Sword Dancer
Sword Dancer
By Stacy Malm
Looking at the gathered crowd, you would never have realized that it was a cold, gray, and drizzly day. Everyone was outside, laughing and chatting with excitement. My family, along with the rest of the town, were attending the grand opening of the town of Penquil’s first movie house.
To understand the enormity of this event you need to learn a little about the town of Penquil; It is a small mining community that only shows up on a handful of maps, and even fewer people have actually heard of it. Penquil consists of a town hall that doubles as the courthouse, a small sheriff’s office that includes a single cell that has only been used in the past when someone was too drunk and started fights. There is only one store in Penquil that sells everything a person could ever need but lacks anything one would desire and a few other buildings like the mining office, and the Imperial bank. Despite Penquil being a small town we have three taverns that are full every night with the miners that treat them more like homes than their own homes. A few nicer homes surround what’s left of the main square, while the rest of the buildings are small run down houses for miners and their families to live in.
Our new movie house was built as part of the Imperial cultural plan. The Emperor wanted every community in the empire, large and small, to see newsreels of what was happening around the empire. It was proclaimed the last Sunday of the month everyone could come and see newsreels of the month for free. If you wanted to find out the most recent happenings you could see them sooner by paying five bits to watch the news and a movie. New reels were delivered each week on the cargo zeppelin that supplied the mines and general store. The town council declared today’s grand opening free to everyone for this special occasion.
My Family was excited to finally see the inside of the grand movie house that we had seen being constructed amongst our run down buildings. The Emperor had employed special workers for the project so few of the townspeople had actually been inside. We were sure to wake up extra early to get a spot near the front of the line where we could have a good look before it filled up. As opening time grew nearer we saw two men standing in front of the movie house doors. The first was the recognizable mayor. A big man with arms thick as tree trunks that refused to sway in the strong winter storms. The mayor had worked in the mines his entire life until one drunken night when he put his name in the candidate box as a lark. Nobody was more surprised than him when he actually won. As usual, he was dressed in his famous blue striped suit that he wore for special occasions. It pulled uncomfortably tight against his broad shoulders, chest and thick arms. Next to him being dwarfed in the presence of the oversized mayor, was an average man in a clean gray suit. He may have gone unnoticed in any average city, but in contrast to our meager residents he clashed horribly with the locals of Penquil.
The gray-suited man looked at his watch and with a nod to the mayor came forward first.
“I the Cultural Attache to the Emperor have come here from the capital to bring you this fine cultural movie theater that the Emperor ordered to be built in these small towns and villages, so you can finally learn about the great empire in which your town resides.” He waited expectantly for a cheer that came slowly as we looked at each other and started to wearily clap, unsure if the stranger was mocking us or not.
The mayor came up then and brushed the gray-suited man aside, stepping up to the purple ribbon that was strung up across the passage between the ticket booth and the wall of the theater. He looked at all of us and beamed with pride as he bellowed “The Imperial cultural movie house is now open!” He cut the ribbon and we all cheered loudly. Had anyone still been in the mines to hear us they would have sworn a cave-in was happening?
With the ribbon cut, we pushed our way past our neighbors and finally stepped inside the Imperial, a name we had taken to calling the Imperial movie house. The inside was the most majestic sight I had ever seen. It was blasted with bright reds and purples which made the gathering room feel alive. Hardwood floors stained a golden brown and a ceiling so high the chandeliers looked to be coming down from Mt. Olympus with sparkling soft lights reminiscent of stars. We made our way through two more large doors into the main room. Like the entrance room, the walls were red with large purple flowers. The wooden floors were a dark brown and the ceiling had three large chandeliers that had soft lights reflecting around the room. The chairs were lined up in rows facing a white screen larger than our house. The seats were high back oak chairs covered in a deep purple velvet.
We got seats in the third row nice and close to the giant screen. I sat between my older brother Philip, and sister Katherine. Father and Mother sat to the left of Philip talking quietly to themselves. Soon the lights went out and we all went quiet. A quiet hum and clicking coming from the back of the room as the clockwork projector came to life. Within seconds the words “Imperial News” appeared on the screen in huge white letters with fancy scroll work around the border. Which faded into more text, this time, saying “His majesty the Emperor built this modern theater in Penquil so all citizens can stay up to date with news of the Empire.” This again faded to show the first video any of us had ever seen. It was our Emperor waving to the crowd. It was like he was in the room with all of us. Several people cheered, a few even were even overcome with tears of joy. Our Emperor was in his mid-fifties though it would be easy to confuse him for being twenty years younger. We had a painting of him in our town hall but it was nothing like seeing him standing in front of us larger than life waving cheerfully. I heard Kathrine say quietly to herself. “He is even more handsome than in the painting.” It was truly amazing knowing the Emperor had recognized our tiny town as a site for his cultural movie house.
The applause died down as the Emperor faded away to be replaced with the words. “Our Emperor never has to worry about his safety with the elite Imperial guards nearby.” The screen returned with another clip of the Emperor looking carefree and peaceful. This time, you could see several guards nearby dressed in a black and gray uniform with a beautiful sword hanging at their sides. Each one looked relaxed yet ready to snap into action at a moment’s notice. This clip fading to be replaced by a group of young men training with swords at a large school, doing amazing things with their swords, striking and countering in a fast fluid movement. I had never seen anything like this before, I didn’t blink once, hypnotized. It was the greatest thing I had ever seen. I wanted to go to that school! The video was replaced by the words “Are you ready to serve the empire? Talk to your local recruiter now!” That was it I was going to sign up today! I didn’t notice the rest of the news clips, I was already dreaming of being an Imperial guard performing their sword dances.
After the news clips finished the movie started. It was called “The Enchanting Princess” starring the beautiful Cynthia Fey. It was about the good princess being kidnapped by a group of bandits and a lone sword dancer who came to her rescue! That sealed it, I knew now that I was going to become an Imperial guard. That night Katherine wouldn’t stop talking about how beautiful Cynthia Fey was, and how she wanted to be in movies just like her. Philip and I grabbed some sticks and pretended to be sword dancers, our nickname for the Imperial guard, with the neighborhood children.
We created our own version of the famous forty-two dances. We would defend ourselves with Cat-hisses, or Dog-growls. Rolling into an attack of Boar-charge, or leap with Wasp-sting. In these moments it didn’t matter that we were all sons of miners who would by all accounts go to work in the mines one day soon, for now, we were elite sword dancers!
In the following weeks fewer and fewer children joined in the dance. Philip was already working in the mines and didn’t want to sword dance in the evenings. It wasn’t long before it was only Truman, the next door neighbor, and myself. All the other children had given up the dance. After all, we were expected to work in the mines when we came of age. Truman and I steadfast in our lofty dreams would be outside our homes dancing Hawk-snags-the-hare, and Squirrel-hides-the-nut. We danced every chance we got; early in the morning, after class, and dinner until it was too dark to see. Neither of us wanted to face the grim reality that we would spend the rest of our lives underground, breathing the black dusty air with a clockwork hammer strapped to our backs, with only a small Edison lamp to light the way. It was better to dream of being an Imperial guard. A few months after the Imperial opened, Philip came out one evening his face red from too much ale and broke Truman and my swords.
“You will never be a sword dancer! Only the rich can join the Imperial guard. You are nothing but a miner, like everyone else in this family!” He sneered eyes bulging with anger. Throwing the swords into the refuse pit. I was hurt and very angry with Philip. How could he say such things when he himself had enjoyed sword dancing? I picked up the broken sword and swung it wildly trying to hit Philip. He had been working in the mines for a few years now and, easily blocked my attack, and fought back, hitting me repeatedly, landing blows to my body now curled into a ball on the ground, until father came out and pulled him off me. I laid in the dirt crying. Not from the bruises that I was sure to have on my sides and back but from the emotional effect his words had on me. Father shouted at Philip for a few moments and then sent him inside. Father, then pulled me up off the ground and had me sit next to him on the old wooden bench outside our house while he packed his pipe. He only smoked one pipe a night, sometimes less when money was tight. When he finally spoke to me, in his raspy voice due to decades spent deep in the mines, breathing the black dust.
“Son if you truly want to join the Imperial guard, don’t let anyone tell you different.” He looked at me and his eyes were filled with deep caring and empathy. “Nobody in this town will support you; they have all given up on their dreams but that doesn’t mean you have to be like them.”
“Why are you supporting me, Father? You don’t think I should work in the mines?”
“Well it’s simple.” he said “I once had a dream to see the capital and ride on an airship. Over time, the longer I worked in the mines I slowly realized it wasn’t going to happen and I gave up on my dreams. I don’t want to see you do the same.”
I looked up at his face, seeing his eyes twinkling with tears. “ Is what Philip said true? Can only the rich become sword dancers?” I asked nervously afraid of the answer I would get.
“I don’t know. When I was young there was a flyer posted on the town hall bulletin board looking for people to join the Imperial Navy. I imagine that if a poor miner’s son can join the navy he should be able to join the guard.” he said then tamped his smoking pipe and got up to go inside. “If you want to be a sword dancer for the empire son, then fight for it with everything you have.”
I sat there thinking about what father had said, “fight for it with everything you have” long into the night. I knew what had to be done, first thing tomorrow I needed to find a new sword one that wouldn’t break so easily.
After that day Truman refused to dance the swords, he chose to spend his free time with the foreman’s son Randall. Who had always laughed at us before. Philip’s message had sunk in. He was to start work in a few weeks anyways he no longer wanted to waste his time on a foolish game, he told me. Only I was foolish enough to dream of being something larger than myself, something other than a miner.
Three months had passed since Philip broke my sword and still I continued practicing every day. Except for father, I was now being teased by nearly everyone. Every day someone would tell me “Grow up”, “Stop being foolish”, or “You will never be a sword dancer.” These comments only motivated me to try harder. I found a heavy iron pipe to replace my wooden sword. I wanted something heavy to match the weight of a real sword and something that no one could break. I practiced long into the night, no longer was this a game, I was determined to make my dream come true. I would picture myself in real sword battles, how I would react to various attacks and defenses my opponent might use.
At night I would practice my sword dancing until my muscles went limp and I could no longer lift the heavy pipe. During the day I was one of the few children my age who were still going to school. Most had quit going, saying things like “What’s the point. We don’t need to learn this stuff to work in the mines.” This was another thing I was mocked about. I stayed to learn about the capital and anything that would help me be a better sword dancer. Mostly though I went to be distracted from thinking about working in the mines.
The Saturday before my thirteenth birthday I was sitting having my usual mushy oats for breakfast, on our old splintery table. When father came in looking a little solemn like he did after losing an argument with mother. “I know your birthday isn’t until Tuesday. Today is good as any.” as he handed me a plain box which I greedily tore into, excited to see my early surprise. It was a very rare thing to get a birthday present. Our family couldn’t afford such things. I was hoping the box contained a pair of leather gloves I had asked for to keep my hands from blistering while I practiced sword dancing every day. As I pulled out a brand new pair of mining goggles, my world caved. In that moment I realized I would never be a sword dancer. I would never join the imperial guard. I wouldn’t even be lucky enough to have an office job. I was going to be a miner just like everyone else. I couldn’t contain my emotions any longer, I dropped the goggles and ran out of the house in tears. I ran past the dirty shacks and up into the hills. I didn’t care where I went. Any place was better than Penquil.
I stayed out until almost midnight just walking amongst the trees feeling sorry for myself. At first, I was going to run until I reached the capital but as I got colder, and hungrier, my resolve broke. When I got home father was waiting for me, looking very worried.
“I.. I’m sorry.” I said as my shoulders hung heavy with shame. “I never should have left like that.” I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eyes. He pulled me into a hug and said, “Eat your cold dinner and get some sleep. Tomorrow I have something planned for us.”
I tried to ask what he had planned, but the words wouldn’t come. I nodded still ashamed of my actions and got the bowl of cold stew that was waiting for me.
The next morning father took me to the Imperial. This wasn’t the free news day so he was going to have to pay for us. At five cents a ticket, father wouldn’t be able to buy tobacco for a week. It was a big sacrifice and I felt guilty for the impact this would have on him.
“Father I don’t deserve to see a movie. I acted shamefully yesterday.” I said as I looked at my feet, still not able to look father in the eyes after yesterday’s incident.
“Look at me.” father said in a gentle voice.
I slowly looked at him, wiping the tears away and I did so.
“I know you never wanted to work in the mines. Hades! Everyone in this town knows that. I should have considered that before I…” He trailed off for a moment trying to find the right words. “Consider this movie your real birthday present.”
“But you already gave me the goggles,” I said quietly.
“Those were provided by the mines. They let you see what you do, not who you are. This day is to show you who I see inside.”
I didn’t say anything else as we made our way to our seats. There were only a few other people there and they all were families of the mines office workers. I couldn’t help to smile a little, Katherine was going to be jealous that I was getting to see the new Cynthia Fey movie.
The newsreels started, first was a clip of the Emperor visiting a distant city. I focused on the imperial guard that were in the background. They each had a stance that showed off their cat-like reflexes, even while standing perfectly still. Next was a reel about a group of sky pirates hijacking a cargo zeppelin that belonged to the Rivers Trading Co. This was followed by an announcement for citizens to join the imperial military, I would join in a heartbeat, I thought wistfully, if only there were a recruiter in town. After the recruitment clip, there was one of a large group of people dancing together. The text reel described the Imperial dance festival that was going to tour the nation. The final scene was a performance by the Imperial guard, doing an extremely elaborate sword dance. I don’t believe I blinked once during that sword dance. I wanted to absorb every detail I possibly could. After that, the feature movie couldn’t hold up against my imagination dancing along with the Imperial guard. I only half watched the movie as I tried to recount every detail of the last clip. I was thinking about trying out the moves I gleaned from the sword dancing clip. As we left we were handed a flyer informing us that the festival was going to be in Penquil in four months! The elite sword dancers were coming to Penquil!
That night and the following I practiced the movies I saw in the clip, practiced standing the way the guard stood next to the emperor and dreamed about the coming dance.
All too fast my thirteenth birthday was here. Time to start work in the mines, no more school, no more dreaming some miracle would save me from the dark, dusty mines. My prayers to the Gods had gone unanswered. My only light in the darkness was that the elite sword dancers were coming to Penquil and I planned to convince them to take me with them. I looked at my time in the mines as a kind of prison sentence. I would do my four months. and then make good on my escape. It was with dread that I walked to the mines with my family that first morning. Thankfully Philip wasn’t willing to tease me in front of father. My courage probably would have failed me had he teased me that day. When we arrived the rest of the day shift workers were already lined up waiting to enter the elevator shaft that led to the equipment room and mine tunnels. Mother and Katherine went to the ore refining area while Philip got in line for the tunnel elevator. Father took me to the Foreman’s office. Along the way, several people muttered comments like. “About time you grew up” or “Finally trading your sword for a steam hammer?” I couldn’t help wondering if any of these people were once like my father who had big dreams and watched them sink into the darkness of the mines. I dreaded that I would end up like them. The Imperial guard was my only way to escape their fate.
Contrary to my own despondent state Jim, the foreman, welcomed father warmly as we entered the office. “So today is the big day huh. Are you ready to dig in the black young man?” He asked me with a chuckle. Not wanting him or anyone else thinking they had beat me down I responded with as much joy as I could fake “I’m looking forward to learning the family trade, sir.” I pulled my goggles out of my pocket and put them on hoping it would add to my delivery. Jim smiled like he believed me and said: “alright today you will be working in tunnel G with your father he’s going to show you the ropes.”
The line for the elevator was gone everyone was already in the mines doing their various jobs. We waited for the elevator to return from the black to take me to my fate. When I heard the ding telling us it was time to board the elevator my heart began to break. I held back tears and tried to stand rigidly tall so father wouldn’t notice my dread. My stomach lurched as we dropped down the shaft, realizing I might as well be taking the elevator to Hades!
After what seemed like an eternity the elevator came to a stop deep underground and father took me to a rack nearly empty of digger packs. He pulled down a pack and handed it to me. The digger pack contained a small compressor and a steam boiler that ran on pyrefrost, the empires vital long lasting fuel source, that looked like frost on a cold morning. Father showed me how to use the arm gauge to monitor the packs fuel level, air pressure, and boiler temperature. Next father grabbed a hammer off a different rack and showed me how to attach the twin hoses from the end of the hammer to the compressor. I wasn’t sure why they were called hammers as they didn’t look anything like a conventional hammer that I had seen before. The hammer was actually a pole about three feet long, that had attachments for the hoses at the back, leather handgrips wrapped around the middle section, and the tip had two small canisters that looked like they held steam from the compressor. The tip on my hammer was a thin metal pin with a spiral cut going the length of it. I struggled to put on the digger pack, it weighed nearly forty pounds on its own, and the hammer another twenty pounds. Once on, father showed me the correct way to tighten the straps without hurting myself. Had I not been training to dance the swords with that metal pipe for the last few months I doubt I could have lifted this pack. In contrast, father picked up his pack and hammer swinging them into place with ease. I wanted that kind of strength but I didn’t want to waste my life down here in the black. I noticed the tip of his hammer was different than mine, more like a large spade.
“Your hammer has a drill tip, while mine has the breaker. You will drill a series of holes in the tunnel wall, I’ll come along afterwards and break the rock free. Then one of the loaders will load the rock into a mine cart to be taken to refining.” father explained.
“We need to get into the mines, enough time has already been wasted.” he said while handing me a heavy leather cap that had an Edison lamp attached.
We walked to a tunnel that had a series of rail tracks and climbed into an empty minecart that was descending into the black along its iron track. We could only see a few feet in front of us that was illuminated by our headlamps. We passed many side tunnels as we descended deeper and deeper into Hades domain. Finally, we came to a larger room with multiple tunnels heading out in various directions. Each tunnel was pitch black making each opening look like a void of no escape. The only difference between the tunnels was a letter painted above the entranceway. Father made his way to the tunnel with a large G painted on the rock and quickly vanished into the pitch black of the tunnel, leaving me to catch up. This tunnel I immediately realized was much steeper than the tunnels that had brought us down to the tunnel headway, and had no minecart. We walked for a long time, each step we sunk deeper and deeper into the black. By the time we reached the section of tunnel where the other miners were working I could barely stand. The long walk with a heavy pack on a downward slope had turned my legs to rubber. None of the miners looked up or said anything when we arrived. The tunnel was dark and hot, only the lights from our lanterns showed what was going on. Everyone was busy doing their jobs, some drilling the wall, others breaking apart the walls that had already been drilled. with others coming along behind and loading wheelbarrows with stone. Father and I took up a spot near the front of the line of drillers.
Father showed me how to drill holes in a grid with a foot spacing between holes. I put the hammer to the stone wall and flipped the hammer switch, instantly I was thrown backwards landing hard, bruising my backside and my pride. Several of the miners laughed loudly as I struggled to get back up.
Now I understood why this was called a hammer! The tip moved fast back and forth to shove the drill tip into the wall. This time, I braced myself and was able to withstand the force. Try as I might I couldn’t get the holes to line up in a nice grid like father had shown me. My arms were killing me from the weight and constant vibration. I gritted my teeth and kept going. I didn’t want the other miners to see me fail again.
It felt like we had been in the black for weeks when a distant bell rang. Everyone stopped what they were doing and started walking back to the entrance. There was no riding the cart back up, that was only for rocks, so I had a long climb in front of me.
“Go on ahead, I’m going to finish this last break, I’ll see you at the entrance,” Father said. He turned and started to break apart the last section I had drilled.
“Nice job drilling today.” snarled a voice behind me. “My grandmother could drill straighter than that. You should have been practicing drilling instead of stick waving all that time.” I knew that voice it was my old friend Truman. As I turned to face him, Truman pushed me, causing me to fall, driving the digger pack hard into my back once again. I tried standing up but couldn’t move. The heavy pack coupled with the exhaustion I already felt from the day’s work left me stranded like a turtle on it’s back. No matter how hard I struggled, my body wouldn’t move. I finally gave up and just glared at Truman.
“Look at him, too weak to even carry his pack” buffaloed Truman.
“Leave him alone Truman!” Philip shouted as he came up next to me.
“Yeah or what?” Truman said back.
In a blinding fast move, Philip punched Truman right in the face causing him to crumple to the ground unconscious.
“Anyone else want to mess with my family.” Phillip glared at the crowd while reaching down to help me up.
Nobody said anything, instead, they quietly dispersed leaving the still unconscious Truman on the ground. I had never been more thankful of Philip than I was in that moment.
“Don’t listen to that windbag, you did fine for your first day,” Philip said as he continued to help me up. We slowly walked up the tunnel and Philip told me a story about how he broke a drill hammer on his first day. We both laughed.
“Nobody is perfect to start. We all get better the more we do it.” He said.
His words stuck with me, to get better I only needed to keep doing it. Wasn’t that what I did with my sword dancing?
Father caught up with us as we were exiting the main tunnel to put our packs away. “What happened to Truman back there?” Father asked.
Before I could say anything Philip said, “He was causing trouble, I put a stop to it.”
Father nodded and stalked on, without another word. Mother and Katherine both asked how my day was when we met up. I grunted an almost unintelligible “alright”. I was too exhausted to talk. I didn’t say much the rest of the evening and went to bed right after dinner.
The rest of the week was straightforward, wake up, go to work, come home and sleep. I didn’t have the energy to do anything else. By the end of the week, my drilling had improved and the pack seemed to be lighter. I also didn’t have any more problems from Truman aside from a few nasty looks.
Sunday was the only day off I got. Lucky for me it was also free news at the movie house day. It had only been a week since I was here with father but it felt like a lifetime had passed on the black. The only reel I cared about was the one on the cultural dance festival. As I sat back and watched as the screen filled with people putting together tents and clips of the Imperial army showing off their elaborate tricks my dream was fully ignited. That evening I once again pulled out my old friend, the heavy pipe I used for sword dancing. It felt wonderful having my sword in hand instead of a hammer. It was lighter then I remembered, the mines were already strengthening me. I lost myself in the dance. Dog-Chasing-Cat, Hawk-Soars, Deer-Bounds-Away. I danced for hours. It was near dark when Truman came out of his house next door.
“I can’t believe I ever thought sword dancing was interesting. Here I thought you had finally grown up. Wait until everyone hears about this. Truman said.
I was furious, here was someone that was once a friend, who had become another local bully. “At least I work on fulfilling my dreams, instead of running at the first confrontation.” I snapped back.
Truman was on me in a flash. Forget the sword we were both punching each other with everything we had.
“That’s enough!” yelled Truman’s father as he pulled us apart. “Both of you go inside now!”
I glared at Truman as I turned and stalked inside.
I was happy to see Truman the next day with a large purple eye, while I had avoided any noticeable bruises, though my chest was screaming with pain when I put my digger pack on.
I thought the teasing was bad before, but no it was much worse now. Truman had made it his mission to hound me about my sword dancing, and talk to me like a small child in front of the other miners, who all laughed. Sometimes if we were in a tunnel alone, or as we exited the tunnels he would take a swing at me. Especially if Philip wasn’t around. Luckily I had become adept at dodging his attacks even with the digger pack on.
Once I had become more accustomed to my job and the tunnels themselves, I started roaming the various tunnels during lunch; my only break of the day. It was during these excursions that I was able to find an abandoned shaft near tunnel G where I was stationed. Father and Philip were both working in different tunnels now so I was alone much of the time. I enjoyed my lunch breaks immensely as I was able to explore and practice sword dancing without being seen and bothered by my fellow miners.
A new flyer went up around town a month before the festival.
The Day of Dance
Come watch the Elite Imperial Guard
perform a variety of sword dances.
Participate in the various cultural dances yourself
&
Enjoy all the unique foods of the Empire!
Everyone was excited, the whole town was chatting about the upcoming festival. Never had such a festival come to our little town. Mother was telling us over and over about her and Father dancing at a festival they had visited in a different town before they were married. I had heard the story so many times now that all I wanted to do was leave and find a quiet place to sword dance.
The teasing of the town folk intensified after the new poster went up. Everywhere I went people were telling me to stop drooling over the festival. I hadn’t been drooling; I was keeping to myself. I was hoping to meet a recruiter or impress the imperial guard to take me with them. This was the only way I could see getting out of the mines. Truman and Randall made an even bigger deal of taunting me about my dancing often in front of fellow miners or townsfolk which always created a laugh at my expense.
The next month crawled by. I would spend every evening practicing my sword dances, no matter how tired I was from work. Bull-Charges, Fish-Swims flowed into Crain-Snags. A few days before the festival as I practiced my sword dancing in one of the abandoned tunnels I had found. I heard. “Look what we have here. A child pretending to be a man.” I turned to see Truman with a mean sneer on his face approaching with his sidekick Randall next to him. I knew what was coming, anyone could see the hate in their eyes. I picked up my pack and hammer and tried to leave.
“Nah don’t run off yet. We want to have a little talk with you.” Truman said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
I put my head down and tried to push my way past them but was stopped by Randall who said. “Your big brother Philip isn’t here to save you, this time is he?”
Then as if on queue, Truman threw a punch straight at my face. I pulled the pack up just in time for his first to slam into the boiler with a loud crunch. Truman screamed in pain, it echoed throughout the tunnels and I wondered if the sound had made it’s way to the surface. I was so shocked that I had actually defended myself successfully that I didn’t see the second punch coming from Randall until it made contact with my jaw. I crumpled to the ground dazed. While laying on the ground trying to regain my senses. Truman yelled. “You son of a bitch, I’ll kill you for breaking my hand.” They both then proceeded to kick me over and over again on the entirety of my body. No matter how I moved they kept kicking me. I was barely keeping my conscious intact when Truman came up with a new idea. “Grab his arm. I’m going to break his hand.” I tried to pull my arms as close to my chest as possible curling into a ball as much as I could, despite the agonizing pain, my injuries were causing me.
“Oh no you don’t,” Randall said as he grabbed my arm and pulled it out for Truman. Truman lifted up my digger pack over his head and slammed it down hard on my right hand. Pain flowed through my entire body like hot water sweeping through me and with that I finally lost consciousness.
Sometime later when I woke up in the miners infirmary. A small room with a table, chair and the cot I was laying on. When I tried to sit up the pain swelled up in my body again and I fell back down onto the cot with the room spinning.
“Don’t get up son, the doctor is here checking you out.” My father said.
“You were injured pretty bad in your accident, you’re lucky that Truman and Randall saw you going into that old mine shaft” The doctor said in a kind and friendly voice.
Was this a joke? I must have heard him incorrectly. “I didn’t have an accident. I was beaten up by those two.” I said in a croak. It felt like my mouth was swollen shut.
“Don’t lie to me boy. Truman and Randall already told me what happened as I treated them. Truman was lucky he only sprained his hand rescuing you instead of breaking it like he thought.” He said as he grabbed my hand causing me to scream in pain. “By the feel of it a small crack that should heal in a few weeks, provided you keep it wrapped, and not play with your toy sword.” He said.
“That’s not what happened. Truman and Randall knocked me down and kicked me over and over!” I yelled. Though the doctor still wouldn’t listen to me.
“You’ve already done enough damage. That pack you ruined will be coming out of your
wages.” He said and turned towards my father.
“Take your son home and teach him not to lie, especially about people that saved his life.”
He left slamming the door.
“Father I am telling the truth!”
“I know but Randall is the foreman’s son, no one is going to believe you. Let’s get you home.” He said as he helped me to my feet. I could tell he was just as angry as I was.
The next day I chose to stay home. I was so badly bruised that I could barely move, every part of my body was swollen and black or blue. One eye was swollen shut, my sword hand could barely move, with the thick wrappings around it. I laid in bed and cried. How was I going to impress the imperial guard now? Truman and Randall had made it so I would be stuck in this town forever. I spent all day feeling sorry for myself. That evening Philip came in and threw my fake sword on the bed. “Get up and start your daily practice. You’ve been lazy too long.”
“I thought you hated my sword dancing,” I said.
“I do, I’m also the only one that is allowed to tell you so. You need to prove everyone wrong, myself included. There are only three days until the festival.”
With Philips help, I finally got out of bed. My body was stiff and sore and could barely move. Every movement I made sent a jolt of pain through my body. I stayed inside that night, removed the bandages from my broken hand, and force myself to pick up the sword over and over. It felt like a knife stabbing my palm every time I wrapped my fingers around the sword. Slowly strength returned and I was able to wield the sword around.
I didn’t go to work the rest of the week. Choosing to heal my injuries and practice. Philip told me that Truman and Randall were acting like heroes telling everyone how they had saved me. I was furious! How could everyone believe their lies? It wasn’t fair. Philip also told me that while he wanted to fight them, now was a bad time as they had the whole town believing them. “What we need is to find a way to make them confess the truth,” Philip said. I was more motivated than ever before. I was going to show everyone. I had what it took to join the imperial guard.
At last the big day was here. A zeppelin had flown in during the night and landed in a large field outside of town. The largest tent I had ever seen was set up next to the zeppelin. It was as tall and almost as long. The entire town could easily fit inside the tent. All around the outside, booths had been set up. You could smell the delicious smells half a mile aways. Philip was drooling before the tent or Zeppelin had come into view.
I looked at Philip “Let’s get something to eat.” With a huge grin Philip ran off. I limped after him still nursing my injuries. As I passed various town folk some pulled away, others made nasty comments about my appearance. I was still bruised from head to toe. I looked like I had been in the mines and refused to bathe afterwards. At least I was able to move a little better. Though I was still struggling with my hand. True to his word Philip got something at each food booth. We both got something called a waffle that had whipped cream and strawberries cut up on top! I had only had strawberries a few times before. It would be the high life to eat these waffles for breakfast every morning instead of our boiled oats. At the next booth, Philip got some toast that had been fried in egg and covered in powdered sugar. Next, he got a flatbread that was called a pancake, coated in maple sauce. I was still full from the waffle, but the sauce smelled so good I had a bite anyways. I watched Philip eating everything while I wondered how he could eat so much.
Alongside the food, booths were vendors selling jewelry, rugs, and various crafts from around the empire. Neither Philip nor I had any interest in the booths, we saw Mother and Kathrine looking at some very bright dresses next to a booth severing glazed boar. While limping my way over to the booth I stopped in my tracks; near to the boar booth was another booth selling all different kinds of swords. There were long swords with thick blades, ones with thin blades and elaborate handles, swords with curved blades, short swords, some swords had cloth handles while other had leather. I had no idea there were so many different types of swords. In the back of the booth sitting on a display stand next to the sword seller was a sword giving off a hum and a crackle. Every few seconds an arc of electricity would run down the length of the twin blades. This sword had a thick cable running from the rubber wrapped hilt to a pack similar to my diger pack at the mines.
“Ahh, I see you are interested in the Tesla sword. The great wizard Tesla has made only a dozen of these swords. I was lucky enough to get one.” The sword seller bragged. I had no idea who Tesla was, and I didn’t believe in wizards or magic, but I felt it was best to not say so.
“Is that thing safe to use?” I asked.
“Sure is. As long as you have on rubber gloves.”
I thought to myself. Rubber gloves would cost more than I made in a month. It was with great effort that I turned away from the sparking Tesla sword.
“Do you have any swords like the imperial guard uses?” I asked.
“They use all of these swords,” the seller said and swept his arm around the booth. “If you want their standard uniform sword though you are looking for this.” He said as he walked over to the side wall and picked up a beautiful sword. with a shining blade, that was slightly curved and had a black leather hilt. “This is a saber similar to what the imperial guard uses. The only difference is it doesn’t have a hand guard like their does.”
I picked up the sword with trembling hands. My first time holding a real sword! I said a silent prayer to Hephaestus for teaching men how to forge such swords. The weight was perfectly balanced and slightly lighter than the pipe I used. The hilt was even the same thickness! Wrapping my injured fingers around the hilt was a mixture of pain and pleasure. I was meant to hold such a sword. I lost all track of time and my surroundings while I stared at this beautiful piece of steel and leather. I don’t know how long I was in the sword sellers booth but it must have been awhile. I didn’t even notice father coming up behind me until he put his hand on my shoulder.
“Come the dances are about to start. Katherine and Mother are already saving seats for us.” Father said.
It was with much regret that I put the imperial sword back on its stand.
“One day I’ll own a sword just like you,l” I said to the sword. As I turned to leave the sword seller handed me a card that had the name and address of a business in River City the imperial capital.
“You may need my services someday lad,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you, I will!” I said with excitement and left the booth with father.
We found Philip carrying a plate heaped with so many different foods, it’s was amazing the plate didn’t break.
Inside the tent, there was enough seating to hold the entire town and then some. A wooden stage was laid down that could easily let half the town dance without bumping into each other. Despite being such a large area there were no poles coming down onto the stage. Mother and Katherine had found seats near the front where we would be able to see everything. It wasn’t long before the whole place was filled. Everyone in town was here. Anyone entering the town along the main road would think the place was abandoned.
A tall man wearing an emerald green suit and top hat walked onto the stage. In a loud booming voice that was too loud for his size bellowed out “Town folk of Penquil it’s an honor for us to bring dancers found around the empire. We will be showing you amazing dances performed by citizens from different areas of the empire. After each performance, we invite you to all comedown and learn the dances that you saw performed.” While he talked I was dazzled by his brown handlebar mustache that appeared to be dancing on his lips. “Later this evening the imperial guard will perform some of their elite sword dances. Those daring enough afterwards will be able to come down and learn to sword dance as well. Though I must warn you at our last stop someone lost an eye.” He said with a mischievous grin. “Now without any more delay let’s bring out the lovely dancers from Athens.”
The rest of the afternoon flew by. A group from some part of the empire that I didn’t know about would give us a demonstration, then town folk would go on stage and learn the dance. Father and mother learned every dance. Philip ate, and ate, never once going to the dance floor. Katherine danced every dance nearly each one with a different boy. She even dragged me out a few times. It was the most fun I had ever had. I even forgot about the imperial guard for a little while.
Athens had a slow moving romantic dance, Palikoin a fast sporadic dance that was difficult to watch and hard to learn. Posei had a low sensual dance. I was too embarrassed to watch and covered my eyes. Pelden had a group dance of eight pairs flowing around each couple, Alestia all danced by only moving their legs and keeping their upper body still.
Shortly after sunset, we broke for dinner. Edison lights had been streamed around the field making each booth look warm and inviting. After a day of dancing their food smelled divine. I ate a small dinner of roasted pork then returned to my seat in anticipation for the imperial guard. I was finally going to see a real sword dance!
Everyone was talking excitedly waiting. Finally, the announcer came back on stage. His emerald green suit sparkled in the Edison beam lights.
“I give you the imperial guard here from their school in Sparta.” He made a deep bow as six men entered the stage. While they were few in number their presence demanded everyone’s attention. I didn’t even notice the announcer leaving. Each guard wore simple loose fitting black pants and black shirt. They had dark green ribbons tied to their ankles, knees, wrists and cuffs. and a wide belt that matched the ribbons. Each had long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail at the base of their neck. Until now I had only seen girls with long hair. They each held an imperial saber, similar to the one in the sword sellers shop, only these ones were polished so well that even at my distance I could see reflections dancing on the blades. Each blade had a brass hand guard that glimmered in the lights. With a small dark green flag hanging from the hilt that matched their belts. They formed a circle with their backs to each other raising their swords above their heads with the blade pointing out as if they were facing an enemy that wasn’t there.
In an instant blades darted out into an attack then flashed backwards into a defensive move. All of their movements were perfectly in sync. They were so fluid that it was impossible to see where one move stopped and the next move started. I watched them dance the way a cat stares at its prey. It was hard to believe that this far into the dance they still had the perfect rhythm with each other. When one made a perfect swipe, they all made the same perfect swipe. They danced and danced so many moves I had never thought possible. I was making a mental recording of every move so I could play it back like a clockwork projector. I couldn’t wait to try these new moves. As suddenly as it had started they stopped in mid striking pose. Everyone in the tent cheered. The dance had lasted fifteen minutes though it seemed like only a few moments had passed.
While everyone was cheering all the lights went out blanketing the tent in complete darkness. A few hum started to build from the stage. Then with a blinding blast, a blue electrical arc shot down a sword, then shot out as a bolt of lighting to the grand tents ceiling. It was like the great God Zeus himself came down and threw a bolt. The thunder from the lightning strike nearly knocked me out of my seat. The lights came back on just enough to show a single man standing in the center of the stage. Wearing the same black outfit as the other imperial guard with blue ribbons instead of the green, and close cropped blond hair. He was holding a sword that was crackling with electricity running down the length of its twin forked blades. There was a leather wrapped wire running from the sword hilt to a small pack on his back. It was the same sword I had seen in the sword sellers booth! He leaped high into the air sending another bolt of lightning into the center of the tent, I was ready for the thunder this time. Philip wasn’t and fell out of his seat dropping a plate of pasta on the lady in front of him. The dancer landed and moved into his next attack with a cat-like grace. He was neither attacking or defending, just dancing, like his sword was an extension of his arm. Occasionally he would send a bolt of lightning out. Each time it would hit the center point of the tent, making the crowd startle in surprise. In the last yell, the dancer stabbed the sword into the center of the stage sending bolts of lightning out in every direction. He pulled the now quiet blade free and bowed low to the audience. The applause was deafening, it made the thunderclaps seem quiet! Lasting for a good five minutes.
The announcer came back on stage walking up to the dancer. In his unnaturally loud voice that cut through the cheering crowd. “The imperial guard and the newly invented Tesla sword!” While the previous sword dancers returned to the stage.
“The emperor thanks you for attending the Festival of Dance! If anyone would like to try their luck at sword dancing come to the back of the tent. Otherwise please return to the stage and dance any of the dances you’ve seen today!”
I was up and making my way to the back of the tent before any of my family even thought of moving. Father and Philip quickly caught up and joined me as I made my way back. At the back, we found a young lady who escorted us to a section of field roped off between the tent and zeppelin.
“If you want to learn to sword dance please go to the center of the field, everyone else can watch from the sidelines. I was the first one on the field. It wasn’t long before Truman and Randall, along with several other miners joined me. Father and Philip and a good chunk of the town crowded around the field to watch.
“What do you think you’re going to do with that broken hand. Tap us with a stick? Go back to the main stage and learn some romance dances.” Laughed Truman.
“At least I don’t need to lie to everyone to make myself look good,” I said back. Truman raised his fist to hit me right as one of the imperial guards walked onto the field.
“No need to use your fists son. You will be holding a practice sword in a moment.” the guard said to Truman. “Everyone stand in line so I can get a good look at you.” He snapped. We quickly got into line.
“Good you can call me Lieutenant George. So out of the entire town, only you seven have stepped forward to learn the imperial art of sword dancing. I had expected more.” He said as he looked each of us up and down. When he got to me he stopped. “Looks like you lost a bad fight.” Before I could respond Truman said in his most boastful tone. “He had an accident in the mines and I saved him.”
I was furious “Let’s settle this now! When you lose you have to tell the town the truth!” I snapped back.
“They already know the truth.” sneered Truman.
“Enough!” yelled the lieutenant. “You two want to fight fine I’ll provide the means to do so, first though let’s learn the basics then we will let you duel.”
“I thought we were only going to dance,” Truman said in a whisper that he thought only Randall could hear.
“If you are going to speak. Speak loud enough for everyone to hear.” boomed Lieutenant George, as he poked Truman.
“I didn’t say anything.” whimpered Truman.
“Looks who the liar is now.” Said the lieutenant. “Enough of this nonsense. Private Stacy will pass out the training swords and show you how to use them.”
Private Stacy was a young woman with long brown hair wearing the same Imperial uniform I had seen in the newsreels. While it was black and green like the earlier dancers wore, this was more of a dress uniform and not loose fitting. She carried a beautiful saber at her side that made the one in the sword sellers booth look like a cheap knock-off. She handed us each a wooden sword that was the same length as hers, and the blade had multiple slits. It was obvious the sword would bend when it struck something.
The pain shot through my hand as I grabbed the sword. I had decided earlier to not let anyone see me suffering so gritted and bared the pain.
“Watch as Private Stacy performs a simple dance. Afterwards you will learn it step by step.” said the lieutenant.
Private Stacy stood with her sword held upright the blade pointing away. The effect on the polished sword made her face appear to be split in two. She moved in a graceful dance bringing the sword down in a large sweep from her head around her ankles and turning into a counter attack. Next, she twisted the blade into a lunge and brought herself around to attack an invisible enemy behind her then in the same graceful movement she sheathed her sword.
“Thought we were going to learn something useful, not a woman’s dance,” Randall said. Everyone else nodded in agreement, while I shook my head quietly.
“Why do you shake your head lad, when the rest of your peers clearly agree with this child?” the lieutenant said to me.
“They must have been watching a different dance than I. That was clearly a fighting technique to fight against two people. One in front and one behind.”
My fellow townsfolk, on the field and sidelines, laughed at me. “Go back to playing with your toy sword and let the real men do the fighting!” shouted Randall’s father. Once again the crowd broke into laughter.
Looking around at the crowd Lieutenant George said in his booming voice. “This child is one hundred percent correct. Only he was able to tell what was really happening.”
That left everyone silent. I couldn’t help to grin. After that, no one said anything while Private Stacy taught us her dance. She had made it look so easy. Even with all my practice I found it difficult to learn all the moves and forget graceful. I did have a better time than anyone else, though. Only Truman and I were able to learn the full dance.
“Pathetic! Only two young men out of an entire mining town could learn the dance. Interestingly enough it’s the two who want to fight each other.” The lieutenant said looking at both of us. “What are your names?”
At the same time we both responded “Duncan”; “Truman”.
“Well, Truman earlier Duncan called you a liar and issued a challenge.” Truman shifted slightly at these words. “He is the liar and ungrateful for my saving him.” Truman finally said after a pause.
“Put him in his place, Truman.” Yelled Randall’s father.
Ignoring this outburst the lieutenant went on. “Duncan what was your challenge to Truman?”
“When I win Truman, has to tell the truth of what happened in the mines,” I said.
“If Truman wins.” Lieutenant George said.
“Then Duncan has to give up his silly notion of leaving the mines to be a sword dancer.” Said Truman quickly.
The lieutenant raised his left eyebrow at these words. “Very well we are going to have a sparring match. The rules are this. Every time your blade makes contact with the other you get a point. The First person to three points wins. No stabbing and no hitting the face. The blades won’t break any bones but they will leave a nasty welt.”
“Your dream dies here.” Spat Truman.
I responded with a stare while the lieutenant had us face each other and told us to assume a fighting stance. I chose to use the slightly crouched stance of the sword dancers from earlier. I raised my sword above my head and pointed the tip towards Truman. Truman, on the other hand, took the same stance that Private Stacy used. Raising the sword between me and his face. I wondered how much Truman remembered since the last time we had danced together.
“Start!” yelled Lieutenant George.
I launched into Hawk-snags-a-Hare nearly scoring a point on my first attack. Truman barely got out of the way He turned and swept down as I brought up my sword to block.
CRACK!
I dropped the sword the pain shooting through my hand and arm was intense. This was followed by another crack as Truman’s sword landed hard on my stomach knocking the wind from me. I fell to my knees with tears in my eyes gasping for breath.
“Point Truman! 1–0” Yelled Private Stacy.
“See what all your practice has amounted to! You can’t even hold a sword.” Truman said.
Slowly my breath returned and I calmed myself. If I can’t hold the sword to block I will have to dodge his attacks. I winced as I picked up the sword and resumed my starting stance. Truman launched into Boar-Charges I turned away but wasn’t fast enough his sword caught my left arm with another painful CRACK!
“Point Truman 2–0!”
Truman laughed as I again got into my fighting stance. Again he launched into Boar-Charges, this time, I was ready and rolled to the left springing back up to Cat-Pounces landing with a CRACK as my sword hit him across the back.
“Point Duncan 1–2” Yelled Private Stacy.
“Lucky strike.” Growled Truman.
We both returned to our fighting stances. We attacked at the same time. I sweeping from above, Truman from below. Both of us dodged at the last second, causing our attacks to go wide. I returned with Eagle-Soars and rolled away from his Dog-Runs. CRACK Truman’s sword fell as my blade found his arm.
“Point Duncan 2–2”
“Ready to work in the mines for the rest of your life.” Taunted Truman.
“Ready to tell the truth!” I sneered back.
Truman didn’t wait for either of us to resume a fighting stance, he attacked immediately from picking up his sword. I felt his blade slice through my hair missing my scalp by centimeters.
“Fowl!” Private Stacy yelled!
Neither of us stopped. This was it we both wanted to settle this fight rules didn’t matter anymore. I launched into an attack I learned from watching the dancers earlier today. Truman paired my blade. Sending intense pain through my arms but I held on and came in for another swipe. Again Truman paired and countered with a stabbing attack. I quickly dropped to the ground letting his thrust slide over my head.
“Fowl!” Stacy yelled again. She started to move forward to break us apart. “Let them fight I want to see how this plays out.” the lieutenant said to her.
I kicked out with my right foot hitting Truman in the shin. As he leaped backwards in pain I got back up and leaped into Cat-Hiss, followed by Wasp-sting, rolling into Deer-bounds avoiding Truman’s attack as he again made to stab me. As I dodged out of the way I swung my sword around widely bring it to a CRACK on Truman’s shoulder.
Truman dropped to his knees while I stood there panting.
“Winner Duncan 3–2!” Yelled Private Stacy.
“You may have won today but you will never leave this town,” Truman said as he got up and started to walk away.
“Don’t you have something to say.” The lieutenant said putting a hand on Truman’s chest to stop him from leaving.
“No, now move out of my way,” Truman said.
“You cheated during the fight now you don’t even have the honor to live up to your agreement” Said Lieutenant George loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Everyone in town knows the truth.” snapped Truman.
“I don’t, why don’t you tell me. So I can learn why Duncan looks like he was beaten up by a group of men.”
“He fell down an abandoned tunnel”
“Is that so? I have never seen bruises like that caused from falling. Unless I’m mistaken they were caused by someone kicking him repeatedly while he was on the ground.”
“Ho.. How did you know that.” stammered Truman.
The crowd gasped hearing Truman say this.
“I’ve seen enough beatings to know what they look like. Now let’s hear the truth.”
Truman looked around for support from the crowd, but no one was coming to his rescue. Even Randall was backing away to make his escape. His father grabbed him and pushed him onto the field.
“You were there why don’t you tell us what happened.”
“Nothing happened father.” Cried Randall.
“I know Truman is lying. His actions have betrayed him.”
“I’m … I .. I’m sorry.” Randall said shamefully to me.
“Truman and I found Duncan practicing his sword dancing in an abandoned mine shaft.
“Quiet you idiot.” interrupted Truman.
“We both attacked Duncan and repeatedly kicked and stomped on him after he collapsed.
Truman wanted to make sure Duncan would fail his one chance to become a sword dancer during this festival by breaking his hand. I held his arm so Truman could smash Duncan’s hand with a digger pack.” When he was done speaking Randall stared at the ground.
“From now on you and Truman will be doing the dirtiest foulest jobs I can find at the mine. I can’t believe my son would do something so dishonorable.” The foreman turned and stalked away. Half of the crowd turned and left mumbling as well.
Now that the fight was over all my injuries were screaming at me to lay down and stop moving. I refused to listen to my body and limped over to Private Stacy and handed her my sword. “Thank you for teaching me a real sword dance,” I said making a half bow.
I approached the lieutenant and asked “Sir how would I go about joining the imperial guard? We do not have a recruiter in town.”
“You fought well today, for someone with no training. You even did a few of the imperial moves we didn’t show in the dances.” After looking me over again he said. “Why don’t you come with us. I’ll give my personal recommendation to the school.”
My eyes grew as big as an owl’s “Really you will take me?!”
“We leave at dawn. See you then.” He said then walked off with Private Stacy towards the zeppelin. The remaining town folk cheered and came forward applauding me. A few even apologized. Philip came up to me. “You did it, little brother, you proved all of us wrong. Now become the best sword dancer in the Empire.” I was overwhelmed with happiness. My dream had come true. I was going to the Imperial Guard Academy!
