Chapter 9: Blavix

Children raced along the bank of the water, engaging in the most popular sport of the village: tag. Only able to run within a certain area they had mentally mapped out, the youth stared at each other with sharpened eyes. Speed was not the only skill involved in tag, they quickly learned. Each of them would play tricks on one another, evading their pursuer who would switch targets at a moment’s notice. If one was not aware of their situation at each second of the game, they would not last against the deception of their temporary allies. The children learned at a young age that cunning would serve them better in life than most physical skills would.

Parents gathered around the arena where the children faced each other in their life-or-death matched. Most held cups of mead, drinking heartily as they spoke to one another while they enjoyed the show. The crowd would cheer when an especially nimble child ducked away from their predator’s grasp or even gasped when the hunter tackled their prey in a much too cruel fashion.

Regardless, the tag event was a village favorite, bringing the families together to bond. Only one child sat on the ground beside their parents, pouting with his arms crossed. His abnormal blonde hair covered his disgruntled brow, but it didn’t reach far enough to block his green eyes that stared at the other kids in envy. His parents held each other in one another’s arms as they spoke to another couple who had awkward expressions while looking at the child. They spoke softly, but after a few words, the woman laughed with the brush of her hand, waving away his worry.

Another family, perhaps overly eager, screamed their child’s name at his every sprint and twist. The child’s bright-red face was fully focused, trying his hardest to fulfill his parents' wishes. His streak of remaining ‘untagged’ was longer than any other child’s, but that was quickly ended after an ill-fated sidestep resulted in a twisted-ankle. The child’s face expressed his pain more vividly than his sky-piercing cries, signaling the first injury of the event.

When the sky began to lose its sun to the horizon, Richard’s son was proclaimed the champion of the event, much to the chagrin of Evan’s father. Rumors spread of the referee involved in a secretive affair with Richard, but each of them knew he doted on his wife too much to fool around with another. Every family left with a smile on their face, satisfied they spent the post-Harvest Day in typical Blavix fashion. Some celebrated too much, as a father or two were carried back to their beds nursing an ale.

Only one person remained on the field, crossing his arms in a power stance. His stern face pushed away any intentions of conversation, but everyone knew it was only a front as the town’s solitary guard. While he was haughty and impersonable on the job, a few drinks would transform him into a singing, sociable drunkard.

After assuring himself that every family made their way towards their respective residences, he gave himself a satisfied nod as he made his way back to his own home. However, from the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow emerge from the trees of the Forgotten Forest. Five years ago, Arthur would not have spared a second glance and shrugged it off as an exploring deer. Nowadays, rarely were emerging beasts good news as most leaving the woods were nomadic dire wolves, coming to feast on the town’s residents and cattle. Last time a fully grown wolf came from the forest, several families were devoured in the dead of night, leaving only bones as a reminder. Arthur even heard the news of a growing dire pup mothered by the last. If both were to ravage upon the village, there might be no Blavix left to tell the tale.

Unsheathing his sword in an instant, he twisted his body into an engaging stance towards the presence approaching. Darkness shrouded the figure, but Arthur could tell that it was no deer nor wolf. Similar to himself, the silhouette had a scabbard upon its left hip. As it left the treeline, the rising moon shed its light upon the man who approached, steadfast.

♢ ♢ ♢

Eluc nearly lost feeling in his legs after walking for so long. He heaved out large breaths of air as he trudged towards the first sign of a sentient settlement he had seen so far.

From hundreds of meters back, he was exhausted from a long day of travel and had thrown his pack on the ground to encamp next to the river. Disregarding basic etiquette of boiling water before drinking, he dumped his head into the stream to take gulps in order to refresh himself. Satisfied, he kneeled atop the ground with his head aimed upwards, eyes closed in gratification. At that moment, he had not cared if he swallowed a parasite or two from the dirty water. Only his urge to drink guided his actions.

‘I should’ve just stopped to drink the damned water earlier,’ Eluc thought to himself in contemplation. He was eager to finally leave the forest, but he had pushed his body too far in the adventure, on the second day nonetheless. Growing desperate, he clung to the frenzied thought that he would be freed from the dark forest and the violent creatures it hid within its shade. Eluc was never engaged by anything while traveling, but he felt as if a gaze bored into his back throughout the entire journey.

Opening his eyes, he turned despondent that he would spend another night beneath the canopy of leaves that never showed the sun above. ‘But why does the sky look different in the distance over there,’ he thought. His brain first concluded that the trees would soon become another species with differing leaves than the ones he had seen so far. He caught a sigh leaving his mouth when another possibility entered his mind. Picking up his pack, he sprinted towards his hope.

What met his hazy eyes open leaving the forest was a man pointing his sword at his body. Overjoyed at the sight of another being the same as himself, Eluc was stunned into silence. Thoughts bounced off one another in his mind as he struggled to speak the first words until he went completely blank.

The gruff man pointing his sword towards Eluc, shifted his feet as he lowered his sword. A grunt later, he said, “Ain’t normal fer folk to leave those woods.” Clearing his throat and spitting into the grass, he continued, “Most walk in that forest and never come back out. Killed by a beast larger than himself or his wits lead his stomach to starve. Normal folk, that is.”

His accent was thick and dialect unknown to Eluc. Between each of his words, it sounded as if phlegm struggled to crawl its way out his mouth but he would make an unsettling noise to keep it at bay. It did little to mask the inquisitive tone of his voice, veiled in threats.

Eluc finally opened his mouth to speak, pushing off the nervousness that caught his tongue. “Some of us can take care of ourselves,” he started.

Still wielding his sword, the man’s eyes narrowed as they looked up and down Eluc, scanning his body. “We’ll see if that’s as true as you say it is,” the man said, lifting the broadsword higher. “Ever use that thing on yer hips or is it just fer show?”

Stunned again for another reason, Eluc thought to himself, ‘Is this man crazy? Perhaps he thinks I’m here for nefarious purposes and wants to fight me?’ Regardless of his thoughts, he was still carried by the atmosphere and removed his own sword from its scabbard. An audible gulp left Eluc’s throat as he prepared to fight another person.

Laughing loud enough to shake the tree’s leaves, the man spoke, “Calm down, kid. Ever heard of a spar?” With that as a commencement, the man launched himself forwards, beginning with a stab at Eluc’s abdomen.

Never before exchanging moves in a bout of steel before, Eluc sidestepped the stab with uneasy feet. It was easy enough to dodge such a slow move, but he felt drawn into the weapon, slowing his steps. Sweat left his forehead and ran its way down his face.

Leaving no time to breathe, the stab became a swipe, swinging trajectory aiming across Eluc’s chest in a smooth arc. Not able to dodge with his feet twisted from the amateur evade, he was forced to raise his sword in a black.

The swords collided, perpendicular to one another and sparks flew from each of the blades. Force transmitted through the sword into Eluc’s hands and numbed his arms. Strength was put into the attack that Eluc was unprepared for, forcing him to take a step back in order to counteract the momentum placed onto his side. His foot caught on his leg, almost throwing him to the ground if he didn’t catch himself at the last moment.

There was no time to rest as the attacks kept coming. Each was only a basic stab or swipe, but they held a power inside each attack that Eluc instinctively tried his best to avoid catching one.

An overhead swipe down towards Eluc’s head caught him off-guard and he hastily swung to change the broadsword's path. The parry surprised even Eluc and the first opportunity for him to attack opened itself. Using the parry’s momentum to force an uppercut to launch towards his opponent.

Little time to respond, the man jumped back, narrowly avoiding the chop, but he still wasn’t clear from the impending onslaught Eluc continued. Recklessness, Eluc continued the attacks, but each one was more tiring than the last. At first, each swing held his full strength, but the last one hardly had any force to speak of. He only attacked for the sake of attacking, hoping to not lose his advantage. The last of his swings was weak enough to lose out in a collision against the other’s sword as it was parried. Losing his balance, Eluc stepped back, but his footwork tripped himself as he caught his foot on his other.

Eluc felt his view change from his opponent to the starry sky as he landed on the floor with his back. He heard another laugh along with the words, “You can’t just fall on yer arse in the middle of a fight. The easiest way for someone to stick a blade in yer chest.”

The laughing continued until the man noticed something illuminating the dark, originating from Eluc’s hand. Energy spread into the ground, beginning shaking the soil and creating ruptures in the water, disrupting its current. The man felt his stable stance collapse against the tremors and took a knee with a hand on the ground to prevent himself from falling shamefully against the ground.

Once the earthquake ceased, the old man’s vision steadied and he looked up to find a quivering sword in front of his eyes. The other was exhausted but still stood tall, ready to remove the head of the opponent given the chance. He knew he was beaten, but his pride was undamaged as a soldier. There was too large of a gap between someone like him and another that could wield magic.

“Like I said,” he started, a grin taking its place on his face as he spoke to the winner of the duel, “Normal folk don’t leave those woods.”

Eluc retracted his sword, sheathing it as it was no longer needed. The man mumbled his thanks as he clambered to his feet, still somewhat disoriented by the quaked ground. After taking a few moments to gather himself, he rubbed the back of his neck and moved his head, emitting cracks from his body.

After a sigh, the man looked once more towards Eluc, scanning him again. “I knew when I saw yer clothes you weren’t from around here. Are you from one of them mainland Guilds we’ve heard of?”

Unable to answer the question as he had no clue as to what a ‘Guild’ even was, Eluc simply responded, “No, sir. I’m just a normal person.”

A gruff laugh left the man’s mouth as he spoke, “Funniest joke I’ve heard all day and we just had a festival in our Blavix!” Compared to the hostility on his face from earlier, Eluc could now perceive something kinder from the man after their fight.

“The name’s Arthur,” he said, stretching out his open hand towards the opponent. The outstretched hand had calluses and scars from too many days of training and fights, but it was the true mark of a warrior. Between the man’s skill with the sword and his tempered body, Eluc felt true respect for the other.

“Eluc,” he said in a simple manner as he grabbed the other’s hand. There was no need for useless words in their introduction. They had said enough in their fight earlier as they looked at each other in mutual understanding.

While shaking hands, Arthur gave a puzzled mumble. “Hm?” he said, “It’s not even the winter yet and yer skin’s already colder than the snow.”

Releasing his grip, Arthur walked back towards the village, indicating Eluc to follow behind.