Public Statement from The Anvil

[Kruger]

A gathering of sports reporters had positioned themselves outside the Arena. Whether they were hoping to catch The Empress, or The Anvil wasn’t something which he wanted to speculate over. It was very likely they wanted either, or both. So it was, with the Arena in the background, The Anvil stopped and pulled out some three by five cards.

“The Anvil is going to read a statement, and will take a question or two when he’s finished.” He considered the cards in his hand, taking time to breathe before looking up at the face and the cameras which were rolling or snapping off images.

”The Anvil apologizes to the fans, the athletes and the organizers of the Duel of Swords for his recent behavior, and any ill will caused by either it, or the way in which he communicated his feelings. In truth, he has never wielded the kind of influence required to give merit to standing for the things he believes in. He understands that rivalries happen, and that not all of our athletes have the most generous of feelings for one another.”

He took the time to look into each of the reporter’s eyes as he read, doing his best to convey the absolute sincerity of his message.

”The Anvil would not stand between those who have feelings of bad blood for one another. He believes there may be a kind of catharsis in such sparring of both words and weapons within the rings. He understands what makes those of us on the outside of these events feel the need to offer support. There’s no fault in the feeling, but when we let the actualization of that offer move us to act, a reaction is always the risk. Such inclusions can have the damaging effect of taking away from the event, causing us to lose sight of what's important. The Anvil did allow himself to become a part of this scenario, and it breaks his heart that it happened to Salvador Delahada, someone The Anvil considers both friend and rival depending on the title in question.”

He smiled as he spoke the last sentence, which spawned a bit of laughter among the reporters.

”The Anvil’s heart is also heavy when he thinks about who this battle was with. He has only the best feelings for The Empress, Jewell Ravenlock, and thinks of her as both formidable, and important within and outside the dueling community. The Anvil acknowledges his part in this, and regrets the negative impact it has had on the sport as well as his personal relationships with those involved. He will acquiesce to any fines and restrictions which the Duel of Swords organization levies against him. He has no doubt that the sport will recover, but those relationships may be permanently affected by the role he undertook.”

“Thank you.”

There were several calls of Anvil from the reporters when he finished addressing them. The cards went into a back pocket, and he pointed to one of the questioners.

“Anvil, Ray Marx from Sporting News. You made some very egregious accusations against Jewell, calling her things like toxic, a bully, and a screaming harpy. Are you retracting those things now?”

Kruger kept his eyes on Ray as he made his introduction and asked his question. “Hi Ray, loved your article on the mechanics of a good jab. There are some misconceptions in your lead up though. Please allow me to work through them in reverse, because that is the easier journey. You may have noticed a slight tendency for me to overdo things. My fights are as much a show as they are a competition between duelists. However, if you go back and look at the statement, I never said anyone was a screaming harpy. I said that Michelle was not one. The wording was intended to incite just the interpretation which you picked up on. This was done specifically to draw every negative reaction to me, you can be the judge of whether that worked or not.”

There was a pause between the first part of the answer and the second. He wanted to give a moment for it to sink in, perhaps judge if it was accepted. He had no control over the last part, the words had been said and would be edited in whatever way sold the most magazines.

“Regarding being a bully. I believe that within every one of us is the capability to become a bully. I am even guilty of it as well within these recent events. Normally we suppress this side of ourselves, wanting to understand people more than exert authority over them or belittle them with words that can be hurtful. In truth, I am not sure what’s worse, a person who has fallen into this behavior unrealized, or someone like me who goes there on purpose while telling himself he’s only trying to prove a point. I don’t know how that sounds to everyone, what I do know is that the end result is the same, give me what I want and that you don’t want to give. I suppose you could look at it from a legal standpoint and say having intent makes it a greater offense.”

It was surprising how quiet things could get, despite the traffic, the collection of reporters, and the crowd such things inevitably drew.

“I can fairly say that neither Jewell, nor any of us are the embodiment of the toxicity to which I referred. It is something ever present, waiting to find a place to invade. It uses our strengths, and turns them into a weakness. Things like love, loyalty, friendship, and trust are tools for toxicity to manipulate. It tends to be most successful using these tools to infect our individual perception, directing our awareness to conceive of attacks upon ourselves or those whom we care for greatly. It will never go away, it’s always ready to strike, but it does have a weakness. Communication isn’t always the problem, however, it is always the solution.”

Kruger looked at his watch and frowned, there was always more which could be said. “I’m sorry, that’s all the time I have. Be gentle with us, we’re all far more vulnerable than we appear in the rings.” He stepped through the reporters, and made a path along the sidewalk through those who had gathered to watch.

[Michelle Montoya]

Michelle watched the press conference from the comfort of the Real RhyDin headquarters. When Kruger was done, she penned a private letter and sent it to the Anvil. Among other things, it was an invitation for him and his family to visit the villa.