The days quickly flowed into a rhythm of waking up and practicing either with Master Pierce or Master Nich. They didn’t ease up on him and his injuries were repaired by a seemingly never-ending supply of healing potions. The magic in the vials however did not stop the pain from those injuries from being felt in agonizing detail.

On the morning of the third day from the challenge Painin found himself standing in the sand ring. He was wearing a basic leather chest guard that was loaned to him from the armory. Already a rather large group of people from the keep had found their way to the outside of the ring. Even Commander Novik was outside though he was currently talking to Master Pierce in a very animated manner off to the side. The Battle Mage calmly took a second to drink from his ever-present cup before he answered the Commander, turned, and walked towards the ring.

The Prince walked out from the keep his armor breastplate which shined in the morning sun as he was followed by his retainers. Brem stared at Painin his hate evident as they approached, and he opened the small wooden gate for the Prince to enter. The Prince carried the same bored face that he always did as he moved to the far corner and waited to take a sip from a cup offered by a serving girl.

Master Nich walked out to the center of the circle and motioned both young men forward he held two seemingly identical-looking swords in his hands and offered them to the Prince.

“We are here to settle a dispute of honor in the court of battle. Does the aggrieved still wish to continue?” He intoned looking to Painin.

“He does.” Said Master Pierce loudly before turning to Painin and smiling.

“Very well. I have two weapons here milord please as the accused make your selection from them.”

The Prince hefted both blades and moved them around checking their balance. He sighed and handed one back to Master Nich who offered the blade to Painin. Painin took the offered sword and held it by his side. Master Nich motioned that both young men should approach him in the center.

“This will be decided by blood. The first to draw blood is the winner and the match ends. Any final words?”

“This will be a long lesson for you.” Said the Prince the bored look no longer in his eyes as a predatory smile formed on his face.

Master Nich looked at both of them and raised his hand between them. He looked them both in the eye and then quickly dropped his hand in a chopping motion.

“Fight!”

The Prince wasted no time and began to attack. His sword moved incredibly fast and it took all of Painin’s effort to simply parry each of the blows with his sword. Suddenly the prince’s sword seemed to reverse itself in mid-move and slammed into Painin’s shoulder sending him staggering sideways. He dropped his guard, grabbed his shoulder, and was left unprepared when the prince’s blade slammed into his midsection.

His armor softened the blow but not by much, driving the wind out of him. Grimacing he pushed through the pain and tried to mount a counterattack of his own with a flurry of attacks. The prince deflected or outright avoided his attacks, and Painin quickly realized how overmatched he was. Master Pierce had explained to him how much training the Prince had received, but seeing it in practice was amazing. He would have been more impressed had he not been on the receiving end of the attacks.

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Painin began to feel himself slowing as he swung his sword trying in vain to hit the Prince who seemed to be moving so much faster than he was. The Prince seemed to get tired of defending himself and pressed his attack again. His sword shot out catching Painin on his arm with the flat of his blade. Two more attacks came just as quickly striking the same arm as he tried to pull it back hitting his forearm.

Grimacing as his arm began to throb with each of the strikes. He lowered his sword with a sigh at being so clearly outmatched. He snapped his blade upwards at the last moment as he felt more then saw the Prince swinging his sword back in again barely deflecting it. A look of confusion crossed his face and the Prince smiled more.

“No blood yet. The lesson continues.” He said pressing the attack even more.

The blows just kept coming and Painin was starting to become disoriented from the strikes. He began to realize that the Prince was only hitting him with the flat of his blade. Not the edge which would be more prone to breaking the skin. He saw Brem behind the Prince his eyes wide with glee as he watched the beating continue. Painin began to panic as he realized exactly what the ‘lesson’ actually was going to be.

Painin began to grow more reactive trying to avoid the attacks where he could but the hits began to add up quickly. Again, the Prince got past his defenses and his evasions became more dire. This set up a pattern where the more he moved to avoid the attacks the more he opened himself up to attacks. He felt the bones of his wrist break with one swing which seemed to change direction mid-swing. He yelled out in pain, but it only seemed to drive the Prince into more of a frenzy of attacks.

For every attack he managed to block, parry, or even disrupt 2 or 3 more made it through to hit him. He felt more bones give way to the metal blade his agony growing with every strike. The leather chest guard managed to stave off the worst of the strikes to his torso, but the damage was still done with every hit. It soon became hard to breathe as he felt at least one of his ribs break. He doubled over in pain and fell to his knees.

This did not slow the attacks from the Prince, and he found himself laying on the sandy ground looking up at the Prince. His smile was like something of a nightmare and he slowly and methodically aimed his strikes and Painin felt the bones in his other arm break. The Prince kicked his sword away from him and knelt to look Painin in the face as the young man struggled to hold onto consciousness.

“I told you the lesson wasn’t done you miserable little shit heel. I will break you for your insolence until I get bored and then I will let you live out your life a broken shell.” He said twirling the tip of his sword in the sand.

If he wasn’t in so much pain, he would have been terrified from just the look in the Prince’s eyes. It was like looking into the abyss itself. Over to the side, he could hear shouting distance but couldn’t make out what was being said. He watched the sword descend and smash into his hand and more agony washed through him. Darkness began to overtake him and instead of fighting it, he tried to go with it to try and escape the pain. The Prince knelt next to him and slapped him in the face bringing him back out of the darkness.

“Can’t pass out now. I am just getting started.” His grin seemed to go even wider if that was possible extending almost across his entire face.

Shadows moved in the background as he stared into the Prince’s eyes which almost seemed to glow from inside his head. Every time the darkness began pushing into his vision, he was rewarded with another slap across his face followed by more strikes to his arms, legs, and torso. He felt more bones break adding to the agony that he already felt. Painin wondered how long this was going to go for and tried to almost will himself to bleed so that it could end. He reached out and placed his limp hand onto the Prince’s lower leg which brought him a sneer from the Prince.

The practice sword rose and fell once more, and the darkness rushed in from the sides of his vision like black water. Voices began to yell around in the distance as he felt the coolness of the darkness envelop him in its embrace. Painin smiled as he felt himself fade away with the darkness and he realized that he was free.