Everything looked white. The Plaza had been buried under snow for quite some time. The villagers who were previously here to witness the Nil Mac'gjar were no longer there. Only the members of the Guards and a handful of other people were still standing in the vicinity of the Frozen Elm, Yarda and Weaz included.
Gazmir walked forward towards the empty space between Rahzar and the others.
"You do know what it would entail if you fight me, don't you?" Rahzar swung his greatsword around with one hand, just a small warm-up. The falling snow was disturbed with each swing. "You are not going to survive this, Uncle Gazmir."
"Your uncle was one of the greatest warriors I have ever had the honor to fight alongside." Gazmir stood right in front of Rahzar, still quite a few paces away, right in the middle of the snow-buried Plaza; only the two of them stood there. The Frozen Elm's canopy, in its crystalline splendor, gleamed softly with the lights of the villagers' lanterns.
The moon could not be seen, not yet, not at this hour. And even if it were there, the snowstorm would have obscured it from view.
Gazmir continued. "Strong was he, inside and outside of the battlefield. Numerous times had my life been saved by him. No longer can I count how many times we fought side by side. Even before the Gateway was opened, even when we were still young and we had to defend our land from the Forsaken."
Gazmir walked forward slowly, right hand bent back, gripping the handle of his double-sided greataxe firmly. "I owe him my life when we fought against the tyranny of the angels. I owe him my life when we fought against the humans' ignorance, the same ignorance that led them to treat us like filth even though we were seeking asylum. I owe him my life when we fought against the cruel coldness of the north. He stood by my side for so long, it felt like I was never alone." Gazmir planted both his feet firmly on the snow-covered ground. "He was a true brother of mine. I owe it to him to set your path straight, Rahzar."
Rahzar stopped his warm-up swings and rested his greatsword on his right shoulder once more. "...And? What's the point of all this? Are you or are you not going to fight me to avenge your sworn brother's life, Uncle Gazmir?"
"You were loved, Rahzar. By Rahzmir, by his wife, by your mother. Even Naama loved you like our own son. Even your fath—" His words were cut off, for Rahzar had already brandished his greatsword towards Gazmir, even if they were still quite a few paces apart. It was a distance that felt nonexistent. Both could close it in an instant if they wanted to.
"Don't you dare speak about him." Rahzar's grin was wiped clean from his face. Gazmir knew that mentioning his father would rile him up; if he was going to win this fight, he would have to incite rage in Rahzar's heart as much as possible. "Don't you dare, Gazmir."
"You're right." Gazmir's right hand gripped the handle of his greataxe hard. Without any preparation, he dashed forward almost instantaneously, breaking snow apart, tracing the line of Rahzar's blade until he appeared right next to him, swinging. "Your father would have been so disappointed in you."
A massive strike hit Rahzar straight in his right temple. Gazmir used the blunt side of his greataxe. Rahzar was caught so off guard because he had been riled up. The attack threw him towards the side fences of the springs; he managed to regain his balance before he slammed himself into the fences. He looked forward towards Gazmir's position, only to find him no longer there.
"...!!" Rahzar looked above, where Gazmir had already brandished his double-sided greataxe with both arms, swinging downward in a vertical arc. Rahzar stepped aside just in time before the greataxe cleaved his skull in two.
WHOOOOSHHH!!
The impact of the hit decimated part of the wooden fence separating the Plaza area from the springs, sending thousands of wood splinters flying and mixing with the snowstorm.
"..." Rahzar only looked towards the destruction that was Gazmir's swing. It was something that Rahzar had never witnessed from the oldest member of his party. Not once had Gazmir shown him that he held that much power within him.
Gazmir's blood-red eyes were locked on him. He did not let up. He had already dashed toward Rahzar's position and was already in position for a wide horizontal sweep. Rahzar lifted his greatsword vertically; the blades met with a furious clang, sparks followed, the shockwave of the impact sent ripples across the surface of the water of the springs.
Another swing, another swing, and another swing. Each impact lit the night with sparks of flame from both their weapons. They looked like they were evenly matched when Gazmir ducked Rahzar's parry and kicked him right in the stomach, sending him towards the waters of the springs, still steaming with heat in the middle of the snowstorm.
"You know, Rahzar. I haven't said anything to you yet. My apologies." Gazmir walked slowly towards the springs, and nonchalantly swung his greataxe towards his left; the wind from the swing decimated other fences separating the Frozen Elm and the Plaza. The other Guard members looked towards Dazun for guidance. Dazun's hand gripped his sword tightly. He knew he had to do something, yet he understood Gazmir's anger.
Dazun also understood that he could not do anything between these two warriors. They were far stronger than him.
Gazmir stopped his advance and stood mightily above Rahzar, who was currently prone, almost half submerged in the comfortable heat of the springs, vision half obscured by the steam and snow. He lifted his greataxe right above Rahzar's head. "My condolences."
The axe went down with great speed. A massive clang ensued, accompanied by a great amount of sparks from both weapons clashing. Rahzar managed to get his greatsword up just in time; his grin was back, adorning his face. "Condolences accepted..." His grin got wider. Using his left hand that was free, he slicked back his hair, deliberately avoiding his horns, just like usual. "...Uncle Gaz."
With one swing, Rahzar sent Gazmir flying back towards the Plaza. He stood up, swung his greatsword a couple of times, drying it from the waters of the springs, making sure the cold didn't create frost upon the blade, and gripped his greatsword with two hands, stowing the blade behind his body.
He was going to slash Gazmir from thirty meters away.
"...!!!" Gazmir realized what he was going to do. It was going to be the same type of slash as before, the one he used to try and kill Irmeyn. "GET DOWN!!"
Rahzar swung his sword three times in very rapid succession. It almost seemed like he swung his weapon once, but the steam from the springs was disturbed three times. Three massive waves of wind flew towards Gazmir and the other Guard members with speed never before seen.
Gazmir managed to get his head down in time, yet the others right behind him did not react fast enough. He looked backward to see how the others fared; the sight broke his heart.
Dazun managed to reflexively lift his sword to parry the wave, but the wave itself was so heavy and powerful his blade broke into multiple pieces. The second and third waves luckily only grazed him. Yet he was left prone on the ground, coughing a massive amount of blood.
Yarda and Weaz reacted fast enough; it seemed that they weren't touched at all by it. They had already seen this coming from a mile away.
Four members of the Guard were cleaved cleanly through their torsos. The impact brought them down almost instantly. The other lucky six members were left there, standing in terror, unsure of what to do next.
The wave went even further than Dazun and the Guards' position. It reached some of the villagers' houses and broke their walls and roofs, opening the inside for the world to see. Sounds of children crying could be heard, their parents panicking and running outside to take their wives and children away from the battlefield.
Irmeyn was on the other side of the attack entirely; she was not affected by it. Her hand gripped her sword hard.
"Irmeyn!! Do not interfere!!" Gazmir's voice cut through the sounds of destruction behind him. Rahzar recovered his stance and was now holding his greatsword with one hand again.
"But... Old Captain—"
"You will assist the other Guards to retreat!! Gather those who are wounded and leave this area. IMMEDIATELY!!"
"I... I don't..."
"I, GAZMIR, SON OF GAZDAN, EX-CAPTAIN OF THE GUARDS OF ELM, IN THE CASE OF INCAPACITATION AND THE INABILITY OF THE CAPTAIN FROM TAKING COMMAND, I SHALL ONCE AGAIN BEAR THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE GUARDS!!" The shout cut through the storm.
"You had your orders, Irmeyn." Gazmir brandished his greataxe towards Irmeyn, before continuing. "Live."
Irmeyn's right hand gripped her sword hilt tighter, blood starting to break the skin. She knew that she would not be able to kill Rahzar; no members of the Guards would be able to, not after they had seen what Rahzar was capable of. But Gazmir might, and right now, what they needed was time to regroup, and hopefully Gazmir would survive this and get back to them with a plan.
She swallowed her pride and closed her eyes. She wiped her tears off her face and faced Gazmir with the sharp eyes of a member of the Guards of Elm. "AYE SIR!!"
She sheathed her sword, saluted with her tear-soaked right hand and ran towards the other members of the Guards. "MEN!! YOU HEARD YOUR ORDERS!! GET CAPTAIN DAZUN AND THE OTHERS AWAY TO SAFETY!!"
That one shout was what was needed to snap everybody's attention back. With haste, they retreated from the Plaza.
Rahzar had half a mind to slash towards them from this distance, but from his position, Gazmir stood between him and the retreat of the Guards. He knew if he wanted to do anything funny, Gazmir would definitely respond with great fury.
So he stayed his hand.
Gazmir's attacks were relentless and strong; they left his right hand numbed. Rahzar had never thought that he would be pushed this much by a man hundreds of years older than him. He used this time to manage his breathing and recover some of the numbness in his right hand. The grin returned to his face.
"How kind of you to not interfere in their retreat, Rahzar." Gazmir walked towards his party leader, both hands grabbing the handle of his double-edged greataxe, separating the two handles into two one-sided greataxes. A marvelous creation of Elm's First Chief, created for him to replace his Infernal Armament. "Didn't know that you had it in you."
"Oh, I'm a fair man, Uncle." Rahzar swung his greatsword once and dashed forward, seizing the initiative. "I only kill what I deem worthy to kill."
A massive downward swing from Rahzar's greatsword was parried beautifully by Gazmir's right-hand axe. Gazmir let the blade of his axe run along the greatsword's sharp edge, creating a massive line of sparks while he moved forward closer to his opponent, left hand crossed over to his torso, ready to swing.
Rahzar noticed this and jumped backwards, but Gazmir was faster than he thought. The stocky old man was already right beside him; a left-hand cross swing followed. Rahzar reflexively turned his body to follow the angle of the slash. He was safe, but barely. Blood was drawn on his left torso near his stomach.
Both landed in the warm waters of the springs with massive splashes.
Recovering their balance, both were standing now, surrounded by the massive amounts of steam from the hot springs and assaulted relentlessly by the snow from the sky, underneath the gleaming crystalline canopy of the Frozen Elm.
Their fight had just started.
And both of these warriors knew that one of them would die tonight.
"So..." Yarda broke the silence between him and Weaz, both still standing right outside the Plaza, the only two people left after the fight between the two warriors started. "This is not even a Nil Mac'gjar, is it? Then what's the fuckin' purpose? Isn't this just a waste of time?"
"I have no idea. Nouz told us to keep watch here, just in case Rahzar needed some help." Weaz shrugged, yet his eyes were still attentively watching his party leader's fight. "Not that he would need any of our help anyway. He never did."
"Where is Nouz?" Yarda got two steps closer to him, spinning daggers in his hand.
"Went west, towards Gazmir's house. Fucker said that he will make sure of Rahzar's victory or something." Weaz stepped away from him, definitely feeling that his friend got a tad bit too close for comfort, especially when he's spinning daggers.
"...Do you think he will do something to teacher Naama?" The daggers stopped spinning in his hands.
"I don't know, Yarda, stop asking so many questions."
Yarda could see that Weaz's expression was hard to describe. What he saw was that Weaz felt like he shouldn't even be here; there were more important matters to attend to, and Yarda knew that Weaz was very close to Naama.
"Hey, Weaz."
"Hm?" Weaz looked at him, breaking eye contact with the fight for the first time since the start.
"Do you think that Gazmir would win? He's strong, you know. He once was able to summon Infernal Armaments from Gehenna, the stories say."
"I... don't know... perhaps he won't, not in this condition. Although..." Weaz walked two steps closer towards the Frozen Elm, his hand gripped his sword tightly. "I kinda hope that he will."
Yarda looked at his friend's face attentively, and did not think anything ill about what he said. Both had always walked with similar vibes, both agreed on so many things, including this one.
Both agreed that Rahzar must not gain control of the village.
"Hey, Weaz."
He walked two steps forward, following his friend, and touched him on the left shoulder, before continuing. "I got a great idea."
Weaz glanced at his best friend. He knew what this entailed. Usually, it would be harmless tomfoolery between friends, but now, when a Nil Mac'gjar had been sabotaged by Rahzar, Nouz had done something to Chief Rahzmir, and now Gaz, the oldest member of their party, the husband of their dear teacher, a warrior with honor, had to fight a monster like Rahzar by himself, he realized that this was not their usual brand of tomfoolery.
It was their special brand of tomfoolery, one that would get them both killed in the process. Weaz grinned at his friend.
"You sure?"
Yarda returned the grin faithfully.
"Fuck yeah."
—
—
At the Longrass Meadow, the blizzard had almost gone to full force.
The red and black heat veil that surrounded Sol was still there, the tongues of flame catching everything, setting them ablaze. Far, right across him, Wanwan bared his fangs.
On the other side of the field, almost fully exhausted, Nia ran with everything that she had towards the house.
She knew that if she failed, all of them might die in Sol's hands.