Chapter 4: Defeat

She turned towards me, then stepped forward and swung her sword up from the ground. I countered by bringing my blade above my head and back down, stopping her mid-swing. She didn?t pause in the slightest as she took her raised elbow and struck me in the face, knocking me to the side. Her momentum caused her to spin completely around and before I had time to readjust, she was thrusting her sword straight at my chest. Her attack missed, and I took the opportunity to straighten myself out. With her blade still aimed forward, she turned her arms and the sword?s edge was now against my side. She immediately pulled back and I could feel the blade cut through my clothes and skin as well. I leaned forward and grabbed at the wound, a mistake I learned to never repeat. She stepped back and spun again, this time ending in a kick that buried deep in my chest. I was fighting a losing battle and couldn?t think straight. I had to do something, I just had to. Attempting to focus and buy some time, I haphazardly swung my blade at her chest, trying to get her to back away.

Our swords clashed and sparks flew in all directions from the impact. She planted her foot and leaned forward while angling her sword towards the ground. The shift in position caused my blade to literally slide against hers and I began to lose balance. Without the slightest pause and even greater swiftness she removed a hand from the hilt of her sword and struck me in the face. I stumbled back, then she spun on her heels and brought her sword up high. I felt a sting as the sharp edge created a razor-thin slash along the length of my face. She made it perfectly clear that I was no match for her, but my pride wouldn?t allow me to just give up. I leaned forward, then pulled my sword to my chest and ran at her. She sidestepped and watched as I passed her, then laughed as she planted her elbow into my back, knocking me flat on my face. Not only was she beating me senseless, she was teasing me. Rage was building up from within, and with every hit I felt myself losing more and more of my rational thought. I didn?t know what to do?she outclassed me in every aspect of fighting. I couldn?t even land a solid hit on her. I could feel her staring at me; I lifted my head and turned to her. She had a look of pity and disgust.

?Carinde, you are anything but ready. Stick to the guroks on the field, and the next time you think you?re ready, remember this fight.? She turned and began to walk away, and I felt a burst from within. Battered and bruised, I sprung to my feet and charged her, screaming as I came closer. My sword was above my head, ready to come down with every bit of strength my body could salvage. She turned, and brought her blade to her waist, aiming it directly at me. I brought my blade down, and she merely turned her body to the side, her sword still facing me. My eyes widened in disbelief of my failed attack, and she made me realize the folly of my method in a way I wasn?t prepared for. I couldn?t stop myself due to my momentum, and I felt a piercing directly in my stomach. Her blade slid ever so gracefully through me, and she released the handle as I began to fall. The force of my impact literally pushed her sword straight through me, and I found myself motionless on the ground. Shaking, I felt my life leaving me. She knelt down before me and looked at me with saddened eyes, then placed her hand on my head. She rubbed her hand through my hair, then I felt a pull as she grabbed the back of my head and lifted it. Looking me directly in the eye, she spoke softly. ?As I said, you are not ready.? Her expression was now fierce, and showed no sympathy. She lifted my head further, and then I saw the ground coming closer at incredible speed. Everything suddenly went dark.

I was immediately surrounded by literally thousands of strange voices. I couldn?t see anything, and I had no control of my body. Some of the voices were speaking, while others screamed. It was as if I could hear all of Aradoth at once. In an instant, the voices became louder, then began to fade rapidly. I started to regain a feeling of my body and sense of self, and it felt as if I was being whisked past these voices?a feeling of traveling to another destination. My eyes began to see different things as I was going through this?void of sorts. It was difficult to tell what I was seeing, but it looked as if I could see what was happening in the world around me. Shortly thereafter, I could see New Trismus again. A moment later, I was standing next to a large shrine. When I had control of myself again, I grabbed at my chest, but noticed that nothing was there. No wound, no scar?not even a speck of dirt was on me. Was it all some sort of twisted dream, and how did I wind up at that shrine? My sword was in its sheath, and everything appeared normal. Confused, I started to walk back to the training area. When I got to my trainer?s tent, she wasn?t there. Now I was really lost. Every time that I?ve come here she?s been around, always ready to help. I looked around, then saw her walking over the hillside. She saw me, then stopped. I walked towards her, and as I got closer she began to speak.

?You look lost, Carinde. If you?re thinking you had a dream just now, I assure you that it wasn?t. Come with me.?

I didn?t know what to feel. Shock, anger, confusion, sadness. I was just killed? What the hell is going on? How am I walking around? Why are there no scars or marks of battle? She elaborated further on the concept of immortality that Ryson spoke of when I first came here. She told me that our bodies can be rendered useless, but never destroyed. The ?gift? we have allows our souls to always return to Istaria, and our physical form is restored to the state we were given upon arrival here. ?Death? as we once knew it was non-existent here, but failure in battle comes at a cost. As we walked to the area of our fight, a strange feeling came over me, and I heard something calling out. I walked towards the voice and found a small shard on the ground where I fell. I knelt down and picked it up. No larger than my fingernail, it had a brown translucent appearance. A completely foreign object to me, yet somehow seemed familiar.

She looked to the sky and spoke calmly, ?It?s called a soul splinter. That is literally a part of your soul, lost each time you fall. Everything that ?dies? here leaves a splinter behind. The gift we have attempts to regenerate our fractured souls, but it takes time. If you should fall too often, your soul cannot keep up with the pain it has sustained, and you will feel weaker and weaker until it can fully recover. While this doesn?t seem like something to be overly concerned with, these splinters are precious. Bear in mind that our enemy has exceptionally skilled Necromancers, and they are constantly in search of these. I?ve heard that they are trying to delve deeper into the gift we have and reverse its effect, basically removing the immortality granted to us. We cannot let this happen, as this is our only way of holding the Aegis back. When you are finally released in to the battle that lies ahead, you must be able to survive. Every defeat of a gifted soul brings forth another opportunity for the Aegis to gain more understanding of what we are. You cannot think you are ready Carinde, you have to know. Our little match was nothing in comparison to what you will soon face. Make sure you are prepared.? She then smiled, ?You have great potential, and a determination that will surely carry you far. Now let?s get your skills to match that determination. Worry not, I will be here to guide you.?

I took a deep breath, then looked at her. It was a lesson that had to be taught, and she most definitely got her point across. Immortality, soul splinters, combat?I had so much to learn before I could even think of taking on the enemy that took my family away.