Karna & Arjun - The Union of Brothers

15. The North Welcomes

"Kai, step back. He's our friend's friend," said a squeaky yet pleasant voice. Suyodhan hadn't seen a girl personifying beauty with such elegance before. The radiance on her face reminded him of the snow capped mountains in the North being blessed by the early morning rays of the Sun. Her narrow shaped eyes and subtle features added a layer of enigma on her face. She was dressed in an elaborate sky blue kimono with fine floral patterns.

"Welcome to Oyashima, Yuvraj Suyodhan, your friend is being cured by the Shamans but he will be sent back to his kingdom immediately after his treatment. He is technically out of the tournament," she said.

"Shamans?" Suyodhan asked immediately with concern.

"Shamans posses a unique ability to communicate with deities and spirits. They access the divine energy for healing purposes," she explained.

"Got it, like Vaidjis from Aryavart. You are? I mean are you Susharma's friend," he said, constantly looking into her eyes while lowering Kai's sword with his finger.

"I am Izumi and we are all indebted to your friend Karna. Without his intervention, Ouju Yamato might have landed in trouble."

"Who? What?"

"Prince Yamato, who is five years old, is destined to rule Oyashima. He's in his initial days of training and was riding his chariot a couple of days ago under Kai's supervision, who was riding his horse in parallel. Suddenly all three horses started screaming in an unheard manner. This was followed by an increase in both speed and randomness in their running. Yamato's horses ran towards the beach. Yamato describes Karna as a mystic glowing figure coming out of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. He ran parallely matching their speed and occasionally touched them gently. His touch worked like magic and all three horses calmed down. Karna brought back the chariot and the prince safely. The emperor offered him a fortune or anything that he wanted," Izumi partially completed the story but her eyes and her smile were lost in admiration for Karna.

"What did he ask for?" Suyodhan asked out of curiosity. Knowing that Karna was a charioteer's son, he wasn't surprised by this feat of his.

"Initially he was reluctant but emperor Kiekie insisted that he accept his gift and honor his word. Karna then asked to be trained by his commander in chief, General Tetsu. Emperor gracefully accepted his request and as of we speak, Karna is taking katana, I mean sword fighting lessons from General Tetsu," she replied.

"I am glad that somebody had the lens to value his talent and not judge him by his family profession," he said with an affectionate smile and Izumi nodded in response.

"What was that?" Suyodhan said in shock as he heard pieces of heavy metal clanking against each other.

"What?" Kai asked.

"Take off your helmet and you might sense the incoming threat," Suyodhan responded.

"That, that's just Kenji with his Kanabo," Kai casually replied.

"There's nothing just about Kenji, they say he's blessed by Hachiman, the god of strength. He's the best Kanabo warrior in Oyashima. The sound might be coming from his Dojo," Izumi interrupted.

"What's a Kanabo? Dojo, I am assuming is some kind of training center?" Suyodhan asked.

"You are right, he's not just a warrior but also a teacher. Oyashima is also known as the land of education of all kinds. Kanabo is a weapon that's similar to a mace. Basically the club is divided in two halves. The narrower half is the handle and the thicker half is heavier and is covered with emerging metal spikes, making it a lethal weapon," Izumi explained.

"Awesome, take me to his dojo," Suyodhan said in excitement.

"It's not that easy Yuvraj. He selects his students by testing them in combat. At present there are just five students in his dojo and he hasn't taken a new student in the last two years. Not many have dared to appear  for his tests," Kai interrupted.

"Not many can claim to be the future of Aryavart," Suyodhan replied with confidence.