[i]"Pretend all you want; it will not change reality."[/i] Deerz replied, speaking only just loudly enough that Janius could hear him. [i]"It will be your last moments seeing him alive, so enjoy it. Argrei, you see, is...like-minded to me. This rite is an affront to this village, and the Hist. An outsider has no place taking part. The fighters are not meant to kill each other, but...accidents happen."[/i]

In the duel, Argrei's style had become more aggressive, though he was focused on taking advantage of his range. With his footwork now more agile than Julan's he was sidestepping and dashing out of range faster than Julan could keep up, though he had to remain conscious off the spellfire that Julan was capable of producing at any moment. He was keeping out of range of Julan's sword, and just looking for any point where he could find a clean thrust. At the moment, Julan did not seem to have an answer.

Deerz crossed his arms, still keeping his grin. [i]"It's good your son is so stubborn. It gives Argrei plenty of time to find an opportunity to make an 'accident' happen. Your son is going to die, Human, and there is nothing you can do about it."[/i] 

[hr]

Again, there was a long silence from Ahnasha. Her expression was as intense as it was difficult to read, at least at first. She could not easily hide her inner turmoil for long before hints of her despair broke through in the form of tears in her eyes. Her voice was still strong and stoic, but Fendros could clearly see something was wrong. Her answer still avoided giving a clear and direct answer, but if Fendros was perceptive, it would still give him the answer he sought. 

"Am I a monster, Fendros?" Ahnasha asked suddenly. "Is a warrior a monster for killing? Or am I something worse than [i]just[/i] a warrior?"