Chapter 21

  After a week of rest, Drakkel was able to move around more easily. His old aches still remained, but he was back to his original self.

  During the week he had been regularly conversing with his clanmates to find out what he had missed.

  He learned that his clan had trouble gathering disciples and that was the reason that their numbers had stayed nearly the same from when he was last there. If it weren't for the fact that his master was still there and they had another Sword Master among them, their rank might have fallen even further than number 2.

  He also learned that Mi-Mian became engaged to a disciple in the Powdered Vessel Swords Clan named Caz Lianga and Leyon managed to catch the eyes of the head disciple of the Sweeping Trees Clan, Immortal Beauty Jade Blossom Sonalita Pir.

  The relationship with Mi-Mian and Caz Lianga had been developing for four years, but the one with Leyon and Sonalita only started during the last Sword Fighting summit two years ago, where she became impressed with his skills and charm.

  Many men were apparently jealous of Leyon and asked to duel with him. But the Sacred Sword Swords Clan was not so easily beaten. The men who challenged him were mainly Sword Sworn and below. Anyone at Sword Spirit was usually defeated by Kirora as that was his level at the time. But, on one occasion, a Sword Master confidently announced that he would defeat the disciple of the Sacred Sword Swords Clan and win The Jade Blossom's hand.

  Being labeled as one of the top Sword fighters and reaching sword master at the age of 19, Sonalita heard this and challenged the man to a duel instead. She won before he even got the chance to fight Leyon. She called him out for being shameful and challenging one weaker than himself and he became a laughing stock for a while afterwards.

  Drakkel also learned of the individuals currently ranked as the strongest in the Sword Fighting world. Of course all the leaders of the strongest 7 swords clans were on the list. As well as some of their disciples who had made it to Sword Master.

  Still, there were some individuals missing from the list including Taliyah Raven and Rillian Adore. For Taliyah, this may have made sense, but Drakkel was surprised to find that Rillian Adore was also not included. The list was made up of strong individuals who attended the Swordfighting summit.

  There were two ways for a Sword Fighter to display his or her strength in the Sword Fighting world. One was by attending the Swordfighting Summit and the other was by beating one stronger than yourself in a duel. Being a part of the list didn’t mean you were the strongest. That was why some people might be at the rank of Sword Master and known as a strong individual, but not have a place on the list.

  The Summit took place every three years and it not only determined the strongest sword fighters, but also the top 7 clans. The clans with the most wins would move up in rank.

  On top of this, each individual disciple would be analyzed and given a spot on the sword fighter ranking list.

  When Drakkel asked why Rillian Adore wasn't on the list, his clanmates had informed him that Rillian Adore had refused to attend any Swordfighting Summit since after the duel with him. He had gone into a one year seclusion and locked himself away.

  However, because of the duel, this one year seclusion was regularly interrupted by dueling requests from others. This had gone on for a while until he had finally beaten a sword master called Wils Jirno from the White Clouds Swords Clan. Standing undefeated and beating one of the strongest Sword Fighters, no one dared to challenge him again.

  Later his clanmates told him of rumors they heard on the street that said a mysterious man had assisted Rillian Adore in fixing the situation at Shadowy Ridges. The two were even said to have defeated a horde of demons at Thousand Petals Swords Clan's Manor. Knowing that he was the one found there, his clanmates asked him for the truth behind it, but Drakkel did not want to tell them every embarrassing thing he did to help the townspeople of Shadowy Ridges, nor did he want to expound on such a complicated subject to avoid his problems from haunting them as well. So, he only told them that there was some truth in it and left it at that. They didn't need to know more.

  Later on when the disciples left, Drakkel’s master walked in.

  As he stood at the entrance to the room, he “Are you feeling better, Drakkel?”

  Drakkel nodded. “I am, Master.”

  Rodius Fowl walked over to the chair next to the bed and sat down. He reached out his hand and took Drakkel’s pulse.

  After nodding his head, he pulled his hand away and smiled. “Your sword energy has stabilized quite a bit. You can go and seek out my master tomorrow.”

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  Because he was about to leave, Drakkel thought it wouldn't hurt to inquire about the earlier matter again.

  “By the way master, Senior Brother told me that the Night Raising Flower is fatal. Why haven't I…”

  Rodius Fowl shook his head. “I can't tell you. My master will have the answer you seek.”

  Drakkel nodded.

  His master really didn't want to speak about the issue so he knew he had to drop it.

  Rodius Fowl continued, “When you head out tomorrow, you should travel alone. Don't draw any attention to yourself. As my disciple, I'm sure you know what you must and mustn’t do.”

  Drakkel bowed his head. “Of course, master.”

  His master was right. Stay hidden and tread carefully. For now, his identity was concealed. But if he were to be found out, some weak Sword Fighters might try to make a name for themselves by challenging him. Not only would this impede his journey, he may not even be able to defeat them in his current state which could cause the standing of his clan to worsen.

  Rodius Fowl got out of his seat and made his way to the door when Drakkel suddenly said, “Master…”

  Rodius Fowl stopped.

  “Did you ever recover Swift Wind's Breeze?”

  Rodius Fowl shook his head.

  Drakkel sighed.

  He thought this might be the case, but he still had to try. Weapons of Sword Outcasts and Fallen Sword Fighters were either dissolved into meteoric stone to be reused or kept in the sword hall of their individual Swords Clans. Some weapons were so famous, they were even donated to SwordSmith Villa’s Grand Sword Hall or given to other Swords Clans to make connections or show appreciation.

  Rodius Fowl said, “It disappeared shortly after your fight. I heard it would strike out at anyone who dared to touch it and that attempting to do so would cause one to feel immense pain on contact. so it was left on the site for weeks. Many tried to take it, but they couldn't stand the pain and gave up. We were busy at the time, so I couldn’t immediately send someone out to retrieve it. But when everything calmed, your Senior Brother offered to go. As he was set to leave, however, we received news that the sword had already disappeared.”

  He sighed. “That’s all I know. Wait here for a bit. I have some porridge with peaches for you.”

  Drakkel nodded.

  He was disappointed to hear that the fate of his sword was unknown, but he knew he shouldn’t complain. He wasn’t yet ready to wield it. Besides, it wasn’t as if it would be too late to locate it once his poison was healed.

  Drakkel’s master had returned quickly. In his hand was a tray and atop it sat a piping hot bowl of porridge and two peaches.

  Rodius Fowl sat on the chair next to Drakkel’s bed and handed him the tray.

  Drakkel stared at it for a few moments.

  Seeing his hesitation, Rodius Fowl asked, “What’s the matter? Hurry up and eat it.”

  Drakkel smiled. “I was just wondering if you cooked it, master.”

  Rodius Fowl stroked his beard. “Why? Does it matter?”

  Drakkel politely answered, “It doesn't, I was just curious...”

  He grabbed the tray and hesitatingly lifted the spoon from the bowl.

  Rodius Fowl said, “Your Senior Brother cooked it.”

  Drakkel breathed a sigh of relief and placed the spoon in his mouth.

  Only when he was hit by the weirdly textured, salty mass of half cooked-through porridge did he realize he was lied to.

  “Master!” He screamed with a mouthful of food.

  Rodius Fowl laughed. “I was just kidding! That’s why I brought you some peaches to wash it down with.”

  Drakkel shoved down the porridge and eagerly grabbed one of the peaches. When he bit down into it and the flavor of the juices leaked into his mouth, he was finally able to relax.

  His Master was great at many things, but cooking was not one of them.

  He remembered growing up that his master loved to cook, but was very terrible at it. He would make all types of concoctions and force Drakkel to try them.

  If his Senior Brother had any time, he might give Drakkel something delicious to cover the taste of the bad food. This was because, unlike his master, His Senior Brother was a great cook.

  He smiled.

  When he was sick, his master was said to have spent hours in the kitchen making him porridge. On those days, his master's porridge seemed to be the only thing he could stomach.

  Rodius Fowl snapped him out of his thoughts. “Get some rest now, Drakkel. You have to head out tomorrow.”

  He handed him the second peach, got up, took the tray, and headed out the door.

  Before he reached the door, Drakkel said, “Thank you, master.”

  Rodius Fowl paused, nodded, and then exited the room.

  Drakkel ate the second peach and then laid his back on his pillow.

  Returning to his Swordsclan wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. For a moment, he thought that he shouldn't have put it off for so long. However, he quickly shook his head.

  If he had officially returned in front of the prying eyes of others, his clan would have had to face the wrath of the world as he had. He had already made them suffer and they still didn't blame him. But if he made them suffer any more, he would still blame himself.