Preparations were a terrible thing, trying, tiring, unending. The manor felt empty, yet there was always something going on, some dire scrambling to get everything in place. Kysis felt as though he was failing miserably, though the sales had hiked as of late, and there were custom requests coming in. The process for such orders was painstakingly slow, the request sent out to Kreos, then a responce coming back with basic drawings. The customer then sent back which they liked best, what modifications they would like made, etc. There was even dabbling in the hue of metals going on, making colorful display pieces that would look interesting on a wall or distracting in battle. The forge refused to make anything that could not withstand combat.
The guards were all bustling about in anticipation, excited to be included in this demonstration. Originally only one of the three Liari guards was going to be used, but now each of them had something to do. Kysis had made sure of it. Now he was only handling one exhibition personally, the one that only he could manage. It was hard, continuing to practice with the wayward flail, keeping communications flowing between the business in Oberon and Kreos, managing all the orders and customer relations. Kysis felt overloaded. Yes, someone had been hired for the store, a chipper young lass with a heart of gold. Yes, Alia was handling all the finances, reporting back to him once a week. It helped substantially, yet there was still so much to do.
The arced blade flashed out, flying straight forward, wobbling in the air. An armored arm shot up, hitting the chain, causing the blade on the end of it to swing suddenly to the left. Kysis turned with the motion, yanking the main handle in the process. The blade flew past him, a bit too close to comfort, but hit the next target in the circle. He jerked the handle back again, and when the blade neared him, his left arm moved out again, swinging the chain and blade right. It was hard. Kysis had every target plotted out, exactly how he was going to hit them all, how fast it needed to be done. It did not feel right, though. Yes, he was going at half-speed, standing stationary for the most part but...
Kysis sighed, pulling so the blade came back towards him, left hand going for the catch. Though his mind told him to close his hand, Kysis waited a second, barely missing the blade, hand going around the hilt that protruded from its inner arch. The thing was shaped much like a crescent, making it really hard to catch. It inspired a bit more awe with it too, but Kysis had nearly lost his hand enough times to make such a manouver dangerous, perhaps not worth the risk... Kysis shook his head, coiling the long chain and placing the whole flail on his desk, which was a new introduction to his otherwise bleek room.
In two hour\'s time, he would have to be in the markets. That was when the demonstration would be. There would be members of the city guard there to make sure no one tried stealing anything. The Liari personal guard would be there too, more to help with the show than protection. Kysis was getting nervous. He could hear the guards going out of the manor now, departing for the markets to get the area ready. They were making a lot of clamour carrying all the equipment out.
Straps were retightened on his armor, the little bits which he had. Pauldrons, greaves, fingerless gauntlets, they were all secured as best as they could be. Finally the helm was lifted from is stand, tucked under his arm. As he walked he tied his hair back at the nape of his neck, keeping it neat and out of the way. The last touch was his signet ring, on a chain which was dropped around his neck. Though he did not feel ready, he was, nothing else able to be done.
+ + + + +
It was time, and everything went off without a hitch. There were a few long swords shown, the steel bright, sharp and fast. There was a decorative mace which was taken to a rather thick suit of armor, the large guard giggling like a little school girl as he played around with both. Kysis watched the entire time from the background, arms crossed before his chest, eyes focused more on the crowd than what the guards were up to. They had rehersed this enough to be trusted with it.
It was not long before all the pieces were gone through, guards stepping off to the side. Kysis was originally going to give a speech explaning the next piece and thanking everyone for coming, but seeing a few people turning to leave, he strode from the shadows. That got attention immediately. Kysis was only partially armored, helm now over his face. The chain was coiled in his right hand along with the handle on that chain\'s end, the blade side with its hilt in the left. Some people were eyeing it with confusion. It was like a flail, but the chain was a lot longer. It was like a pendulum, but much smaller and not for execution. Kysis felt the exhibition would be a lot more explanitory than anything he could say.
Kysis launched in to action immediately, the arced blade spinning out in to the air around him. The chain was yanked back by a gloved hand, blade whizzing back behind him, nailing the first target hard. With a jump and a spin, Kysis kicked the blade out of the wooden block, tugging the handle to send it flying in a wide arc, slicing through two more. Suddenly, he went to one knee, arm up to catch the chain and change that motion again, blade flying in a straight line to strike the third. His arm wrapped about the chain, tugging, spinning again as the blade grew in distance from him to cleave a wide arc in all five. And then came the part Kysis was worried about.
He pulled once again, blade flying straight for him. That gloved left hand closed, catching the end of the blade but landing firm on the hilt none-the-less. Kysis flinched, that momentary twist in his face hidden tactfully with the helm. Breaths were coming hard. All of that had happened in a minute, and he was burning up because of it. Slowly, shaking a little, Kysis came to stand, recoiling the chain as he bowed. Hopefully no one noticed that his hand was dripping blood at an alarming rate.