The Vampire & Her Witch Chapter 1875: Nothing Broken (Part Two)

"Dame Sybyll and Sir Thane can be as hard on you as they’d like..."

Virve’s tone sounded like she meant to be encouraging, but the smile on her bearish muzzle sent shivers down Reynold’s spine. Thankfully, Sir Ollie came to his rescue... or at least he came to Erling’s rescue.

"I’m sure it won’t be that bad," Ollie said, clearly trying to be helpful. "You’re not like Ashlynn; you won’t destroy a forest or reshape the earth just from the force of practicing with Dame Sybyll and Sir Thane," Ollie said.

"And Lord Erling doesn’t even have to practice with them; he’s coming with Milo and me," Ollie added, gesturing to the Heartwood Clan archer who had shared a table with Reynold at the previous night’s feast.

"The book won’t help you much, Lord Erling," Milo said, stepping forward as he gave the human lord a measured look. "It’s too hard to learn from a book when you haven’t learned any sorcery yet. It’s better to learn from someone else who already knows," he said.

"I never expected to get much from it to begin with," Erling said, chuckling as he held up the slim book to the page he’d been looking at. One page was covered with diagrams depicting a person holding a bow that resembled the constellation of the Ascended Archer, while the other was covered in neat, precisely written Eldritch letters.

"I thought the diagrams were interesting," Erling said. "And they give me an idea of the sort of power this book contains, but..." he shrugged helplessly. "Without someone to teach me how to read the words, it’s not much use.

"Sir Thane says it’s always good to know your enemy as well as you know yourself," Ollie said, repeating his mentor’s hard-earned wisdom. "So it might help to understand whoever you’ll be facing. But not so much for growing stronger yourself, at least, not before you face the champion from the Southern Steppe."

"I guess that’s true," Erling said, closing the book and tucking it away. "In that case, Sir Ollie, Master Milo, I’m in your capable hands."

"Good," Ollie said with a smile. "Harrod is waiting for us at the stables with horses. We won’t want to do this anywhere there might be people around," he said. "It’s better for everyone if no one is standing too close to us during this lesson."

"What...?" Erling started to ask, only to realize he wasn’t going to get an answer as both Ollie and Milo walked away, leaving him no choice but to hurry after them.

"Don’t look so dejected, Reynold," the last member of the group said, speaking up cheerfully. "How many knights can say they made a Lord Commander serve as their squire while they trained?" Liam Dunn asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Being a squire is all you’re good for," Virve said, giving the young lord from Dunn a soft thump on the top of his head with her furry fist. "Maybe I should have you train alongside Reynold instead of helping him."

"No, no, that’s fine, I’m fine playing squire for a few nights," Liam said, raising his hands up in surrender.

"Coward," Virve teased, giving her ’apprentice’ a playful punch in the arm.

Reynold watched the playful banter between Liam and the powerful Oak Witch and silently marveled at the younger lord’s ability to be so casual with such a fearsome individual. Word had already spread through Lothian Manor that Virve had been the one responsible for defeating Sir Cathal Wynn at the Battle of the Summer Villa, while others said that she drew her powers from the Ancient Oak that had manifested during the destruction of the cursed Lothian Throne.

No one living had seen her fight, or at least, no one living who hadn’t been on Empress Ashlynn’s side of what people were starting to call the Winter War, but already, the Oak Witch’s reputation was as towering as her namesake.

Yet Liam Dunn acted like a friend of many years, laughing easily with the powerful witch in a way that reminded Reynold more of a pair of old soldiers than a mighty lord and a terrifying witch. In fact, the conversation flowing between the two was so relaxed and easy that Reynold didn’t notice that full darkness had fallen until he heard a rich, masculine voice calling out across the training yard.

"Lord Reynold," Thane said as he strode into the training yard, followed by the crimson-haired Dame Sybyll. "I’ve heard a number of good things about you," Thane said with genuine warmth in his voice. "I’m sorry you’ve landed in this position, but the fact that you’ve taken on both the burden and the risk says a great deal about the kind of knight you are."

"Yer tha’ sort ’o lord I wouldn’a mind havin’ fer a neighbor," Sybyll added as she gave Reynold an appraising look. "An’ if ye’ can bear up under tha’ next few days, an’ survive yer duel wit’ tha’ Southern Steppe’s champion, ye may even be a man I could call a friend," Sybyll said.

"Be honest," Reynold said, standing up straight with his shoulders pulled back as he braced himself. "What are my chances against Lord Dirar’s champion? Do you know anything about the man I’ll be facing or how we’ll fight?"

"I know a bit," Thane said, nodding in approval at the young man’s attitude. "It’s a contest of lances, but you should expect it to be different from the sort you’ve fought before. Your opponent is a member of the Long Horned Clan, and the way they fight is nothing like the Swift Hooved warriors you’ve fought before."

"I’ve seen the Long Horns before," Reynold said. "When I ventured deep into the Southern Steppe. But I’ve never fought them. I don’t know why they never came north to raid when the Southern Steppe attacked us."

"The Swift Hooves are the fastest Eldritch clan alive, at least, over long distances of open ground," Thane explained, taking a seat on a nearby bench and gesturing for Reynold to do the same. "When the herds of the Southern Steppe attacked your family, they sent men who left behind anything that would slow them down."

"They pulled no chariots with sorcerers to counter the Church’s priests and Inquisitors," Thane said. "And they left the Long Horns behind because, for all their strength, they can’t sustain an aggressive pace long enough to raid your villages and retreat to safety."

"But now yer facin’ one," Sybyll said, taking a seat next to Thane. "One wit’ all tha’ strength an’ power o’ a chargin’, angry bull. In a short charge, he’ll be heavier ’an ye, yer horse an’ armor combined. Stronger through tha’ chest an’ arms too, an’ unlike ye an yer horse, ye can’t knock a Long Horn off his mount."

"What you’re saying is that I’m about to face the heaviest heavy cavalry in the world," Reynold said, nodding in understanding. "And I can’t even unhorse the man to ride him down on foot. But that doesn’t mean he can’t do the same to me, and trample me beneath his hooves in a way no mounted rider ever could."

"That’s tha’ shape o’ it," Sybyll said, giving the young lord a light punch to the thigh that stung enough to suggest it would leave a bruise. "But we’re here ta’ help. I had a week ta train wit’ Lady Ashlynn ta’ prepare her fer her fight wit’ Owain," Sybyll said, turning to smile brightly at Thane. "An’ Sir Thane’s tha’ best knight ta’ ever train another fer tha’ past hundred years."

"Ye might die," Sybyll said bluntly. "But it won’t be fer lack of tryin’. An’ we’ve a few ways ta’ help ye’ bridge tha’ gap if it comes to it, but, if ye can face up ta’ this, I doubt ye’ll need ’em."

"I’m ready," Reynold said, letting out a deep breath as he gathered up his resolve. He was lying, both to himself and everyone else, but he didn’t know what else to do. Running from it wouldn’t save his father’s life, or his own, so instead of fretting over how unprepared he felt to face such a terrifying foe, he asked the only useful question he could. "Where do we begin?"

"With the basics," Thane said. "I want to know where you stand now so we know what to correct in the limited time we have. Liam, fetch his horse, a suit of mail, and a lance. The winter nights are long, but we have far too few of them to waste much time."