"This wasn't a warrior's death. This was just butchery. This was just meat being prepared for consumption."
***
The sound tore from his throat without conscious decision.
A raw animal noise that held all his rage. All his desperation. All his love for a sister who deserved better than this world had given her.
It wasn't a battle cry so much as a declaration.
A refusal.
Let the universe laugh. He would give it something to remember either way.
His knuckles whitened around the broken spear shaft. The weathered wood slick with sweat and blood beneath his calloused fingers. He could feel the memory of every hour he'd spent training with this weapon. Every morning his father had woken him before dawn to practice forms. Every evening he'd stayed late at the academy's training grounds while the noble students retired to their comfortable quarters.
He charged.
