flash of steel

They circled each other with slow, calculated steps. Their eyes measuring with quiet intensity.

Jormund forced his muscles to relax, forced himself to concentrate on the movements of the assassin. He steadied his breathing. He had to be ready for anything. If his days serving in the breach had taught him one thing, it was that tense muscles were a soldier’s worst enemy.

Jormund studied the assassin, careful to stay just outside the range of his opponent. Although it wore a hood, Jormund could tell with certainty that it was a Rethari. There was no mistaking the four horns forming a crown over which the hood draped. No mistaking that oily black skin, streaked with thin red cracks that ran outward from each horn. Jormund had seen many Rethari in his time at the breach. They were fierce fighters; most were close to 7 feet tall and tough as hell itself. They often served on the front lines of the breach to prove their strength within their clans. Yes, the thing before him was definitely a Rethari. But its eyes… they were not the typical brown Jormund has so often seen. No, these were almost completely red. They were a sickening, dark, red. They looked as if they were full with blood, and with just a speck of pristine white pupil remaining in the center.

Jormund felt a small chill run down his back. He shifted his gaze from its terrible eyes down to the black curved sword in its right hand. The blade was roughly the same length as Jormund's own longsword, but it's shape was like nothing he had seen before. It had one clean cutting edge, the other was covered with wicked spikes. It's spiked edge looked jagged and random, as if broken.

Before he had time for further study, the Rethari leapt at him with blurring speed. Stone cracked beneath its feet with the force of its advance. It thrust the black blade at his chest with perfect form. Jormund backed with a start. He barely had time to move his blade. He swatted the thrust to the side and turned, but the assassin had been too quick. The Rethari blade sliced a deep cut through his upper left arm as he spun out from the attack.

Gods! It was fast! Thought Jormund as he regained his balance. I’ll have to keep some distance while I…His thoughts cut short as the assassin closed the distance between them again in a heartbeat.

Jormund’s arm moved on pure instinct as he met the Rethari’s advance with an explosion of sweeping parries. The ring of their blades ripped through the silence like a sudden thunderstorm. The force from their blows seemed to shake even the foundations of the rampart. The two opponents struck and parried with a dizzying flurry of flashing steel.

The Rethari thrust low for his opponent’s leg, but Jormund’s blade was there to meet it. Crouching low as he blocked the thrust away, Jormund brought his blade sweeping back up with all the speed he could summon. The Rethari reeled backwards with surprise as the tip of Jormund’s longsword ran a thin slice across its chest. NOW! His mind screamed as he seized the brief moment of suprise and pressed his attack.

He stepped in with a series of quick, fierce, strikes. Each one of his attacks, the Rethari countered in perfect, flowing, rhythm. Jormund pressed his attack harder. Faster! He told himself. I have to move faster! The Rethari swung high at his shoulder and he slammed his blade upward to meet it. The force drew the Rethari blade upwards, and Jormund stepped out to the side and spun. Taking his sword in both hands, he paired his strength with the downward momentum and swung into the Rethari.

This time it was more than a scratch as he felt the blow cut a deep wound across the Rethari's stomach. He followed his swing through and spun out of reach.

Jormund turned to see the Rethari already readying to attack again. Paying no attention to the wound he had just dealt. It recovered with such ease! He thought as he braced for the counter attack. The Rethari moved with a supernatural grace. Lunging forward it swung with far more agility and power than any Rethari should have the right to. Jormund had time to ready his blade, but it was little help against the brutal force of the attack. His parry was weak and the blow knocked him off balance. The impact forced him to spin sideways. Staggered, he felt steel slice at his shoulder blade. He finished his spin facing the Rethari, just in time to see the incoming blade thrust straight at him. He twisted away, narrowly managing to escape the strike aimed for his throat.

Jormund leapt backwards, breaking off from the current exchange. Blood oozed from a small gash along his neck and the cut down his right shoulder blade burned with pain. Sweat dripped down the sides of Jormund's face as the two opponents circled each other once more. How? Jormund thought, how could it be this strong! Jormund himself was a wind-walker, one of the most skilled swordsmen in Titan. Yet his skills were nothing by comparison to this...this thing. The Rethari had speed and strength beyond anything he had ever faced.

It hadn’t even broken a sweat, and Jormund’s arm was already numb from the force of their exchange. The Rethari continued to circle him. Its terrible eyes watching him with a chilling calm, paying no attention to the steady drip of blood from its stomach. Jormund knew he couldn’t let this pace continue. His younger years were behind him; he was standing here only by the grace of his trained reflexes. A couple more exchanges like that and I’ll be exhausted…or just dead he thought bitterly to himself.