Fyrelight.

Well I'm playing with writing a novella. first one Ive ever written, I was inspired recently.. so rip it apart and tell me how to improve!
I know my spelling is pretty bad!

Enjoy! and please say something if you read it. Anything..

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1. ***

The sun shone on the calm water, a light breeze blew through the trees, and the forest behind was quiet except for the occasional sound of wildlife. The sound of water filled the air from a distance ahead, but here at this inlet, the water was still, calm and deep. But right at this moment, the calmness and stillness betrayed the battle being fought. It was a battle of wills, of strength, of patience and of cunning.

“C’mon Hann, you nearly got him!” a blond haired young man exclaimed. He held a smooth blue and purple stone he had picked up from the bank of the river.

The line went taught again, and Hann was careful not to pull it too hard lest it break. A light wind blew across his face as he stood on a rocky outcrop into the Trissan River, he had snared a large fish and for the past thirty seconds had been battling with the fish, dragging it in slowly, but not so much as to break the thin line.

“Just pull him in, but not too quick” the blond hared man exclaimed again! Blue eyes flashing with excitement. He juggled the blue and purple stone in his hands impatiently from his right hand to his left.

“Yeah I know”, Hann replied, slightly frustrated, “otherwise the line might break,” he said trying to imitate his friends voice, and doing only a partially good job of it.

The Trissan River ran straight down the middle of two of the mighty Kingdoms of Vuy Tregh, the opulent Hasan to the north and the thieving TryPhia to the South, but it was not without its dangers. The Trissian was a pirate’s haven. It was wide enough to fight in, but also had narrow sections, and channels that branch off in many directions. Islands, inlets and marshes dotted it’s length and these could be used to find refuge or to trap an unknowing ship and ambush them. And right in amongst these were the two merchant cities, Zil and Ion.

Zil was on the Tryphia side of the River on the south where Hann lived, and Ion was to the north on the Hasan Side, where Sajem was brought up. All the fleets of Zil and Ion were small and fast, and though the cities were merchant towns and their ships merchant vessels, more often than not they were pirates and would raise the skull and crossbows preying on smaller Hasan merchant vessels.

At only twenty one, Sajem was about to become a Lieutenant Third class in the Hasan Navel fleet. He had grown up in the city of Ion and had served on the fleet since he was thirteen. After serving only eight of the ten years required he was being promoted because of his dedication and skill. His skill with the sabre was a big part of this promotion, as it was, he was known as one of the best swordsmen on the fleet. The official ceremony was to be performed in a week, but until then, he had time off and so here he was, enjoying some time with Hann, on the outskirts of Zil on the other side of the river. Fishing a few kilometres west of the city at a particular inlet recommended by Hann.

Sajem hovered around Hann, It had been a beautiful day, the evening sun shone brightly, they had perhaps an hour of light left in the day. The forest was behind them and there was no one around.

“Not too slow either, Hannjtao” he taunted, using Hanns full name with full knowledge that he didn’t like it.

Hanns name was pronounced without the ‘j’, it was silent. But Hann never liked the name and so when he was able, he left everything behind and joined the fleet using his shortened name. Only two people, one of whom was Sajem, knew his old name, everyone else knew his as Hann.

“I know” he said again, slightly more irritated than before at hearing his full name. Although not letting any frustration show he lost some concentration and then… Twang!! The line snapped.

“Damn, he looked like a big one”, Sajem exclaimed, smiling inside as he realized he had probably made him lose concentration, “ you pulled him in to slow” he said as Hann held onto the now limp line staring out across the water. “Good one!” he said vigorously, and punched him in the arm for extra emphasis.

Hann smiled, and thought about making some kind of response, but for now he would have to cover his frustration, “Ahh well, I guess I’ll have to make Lieutenant first class before I catch that fish!” he replied, all irritation gone from his voice, emphasizing the word ‘that’ in the sentence. “Hey and what are you doing punching a superior Officer”, he said suddenly giving Sajem a bit of a push, “Don’t think your all High and mighty just because you made third Lieutenant two years early!” Hann continued with a hint of a smile on his face.

“Yeah, Yeah” Sajem replied resignedly, but then smiled, “Still, I got it one year earlier than you though” he commented brightly and gave Hann another punch for emphasis, “Lets get out of here” he said as he dropped the stone into his pocket.

They walked along the beaten path that wound with the river towards Hanns home. The air was cool and the forrest around them, though not dense, was thick enough to merit staying on the path. The Zilgath forrest ran down the entire stretch of the Trissan River until Gats on the coast, and it also spread a great distance inland thinning as it got colder, until you were in the cold frosty grasslands of northern Tryphia.

They both wore white casual pants and black shoes, the colours of a Fleet Lieutenant. Rank was signified by the colour of their shirt and so Sajem wore a forrest green shirt signifying third Lieutenant , while Hann wore a Red shirt showing he was a second Lieutenant. They were plain coloured shirts except for Hanns, who had the symbol of the GreenHawk Clan of Tryphia embroided on the back collar and front of his. The symbol was a hawk in flight, claws extended, entirely in green, sitting on a black and red shield, black on the right side and red on the left. Both wore sabres on their right side and a dagger on their left. In addition to this, Sajem carried a crossbow on his back. Eight years in the Hassan fleet had left Sajem well built, he we tall and strong with a well defined body. Hann was a little taller than Sajem and though he was just as strong as him, his years out of the service had taken the definition out of his body.

“So how does it feel to finally make Lieutenant Saj?” Hann questioned as they walked the forest path

“Pretty good actually, like I’m finally getting somewhere, it opens up a whole lot of opportunities” came the reply

“Yeah it does”

“Why didn’t you keep on advancing?” Sajem queried, “you made Class two Lieutenant, ..How many years ago was it?

“Three”, came the quiet answer

“Three years ago” he repeated, “you could have been captain by now at your rate. And you would have been one of the youngest too!” Sajem paused as Hann thought about his answer. It wasn’t a long pause mind you but it was a pause none the less.

“Well, I guess I wanted to learn more than the Hasan fleet could offer” Hann said, “ to see the world and learn about what’s out there.”

“Oh yeah?” came the reply with a taste of sarcasm, “so what did you learn?” he asked as if challenging him.

“Well”, Hann said and paused there for effect. Then producing a blue and purple smooth stone he replied “I did learn how to do this”, and he showed Sajem the stone. Surprise registered on his face as he searched his pockets.

“Wha? Hey how did you do that without me noticing!” he blurted.

Hann laughed out loud and tossed the stone back towards Sajem who snatched it out of the air and quickly pocketed it.

“Your definitely getting better at pick pocketing!” Sajem said, a little annoyed. Hann laughed even louder and gave him a slap on the back making him stumble forward a step.

The wind blew through the trees swaying them gently as they walked towards Zil discussing all manner of things from the intricacies of fishing, to battle tactics and swordplay to their plans of the future. They didn’t even notice that they were being followed from within the forest.


2. ***

As they walked Sajem suddenly stopped and looked ahead, eyeing a peculiar bushy area down the path.

“What’s wrong?” Hann inquired

Sajem just looked at the bush, it swayed gently in the breeze and then became motionless as the wind subsided. He put his right arm on his sabre as he took a few more paces, now standing ten meters away from the suspicious bush. He motioned to Hann indicating that he had seen something, and Hann immediately responded by circling right going into the trees for cover towards the river, while Sajem circled left to surround whatever was in the bush. They both withdrew their sabers as they split up, they were good friends and thus a good team, each knowing what the other was going to do.

Sajem looked up and spotted Hann behind some trees twenty meters away, ready to start approaching the mysterious bush. Then his heart froze, he didn’t even see the bush behind Hann move, but all of a sudden a woman wearing dark green crept out of a bush behind him. She was beautiful, She had long flowing dark hair and wore green and black pants and a well worn, tattered dark green shirt. It was like she was part of the forest. She didn’t make a sound and Hann knew nothing of her presence. An intricate sword hung by her side. Sajem went to shout out a warning to Hann, but before he could utter anything he saw in horror as she swiftly kicked Hanns feet, taking them out from under him, while wrapping her right arm around his neck and tossing him to the ground.

Hann went down easily before he knew what was going on, his breath exploded out of him, but he managed to hold onto his saber not that it made a difference. She was on top of him immediately, one hand on his sword arm the other holding a dagger. Hann was disappointed with himself, he barely got a chance to even look at his attacker, let alone put up a fight. It had taken not even two seconds, and he could do nothing.

Twenty meters away Sajem watched as Hann went down landing roughly, he held onto his sword, but it didn’t matter. In one fluid movement she was ontop of him dagger poised and continuing her fluid motion she struck and he stirred no more.

Leaving the dagger on the ground, she stood up and eyed Sajem drawing her sword in one swift movement and started walking towards him. It was an amazing piece of craftsmanship, thin and slightly curved. The hilt glistened gold in the sun, and a diamond the size of a small stone was fixed to the bottom of the hilt a single flower in it’s centre. The flower had five small white petals around a red and yellow heart. The blade glowed silver and had tendrils of green flowing up it’s entire length, at the base of the blade a single leaf and flower were engraved along with three unknown characters.

Rage built up in Sajem, he couldn’t use an arrow now, he would have to fight her. He opened his mouth and yelled as he ran towards her. She stopped and readied herself as he approached. He faked a swing to the head and went for her chest, but she was ready. Their swords clashed as she blocked the attack and they separated facing each other. Sajem jabbed forward again at her head, not faking this time and after it was blocked went for the other side with blistering speed. His sword stopped centimetres from her face as she easily blocked it again. Then she dropped and spun her sword whistling towards his stomach, he jumped back, and the sword sailed past, but she didn’t over compensate and so was ready to block again. Jumping forward again they collided in a clash of steel and traded blow for blow and parry for parry.
Sajem, one of the best swordsmen on the fleet could not penetrate her defences. He tried intricate, complex routines of swordplay but she blocked every one. He even created new moves, rolling under her swinging sword and swiping back, but she was too quick and jumped out of the way. For ten minutes they fought blow for blow, but it seamed to Sajem that she was just playing with him, and then she struck. After trying to get a high blow on her, she blocked and as if sensing he was tiring, immediately swung her sword in a wide arc with such speed and power that he lost his grip and his sabre went clattering to the ground three meters away.
Her sword was poised at his neck.

“Your Dead”, she said quietly.

The lone sound of clapping came from behind Sajem, and he spun around to see Hann sitting up staring at them clapping.

“That was some of the most amazing swordplay I have ever seen”, he said in amazement “hey I even picked up a new move!” he continued. The girl smiled broadly, sheathing her sword, but then she frowned.

“Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” she asked the sign of a smirk on her face.

“I had to come back to watch you” he replied in a softer voice

“Yes, I’m fine!” Sajem butted in with annoyance in his voice. “it’s not like Ciel, beat me or anything”, he added breathing heavily. Hann laughed. Ciel smiled and gave him a pat on the back.

“You did good” she commended. And Sajem brightened at the praise.

No one really knew where Ciel was from or anything of her past. She was 24 years old, straight dark hair reached down her back, and her brown eyes were wise beyond her years and entrancing if you dared look into them for too long.
She had moved to Tryphia over two years ago and bought a small house on the outskirts just down the road from Hann. She was a master swordsman, displaying both amazing skill and strength with the sword. Yet no one knew of her skills. In the city of Triphia, she was only known as a healer. Her house was surrounded by known plants of every description, and also some unknown herbs and plants. She was especially fond of flowers and a small section of her garden was dedicated to some of her favourite flowers. They were always well watered and bright.

Ciel had promised to help train them with the sword, but no one was to know. So many an afternoon she would go into the Zilgath Forrest with Hann and Sajem and spar with them, teaching them attacks and defences. As they improved the attacks became more complex, yet they never got close to matching the skill of Ciel. When she fought, her movements flowed naturally, it was nearly like she was dancing, it was mesmerizing, beautiful.
Of all people that both Hann and Sajem combined knew in the whole of Vyu Tregh, they knew none with a blade like hers both in skill and in beauty.
So believing they had learned enough about swordplay from her, Ciel, for the past few months had set out to test Hann and Sajems alertness, observation and improvisation by laying in wait and setting ambushes for them at any time and then fighting them. They had never beaten her. And this was another one to add to the list.

Ciel held her hand out to Hann who gratefully took it.

“You on the other hand, need to be more observant Hann” she stated as she pulled him up to his feet. “danger can strike from anywhere”, a shadow crossed her face but was quickly replaced with her usual teaching face.

“Here we go”, Sajem exclaimed in exasperation, “it’s not like were ever going to beat you. Your just too good” he said resignedly. “I don’t think anyone can beat you” he finished.

“Well you will have to learn”, sighed Ciel, “I am skilled with the sword, but there are people more skilled than I.” They both looked at her in amazement.

“Who could be more skilled than you?” Hann asked incredibly, posing the question both of them were thinking. Ciel smiled, but it quickly faded.

“Hopefully you will never have to face them,” she said quietly. Then she brightened a little, “but for now, know that of all those residing in Hassan and Tryphia, I believe you two are among the best swordsmen.” Both Hann and Sajem visibly brightened at the comment. She paused and waited as if uncertain of her next words, but then continued, “I received a message today from TriCain. The great Tournament is being held in a month”, another pause, “You have been accepted this year.” Ciel said, a hint of sadness in her voice that only Hann picked up.

“The Great Tournament!” Sajem exclaimed, he could barely contain his excitement as he spoke “and we have finally been accepted! What an opportunity. Hann! Did you hear that, the great tournament!”

“Yeah that’s great” Hann replied with a reserved air to his voice.

“It only took three years, they have finally accepted us, we get to go up against the best of the kingdoms. Even if we don’t win anything, just being able to say we competed in the great tournament!”

Ciel laughed.

“Hopefully you will win something though” she said interrupting him. “You had better after my training!” she warned, laughter in her voice. “well then, lets have diner at my place, to celebrate. Can you go ahead Sajem, we will meet you there”, she requested.

“OK, Don’t be too late”, he yelled over his back already jogging down the path.

Hann walked silently next to Ciel as Sajem disappeared into the distance. They continued walking in silence for a while after Sajem had gone, listening to the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and the birds in the forest, but then it was broken.

“You didn’t seam excited about the Great Tournament?” Ciel questioned.

“No, I’m excited” Hann said, put a little on the back foot, “it’s just I was thinking what happens after the tournament.” Ciel frowned. “You seamed hesitant,” he continued, “like you were deciding something. It got me to thinking, why do you want us to go to the tournament? What is going to happen after?” He finally asked.

“You were always good at working things out, weren’t you” Ciel sighed.

“What’s going on?” Hann prodded gently.

Ciel stopped walking and looked at Hann, he held her gaze and for a long moment they just looked at each other. Ciel searched his eyes peering into them as if peering into his mind or his very being. Yet Hann held her gaze and looked into the dark orbs before him noticing that they were not actually brown. The direct sunlight and his proximity revealed that they were in fact a very dark green. They both stood there for what seamed like hours, it was in point of fact only ten seconds before Ciel said anything.

“I don’t know” she finally said, “I feel like there will be great advantages in your going, you have to go, but I also have a bad feeling deep down I can’t explain.”

“Like something bad will happen?” Han asked

“I don’t know”, she said again, frustrated with herself.

“Do you think I will get hurt?”

“I don’t know” frustration and doubt were in her eyes.

“Is it for Sajem or for me?”

“I just don’t know”, she exclaimed looking down, exasperation in her voice

Hann looked at Ciel, and for the first time since he had met her three years ago, he saw uncertainty in her eyes, and it disturbed him. She looked unsure of herself, indecisive, fragile.

“What could be out there?” He wondered, “What can shake Ciel? She’s the strongest person I know.” He decided to ask her a question that she would be able to answer.

“What can I do to prepare?” he asked determination in his voice.

Ciel looked up at him, her dark eyes focused and her mind sharpened as she thought. Conviction stirred in her as she stood up straight, eyes burning.

“We can prepare”, she said resolutely. “We have one month to get ready for anything, so every spare minute we have, I will try and get you prepared”

Hann sighed loudly. “Me and my big mouth”, he sighed with a smile.

Ciel laughed. And there was another pause.

“Lets head back”, Hann suggested, “before Sajem eats everything.” Ciel Smiled. Hann reached into his pocket and after fumbling for something, pulled out a smooth blue and purple stone. “and I suppose I’d better give this back to him too”, he said offhandedly, nonchalantly tossing the rock in the air and catching it again.

Ciel laughed again, She had followed them from their fishing spot and had seen the incident with the rock and Sajem’s annoyance. It would be quite a site when he found it missing again!

They continued together down the forest path, taking in the sounds of the Trissan River and the various noises of the forest as they talked. Hann had always known Ciel was independent, brave and strong. But today he had seen another side to her, another aspect of her personality that she obviously hid deep down for fear of it being used against her. Today she needed someone there, and Hann was glad he was able to be there for her.

Ciel had never felt so helpless before, it was as if she was looking into the future, but it was so hazy that she couldn’t see anything clearly. She had seen danger and pain, but did not know from where and to whom. The thoughts disturbed her, and the fact she couldn’t focus them made her uneasy. Hann had guided her thoughts back to the now, back to what she could do and so she centred on that. Plus he had distracted he a little and made her laugh, for which she was thankful.

“Thanks, for before”, Ciel said quietly as they strolled down the path, gratitude in her voice.

“Anytime”, came the warm response.


3. ***

“Rise and Shine”, came a bright happy voice from above.

Hann opened his eyes and closed them again, his clouded thoughts registered that the voice belonged to Ciel. ‘But what was she doing in the house? She didn’t have a key’ he thought. The thought got lost on the way to his mouth though and all he managed to get out was an incomprehensible mumble as he turned over and started falling asleep again.

All of a sudden cold liquid was all over his face. His mind registered the shock and snapped to full alertness as he sprung out of bed sputtering and wiping his face. He looked up wiping the water from his eyes and saw Ciel smiling. This time his thoughts made it to his mouth.

“How did you get in my …” was all he got out, because while he was saying that he looked around and saw Sajem with a massive smile on his face and Hann keys dangling in his raised hand. They both had a set of each others keys for emergencies.

“Aughhhhhh,” Hann groaned, in realization wiping his face again.

“Payback,” Sajem said simply.

“Ok boys” Ciel clapped, rubbing her hands together. “It’s a beautiful day, Lets get going.”

Hann groaned again.. He made a mental not that he would have to wake up earlier or to take the key off Sajem.

Fifteen minutes later they were jogging down the road, packs on their backs, sabres by their sides. They jogged steadily down the path, and then ran through the forest as well. After passing their fishing spot Ciel led them to a clearing where they began training. They trained in archery and swordplay and then they would play various games. Ciel would disappear into the forest and they would have to track her. Or they would have to protect some kind of object, perhaps a stone and she would try to get there by force or by stealth.

As the week progressed they also went over the river to the arena at Ion where Sajem lived. Many from Ion and Zil came here to practice and all the more as the day of the tournament approached. The arena was in the open, with a sword, bow and jousting section. Each section had seating or you could sit at but when this was full crowds gathered around the wooden fence of that event or found somewhere to sit on a patch of grass or dirt. It cost one Ir Mace to enter an event and the prize for winning the event was one third of all the entry fees for the day, second place won twenty percent and third place won ten percent of the total entry fees. The remaining forty percent went to the two cities and was used for both legal and illegal purposes.

For the month before the Great Tournament in TriCain, a tournament was run three times every week in Ion. After signing up at you’re desired section and paying the entry fee you would be randomly placed to challenge another participant and if you won, you progress to the next round to challenge another winner. This would progress until there were only two people left. By this stage there would be a crowd and so the reputation of the fighters was revealed. Generally it was known who the good fighters were and there was always some sort of betting going on if you knew where to go.

Sajem was generally known as being the best swordsman on the field and normally won that event while Hann generally placed third or fourth. In the archery section Sajem was again one of the best generally placing in the top three as he did with jousting and Hann generally fell around the fifth position in both events. On this particular day, Hann had done particularly well with the sword and found himself in the final round with Sajem.

"Well well", Sajem said, "look who made it to the final." He casually held his sword in one hand and strolled in front of Hann some dust being stirred by his footsteps.

"Shocking isn't it" came the counter, and Hann raised his sword at the ready.

"You know you can't beat me", Sajem smiled, and lifted his sword up to the ready position.

"We will see" came the response

"I'm coming," Sajem warned as he swung his sword towards Hanns body. Hann countered easily stepping back out of the way of the swing and then stepped forwards again, swinging for the head. Sajem lifted his sword and after blocking, took a head shot at Hann as well who stepped back again out of the way of the swing, although it came at him faster this time. He stayed back and put his sword up in the ready position. Sajem smiled and swung high running through a series of attacks, trying to strike Hanns head, then his chest twice, and the head again. But he blocked all four strikes losing ground on each one. Sajem was confident and in control. He took another swing at Hanns head, but this time Hann ducked and struck at Sajems mid-section. A loud clang was heard and the shock echoed through Sajems Armour and into his body. The crowd roared and Sajem stepped back registering what had happened.

"Thats going to cost you" he said with some spite in his voice.

He attacked Hann with blistering speed. All he could do was defend, he would occasionally try to attack, but Sajem was just too good. The crowds saw the match heating up and that the quality of swordplay was amazing. Some cheered on Sajem, while some wanted the underdog to win, being beaten just before by him.
But to an experienced swordswoman standing in the crowds on the side of the field watching intently with her dark green eyes, the battle had already been won. Sajems footwork was confident, his attacks fast, whereas Hann was hesitant and retreated where he should have attacked. Even so, the match lasted fifteen minutes and pleased the crowd immensely. Near the end Hann swung at Sajem moving forward at the same time, but instead of blocking, this time Sajem stepped back. Hann was tired and so over swung on the strike, swung around and exposed his back to Sajem who at this stage tapped his sword on Hanns back. The fifth strike.

The crowds erupted, gathering as the match progressed. Cheers and clapps emanated from them. Sajem had won, five strikes to two. He held his hands up and took in all the applause. Hann leaned on his sword, breathing heavily but then stood up and lifted his hand up in an appreciative wave, as the crowds applauded again. Both combatants walked off together where they were met by Ciel on the sideline.

After collecting ten Ir Maceii and five Ir Piecii for Sajem and seven Ir Maceii for Hann they left the arena. It had been a good day all in all, with a reasonable amount of people competing.

"Well done to the both of you," Ciel said, as they started walking out of the arena towards Sajems place.

“Thanks” Sajem replied.

Hann grunted.

“C’mon, you wen’t expecting to beat me were you?” he asked sarcastically. “You were too slow, anyway”

“Whatever you think, I made it to the final! You were just lucky I was tired,” Hann exclaimed, raising his voice a little.

“Yeah right, you can’t even beat me when your fully rested, what makes you think…

“Whatever!” he interrupted.

“You just can’t beat me!” Sajem reaffirmed emphatically, “How quickly did Ciel bring you down last week”

“She came up from behind me!”

“Well, you should have been more alert,” Sajem stated in an imitation of Ciels voice.

“OK Boys, before you guys really start” Ciel interrupted with a smirk before Hann had time to reply, “You both did well, and you both had holes”

Sajem and Hann settled down and turned to look at her. She turned to Sajem first, “you were overconfident Sajem” she said point of factly, “ this led to the first strike against you. From there you defended better but you still left yourself open. If Hann had been less hesitant, it may have been a different fight.”
Turning to Hann she continued, “You were hesitant Hann, you used Sajems overconfidence for your first hit, but after that you retreated too much, you missed opportunities and so Sajem used that against you, which is why you ended up losing. Fighting is as much in the mind as it is in the skill with the sword” she began.

They walked through the cobbled Ion streets towards Sajems house, listening to Ciel step them through all their fights giving them advice on what they needed to improve on and what they did well. Both listened carefully. Finally, arriving at his house, they parted ways, Ciel and Hann heading to the river where they would take the boat across to Zil.

The sun turned orange as they reached the shore of Zil at the inlet where they were first fishing. Hann pulled the boat to shore and helped Ciel out. She looked thoughtful as she got out. They moored the boat and started walking home down the path.

“Sajem ceremony is tomorrow” Ciel said.

“Yeah,” Hann replied, “The Hassan fleet are proud of him. They have high expectations of his performance at the Tournament. How do you think he will go?”

“He should do well with the sword, but as for the bow or lance I don’t think he will do as well as he thinks”

“He’s alright at jousting” he said, backing up his friend.

“Perhaps” Ciel responded thoughtfully, “but I know of knights with such skill that they can unhorse riders much larger and stronger than them. Strength will only take you so far.” Ciel lectured, “I know of a knight…” she paused, searching her memory, “Tain, I think his name is, he’s a kind man, and not overly large, but on a horse, with a lance, his skill is amazing, I have seen him unhorse men twice his size!”

“Twice his size,” he repeated incredulously.

“Yes, I don’t know if he is competing this year, but if he does, I would say he would probably win the joust.” She paused.

“You will probably have to face a man names Silas in the sword”, distaste showing on her face. “He is an accomplished swordsman, his style is nearly perfect and he has very few holes in his defence. But he is arrogant and loves power. He will be your biggest threat”, she warned, “he is extremely cunning and will use your weaknesses against you.”

“What can I do?” Hann asked.

“You…” she replied putting her teaching voice on, “will have to learn how to control your thoughts and your fears. You have the skill, and you can think fast enough, but you need to use them in tandem. We have an hour of sunlight left,” Ciel commented as she dropped her bag and stopped walking, “Lets use it”

Hann stopped, and looked at her. He was tired but he felt inspired. He placed his pack down next to hers and they both prepared their swords so that the edges were covered and would not cut. They would still hurt if you were hit though, so it was good incentive to not get hit, ‘which was probably not going to happen in his case’ Hann thought. They found a small clearing and faced each other.

“Ok remember, don’t let fear control your actions, as soon as you do you will hesitate and you will lose.” Ciel stated. “Are you ready?” she asked.

Hann stood in the ready position, sword poised in front of him. He nodded.

“OK, I’m coming” she warned as she raised her sword above her head and moved forward quickly and arrogantly. Hann jumped back immediately and defended against a high strike that never came.

“STOP!” Ciel yelled. She had stopped, sword poised above Hanns head, about to get blocked by his sword. “Look at me and tell me what you did wrong.”

Hann thought about it. Ciel had moved forward too fast, sword above her head leaving a hole in her defence. If he had moved forward low, instead of moving back and defending, he would have struck first. He was realised that he was intimidated by her.

“You were open,” he said simply scolding himself inside, “I should have gone forward”

“Good,” Ciel said, lowered her sword and got back to her ready position.

“Again.” she said simply before she attacked again.

This time she went in without any holes, and Hann moved forward as well and met her. Noticing he was moving forward she picked up the pace and sped up her attacks. A strike at his head and body were blocked, but at the quicker speed Hann started moving backwards again, hesitating.
“NO! Forward!” Ciel scolded, as she continued to fight, leaving a gap for Han to strike and move forward.

Hann could not see any way he could move forward though and took one more step back, parrying a strike at his head. Ciel then moved forward quickly using his hesitation and struck him in the ribs. They stopped and stepped apart Hanns ribs throbbing from the hit.

“Forward” Ciel said again, as they recovered and started sparring again.

Hann felt a barrier in his head, his hesitation. It held him back, what he was truly capable of, he was afraid of what was behind it. Again they fought and again Hann started losing ground. He saw the annoyance on Ciels face as she swung for him, and then with a twist of her wrist, struck him in the ribs again. The exact same spot.

“Forward,” She simply said again as Hanns side pounded.

“Again,” she said as they began sparring yet again. Hann tried to stay forward, tried to overcome his hesitation, the barrier in his mind rattled but did not budge. And as soon as he moved backwards and hesitated, she was on him, this time a strike to either side of his ribs, one in the same spot and one on the opposite side.

Hann was getting sore and tired, and extremely frustrated. Ciel knew how to get under his skin and she was poking at his patience, prodding and trying to make him angry. The barrier shook.

This time Hann spoke his patience wearing thin and his annoyance growing. “Again,” he said resolutely and he made the first move to attack. Ciel defended a strike to her head and body.

“Better” she said as they continued sparring. But after a few jabs, Hann moved back again. Ciel followed him and struck him once in the head and then back in the ribs in the same spot.

Hanns head exploded in a kaleidoscope of colours. His ribs ached, he would have a bruise there for a while. He breathed heavily.

“Again?” Ciel enquired as Hann stood there clearing his head, she was asking if he wanted to stop, but his frustration clouded his mind, she had pushed him to the edge, it was all or nothing. He looked at her and without warning attacked. He attacked her head and chest relentlessly, and got Ciel moving back a few steps. Then she responded with incresed speed and power, but this time Hann held his ground, moved back only when he had to and replied with attacks instead of only defending. Ciel looked impressed as she continued sparring but then frowned as she saw Hann move back again. She took a large step forward and faked a swing at his head and went for the same spot on his ribs.

Hann fought hard, harder than he had ever tried before, he was on the edge of his frustration, on the edge of release, the barrier shook in his mind as he attacked and struck at Ciel, every move was blocked but he still struck. Then he had to parry some of her attacks but at every opportunity he struck. Still he was not getting through; she had stopped everything of his. The barrier in his mind started to subside. Hann took a step back and saw Ciel frown. She moved forward swung at his head and at the last minute swapped and went for his ribs, the same spot she was getting him the each time. Hann did not want to be hit there again, he felt the prelude to the pain, the anger and frustration in his mind, but the pain never came. His anger and frustration pushed him off the edge.

Everything seamed to slow down as the barrier in his mind shattered. His hesitation was gone.

It all moved slowly, and in that instance he took a snapshot of his surroundings and noticed a stick about the size of a sword. Maybe two swords would help, he thought. He could roll with Ciels blow and continue fighting. All this happened in an instant of a second, so rolling with Ciels swing but under her blade towards the stick, he reached for it, she jumped back expecting a low swipe like Sajem but it didn’t come. Instead Hann stood up, and turned now holding a stick in his left hand and his sword in his right. He moved forward quickly, there was no hesitation.
He swung at Ciels head with his right arm, who ducked but he continued turning and brought the stick around going for her ribs and then again with his sword. Ciel blocked then swung at him in response but he blocked with the stick and struck at her immediately with his sword. Ciel had to take a step back and Hann moved forward taking advantage of this. He swung both stick and sword. When they were close she could block both otherwise she would dodge one and block the other, which meant she was slowly being pushed back. At first he fought madly, without thought, but he slowly settled down and started thinking again.

Hann felt amazing as he settled, there was no hesitation in his moves, he could see Ciel moving, could look at her eyes and see what was coming. He saw the concentration in her face. Hann attacked solidly, unyieldingly and he noticed that Ciel slowly began to move more fluid like. It was as if she started to relax, to let go. It was only subtle at first but gradually all her moves began to flow onto each other. As this happened her speed increased as did her power and she actually started advancing on Hann, started moving him back again. It seamed amazing but she was out fighting him with a single sword, he was shuffling back little by little because there was simply no other way to go. There was still no hesitation in his fighting, he attacked when he could, but Ciel it seamed had always been holding back, she had fought amazingly with Sajem last week, but she was not holding back anymore. This was something different. This was something more.

Hann didn’t know how else to explain it but… she was dancing. Her hair whipped around as she twirled, ducked and parried, she moved like water, like wind, her sword seamed to be a part of her body, an extension of her arm, precise and powerful. Occasionally, he thought he saw her smile, even close her eyes. Her other arm lifted and flowed, danced with the leaves. Hann could just about hear the music that Ciel danced to. She attacked perfectly with no holes. Her free arm flowed and darted around, her hand open. Hann envisioned another sword in that hand and it terrified him. It was like she was a wind, dancing through the forest. He tried to fight as long as he could, taking in the amazing sight before him but he could not maintain his energy, and so he began tiring, at which point he tried blocking a strike to his head but failed. He saw the strike and partially deflected it but she had too much power and speed. Her sword struck his head, stars exploded in his eyes, and he went down.

He heard his name being yelled and saw a single flower falling as the world around him faded, and he fell….He fell into the fog, and sat up. He was sitting on the ground of a dark forest, the fog didn’t let him see much, but from what he could see the forest looked scary. Eyes looked at him from the depths of the forest. They were not human eyes. They studied him, but did not move. He heard a howl and the eyes disappeared into the misty forest with the sound of the wind, the forest followed shortly thereafter and faded leaving only the fog surrounding him. He struggled to see as it slowly changed from grey to white, and slowly grew brighter and brighter. Suddenly light exploded in his eyes and warmth flooded through him. The most amazing blue filled his vision and a vast landscape spread before him as far as the eye could see. The blue slowly started to darken and countless diamonds appeared of all sizes twinkling. For a moment he was weightless and for a moment time stopped. And then the fog came back and he could not see…


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And thats it so far.....