The Name of Names

~35: A Spar~

Vanya gasped and shot into a sitting position after a particularly painful dream. The birds chirped in the trees, and her heart rate returned to normal. Murtagh was by a stream that was running by, washing his face in it.

Saphira was gone, and Vanya guessed she was hunting, along with Kaldar, who was missing as well.

Murtagh turned when he heard her gasp, lifting a questioning eyebrow as he wiped his face on his shirt before he put it back on.

Vanya shook her head, "Bad dream." she said quietly before leaning back on her elbows and breathing in the fresh air.

Murtagh nodded, and finished pulling his shirt over his head and retying the sash around his waist.

Saphira and Kaldar returned quickly, each carrying a deer, which they lay down in the center of the camp.

Murtagh walked over, and pointing at the coals from their fire the previous night, he ordered, "Brisingr." the coals reignited, the flames flickering up once again.

Saphira began to roast her deer over the fire, while Kaldar dragged his away from the fire to share raw with Saphira.

Aromas of cooking meat wafted through the air, and Vanya turned her head away. Murtagh sniffed the air appreciatively, and Saphira took the deer off the fire, laying it down on the ground and cutting a few pieces for them to eat.

Murtagh began at once, but Vanya remained where she was, silently watching them eat. Murtagh didn't question her, knowing she was an elf, and a vegetarian. However, Saphira picked up a piece and placed it in front of her. Eat. she said simply.

Vanya frowned, "I don't eat meat."

I know. But you will at least just this once. You need to keep up your strength, and at the moment, searching the forest for vegetables will take up too much time.

Vanya turned an eye on the meat, studying it distastefully for a moment. Tentatively, she pulled off a small piece, and after a bit of delay, stuck it in her mouth. She forced herself to chew slowly, allowing the juices to fill her mouth. It started to stick in her throat as she thought about what she was actually eating.

They are under us, Vanya. Yes, we should take care of them, and not spend their lives needlessly, but I for one cannot eat vegetables all day. Eragon had to come to the conclusion himself eventually that he would eat meat if necessary, but otherwise eat only vegetables.

Vanya nodded slowly, and swallowed to get the meat down. If necessary, I may. But otherwise, I will not eat something who has a life as vivid as mine. As it is, however, I am in no danger of starving.

Very well. Saphira took the rest of the meat and snapped it up easily, swallowing it whole.

"Would you like to try sparring?" Murtagh asked suddenly, looking up at her.

Vanya almost raised an eyebrow, but kept it down. "Sure."

She stood up, and Murtagh followed. They each unsheathed their sword; Murtagh's a bright red, and Vanya's a creamy greyish white. Zar'roc and Wyrda. Misery and Fate. The two blades shimmered in the morning light, the sun glinting off the brightsteel they were made from as the two faced each other.

Never under evaluate your opponent. Vanya reminded herself as she felt her mind drifting to begin to think that this would be an easy match. Murtagh is as old as Eragon, and has had just as much experience.

Therefore, she made her moves cautious, waiting for him to make the first strike. They circled each other, each one waiting for the other to make their move.

"Are we going to---" Murtagh began, before cutting his sentence off half-way and swinging his sword viciously at Vanya. Vanya was caught off-guard, and ducked beneath his sword just in time, feeling the blade slice off a few hairs that were too slow to follow their owner.

She lept to her feet again, and hacked at Murtagh. Zar'roc met Wyrda half-way between them, and then they disengaged for a moment, before clanging together again. Murtagh moved fast for a human, and she guessed that he had enhanced himself somehow with magic, knowing he would be outmatched against an elf. Which would mean that the magic was draining his energy faster than Vanya's energy would drain.

But as the match continued, Murtagh showed no sign of weariness more than Vanya. Their skill seemed to match each other, although Vanya could tell that Murtagh was just barely ahead of her in the match, and seemed to control how it went.

Vanya faked to Murtagh's left, and then stabbed Wyrda at Murtagh's right. Murtagh gasped in pain as it looked like Wyrda had pierced his stomach. Vanya dropped the tip of her blade immediately. "Sor--" her apology faded as she noted no blood on Wyrda's tip, and the smirk on Murtagh's face as he leapt forward and tapped Vanya on the neck.

Vanya's eyes narrowed a shade, and she realized almost immediately that he was a whole different fighter than Eragon. Skill wise, they may be similar, but Murtagh would play off of tricks and deception, while Eragon would play by a little more honest rules.

"If I was a real enemy, you would be dead." Murtagh commented with satisfaction, removing the blade from Vanya's neck.

"If you were a real enemy, I wouldn't have apologized, and I would have used your hesitation to cut off your head." Vanya responded evenly, raising her sword again. Murtagh was the one this time who raised an eyebrow, and he lifted Zar'roc as well.

The match began anew, and Vanya was once again wary of Murtagh, before a ways into the match she realized her precaution would not help her against defeating him.

"You fight well, for being a human." Vanya commented as their blades were pushing against each other in a battle of strength.

"Maybe I'm not fully human anymore." Murtagh growled, sliding his sword out and kicking Vanya in the stomach. She stumbled backwards a few paces before ducking under Zar'roc again, and rolling before getting to her feet again and using Wyrda to slash at Murtagh's neck.

He swayed backwards to avoid the blade, and swung with Zar'roc again at her. Vanya brought Wyrda up in time to block it, and the match continued apace, their energy slowly draining at an almost even rate.