Lar fought with the fury of a Night Terror trapped inside the shell of a man. On top of that, he displayed the quickness of a Black Rohs. His sword strikes were precise and meant for one purpose — to kill.

Kaden could not fathom how a man could slay another man purely for sport. But, given the current situation, Kaden resigned himself to doing just that. At least if he wanted to survive to see another sunrise.

The crowd exclaimed chants in his favor. Which was to be expected, considering the vast majority were from Ison. But there were calls of his opponent's name as well. They were intermixed in the uproar.

The prince and the king remained silent, locked on the battle that had now been joined before them. His attention on not dying, Kaden only caught brief glimpses of their impassive stairs that revealed nothing easily.

With the aid of his Courage and Rage mix pumped directly into his heart, Kaden fought back with an equal ferocity that matched his opponent's far greater skill.

He used both ends of his Rohs Fang effectively and allowed his calculating mind to control his actions. But he also drew on what he'd learned from the scrolls Princess Lyla had given him. There'd been a wealth of knowledge to be gleaned from them. But, if he dwelled on that aspect too much, Kaden could feel his efficiency in battle slip. He just had to trust his mind to tap into that information as necessary.

Instead, he forced his mind to focus on the war he fought and the feud consuming him.

Kaden kept switching which end he would attack with, favoring the bladed end more often. But he presented the forked portion of his weapon a fair share as well. Mostly trying to catch Lar's blade between the tines and possibly disarm him with a quick flip of his wrists. He, however, had no such luck with that strategy.

Lar was too skilled. What he lacked from not being a Koronai, despite fighting like one, he made up for in what was obviously years of training. Kaden had never encountered the technique Lar used in their fight. It was a bizarre mixture of moves that often contained two or even three successive movements to perform one action. The attacks and blocks, however, were not slowed by any of this.

And with a heavy dose of Rage mixed with Courage flowing through him, the messenger was showing just how skilled a warrior he was. Even if he didn't know what he had taken.

Back and forth. Forth and back. The battle shifted, but neither warrior gained any semblance of advantage. Kaden figured, considering his lack of training, he was doing well. Until he saw the slightest hint of disapproval cross the prince's face in a brief moment when their eyes met.

That singular look nearly broke Kaden. He found himself defensive against the king's messenger. Kaden blocked and blocked again, sneaking in an attack of his own that barely missed by an inch upon realizing he'd lost control of the battle. Kaden, in that moment, was relieved he hadn't killed the man trying desperately to kill him. But also worried that he would die if he didn't find the courage to do so.

It was then that Kaden realized his fear of killing another human being was holding him back. He convinced himself that such fear had to go. And knowing the anger inside the prince from just the look he'd briefly seen, Kaden turned the two person war around and fought harder than he had.

Lar, to his credit, was holding out longer against the concentrated dose of essence he'd taken than Kaden had expected him to. He'd probably worked up a sizeable tolerance over the years, and Kaden wondered if his gambit would pay off and give him the advantage he counted on. And that he desperately sought any semblance of.

A few more exchanged blocks later, Kaden ramping his assault up to another level, the crowd cheering, both men sweating profusely at the height of their battle, and Kaden saw what he thought was an encouraging sign.

Lar's right right eye twitched in a series of quick, almost unnoticeable spasms. Even if the messenger showed no signs of letting up, Kaden recognized what he saw.

Facial twitching was a sign of Rage poisoning. Kaden had seen it many times before. When he'd administered doses of Sorrow to the warriors suffering from the condition.

Kaden, not letting up on the battle, looked closer at the sweat coming off of Lar's brow. He believed he saw the slightest tint of red in the liquid. A second sign.

Kaden knew he had the advantage, even if it hadn't manifested itself yet with a victory. The young Karo Shar swept his weapon close to Lar's face. The messenger backed up an inch to avoid it.

Lar's counter never came. He was simply off balance, his body seeking an answer to something that wasn't right.

Then Kaden went to sweep the legs of the King's champion. Lar avoided that as well, leaping over the attack. Kaden rolled to avoid the downstroke of Lar's curved sword and was on his feet again with the smoothness of a trained warrior. Blade then fork, then blade followed by fork again rocked Lar back. The last strike catching him ever so slightly on the back of his hand.

The blow drew no blood, as it was the blunt length of the tine that struck him. But just the fact Kaden had made contact was enough.

The bladed end came around and got Lar on the top of his right arm, near the shoulder. Now there was blood. The wound was more than superficial, yet not serious either. But Lar would not stop.

And neither would Kaden. He blocked a swing of Lar's blade, pushing it up and out of the way, exposing his opponent's chest for a deadly strike. That strike was on its way, when Kaden's mind intervened.

Instead of skewering Lar through his gut, Kaden adjusted his weapon's path, bringing the other end around and up and cleaving off the man's ear instead right where it met the skull. The surprise move staggered Lar, and Kaden followed with a resounding thud from the arcing shaft of his Rohs Fang to Lars Temple that felled and disarmed him.

In the last minute, before killing the man, Kaden had formed an idea. One that he hoped would work. Even if it required a slight twisting of the generally accepted meaning of the Decrees.

With Lar on the ground and helpless, where his ear had been now spitting blood, Kaden thrust the forked end of his weapon towards Lar's throat. But just as the pointed tines prepared to break the skin at the urging of the Rage within him, the trajectory of Kaden's weapon halted. As did Lar's breath.

"I have beaten you upon the field of battle," he cited a common Decree used to when princes met princes out upon the Barren Sands with armies. "And done so before my prince. And your King." In reality, the Decree he was citing said nothing about the King or ritual combat. "You are a great warrior. Yield to me. Become my slave. And through me, serve the Royal Prince of Ison."

The crowd fell from cheering into murmurs as people closer recanted what was said for those further back. None were sure what they were watching.

Kaden looked to Prince Relastin to assess his response to the course of action he'd chosen to take. But the prince was remarkably impassive.

The King, however, stroked his beard.

Lar looked to his sovereign, with obvious confusion as to how to respond to the unexpected request. Perhaps he was begging for his king to allow him to take the out given to him.

The king gave his answer wordlessly by looking away from the man, signaling his clear disapproval.

Lar turned back to Kaden. "I would die before serving you."

Now it was Kaden who's breathing ceased. He really thought this could have worked. "So be it then. Do not say that I was not merciful." The Karo Shar put all his weight behind the ensuing thrust, skewering Lar's throat and ending the man's life in a spray of blood as he ripped it free.