Metal clanged as Stathis blocked a strike, a sword clashing against her shield. When she counter-attacked, her blade cut through empty air, a ragged cloak fluttering backwards and out of range, as her opponent somersaulted backwards. Their hood fell backwards, revealing ragged black hair that looked like it had been hacked short with a knife, a bandana pulled up to cover their mouth.

Rath’s hand flicked out, a flash of steel streaking through the air, bouncing off Stathis’ armour. Before she could close on them, a whip cracked, a leather cord wrapping around her arm. Stathis stood her ground, anchoring herself as the attacker strained to pull her over, before pivoting and darting towards Stathis. As the whip-cord went slack, Stathis pivoted to attack them, their short sword just barely coming up in time to block Stathis’ attack. She slammed her shield into them, knocking them backwards and making them fall over.

‘Vissa, why do you use the whip? You know it’s not going to do a damn thing.’ Stathis sheathed her sword then offered her hand to her downed opponent. A single stubby almost-horn could just about be seen beneath messy dark hair, the woman’s skin a vivid red colour, tattoos stark black in contrast.

‘This is training for in the arena of blood! It should be where we display our greatest skill.’

‘All you’re doing is pissing me off. I don’t think it can do anything beyond annoy me. Can’t you at least get a magical one? You’re not strong enough or big enough to be able to really slow anyone down.’ She looked at them – they had a slight and wiry build, similar to Semari but not as toned and strong, a metal breastplate covering their torso. ‘At least you’re moving better in the armour now.’

‘I don’t like it still. Where’s the passion, the drive, when my body is wrapped in metal?’

Stathis punched them in the chest, her gauntlet colliding with the unyielding metal of their armour in a loud crash. ‘The passion is when you can take a hit and not have to worry about it. Want to go put your leathers on and I can hit you with a sword again?’

‘Ah, no. You made your point quite forcefully then. But a few wounds make it more exciting, surely!’

‘A few wounds means you’re losing. “Don’t get wounded” is pretty fundamental advice. Can you please just use your swords? You’re pretty good with those when you bother to use them even of pissing about with the whip.’

She felt a sudden presence behind herself, just about managing to avoid jumping, as Rath appeared far too close behind her, utterly silent.

‘Gods! Could you not do that. Good work on your mobility, Rath.’

They nodded their head, their voice a quiet whisper. ‘I shall strike from the shadows.’

‘Yes, I’ve seen you warp around a lot. So you can only do that in darkness? Have to hope we don’t get any fights scheduled at noon or anything. Hey, Vissa, you’ve fought in the arena before, haven’t you? What’s the layout like, just the standard sort of large circle type thing?’

‘There is the Black Altar at one end, with and remains of those defeated in previous fights have been pushed back along the walls. The crowd seat some 30 paces high, and the cheers and roars, oh, what delight to hear! As the fights get closer, and the fighters more tired, then…’

‘Great. So, probably some shadows along the walls, not much in the centre?’

Vissa looked annoyed at being cut off from her recollections of fighting there but nodded. ‘Yes. But true fighters claim the centre ground, so that their prowess can best be seen. Although this may be a bit uncomfortable in full sunlight.’ She tapped her armour, shifting her shoulders uncomfortably.

‘Zarazonnia’s ordered you to wear it, so deal with it. And if I can manage full harness, you can damn well manage a breastplate. OK, so if Rath can only warp in shadows, then it might make sense to stick more to the edges.’ She took a step to the side, trying to keep Rath in sight – they never took the ragged cloak off, although their size and shape beneath it seemed to change sometimes, their gait changing mid-step or their arms bulging with sudden muscle before shrinking. The chainmail that Stathis had glimpsed beneath the cloak was equally baggy, designed to accommodate whatever was going on with their body. ‘I can draw in attacks and take them, the two of you can then try and drag down an opponent one at a time. Quickly and effectively though! No showboating, just make them surrender or knock them out.’

Vissa tossed her hair, rattling her sword against the sheath. ‘That seems rather unsporting.’

‘We want to win, not put on a show. So keep it simple, and stop using the whip. Come at me with a sword.’

To her credit, Vissa was quick, the sand of the training area sliding underfoot as she drew her sword and lunged, Stathis sliding backwards just barely out of reach, ducking a second swing. A chill ran through her as Rath blinked out in a puff of shadows, and she spun around her with a sword, feeling it connect as Rath blinked back into existence, the strike rattling against armour and knocking her back and away.

The two of them both attacked, an uncoordinated set of attacks, both armed only with short weapons, getting in each other’s way, their shoulders knocking together as they tried to attack at the same time. Stathis sidestepped, before slamming her shield into Rath and knocking them into Vissa, both of them tumbling to the ground.

Stathis smacked at Vissa with the flat of her blade, making the breastplate sound out again.

‘Work together! When one attacks, the other one moves somewhere better. Vissa, have you never fought with anyone before?’

‘I came third in the Serpent’s Crown tournament last year, and have never failed to place in the final brackets of…’

‘I meant actually on the same side as someone. What about you, Rath? What’s your background?’

She hadn’t even been able to figure out their gender, and their voice was unnervingly accent-less. They probably weren’t an elf, but they seemed fairly sturdy and fast, light on their feet, but that was about all Stathis had been able to determine, beyond a preference for shorter, lighter weapons, well-suited to swift attacks. And the weird shadow-transportation trick. She would have asked Janaxia, but she’d been busy, sent on errands for Poratia, making it hard to find the time to talk.

Unsurprisingly, Rath didn’t respond, but stayed ready for combat, Stathis being careful not to turn her back to them. It might just be training, but they certainly didn’t hold back, and the none-to-clean blade could be poisoned or enchanted. She was obviously on of Poratia’s creations, and probably had orders to do something unpleasant sooner or later.

They were interrupted by clapping, Janaxia sweeping into the training room, her robes fluttering behind her, not quite able to hide a limp. In the hallway behind her, Stathis caught a glimpse of Poratia, who glared at her for a moment before walking away, wizard’s staff tapping against the stone floor.

‘I see your preparations continue?’

Stathis looked at Janaxia, trying to check how badly she had been injured this time. There seemed to be a continual flow of minor harms – bruises, cuts and burns – Janaxia allowing herself to be healed after each, refusing to discuss what had happened to cause them.

‘Yes. They’re both skilled enough at fighting but working together is more of a challenge.’

Vissa cleaned some of the dust off her armour and smiled at Janaxia, starting to go through some overly-complicated sword practice, blade twirling through the air, until Stathis turned and smacked it with her own weapon, knocking it out of her hand.

‘Keep it simple. The more fiddly stuff you add in, the more likely you are to get stabbed. Stop showboating!’ Vissa glared at her, before smiling back at Janaxia, Janaxia flirtatiously posing. ‘You need to overextend less and be more generally cautious. It’s dangerous and risky to fight that way.’

Rath vanished again, appearing suddenly behind Janaxia, whispering something into her ear.

It appears that you are something of a burdensome trainer. Rath does not care for your style of instruction. Janaxia nodded as Rath continued to speak, before they blinked away again to appear behind Stathis, who resisted the urge to slam down on her sheathe and try and catch them between the legs, just to see what happened.

‘Given that we want to win this thing, then we should try and do well. And it won’t go well if you keep showboating, Vissa, and Rath, actually work with me.’

Stathis turned and sliced at Rath, who blocked the attack but was pushed back, following up with an attack on Vissa, slicing across their arm. Rath blinked out, as Vissa ducked low and stabbed at Stathis’ legs, blade rattling off armour but at least unbalancing her for a moment. Rath reappeared, smacking her across the shoulder blades. With the two of them so close in, she couldn’t use her own sword to best effect, reduced to shorter swings.

She focused on Vissa, using her hilt as a bludgeon and slamming it against them, trying to ignore Rath’s blows against her, as her armour clattered from more attacks. When Vissa tried to move backwards herself, then Stathis went for another shield-bash. Vissa tried to dodge backwards, but got her feet tangled up and then got knocked over. That just left Rath, who vanished as Stathis turned towards her, appearing to her left, an attack bouncing off Stathis’ shield. They could attack far faster than Vissa, so Stathis focused on blocking as many as possible, waiting for an opening and then swiping forward, blade scraping across an armoured chest.

‘Take advantage of each other! Work together!’

I assume the training isn’t going well then?

‘There’s improvement. Sort of.’

Stathis saw a sudden flurry of servants behind Janaxia before Zarazonnia swept past, head high above them, then suddenly turning, bearing down on Janaxia. They stared at each other, likely communicating directly into each other’s minds again, Janaxia giving a short snap of laughter before nodding. Then Zarazonnia turned around, her tail sliding alongside itself until the manoeuvre was completed.

Stathis walked over to Janaxia, lowering her voice. ‘Anything I need to know?’

‘Oh, nothing too unexpected. Simply some warnings to be careful, in case of sudden attacks. Nothing that cannot be dealt with, I’m sure.’

‘Anything more specific?’

Be careful of Vissa – she appears to be from some rival faction placed as a spy. Or so Zarazonnia suspects.

‘I could have guessed that! Have you been able to find out anything about Rath?’

‘No, the woman is singularly uncommunicative. Quite rude! She seems barely willing to speak to me, and I am certain that she reports my movements back to Mother.’

‘I’d honestly be more surprised if she didn’t. Just have to make sure you’re not seen doing anything you shouldn’t be. She’s fast, but in a fight I think you could take her if you were careful. Any idea where Skotadi’s gone off to this time?’

‘She is tending to some other business.’

Stathis tried to look around, wondering if she was lurking nearby, or if Janaxia had palmed her off onto some of the servants to be pampered.

‘I need to talk to her.’ She turned around. ‘Both of you, come at me!’

Rath blinked from view, Stathis slamming down on her hilt and feeling a satisfying impact and pained grunt before drawing her blade, parrying Vissa. She stepped back to try and keep both of them in sight, swinging at Vissa and scoring a strike against her armour. Vissa still flinched as her armour took the strike, unused to the protection. That gave Stathis an opening, landing another strike.

Rath attacked, shadows flickering around her blade. She lunged in an awkwardly-balanced attack, the knife scratching across Stathis’ armour, a piercing line of cold following in its wake. She tried pressing forward, but didn’t have the strength or the weight to force Stathis to move.

‘Support each other!’ Stathis clobbered at Rath with her shield, feeling a solid connecting strike, stepping backwards, Rath following. Vissa followed as well, the two of them too close, knocking shoulders against each other. As they both tried to strike at the same time, their arms tangled together, and Stathis smashed the flat of her blade down against their arms.

‘Have you ever trained to fight with someone? You can’t always fight by yourself! We need to work together. That means no glory-hounding, Vissa. And actually moving with people, both of you. Don’t get all tangled up!’

It only took a second to hook a leg between Vissa’s and shove her backwards, sending her to her ass, tapping her sword against Vissa’s shoulder.

‘See? By staying too close to Rath, you open yourself up. And Rath, you need mobility otherwise you’re screwed, you’ve not got the stamina or armour to stand up to a sustained exchange.’

Rath’s clothing moved strangely, her body probably changing shape beneath. Stathis resisted the urge to lunge at her, igniting her blade with cleansing fire. That would probably draw attention! Rath glared at her, before stepping back, disengaging from combat.

‘This would be a lot easier if you would actually talk. Where did you even learn to fight?’

Vissa pulled herself up and dusted herself down. ‘I was with the Vitharian Syndicate, and they promoted me until I could fight in the arenas.’

‘So, self-trained? You’ve never had any formal tuition? No militia training, no group fighting, all entirely ad-hoc? That explains a lot. Janaxia, get over here.’

Janaxia approached, her dress gliding forward, pulling out her wooden sword-stick, dark energy flickering over the wood. Stathis attacked, swinging at the sword. Janaxia actually managed a credible block, squaring her feet to take the force of the blow with getting pushed back. Janaxia looked affronted, switching to a single-handed grip and tossing several spheres of darkness at Stathis. She blocked one with her shield, two more smacking into her armour, sending her skidding backwards, barely able to keep her footing.

‘You see? Fight to your strengths. Janaxia can’t fight up close very well, so opens up a gap. Rath, you want to stay as close as possible to them, keep sticking them with your knife. Vissa, you want the same range as me, maybe a little closer if you won’t use a shield. And don’t use that bloody whip! Anyone with any decent armour will just ignore it. Now, two-on-two. Begin.’

She looked at Janaxia and dashed forward, as both the others attempted to attack Janaxia, weapons flashing. Stathis ducked low and swung, as Janaxia flung more bolts, splitting them between both her attackers. Vissa was hit and staggered backwards, Rath weaving between the blasts.

It had bought enough time for Stathis to move to a position where she could protect Janaxia, keeping enough space to let Janaxia have clear sightlines.

‘Move with me. Keep Vissa away.’

Stathis advanced, hearing Janaxia behind her, both advancing on Rath, more bolts hurtling towards Vissa, either hitting and knocking her back, or forcing her to dodge. Rath tried to attack, but her knife was too short to reach around Stathis’ shield, while Stathis could easily strike her back, chopping with the flat of her blade, slapping at the ragged cloth, trying to find where her body was amongst the fabric.

‘Yield.’ Rath jumped backwards, her hands in the air. Another cascade of blasts shot out from behind Stathis, Vissa barely managing to dodge. Her movements were slower now, injuries catching up with her. Janaxia ducked around Stathis and charged, blade crackling with power and smacking against Vissa’s chest, energy earthing itself through her body.

Vissa managed to counter, but she was off-balance and the strike did nothing more than slice at Janaxia’s clothing, catching a trailing sleeve. She tried to move in, but Janaxia feinted than stepped away, keeping a decent gap and smacking Vissa again.

‘You see? You should know how people you’re working with will move and take that into account.’

‘A true fighter doesn’t need such things – I’m sure Queen Zarazonnia doesn’t rely on her allies in such a weak way.’

‘Zarazonnia is a thirty-foot long snake demon with six arms. I’m assuming her scales are as tough as iron, she’s got magical powers, and half-a-dozen magical swords. She doesn’t need support, but you do. Now, rest up, recover, and then we can start again.’

Again? Is it really necessary?

‘Yes, it is, Janaxia. You’re still shaky in actual combat.’

Janaxia grumbled, changing her clothing into a vague approximation of armour, but taking a two-handed grip on her sword as they kept going. If they had to take part, then Janaxia would probably get punished if they lost!