The Warden | A For Honor Fanfiction

Fallen

A/N Hey guys. Bit of an early update, but I managed to get into a bit of rhythm with this one. Should still have another update on Monday, hope you enjoy this one in the meantime. God bless.

Fallen
It was Stone who made the first strike. I know not whether it was because of his fury at seeing me attacked, or knowing what Belial had done in the past, but the first strike of our clash was launched towards him. I had only enough time to see Belial pivot his weapon to stop the blow, and see Stone's chain wrap around the weapon briefly before I turned my attention back to my opponent, Holden Cross. There were no salutes, no signs of honor given between us as we took slow, tentative steps towards one another. I think we both knew why, there was no honor in this. Not in former brothers in arms dueling to the death, not in what Cross was here to do, and not that it had fallen apart so terribly that this was the only solution. No, there was nothing to salute or honor here.

Cross stepped carefully as he moved to the right, positioning his weapon carefully across his chest and legs. I raised my sword level with my cheek in response, slowly stepping opposite him as we circled one another, gingerly avoiding the crimson covered bodies and discarded weapons as we did. I knew I was at a disadvantage here, Cross' armor was far superior to my own, and his weapon was much better suited to keeping foes at a distance. I knew also that Cross had the benefit of experience, far more than I could lay claim to. Lastly, I knew he aimed to kill me, whereas I only hoped to survive our bout, the latter was far more difficult to achieve than the former.

I admit, I dreaded the coming duel more than any I had faced in my life. For the first time since I'd come to know him, I considered the man before me not as Holden Cross, but as Asmodai, the demon name given to him upon joining the Blackstone legion. The stories I had heard of his skill, his ruthless effectiveness in battle, and his methodical, seemingly impenetrable defense in battle came flooding back to me. Even now I could picture images of him storming Viking strongholds, besting hordes of warriors without breaking a sweat. What hope did I have to beat him here, when he had been well rested, and I was still recovering?

You make sure you come back, alright? Deborah... Again I heard her words calling out to me from the depths of memory, and like a flood I began to picture our time together. I remembered her making me promise before leaving to fight for the first time. I remembered her tenderly caring to me as I laid cold and injured on that bed. I remembered her holding me close and giving me comfort in the face of another recollection of the past. Perhaps most of all, I remembered our first kiss, how at peace, how complete she'd made me feel...

No. I could not fail. Not now. I had to survive this, for those that had been lost to the Godless knights. For the future of Ashfeld as we knew it. For her.

Taking a deep breath, I tightened my grip on my sword, and with one long exhale, charged my enemy. Cross seemed to react before I had even swung, for even as I raised my sword to strike at his shoulder, he raised weapon to block. Trying to recover, I quickly adjusted my arms to divert the attacks towards his thigh instead. Just as rapidly, Cross moved to intercept, our weapons colliding with a resonant thud before Cross pushed away my sword. In a flash, Cross pivoted his arms, and I could see the pommel of his weapon approaching the left of my helmet. Pivoting just as quickly, I turned my body as I brought my sword to the left, just catching the tail end of the weapon mere inches from my face before I too shoved away his attack.

Following up, I pivoted my body once again as I took a step forward and launched another strike, this time  towards the right side of his helmet. As if responding to a dance, Cross took a quick step back, lifting the poleaxe and blocking the blow with a resounding thud. Refusing to let the attack end there, I dragged down with my blade as quickly as I could, forcing the poleaxe down and away from Cross, then followed with a forward thrust. Unfortunately, Cross seemed to have already predicted such an attack, and almost seemed to snap his weapon to the left, throwing aside my sword.