could never assume power under any circumstance so long as an heir to the throne of his people lived. With Daooth backing Wynn, and a history of relations between the Vorn and the Barudii kings of the past before the Baruk created conflict, it brought about a consensus among the Vorn to follow Wynn in backing the throne of the Barudii. Estall had also deferred to the throne of the Barudii, and hoped Tiet would step up to the task.
It all seemed a wonderful change of events to Wynn, but Tiet had not consented to ascend formally to his father's throne. It had become a matter of great frustration both to Wynn and those among the Council of the Twelve Cities that he remained reluctant. Wynn himself had spent hours trying to persuade the young man, who at times seemed that he might cave in to the pressure, but he realized that Tiet doubted himself. The deaths of his friends were still weighing heavily upon his mind.
Tiet had taken great interest in organizing civilians from among the Vorn and the migrating Castillians to form a large ground force in training. He had become obsessed with the task, in fact, leading Wynn to the conclusion it was in part to relieve himself from his own troubling thoughts concerning recent events and the deaths of those dearest to him.
Wynn ascended a stairway leading to a very long balcony that overlooked the training courtyard. He couldn't help but be delighted to see his own Castillian people training with the Vorn to fight a common foe. A dream in part had been realized with the uniting of these people and he hoped nothing would tear them apart again; but he thought it vitally important that they have the necessary leadership; and that leadership could not be served better than in the Barudii King.
Swords clashed on the courtyard as instructors from among the Aolene guided the trainees in various sparring exercises. The handsome new uniforms Tiet had designed were of the same material used in the old Barudii cloaks and rendered the wearer electronically invisible.
Various improvements from Vorn technology allowed for the E.M. shields to be reduced in size and incorporated directly into the garments along with components that provided a real-time holographic data display and nano-sensory components. These helped to mimic the Barudii kinetic ability to sense information such as number and position of combatants within a certain range.
The data created pressure sensations in the garment to alert the warrior and in effect give them perception in all directions simultaneously. Other nano-components provided scanning of one's surroundings and fed the information to the holographic display.
Today, the trainees were practicing Barudii blade techniques. Much progress had been made in the ten months since Baeth Periege had been engulfed in battle. Daily more trainees appeared as the migration from Castai-Ori continued despite the threat of the Baruk. The city had been under constant repair by numerous robot construction crews, although the cloning facility that had once been such a jewel of science for the city was never rebuilt. The Vorn Council of the Twelve Cities, named for the twelve large cities now housing the population for unification and safety concerns, had outlawed the cloning of Horva as servants.
General Grod's Horva troops provided little interference to reconstruction after their defeat. There had been a few raids on smaller cities that were nearly abandoned, but it appeared they sought supplies rather than conquest. Grod himself had been proven to still be alive; a fact that had brought considerable alarm to the Council. While there seemed to be no immediate threat, it was a definite possibility that Tiet's new recruits might face a war on two fronts if the Horva resurfaced with attacks on the twelve cities.
Wynn continued to walk the length of the balcony until he could see a group of recruits surrounding one unarmed man. The young man was blindfolded but not bound. Several of the recruits moved in to strike.
The first strike went for the face. The victim's head bobbed to one side as the strike passed before him. He quickly struck the mid-section of the attacker then swept the feet while countering another strike from a different recruit.
As the recruits moved in quickly, trying to overwhelm the man, the whole situation seemed to revert to chaos. In a matter of a few seconds, all of the recruits were tossed to the ground, leaving the man standing alone. Wynn chuckled a bit to himself as Tiet removed his blindfold and beckoned his students to their feet.
He could not hear the instructions given at that point, but soon the recruits disbanded to other exercises in the courtyard.
Tiet raised his blindfold again and replaced it over his eyes. Wynn noticed a flash of light as something caught the sun between Tiet and himself. Something whispered and kissed the railing of the balcony next to his right hand. He could see a spicor disc lodged there.
He looked back at Tiet, still blindfolded but curling his index finger in the air toward Wynn. He smiled, then stood waiting. Wynn dropped to the courtyard below as Tiet leapt at him. Wynn caught Tiet's foot and sent a fist to the groin, but Tiet's other leg had already come up and over to catch Wynn in the side of the head. Wynn stumbled as he let go of Tiet's foot, but quickly regained his composure. Tiet was standing ready and on guard; he liked training with his mentor.
Wynn smiled back at the younger man and began to think he had taught him too well in recent months. They exchanged a quick moment of fists and kicks with neither man landing a blow to advantage. Tiet was still smiling behind his blindfold.
'I've come to urge you to speak with the Council,' said Wynn.
Tiet's smile disappeared. He was never pleased when this subject came up; which it often had since the Council had pressed for leadership in the months following the battle at Baeth Periege.
'We've been over this before,' he said. 'I am not the man to lead these people, Wynn.'
Wynn could sense that this hardness was not as deep as he was trying to make it appear. They exchanged several more blows, with Wynn the more playful now. He noticed that all the commotion on the courtyard had ceased. Nearly all the recruits in the area were focused on the sparring between the Barudii.
'You've become very powerful in recent months. Far more than when we first met,' said Wynn.
'All thanks to your training, I'm sure.'
'Would you be up to a wager with an old man like me?' he baited.
Tiet smiled again and raised his blindfold. 'Wynn, if you're trying to get me to-'
'Of course if you doubt your ability to knock me to the ground in hand-to-hand combat, I suppose I understand,' Wynn interrupted.
'And if I do?'
'Then I won't bother you with the matter again.'
Now he was intrigued. 'Do you really mean it, Wynn?'
'I do.'
That was the last word needed. Tiet launched an intensely fast barrage of attacks at Wynn. He managed to match them all, but with difficulty. The younger man had the age advantage and he was powerful. If this kind of attack continued, he might wear him down. Wynn considered it and Tiet hoped for it.
Tiet was younger, but Wynn had decades of specialized training. He deliberately faltered and Tiet took the bait. He landed a strong blow to Wynn's face. The elder man stumbled and went to one knee. Tiet approached. 'Looks like you're about to lose this one, Wynn,' he boasted.
'That's too bad. Do you think Orin and Dorian would be proud of your lack of resolve to assume your rightful place?' he asked with a mocking tone.
Tiet's countenance flashed through surprise and then anger. He lunged. The elder man took the opportunity and rose to meet him with a knee to the stomach; three consecutive quick blows that knocked the wind out of him. He followed the ambush with a backhand to the side of the head that sent him to the ground gasping for precious breath.
He looked up at his mentor, who was smiling at him again. He remembered the old lesson to refrain from anger in battle, as it can foil one's concentration.
