Einar merely nodded and summoned his shield. Although it was only a training session, from his friend’s very posture, the gleam in his eyes and the way his teeth seemed to be bared almost unconsciously, he knew that the fight would be a serious one, with neither of them holding back. Now he was glad he’d dressed for battle after all.
Looking at Ceet, the boy could find no weaknesses in his stance. Toinen quickly realised that Tahon was on a completely different level to anyone he had trained with or faced in duels so far. The knight kept his eyes fixed on Einar the whole time, tracking even his slightest movement. Toinen kept staring at his opponent, trying to work out the best tactic.
Ceet's height, build and two-handed sword gave the beastsman a significant advantage in reach, one that could not be easily overcome. Furthermore, his relaxed stance allowed him to move easily in any direction. Einar, without taking a single step, knew that a head-on attack would only lead to defeat, so he opted for a little ruse. He fixed his gaze on the tip of Tahon’s sword and tried to watch his movements out of the corner of his eye.
He gently shifted his weight onto his right front leg and lunged forward, aiming for the knight’s torso. He managed to notice Ceet shifting almost imperceptibly and preparing to parry the blow; a hint of a smile flashed across his eyes. However, instead of striking, Einar slipped at the last moment and, using his momentum and leaning on his buckler, slid past his friend across the damp grass. As soon as he was behind the beastman’s back, he pushed off and attacked, using his momentum. But before his sword could reach its target, a smiling Tahon parried the blow, executing a graceful pirouette and wielding his greatsword as though it weighed nothing.
Toinen quickly leapt back, preparing to fend off a counter-attack, but Ceet merely twirled his sword in the air and resumed the same stance he’d held at the start. It became clear that the
