The Light and Darkness: The Clash

Prologue



THERE is a realm between spiritual and physical. It is a realm not seen by human eyes. It is a realm of war that has not been revealed to man. There are people that exist in this realm according to different rules.
There is only one race of people in this realm, but there are two choices. Light or Darkness. The Light is of God. The Darkness is of Satan. Those who choose the Light are given unique power from God. Those who choose the Darkness are given power from Satan.
Although each person is an individual, there are no commandments from God except to go to the Light. When the people are in the Light, their choices are always of God. In the Darkness, the people make the choices that are of Satan.
In this realm, there are four regions. The North, the South, the East, and the West. The Northern region is where the Light rules the greatest. Only remnants of Darkness exist there. The Southern region, however, belongs to the Darkness. In the West, there was a compromise. The Light owns half of the land and the Darkness owns the other. A great wall has been built there, separating them. The East is where the last wars are being fought. Each side fight over the whole land, refusing to give in to each other. All of the regions were involved in the Great War, but the East is the only place where it carries on.
This is the story of the Great War of the East fought between Light and Darkness.



Chapter One

Year 7054 of the Great War


JADE planned her next strategy of attack. They would have to hit the army of Darkness hard. Another village of Light had just been burnt to the ground by those minions of evil.
She slammed her fists on the table. Why couldn’t they just fight against the Light army? What was the point! They attacked her from every direction psychologically. This had never happened under the Dark Generals of old. It was this new, young one.
Darius.
His very name made her bones tremble. And she knew that’s exactly what he wanted from her. She let out a growl, and forced herself to look at the map once again.
They had taken the village of Mercy by force, but Jade had managed to defend the larger city of Fortitude, and killed many Dark warriors. It was one of the many tough choices she was forced to take as the General of the Light army.
If she knew Darius like she thought she did, he would come back for Fortitude. He hated losing, which might be his only weakness. He was a genius when it came to war tactics, but he was a sore loser. He always returned to what he lost at least once. And he always came with twice the force and twice the strategy.
She gathered her weapons, slipping her two sleek swords into their sheaths, and loading on her throwing knives and fighting daggers. She walked out of her tent, searching for her second in command. He was hard to miss.
Captain Jordan of Light was about fifty feet away, talking with some of his fellow soldiers. He stood over eight feet tall, and his width was more than proportional to his height. He didn’t even fit through most doorways, and his tent had to be specially made for his size. She guessed he had to be over five hundred pounds. The enormous battle-axe he carried weighed as much as she did, if not more.
“Captain,” she called.
He responded immediately, his black, sweat-covered skin glistening in the sunlight. He stopped about a foot away from her. He towered over her. She was tall, standing as six feet even, but she looked like a shrimp next to him.
“Yes, General,” he said, bowing.
“I leave to go back to the city of Fortitude. The next attack will come there. I will warn the village and ready the guards. The next morning, you will lead two thousand of our best soldiers to the city. Inform the soldiers.”
He nodded. “Be safe.”
She smiled, and ran back to her tent. With a giant leap, she saddled her horse and took off. In truth, she could run faster than her horse, but she wouldn’t be much good to the city if she was exhausted.
Speed was only one of her many gifts. Strength, battle tactics, intelligence, fighting, and leadership were her main other gifts. She was truly blessed from God, but it required much responsibility. Along with the responsibility of using her gifts for good, she must bear the responsibility of leading 15,000 men and women of Light.
At age 27, she is the youngest general of Light ever appointed. A general was usually between 60 or 70 before he or she was appointed. With the average life span being over 200 years, that was considered a young age.
Jade knew what she had to do. She knew her goal. She had to defeat this man named Darius. He was the biggest threat to ever plague the lands of the Light. In the elder days, the war was fought on the battlefield alone. Darius was hitting them at their hearts. He was killing their women, their children, and their saints. He stopped for no one, and showed no mercy.
She vowed to stop his reign of terror six months ago, when he was appointed as the General of Darkness. She still hadn’t fought him face to face. They had four battles before, and both were on the battlefield leading their soldiers. But all four times, they had missed each other. She had won the first battle, but he made up for it on the second. She barely managed a victory the third time around, but he crushed her the fourth.
She shook her head. He was strong. He had strong plans, a strong mind – and from what she learned from the witnesses of his personal carnage – a very strong sword. She had to face him this time. She needed to, for her own peace of mind. She had to know that he wasn’t invincible. If she couldn’t kill him, then hope was lost.
She pushed her horse harder, riding as fast as the beast would carry her.

ÀÀÀ

Darius threw one of his daggers into the air, and caught it with practiced precision. He had been known to catch arrows and thrown daggers in battle. It was an art he had mastered long ago. It came in handy when intimidating an opponent.
“My lord, where will our next attack begin?” Marc asked.
Marc was a big man, and evil to the core. That was why Darius had made him his second in command. Marc had been known to kill men for looking at him wrong. Although he was not as talented as some of his other soldiers, he was far more ruthless. His black eyes looked lifeless.
Darius liked him for that.
In fact, he knew that within in the next six months or so, Marc might try to kill him. Darius was far too skilled and smart for Marc, so he had nothing to worry about. He would kill his captain long before his treachery came to the surface. But, for right now, Marc was very useful where he was.
“We are returning to Fortitude. And we travel now,” he responded.
“But my lord, they will expect an attack,” Marc insisted.
“Are you questioning me?” Darius asked, glaring at his subordinate with his black eyes.
Marc paused before bowing. “Forgive me. I will make the army ready.”
He left the tent immediately. Darius stood up and walked around his large tent, dagger still in hand. He tied the tent flaps shut and began to undress. He would be ready for battle this night.
He was down to his undergarments, and was about to begin dressing in his battle gear, but he caught his image in a mirror. He paused and looked, interested in the image that stared back at him.
It was a full-length mirror, so he could see his whole body. His long black hair was clumped together and hung to his shoulders. His black eyes seemed to suck in any light around him, leaving his face in shadow. He lifted his chin to get a better view of himself. His skin was not black, nor was it white, but it was a mix between the two. A ferocious looking tattoo ran across the left side of his face, down his neck and stretched into long sinewy fingers across his chest and back.
He stood three inches over six feet, and his two hundred and thirty pound weight was proportional to his height. He was all muscle. His arms could wield the two deadliest swords on the battlefield, and they were just as dangerous without weapons. He had crushed skulls with his bare hands before.
His broad shoulders accented his barrel chest. His abs were rock hard, and obloquies accented them on the side. His back was just as ripped as his front. His legs were ridiculously solid, and they flexed with every movement he made. They could propel him faster than a horse, and he had jumped clear over houses before.
His armor was nothing particularly special, except that he didn’t wear much protection. He had a black leather breastplate, forearm guards, thigh guards, shin guards, and boots. He didn’t need particular flexibility in his legs, except for running, jumping, and kicking when needed. Rather, he used his arms for everything. Many times, he would use his bare hands for his killing rather than his weapons. It could be more interesting that way.
His actual weapons were wicked looking and matched his personality perfectly. He had twin single-bladed swords. They were sharply curved. The blades weren’t quite three feet in length and they were thin, but wide. No one had matched his swordsmanship yet, but he didn’t take much pride in that. He preferred to use his other weapons, which were multiple daggers and two tomahawks. All of his weapons had blackened blades, giving them an especially ferocious look.
He actually didn’t particularly stand out with his looks. But once in a fight, you couldn’t miss him. He had yet to meet his match in battle. Still, he had not fought this Jade of Light yet. His soldiers told him that she was quite a fighter. He was determined to meet her this time.

ÀÀÀ

Jade had always wondered what it would be like if she were not a person gifted with the art of war. She was in a large room, given to her by the leader of the city. A full-length mirror stood against the wall by the window. She was looking in it, contemplating what was looking back at her.
She had the looks of a beautiful woman, though she did not feel it. Many of her subordinates had commented on her beauty, and she had gotten the feeling that they were hoping to start a relationship. However, she couldn’t afford to do that. Though, inside, she longed for it. She looked back into the mirror and studied her looks.
Uncut, light blonde hair that fell past her waist. Before any battle, she braided it to keep it out of her face. Her face was very fair and unlike what a warrior’s should be. God had truly blessed her with both skill in battle and beauty outside of it. Her blue eyes shone like gems on her fair, white skin.
She was well proportioned. She was muscled, but not overly so, and one could tell she was a woman no matter what she dressed in. Her attire looked good on her. She was dressed more skimpy one might say than most of the women that joined the army of Light. This was how she felt comfortable, and she wasn’t going to try and “cover up” anything if it risked her skill in battle.
Her armor consisted of a breastplate, forearm guards, and boots. All were made from black leather. The breastplate and forearm guards were shot with silver designs. She wore a thin shirt under her breastplate, but it was sleeveless so as not to hinder her movement. Besides that, she wore a loose white skirt that came to mid-thigh. Underneath, she wore a pair of tight-fitting shorts to cover up.
Many asked her why she would not wear the traditional pants of a warrior, but she had tried and nearly been killed. She found she couldn’t move right in them. Her gift of fighting involved so much flexibility, and she found that she would dodge swords and arrows so closely that they would catch on the pants. So, she went her way, and it worked.
Her weapons were thin and deadly. They went along with her abilities. They could only properly be used by someone who was fast, agile and talented. She carried two twin swords. They were curved, single-bladed katanas and a little over three feet long each. The blades themselves were about three inches over two feet, while the handles were approximately another twelve inches. They both strapped to her back. She also carried multiple daggers, both small and large, on her belt. Some were for throwing, others for fighting. All of her weapons were shot with the customary silver on handles and some on the blades.
She turned away from the mirror and looked outside. The city of Fortitude. It was a big city. One of the biggest in the East. Jade would not give it up.
Although her army did all of the fighting at battlefields, it wasn’t the only one in the Light. Each city had an army. The city of Fortitude held an army of 2,000 soldiers. Most had not seen battle, but their numbers were still strong.
Jade’s army was the main army of Light. They traveled from place to place, splitting up if they had to. Their job was to make sure that all the lands were kept safe and the cities were well guarded and protected. They saw the most fighting of any army.
A knock sounded on her door. She adjusted her armor and answered it. It was the leader of the city of Fortitude. The heavy-set man had been very kind to Jade. Right now he looked like he had seen a ghost.
“What is it?” she asked.
“The army of Darkness,” he gasped. “A scout has seen them marching for us. They’ll be here by nightfall! Five thousand, strong!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Chapter Two



THE armies had been gathered from every part of the city. They were going to get hit hard, and she knew it. They had two thousand, but the enemy had five thousand marching for here. And the army of Darkness was no push over. If Jordan didn’t make it to them within a few hours of fighting, the city would be lost.
Jade patrolled at the highest wall, surveying the warriors she had. Most hadn’t seen battle before. But there was courage underneath that surface fear. She could see that. As long as Jordan made it when he was supposed to, they had a good chance to make it.
She could see the invading army only two hundred yards away. It was a terrifying sight for someone who had never seen it before. A cloud of dark mist seemed to follow all of them, which only added to the darkness of the night. The army itself was almost animal-like in appearance, and deep bellows and roars preceded them. They didn’t march in any kind of order; they just made sure they stuck together.
“Archer’s, ready yourselves!” she screamed. “Bring the catapults to the front! Load them!”
They had a total of five hundred archers readied, with a hundred on the outer wall, and the other four hundred on the ground below and behind the main wall. The Darkness stopped a hundred yards off, began to chant in the cursed language of Satan, and parted in the middle to bring forward their battering ram.
There were two outer walls and gates to this city, which made breaking into the city very annoying. The first outer wall was twelve feet tall and half as thick, built from the gray rock of the East Caves, with a sturdy metal gate in the center wall. There was twenty feet of space between the first wall and the second. The second wall was the true defense. It stood fifty feet above the ground and was twenty feet thick. Its gate was like a blown up version of the smaller one, but it was reinforced with five thick metal chains that ran horizontally behind the gate, which they had installed not two hours ago.
So, the battle begins.
“First Archers!” she shouted. “Send Volley! ”
The one hundred archers loaded arrows and released at the same time. The arrows streaked the three hundred feet out and down to the army, each arrow hitting either a person or a shield. Looked like they had gotten about twenty of them.
“Second Archers!” she screamed, addressing the four hundred archers on the ground. “Release!”
All four hundred arrows shot upward, over the wall, and down to the Army of Darkness. They got a lot more with that volley. The army below rearranged themselves, roaring and chanting louder than ever, and still continued to move the battering ram forward, running right over their fallen comrades.
“Ready volley!” she commanded, screaming over the chants of the Darkness.
Before she could give a command to release the arrows, she heard a deep bellow from below. It must have been Darius, and he cried out in the wicked tongue of Darkness. She didn’t understand it, but she looked down to see twenty dark figures sprinting from the middle of the army, towards the walls of the city.
She turned back to her archers. “Ninjas! Archers, defend yourselves!”
The twenty ninjas of Darkness leapt on top of the first city wall. Jade hurled a throwing knife down and caught one of them in the throat. The ninja went down, clutching her throat helplessly. Most of the ninjas were women, because of their greater flexibility and graceful style.
She would have continued the attack on them, but the ninjas reared back and made the gigantic leap of forty feet up to the last city wall. A few of the archers had the sense to shoot them in midair, but most of the ninjas made it all the way up without trouble and began their ruthless attack on the archers.
Jade took off, leaping from her tower post and onto the wall. She had to defend her archers. A ninja intercepted her with a scream, swinging her wicked sword at Jade’s neck. Jade leaped back, pulled her dual swords out and charged. Ninjas were talented but they were nothing compared to her.
The ninja swung again, but Jade parried with her right sword and stabbed forward with her left. The ninja didn’t know how to react, and Jade’s sword penetrated her at the heart and went all the way through. Her eyes widened in surprise. Jade retracted her now blood-covered weapon and kicked the dying Dark warrior out of the way. She leaped forward into the heart of the battle.
Her archers were dropping like flies. The ninjas were mowing through them. Not for long. She crashed into the middle of three ninjas. Her two swords struck out like snakes, beheading one ninja, stabbing into the chest of another, and finishing the last with a strong slice to her throat. Her archers were starting to fight back.
She leapt to the next grouping of ninjas—four this time—and quickly finished them off. An arrow sliced through the air right next to her. It wasn’t one of their arrows. The Darkness had set up their archers. She looked to the side to see her archers being hit by thick, sturdy arrows. Most of the ninjas were dead, but they were keeping the archer’s attention on them.
Jade dove over her archers, cutting down another ninja as she did so, and got her ground troops attention. Ten catapults had been set up and were ready to go.
“Fire catapults!” she screamed, waving her arms. “Fire the catapults! Second Archers! Keep firing! Keep firing!”
The response was immediate. Arrows flew by from below, arching in the air and reigning down on the Army of Darkness. They still advanced. Their battering ram was now beating against the front gate. Many had already climbed over the first wall and into the space of the first and second walls. They were beginning to beat on the first gate from their side, helping to weaken the important joints to quicken the battering ram’s work. That was a mistake. She had figured they would do as much.
Before she could give any more orders, her catapults launched. Boulders and gigantic bricks flew over her head and down onto the middle of the Dark army. Good. Very good. They were making a very strong stand, and it was nowhere near finished.
Jade sheathed her swords and grabbed a bow and one arrow from a fallen warrior of Light. She dipped the arrow in the intended oil pan and lit it afire with the torch behind the oil. The enemy was still piling in between the space of the two city walls. She leaned over and shot the arrow directly into the ground. Everything caught aflame. The viscous oil she and the other warriors had slicked the ground with worked perfectly. Flames spread all over that twenty-foot space, lighting up whoever was there, which was at least a hundred warriors. Their pain-filled cries pierced through the night sky, giving the sign that the Light was winning.
This was not the first time that she had used fire as a weapon, and Darius had figured out how to stop it. She watched as bags of dirt and sand were hurled over the walls by all the warriors, hitting the flaming ground and smothering the fire. It didn’t take long for almost all the fire to be put out, but that was no surprise. The fire had done its job and killed at least a hundred of the warriors.
She heard a loud crash as the first gate was broken through. This was where it was going to get interesting. The battering ram crashed its way through the gate, moving onto the larger gate. She looked out to see gigantic things moving. They were bringing up another battering ram, this one even bigger. That wasn’t the only thing that was big. They were also sending up three very heavily armored giants. Men that must have been at least nine feet tall. Even bigger than Jordan. They were armed with either battle-axes or hammers, which were bigger than most people, and they were covered in thick armor to further ensure their protection.
“Archers! Keep up the volleys!” she screamed. “Catapults, keep firing!”
The new battering ram was peeking through the first gate, the giants right behind it. She wished she could delay longer, but she had no choice. She turned to her left at the tower where she once was and signaled the young man in there by waving her arms. He acknowledged her by waving his and not two seconds later a deep, guttural horn sounded through the air. It sounded once more, and war cries were heard on either side of the Dark army.
Five hundred warriors of Light emerged from the dense forest on either side of the Dark army, charging them fearlessly. It was a surprise move and a great risk. If Jordan didn’t appear soon, those five hundred warriors could all lose their lives. They had all volunteered to go. The other 1,500 warriors remained inside the walls, ready to defend the city at all costs.
The 250 warriors on the right hit the army first, mowing through them easily at first because of surprise. The 250 on the left had the same effect, but eventually their charge was stopped as the Darkness began to engage them. Jade wasn’t going to let them fight alone.
“Stop the catapults!” she commanded. “Second Archers, aim through the gate! First Archers, keep firing!”
She wasn’t about to let those brave men and women be killed from their own people. Jade unsheathed her swords and closed her eyes, preparing herself for the battle. Then, she jumped clear off the wall, down fifty feet, and landed into the enemy’s invasion. She landed hard, but didn’t roll, which intimidated most of the Dark warriors she now faced alone. The battering ram and giants were nearly through the first gate. The rest of the Dark army in the space charged her.
Twenty of them were on her at once. She moved like lighting. Her swords flashed out, cutting, stabbing, and slashing. She jumped, kicked, and even punched at the same time, her moves fluid and running into one another like poetry. She sliced down, beheading one enemy, continued the motion and roundhouse kicked another enemy, causing him to fall onto the ground which was soon followed by one her swords stabbing down into his exposed chest. While doing that, she used her other sword to parry three attacks by the enemy and then leaped into the air, slashing down with both swords, splitting the skulls of two warriors. She drop kicked the one in the middle, landed on her feet, swords shot backward to stab two warriors behind her, then she spun around to continue the attack on the other behind her. She completed these moves within seconds, letting her instincts and experience take over. Before she knew it, the twenty warriors were dead, their blood spilt and sprayed onto the ground.
Jade stood still in a battle stance, ready for more, but the army was hesitating, looking at her nervously. She was covered in blood, though none of it was her own, and she had killed twenty of their warriors within ten seconds. Before the rest of the army could make the choice to continue the charge, the three giants broke through.
The first one who reached her roared, and drew his gigantic hammer over his head, intending to smash her straight into the ground. She waited. He swung downward with tremendous force, but Jade dove to the side at the last moment. She skidded to a stop as his hammer hit the ground, and she jumped backward right for him. Her right sword shot out with a twirl of her thin body and sliced the giant’s throat cleanly. He roared, but it came out like a gurgle and blood squirted out of his opened neck like a fountain. He clutched at his throat desperately, but it was no use, and he fell to the ground face-first, dead as could be. Jade jumped onto his back and pointed her swords out toward the remaining two giants, which were on either side of her. She waited for them to make a move.
A random arrow shot out at her, and she cut it down with her sword with a flick of her wrist. The giant to her right tried to use it as an advantage and charged, swinging down on top of Jade with his battle-axe. Jade rolled off of the dead giant, and towards the attacking one. The giant cut his dead friend clean in half after Jade moved. She rolled towards his legs, and stuck one sword into his exposed calf. He roared in pain and took a knee in response. Before he could even think of defending himself, Jade leaped up, cartwheeling in mid-air, and landed on her enemy’s shoulders. She had to splay her legs wide because of his gigantic neck, but she was able to lock her ankles so she could hang on. She lifted his chin with one hand, and used her sword to slice across his exposed throat. She lifted her legs and rolled down his back before he could hit her or panic. It didn’t take long for him to fall to the ground, dead just like his friend. She removed the sword in his leg, and when he didn’t respond, she knew he was dead.
There was one giant left. The entire Dark army had ceased now and was only trying to defend themselves from the arrows her archers were shooting at them. None of them wanted to risk attacking her. The last giant snarled at her, but didn’t make any move. She was about to charge, but then she saw what she really wanted.
Darius.
He was on top of the first city wall, beside the giant, and he was watching her. Or was he waiting? She couldn’t tell, but a sick smile creased his face when she saw him. She felt her face grow hot in frustration. She was going to bring the fight to him. Forget the giant.
With a battle cry of rage, she charged the giant head on. The beast of a man responded by rearing back his axe to swing sideways and try and slice her in two. She ran faster, letting her legs carry her at top speed, and the giant swung. She jumped up, over the axe, her feet landing on his helmet-covered head, and then she leapt off of that and onto the wall that Darius was waiting on.
Darius had his dual, wicked-looking swords in his hands, ready at his sides. He looked in a lot better shape than Jade. She was breathing hard, bloodied from battle, and beginning to grow weary. The sight of his arrogant grin and stance brought some energy back to her muscles, and the thought of her swords ripping him apart made her even grin a little.
“You killed two of my giants,” he stated.
“I’ll kill the third when I’m done with you,” she replied.
He smiled a little and brought his swords up, ready for the fight. She did the same. Arrows shot by overhead, and the battle continued with her 500 warriors attacking from both sides, and the Darkness having to use their great numbers to their advantage. She heard the battering ram beginning to beat on the main gate, and the one remaining giant helping it.
Darius suddenly charged, jumping towards her and swinging down with both swords. Jade held her swords up and intercepted his attack. He was strong. Very strong. She let him attack first.
Darius began his viscous attack. He slipped one sword along hers, and suddenly swung across. She parried, but didn’t even have time to counter. He spun, using his other sword to swing across her middle. She parried again, and he continued his spin, swinging for her neck with one spin and her belly with the next. She continued to parry and back up appropriately. He paused for just enough time for her to advance her own attack.
She surged forward, stabbing with her left, then right sword. Darius shifted his body to both sides, effectively dodging the attacks. She slashed across with her right sword, intending to cut into his chest. His sword shot up, and rested against his chest, effectively blocking her sword with his. She saw her mistake immediately. Over-commitment.
Darius couldn’t use his swords to hit her, but his elbow was right there. He swung it outward, hitting her temple hard. She staggered away, and managed to block the two swings from his swords, but his foot struck out in a straight kick to her midsection. Jade managed to jump backward with the kick, helping to take away from its force. He was very strong, and very skilled. She was going to need everything she had to fight him effectively.
Darius jumped up, at least ten feet into the air, coming down with his swords directly on top of her. She waited until the last second, then ducked and rolled under him. His swords came down on nothing, and now he had his back to her. She planted her feet and leapt backwards, flipping over him and slashing at his neck and head with both swords. He blindly blocked the attack with his swords and swung out in an attack as soon as she landed. She easily blocked both of his weapons with two movements from her one hand, proving she was faster than him.
Darius retracted his attack in surprise at her speed. His mistake. She leapt at him in an unrelenting sequence of attacks. She stabbed forward with her left, retracted, stabbed with her right, sliced with both, slashed upward with one and down with the other. Darius had to duck and weave out of some of the movements because his swords weren’t parrying fast enough. He tried his best to attack by stabbing forward from one of his dodges, but she saw it all the way. She sidestepped his sword and lashed out with her foot in a straight kick right under his chin. She couldn’t have caught him more cleanly. His head snapped back, and he leapt thirty feet backwards, flipping once and landing in a fighting stance. He was smiling evilly.
“Impressive. I must admit it, you are good,” he said, his voice low and raspy.
She could have said the same for him, but she wouldn’t give him the pleasure. “I’m going to end you,” she seethed.
He smiled evilly again. “Come and end me, then.”
She charged with a battle cry. As soon as her feet started moving, he charged as well, letting out a deep bellow. They clashed right above the gate, in front of both armies. Their fight turned into a dance of sorts. She remembered the man who had trained her in the art of war told her that when she found a worthy enemy, they would dance, not fight. Now she knew what he meant.
It was a series of practiced thrusts, slashes, and parries. Their footwork looked more like dancing, and their swords were merely extensions of their arms. It was the dance of death. Jade’s movements were fluid and quick like a snake’s. Her footwork was as light as a bird’s, giving her the illusion that she nearly floated. Darius was almost the opposite. His movements were hard and strong like a tiger’s. His swords were like the cat’s claws, quick, precise, and wielding more than enough power. His footwork was made in hard, sturdy steps that gave the impression he was unmovable. But when he leapt or kicked, his strength and control was obvious.
Both of them had the best swordsmanship anyone had seen. Their attacks and defenses became complex. Jade slashed out with one sword, releasing the other into the air, rolled onto the ground, came up, caught the sword and stabbed with her forward motion. Darius parried the attack, and came with his own complex maneuver.
She watched in fascination as he spun both swords in his hands, then began to move them together and around his body in illusions that looked like the swords actually hit each other or his body, but they spun out of the way just in time. He charged, spinning his body and the swords at the same time and slashed down the with the dizzying sight. She was having a lot of trouble seeing the attacks and how to the parry them, but she was able to duck and dodge out of the way. He continued that, backing her up until she finally saw her parry and completed it. When both spinning swords tried to cut her down from opposite sides, she stabbed forward and caught them just in time with her own.
This put her in a good position. She had his swords caught on the outside of each of hers, so that he was exposed for this split second. She quickly brought both her swords together, trying to cut his throat. He unexpectedly leaned back, and swords cut right above his face. She tried to bring them down on his chest, continuing their motion. But he was fast enough to parry and take a step back.
She was about to attack again, but a familiar horn sounded from beyond the battlefield. Both her and Darius turned to look out through the dark night. Jade could recognize him even from so far away. Jordan was here, and with him two thousand of the most talented soldiers in their army.
She heard Darius curse. He turned back to her, and then looked over the wall. “Sound the retreat!”
The Darkness actually still outnumbered them, but the warriors Darius had brought along were most likely pathetic. Strong enough to attack a city, but easily replaced because they weren’t anything special. It was the smartest choice when attacking a city, but a poor one when fighting someone like Jade. This wasn’t his plan. A battle like this had been planned to go throughout the entire night and then some. Now, he had no choice. This would be one of his more embarrassing defeats.
She heard the sickening sound of the horn of Darkness, and they began to scatter. If any army knew how to retreat, it was Darius’. She had seen it time and again, how they would split away from one another, staying in different sized groups and going straight for cover. Retreating was a good time not to have organization.
He turned back to her, and let her have his evil and arrogant smile. Then he leapt away. She quickly grabbed a small dagger from her belt and hurled it straight at his back. She was amazed when he twirled around and caught it with one hand, leaping off the wall and down to his warriors at the same time.
That was it then. Their first meeting. She had hoped it would be their last as well, but she now wondered just when he would die. It could only be by her hand. No one had the talent to kill him except her. And she still wondered if he had only toyed with her. She gave the fight everything she had. She still had a lot left in her, but there were no more hidden trick she could pull out. That was as good as she was and no better. Was it as good as he was? Was that all the talent that he possessed? Was he capable of more?
That didn’t matter now. She would find out at their next meeting, which she feared wouldn’t be long. She realized then just how tired she was. It was true she could have gone much longer in the fight, but now it was all catching up to her and the adrenaline was beginning to slow. She took a seat on the edge of the wall, watching the retreat. The Darkness began their run towards the forest on either side. Jordan was charging, but he was too far off to catch any of them. Soon the Darkness had completely vanished, only leaving the dead.
The cry of victory started from the warriors that remained on the battlefield, and soon everyone joined in. She smiled. Yes, it was a good victory. Out of the 500 men that had been on the actual battlefield, it looked like they had lost about half their numbers. The Darkness, however, looked like they had lost twice that many.
Jordan ran straight for the first gate, leaping up on top of it. That was a big deal for someone his size, and he had to plant his hands on the edge of the wall to help him, but he still made it. He ran directly for her.
She smiled. It was good to see him. He immediately took a knee before her. “Forgive me. I did not know they would be here this soon.”
She almost laughed and gently placed a hand on his gigantic shoulder. “There is nothing to forgive, my friend. There was no way you could have known.”
He nodded, still kneeling beside her. She sighed. “I fought Darius.”
He looked at her, eyes a little wider. “And?”
“He’s good. Just as good as me, maybe even better,” she said sadly. “I fear that we’re going to have a hard time killing him. I don’t know what we’re going to do, Jordan.”
He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “We’ll make it through.”