Within the moments that followed, a large dust cloud erupted from the arena, though it was quickly wiped away by the sheer force of their blows. The alternate tried to land a diagonal cut that Bernar deflected and met with one of his own. Feeling his blade scrape along his opponent's due to an attempted parry, Bernar stepped forward and slammed the pommel right into his alternate's nose.
"Damn you!" I heard the alternate call out over the cheering crowd. It was evident that Bernar was putting on a show for them and avoided finishing it off too quickly. Instead, he pointed his blade at the alternate with a wolfish grin and waited for its next attack.
The alternate dashed in, black blood pouring from its face and nostrils as it screamed, gathering enough force to send up yet another, though smaller, cloud of dust across the arena. It swung again, cutting through the cloud with the air that trailed from the tip of its blade, aiming an attack at Bernar's neck, forcing him to lean back momentarily before dashing in with attacks of his own.
Bernar stepped in with an uppercut, followed in quick succession by another diagonal slice tracing his last attack, which quickly pivoted into a thrust. The alternate's look of confusion at the use of such simple techniques quickly shifted into a derisive sneer as it backstepped.
I could feel Bernar's excitement bubbling over as his plan to lure it into a false sense of security worked. How much do you want to bet it's going to try a jumping attack? Bernar asked me. Fifty Crescents and a mug of ale says you'll cut him four ways before he hits the floor, I sent back quickly, getting an eye roll from Ysevel. Same, but I bet double the cuts, Mom sent. You're on, I replied with a smirk.
Sure enough, the alternate did exactly as my brother had predicted. It dashed forward, using its left foot to send it soaring into the air and tucked in its right leg to launch it into a spinning attack. I watched carefully as its sword spun so quickly that it looked like a ring of violet had spawned around it.
I could all but feel Bernar waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and with a single leap to meet it in the air, he slashed.
One, two, three, four, five. Shit! I counted, each strike carefully timed and aimed at its neck, shoulder, and hip joints, leaving nothing but a tumbling lump of flesh spinning like a children's top. The moment the dismembered torso hit the floor, the crowd cheered and roared with excitement at the display.
"Fayren! Fayren! Fayren!" they shouted in service to Bernar's heavily inflated ego. Five is closer to eight. Mom wins, he sent me with a glance over his shoulder that told me he added the extra cut out of spite. You absolute twat, I scoffed and shook my head as I heard Mom whooping and cheering from the stands.
Ysevel and Kalia only looked at each other with tired expressions, and I could feel that they were all but regretting bringing him along.
Oh, come on! It's just a bit of healthy competition, I shrugged. We know, Kalia and Ysevel replied in unison. Their expressions told everyone else they were sighing, but I could tell there was an underlying sense of pride and joy coming from both of them.
It seems I'll have to make arrangements to induct both of you into the Iron Plume Clan after all, Kalia said, her expression shifting into a smirk. Really? I can't wait! Bernar sent back with a look of visible excitement as he made his way across the arena.
Yes, but it will have to wait until the Davo Dugo Guva is over. I plan to induct the others as well, as I feel it might give the other members of the clan some hope for the trying times to come, Kalia replied.
For a brief moment, I was reminded of the reality of our situation. Having Mom and Bernar, as well as the others, eventually becoming trustworthy members of the Clan would help garner trust between our realms, though how much remained to be seen.
"So, how was that?" Bernar asked, thanking Eirenne with a nod for the towel she handed him to wipe the blood from his face. "Took longer than Derion, but I could tell you were having fun," I shrugged. "Fair enough. It took me a minute to figure out how I was going to beat myself, but I think that's the point of this trial," he said, surprising all of us with his insight.
"How so?" Vyra asked, hoping to get a last pointer before her fight. "It takes a lot of strength to understand your flaws and weaknesses, even more so to overcome them. I don't think it's just a matter of being physically strong, but having a strong mentality as well," he explained, looking at the towel covered in blackened blood with a minor look of disgust.
"And you would be correct," Buruz said from the doorway behind me. "I-I am?" Bernar asked with genuine confusion. "The Davo Dugo Guva is a rite of passage, one we use to gauge the readiness of our fellow clanmates. What you just said is a major part of why we do this," Buruz said with a nod.
"Huh, never really thought of it that way," I said, recalling mine and Ysevel's experiences. "Did yours try to taunt you at all?" I asked him. "Oh, fuck yeah, it did. It even tried to talk about Leona, though how it knew about her at all is beyond me," Bernar nodded.
"I'm not entirely sure how it knows those things either, but I guess I should have expected as much. Good work out there," I said, patting him on the shoulder.
Next up was Vyra, and while I would like to say her fight was as fun or entertaining as Bernar's, she'd killed hers nearly as quickly as Derion had within three moves.
Needless to say, our jaws collectively dropped.
"Shortcomings, right?" She chuckled, flicking the blood off her spear as she made her way back. "I know what I have to work on, now. Thanks for the tips," she said, strutting confidently past us with a smirk stretching her lips.
"Eirenne, you're up next, right? Better not keep them waiting," I said with a wink, hoping to instill some confidence in her. "O-Oh, right. Any other tips?" she asked as she shuffled forward. "Lure it into a false sense of security, then use someone else's technique to finish it off," I said with a nod. "Here, you can use this," Derion said with what I could have sworn was a light shade of pink across his cheekbones.
Waaaaaaait, I thought privately, desperately trying to hide the shit-eating grin that was begging to contort my features.
Eirenne looked at the forearm-length blade he offered her and stuck it in her boot, leaving the handle exposed. "Th-Thanks, Derion," she said with a smile that suggested she was just as surprised as the rest of us. "Don't die out there," Vyra said with a wink, to which Eirenne could only nod.
She stepped out into the arena, prompting another roar from the crowd. "Our next contender is none other than Eirenne Idris, a member of Commander Siraye's strike team serving as our first archer of the night. Bring out the opponent!" Sabura's voice rang out as she held her bow aloft.
There was another cheer for her, but I could tell that many of the hegraphenes in the stands were just as curious about her choice of weapon as they were about the color of her blood-red hair.
"Come on, Eirenne," I heard Vyra whisper, clutching her spear tightly. "Don't worry. She'll be fine," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder, giving her a firm nod. Vyra breathed deeply and gave a few nods of her own before turning to watch the battle.
Without much ceremony, the duel began with Eirenne firing off a quick trio of arrows, which the alternate matched with her own while moving to the side. I could hear Eirenne curse from where I was, but what she said was masked by the cheering crowd at this novel exchange.
"It's not every day they get to see such skilled archery," I noted with a certain degree of pride to Vyra, who was watching intently. "Y-You mean to say there aren't many archers here?" she asked, unable to take her eyes off the stunning display of skill.
"Hegraphenes believe in strength above all else. To them, archery is a skill that requires much more finesse than they would like, so it's rare to see an archer among them," I explained, prompting Vyra to huff in surprise as Eirenne jumped and twisted her body to evade a handful of arrows aimed at her head and torso.
"Well, I think some of them might begin to reconsider what strength means after this," she said as Eirenne rushed in toward it and caught one of the arrows out of the air, nocking it and firing it in the span of a heartbeat.