Talynn exited the mage academy and sprinted over the cobblestone streets of Albustone. A little over a mile away lay the knights academy. While the mage’s academy was one grandiose castle-like structure, the knights academy consisted of a handful of buildings including a mess hall, barracks, and indoor training facilities. Its buildings displayed worn and fading stonework attesting to its century of existence.
The academy was much more crowded than usual as knights-in-training and their families milled about, eager to watch the day’s events. Every year they held a tournament just as the mage’s academy did, only a day earlier so that parents with children in both academies could attend both events. A large open field surrounded by wooden bleachers sat towards the back of the academy grounds forming a small stadium. The field was divided into three sections for the tournament. Each arena held a pair of contestants as they dueled with their respective weapons studies. Talynn scanned the crowds until he found a familiar face.
“Versutana!” Talynn waved.
“Talynn! Over here, I saved you a seat,” beckoned the brown haired girl, about fifteen years of age. She wore a dark green dress that matched the shade of her mischievous eyes.
“Nice!” Talynn said as he gingerly stepped over the people sitting in the aisle. “Did you manage to sneak out of the castle without the emperor noticing?”
“Yep, father had foreign dignitaries visiting and Lumenaeva is still training under the archmage. Easy peasy.”
“Well, let’s hope you don’t get caught again,” Talynn said with a knowing smirk.
“I just want to walk around without having a flock of bodyguards hovering over me all the time. Is that too much to ask for?”
“Comes with being royalty I guess,” Talynn shrugged. “Oh look, there’s Mavence!”
“Oh yeah, you missed his earlier fights. He won his first two matches pretty easy and made it to the final round for the swordsman division. But this last match might get him,” she said as the judges called forth the competitors.
“How so?”
“His opponent is Kaidan Ensisco,” Versutana said as the challengers entered the center arena. “His family is quite influential in the military. Every boy from with the Ensisco family name has grown up to be a talented and well-known swordsman of the imperial army. People say they could swing a sword before they could even walk straight.”
“They’re that good, huh?”
“Let’s just say it’s a good thing Mavence won his first two matches. He’s good, but this guy is on a whole other level.”
“Just watch, Mavence will beat him. I have faith in him,” Talynn said.
Mavence took a moment to stretch before gearing up for his final match. The well-worn armor provided for him was too small for his broad frame, constricting his chest. The metal plates made a terrible grating noise and constantly dug into his shoulders. His sword was no improvement, being partially rusted and having numerous deep chips in the blade’s edge. After donning his gear and adjusting it as best he could, he took a look at his opponent, the young man named Kaidan. Unlike Mavence’s academy-provided armor, Kaidan’s armor was crafted by one of the finest blacksmiths in Albustone who had served their wealthy family of knights for decades. It was well-fitting and polished to a remarkable sheen. Although his face was obscured by his helmet, his cavalier demeanor was evident in his stance.
The scorekeeper announced their names and gestured for them to take their positions, his right hand holding a small white flag. Kaidan’s father began cheering loudly from the stands. The scorekeeper dropped the flag, signalling the start of the match.
Mavence immediately rushed forward, swinging his sword down at Kaidan in a diagonal strike. As Kaidan blocked with his sword, Mavence used the recoil to spin in place and strike at Kaidan’s side. Without looking, Kaidan leaned out of the way of Mavence’s attack and then took a quick step towards his opponent, smacking his sword against Mavence’s chestplate before he had time to defend.
“Too slow, commoner,” Kaidan said as the scorekeeper assigned him a point. The contenders reset to their starting positions. The white flag dropped.
Mavence held back this time, waiting for his opponent to make the first strike. Kaidan quickly advanced, swinging his sword in an elegant combination of attacks as he met his opponent. Mavence blocked and parried until Kaidan lured him into locking blades, each trying to overpower the other. Suddenly, Kaidan withdrew the pressure from his sword, causing Mavence to lose his balance and fall forward. Kaidan tapped his sword on the back of Mavence’s armor as he lay sprawled out on the ground.
“How disappointing. This is why I don’t duel with poor people.”
He’s toying with me, Mavence clenched his jaw as he picked himself up. He had won his previous matches through pure strength and endurance. That wasn't going to work here. Kaidan's precision and technical ability far outmatched his own. It was evident that his father had trained him with a level of technique far more advanced than what the students had learned in the academy thus far. For once, Mavence was at a loss of what to do. A familiar voice caught his attention. A flood of relief came as he caught sight of Talynn. He gestured to the scorekeeper requesting a brief timeout.
“Hey, you made it,” Mavence said with a smile as he arrived at the bleachers.
“Sorry I’m late! You doing okay? You seem to be having trouble with this guy. You know if he wins this round you lose the match, which puts you only in the second tier. Second tier doesn’t get you into the Empress’s Guard.”
“Yeah, I know,” Mavence ran his hand through his dirty blond hair. “But he’s tough. He keeps outmaneuvering me with his fancy footwork and throwing me off balance. I don’t know if I can beat this guy with my level of swordplay. You’re the clever one, any ideas?”
“If you can’t beat him with swordplay, don’t beat him with swordplay.”
“What does that even mean?” Mavence gave a befuddled look as the scorekeeper called out for him to return to the arena.
“I dunno, but it sounds wise,” Talynn shrugged as Mavence departed. “Figure it out!”
Mavence flipped his helmet down and returned to the arena. He thought about Talynn’s words. Then an idea came to him. The flag dropped. Mavence rushed in, this time keeping his sword attacks high, drawing his opponent’s attention away from their lower halves. As Kaidan brought his sword up to block a downward swing, his foot was suddenly pinned by Mavence’s boot. With a quick shoulder check, Mavence knocked him to the ground and smacked his sword against Kaidan’s chestplate. Kaidan sat on the ground, trying to comprehend what had happened as the scorekeeper assigned Mavence his first point.
“Whoa, where did that move come from?” Versutana asked.
“Kaidan is a better swordsman than him. So, he’s not fighting like a swordsman anymore. He’s fighting like a brawler,” Talynn said with a grin.
“Cheater! Get off the field, commoner!” Kaidan’s father booed from the stands.
“Lucky win,” Kaidan said as they squared up for the next round. The flag dropped.
Kaidan dashed forward and went for a horizontal slice. Mavence leaned back and slid over the dirt on his knees, ducking under the sword. He stood back up and spun around to face his opponent. Kaidan parried Mavence’s blade to the side, hoping to expose him to a frontal attack. Mavence quickly leaned out of the way as Kaidan’s sword rushed past him with inches to spare. He grabbed hold of Kaidan’s forearm with his left hand and switched to an underhand grip on his sword with his right. He then brought the sword forward and drove the hilt directly into Kaidan’s outstretched arm just above the elbow.
“Gah!” Kaidan dropped his sword, his entire arm tingling painfully. Mavence lazily smacked his sword against Kaidan’s chestplate, winning him a point. Some impressed members of the audience began to cheer Mavence on.
“Another violation! I demand that this peasant be expelled at once!” Kaidan’s father shrieked.
“No violation has occurred. Mavence Sevar wins a point,” the scorekeeper said.
“Kaidan, don’t you dare let that peasant win, do you hear me?” Kaidan’s father continued to scream, making those sitting near him quite uncomfortable. The scorekeeper adjusted the scoreboard, both opponents now tied. The crowd began eagerly drumming their feet on the bleachers, eager for the final showdown.
“You put up a decent fight after all, Mavence. But you cannot win,” said Kaidan.
“What makes you so sure about that?”
“Just look at your sword. It’s chipped, rusted, and made of iron. Mine is made of hardened steel. It’s the perfect representation of how you and I are different. You’re a poor orphan boy. I’m the son of a venerable family of knights. Destiny has chosen me to be the winner and you the loser.”
“I couldn’t care less about what you think my destiny is or what your sword is made of. Let’s finish this,” Mavence said in return.
The white flag dropped. Kaidan’s blade clashed with Mavence’s. The contestants went back and forth, striking, parrying, and blocking. Kaidan’s steel sword bit into Mavence’s softer iron sword with each strike, inflicting chips and dents on the edge of the blade. Mavence was driven backwards as Kaidan whipped his blade about with ferocious speed. He brought the sword down heavily, counting on Mavence to lock blades with him once more. He didn’t. Instead, Mavence side-stepped and kicked him in the stomach. Kaidan staggered backwards, his chain of attacks interrupted as he struggled to catch his breath. He looked to the stands and spotted his father, his face contorted in rage.
His determination renewed, Kaidan firmly gripped the hilt of his sword. Mavence barely had a moment to adjust his footing before Kaidan rushed in, leveraging all of his weight and strength into a powerful downward blow. The blade made a surprisingly loud noise as it whipping through the air, causing Mavence to instinctively shut his eyes while he held his sword up in defense. When his eyes opened, his sword was surprisingly still in his hands. But as he looked at the blade, his stomach dropped.
Kaidan’s sword had cut clean through Mavence’s, leaving him with barely a third of a sword. Nearly twenty feet away, the broken piece finally clattered to the ground, leaving the audience breathless. A smile lit Kaidan’s face. He knew his opponent had no chance of winning a duel with a broken sword. He turned his head towards the stands, wanting to see the look in his father’s eyes during his moment of victory. But his triumph was premature.
“Fight’s not over yet!” Mavence shouted as he slammed his fist into Kaidan’s jaw. The crowd gasped as his body crumpled to the ground, the sudden jarring of his skull knocking him unconscious. Mavence’s sword lightly tapped on his armor.
“Whoo!” Talynn immediately stood up and cheered a bit too soon.
“Penalty! That was against regulations, disqualify him at once!” Kaidan’s father immediately protested.
“No violations have occurred,” the scorekeeper said, quite finished with his interruptions. “This contestant’s actions were within regulations. I declare Mavence Sevar the winner of this match!”
Kaidan’s father shouted furiously, but his voice was drowned out by the crowd chanting Mavence’s name.
“You did it!” Talynn high-fived Mavence as he approached after the cheering and applause finally died down.
“Looks like your vague advice worked after all. Now it’s your turn to win tomorrow!”
“Oh lord, don’t remind me,” Talynn groaned.
“I’m sure you’ll win, you got this,” said Mavence. “Hey, what happened to your face?”
“Oh this?” Talynn gently rubbed his red and swollen cheek. “Got into a fight with Gelusik. Smacked my head on some ice.”
“You didn’t win, I take it?”
“He’s the best ice mage in the academy and I can’t even cast a spell on my own. Of course he won.”
“Do I need to beat him up?” Mavence offered.
“No, that’d just make me seem even more lame. Ugh, this tournament is going to go terribly. I’m doomed,” Talynn’s countenance fell. They walked in silence for a ways.
“If you want, I can get you a mutostone again. I know a guy,” Versutana spoke up.
“No thanks. Last time I used one I nearly got expelled for cheating. I doubt I’ll be as lucky this time.”
“Oh come on, that’s not cheating,” Versutana said with air quotes. “In a real battle you should take every advantage you can get.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Mavence shook his head. “You should win with your own strength and skill. You can fight honorably and still win. You don’t need to cheat and you don’t need luck. Just use that brain of yours.”
“Doesn’t seem like that’s been working so far. Either way, luxstones, mutostones, and runestones are strictly forbidden in the mage’s tournament. Lux chalk and wands are technically allowed, but that’s probably because their spells are weak. Which isn’t comforting.”
“Don’t stress about it too much. Hey, do you guys want to go to the market? We have the entire day to ourselves!”
“You, miss Versutana, should head back to the castle before your father catches you,” Talynn pointed to her. “And I need to go practice while contemplating my doom.”
“Lame,” Versutana stuck her tongue out.
“Leave him be, he’s got a big day tomorrow,” Mavence gave Talynn a reassuring pat on the back. “Make sure you get some rest.”
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