Soul of the Warrior

There was nor warning from Reivyn's Danger Sense, but he picked up on the subtle movements in the retainer's muscles that warned of an impending attack. The golden, shiny rope being held in front of the retainer's chest was like a snake as it suddenly whipped forward and thrust toward Reivyn's face. If he hadn't picked up on the tiniest of movement in the man's muscles with his Divine Sense, Reivyn would have suspected that the weapon had a mind of its own.

Reivyn leaned his head to the side to avoid the swift strike, but Danger Sense did warn him this time. There was no minute shift in muscles to pick up, and there wasn't anything foreshadowing the change in momentum, but the rope end hooked around Reivyn's neck and tried form a noose. Reivyn's reactions were immediate, and as soon as he felt the tingle from his Skill, he ducked his body down to avoid the secondary attack.

I haven't improved my senses enough to detect when someone uses their Stamina, but that was definitely a Skill, Reivyn thought. Now that I think about it, why haven't I tried to form a Skill to sense stamina usage in someone else? Just because there isn't ambient stamina in the environment? But the Mana I can detect others using is their own, not ambient. Seems like a pretty significant oversight.

The thoughts flashed through Reivyn's mind in an instant. They didn't distract him from the fight being initiated. Getting taken almost by complete surprise had inspired an epiphany.

Sometimes having too much of something could cloud what was missing, and the sheer amount of sensory information Reivyn processed at all times had created a sort of blind spot in his thinking. It was also something that he hadn't heard anyone else mention being a thing before, but that was something to ponder later.

Reivyn leaped back and to the side as the rope retracted into the retainer's hand, a manic grin, an expression Reivyn had never seen on the otherwise stoic man's face before, plastered his features. Reivyn suspected that if he had charged forward, the rope end that was being retracted would have been up to more shenanigans, and he felt a slight threat from the other end of the rope, as well.

Reivyn thrust his off-hand toward the retainer, channeling his Mana into his finger-tips, and launched another Blast Spell at the man. Sure enough, as one end of the rope retracted, the other sprung up in a whirlwind fashion and snuffed out the Spell. Everywhere the rope contacted the Mana making up the Spell, the matrix that formed the Spell dissipated. It was as if it were being dissolved in water.

Reivyn calmly evaluated the scene. It wasn't anything he had encountered before. He had assumed the ropes the retainer used to bind people functioned in a similar way to the prisoner shackles he had experience with, but that wasn't the case.

The end result was similar, but the method was completely different. It was like the rope was an antithesis to ordered Mana. The Mana didn't go away, it just lost all form and function, lazily floating about before getting caught up in the unnatural suction from far behind the enemy lines. The prisoner shackles worked more to prevent one from gaining control of their abilities to muster them in the first place.

Reivyn frowned as he quickly formulated a response to the enemy's weapon. He would need more information before he fully understood what he was up against, but he had an instinctive hunch that the rope would affect everything it came into contact, including his sword and body.

Considering the spies were so soundly restrained, I imagine it has a similar affect on Stamina, Reivyn thought. If I get bound by the rope, it'll drain all my Mana and Stamina out until I won't be able to put up a fight.

Close combat would be tricky, but the rope was similar to a whip in that it was a medium to long range weapon. Reivyn was confident that he could avoid getting trapped with his Divine Sense and Danger Sense Skills, and using Spells to attack the man seemed like the more futile option. If he could wear the man's Stamina out, thus reducing his reaction speed, it might be a viable option.

He wasn't willing to overload a Spell to test the limits of the rope, just yet. He had a suspicion that this particular rope could handle thousands of points of Mana at a time, but if push came to shove and that was the only option to attempt, he would do it that way.

The others surrounding the fight breaking out between Reivyn and the retainer weren't sitting still, either. Reivyn quickly made his decision and charged in to melee-range with the retainer, and while he launched himself forward, combat broke out between the officers and the runners that were sided with the retainer.

Reivyn could feel the pulse of energy as everyone around him released their auras in one way or another. Not everything was regulated by a Skill, either. Some gathered Mana, creating a sort of pseudo-aura. Others seemed to charge up Skills requiring Stamina, and their overall bearing gave off a presence. They weren't trying to hide their intentions like the retainer had, which made it more obvious to Reivyn.

I've noticed these types of auras around people for a long time, even if I haven't been able to properly articulate what I'm noticing, Reivyn realized. How have I never put two and two together?!

A small number of officers did have aura Skills, though none of them were anything like Reivyn's advanced Skill. Most of them were inspiration-focused Auras, but two of them had Skills focused on demoralizing the enemy.

The officers weren't to be outdone, though, and Reivyn was surprised to see that the runners that had previously been obediently following the orders of the supposedly higher-leveled superiors erupted auras of their own that were in no way inferior to the officers'. Sounds of metal clashing and Spells erupting broke out all over the small command center. The runner's faces turned from meek to ruthless at the drop of a hat.

The one soldier that had brought word to the failing Stamina of the companies stood in place, dumbfounded. He was still covered in blood and panting, but his mind was taking a moment to process what had just happened. Everything had been perfectly fine just a moment ago, and now everyone was fighting everyone.

Reivyn saw him shake his head and turn to run away. Reivyn saw determination rather than fear on the man's face, though, so he assumed he was going to inform the closest company commander of the goings-on and request reinforcements for the prince.

Speaking of the prince... Reivyn thought.

Reivyn reached striking distance of the retainer, and he had to immediately dodge back and to the side again to avoid the rope lashing out at him. He spun around, perfectly content to present his back to the enemy in the middle of fighting because of his Divine Sense Skill, and turned the dodge into a sweeping strike from his sword.

As he initiated the first attack on the retainer, he noticed the prince with his Divine Sense. The commanding general didn't engage in combat with the rest of his men, but he wasn't jus standing around doing nothing. He pulled out his long-distance communication device and injected copious amounts of Mana into it, far more than he normally would.

Reivyn didn't know the mechanisms behind it, but overloading it with Mana might have some sort of function of forcing a connection or initiating some sort of emergency protocol. Whatever it did, he contacted his brother who was in charge of the overall situation immediately.

An apparition of his brother sprang into being above the communication device. He was fully armed and armored, and he looked quite exhausted.

"No time!" The older prince chastised Prince Allik. "The enemy are throwing everything they got at me!"

"The runners!" Prince Allik shouted, ignoring his brother's complaints. "They're targeting our lines of communication!"

It was testament to how much his brother trusted him, but Prince Endrew immediately turned to address one of his officers.

"Replace these men, now!" He barked.

Reivyn wasn't privy to the rest of the conversation, and his attention was zeroed in on the retainer in front of him, anyway. He could have eavesdropped on the conversation between the two commanders, but there wasn't a point in doing so, and it would be an unnecessary risk.

The retainer didn't do anything special to avoid the strike from Reivyn. He wasn't wearing any visible armor that Reivyn could see, but his Divine Sense picked up on the slight shifting of his clothes that indicated something worn underneath. The retainer smirked as he simply shrugged his shoulders up, and Reivyn's sword bounced off of the hidden armor underneath.

The retainer didn't even stagger from the blow, and it wasn't something that was hastily put together without much thought. Reivyn had put his entire center of gravity into the swing, using the centrifugal force of twisting his body to empower the blow.

It didn't matter, though, and the retainer's smirk only deepened at the surprised look on Reivyn's face.

Reivyn didn't hesitate to retract his blade, but he still wasn't quite fast enough. The rope looped down and sprung up from an odd angle to wrap around his blade. He immediately felt a draining sensation as energy, both Stamina and Mana, were sucked out of his body through the hand holding the hilt of the sword.

Reivyn didn't have time to try and man-handle the sword away from the binding as the other end of the rope pounced toward him. He had to make a decision, and he reluctantly let go of the mana sword that had followed him for years. It was the first time he had allowed himself to be disarmed in a real fight, and he felt a sense of loss over the small defeat.

The rope seemingly unwound itself from the sword on its own, and the blade clattered to the ground. The two ends of the rope simultaneously shot toward Reivyn from different angles, forcing him further back as the retainer took a step forward.

Reivyn once danced away from the attack and once more thrust his hands forward. He pumped as much Mana as he could into his hands until it almost hurt. It felt like his hands were going to explode from the pressure, though there was really nothing physically happening. He released a barrage of Spells at the man, forcing him to redirect the trajectory of the ropes to deal with the ordered-Mana.

The ropes formed two whirlwinds, and nothing was able to get past them toward the retainer. Even before the Spells were disintegrated by the ropes, Reivyn could see Mana bleeding off of the Spells as it was sucked toward the phenomenon happening miles away. Having so much Mana in his Spell made him acutely aware of the situation happening with the Mana.

That's my Mana! Reivyn grit his teeth.

Reivyn once more gathered his Mana in his hands before the Retainer could launch another strike. He didn't do anything fancy with the Affinities, he simply used all four of the basic Elements to flood as much Mana as he could, directing it into the ground. He crouched down and slammed his hands onto the ground.

Reivyn had a grimace on his face as he glared at the retainer. He used the ground to bypass the ropes the man was using as a shield, and he felt a momentary sense of accomplishment as the Mana bypassed the ropes.

The sense of victory was short lived, though, and the smirk on the retainer's face never left.

The ropes simply slashed down onto the ground, and a pulse of disruption severed Reivyn's link to the Mana he was controlling. Instead of wiping out all of the ordered-Mana sent his way, the retainer had simply snipped the link connecting them to Reivyn.

Without anyone controlling the Mana, it wouldn't be long before the Spells once more dissipated into nothingness.

Reivyn was unwilling, though. He mustered his Class Skills and bore down on the Mana with all of his Willpower.

Obey!

Reivyn dug deep into himself as he reached out with his will. It was paradoxical to try and control distant Mana by being introspective, but he was operating off of instinct. He had long since reached the Level cap of 100 for his basic Elements, and he felt like he was pushing himself against an invisible barrier as he tried to regain control of the Spell without being directly connected to it with his Mana tether.

The world seemed to spin a bit and his perception changed slightly as he felt a click in his mind. He felt much more intimate with all of the Ambient Mana in the atmosphere, and he felt a new connection with his structured-Mana that had been cut off.

He gripped his fist and ordered the Mana to erupt, and it obeyed.

The retainer's eyes widened in astonishment a fraction of a second before the Spell exploded upward. It was the most Mana Reivyn had ever channeled into a single act of casting Spells before, and the effect was astounding.

The ground imploded and exploded at the same time. The Elements were used in their pure form, and they mixed and matched and caused all sorts of weird phenomenon as they struck at the retainer. Reivyn only had an instant in time to see what happened before the man was launched into the air.

Bits of frayed fibers drifted in the air from where the rope had exploded in places. The retainer was launched out of Reivyn's Divine Sense's range, but he could still see him with his eyes. The ends of the rope were splayed and scorched, and it had somehow been torn in half from the explosion.

Reivyn didn't understand why it turned out that way, but he didn't care about the why. Unless the rope retained all of its functions and was now two ropes that could bind him, it was a good thing, and from the emanations, or lack thereof, from the rope, he suspected it had been disabled.

Reivyn didn't dilly dally. He ignored the new pulsing in the corner of his vision indicating a System Notification, and he sprung forward to pick up his sword. He avoided the fierce fighting between the runners and the officers as he chased after the retainer that was still soaring through the air. He came to a halt, though, as the retainer was launched beyond the combat line between the troops.

Reivyn watched helplessly as the retainer crashed into a row of soldiers beyond his reach. The men apparently recognized him, as they helped him regain his feet before continuing their March forward. The retainer spit out a was of blood before looking up and meeting Reivyn's eyes.

There was steel in the man's gaze, but he broke contact to look down at the two ends of rope he was still holding in his hands. He examined them closely before shrugging his shoulders and simply tossing them away. He looked back up at Reivyn and flashed a bloody grin at him. He turned away from the front lines and limped his way to the back.

Reivyn frowned in frustration, but he didn't have time to worry about the man getting away. He turned back toward the command center and sprinted back to the fierce sounds of fighting.

Reivyn cocked his head and looked up into the sky where he could still see all the Mana rushing toward the distant destination, but he felt a slight pull from them that had been absent previously. He flexed his will, and the motes of Mana that made up the four basic Elements froze in place in a wide berth around him.

Without creating a link to himself and the ambient Mana, he took control of all the Mana, including the new motes that came screaming in from the distance, and gathered them in place. He wove them into a Spell up in the sky, and he didn't notice any difference in how he was able to manipulate the Mana without the direct connection, though it was only relegated to the four basic Elements so far.

He constructed the Flare Spell, and three explosions in succession rang out in the sky. It was the signal for retreat when communication wasn't possible, and Reivyn was confident in his choice to do so because the Prince had already technically ordered the retreat.

Reivyn had been too preoccupied with his own conflict, and he had been out of range with his Divine Sense, so he didn't know why none of the other Mages hadn't cast the Spell, but he was sure he would find out.

The prince had finally engaged in combat with the runners, and he and the other officers were mopping up the remnants of the enemy infiltrators as Reivyn returned. The prince was much more powerful than Reivyn had given him credit for, and he easily single-handedly tipped the balance of power in their favor.

The runners fought with the same conviction as the enemy Deathsworn, though, and none of them gave up or retreated. Prince Allik stabbed a runner through the heart as he launched a series of Blot Spells from his free-hand at another nearby enemy. The runner never flinched, even when they were unable to properly react to the attacks from the prince.

The bloodied man that had taken off as the fighting started ran back to the command center at the same time that Reivyn returned, and he was followed by a couple lieutenants. The lieutenants glanced up at the flare spells going off in succession in the sky, but they didn't pause in following their subordinate to join the fray. A squad of soldiers with grim faces followed in their wake.

The runners had outnumbered the officers in the beginning, and they had inflicted some casualties on the command staff, but it hadn't been enough to win the fight. Now that the prince and the other men joined the fight, they were quickly dispatched before Reivyn could help.

Prince Allik spotted Reivyn jogging up. He frowned as he addressed him.

"My man?"

"Escaped," Reivyn answered.

The last of the runners was dispatched as Prince Allik took the information in. He stared at Reivyn for a moment, his face masking any emotions coursing through him.

"Pity," he said after a few seconds. "Return to your company, Captain Reivyn, and take charge of their retreat. I'll invite you to my quarters later for a proper conversation and a thank you."

Reivyn didn't snap to attention, and he didn't salute. It wasn't appropriate to do so on the battlefield, though he imagined there was no doubt to everyone on either side that the other man was the commander, so it wasn't like he was going to give the man away.

"Yes, sir!" Reivyn replied.

The front line soldiers were already streaming by as they executed their retreat protocols once more, and Prince Allik gathered up his command staff and reasserted his control over the army. Reivyn sheathed his sword and jogged along the streets in a direction that would lead him to meet up with his company before they exited the city.

I wonder how my men handled the battle? Reivyn thought. I'm confident in the officers and NCO's, and I definitely have nothing to worry about with my father, but this was the first real action of this sort most of them have seen. The little skirmishes in the forest don't really compare.

Reivyn was both torn by the bloodshed and death that surrounded them and excited about the growth of his mercenary company at the same time. War was always a complicated thing that evoked a range of weird emotional combinations, but Reivyn would channel everything he had into taking care of his subordinates.