Steel crashes against steel as Edwin and Edric meet in the snow-blown courtyard, their greatswords striking with force enough to jolt the air. Both clad in full plate, their movements are heavy and powerful, their bodies near impervious to the glancing blows of those that might try to interfere.

  Edwin advances, his sword arcs down in a crushing blow. Edric catches it with the flat of his blade, stepping aside with a half-pivot, letting the weight slide off his defense before swinging wide in retaliation.

  Their blades ring again. Edwin plants his foot, drives forward with a sharp bash of his pauldron. Edric takes the hit, grunting, then retaliates with a rising slash that glances off Edwin's side, scraping armor but drawing no blood. They circle, snow crunching underfoot.

  Edwin’s strikes come tight and purposeful, always angled, always seeking the next opening. Edric’s are relentless, battering, throwing his entire body into each swing as if trying to overwhelm through sheer aggression.

  They clash again, loud even amidst the battlefield. Edric shifts into a savage hook with the guard of his sword, catching Edwin’s vambrace and nearly wrenching the blade from his hands. Edwin stumbles back a step but recovers fast, parrying the follow-up and countering with a brutal pommel strike to Edric’s helm. Edric recoils, blood at his lip, but laughs and surges forward again.

  Around them the battle rages, peasants jabbing at spiders with shining spears, brigands lunging at guardsmen with frenzied bloodlust. With Daniel and Edwin’s forces united, they hold the advantage in numbers. But the terror the spiders inspire cannot be underestimated. Faith wavers by the minute, blades shaking in unsure hands.

  SCREECH

  Until suddenly... the spiders freeze. A single, shrill screech bursts from the throats of all that remain, their grotesque limbs jerking violently. Then, as if seized by some invisible agony, they begin to thrash, legs flailing, clawing at their own heads and bellies. Shadows near their feet darken unnaturally, and from the pooling void, black tendrils erupt, writhing up and wrapping around their limbs like shackles. The creatures howl, caught in a frenzy of panic and pain, before scattering all at once.

  Some skittering over the walls, others burrowing desperately into the snow. Those that are too slow are swallowed within their own shadows. But each spider, one and all, within seconds, disappear from this bloody field.

  Edric stares in disbelief, eyes wide. “Impossible... Don’t tell me that Maldor-”

  “VICTORY!”

  Daniel roars from across the field, eliciting a small smile from his father. The shout is echoed by the men of Ravencroft, the brigands beginning to waver as they surge forward, emboldened by the absence of the terrifying beasts.

  “It’s over,” Edwin growls, stepping forward. “Your pet monsters are gone.”

  Edric’s hands tremble on his hilt. “It’s not over,” he snarls. “My warband will not fall to your piddling little town!!”

  He howls, then charges. Their armored bodies crash together in a brutal grapple, steel grinding against steel as Edric hurls Edwin bodily through the snow.

  Edric snatches up his greatsword and brings it down in a merciless swing. Edwin dives aside, the blade carving into the snow where he stood.

  As Edric recovers, Edwin lunges, sweeping his brother's legs from beneath him and tackling him to the ground. Knives flash, both men drawing simultaneously, locked in a vicious grapple. Blades scrape off armor, seeking the rare gaps, each strike no more than a scratch.

  "Get off!!"

  Edric snarls and boots Edwin off him, both scrambling for their swords. They grab them almost in unison, blades meeting again with a screeching crash. They're panting now, all finesse lost, hacking at each other like madmen. Steel chips, the edges of the fine blades ruined.

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  "Rrraaaaghhh!!"

  Both pull back for a mighty swing and then smash their swords together, locking them tight, faces inches apart as the blades grind.

  Edric growls through gritted teeth, "Why, brother? Why fight for them? After what they did to Father?"

  Edwin shoves his sword forward, grunting with effort. "I swore an oath to the crown. I will not break it. That is what loyalty means."

  Edric snarls and slams their helms together with a thunderous crack. "And what about loyalty to your father!? To your own blood!?"

  Edwin recoils, then returns the headbutt with equal force. "He knew the risks of sorcery. He paid the price for his actions."

  "You little coward..."

  Edric roars, driving Edwin back with a savage shove that sends him crashing into the snow. "They burned him at the fucking stake! For what!? Saving his wife!? Our mother!"

  Edwin rises slowly, sword clenched in shaking hands. "Dark magic cannot be tolerated, that is the law. And I swore to uphold it. Father taught us that himself.."

  Edric bares his teeth. "His magic was holy! He was a healer, blessed by Lumina’s light! Those twisted royals could never bear that kind of power. That’s why they killed him, not because of any damned law!"

  They clash again, hammering their blades together in brutal, unrelenting rhythm, testing endurance as much as skill. Both men wheeze, their armor groaning with each exertion.... but it's Edwin, worn down by years of politics and peace, who begins to falter first.

  His swings slow, while Edric's fury only grows sharper. He can't outlast him. He can't overpower him. He doesn't have the strength left.

  "Gnnghh-"

  A powerful blow sends Edwin stumbling back, sword slipping from his hand.

  "It's over-"

  Edric snarls and lunges, but Edwin pivots just enough, letting the blade slide past, scraping his breastplate. In that narrow opening, he traps Edric’s arm under his own, draws a dagger, and jams it beneath the helmet. Edric grunts as it pierces his collarbone, but the angle is bad and the blade catches in the armor. With a bellow, Edric kicks Edwin off, sending him crashing into the snow.

  "Fucking..."

  Edric grimaces as the pain flares near his shoulder, uncertain how deep the dagger struck. But when he sees Edwin crawling toward his sword, instinct takes over. He lunges and slams his boot down on the weapon, pinning it in the snow. Then, without pause, he drives the pommel of his greatsword into Edwin’s helm with a bone-jarring crack, sending him staggering.

  "Hrmmm!!"

  A second blow follows in the same breath, another heavy swing slamming into Edwin’s helmet just as he rises. Edwin stumbles, vision spinning, before dropping to one knee, dazed and vulnerable.

  Edric stands over him, sword leveled with quiet fury. "The clergy has twisted Lumina's words long enough. Her vision perverted to serve cowards and tyrants. Lumenon must fall and its empress with it. If that makes me an oathbreaker... so be it."

  Edwin forces a breath, struggling to rise. "It’s not what Father would've wanted. He was a loyal servant and faced his end with dignity."

  Edric's eyes narrow. "Father wanted Mother to live. And you let them burn him for trying. Fuck your loyalty and your dignity." He leans close, voice low and bitter. "Had it not been for their laws, we could've studied his craft. We might have saved Liliana."

  Edwin doesn't answer. He staggers upright, bloodied and weaponless, the silence between them heavier than steel.

  He opens his helm's visor, revealing his bloodied face. Edric follows suit.

  "Brother," Edric says, voice softer now as he looks upon his brother's face for the first time in decades.

  Edwin hesitates, then answers in kind. "Brother."

  A faint, smile spreads across Edric’s lips at the word, then he raises his sword.

  Edwin lifts his dagger in reply, eyes downcast and full of exhaustion.

  "HAaaaarrghh!!"

  They rush forward, Edric’s blade arcs down with savage force. Edwin grunts as he attempts to deflect the blow. The thick blade crashes into his gauntlet, the steel crumpling under the impact, his dagger sent flying from numbed fingers.

  But before Edric can strike again, Edwin slams into him tackling Edric. He no longer has the force to throw him down, so instead he grips the man tight. Weaponless, exhausted, Edwin can do nothing but cling to him, fingers locked around the warlord’s battered frame.

  "Get off me-"

  Edric smashes the pommel of his greatsword against him, then fumbles for his own dagger, but Edwin grips the arm reaching for it, desperately trying to hold him at bay.

  They struggle, but Edwin’s strength wanes. Edric snatches up the dagger, raising it high-

  "Glllrrkk-"

  Only to stop, a choking gasp bursting from his throat. He stiffens in shock, eyes wide, the dagger clattering from his grasp. Behind him, a lone militiaman stands, hand clutching a dagger stabbed through his shoulder hollow, into his lungs.

  Edric looks around. The brigands… they’re fleeing, still numerous but too cowardly to see the battle through.

  Edwin releases his brother, who sways but manages to stay on his feet, nodding faintly to the militiamen encircling them. "You see, brother," he rasps, voice thin with exhaustion, "loyalty has its value."

  Edric chuckles, though it's a ragged, gurgling sound.

  "Ri...diculous."

  He tries to speak again, but blood spills from his lips. His knees buckle and he crashes to the snow, crimson soaking into the white as his last breath leaves him.