"The Second Step" (Ledgic)

“The second step”

“The strongest Caan, the boy who ran away”

Vanith stood with his arms folded in the middle of the wasteland he had chosen for his meeting with Ledgic. He could hear the basilisks snarling nearby and the wild howling of the other wildlife, the blasted lands took no prisoners. He smirked at the thought, he wouldn’t be taking any either, and he would be the one to finally kill Ledgic Caan for abandoning the village, his clan and the position he was supposed to take.

He looked up as a sharp breeze swept by him, kicking dust into the air. He grinned slightly and took his arms from his chest, he had finally arrived. Vanith took a few steps forward as Ledgic approached him. He was exactly the same; he still had that confident stance… that arrogant face.

Ledgic rested the palms of his hands on the hilts of his daggers, staring at Vanith intently. He’d made no mistakes, he arrived here with enough concealed weaponry to last him a day of fighting. He looked Vanith up and down; he was dressed much like he did in the village. Leather clothing was dotted around his outfit, connected together by loose cloth.

“Left yer dress at ‘ome then, did ye?” said Ledgic as he shifted his footing. Vanith shook his head and looked at Ledgic with a face covered in hatred. “S’called a robe ye lil’ prick. An’ th’feck are ye wearin’ eh? Yer lookin’ all fancy in tha’ armour o’ yers, think yer some sorta ‘ero do ya?”

Ledgic let out a quiet chuckle and took another step forward, shaking his head with each step. “Oh, I’m na’ ‘ero mate, learned tha’ lil’ fact a lon’ time ago. There was a time I though’ I was th’only Caan left, n’ tha’ was me’ chance t’change folks view of us an’ ye bastards keep crawlin’ outta th’wood work” said Ledgic with some defiance in his voice.

“But ye can coun’ on one thin’, even if it ain’ t’day or a year from now, I’ll fin’ each an’ every feckin’ one o’ ye an’ tear ye limb from limb. I’ve ‘ad enough o’ bein’ ‘unted” said Ledgic as his face lost it’s confident appearance and slowly twisted angrily.

Vanith smirked and lifted his hands from the pockets of his long coat, casually flicking the hand afterwards as if dismissing the comment. “If yer angry a’ready, ye’ll be pretty feckin’ livid now. I paid a lil’ visit t’yer mate Eothan, fecked ‘im proper nice if I do say sa’ me’self”. Vanith watched Ledgic carefully as he spoke, noticing as his expression dipped slightly into sadness. He was well aware that Ledgic had more of a connection to this friends and associates than he did to any member of the clan; the sight of Ledgic slowly riddling himself with guilt was satisfying.

“Oh yeh, kid. I burned tha’ crest o’ ours inta’ ‘is chest real nice, ‘e should be proud”

Without another word being spoken, Ledgic twisted and launched several small knives from his gloves in Vanith’s direction. He rolled to the side as the blades flew towards Vanith and took a moment to note his movements, watching as Vanith blocked the weapons with a small fire spells. He wasn’t experienced in fighting magi, even if he’d be on the end of a few angry spells flung by previous lovers. He straightened himself up and darted forward, watching as Vanith turned his gaze to him.

“Well, yer a fast lil’ bugger! Some shi’ don’ ever change, eh?!” shouted Vanith as he launched a large fireball in Ledgic’s direction. Despite Ledgic being confident that he could dodge physical attacks made by Vanith, he hadn’t anticipated the speed of the spells and was hit forcefully in the chest, being sent flying backwards. As he slid through the air, he patted out small flames coming from his chest armour and closed his eyes as he hit the floor.

“Yer nothin’ Led! Ye never were!” shouted Vanith as he prepared another fire spell, this time using both hands. Ledgic opened his eyes as the spell was fired and rolled to the left, flipping up onto his feet again shortly afterwards. He drew his daggers from their sheaths and walked towards Vanith slowly, not even blinking an eye as the spell rocketed past him, smashing into a nearby cliff face. “I migh’ be nothin’, but ‘least I ain’ ‘oldin’ onta’ somethin’ dead n’ buried” he muttered as his pace quickened until he was bolting towards Vanith at speed.

“I’ll restore th’clan! Tha’s wha’ I wan’, an’ I’ll feckin’ do it! An’ if ye ain’ gonna join me, yer gonna die!” roared Vanith as he ran towards Ledgic, drawing a blade from within his coat as he spoke.

The two men launched themselves at each other, connecting with force as the breeze became harsher, the wind ripping the dust from the ground to swirl it around them. Vanith grinned as he twisted the blade that had stabbed through Ledgic’s shoulder, peering briefly at his dipped head. “Tha’ all ye got eh? Couldn’ even get a blade in me!” laughed Vanith.

Ledgic lifted his head and smirked in return, lifting his blade to Vanith’s throat. “I jes needed t’lure ye inta’ getting close, mate. I ain’ ‘ere t’stab ye, I’m gonna feckin’ beat ye t’death, ain’ gonna be nothin’ left but a pile o’ bones n’ blood when I’m done wit’ ye”

Vanith blinked and attempted to take a step back, leaving his dagger firmly rooted in Ledgic’s shoulder. For the first time in years he felt a pinch of worry, that pinch growing as Ledgic’s eyes seemed to flare in the sun. He moved his palms in front of him and began to conjure another fire spell, he needed to keep him at a distance, Ledgic was something else.

“I don’ think so” said Ledgic as he darted forward, shoving his hands between Vanith’s arms and parting them, smirking as the spell fired at his sides, further damaging the already barren area they fought in. Vanith’s face twisted into a painful frown as Ledgic let loose a flurry of punches, his fists pounding his stomach, chest and face. Vanith growled as Ledgic finally stopped, taking a step back from the man he had sworn to kill. “Yer nothin’… this don’ mean shi’, yer still nothin’!” he barked before being forcefully kicked to the ground.

Ledgic stepped forward and loomed over Vanith, the hilt of the dagger reflecting light from the sun. “Ye don’ get it, do ye? Th’clan is dead an’ tha’s ‘ow it should stay. I know somethin’ like tha’ could never get inta’ yer thick feckin’ ‘ead, sa’ I’ll spell it ou’ fer ye. Ye can’t kill me, na’ ye, na’ anyone. Go ahead n’ try t’restore th’feckin’ clan, I’ll be ‘ere t’stop ye”

Vanith hastily conjured a spell in his hands, scampering across the ground like a scared child; he threw the spell forward and grinned widely as a portal formed before him.

“Enjoy yer last days” he shouted before diving into the portal. Ledgic simply stood and watched it close, letting out an agitated sigh.

This wasn’t going to be an easy task, all Ledgic had managed to do was prove Vanith couldn’t beat him. He knew that most Caan’s had a mind for revenge and they’d get it no matter what the cost.

“Shi’…” he muttered as he yanked the dagger from his shoulder. He peered at it for a moment before tossing it to the side, listening as the blade scratched across the scorched ground.

He turned at the sound of his name, lifting a hand to shield his eyes as he caught a glimpse of Aniane stood on a large hill above him. At least he still had something to come home to, even if times were going to always be tough.

“S’pose tha’ll do fer now” he thought as he took a step in her direction.