Ghost In Blood by Owen Jones

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Kater had not wanted to challenge the Biare, far from it, he actually feared this man, having seen him fight a duel with a highly rated Basai warrior.
Clinically dissected by Nogash, the Basai warrior had not even lasted a turn of the sand.
Such ruthless, frightening efficiency bordering on the awesome had long ago convinced Kater that to challenge such a man would have only have one conclusion, his own death.
It was however left out of his hands when rumours began, and then persisted, about how little Nogash thought of the current Calashan champion, namely Kater. When fresh news surfaced, mere days later, that Nogash had gone as far as to cast doubt on the skill of Calashan's warriors, as a result of a new recruit being champion, Kater was honour bound to issue a challenge, in order to satisfy Calashan pride.

To Kater, sodden through and in sight of the command post, with the deluge seeming to focus on his whole body, it still felt like yesterday.

Thick, dark grooves cut a giant series of spider webs across the dry, cracked fighting circle as Nogash entered, as tradition dictated, from the north. It had always been the custom that because that person had been challenged it was he - or she, women warriors were much maligned but not unknown, that asserted moral superiority in the beginning - thus they entered from seemingly above their opponent. Nogash was everything that was expected of an excellent swordsman, strolling casually into the circle with graceful movements that wasted no energy on habitual physical eccentricities, his look spoke of lightening, his eyes showed nothing but victory.
Tall for a Biare, Nogash stood a good finger taller than Kater, with a whip lean body that hosted no excess fat or muscle. Overlaid on such a powerful physique, because despite his thin body it radiated tremendous power, were the ancient body tattoos that symbolised a warrior of the Biare. Many times as a child Kater had been fascinated with this bodily defacement, studying his opponent's he had realised that he was facing a man who had killed almost all the best fighters from every region, not just one or two but many of them.
Kater's eyes had already adapted to the harsh, brilliant white light emitting from the double suns, Kash and Dthom, long before tears began rolling down Nogash's cheeks upon entering the circle straight from his lavish tent. There was some comfort to be gained from the knowledge that the Biare would have to suffer some discomfort before killing Kater, although Kater wondered how comforting this thought actually was.
After all the traditional customs had been observed, both fighters began a series of personal stretches that each had developed from their duration in the army. In Kater's case it involved swinging his arms and watching his opponent swiftly glide through an elegant range of motions which quickly became electric attacks and solid defensive moves. Sweat poured down both men's bodies, evaporating before quenching the arid ground around them, as each took up a stance signalling readiness.