Bladeraver (pt43) (276 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 2 on 9 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Tactile Ire (View user info) at 2007-04-01 18:41:46 EDT
MANTLING
The next two caught him in a small clearing. It was twilight-lit but in his mind sun dappled the smooth loam. The creatures were set at his ten and his two. The one on his right reared back and sounded. From his right side, and behind him towards the river, came answering calls of deadwood violently breaking. The young man tried to move limbs suddenly leaden and stupidly slow.
The creature on his ten, forward and to the left, lowered its front legs. With all four sets on the floor it could move faster, turn tighter. The beast rushed him, mandibles shifting restlessly to flash long black fangs.
The Mantling tried to charge toward the rushing beast. Or a part of him did. Much of his attention was taken with those glistening black fangs. With the image of them sinking through his father clothleaf shirt.
Fear soaked his limbs. His core raged and gibbered, commanded and cried as his body froze and stumbled.
The charging spider was on him now; it hit him with its powerful forelimbs and pitched him to rolling across the loam. The worgspider lifted its front legs and reared back, fangs bared to strike at his prone form.
His mind raged inside his rebelling body. Frantically he pushed his will against his fear. Demanded to control this emotion as he controlled all others. He couldn't do it. It was too big. He was too weak. He was going to die. "Survive this" thundered and his mind was sundered and all was lost.
He couldn't do it.
At the very last he gave up. It was all too much. He couldn't fight. Couldn't control himself. Couldn't win. Couldn't 'Survive this.' And so, he just let it all go.
And Ramoon's voice came riding a memory as soft as a night breeze. "You must flow. In a fight you will feel fear and anger. You cannot resist or control them. But you must not let them control you. Fear is the mind killer. Anger makes you stupid. You must not control them but harness them. Let them wash through you as a part of you. Just float. Just flow."
Just flow.
Reversing the direction of his roll the Mantling turned his body back the way he came, right under the arc of the falling fangs.
*
The line reshaped and Ishant was there, his new Toothpick held easy and light. His eyes shining. He seemed to float over the muddy creek-bed as if it were the firm footing of the training ground. He spun the weapon around his shoulders and sent it stabbing out, using the full reach of the polearm. It slammed into the anus of one of Flens' attackers causing it to rear back and fall away, circling, dying.
"Leave her," Ishant called, "she is not for you!"
He leapt forward then, coming to her side as he fell back to earth, polearm tucked under the armpit, braced one-handed as he fell. The worgspiders pulled back from his assault. She hacked out to the other side and then slid back into the protective circle of his weapon's reach. Changing grip to hold its centre of balance, he set the polearm spinning above his head. The whirling ironwood haft and steelwood head kept the spiders back. "Flens," said Ishant, "get back to the line. I need room to move."
She scrambled for the safety of her fellows. As soon as she was behind their thin line Ishant, a grim smile on his lips, began to dance the forms.
Alone and surrounded by the enemy, he began to work his way back and forth, using his speed and superior reach to drive the pressing beasts back. He spiralled across the line. Sweat streamed down his face and fatigue sapped his limbs but his polearm never ceased its deadly flight. He worked the forms perfectly. Spinning and jumping he single-handedly drove the press of arachnids back from his people.
Irritated by his presence, one of the beasts rushed in to try its luck against the whirling weapon. The polearm came around in a horizontal cut across the centre of the beats's face. Ishant didn't even pause his dance as the worgspider's head exploded with the force of the blow.
Another animal leapt towards him. He seemed not to notice it until his dance took him around in a spinning, sweeping chop. He extended the move, turning his weapon's head up and jumping, splitting the belly of the falling worgspider while it was still some twenty feet from the ground. He came down on two of the animals as they pushed into his landing zone. The polearm arced out and one of the beasts was dead even as he landed, the other mistimed its attack and was knocked sprawling by the heavy ironwood haft.
Ishant was smooth, irresistable motion as he bought his people time.
More ropes had been thrown down; more people were making the climb. As they made the top they were set to making what defensive preparations they could. They checked weapons. They set a perimeter. They tried not to waste the few seconds Ishant bought them with his skills.
He sheared legs like wheat. His attacks shattered heads and broke bodies. No worgspider came within the whirling arc of his blade and lived. As he worked he sent the weapon spinning, sweeping, chopping and stabbing in a blur of motion. The hinged climbing spikes restricted his movement slightly but he managed to compensate. Thinking about them, and about the grizzled old man who even now watched from the top of the far ridge, his grim smile broadened a little.
He felt his fatigue like flask of nitro within him. Soon he was going to make a mistake. He would miss his wife. He spared a quick glance at Flens. And that was all it took. He missed his footing as he came down from the next jump, stumbled slightly. The weapon tipped into the ground and grey forms were upon him.
But in a way that was alright.
He had seen her face.
Jeena was beside her - to save her from this.
And he had seen her face.
User Reviews
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2007-04-04 16:06:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Damn
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2007-04-02 16:25:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by genericIntent (user info) at 2007-04-02 11:38:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-04-02 11:04:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by rorrim (user info) at 2007-04-02 06:23:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
It appears i've been missing 42...(Enters the archive...)
Submitted by Fey (user info) at 2007-04-02 04:28:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by orph (user info) at 2007-04-02 04:00:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked Ishant.
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2007-04-01 21:45:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Benny (user info) at 2007-04-01 21:19:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You know, I think this series just keeps getting better and better. The action sequences in these last couple of instalments have been brilliantly described.
I can't wait to read the next one.