War Echoes (Fall of Radiance Book 3) by Blake Arthur Peel

Author:Blake Arthur Peel [Peel, Blake Arthur]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2020-05-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19 | Owyn

Talon thrusts out with his quarterstaff, attempting to strike me square in the stomach.

Dodging to the side, I quickly bring up my own staff and try to hit him on the shoulder. He manages to block my attack. The sound of hardened lengths of wood smacking together resounds in the sparring circle, reverberating off the cavernous walls around us.

Panting, the two of us break away from one another, backing up to the edge of the circle and eyeing each other warily.

“You’ve gotten better,” I remark, watching as Talon twirls the staff around in a showy display.

“I’ve been practicing,” he replies off-handedly, shrugging as he rests the staff against his shoulder. “Experience has taught me that there isn’t always going to be short swords lying around, and if I’m going to be spending time with you, I’d better be ready to fight with anything.”

I grin at him, feeling alive for the first time in weeks. Something about sparring, the struggle between two skilled opponents, makes me forget about my own personal troubles. The sensation of the wood grain on my fingers, the soreness of my muscles, and the sweat trickling down my face fills me with satisfaction, helping me to remember why I became a ranger in the first place.

Taking a deep breath, I stride to the center of the ring, adopting a defensive stance with the staff out in front of me. Several Nightingale soldiers watch as we square off once again, their snickering voices carrying across the pit. I pay them little heed.

My entire focus is on the fight at hand.

Talon approaches warily, his stance also defensive as he closes the gap between us in a few measured steps. For a moment, time seems to stand still, as if the world around us has frozen over.

Then... movement.

Talon launches forward in a flurry of attacks, striking first with the butt of his quarterstaff, then with the forward haft. I block both times, absorbing the shock of the blows as I fall back, surprised by the ferocity of his push. Crack, crack, crack! The blows continue to come, both of our wooden staves moving back and forth in a blur of motion.

Backing up to the edge of the ring, I pivot and use my momentum to dive into a counterattack, striking at his neck and then his chest in short, successive strikes. He manages to block those as well, weaving deftly as I push him back toward the center of the ring.

Light, he really has gotten good, I think as I search for an opening. Is this what he was up to all those times he was alone? Practicing with the staff?

While these are unconventional weapons by ranger standards, the quarterstaff can easily translate into skill with the spear, which is a common weapon in the king’s military. The edicts surrounding the ranger’s oath dictate that rangers should be well-versed in all manner of martial weaponry, and it seems that Talon has taken this admonition to heart, driving himself to learn how to fight beyond his short swords.

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