The Dark Tide (part 1)

1.

A sharp thud could be heard in the small clearing as an arrow embedded itself into the warrior's shield as he spun around to face his assailant. With one swift movement he rolled to his left with his hand dropping to his boot and pulling free a small knife. In the blink of an eye the knife had left his hand and was buried down to the hilt in the forehead of the hidden archer.

As the archer fell out of his tree, he began to disintegrate into dust, by the time he would have hit the clearing floor there was nothing left of him. The warrior felt a movement behind him, he flattened himself to the ground just in time to see a stroke from a large axe swing by at head level. Turning to face his opponent the warrior felt himself sink into the all too familiar feeling that he experienced when he was fighting, all turmoil disappeared from his mind and he knew that he would not lose this fight. Within a second he had taken in everything he needed to know to win this small skirmish.

He was facing a man at least a head taller him and by the look of the muscles on his arm a great deal stronger. But that was not the important thing, the smug sneer on his attackers face told the warrior that this was someone he could defeat with a little cunning. The warrior fell into a crouching kick that he knew his opponent had been expecting, at the last second he rolled away as the axe plunged into the ground where he had been just a moment before. Rising swiftly he brought his knee into the other man's chin as he struggled to pull his axe free, his jaw snapped together with a solid crack, the warrior whipped his sword out of it's sheaf on his back and brought it around in a quick swipe that ended the fight. Like the archer the man quickly unravelled into dust and was gone before his head had time to hit the ground. The warrior looked on this without the slightest hint of surprise.

He sat down on a rock to get his breath back and gazed out at the clearing. There was a small stream running along the south side that soon plunged down into rocks just the other side of the trees, the trees themselves were waving leaves of a golden colour at this time of year, rays of light shone through them and threw dappled shadow onto the floor of the clearing. This was a place where he had spent a lot of his time, he felt peaceful here like he did in no other place. The small moment of introspection was interrupted by a sardonic clapping coming from over his shoulder.

Without bothering to turn round the warrior called out, "that was good but not good enough my friend".

"Hah! Then why can I hear you breathing from here, admit it, that was good", came the reply in a voice that was easily the equal to the clapping.

At this the warrior turned round to face his friend and mentor, "alright, maybe that was better, I'll admit that the last man had me worried for a second" laughed the warrior.

"Yes I could see the fear in your eyes, but you controlled it quickly, well done. One day maybe I will let you fight me rather than these training spirits". At this it may be forgiven to expect the warrior to give another laugh, for on appearances alone he looked clearly the superior to the old man he was facing but he had long known that appearances could be deceiving.

"Hmm, well your silence tells me that you have learnt something at least" said the old man, but beneath these words were a pride that he felt when he looked upon his pupil. He had been training Jorek since he had been placed in his care eighteen years ago, and now at the end of it there was someone in whom he could trust to carry out the great task set before him.

The old man gave Jorek an appraising glance, he had been trained well and was strong, although he was not an especially big man he had a wiry strength that could go a lot further when it came to it than any other he had known. His hair was long and dark and pulled into a tail at the back with a simple leather thong, but the thing that was most noticeable, even in the encroaching sunset was the sparkle that he had in his intense green eyes. They were eyes destined to see many great things, and the time had almost come when they must see the first of those.

"Come master, we should go and have some food, I am weary after that fight" called Jorek. The old man knew this to be far from the case but led him back to the cabin nonetheless.