The Reformation Wars: Conflicts Rekindled

Chapter 3

The rest of the day's travel across the Arorian countryside came and went, and by nightfall, Princess Kate's procession had set up camp inside a recessed cave at the bottom of an imposing cliff face. While a warming fire crackled inside the shallow cavern and dinner sizzled, Kate stood atop a flattened boulder and gazed up at the stars. The sheer scale and beauty struck marvel and gratitude in her heart. Kate offered more than a few unarticulated praises to her Creator as she beheld the constellations sprawled across the blackened sky.

With a contented sigh, Kate hopped down from the rocky platform and onto the moist grass that softly caressed the soles of her bare feet as she strolled back over to the cave. The thud of heavy footsteps behind her reminded her of her chief bodyguard, as silent as he was ever-present.

Kate stepped through the rocky archway that so perfectly suited her height and forced all her fellow travelers to bend over to attain entrance. Her gaze climbed from the pebble-sprinkled floor to the dancing flame that both cooked the party's dinner and lit the cave with a warm glow.

In the illumination of the fire, Kate glanced about the cave before fully entering. Her other three bodyguards had finally removed their helmets, exposing sweaty hair of varying hues and matching beards. One of them stood rather close behind the party's cook, a blonde woman whose smiling mouth and giggling voice contrasted with her tired eyes as she chatted with the guardsman.

Kate averted her gaze from the pair and spotted Manfred and Andre sitting on a smooth log not far from the fire. Both swordsmen held their blades to the flickering light, apparently comparing their qualities. Manfred's longsword stretched a little longer than Andre's, with a slender blade and a hilt to comfortably accommodate two hands. On the other hand, Andre's sword sacrificed a few inches of length for greater width, and its gold-covered handle was of a design to allow both one-handed and two-handed combat.

After taking in another breath, Kate slipped her shoes back on and stepped over to the swordsmen's log. Both men looked up when her shadow descended over their unsheathed blades, and each offered a smile varying in duration.

"There is room for three, if you would only move over, Manfred." Kate remarked playfully. He quickly obliged, allowing the princess to take a seat beside him. "So, what are you two doing? Evaluating who has a better sword?"

Andre laughed. "No, your highness, that debate has already been had and settled long ago. We were only comparing nicks and scratches."

Kate nodded and glanced down at the nearest blade, which was Manfred's. "My goodness, that's a big chip right there." she said, pointing at a sizable nick in the middle of the cutting surface.

"Oh, yeah." Manfred said, "That's been there a while."

"It is little more than a byproduct of his Torlenian training, I'm afraid." Andre remarked. "Restricting oneself to defense in a sword fight will only make your own weapon suffer."

"I don't only defend. You're supposed to use that time to find an opening. Idea's to win the fight in one stroke."

Kate's green eyes widened. "Oh, wow, that's very interesting! I'd never fully understood the differences between the three schools. So Torlenian is conservative, but deadly. Which one do you study, Andre?"

"The Raskan." he said proudly, "It's opposite in nearly every way. The idea with our style is to always press the attack, never letting up until the foe has been vanquished. For a Raskan warrior to stop moving his sword would be a rare sight indeed."

"Ah, I see. Which style is the most effective?"

"That would depend largely on who you ask, your highness." Andre replied with a hearty chuckle, "Every man would have a reason to tell you why his is the superior art."