Natali stood opposite Lucius in the practice arena. The rules were simple. Weapon arts and marks were allowed; magic and Channeling were not. Natali would normally have chosen to include magic, but the instructor stated he was already risking enough letting them fight as is and did not want to push his luck further.
Natali grabbed out her two daggers that were always under the effect of her Mark of Recall. They were specialty made for her size and fighting style as a gift from Lyrah a few years ago. The material they were made from was a lightweight material that was lighter than iron but stronger than steel.
It was a hard to find substance called mithril and it did exceptionally well as a base for enchanted weapons.
These two blades were not enchanted, however they took well to her Arts and seemed to improve her activation speed somewhat. She half expected Lucius to look relaxed and not take her seriously, however he had his weapon at the ready, blade tip pointed to the ground. His stance looked sloppy as if he was a wild beast rather than a trained fighter.
As much as she was wanting to attack the multitude of openings his stance created, there was something in the back of her mind that told her they were traps. Normally she could fight at primarily medium to long range since she could return her daggers to her hand instantly, but the same thing that warned her to be cautious also warned her to mix things up a bit. Lucius would not be an easy opponent.
While they watched each other carefully, Natali felt a nervous sweat trickle down her brow. She wiped it away quickly and returned to her ready position. Lyrah shouted out something from behind her, but at the moment, the only thing in her vision and focus was Lucius Kane, the man she basically considered her hero.
The professor tossed a red cloth into the center of the ring, the moment it hit the floor, both fighters moved in a counter clockwise motion. They wanted to test each other's reflexes to see who was faster and so neither made a move. For a few more seconds they changed up direction and movement patterns.
As she had predicted, his beast-like stance was intentional, just as the fake openings he left in his form. He wanted to entice her to strike and give him a defensive advantage. However, she was not so foolish.
"[Forsaken Arts: Goring Rush]"
A sickening amount of mana weighed down on everyone in the room as energy flowed into Lucius's blade. The amount of mana he was controlling felt well beyond the capabilities of a normal Intermediate Rank. Even the professor's face paled slightly, and he was an Advance Ranker.
Lucius's feet cracked the floor as he shot towards her. At the last moment Natali was able to block the attack with both of her daggers, but was sent flying backward, almost flying out of the ring. If he had not held back in that attack just slightly, she would have been flung into the wall. Explore stories at mvl
She had to grab the hand... she needed to see what it had to offer.
"Natali!"
Lyrah's voice called out to her, shocking her awake. For some reason her eyes were pointed to the ceiling and she felt a pain in the back of her head. She made an attempt to turn and look at her friend, but something was stopping her. Around her neck was Lucius's large hand.
She was pinned beneath him with his hand on her throat and his sword stabbed into the floor next to her face. She stared at him, seeing two striking colors looking back at her, silver and gold. No longer was the endless abyss pulling her inward.
He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "I win." Before standing up and walking away. He yanked her blade out of his thigh and tossed it onto the ground. When she looked at his left hand, which was the one that threw her dagger, she saw that his mark was no longer contained to the back of his hand like a normal Marked One's. Instead, it wrapped around his wrist like a tribal tattoo.
"Good job landing a hit on me. You did better than Thomas." He said loudly, knowing that the redheaded noble was in the room.
From that, in the first time in years, Natali laughed. She laughed so hard she cried. Lyrah patted her on the shoulders and helped her to her feet. Lucius stepped away to get healing a simple healing potion from the room's supply. It would not heal the injury right away, but it would make sure it was gone in a few hours.
"Well what do you think?" Lyrah whispered to her.
"I love him."
"... that's not what I meant."
"I love him." It was all Natali could think or say at the moment. She saw Lucius freeze when she repeated it and she recalled that he was half-beastman. He glanced at her curiously over his shoulder before wiping some sweat off his face and finishing off the potion.
"At least he knows..." Lyrah sighed.