Siege Stories Short: Long Lances and Crimson Sand
Lances eyes were closed, his breath deep. He was concentrating, reliving different fighting stances in his mind he trained the last few months. From outside, the sound of cheer was faint, dimmed by the walls of the arena. His trainer talked to him, explaining what is important in a fight, but Lance ignored him, expecting the same speech the teachers held every few weeks, when two pegasi decided to fight against each other in the arena he stood in at the moment.
The cheering stopped, when the announcer began to talk. He introduced the two contestants. His words were almost comprehensible. Lance opened his eyes when he heard his name, preparing his weapon. He had chosen the sword, which he held in his mouth. He was unable to speak, but in a fight, this was unnecessary.
The doors opened, and Lance went outside. He was blinded by the light of the sun for a short moment, before his eyes had accustomed to it. He then saw his opponent, shivering. His opponent was afraid to die, but Lance wasn't. He had made up his mind a long time ago, when he decided that he would never allow anyone to insult his family, as his opponents did the day before.
But Lance was also sure he'd win. In contrary to his comrades in the academy, he had a rigorous training by an old hero of the pegasi army. His grandfather had fought in many battles, and he loves to talk about them and teach Lance what tricks in a battle of honour are acceptable, but also what should never be done.
And Lance was eager to follow his grandfathers hoof-steppes. His grandfather has taught him that family was the most important in a pony's life, and in the past, has beaten Lance several times if he didn't honour his own blood.
The announcer began the countdown. Only know Lance realized that he had a disadvantage. His opponents decided to use the Lance, which is attached just under the left wing to the side of his body. But Lance had a tactic prepared for this.
His enemy charged at him. He ran fast, steadying the lance with his wing. He might have been frightened, but his thoughts were clear, ready for battle. Lance used his wings to evade the attack to the left. The sand whirled up a bit, as both passed the same spot at a short difference in time.
Lance turned around, preparing his own charge towards the unequipped side, and noticed that he was a bit to late. His opponent was already turning around. As long as Lance is head on to his enemy, he couldn't dare to charge. Aiming the lance in a still position is one of the first things pegasi learn in the academy.
He was waiting for another charge. He was walking slowly around his opponent, ignoring his surroundings. His enemy just turned on the spot, awaiting Lance to charge.
Lance was to concentrated on his enemy, and he didn't notice that the arena wall came nearer and nearer, leaving him not enough space to evade to the left. The moment he noticed, his opponent took advantage of it, charging again. Lance was agitated. He had to evade to the right, where the weapon of his enemy was waiting for him.
He did it nonetheless, even if he could have flown in the air. It was dishonourable to do this in the arena, but it wasn't forbidden. The lance graced his left wing, leaving it bleeding. Lance cursed, thinking about a solution to the whole situation. He ran away some steps, gaining some distance to prevent his enemy to beat him with the lance.
His enemy had thought exactly the same, turning around as fast as he could. He missed Lance only for a few centimeters. Lance ran a bit longer, widening the distance between the two fighters. The fast turn had let his enemy lose his balance, but Lance didn't notice. After his enemy was stable again, he turned around, and was waiting for another charge, this time keeping still himself.
The next few moments, silence was dominating. The spectators were excited to the ever nearing conclusion. The narrator was caught into this unexpected tense battle. And both fighters stood there, regaining some stamina and awaiting an attack from one another. It became a battle of patience.
Lance stood there, analysing the battle so far, while keeping an eye on his enemy as well as his surroundings. He had reached a state where everything was irrelevant which had nothing to do with the battle. In the academy, it was known as "Fighters Guilt". Only pegasi which were born for fighting could reach it, and it first appeared in a special case of a fight between two academy comrades, long before the first arenas were built.
He noticed immediately that his opponent began to move. He prepared to evade to the left. His enemy seemed to move a bit slower, as Lance thought of a faster way to win. But it was a lot riskier. He decided to do it nonetheless.
His enemy's Lance came into range. He made a sidestep, and the Lance missed him for only a few millimetres. He wouldn't have evaded if the enemy was experienced, but this wasn't the case. Lance had to turn his body and head, to bring his sword into position before his enemy ran past him.
Lance was fast enough, and the sword cut through the neck of the pony, leaving a huge gap in the throat. Blood spurted all over the sand and Lance. He thought that the crimson was beautiful, before putting his sword in his enemy's heart, to end his suffering. He drew a small whirl in the sand with the blood, honouring his enemy and the gods. He walked to the door, ignoring the cheer of the spectators, and left the arena. He had shown that he could fight.
Author's Note
I hope that you liked this. I wanted to give Lance a bit of a past, a first real fight.
I wanted to ask if I should continue with another Siege Story or Siege Story Short or if I should try something knew.
I can tell you right now I won't make any comedic or romantic stories, I just don't have enough fantasy to come up with good jokes or a god storyline for a romance.
Comments are always appreciated.
May the winds carry you all towards your destinies.