Chapter 26:

Where there is the tree of knowledge, there is always Paradise: so say the most ancient and most modern serpents. - Friedrich Nietzsche

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Current Year: 1259

"Alright then." Calanthe intoned with a smirk. "Let this duel… BEGIN"

Eist dashed into the fray quicker than I expected. He began rushing at me, crossing the distance remarkably quickly. I stayed light on my feet, skipping off to my left to avoid his furious charge. He turned his body towards me and let out a fierce poke with his word.

I defended myself and angled his weapon down towards the ground. His blade briefly hit the dirt and chucked up some dust. I kicked the king in the chest and pushed him away from me slightly.

He was pushed back by a couple of feet, but his head never faltered. His armor defended him from my blow, but I could tell it might have hurt. I might be young, but a light kick made by a mutant, such as myself, can probably break the ribs of a normal man.

"You kick like a horse, son." Eist commented out. I knew he lost his breath from the kick, but he was hiding it remarkably well. Just not well enough for a witcher's senses.

"Need time to breathe, my lord?" I asked with a tad bit of sarcasm.

"Haha!" Eist let out a hearty laugh while he patted his stomach lightly. "You know, you remind me of myself when I was your age. Always looking for a fight."

Skelligers truly know how to have fun, other northern kings would never act like this. Skelligan culture teaches you that you have to earn everything. Even a peasant can become a great warrior and even a Jarl. Eist might be from a prominent Skelligan clan, but he was not pampered. I imagine he was fighting in raids and battles when he was only a tad bit older than I was.

Both of us let out a tiny little coil smile at our antics. Despite the fun we were both having, Eist kept his eyes on me, never glancing away for a moment. Similarly, I kept my eyes on him at all times. I don't necessarily have to win this duel, but dear god do I want to. I was having a good amount of fun

As I was thinking these thoughts, Eist suddenly moved. He crossed the distance between us and maneuvered his sword at an angle that was meant for my ribs. I almost instantaneously leaned my back into a flexible arch, barely avoiding the blow by a hair's breadth. I quickly backed up for a moment, intent on getting some distance.

Backing up seemed to be the right thing to do, but right after I moved away, Eist followed up his slash with a brutal overhead strike. I blocked the blade, but the blow was quite fierce. It made my knees bow slightly.

Slowly, Eist began pushing me back during our blade lock. He was using his superior size and stature to his advantage. I was being backed up to the end of the circle. The king was probably trying to force me out of the circle, it would allow him to achieve victory through a disqualification.

I would not allow this, the battle was not over yet. I quickly hopped slightly off my feet and landed a heavy headbutt into the king's nose. In doing so, he was forced to release our blade lock and back away for a moment. He was stunned, but there was no blood leaking out of his nose. It was definitely broken, but I imagine he's had plenty of broken noses in the past. The cartilage inside must have already been destroyed by now.

I assaulted Eist with a quick flurry of blows. Eist was stunned, but managed through my assault with a series of parries and blocks. During the exchange, I was able to land a slight nick onto his armored torso. A nice crisp clanging sound was heard across the courtyard. *CLANG*

There was silence for a moment, everyone in the courtyard had their eyes on us.

"That should be the first strike landed, my king." I said with a proud tone.

This battle was shaping up to be quite a duel. I haven't had this much fun in ages. My body was a lot stronger than it was in the past. Being able to test out my newfound strength like this is incredibly satisfying. However, if I was able to use my signs and bombs… This fight would probably have been over within the first minute. Sorcery and mutations are a terrifying combination.

"Aye, you have landed the first strike." King Tuirseach said with a jolly tone. Warriors like this live for the battlefield. "Let's take it up a notch then, Witcher!"

Eist ran at me with his sword in both hands. I met his trike with one of my own and we allowed ourselves to enter into another blade lock. It only lasted for a moment before Eist landed a powerful knee into my sternum. I sucked up as much air as I could before the blow landed, it would help me while I bided my time to regain control of my lungs.

After Eist landed his heavy knee, he attempted to land a superficial strike against my chest. I dived myself into a roll before the blow could land. I landed near the middle of the circle and quickly got back up to my feet.

King Tuirseach didn't want to give me time to rest and quickly turned himself my way and continued his assault. He exchanged blows filled with the power of a beast. He was attacking me like some sort of berserker. Each swing of his sword was followed up by yet another vicious cycle of sword moves. I dodged, parried, and blocked; doing everything I could to weather out this assault. During this unfortunate exchange, I was able to recover my breath once more. With the oxygen returning to my lungs, so did my confidence.

I dashed to the other end of the circle in a swift roll. I needed to bide some time.

Just like Eist, It was time for myself to get serious as well. I had recently acquired a few new moves when it came to swordsmanship. Courtesy of my very powerful serpent friend, of course. After I had recovered to my feet, I gracefully got into one of the new combat stances that filtered through my mind.

I bent my knees at an almost too low of an angle. My muscles were tensed, ready to explode into a movement at any notice. I held my sword at an angle in one hand while my other was laying tensely near my thigh.

Eist noticed my new sword stance and approached me warily. When an opponent switches up his style mid combat, it's usually a sign that they've been hiding some of their abilities. The king continued to approach me slowly. One he recognized that he had gotten close enough to strike, he waited for a moment in trepidation before lashing out with a swift chop at my arm that wasn't holding my sword.

I was waiting for this moment. Using my mutagenic strength, I jumped straight into the air before the blow could reach me. I twisted myself mid way through my ambitious combat maneuver. I twirled up and over the king and then landed myself perfectly on my feet near the backside of Eist. He was still overextending himself from his earlier blow he attempted to land on me.

I quickly ran over to King Tuirseach, he quickly turned his body in order to try and face me. It was too late. I landed two feral blows onto his chestplate.

"That makes two and three, my king." I said while stabbing my sword into the ground beneath us.

"So it is, Witcher. So it is." King Tuirseach said while stabbing his own sword into the ground.

The king slowly walked up to me at a menacing pace. After a few moments, we stood face to face. Although, he was obviously looking down on my smaller body. We both stared at each other for a few moments. Our eyes piercing holes into eachothers brains.

Suddenly, Eist held his arm out to me. I smiled at the gesture and took hold of his forearm in a mighty grasp. We both looked at each other and let out fierce predatory smiles. It had been a good fight.

"Attention everyone!" Eist looked away into the crowd while still clasping my arm. "This bo- No, this warrior has proved himself! I have not known defeat in many an age. Tonight, we shall feast! A good battle has been fought here today and good battles should be rewarded with celebration! This man shall have the honor of sitting at my table alongside my family!"

Everyone in the crowd, besides that rude knight from earlier, were shouting with excitement. A feast was cause for a lot of joy during these times. Everyone was laughing and shaking their fists into the air. It was sure to be a good night to remember.

After that little show that was put on by the knights, everyone resumed their duties and went back to work. The time for training had ended, they were most likely about to make their rounds and patrols.

Eist eventually let go of my forearm and then patted me on the shoulder a few times. He told me that it had been a splendid fight and that he would assure the queen that I would be able to study under Mousesack. I thanked him for the effort and appreciated his words of gratitude.

Before he left, he also assured me that if I continued to stay, good fights like that would be a part of the routine. Not many warriors were capable of matching him and I had proved myself beyond the norm.

I made a friend today. Bonds that are forged between two Skelligan warriors in the heat of combat last a lifetime. I had earned his respect and he had earned mine. He was an incredibly proficient warrior for someone with no special abilities.

After everyone had left, only Mousesack and I remained. He was standing near the door with a surprised smile on his face.

"Well well well, my apprentice. You did excellent. You brought no shame to your master during that fight." Mousesack said with a hearty laugh at his joke.

"I'm glad I could honor you, master Mousesack." I replied with a small chuckle at his attempt at an arrogant joke. Mousesack was the farthest thing from arrogant.

"All jokes aside," Mousesack answered with a bit of shocked expression. "How did you do it? I know that you're a witcher, but you are only ten years old. You actually managed to defeat a warrior of King Tuirseach's caliber? It's almost preposterous."

"Well," I stated. "Thank the men who trained me, master. During witcher training, there is no stopping. There is only discipline and order. No one comes out of that school being any less than a master swordsman."

"I believe that wholeheartedly after seeing you win against a king without receiving an actual blow from his sword." Mousesack said while nodding his head. "Besides this wonderful duel we were able to witness, there is still more to be done."

"What do you mean by that?" I questioned Mousesack while tilting my head.

"We have a few more tasks on the agenda for today before the feast." Mousesack replied. "If you are going to be my apprentice, you will need to help with some of my duties."

"Alright, that's fair enough." I said while nodding in expectation. "What will we be doing?"

"Well, let's consult the list. cáemm" Mousesack said while waving his hands in a strange manner and speaking the word for 'appear' in elvish. A small book entered his hsnads the moment he did so. It wasn't anything lavish, more of a notebook that served the purpose of a daily planner. "The first thing on the agenda is to see to Princess Cirilla's studies. I am one of her main tutors. After that, I will need some help in the alchemy lab creating a few decoctions for some of the guards who were injured in a skirmish the other day. After that, I must attend my duties as advisor to the queen. She frequently consults me on matters of political and magical natures. It will be good for you to hear some of this, perhaps when I eventually pass away, you can become the new advisor if you're talented enough."

"Alright, sounds simple enough. Not to brag, but I'm an incredible alchemist so that part should be the easiest. Anything else on the list?" I asked while picking up the sword I planted into the ground earlier and returning it to my sheath.

"Yes, if we managed to finish all of these tasks within a reasonable amount of time…" Mousesack paused. "I believe that we should be able to start setting up the foundations for your magic training."