#in this episode of: Cayin being a little too concerned with anything that's unfamiliar to him

[yeleltaan]

"Colosseums are now open, my scaled friend! Come. You must shed your cloth and fight, as tradition demands."

"Shed my cloth? The illustrations had fighters in full armor." His head tilted to the side, he wonders the reason for this discrepancy. But the tone Heysel uses in her invitation seems so certain, so casual, hardly the sole product of a ploy. And as bizarre as her sense of humor appears to him at times, it doesn’t seem like her to send him on a fight with such steep handicap.

It could be a matter of regional difference. The philosophy and handling of weaponry follows separate principles in the many places of the world, as do the disciplines of witches and spellweavers around the land, inventing vastly different arts from shared sources. The same must surely be true for competitions.

Still Cayin’s look is one of uncertainty, as he gazes down at his wear clutching it tightly. “Is it wise to show our skill to a public like that?” Someone whose profession naturally invites secretism must know what he means. The known attack is more likely to find its counter than the one kept secret.

But that is only half his concern. It is one thing for Heysel to witness up close what is covered under sleeves so long, to know the road he walks and much of what it entails. But to display in a spectacle what he otherwise keeps secret however he can? A means of growth deemed vile by some, and appetizing to others who would surely be gleeful to gain a headstart by carving the strength out of his bare chest with a bloody knife? This ‘warrior’s code’ that maintains the order of this controlled conflict, this peculiar etiquette he doesn’t fully understand in a life that spares no food or time to its savage children, looks to be a fragile thing in his eyes. Too unreliable.

“Are you fighting too?”

#yellowfingcr #this reply was supposed to be done the day you sent it! #But I had my hands full with something else- good news is I finally got done with a 4-month long group assignment #in this episode of: Cayin being a little too concerned with anything that's unfamiliar to him #half-done dragon has yet to fully appreciate the concepts of glory. Of celebrating prowess and martial arts. Of perfecting your ability #not solely for survival or convenience #Cayin: 'wait that's not what the trailer showed' #Elden Ring verse