Chapter 2: The Trial

“First to score three solid hits, or a pin, wins the Trial. Simple as that,” Offering said.

“And are you going to fight dressed like that?” Nexii asked. The question came out flat, but she was honestly curious. That fox and mink cape looked encumbering for combat.

“Cloaks off. No claws. Only training weapons.”

Offering unclasped the thick fur mantle. The cape slid from her shoulders in one smooth weight and she hung it carefully on an unused rack.

Will that be less distracting, or worse?

Probably worse. Without the cape, Nexii got a clearer look at what lay under it. Lean frame. Plate shaped around muscle, not softness. She was not stronger than Nexii, but there was real power in the way she moved.

Nexii undid her own white wool cloak and folded it over a bench. Hers was meant for blizzards and stealth in the snow, not for display.

They chose their weapons. Nexii took a wooden staff close to a spear in length and balance. Offering took a wooden sword and a matching kite shield.

This was not Nexii’s art, but she had beaten berserkers in close quarters. The tactics were different here. She held the reach. Offering had the shield.

She did not underestimate confident people anymore. Jin had burned that mistake out of her years ago.

“Ready?” Nexii asked. Her pulse was rising in a way that felt familiar and good.

“Yes. Do not hold back. Otherwise there is no Trial,” Offering said.

They circled.

Nexii struck first. A hard jab made Offering step back. Two more followed, the second hammering into the shield. The impact shuddered up Nexii’s arms. They closed distance for a breath and she caught scent of lavender oil and polished metal, clean and soft in a way nothing in Vanadia smelled.

Her body reacted with a flicker of heat that had nothing to do with exertion.

Focus. She is an elf, not a lover.

Nexii feinted high, then drove the staff low. Offering’s shield dropped in time. The clash rang in her ears.

Is she only going to defend?

Offering answered with a slash toward Nexii’s ribs. The range was wrong. Nexii saw it. She slammed the staff into the shield, knocking it off line, then thrust toward the thigh. The blunted tip struck hard enough to bring Offering to one knee.

“Point,” Nexii said.

“Not bad for an archer,” Offering said. There was a small curl at the corner of her mouth. “Many of my sisters still have none against me.”

“You will not win by only defending.”

“I prefer not to rush.” Offering reset and tapped her sword against the staff.

This time she came in first. A clean cut angled for Nexii’s shoulder. Nexii slid away. The second blow she met with the shaft, wood and wood clacking. A third came closer. Nexii pivoted on her heel and swept the staff at Offering’s legs.

Offering jumped the sweep, landed half off balance, shield dipping.

Nexii pressed. A rapid flurry of thrusts hammered shield and armor. A tiny splinter jumped where the spear scraped the shield at a perpendicular angle. Offering blocked the last two by instinct alone. One thrust skimmed her gauntlet. Another deflected downwards, thudding into the ground.

A quick slash from Offering forced Nexii back into spear distance.

She is good.{br}

It felt like fighting Jin all over again. Embarrassing and addictive in the same breath.

They paced each other. Nexii drew one long breath and went in again. Two precise thrusts hit the shield square. Offering stood her ground. Nexii angled the next strike toward the hands behind it. The impact jolted Offering’s grip and folded the shield inward. Nexii shouldered in and drove her into a pillar.