FVN Chapter 345: Chapter LXVIII: Sharpening Blades
Chapter 345: Chapter LXVIII: Sharpening Blades
Chapter 345: Chapter LXVIII: Sharpening Blades
(Reyvin's POV)
My hands almost buckle as I parry my opponent's strike, redirecting her sword to the side and immediately going in for an upper stab to punish the overextension, only for her to twist far quicker than I am able to even with the aid of magic and deflect the thrust upwards and try and slam my fingers with her pommel.
Not wishing to have my arm shattered I immediately pull back, eliciting a surprised look and buying just enough time to strike back before she could pull away but getting swiftly countered by a golden specter clad in Blades armor.
Minthara, seeing me distracted by her sword's construct tries to strike me with her off hand weapon but she seems to have forgotten she wasn't the only one with extra help as my shadows suddenly billow, taking her by surprise as they began attacking her from every direction possible and forcing her to counter with her constructs, effectively stalemating our helpers and bringing us back to an equal footing as we once more faced off with only our blades.
Frustrated by this, she decides to shift from her previously defensive stance and begins attacking with both swords, all of her attacks coming from differing angles so as to force me to dodge instead of counterattacking.
Naturally I would have none of that as I summoned the Ebony Blade in my offhand and used it as a parrying dagger, once more putting her off balance by my sudden shift in stance and carving out an opening one perfectly timed parry after another.
A couple of exchanges later we found our weapons clinched against the other's, clairvoyance screaming a sudden warning as I felt a danger in my nether regions and saw her leg beginning to twitch in such a way that would allow her to knee me where one should never be kneed. I promptly slammed her mind with my own, eliciting a grunt of pain as she stumbled back, all of her projections getting unsummoned as she fell onto a knee, ending the effective battle between our summons and leaving her temporarily stunned and most assuredly disoriented. "And that is a win for me." I clap my hands, offering a shiteating grin to the slowly recovering demigoddess.
She shakes her head and not quite pouts at me "That was cheating!"
"Well maybe next time don't try to kick a man in the dick Minthara." I grouse "I am a very delicate creature I will have you know."
"Uh huh." She deadpans and gets slowly gets up with a wince as her head no doubt throbbed in pain "Damn, did you have to hit me that hard?"
"If your kick had landed you'd have broken something" I deadpan "That merits instant punishment."
"Fine." She accepts grouchily "Anything you have to add that isn't whining?"
"But of course." I let the provocation flow through me like so much light breeze "You have gotten better at keeping yourself in control but you still allow yourself to be provoked far too easily, and your new choice of weapons obviously doesn't fit your preferences." I cup my chin "Also, while dual wielding two highly enchanted swords can be effective, they just don't carry enough weight with them to do anything but cut, and cutting something like a dragon requires immense precision and for them to let you in the first place, dragonslaying effect or not."
"Yeah, I guessed as much." Her shoulders slump "I just feel that replacing them with something else would be disrespectful you know? They are supposed to be two legendary blades."
"Oh?" I raise an eyebrow "And should you allow yourself to be tied down by the legends of the past when you yourself are in the process of building your own? If the weapons don't fit then they don't fit, there is no point in forcing yourself to be weaker just because of sentimentality."
"And what about your own sword then?" She questions, crossing her arms with a light huff, more annoyed at the truth of my words than at me for saying them "Why are you using it still if we both agreed that swords are to be sidearms at best?"
"Because there is a difference between merely highly enchanted and immensely powerful" I retort easily "Blasphemy is a weapon which all the Daedra would desire as their own without hesitation." She considers my argument for a moment before slowly nodding, I quickly add then "Besides, I do most of my fighting with magic so the sword still very much is a sidearm." "That is a technicality and you know it." She grouses before taking a slow breath and lightly slapping her own cheeks to get herself out of her current funk "What would you recommend then?"
"I could always make you something with what I ha-" I pause and frown, muttering to myself as I considered the idea which suddenly wormed its way into my brain "Actually." I begin earning an eager look "I could technically remake those blades into something which would fit you far more while also keeping their powers."
She almost gives her immediate agreement but stops herself "Wouldn't that be... even more disrespectful?"
I raise an eyebrow "You are honoring your predecessors by making their weapons into something of your own. Make no mistake, Minthara, you are Dragonborn. A true Blade would fall on their sword for the mere opportunity of being part of your legend and I don't doubt for a second your ancestor would mind protecting you even from where she currently is."
She stares at me briefly before suddenly relaxing and shaking her head "Only you, Reyvin."
I huff, pretending to not understand the implied irreverence "I always aim to impress." She lets out a light snort "Fine, you can reforge the swords."
"How generous." I pretend to swoon before righting myself "I will get to it once we return though. Ready for another round?"
"No." Her answer is as definite as it is immediate "Fighting you is like trying to hit smoke and I've had enough frustration for a day."
"Want me to call Akulakhan then?" I smirk "I am sure he would enjoy helping you train."
Her whole body shivers as she glares at me "You are insufferable."
Akulakhan was utterly terrifying to fight, demigod or not.
"As I said, I do always aim to please" I offer a slight bow and clap my hands "That is enough of that for now though, we should grab some lunch."
I look to the side and just in time as well, as a row of servants begin bringing in a veritable
feast.
The cloudy air whips around us as Kreinaarvokun cuts through it at immense speeds, the landscapes below us blurring into a mess of lines as we crossed half the province in less than
hour.
And while I was busy enjoying the feeling Minthara decided to spend her time pouting "Dare I
ask what is wrong?" I tilt my head in her direction.
She blinks, drawn from her thoughts, and her pout deepens "I want wings too."
I snort "Study up on mysticism then, should take you only a few years."
She gives me an unamused look at that "Right." "Hey it ain't my fault you are using me as a standard." I grin "That is your mistake not mine."
"We have arrived." Krein cuts into our conversation, landing atop the path before High
Hrothgar with impressive agility.
"Thanks for the ride Krein." I pat him on his back and jump off, making no sound as I made
contact with the stony path, and patiently waiting for Minthara to levitate down on her own "You can go now, I will call you when we ascend the peak."
"As you wish Thuri." He inclines his head and takes off, blasting us with a wave of wind
strong enough to send us flying off the mountain though not before I made sure that wouldn't
happen.
As I turn from my friend and toward the ancient temple I am greeted with the visage of a
certain grey bearded monk, his right eye twitching violently as he glared at me, his brow
leaking sweat all the while.
"Arngeir, my friend!" I spread my arms happily "How have you been?"
The way he looks down in defeat feeds my very soul.
We all know what this is about.
I know it, you know it, just accept it
It is your destiny.
DO IT
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