Black Radiance

Chapter One

"Pick up your feet, Quincy! You're flat-footed."
I focused hard on staying on my toes, just as Rook said. The clang of metal on metal, sword on sword, echoed through our village as we sparred. I was fourteen years old, and had been practicing swordsmanship ever since I was seven, but that mattered little compared to my brother Rook. Rook was twenty years old, and far superior to me, or any other fighter in the village for that matter, in swordsmanship. In fact, his undisputed mastery of the blade had earned him the title of commander of our village’s militia. No matter how clever a move or how fast a strike I used, Rook parried almost effortlessly. There was no break in his invisible defensive wall, and his offence was no less amazing. We were just practicing, and only wearing tattered leather armor. Therefore, we were not truly striking at each other, simply trying to outmatch the other. Even so, Rook had no qualms about leaving a small cut on my thigh or shoulder to remind me to keep up my defenses. However, there was one small weapon I had against him that he could not match.
“Lightning!” I yelled as I raised my palm to Rook. Without warning, a small ball of electricity formed in the palm of my hand. The glowing blue orb then shot directly toward Rook. I saw a mix of surprise and excitement appeared on his face as he prepared to defend against my spell. The moment it came within reach, Rook slashed at the electric ball, hitting it dead on. He immediately regretted it though, for the energy surged down his blade, and electrocuted him, causing his sword to fall to the ground.
“I thought I told you no magic. You know I can’t counter it.” Rook said, as he grasped his trembling hand.
“I know,” I answered. “But there’s no other way to get the best of you. You’re too good.”
“Fool,” he scolded. “If you would devote yourself to developing your swordsmanship, rather than playing around with magic all the time, you could easily catch up to me. I rarely practice nowadays, only with you. I am done improving. You, however, have great room to improve. You practice daily with Brent and me. If you truly focused on swordsmanship, I’d wager you could best me before the year is out.”
“But I have to learn to use magic,” I protested. “I’ve been studying under Brent since I was seven, so that when I’m seventeen I can take over his job as this village’s protector. I have to learn to use all sorts of weapons.”
“I disagree. All I am skilled at using is the sword and the bow, yet there are few threats to this village that I could not handle,” Rook retorted.
“Brent says not all dangers are expelled through sword and arrow.”