Tale of Four

Edmund looked ahead at his opponent and gulped. When he had spoken to Issac the previous day, he had expected to meet him later on in the tournament, but standing before him, the Lord of Helios lovingly stroked the ancestral blade of his family, SunTear, a silver blade looking sharp enough to carve steel itself, moulded around an orange metal that looked foreign to the world but glowed brightly when struck by the sun. Its golden hilt carried the sigil of House Sunflare, and its pommel was a spiked sun.

Unlike Lord Clover, there was no fanfare from the lord of Helios, who proudly stepped forward, fitting a steel helmet on, his armour a plain-looking set of armour that showed signs of battle left to be seen, with minor repairs to fix the worst of it. ”May the sun watch over us.” Tapping the sword to his chest, he lifted it and tapped his helmet, ”May the Lord of Chivalry and Repentance favour me.”

Edmund pulled his helmet down and lifted his shield closer to his body. Bringing up the sword to tap the top of his head, ”May the Lord of Creation guide us. May the Lord of Chivalry and Repentance favour me.” Repeating the words back to Lord Sunflare, the two gave nods to one another and stepped forward. Looking up at the stands, he saw Mary watching with a proud smile, cheering on in encouragement alongside lord Wells, watching with slight worry.

Anton and the rest of the family coldly stared, judging with only Tristan cheering him on. Taking a deep breath, the outside world came to a stop, his heavy breathing travelling around his helmet, finding its way to his ears. Gulping, he lifted the shield.

”BEGIN!” The announcer cried, and Lord Sunflare didn’t hesitate. Charging forward, he delivered a heavy strike downward. Lifting the shield, Edmund felt the weight from the attack and pushed against it before he buckled, breaking the engagement. Throwing a swift jap foward, Lord Sunfalre skillfully twirled the sword and intercepted the strike, pushing it to the side and stepping back.

The cheers erupted in the background, but for Edmund, it was a buzzing in his ear that only existed to distract. Issac paid no attention either, rushing forward, probing his opponent, throwing out heavy but uncommitted attacks, probing for weakness and an opening, waiting for Edmund to slip up. Edmund skillfully dodged or blocked the attacks, watching, trying to find an opening in Issac, in a relentless pursuit, unable to find one that stayed open long enough for him to attack.

Catching SunTear, he pushed the sword back and thought back to his spar with Tristan in the brief opening and formed a plan. He already knew Issac was more skilled; that much was obvious. So far, he had been left to only defend, rarely able to counter, and when he did, it was easily dismantled.

Issac threw another attack forward. With a deep breath, Edmund used his sword to intercept, the clashing of steel sounding like an explosion. With his other hand, he threw his shield forward with a punch. The crowd roared at the sudden attack, uncaring that it lacked the expected grace of a knight.

Issac dodged to the side, and through the slit in his helmet, Edmund saw his eyes curl into a smile as the Lord of Helios disengaged his blade and let go of the sword with one hand. Grabbing the shield that Edmund tried to pull back, he yanked him forward and threw a heavy knee into his stomach.

The already explosive crowd erupted in delight at the movement as Emdund used everything to stop himself from throwing up in his helmet from the sudden attack. Not giving a moment for him to stabilise, Issac swung from the right, his attack barely intercepted by a shield.

Edmund clenched his teeth. Off balance, he struggled to take the blow and stumbled backwards. Issac saw this and continued his endless assault, dirtier than before, as Edmund was the first to break the way they fought.

Edmund tried to block, but seeing that it wasn’t swung in large arcs to force Issac back and give himself room to breathe. Issac missed the mad swings by a hair’s breadth and watched as Edmund collected himself. Lifting the sword up above his head, the stance was strange, leaving his entire lower body open, but Edmund painfully realised why.

The sunlight bounced off the blade, and Issac quickly repositioned it to pierce through the visor. Closing one eye and squinting the other, Edmund watched as he charged forward with the distraction and delivered a heavy strike towards his shoulder. The attack his plate metal, cutting into it, and stopping at the chaimail, Issac making sure not to put enough strength into it to cripple his opponent.

As the attack bore deep, Edmund grit his teeth and threw a heavy punch once more, knowing that he had lost but not wishing to embarrass himself. The shield collided with Issac’s chest, pushing the man back. Leaning backwards, Issac ignored the sword coming for his hip and brought his head forward, headbutting Edmund with as much force as he could, dazzling them both.

His hand loosened of his sword from the attack and bounced off Isaac’s armour. Pulling his sword out, Issac stabbed forward, stopping at the last moment, the blade placed just before Edmund’s throat. The cold grip of death suffocated Edmund as he shakily laughed, unable to do anything else, and dropped his weapons.

The crowd, already at its peak of enjoyment, screamed out, chanting Issac’s name as he pulled the sword away and placed a hand on his chest, bowing towards Anton. Looking up at the king, he saw Anton slowly rise, giving an equally slow clap for the two, his eyes full of acknowledgement as he looked between them. From below, his mother cried out happily towards Edmund, despite his loss, praising him for how he fought.

”You fought well, young Wells, but don’t start fighting in a way you are not used to, especially against a man who does fight like that.” Isaac quietly said. ”Unfortunately for you, I didn’t only learn on the training grounds but in the mud.”

”Thank you, My Lord,” Edmund said with self-mockery. He had promised to try to win, but lost in his first fight. Although it was expected from who his opponent was, he still couldn’t help but feel bitter.

”There is no need to be sad. You lack experience, but your defence is marvellous. It is hard to break through. Yet a solid wall is only that; eventually, it will break.” Issac happily said before taking his helmet off, his aloof look returning as he sheathed his sword and raised his hands towards the sun and muttered a prayer to his ancestors.

Edmund sighed and walked, returning to the stands, towards his family.

-------------------

”Unlucky, my friend.” Tristan said, seeing Edmund was in a sad mood and firmly grabbed his shoulder, ”But you went against a man who was on the battlefield younger than we are now. There is no need to be upset.”

”I know, just disappointed. My plan fell through.” Tristan laughed and shook his shoulder.

”Just ask her to dance later. You showed a good side out there. Not many men can say they fought Lord Sunflare and weren’t completely embaressed, well, she won’t know that at least.” With a smirk, he saw Edmund’s mood dropping. ”Relax, you did well.”

”He is correct.” From behind a cold, unexpected voice spoke. Looking back, Anton had a thin smile on his lips, ignoring the two new knights preparing themselves, ”Your defence is stable, and you are quick to react to enemy attacks. Maybe in a real battle, you would get tunnel-focused on it, so don’t become overly reliant. Your switch to sudden unconventional attacks was well timed, but ill-suited for someone like Lord Sunflare, who has fought in battle. You simply lack the killer instinct of a knight.”

”Brother, you praise my child so much.” Mary was the first to respond, laughing behind a fan as she looked at Anton.

”Your son needs to learn to fight back more, but otherwise, there are no faults for what I have seen. Well, for a duel, but I don’t expect him to fight like he has seen war.” Tristan watched and nodded along, knowing better than to disagree with Anton’s judgments in a field where he far outclassed anyone nearby.

”That instinct can be honed, your Grace.” Lord Wells said almost protectively of Edmund. Anton didn’t say anything more, nodding.

Grabbing Edmund, Mary leaned close to his ear and spoke, ”If you wish to impress a lady, Edmund, fighting is one way, but your father didn’t do that for me; he could barely walk at that time. Be confident and know your worth.” Mary playfully smiled, ”Or just pull your rank, if she doesn’t like you. Marriage can solve that with time, or see you dead in your sleep.”

”Mother.” Edmund frowned, ”I won’t do that.”

”I know, it’s just food for thought.”