The Death Bridge

Raven returned his smile.

"But, before we start training with magic, let's see how you fight without it", Axil said as he grabbed his sword.

"Lad, don't be too harsh on her...", Brongr said as he walked away to sit down in the shade.

Raven smiled mischievously as she unsheathed her sword. {"I think he should be saying that to me…"} , she thought as she hid her sneer.

"Are you ready lass?", Axil asked as he and Raven approached each other, their weapons drawn.

"I was born ready, laddie."

"Oi! Don't make fun of me!" Brongr yelled at the two of them.

Raven looked at him. "Make fun of you?! I wouldn't dream of it!".

But before she even had time to react, Raven felt something hit her legs and found herself lying on the ground with a sword pointed at her.

"Distractions", Axil said.

Raven stood up and pulled a twig from her hair.

"There's always a distraction…", she said as she took in her fighting stance.

Axil swung his sword at Raven's head, but the blow was quickly parried.

"Not bad…"

He attacked again and again, but each blow was effortlessly parried. Raven smirked at him.

"Tired?", she asked mockingly.

"No, you?"

"Not a bit!", she said as she attacked.

Her blows were parried with ease.

"Where did a scholar learn to fight like this?", Raven asked as they circled each other.

"I'm not a scholar", Axil said as he swung his blade at her.

"Then what are you?", Raven asked as she quickly sidestepped at the last moment.

"Just a lone warrior", Axil answered curtly.

"Here to kill big old Beastie, we know…", Raven said as she blocked a blow, holding her blade horizontally.

She pushed the blade up and pushed Axil backwards. She retreated and they circled each other once more.

"Beastie's going to be so happy to have you in his stomach!", Raven said as she lunged at the white-haired man.

The sound of clashing steel sounded through the crisp morning air as the two blades met.

He deflected the blow and grabbed her wrist, twisting it slightly. Raven cried out in pain and dropped her sword. The next moment she found herself in a headlock. She reached behind her, trying to get free. She grabbed the hand behind her head. She could feel the muscles in Axil's arms tense as he choked her. She fumbled around until she found his thumb. She grabbed on tightly and pulled her hand upwards, twisting his hand away from her head. She thrust her elbow backwards into his stomach.

Axil grunted and loosened his grip.

Raven quickly twisted out of his grip and swirled around. She jumped slightly into the air and kicked him in the c.h.e.s.t and he stumbled backwards.

{"Still steady on your legs huh? We'll just see about that!"} , she thought.

Her leg swept across the soft grass in a vicious arc that knocked Axil's feet right out from under him. Raven quickly grabbed her sword but when she turned around, the white-haired man was already back on his feet.

She lunged at him and he sidestepped, grabbing her wrist once more.

This time, Raven was prepared and quickly pulled back with all her might. Axil lost his balance and stumbled forward. Suddenly, a small but solid fist made contact with his stomach, nearly knocking the wind out of him as another hand twisted his arm behind his back.

"You're holding back…", Raven said as she let go of his arm and kicked him in the back.

She swiftly backed away, sword in hand. Axil recovered quickly, grabbed his sword and walked closer.

"Yes well, I don't want to make the old man angry…", he said loudly as he glanced over his shoulder.

Raven looked past Axil and her mouth fell wide open. Brongr was lying in the shade, fast asleep.

"Well, someone is tired", Raven said dryly. She lightly tapped Axil on the shoulder with her sword. "Now you don't have to hold back."

Axil chuckled as he turned back.

"It seems I don't have a choice"

"You never had one anyway", Raven said as she blocked a blow.

"Who taught you to fight like this?", Axil asked as they circled each other.

"You're looking at her!", Raven said as she thrust her sword forward.

Axil quickly deflected the sword.

"You taught yourself? Impressive"

"Oh, don't try to flatter me…it's not going to help you", Raven said as she dodged another blow.

"I'm not trying to flatter you…", he said as Raven lunged at him.

He swiftly sidestepped and before she could turn around, his arms had already wrapped around her, causing her to drop the sword in her hands.

"I was just trying to…distract you", he said in her ear.

Raven struggled but his arms locked hers in place.

"I warned…you about…distractions", Axil said as he struggled to hold Raven.

Raven glanced down and brought her heel down on Axil's foot with all her might. He bent forward at the sudden pain and Raven slammed her shoulder into his jaw. He jerked his head back but his iron grip didn't falter.

"What…do…you do?", Axil asked, struggling to keep Raven still.

"What do you mean what do I do!?", Raven bawled as she tried to escape his hug.

"You're…trapped, Raven! What do you…do?"

"How about I show you?", Raven said as she quickly brought her fist backwards, momentarily breaking her arm free from his hold.

She felt it hit something solid behind her head. But the grip around her body only tightened. She felt as if Axil was trying to press all the air from her lungs.

"That…may work…on a normal…person…I'm not…a normal person", Axil said, trying to ignore the stinging pain on his jaw.

"Yeah, I realized that…", Raven said dryly, panting.

Her throat was burning from the cold air. "{Think Raven, think…"} , Raven thought as she kept on struggling.

"Okay! You win…", Raven quickly said as she stopped struggling.

She relaxed her body and held her hands up in surrender. She felt the grip around her body loosen slightly.

She suddenly jerked her head backwards, hitting Axil in the face. The grip around her body instantly tightened.

Raven stepped forward and pulled them both to the ground with all her might. They tumbled down and Axil loosened his grip.

As Axil stumbled to his feet, Raven kicked at his leg and he fell down on his knees. Before he had time to react, Raven's arms wrapped around his neck.

Suddenly, the white-haired man disappeared. Raven lost her balance and fell down on her face.

{"Wha- what?"} , she thought as she stood up.

A sudden kick in her back sent her tumbling back down. She rolled over and in an instant, Axil was standing beside her. His foot pressed against her throat.

"Hey! Not fair!", she croaked.

"A fight is never fair…"

"You know, you are…right!", Raven said as she firmly grabbed hold of his foot and twisted it.

Axil cried out in pain, losing his balance and falling to the ground. Suddenly a knee painfully pressed against his stomach and he felt a sharp blade against his throat.

"Do you surrender?", Raven asked, panting.

Axil looked up at her smiling face and slowly held his hands up in surrender.

"Good for you…And for the record, I won…without magic…"

Axil chuckled and pushed the blade away from his throat. Raven stood up, quickly sheathing her dagger and helping Axil up from the ground. She walked to where she had dropped her sword and picked it up.

"So, what was that? You just disappeared into thin air!"

"It's called Shadow Jumping…it's an ancient trick that was used in battle for centuries. It allows one to teleport from one place to another…but there's a catch. One can only teleport if there are shadows. No shadows, no Shadow Jumping…"Axil answered as he retrieved his sword.

"So you basically jump from the one shadow to another?"

Axil nodded. "You're a good fighter…" he said as he walked to stand in front of Raven.

She looked suspiciously at him.

"Uhm, thanks?", she said as she took a step back.

Axil chuckled softly.

"But you won't last a second in a real battle with me unless you learn to control your magic ", he stated.

Raven arched her brow at him but stayed silent.

"First, let's start with how to summon your magic", he said as he walked closer…