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Raiden's Storm Chapter 97: In Concert
🕑 Added 2024-12-04 00:00:18 +0000 UTC[Edric’s POV]
The duel began in earnest, with Jaime swinging overhead. Loras parried the strike, slashing at the Lannister’s side. In a flash, Jaime withdrew… yet Loras’s blade narrowingly grazed his left arm.
No way it ended that quickly…
“Is that the end of the duel?” I questioned, grinning slightly as I came closer.
Upon inspection, the wound had opened to a few drops of blood.
“That… is first blood.”
“Hardly a proper strike.” Jaime scoffed. “If it were a proper duel, I would’ve won.”
“You looked so confident beforehand as well. It’s quite unfortunate.”
“You.” Jaime turned to Loras. “Surely you are not satisfied by such a fluke of a victory?”
“You will not be fighting Ser Loras further. I am your opponent from now on.”
“... You?” Jaime looked surprised as he looked back at me.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared now.” I chuckled, drawing out my Nodachi from my chest. No one had quite gotten used to that magic technique as most of the audience looked bewildered.
“... What did you just do?"
"Drew my sword," I replied bluntly.
"From yourself?"
"Yeah. I learned how to do it a good while back."
I spoke as if it was perfectly normal.
"It makes one wonder if you truly are a god." Jaime mused.
"Heh." I chuckled. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."
"... What of the sword? I've not seen its kind before."
“I forged it myself.” I proudly announced, drawing it out of its long sheath before handing the sheath to Dallin. “Ain’t she a beauty?”
"Quite the long blade."
"I'd say it's only fitting." I flicked my wrist and twisted its blade in the air. It was well-balanced, not too heavy nor too light. It was time to test it out in proper combat. "Using a shorter sword would be a waste of my strength and size."
"The length of your sword matters little if you don't know how to use it."
I thought about it for a moment and kept my laughter. That sentence had more than one meaning.
"Right. Let's begin."
I began with an overhead stance, slashing down from a distance. As Jaime reacted, I turned it into a feint and twisted my blade in an almost quarter-circle motion to strike his side. He reacted to that, too, blocking the blow. His speed was greater than I anticipated, yet...
With my superior strength, I pushed him slightly off-balance behind the weight of my sword.
He's strong, too. More so than I expected.
Before I could continue my attack, quick as a flash, Jaime stepped forward and closed the distance between us. In the blink of an eye, I felt the deadly presence of his sword. That sword hand had slain a great many foe...
My reaction speed was just quick enough, leading to me narrowingly sidestepping the attack.
"A lesser man would've died there," Jaime remarked.
"Don't flatter yourself. That slow of an attack wouldn't even graze my squires."
"... Let's see how long you can keep your confidence."
"As long as I draw breath."
He seemed to smile slightly before advancing once more.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
His attacks were deathly swift and precise, each following up after the last in an effort to shred apart my defence. I reacted quickly, keeping my distance as I blocked each strike. As he continued, I began to adapt to his style and...
Deflected his sword to the side.
I advanced forward and left one hand from my sword, unpredictably elbowing him right in the face.
He stepped forward, and I kept advancing, seeing an opportunity. I grasped the Nodachi with both hands and thrust right to his chest. Unable to withdraw in time, he put up his sword in defence only for me to twist the angle of my strike into a slash against his neck.
It had all happened in an instant, catching him off guard.
"Lightning strikes twice."
I grinned slightly, observing his bewilderment. There was a resounding sound of awe among the spectators.
Though I wasn't as fast as Jaime overall, I was more explosive than him.
"I didn't even see that one," Jaime admitted, his eyes widening. "When did you have the time to sharpen your skills to such a degree? Your defence is nearly peerless."
"Well..." I chuckled, stepping away and lowering my sword.
I wanted to glance at Raiden.
Lots and lots of beatings...
"Practice, I suppose."
"Let us spar again."
He spoke, his eyes lighting up. Was it excitement in those eyes? Perhaps he had grown tired of beating on those who couldn't fight... or he sought to defeat me in a similar fashion. Regardless, I wasn't going to back away from a challenge.
"I'll best you as many times as you'd like," I answered with a casual tone, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly.
"Don't get too arrogant now, boy."
"Have you looked in the mirror, Ser?" I raised an eyebrow.
We'd clash numerous more times as I carefully observed his techniques and began to use them against him. He did something similiar, learning to predict some of my more unpredictable strikes. It became more of an everchanging game of chess than a spar. Any sort of mistake on my end led to defeat... and it was no different for him. However, I won more clashes than I lost, utilising my reach and strength advantages.
Now, if we were in full plate armour and I was using a warhammer... well, the result was obvious.
However, when it came to the Others, my warhammer had been... far less effective. It was certainly impactful when enhanced by magic, yet an enhanced sword was swifter and deadlier. On the other hand, my armour was no more than silk to their slim blades of chilling ice. I couldn't fight the Others the same way I would armoured human opponents... which is where all the sword training comes in.
Ultimately, my bow, sword and warhammer had their strengths and weaknesses. The range of the bow, the impact and raw power of the warhammer, the swiftness and precision of the sword... to overcome the Night King, I knew I needed complete mastery over all three weapons.
...
During my sleep, I decided to grab some of the books I had been planning to read but didn't have the time for. Raiden sat down next to me beside the cherry blossom tree. She looked surprised by my choice of night time activity, raising an eyebrow.
"Books won't sharpen your sword."
"Books will sharpen my mind, however." I smiled slightly. "Knowing the mysteries of this world is quite important. Perhaps I'll discover something about my icey nemesis..."
"Hm... you believe so?" She grabbed one of the books and began flipping through the pages.
Though, as I looked closer, it looked like her eyes were moving rapidly. Was she reading that quickly? Now, I'd proudly call myself a quick reader, but she made me look like a sloth...
I returned to my book and focused on its contents. Though, before I knew it, Raiden closed hers.
"Bored already?" I chuckled.
"Finished."
"Finished?" I raised an eyebrow, glancing at the book she put down. It certainly wasn't a small one.
"Finished."
"Hm." I looked at my book as a feeling of inadequacy crawled up my spine. That's likely a speed that I'd never reach. "Feel free to continue..."
Something that would've taken a night or two turned into an hour at the most. Though, her having the knowledge wasn't nearly the same as me having it. Afterwards, she taught me everything worth noting which definitely helped.
"It's rest time," Raiden stated once her lecture came to a close.
"I don't feel tired at all." I shook my head. "Let's spar instead."
"Though your body recovers perfectly in this world as it sleeps, your spirit is a different matter entirely. " Raiden observed. "Being entirely awake every hour of every day impacts your soul. I know how eager you are for greater power, however... there is only so far you can push yourself before you break. You know this full well."
"I know what's at stake, too."
"Then you'd be wise enough to relent. Your people don't need a sharp sword alone." She raised her hand, tapping my forehead, "They need your mind to be sharp just as well"
"..." I chuckled, realising she had twisted my words against me. "Fair, fair. I'll rest."
As what had become a routine comfort, I rested my head on her lap. Given that my magic had been awakened by her and blossomed because of her blessings, our bond was beyond physical or mental. It was spiritual in a sense. Her being was bound to mine, and the opposite was no less true. Her touch brought a warm, serene sense of... home.
Almost instinctively, I had gently taken her free hand and held it close to my chest.
"You're beginning to put what I taught you into practice. The old you would've lost to Jaime Lannister in a contest of swordsmanship more often than not." She remarked, stroking my hair.
"Yeah, my sword skill wasn't up to par," I admitted, looking up at her with a slight smile. "Isn't it quite uncomfortable for you to sit in that position for so long?"
"I was not made to be deterred by discomfort."
"The world is a sea of troubles, discomfort and the like. Being capable of enduring it is, indeed, a fine trait to have... but."
"But?"
"Well, we had a saying in my world. 'Work smart, not hard.'" I chuckled, stroking my chin. "I wasn't too great at that one, admittedly, but I did learn a few ways to make things easier while still accomplishing the same amount of work."
"And how would that apply here?"
"Well... just because you can stand discomfort doesn't mean you should." I rolled to the side and pulled her by her hand.
She ended up rolling on top of me, her violet eyes glowing a softer shade under the moonlight.
"I swear you didn't drink a thing, yet..."
"Yet?" I grinned slightly.
"You're bolder than ever."
"The whole lap-resting thing was your idea; I'm only improvising it. Wouldn't it be more comfortable for both parties if we embraced each other?"
"The cheek." She smiled slightly in doubt as her hair began to sprawl over me. "Are you certain it's not an excuse to do something more devious?"
"Whatever do you mean?" I blinked innocently. "I am just a thirteen-year-old boy seeking comfort."
She leaned in closer, whispering in my ear.
"And nothing more...?"
The blood in my body rushed, and my rising heartbeat reflected that. She was moving differently... and quickly, at that. I hadn't expected it.
She sat up, looking amused.
"I don't think I've seen you look so flustered in a long time."
"Well... you did catch me off-guard." I glanced away. She's been learning a bit too much from the seductresses around me. "Besides, I never expected you to act in such a way."
"Don't look so surprised when you play with lightning and find yourself struck by it."
"I'll need to be more careful, then."
"You don't have to be if you don't want to."
"... Isn't that a bit fast?" I blinked.
"You believe so? Our time might very well be limited, Edric Storm."
"What makes you think that?"
"You should know, deep down." Her expression looked bittersweet. "There is no certainty that both of us will exist past this winter. Especially..."
"No." I sat up, tightly grasping her left hand with my own. "We will overcome it. Together."
"You said something similar before during one of your drunken episodes," Raiden remarked.
"And what did I say, exactly?" I asked out of curiosity.
"A world without you isn't worth living."
"Not a single word was a lie." I smiled, looking right into her eyes. "I wonder what I did after..."
"You should be able to guess."
"Shall I replicate it?"
Instead of answering my question with words, she edged closer and pressed her lips against mine. After the first, it felt all too natural to my body. One kiss became many as we laid down together and spent the night in each other's embrace.
In a way, our embrace was more beautiful and warmer than a night of lust would have been.
~
[Daenerys' POV]
With the escape of her dragons and the subsequent chaos that erupted, Daenerys focused on Meereen's stability and had her men investigate how the Great Pyramid had been breached. Meanwhile, the Golden Company had sailed far out of reach, their purpose unknown. While they had hindered her, it didn't seem like they had truly taken one of her dragons... but it was likely that their intent was to claim one.
She was torn between staying in Meereen or going back on her word to focus entirely on searching for her dragons.
Then, a curious middle-aged man sought an audience. An eyepatch covered one eye, while the other was deep blue to the point of nearly being purple. Barristan seemed surprised by his presence, if not disapproving. Who was he?
Missandei recited her titles as per usual, which seemed to amuse the individual.
"The Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Shackles and the Mother of Dragons... must get tiring having to say all of that every time there is an audience."
The man scratched his black hair.
"What are you doing here?" Ser Barristan voiced his confusion.
"Who are you?" She raised an eyebrow, adding to his question.
"A sellsword... with a dream."
He spoke with a fierce determination.
