Vect shook himself in an attempt to get rid of his jitters. "It's ok Vect, you're just going to fight Duinir. Just the one who trained you as a child, the best warrior in your house's service, the person you've never seen lose a match." Vect tried to focus on the feeling of the wooden boards that made up the floor of his bunk. It helped him feel grounded, the sensation of ground beneath his feet. His heartbeat slowed slightly.
Vect heard the crowd outside milling about, waiting for the show. "Time for the show. I must win. I WILL win!" He stepped out the door and into the student's cheers. He focused on the feeling of the soil shifting with each step as he neared the sparring ground. Jack handed him his training sword, it felt so light, so alien to him. 'What's happening to us?' Duinir stood on the opposite side in his armour, training sword at his side. Vect had opted to keep himself light as possible and wore only his pants he had purchased yesterday, leaving his chest and feet bare. The sensation of the ground was helping calm him some, but as he took his position on his side of the field, his anxiousness rose more. Taking a deep breath he straightened up and let the claw scars on his chest show proudly as a sign of achievement. Gorg stepped in the center and reviewed the rules.
1. No killing
2. Only weapon allowed was the training weapon provided
3. No intentional maiming or attempts at permanent damage
All else was free game. He back out and gave the signal to begin.
Duinir made the first move and lunged forward, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him, trying to end the fight quickly. Vect jumped sideways to avoid the attack, surprised at how fast both he and Duinir moved and judging by Duinir's expression so was he. Vect made a stab at the back of Duinir's knee at the armour joint, but was intercepted by Duinir's own sword. Vect jumped backwards to get a little distance to plan, but Duinir pressed the advantage and forced Vect to parry the flurry of strikes. The clang of the blades rang out in the camp, mixing with the crowd's cheers. Duinir's blows would occasionally hit, causing a slow buildup of wounds as Vect's movements slowed with each hit. The attacks continued for 30 seconds, but to Vect it felt like an eternity. Impatient to end the fight and not cause much harm to his prince, Duinir brought his boot down in an attempt to trip him up and keep him in one place. Instead of stepping back like Duinir expected, Vect lunged forward at full speed and tackled Duinir pushing him backwards. Duinir nearly toppled, but regained his balance. Now he was backpedaling, fending off his student's blows, astonished at the strength behind each hit. He furrowed his brow and locked blades with his former student. "I'm impressed, you have improved, but now I'm going to end this," Duinir shoved Vect backwards, and punched his right hand into Vect's left knee, sending him sprawling backwards as his leg gave out. 'A pressure point attack? I can't feel my entire leg. I'm going to lose.' As Vect looked up at Duinir raising his sword to deliver the final blow. 'I won't see my friends ever again. Jack, Lelu, Carl, Mai, Beverly. Sara....NO!' Vect felt like a fire was lit inside him. Using his sword hand, Vect redirected the blow sideways thanks to his training and increased strength, and the other grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it towards Duinir's face. Duinir expected him to try something as it was a lesson he had taught young Vect. "Brigands don't fight with honor so show them none. Be prepared for dirty tactics." 'Good lad. You did remember, but I trained you.' He closed one eye and uses his offhand to shield the other. After this he stepped forward expecting him to roll away and regain his footing like he was taught. What he wasn't expecting was Vect surging forward with all his might and head butting Duinir. 'Where did he learn that?' He staggered backwards clutching his bleeding nose and trying to ignore the headache he had. 'Fool now you are going to be in even worse....shape?' Vect brought the pommel of his sword down on Duinir's right shoulder, causing his whole arm to go numb from the impact. Duinir dropped his sword as his hand lost feeling. 'But how?' Duinir looked right to see his armour was caved in slightly. When he looked back, Vect was pointing his sword at Duinir, struggling to keep standing on his one functional leg. "Do you yield? Or do you wish to continue?"
'He is breathing heavily, I may have broken a rib on him. If I continue, I'll beat him.' Duinir looked in the crowd and saw a lone succubus. Her expression one of worry, a dread he had once seen in a woman he knew long ago. A fear of losing something, no someone, precious. 'Vect my lad, you really know how to pick them.' "I yield. My armour is damaged, my arm incapacitated, and I'm starting to see double from that headbutt. You have beaten me." Duinir held up his left hand to show he had seen how the fight will end. As the crowd rushed to congratulate Vect, Duinir slipped away. Gorg was standing by the shaman Gratz's cabin. As they entered leaving Duinir's 2 guards outside, Gorg turned to him. "Why did you lie?"
Duinir groaned, "trust me it was no lie. He would have won eventually if the fight carried on. We would just be in worse shape. I really can't feel my arm and my vision has gotten worse since that sneak attack I'm sure I owe to you," he had an edge to his voice. "But you did your job and trained them well."
Gorg began to chuckle, "I didn't teach him that, it was just him doing what his instincts told him."
"Look at this! He dented my armour! What are you feeding them?"
"Its not anything he ate recently that did that," came a voice from the back of the cabin.
"What do you mean?"
"Vect, Sara, Jack, and Lelu have been progressing faster than most of the other students ever have before. And I think I know why."
"What? Is something wrong with him?"
"No but if they were chosen to eat the champion fruit, it means something old took an interest in them."
Duinir straightened up at the mention of the legendary fruit. "How will you know?" I've got to do more tests and observations, but it seems to coincide with the stories I've heard. But it's not just the fruit. One must put effort into their training to benefit from the magic. It just boosts the results of training to higher degrees than those without having eaten it. Now lie down so I can treat you."