Everdog: Tale of the First Female Knight

Chapter 48 - The Archer's Sword

When people are asked what they learned in their first lesson of sword fighting, most of them would answer with the oberhau, a simple strike from above. It was the first attack move that every student learned in sword fighting. However, this was not the case for Everin. The first lesson that Sir Williams taught her was not about how to attack but the basics of swords.

He taught her the differences between various swords and their intended uses. One-handed swords were more effective when paired with shields whereas two-handed swords were intended to give the longest reach. He showed her their strengths and their weaknesses and taught her the ins-and-outs of the weapon before teaching her how to spar. Double-edged blades were better for thrusting whereas single-edged blades were better for slicing. The point of the lesson was to teach her how to fully utilize her weapon. It would be a tremendous advantage to her in any fight to be able to integrate whatever weapon that she held in her hands.

From this, she was also able to learn a very invaluable lesson. That her weapon was only a tool, an extension of herself. It could be detached and morphed into anything, but ultimately without a mind and body, it cannot wield itself.

When Everin got into the short serpent stance, the knight was expecting a sly launch attack from her. He didn't expect her to throw her blade across the ring. As the flying sword propelled towards him, he lowered his blade in hopes of striking it down; however, it was already too late. The attack had completely caught him off-guard.

Recovering from his uneven footing, the astonished knight found a new and large dent on his chest plate. It was never seen before that a participant threw his sword like a spear or an arrow at another opponent. People started stammering from the audience wondering what had happened.

Spectators and participants alike were wondering if the move that the lad performed was valid. The referee has yet made his call and was organizing his thoughts. Although the weapon unthinkably departed from the lad's hands, it accurately struck the opponent. Coming to a quick ruling, the referee called three points to the lad for landing a thrust to the chest.

Some people in the audience began to root for the lad after being moved by the lad's strong will to fight. The lad has shown tremendous growth since its first match and has surprised everyone in the audience with its strong performance. However, another referee ran into the arena and called for the match to stop.

Apparently, the Grand Master Knight disagreed with the referee's ruling. The lad may have successfully struck the opponent with its sword, but at the same time, the lad had disarmed itself. Without a weapon, the lad was defenseless against the opponent's next attack. In a real battle, the lad's move would have led to its demise. Reassessing the score with the scenario where a fighter was disarmed, the referees concluded that the knight would have taken the victory.

No weapon contact with the lad was necessary as long as the knight showed the intent of striking the disarmed lad. The knight would have scored four points for an eminent takedown which would then make the knight the winner of the match. Having to accept the results, the two participants stood awkwardly as their match came to a sudden end. Half the audience cheered for the two astounding participants, while the other half booed at the outcome of the fight. Some felt like the lad's move should have been counted and the fight should have continued while some felt like it was a nice way to end the match. The lad had great potential, but it was not enough to defeat the knight.

While the multitude of sounds submerged into the background, Everin felt the adrenaline gradually leaving her system. The fatigue that had been masked by her fight-and-flight frenzy was hitting her all at once. With the remaining energy that she had left, she took off her helmet and wearingly walked over to retrieve her fallen weapon. Among the chatter around her, she could hear the referee announce Sir Merek as the winner of the match. She reasonably accepted her loss and staggered out of the arena.