The weight of the wooden sword in Vysse's hand felt surprisingly substantial. He mirrored Carrian's stance: feet slightly apart, knees bent, and the makeshift weapon held before him.
"First rule," Carrian said, "is to watch. Don't just swing wildly. See what I do, how I move."
He took a slow debliberate step to his left, the wooden sword held loosely at his side, his gaze fixed on Vysse.
"Distance is your friend and your enemy. Too close, you're vulnerable. Too far, you can't strike."
Vysse swallowed, his eyes locked on Carrian's movements. He felt a strange mix of nervousness and an almost primal urge to charge forward. But Carrian's words resonated with a logic he instinctively understood.
Carrian made another slow step, this time to his right. The wooden sword remained still. Then, with a sudden burst of speed that belied his earlier weariness, he lunged forward, the wooden blade aimed towards Vysse's side.
Vysse reacted purely on instinct. He raised his own wooden sword, a clumsy parry that met Carrian's strike with a dull thwack. The force of the blow surprised him and also reminded him that even wood could carry significant impact.
He stumbled back a step, his heart hammering against his ribs.
"Good!" Carrian exclaimed, retreating just as quickly as he had advanced.
"You reacted. Now, what will you do next?"
Vysse started at his brother, the adrenaline coursing through him. He had to do something. He couldn't just stand there and be a target. Taking a shaky breath, he took a tentative step forward, his own wooden sword held a little higher.
Vysse moved with a hesitant energy, mimicking Carrian's earlier steps. He feigned a lunge, a clumsy thrust aimed towards Carrian's chest, more to gauge his brother's reaction than to land an actual blow.
Carrian sidestepped the attack with ease, his own wooden sword dipping slightly as if to counter.
He chuckled.
"See? Distance. If you'd been closer, I could have intercepted that much easier."
Frustration flickered within Vysse.
"All right, I... understand."
That was a lie... kinda. It wasn't as easy as it looked. His movements felt stiff and unnatural, while Carrian seemed to glide across the worn earth. He tried another approach, a quicker, more direct swing aimed at Carrian's shoulder.
This time, Carrian didn't evade. His wooden sword flashed upwards, meeting Vysse's blow with a sharp crack that vibrated down Vysse's arms. The force of the impact nearly made him drop his weapon.
"Power isn't everything, little brother," Carrian said. "It's about knowing where to strike, when to strike, and how to use your opponent's momentum against them."
He demonstrated, with a swift twist of his wrist, how he could have redirected Vysse's powerful swing, that would leave him vulnerable.
Vysse watched, his initial excitement giving way to a growing of understand of the skill Carrian possessed. He took a deep breath, trying to absorb Carrian's words. He needed to be more thoughtful, more observant.
He circled Carrian slowly, his grey eyes scanning his brother's movements, searching for any tell, any opening.
***
The only sounds in the landscape were the gentle of rustling of leaves and the thud of their wooden swords.
Vysse moved with a newfound caution, remembering the sting of Carrian's parry and the ease with which his step-brother had deflected his attacks. He wasn't just looking at Carrian's movements; he was trying to anticipate them.
Carrian remained patient, his stance relaxed, his darting yellow eyes mirroring Vysse's intent gaze. He made no aggressive moves, allowing Vysse to dictate his pace.
Vysse feinted to the left, a quick step and a slight shift of his wooden sword, hoping to draw a reaction.
Carrian's stance remained unmoved. He tried a high swing, aiming for Carrian's head, but his movement lacked speed and precision. Carrian easily blocked it with an upward motion of his own wooden sword.
Carrian gave out a calm sigh.
"Think, Vysse. What did I tell you about distance? About using your opponent's momentum?"
Vysse retreated a step, his brow furrowed. He was so focused on the swordplay that he was ignoring the other elements Carrian had mentioned. He needed a different approach.
Vysse took another breath, a deeper one this time, trying to clear his mind. He lowered his stance slightly, trying to appear less threatening, hoping to lure Carrian into a more aggressive move.
Carrian's lips twitched. He sensed the subtle change in Vysse's stance.
"Good. Now you're thinking."
Suddenly, Carrian moved again, a swift motion that was almost a blur. His wooden sword swept low, aiming for Vysse's feet. It was a surprising attack, one Vysse hadn't anticipated.
He yelped, leaping back just as the wooden blade grazed the top of his worn boots.
"Footwork, Vysse!" Carrian called out. "You can't just stand rooted to the spot."
He pressed his advantage, stepping forward and unleashing a series of quick strikes. The wooden sword whistled through the air, forcing Vysse to raise his own weapon in defence.
Thwack, thwack, thwack — the sounds echoed rapidly in the field.
Vysse felt overwhelmed. Carrian's movements were so precise, so efficient. He was being forced to react, his earlier attempts at strategy forgotten in the face of this sudden onslaught.
He stumbled back again, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps.
Then, something shifted within him. A spark of defiance, that was different from his earlier frustration. He wasn't going to just be a practice dummy.
As Carrian's next strike came, aimed high, Vysse didn't just block. He angled his wooden sword, deflecting the blow outwards and, in the same motion, took a quick step to the side. It wasn't much, clumsy even, but it created an opening.
Without thinking, Vysse swung his own wooden sword instinctively. It was wild, untrained swing, more like a desperate one rather than a skillful one. However, it was aimed at Carrian's exposed side. The wooden blade connected with a solid 'thunk'.
Carrian's attack ceased mid-swing. He looked down at the point where Vysse's wooden sword had struck, a surprised expression on his face.
"Well, Vysse," Carrian said slowly. "Looks like you're learning faster than I thought."
A genuine smile was evident on his sun-kissed face.
***
The wooden swords laid discarded in the grass beside them as Vysse and Carrian settled onto a fallen log, the rough bark warm beneath them in the afternoon sun.
Both were breathing heavily, a comfortable silence settling between them after the end of their spar.
Carrian leaned back against the log, his gaze distant for a moment, as if the grasslands ahead had faded and his mind had drifted back to the shadowed lands he had traversed.
He sighed.
"You asked about the Luminaries, Vysse."
His voice got quieter now. He picked at a loose piece of bark on the log, his brow furrowed slightly.
"It's... not a simple thing to explain. But you're old enough now, I think, to understand at least the basics."
He looked at Vysse, with a serious expression.
"A Luminary... is someone who stands against the Befallen. They are individuals who have been... awakened by a power, a light, that allows them to fight back against the darkness that spills from the Abyss."
Vysse listened intently.
"The Befallen? Are those... the monsters?"
Carrian nodded grimly.
"More than just monsters. They are... echoes of what was. Twisted, corrupted beings that emerged when the Abyss tore through our world. They took nearly a third of it, Vysse. Cities vanished, entire populations... changed. And with that change came the Befallen."
He paused, his gaze hardening.
"Humanity was on the brink. Our weapons, our defenses... they were useless against what crawled out of the void. But then... came the Luminaries. Individuals who could channel this inner light, this Lumine, into weapons, shields, power. They became our protectors, the only ones who could truly stand against the tide of the Abyss and its creatures."
Vysse paused, then asked:
"And you... you went to the Abyss to become one of them?"
The image of Carrian, taller and more serious than he remembered, the sheathed blade at his hip, suddenly clicked into place.
Carrian nodded slowly, his gaze still distant.
"Partly. The process... it's not something easily undertaken. There are trials, dangers... things I don't want to burden you with just yet. But yes, the hope was to gain strength, the Lumine, to protect our community."
He finally met Vysse's gaze.
"The Abyss... it's a place of corruption, Vysse. It twists everything it touches. The Befallen... they were once people, animals, even the land itself. Their forms are grotesque, their minds... gone."
Carrian's hand tightened into a fist, resting on the rough bark of the log.
Vysse sat there, absorbing his step-brother's words, the playful energy from their duel completely gone. The world suddenly felt so vast and dangerous.