“Not like that. Your hips are your pivot point. Hitting the way you are, you are creating an unbalance in your stance.”

Nay studied Hyn’s instructions, then reproduced the movement she was showing her, but this time while focusing on the lower part of her body and not on her shoulders and arms.

She closed her eyes as to remember the sensations, and nodded, feeling angry at herself for not uncovering such a basic mistake herself.

“Much better.” Hyn approved. “As for the rest, I don’t have anything to teach you. I thought you would have been clumsier, seeing you learned most of your techniques from Men, but Marke has clearly made the necessary adjustments. Looking back at it, I probably shouldn’t have let you enter my rooms armed.” The Imperatrix said that last part with a little grin.

“It’s less Marke and more Trinne and Joanna who helped with that.”

The young duchess weakly raised a hand at the mention of her name.

“Urgh.” She mumbled.

“Still no wish to train with us?” Hyn asked her.

“I am unable to continue any semblance of physical activity after my Rreico exercises. I can’t even hazard a guess as how Nay is still standing.”

“Because you’re a woman, and she’s a leïn.” The Imperatrix responded cryptically.

“I taught the leïns were women?” Trinne asked, her interest suddenly rising.

“Oh, they were.”

The thirteen lessons of the Imperatrix.

Garnet was physically impressive. She had taken her military jacket off, only wearing a brown singlet underneath, and her exposed upper body seemed only made of muscles. With her bald head and the huge scar on her face, she was more famished byrn that woman. Nay didn’t believe she could beat her in a contest of strength even for a second. They were the same height, but Garnet was twice her size anyway. Nay guessed that the sergeant-general usually wore heavy armour, and the calluses on her hands betrayed her preferred weapons.

Garnet had taken one of the rapiers of the training room, a metal one, but very blunt, and had positioned herself in the centre of the room. She was lit up by the bulbs on the ceiling, and the three large windows giving quite the sigh to Leïn, if it wasn’t so cloudy most of the time. The room had no decorations, only the cushioned mattresses on the wall and part of the floor, and many armour and weapon racks.

The rapier wasn’t her weapon of choice. Nay was thinking it should have been a halberd or some kind of lance, which also meant a shield. The Imperatrix’ jewel didn’t seem bothered by her short sword though.

She was underestimating the Legio, but Nay didn’t feel bothered by the lack of credibility given to her. She went to pick up her usual training weapons she used with her sister and friend.

The sword was a bit too light, and the dagger too short, but they were satisfying for now: Nay was saving up to buy a miracle-bound sword and dagger. She was in Leïn after all, getting a blade like Redrick’s Murasama wasn’t an opportunity she wanted to waste, even though something of that calibre was outside her budget.

“I never had the chance to fight against the previous sergeant-general. If you had to compare yourself to him, where would you be?”

It wasn’t the most elegant question, but Nay understood what it meant. She stopped to think about it, her eyes focusing on the ceiling.

“Mhhh.”

If she fought against Marke now, what would happen?

The thoughts of dancing with the blades with her father again, here, now, brought such a deep nostalgia she felt her throat clench. The images were so clear in her mind, she could imagine the scene as if it was happening right in front of her.

Garnet waited for the Legio’s answer patiently.

“…If he used the technique he used against the Commandare against me, I would have no chance of winning.” She finally admitted. “If not, I think I would beat him. But that’s only if he stayed at the same level he was at. He was constantly improving, and considering he would have been the one training Lisana…I doubt I could continue matching him.”

“You thought you were equal to someone winning the Fir tournament? The wars tournament? You may have some renown, monster of Gite, but I think it got to your head.”

Nay grimaced at hearing her nickname, but then only felt confusion. She angled her head sideways, thinking. “What is the point of that sentence? Are you trying to annoy me? Push my buttons to force a mistake? It makes no sense to question how strong I am when we’re going to spar in just a moment.”

Garnet laughed mockingly. “Well, I suppose that’s true. Come on, guard up, show me how the Legios fight!”

Nay held her dagger in her left hand flabbily. Her arm had been broken, and she felt the difference even now despite her good recovery, but she could have held her weapon much more firmly if she wanted to. She took a low stance with her sword.

She and Garnet bowed at each other, and the duel began. Naturally, neither of the two women attacked immediately, rather than that, they kept a reasonable distance between each other. Each step to the right was met with an opposite step to the left. The two women were making circles, silently, analyzing posture and movements.

Nay was even more convinced that Garnet wasn’t using her favourite weapon now. Then she saw the right foot of the warrior turn to face her, and immediately raised her sword.

The rapier crashed on Nay’s sword. Garnet had launched herself nimbly, her body curving like a moat cat, a completely unexpected feat considering how she looked. It had managed to close the distance in less than a second.

“Oh? Trechuite techniques?” Nay was surprised, she had never seen those techniques used by someone other than her father.

Garnet had already gone back to her spot, far away, her expression slightly more serious. “That is correct. I’m not surprised you know about those, after all, fighting the pirate people was the most common mission of the sergeant-generals before the current troubles with Carradinoris.”

Despite what she was saying, Nay was sensing some sort of surprise in the warrior. The attack had been lightning quick and hard to react to, after all. But Nay could very well not explain to her opponent that trying a surprise attack against a Legio was most likely the worst of ideas.

Garnet changed her guard, her expression and position altering slightly as well.

Nay raised an eyebrow.

This was going to go horribly wrong.

The sergeant-general rushed her, completely forgetting and sort of technique, only using her strength and sudden rage in every swipe of her sword.

Nay grimaced. It was logical to forego technique for raw strength, if technique had failed, but if there was one thing that would not work on the girl with cloudy eyes, it was raw strength. She had fought all her life against men two times as big, incomparably stronger and faster than she was.

The rapier crashed against her sword again, but instead of overwhelming the Legio and breaking her guard, the entire force of the impact disappeared, as if vanishing through Nay. Because despite what it looked like, she wasn’t blocking, only deviating. Not the strike, but the power behind it. Her sword, her arm, her whole body was redirecting the impressive strength of Garnet into the ground beneath her feet.

The sergeant-general could not understand what happened next.

She hit three more times, knowing that she was too fast and too strong to be counterattacked. The young girl could not retaliate. Despite that, every time their swords met, it was her own arm that trembled like a leaf in the wind.

After the third blocked strike, her rapier escaped her opened hands as if it had been the most natural thing that it could have done.

Nay hadn’t used a disarming technique strictly speaking. She didn’t need to, her adversary’s Rreico was entirely in her control. When the Imperatrix’ jewel raised her sword for a fourth hit, it flew off her hand.

The young Legio put her dagger underneath the sergeant-general’s throat.

“Point to me.” She announced.

She felt a sliver of fear in Garnet's Rreico. She could also see it in her eyes. But the sergeant-general calmed down immediately. “Point to you. I underestimated you, I must apologize.”

“You’re not the first, and most likely not the last either. Maybe change weapons?” Nay lowered her blade.

“Ha. If you want. But I won’t play nice this time.” The sergeant-general went back to the weapon racks. She picked up an enormous shield the size of Lisana, and a short spear.

The atmosphere changed immediately. Garnet had shown expertise with the rapier, but her new weapons felt like they had been made for her.

The two women faced once more, bowed, and the duel began anew.

The Legio knew right away that things would not be as easy as in the first round.

Her spear aimed straight at Nay, the sergeant-general advanced. Her shield was perfectly placed, giving the young woman no opening, and the lance was seemingly magnetically pulled towards her body. The Legio had to fall back, and it only took a few seconds before her back was on the cushioned walls of the room. As soon as her retreat was made impossible, the spear started to attack for real. It was a barrage of strikes, endless and ruthless. If Nay tried to advance or dodge to the side, the shield put her back in her place, in range for the tip of the lance. And despite the tip being flat, Nay didn’t like the sound it made when hitting the mattress behind her. She could only block or deviate the strikes, but for how long?

The Legio smiled, she had studied the hunting techniques of the Matriar women, but this was the first time she could experience them. It was exhilarating. It made no doubt that she would have lost this duel if not for…

She countered the strike with her dagger, her wrist flexing too much, showing its weakness.

The Legio could only see the top of her opponent's eyes, but she could guess what expression she was making through the Rreico.

“I’m impressed you lasted this long.” The sergeant-general was announcing the end of the fight.

Everything would happen on the next strike.

Instead of going straight, the next attack went sideways, a perfect arc to Nay’s left side.

The young Legio did not hesitate for a second. She dropped her dagger and caught the attack in her hand by gripping the wood of the spear, slowing it down until it hit her ribs too softly to be hurting. She pulled on the weapon, pushing its tip in the mattress behind and forcing her opponent to make a step forward.

There was still no opening in the sergeant-general’s guard, but Nay wasn’t finished yet. She jumped, using the lance as support.

Then with all the strength in her legs, she pushed on the wall behind her, let go of the spear to catch the top of the shield, and twirled above the sergeant-general.

The whole sequence had taken less than two seconds.

Garnet hiccupped in disbelief at the young woman seemingly flying over her head.

Whan Nay was finally reclaimed by gravity, her back was to Garnet's. The Legio had her sword turned backward, its tip perfectly placed on the space between her opponent’s third and fourth rib.

“Biach.” The warrior swore.

“Point for me. By a hair’s breadth.” Nay took one step forward before turning back. When Garnet did the same thing, the Legio bowed. “Thanks! I had a lot of fun!”

The sergeant-general gave away a very conflicted series of expressions, before finally settling on a large smile. “Monster of Gite!”

Nay grimaced.

“You do deserve that title in the end! Eighteen, is it? You’ll be the perfect bodyguard. We’ll put you in a cute dress or something. The Imperatrix’ goddaughter, all princess-like, innocent and nice! I almost want someone to attack Her now, it would be quite the spectacle for the end of the war! Still, I have a question,”

Nay’s smile was completely gone now, most of what Garnet had just said wasn’t exactly what she liked to hear. “Yes?”

“Wasn’t your arm broken when we met for the first time? How did you manage to react to my attack like that? Was that a feint? The strength needed to use my shield against me like that…”

Nay’s smile came back. “Oh, I was serious when I said I won by a hair’s breadth. My arm did recover well, but if you had taken your time and attacked my left a lot, I would have quickly been fatigued and been forced to make a mistake.” She wiggled her left hand softly. “I am still weaker on this side since my injury. I could never have jumped the way I did if you had been more patient. The feint was to make you believe that you could use my handicap immediately.”

“You deliberately exaggerated your injury? But you didn’t even know there would be a second duel! I noticed your weak grip since the start of the first! You thought about all of that while we fought?”

Nay scratched her head, a bit shy. “No, not really. I am simply following some tips that Tri…the duchess of Gite trains with me regularly, and even if she has many flaws as a fighter, her plans are terrifying. She’s the only person my age that has ever beaten me completely once, and ever more than once.”

Garnet nodded, impressed. “I see, I would enjoy sparring with her one of these days then. It would need to be after the celebration, though. I am, as you can expect, quite busy for the moment. I will send you the details of your role during the festivities next week, now that I am aware of your skills. I will need to convince Dorico, but with the Imperatrix’ backing, it should not be that hard. Happy meeting you, Nay.” Garnet did a little sign with her head, put back her lance and shield in their respective racks, and exited the room.

Nay wiped away the sweat on her forehead, put her own weapons in a corner, stretched for a dozen minutes, then left the room herself.