Telhari was upon him again, his sword moving toward Ellis’ chest with blinding speed. As Ellis looked at him, however, he saw a face that filled him with dread; a gray face, with lifeless eyes and a mouth that was writhing in anguish.

Ellis swung his sword upward in desperation and threw himself back, stumbling over his own feet and falling onto the ground.

What…what did you do!?

Staring ahead, Ellis saw blood pouring from the belly of the man he had killed.

His hands trembled with the memory of that night.

The feel of metal slipping through Egurd’s flesh. The guttural breath that was forced from him, as his insides were torn through by cold and unforgiving steel—!

“Ellis!”

Mary’s voice wrapped around him, pulling him back from the sinking pit of his own memories.

He slowly began to feel the pressure of Telhari’s blade against his vest. Ellis looked at Mary as she stood among the others, her eyes full of concern. She knew something was wrong with him— she always knew.

“Two points to Telhari.”

There was a stillness now spreading among the audience. What had started off as a simple bout, had now taken on a different tone. Ellis was panting heavily, unable to catch his breath. His face was gaunt, and he was drenched in sweat.

Even as Telhari lifted his blade, there remained a heaviness within Ellis’ chest. Telhari then bent down and held his hand out to Ellis.

“Your emotions are running wild,” he warned, “You mustn’t let them control you.”

Ellis stared down his nose at Telhari’s outstretched hand.

How could he do that?

Every time he tried to move his mind away, he always found himself right back where he had started— staring into that same face. He couldn’t take it anymore; it was as if his world was closing in around him. If he stopped and walked away, he would be embarrassed. If he fought, he would lose. And all the while he couldn’t stop reliving that moment. The moment he had taken someone’s life.

Ellis was frozen.

More than anything he wished it would all go away. That his thoughts would just stop. The sights, the sounds, the worries…How he wished desperately that he could make them disappear.

Suddenly, Ellis was reminded of something.

A small moment.

A moment so seemingly insignificant that he wondered why or how he even remembered it at all. A brief moment, of sitting on a mossy stone wall in the middle of a quiet forest, doing nothing of particular importance— listening to the breeze as it wafted through the treetops.

Ellis reached out and clasped Telhari’s arm, using it to pull himself up.

“Do you still wish to continue?” Perry asked him.

Ellis thought to himself.

Calm my emotions…?

He brought himself back to those woods— back to that place. He thought about the sense of calmness that he had felt back then.

How did I do it?

Ellis started to focus on the feeling of his breath: shallow and sharp, the rapid rise and fall of his rib cage. The pulsing of blood through his veins, it’s sound like a drumbeat of war that filled his head and threatened to overtake him. But as he listened more, he began to feel a change. Each heartbeat pulled at his muscles like tense strings plucked in rhythm by a master’s hand. Instead of suffocating him with dread, the sensations began to fill him with vigor. His respiration remained quickened, but each breath was his own; drawn in strong and released with control.

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“Ellis?” Perry asked again. “Do you wish to continue?”

Ellis looked at his opponent with a new understanding.

He thought back to this morning, when he and Telhari had spoken to each other in the armory.

“Please.”

Perry nodded his head.

“Ready…”

Imagine the training post, Ellis thought to himself.

“Begin!”

Telhari chose to make the first move. Ellis observed his body movements with scrutiny, following the shift in his weight and the movement of his upper and lower body.

A strike from above…

Ellis shuffled backwards, keeping low to maintain balance just as Telhari brought his blade down, cutting through the space where Ellis had been.

Attack the opening!

Ellis aimed his sword at Telhari’s exposed flank.

Telhari, sensing the attack, flipped the blade by the pommel and stabbed backward, catching Ellis’ strike and knocking him away.

His chest is open—!

Ellis spun around, stepped quickly forward, pushed off the ground and attacked his sternum.

Telhari watched as Ellis moved swiftly and with surprising precision, stabbing right toward him. Without enough time to reorient his blade, Telhari’s only option was to retreat.

Ellis slashed, just barely missing Telhari as he sidestepped the attack and backed a few paces away.

A wave of surprise moved audibly through the crowd. Perry stood there smiling to himself, looking proudly at his nephew. Meanwhile, Ellis, eager to continue, held out his blade in advance.

Telhari returned the gesture.

The two inched forward until their blades were touching. Ellis could feel the weight of Telhari’s sword on his own— an extension of his arm. If there was tension in him, Ellis could not feel it. Ellis realized that this must be how Telhari fought all the time.

Calm.

In control.

If Ellis could continue to imitate his mindset from that day, then maybe he would stay in control as well. Maybe he could win—!

Without realizing it, Ellis’ zeal had betrayed him. Sensing his intent, Telhari twisted his sword, pushing Ellis’ away to create an opening.

Ellis, realizing all too late, saw Telhari’s sword moving swiftly toward him. Desperate, he lurched to the side and tumbled onto the ground. Telhari turned quickly on his heels and advanced toward Ellis, who scrambled up from the ground and attempted to raise his sword.

Clang!

Ellis managed to intercept Telhari’s strike, but he wasn’t strong enough to parry it. Instead, the two locked blades in a contest of strength, which Ellis was quickly losing. Telhari was overpowering him with one arm, pressing down so hard that Ellis felt his sword arm might collapse.

He had maybe a few seconds left…

Then he saw it.

Ellis reached towards the handle of a dagger that was sheathed on Telhari’s leg just as his arm gave out. With all his might, Ellis twisted his body and slid his forearm into the path of the blade. The impact made him want to cry out in pain, but he forced it down.

“Three points to Telhari!” Perry announced. “And one point to Ellis.”

Ellis pressed the tip of Telhari’s own dagger against his chest, pushing it a few centimeters into the padding of the vest.

Telhari smiled at Ellis briefly before withdrawing his blade from his arm.

“That’s a very risky move…”

“Well, it got me a point,” Ellis said with a cheeky grin.

“If this was a real battle, you could have lost your arm,” Telhari told him as he stepped away. “And your strike would not have killed me.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re too tall!” Ellis responded, tossing back the dagger. “If you were shorter, it would’ve worked.”

“Promise me you will not do that again.”

“Alright. I promise.”

Ellis placed a hand on his arm; it was throbbing and in pain, but he could still move his fingers. He knew he’d have a bruise in a few hours, but he didn’t really mind.

“Guess I lost after all…”

Telhari seemed confused.

“Lost? I told you already, didn’t I—”

“Ellis!”

Ellis felt his whole body lift off the ground as Perry nearly tackled him.

“Ha-ha! Amazing!”

Perry was brimming with joy as he wrapped his arm around Ellis’ shoulder and shook him excitedly.

Mary was next to run over.

“Ellis! I never knew you could move like that!”

“Of course!” Perry announced, pounding his chest with pride. “That’s my boy!”