(Learn more about Nina Windblade in Glaive: Blade of a Flower! (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Apple iBooks, BookBaby)
The Flame and Her Light
Nina Windblade stood, knees bent easily in her fighting stance, calmly gripping her weapon. Her breathing was steady as she squared off against her larger opponent. She eyed him carefully, searching for any hints or tells telegraphing his next move. Just barely, she noticed his grip tighten and his weight shift to the front foot, and she smiled. In the next instant, he charged but she was already on the move, dashing into his space and slashing upward
It was over in seconds.
He collapsed to the ground and the crowd watching them cheered. Nina closed her eyes and beamed, soaking in the attention and adulation.
“No fair!”
Nina opened her eyes and looked down. The boy rose slowly, gingerly touching the red welt her wooden sword had left on his jaw.
“That was too fair!” Nina fired back. “It was one-on-one and you lost.”
“You cheated, Nina!” someone shouted from the crowd. “There’s no way you could have won that easily if it was fair.”
“If you have the guts to talk, you should have the guts to step up,” Nina shouted back, scanning the practice room. Most of the kids watching stared at the ground except one older boy and a girl that looked like his sister. Nina vaguely recognized both as family of the boy she had just beaten. They stood and sauntered over to face her.
Nina stood defiantly, and unafraid. She was the best fighter her age in Golovka, and she knew it. Though only 10 she’d beaten teenagers of much more size and experience, and felt she was invincible. Someone from the sideline tossed in two more wooden swords to the siblings, which they caught easily.
The boy Nina had just beaten joined them and grinned meanly, excited for his revenge. She heard a rustling and suddenly two of her cousins were at her side, practice swords in hand. She held an arm out.
“No. They’re mine.”
“But Nina…” Buck, the younger one started. He threw a distrustful eye, underneath his long bangs, across the ring.
“I’ve got this.” Nina interrupted.
“Nina, this is a bad idea,” said Kate. She was Nina’s closest cousin, though Nina was several years younger. The two often practiced together, and concern was written all over the older girl’s face
“These three are a joke,” Nina said. “I can handle it.”
Her cousins reluctantly backed away. The trio of outsiders glared at her, and she just shrugged, swung her sword in figure 8s in the air, and slipped into her stance.
She bowed her head, showing respect more to her family’s practice gym than to her opponents, and they sneered and rushed her in unison. Nina shuffled right to try and keep them from surrounding her, trying her best to force one-on-one engagements. She dodged several attacks before getting blindsided square in the back. She staggered forward, tripped, and rolled forward barely dodging another swing.
When she came out of her roll she swung blindly with all she had and felt a hard impact, followed by a thud. She looked down to see the oldest boy groaning on the ground. She heard and felt movement behind her but before she could react a wooden blade impacted the back of her head. Before she hit the ground a second blade smashed against her shoulders and slammed her down harder.
She felt two more impacts as she lay there on the ground before a roar of noise erupted and, through her haze, she felt her prone body surrounded.
“Enough.”
A stern voice cut through the din. The chatter, mostly young Windblades, immediately fell silent. “You three. Leave.”
Nina, her senses slowly returning, could hear shuffling of feet and embarrassed silence. She felt the crowd around her disperse and heard a pair of booted feet walk toward her. Nobody spoke as Nina slowly gathered herself. Eventually, she gained the strength to roll herself over and look up.
“What can you learn from this defeat?” a clear, sharp, stern voice asked, and Nina recognized her mother. As she gazed up, the midday sun streamed through the windows, ringing the woman’s head, the backlight nearly blinding the young girl.
“I was better than them, mama,” she managed to say.
“Yes, you were,” Alexa Windblade answered. She was the matriarch of the family, centuries old, and carried every year in her regal voice. Nina thought she could hear a smile behind the steel as she spoke. “But when the odds are against you, you can’t just be better. You have to be perfect. Lesson one.
Nina struggled to blink the fog from her head as her mother went on.
“Lesson two: even if you are the best, you are never too good for help.”
Nina heard boots scrape on wood as her mother knelt down, and suddenly she was enveloped in her mother’s arms. She felt breathe against her ear and heard the whisper, “Lesson three: when your family falls, always be there to pick them up.”
*****
The sirens still blared as Nina cut down the last Lizavetian raider in the group that had thought her easy pickings. She stood amid their four bodies as she looked around at the state of Novo. She was unfazed by the carnage that surrounded her. This was the last year of her Decade of Trial – the period where Rimeland warriors proved their worth in the service of one of the warlords – and she’d spent most of that time on both sides of raids like this.
A flash of color caught her eye and she saw Warlord Hawk’s flag on top of a nearby building. Nina headed in that direction to see how the city’s defense was going. As she reached the rooftops she heard a riotous clash of dreadsteel and screams of her fellow Rimeland defenders. She looked toward the raucous expecting an enormous clash but was surprised to see dozens of fighters charging toward just three Lizavetian attackers in the town square.
The first man, burly and muscled like a Rimelander, wielded a greatsword the size of a small tree and yet swung it like it was a twig. He showed obvious openings in his defense, like anyone who used that size of a weapon, and yet when anyone tried to capitalize he nimbly twisted and sliced sending bodies flying.
Several Rimelanders avoided the brute to engage a woman with a short sword that flashed like lightning. Nina was mesmerized by the woman’s movements. Her technique was flawless and, as Nina watched, half a dozen fighters she’d survived multiple raids with were left bleeding on the cobblestones.
Though the first two were dazzling in their skill, the third was art with a blade. Seasoned veterans melted before his sword, and Nina could barely follow his movements as he tore through her countrymen.
She smiled.
Nina hadn’t faced a real challenge in her ten years guarding Novo, though rumors of these three had raged up and down the Rimeland coast. She ran her fingers over her forearms, her fingertips brushing over lines of e’lan inked in fine rings. Her life-force was strong, and the years of raids had allowed her to take ample life from her slain enemies. With it, she could burn away spans of her life in exchange for an inhuman burst of speed and strength. It was risky to burn life, but with Nina’s skill, there was always more to be taken.
She moved to draw her steel, but an iron grip clasped her sword arm. Nina twisted free, spun, and drew her weapon only to come face to face with Warlord Hawk himself.
“Don’t,” the older man said.
“I’m the deadliest warrior on the Rimeland coast,” Nina replied. “How can I turn away from this while so many Rimelanders spill their blood?”
“Because you won’t win,” Hawk said. “Nina, your Decade of Trial is the finest I’ve ever seen. You have the potential to be the fiercest warrior to come out of this country since King Redlock himself. But, today, you cannot beat the Butcher and the Grim. All of Rimeland wants to test themselves against them. Most will be slaughtered. You may surpass them someday, but not today. You are unbelievable, but you are not perfect, and against these odds unbelievable is not good enough.
Nina closed her eyes, the words echoing in her head. She ran through all of the stories she’d heard about these invaders from Lizavet. The slaughter they’d unleashed, the stories that they were unstoppable. She heard the sounds of battle as her countrymen threw themselves into unwinnable conflict for the small chance at glory.
She looked to Warlord Hawk, turned her back on the growing bloodshed, and sped off into the night to stem the raiders’ advance in another quarter of the city, swearing that if she got this opportunity again she would not back down.
*****
Nina keenly examined the beachhead of Seawatch. Her eyes had adjusted to the dim starlight since she’d ordered the lamps to be extinguished on her raiding boat as soon as the lights of the coast came into view. She’d just finished running through the attack plan and took this moment, when her lieutenants were going over the details with their raid groups, to focus and collect her thoughts in the semi-darkness.
“Nina…” a familiar voice started behind her, invading her calm.
“Buck,” she answered turned, seeing her cousin and his ever-present sister Kate at his side. “I trust your briefings went well?”
“Our soldiers know the plan,” Buck said
“Yes,” Kate added. “They know it well enough to execute it without us. So we’re free to go with you.”
“Why would you want to go in by yourself, Nina?” Buck asked. “Raids are meant for us to harvest e’lan, not burn it away and maybe leave it for some Lizavetian to claim while we lay dying in the dark.”
“You doubt me?” Nina asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Nobody doubts the Rimeland Flame,” Kate answered. “But you keep setting yourself more and more impossible challenges. Driving into the heart of Seawatch by yourself is a needless risk.”
It was true. As soon as Warlord Hawk allowed Nina to plan a raid now and then, she’d taken bigger and bigger risks, pushing herself to be better and better just to survive. She’d plateaued in her individual practice and had been using raids to accelerate her training. Nobody, not even Warlord Hawk, had objected. Of course, these two speaking to her now weren’t just anyone.
“You’ve known me too long to address me with that title,” Nina said smiling. “I’ll always be cousin to you first. So, how do you suggest we change my attack plan?”
“It’s a fine plan,” Kate said, “as long as we’re with you. You can’t keep taking these risks.”
“And you can’t hog all that e’lan for yourself,” Buck added.
“100 years ago I learned to take your advice,” Nina said. “I’d be glad to have your shields with me.”
Nina’s cousins saluted and retreated below deck to prepare their gear. They both fought in light chain armor with a sword and shield. This had always seemed overly cumbersome to Nina, who fought in leather armor with a single dreadsteel longsword. She couldn’t deny, though, that the siblings were an effective pair in battle.
Soon the rest of the Rimeland fighters gathered on the deck, and Nina glanced to her left to see that the other two ships were also getting ready for landfall. They began to close on the port and the rowers below-deck began to pull harder, adding a last-minute boost of e’lan-powered speed. Nina saw shadowed figures running on the docks, no doubt to sound the alarm bells.
She heard rustling behind her as eager Rimeland fighters loosened swords in their sheaths and prepared to jump over the boat’s edge. Including the other two attack boats, 100 warriors were on this raid, to harvest life force from the defenders of Lizavet. Every kill meant more years of life, or more superhuman bursts of power.
As the boats drew closer Nina could make out small groups of Lizavetian defenders gathering near the docks. She drew her sword and heard echoing rings behind her as soldiers followed suit. The adrenaline began to flow, but instead of tamping down on her jitters to control them she rode them like a wave, keeping her senses sharp.
Before they were close enough to dock she took a deep breath, burned e’lan, and leaped from the boat to the docks. She heard scattered thuds behind her as those who could spare the ink followed her in.
She hit the ground running and sprinted forward as the defense was still gathering. A group of ten was trying to form a line but she was on them, using another e’lan jump to drive her shoulder into the center of the line, flinging the soldier backward into the stone building with a sickening thud. She quickly spun, swinging first high and then low, taking the head of the defender on the right and the leg of the defender on her left in one smooth slice.
She didn’t finish the kill, however, leaving it for some warrior after her. Her goal was to break holes in the defensive lines and push into the city, allowing her warriors easier paths of attack.
Nina could feel power flow into her from the two she’d already killed, and knew that if her arms were exposed she’d see the ink-black e’lan etching itself into her skin. She encountered small pockets of resistance here and there, always causing enough damage to throw them into disarray but not getting bogged down in extended battles.
She slowed to a jog as she came to a public park. A group of 20 Lizavetian defenders stood against her. She sized them up and advanced into the open space. It would be tough, but she was confident she could take them all
“Nina! Down!” Nina knew the voices of every member of her family and trusted them unquestioningly. She immediately dropped and felt the whoosh of arrows above her head. She was suddenly shadowed beneath dreadsteel shields as Buck and Kate flanked her on either side.
“Archers on the rooftops!” Buck shouted. “I count four.”
Nina swore under her breath. She’d been careless. Archers were incredibly rare since lifeforce dissipated quickly if you killed at a distance, so she hadn’t even thought to check for them. The defenders began to advance
“We can’t fight them here,” Kate said calmly as arrows bounced around her and off of her shield. “Back into the alley.”
The defenders rushed forward, but not quickly enough as the Windblades reached the alley forcing a choke point. Buck and Kate held the front, their impregnable defense giving no ground. Nina became mesmerized watching their coordination. As one blocked a strike they funneled the attacker into their sibling’s sword. A couple of Lizavetians attempted to jump over the defenders but they only met Nina’s blade once they landed
“We can handle this!” Kate shouted over the din of metal clashing on metal. “Watch the roofs!”
As the siblings slowly gave ground into the alley, she realized that the archers would be repositioning as well. Nina quickly scaled the nearest building and reached the rooftop at the same time as two of the archers. She swung reflexively upward, slicing through the jaw of the first, and then impaled the second as he reached for his short sword.
Nina quickly spun, scanning the opposite roof. Spotting the other two archers taking aim, she burned e’lan and threw her sword, impaling one. She dove to the roof tiles, barely dodging an arrow, and scrambled behind a chimney, drawing her boot knife and steadying her breath. The clash and clang of battle rang out below her as she sat pinned on the roof.
She quickly ran through her options and decided on her next move. She flung her left arm out from cover. Taking the bait, the archer reacted at the first movement, an arrow shaft piercing her hand. Driving the pain out of her mind Nina rolled out, rose, leaped across the expanse of roofs, and with her right hand threw her knife, splitting the archer’s forehead. As she landed she rolled again, shielding her injured hand. She snapped the arrow shaft, and pulled the bolt from her hand, stifling a scream. She burned some newly-earned e’lan to stop the bleeding and accelerate her healing.
She peeked over the edge of the roof and saw that her cousins had retreated halfway down the alley. Every inch had been dearly bought, though, as only ten Lizavetians remained to press them back. She drew her sword from the archer’s chest and dropped down into the alley behind the fighting.
In minutes, the last sounds of battle had faded and only the three Windblades remained standing.
“This was a good raid,” said Buck, beaming with new power.
“We should head back to the docks. It’s almost time to withdraw,” said Kate. “And it doesn’t look like you got through this unscathed.”
“No,” Nina said flexing her injured hand. “Though if you two weren’t here, I imagine this would have been much worse. Let’s go home.”
*****
Cory Windblade slammed his clenched fist into the wooden floor. Blood and tears dripped from his face as he replayed the last several minutes in his head. He’d lost. Again. Despite all of his hours and effort he still hadn’t won a single match, the only member of the Windblade family to never win. Nobody in the family ever gave him a hard time about it, but he couldn’t stand it. He wasn’t a bad fighter and could hold his own among the other youth in Golovka, but he couldn’t stand being the worst Windblade.
His opponent, a cousin just a few months older, along with most of the other family watching in the small practice room, looked away not sure how to react. The knock of boots on wood sounded as someone approached, and a shadow soon fell over Cory.
“Hey,” a voice said softly, “sit up.”
Cory stayed as he was, willing his sobs to stop.
“You fought well,” the voice said. “You are the youngest, and have some catching up to do, but you have the makings of a good fighter. None of us were born with skill, and with the work you put in, you’ll get there soon. Now, if you sit up I’ll give you a few pointers.”
Cory controlled his breathing and knelt back on his heels, wiping his bloody lip and running nose. A woman with bright red hair and green eyes squatted across from him with a stern look on her face.
“Good,” she said, taking a rag and cleaning the boy’s face. “Now, your technique is good, and you have good instincts and fast reactions.”
“Then why did I lose?” he asked. “Why do I keep losing?”
“Focus. Your focus isn’t on your opponent, or your next move. It’s on not losing again.” She took the boy’s face in her hands, wiping away the last of his tears. “The next time you step into the ring, forget the fights before it. Trust your training. Trust your instincts. Don’t fight to reset your record, but fight to defeat the opponent in front of you. Understand?”
“Yes, Aunt Nina,” Cory said.
“Good,” Nina said, standing. She reached down, offering her hands. Cory took them and Nina pulled hard, lifting him up off of his feet and into the air as he laughed. “OK,” Nina said, addressing the whole room. “Dinner will be ready soon. Everyone get cleaned up.”
The kids began streaming out of the room, dodging around a woman near the exit who regarded Nina with crossed arms and an amused smile.
“Yes, mother?” Nina asked, releasing Cory and straightening herself up.
“Nothing. You’ve just become so good with the younger students.”
“I have the easy job,” Nina said. “I don’t actually have to teach. I just stop by every now and then and give pointers. You all here do the hard work.”
“Nevertheless, whatever you say you are good with the young ones around here. I hope you’ll be able to come home often when your new sibling is born,” Alexa said, her hand gently cradling her stomach.
Nina’s eyes widened.
“Another Windblade!” Nina exclaimed. “That’s great, mother. Have you thought of names?”
“Not yet. I have a feeling it will be a boy, though you never can be sure. Do you have any ideas?”
Nina looked around at the practice room. The early evening sun streamed through the windows, lighting up dust motes that lazily hung in the air. She thought back to another evening in this room – when she was the beaten, bleeding student on the ground. She remembered how her mother looked then, ringed in light, teaching her how to fight and live as a Windblade. Nina had never told anyone that after all these 150+ years, when she was away on orders but thinking of home, that was still how she thought of her mother.
“Halo.”
END
(Learn more about Nina Windblade in Glaive: Blade of a Flower! (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Apple iBooks, BookBaby)