Chương 26: Chapter 25 - Swordsmanship

Varrin woke Ren early the next morning. The rest of the previous day had passed by fairly quickly. After Ren finally got some food into his belly, the party spent the remaining hours simply talking, right up until the sun began to set and dinnertime arrived along with it. The dining hall had filled swiftly with all sorts of people then, civilians, Firekeepers, and Flameguard alike.

The dark-armoured mercenaries were present too, and Ren noticed it wasn't only Lorelle who took issue with them and their behaviour, as a fair few of the Flameguards and civilians alike shot the rowdy, uncaring bunch disapproving glances. On a more positive note, Ren found the food that was given out to be extremely good. It was a simple stew, much like the one he'd had back in Southwood, only the version here had been made to absolute perfection.

The chunks of meat were succulent and slow-cooked all the way through, so tender that they practically melted in his mouth. The vegetables had been steamed just as flawlessly, the rich juices of the stew soaked deep into every last one of them, until each and every mouthful was nothing short of heavenly. At least, Ren thought so. Especially after days of eating nothing but boiled forage and the occasional roasted rabbit.

Even so, he had to admit the meat here still didn't quite compare to the jackalope's, which left him wondering whether monster meat simply tasted better as a rule. More research was certainly required on that front. He was always looking for new ways to improve the meals he made for Yumè back home, and now that he was a Blessed, hunting those monsters was on the table now. Though he would have to get back first, and that started with getting up from this comfortable bed.

Ren barely had time to blink the sleep from his eyes before Varrin was already standing at the doorway, fully ready to leave, his grey eyes as sharp as ever.

"Hurry up. We've got places to be." Reluctant to leave the warm embrace of the covers, Ren forced himself out regardless, instantly feeling the faint bite of the early morning cold as it fought against the radiating heat the church gave off.

"We should tidy the room before we leave at least," Ren said as he donned his cloak.

"Hmm," Varrin mused, looking around at the messily-made beds.

"You're right. The less these people have that could criminalise us later, the better."' Or we do it because just because it's the right thing to do?' Ren sighed inwardly as he pulled on his second boot. Tinsei had come back around the night before to collect his old clothing and dispose of it for him, so at least he didn't have to worry about drawing any unwanted attention by looking as though he were trying to get rid of a murder victim's clothes.

After getting their room to look as close to what it did when they first entered, Ren and Varrin left and made their way to the grand hall, where Elowen and Lorelle were already waiting for them.

"You guys took long," the regal elf remarked as they approached, and Ren noticed she'd gotten new clothes as well, replacing the ones she'd torn up to bandage his shoulder.. Elowen now wore something that was a mix between Varrin's leathers and Lorelle's robes, an outfit which Ren thought suited her perfectly.

"We were getting rid of potential evidence," Varrin responded simply, not offering any further explanation. Elowen gave him an incredulous look just as Lorelle spoke up.

"Did you both sleep well?"

"Amazingly," Ren said happily.

"Anything beats a freezing forest floor right next to the Great Forest." The young Firekeeper giggled.

"You're right!" Ren smiled, glad to see that Lorelle was starting to seem a little more cheerful now, when he noticed Lady Darla walking toward them, a pair of the dark-armoured guards at her side, each of them carrying two packs.

"Are you sure you are ready to leave us, sister?" the Head Firekeeper asked with concern.

"We are more than willing to facilitate your stay for longer if need be."

"That won't be necessary, Lady Darla," Lorelle replied smoothly, bowing slightly.

"Though our stay was short, we are extremely thankful for your hospitality."

"Think nothing of it, Lorelle," Lady Darla replied with a warm smile.

"The warmth of the Eternal Flame should extend to anyone and everyone."

"Just make sure you stick to the roads, yes? Between bandits and monsters that wander from the Great Forest… it's becoming pretty dangerous. And I wouldn't want you to get hurt at all."

"We will," Lorelle promised, just as the guards tossed the packs they'd been carrying down at Ren's feet, their contents clattering with the impact. Lady Darla offered a faint smile.

"Then may fortune favour you on your journey." With that, she turned and took her leave, her guards following a step beside her as they disappeared into the depths of the grand hall.' Some send-off...' Ren thought as he watched them go. Next to him, Varrin had already begun rummaging through the packs.

"There's barely enough supplies for five days in here," the silver-haired boy said flatly before looking up at Lorelle.

"Is that going to be enough to reach the next village?"

"It should be just enough," the young Firekeeper responded.

"But it'll depend on how fast the caravan we join goes."

"Then there isn't any point wasting time," Varrin said, heaving up one of the bags and slipping it over his shoulders, adjusting it so he could still access his sword.

"Let's get going." Ren grabbed a pack of his own, Elowen and Lorelle quickly following suit, before the party set off from the Church of the Eternal Flame and started down the main road toward the North Gate. No longer protected by the building's radiating heat, the winter cold instantly fell upon them without mercy. Ren's thankfulness for his new clothes renewed itself as the chill struggled to make it through his cloak.

'Thought about cloaks' Grey clouds gathered along the horizon, the winds from the distant Pyreridge Mountains pushing them steadily toward the Crossroads, carrying the damp smell of coming rain along with them directly to Ren's nose. The cobblestones underfoot were slick with morning dew, and yet, despite how early it still was, plenty of people were already out and about, going about the start of their days. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

It wasn't anywhere near the volume of people that Ren saw when they'd first arrived yesterday, but the amount still surprised him.

"Alright Ren," Varrin said as they walked.

"Let's begin your swordsmanship lessons." Ren was slightly taken aback.

"R-right now?"

"Of course," the silver-haired boy responded simply, "what do you know about sword fighting?"

"Uhh… not all that much." he admitted. He'd been on a farm, tending to sheep for almost his entire life. Sure, he'd read some storybooks that were filled with heroic kings and knights with legendary fighting prowess and secret sword styles, but he was sure that they were all romanticised nonsense.

"I suspected as much," Varrin said, stretching his arms out in front of him.

"We'll start with the basics then."

"What is the goal of a fight?" Ren thought for a bit.

"To win?"

"And how do you win?"

"You... beat your opponent…?" Ren answered, uncertain if Varrin was giving him a trick question, because that much seemed obvious. The silver-haired boy smiled.

"Wrong."

"You win the fight if you gain what you wanted from it," he explained as a wagon rolled past nosily.

"In your case, you want to get stronger by me teaching you how to use a sword. So you wouldn't necessarily have to beat me to win."

"If you gain experience and strength from our fight, then you've won." Ren nodded slowly, absorbing the information fully.

"But say I was trying to kill you," Varrin continued.

"To win, you'd have to survive, whether that meant escaping or killing me first, it wouldn't matter which. Or perhaps you wanted me dead so badly that your own death wouldn't matter to you in the slightest, so long as it meant taking me down with you." He turned to glance behind him.

"Does that make sense?" Ren nodded again, more firmly this time.

"You catch on quick," Varrin said with a smirk, "on to the next part then."

"Wait a moment," Elowen cut in, causing both Varrin and Ren looked at her as she sped up to walk beside the silver-haired boy.

"I was always taught that the essence of combat was murder." She summoned her Sword of Aelcryth into her hand, the blade forming in a flurry of white motes.

"To kill your opponent is all that matters." Varrin's lips curled.

"That's incredibly shallow, princess."

"And that's why I'm the better swordsman," he continued, looking back at Ren before the regal elf could retort, his voice sharp with satisfaction.

"Because while she's busy killing everyone, I'm improving and widening the gap between us." Elowen's cheeks reddened.

"No. Don't say it like that. That makes me sound like a psychopathic killer."

"All it means is that whenever you fight, you must fight with the intent to kill your opponent," she continued, lifting her chin slightly. Varrin scoffed.

"Well that's obvious. Your teacher mustn't have been very good." Elowen's pride was visibly hurt, but she managed to keep her temper in check.

"If you're so confident in your abilities," she declared, "spar me." Varrin stared at her like she'd offered him a chore.

"As you can see," he said flatly, gesturing vaguely toward Ren, "I'm very busy at the moment." The regal elf's mouth curved into something smug.

"You're just scared~" Ren watched them quietly as Lorelle came up beside him.

"They're like children," the young Firekeeper said.

"I wonder when they'll become friends..."

"I'm sure they'll get along eventually," Ren laughed as he watched the two squabble.

"They will have to, seeing as we'll be travelling together for the foreseeable future." A thoughtful looked spread across Lorelle's face.

"Hmm, we just have to find something they have in common with each other!"

"That might be easier said than done..." he mused. Given just how guarded a person Varrin was, Ren had only managed to learn that the silver-haired boy was from the Lower City. The green parks and quiet paths of the South-West Quarter slowly passed the party on either side as they walked, serene in the early morning light. It was before one of these very parks that Varrin came to a stop and turned back to look at Ren.

"Sorry, Ren," he said in a determined voice, "I'll have to postpone our training to put a princess in her place."

"You're going to duel right here?" Lorelle exclaimed, bewildered.

"You can't wait until we get outside of the city? You might get arrested!"

"This won't take very long," Varrin responded, sliding the pack from his shoulder and letting it drop onto the grass as he drew his sword and stepped deeper into the empty green park.

"Trust me." Ren glanced around and realised everyone nearby had all but vanished, the only trace of life being the lone wagon that had passed them earlier, still trundling off down the road into the distance. Elowen, meanwhile, moved to follow the silver-haired boy, her beautiful jade sword coalescing in her hand amid a flurry of glimmering white motes.' Where did everyone go?' he thought briefly before Varrin ripped him from his thoughts.

"Watch closely, Ren," he said, readying his blade.

"You might learn something good from this."

"No using our Soul Powers," Elowen clarified immediately, raising her own sword.

"This will be a true test of swordsmanship and that's all."

"Of course," the silver-haired boy replied almost excitedly.

"I won't need my Soul Power to beat you." Ren knew he probably should have stepped in to stop them, but truthfully, a part of him wanted to watch and see which of the two was stronger. And seeing as there was no one else around anyway... a little duel couldn't hurt, right? The regal elf and the silver-haired boy then dashed at each other and the quiet park was instantly filled with the ringing of steel as the two clashed.

Ren hadn't gotten a good look at either of their sword styles during the demon attack in Southwood, as his efforts then had been elsewhere—mostly trying not to die. So now was the perfect opportunity to try and analyse them. And he swiftly saw that Varrin's style was quick and powerful. Not a single movement was wasted, and every strike was thrown with full intent, he didn't hesitate for even a moment. Even his footwork was aggressive, always pressing forward.

But he seemed to disregard defence in favour of that destructiveness, blocking or dodging at the last possible moment, even taking shallow cuts as the price for keeping his momentum. To be honest, Ren was a little worried since they were using real blades. Elowen's style, on the other hand, could only be described as beautiful. She moved like flowing water, always shifting around Varrin's angles, trading blows and deflecting strikes with clean adaptability.

As Ren watched them duel, he realised just how far he was from them. He would have to train very hard to reach their level. Elowen parried a strike and reposted quickly, forcing Varrin to stumble a step back. A smirk appeared on her face as she pressed him harder, driving him further back with a flurry of blows that must've felt like he was being pressured with the weight of an entire waterfall. Varrin defended as best he could, but he was forced to one knee.

"Ha!" Elowen celebrated, voice sharp with triumph as she went for the winning strike. But the silver-haired boy wasn't finished just yet, snatching up a handful of dirt and throwing it straight into the regal elf's face.

"Ah!" she cried, snapping her eyes shut as her attack broke apart in an instant. Varrin followed up without hesitation, sweeping his leg low and kicking hers out from under her. Elowen hit the ground with a heavy thud and the silver-haired boy's sword was at her throat before she could even inhale.

"I win," he said smugly. Elowen stared daggers up at him.

"You cheated! There was no honour in that move!"

"Honour?" Varrin laughed and removed his blade.

"What good is that if you're dead? Weren't you the one who said to fight your opponent with the intent to kill?"

"That's… that's not…" she stumbled over her words, causing her pointed ears to go red with embarrassment.

"You still have a ways to go, princess," Varrin said with a smirk, sheathing his sword.

"All that noble blood, a Bloodline running through your veins, and you still lost to some gutter rat from the Lower City. Makes you wonder what it's even worth." Elowen made a frustrated sound somewhere between a grunt and a growl before pushing herself up off the grass and furiously brushing the dirt from her clothes. Ren could only stand in awe at what he'd just witnessed.

"That was amazing. You both were amazing."

"Pfft, that was nothing," the silver-haired boy replied lazily, but Ren could see that he was breathing heavily. A voice suddenly called out, smooth and amused.

"Yes," it said, "you guys were quite talented."

"I think you'll do nicely as vessels."