The Ear archer 2

CHAPTER 55

This chapter is dedicated to B78904

Ferdil's tobacco pipe was firmly wedged between his lips as he watched his younger brother prepare for his duel.
Yart was not one for armour, he shunned the shiny armour Prince Cirrus had presented him and opted for a simple cloak.
He reached for the chest which he preserved his blue daggers. He inspected them closely before sheathing and strapping them his waist.
"I never thought I would outlive you"
Ferdil admitted sadly.
Yart's smile was somber.
"We have been brothers for seventy years, always, we knew this day would come."
Ferdil lit his brother a pipe.
"It is an honor, to have been part of your life, little brother".
Yart recieved the pipe with a dignified smile.
"The honor was mine. After my death, make sure Dalian gets this."
With that Yart handed a piece of parchment to his elder brother who in turn nodded grimly.

Again, the armies of Xan and that of the necromancer besieged each other.
Yart walked through Xan's forces with a determined look on his face.
General Dalian looked on as her father strode through, her heart trembled as she braced herself for the inevitable horror of watching her father fight her dead brother.
The unnamed mounted on horse-back, surveyed the scene before him. Even he was disturbed, he had been subjugated to watch his adopted family murder themselves.

The armies of the necromancer fell to their knees as Jioreh made his way through.
The veiled figure stopped few meters away from Yart to unveil himself.
Yart's heart fell as he gazed upon the son he murdered but he pushed down his guilt.
He knew his son was dead and the figure standing across him was nothing but a wraith.
Yart took a deep breath as he unsheathed his blue daggers.
The figure responded in kind by unsheathing his blade as well.

A dagger is a close range weapon, to use it, Yart knew he had to get closer.
He charged cautiously at his son,
the figure lacked the virtue of patience for it equally charged at Yart.
Both fighters met midway and exchanged tactical blows.
Yart ducked as the figure swung his blade in an attempt to behead  him.
Yart quickly attacked with quick strikes but the figure matched his speed at countering the attack.
Yart altered into a spin attack, he struck and spun consistently with grace, the figure had trouble keeping up, it did not take long before Yart floored his son.
The figure almost instantly proped himself from the ground to his feet.
Yart readied himself and charged at his son once again.
Prince Cirrus looked on in dread as the figure saulted into the air and landed behind Yart, a move he had used against king Harpiscus.
The figure swung his blade at Yart's neck, however before the blade could make contact, Yart rolled out of harm's way.
Mid way through his roll, Yart hurled a dagger at his son.
Before the figure could react, the dagger found his chest.
An eerie sound of pain could be heard from the figure as black fluid oozed from his chest.
Yart wasted no time in sprinting at his injured son. However the figure countered his run by locking him in a hold and with almost super human strength, threw Yart far across the snowy battleground.
Yart tumbled helplessly across the snow, blood fell from his face as he tried to gain any semblance of balance.
He had few fractures which prevented him from recovering as quickly as he should.
The figure pulled the dragger from his chest and hurled it with brute force at his father.
The dagger came directly for Yart's head, the former general could do nothing but offer his hand in weak defense.
The dagger pierced though his hand causing Yart to groan in anguish.

Dalian watched in horror as her dead brother created two more illusions of his blade. He hurled all three blades at their father, it was the move that had killed king Harpiscus.
Yart detached the dagger from his hand, he threw both daggers at the blades rushing at him.
His daggers flew true and struck both illusions.
Yart steadied himself as the real sword hurled towards him.
With both hands, he caught the speeding blade.
The velocity of the sword, flung Yart few meters backwards.
The old general realized his son was disarmed, gingerly he grabbed the blade.
Despite being unarmed, the figure wasted no time in sprinting towards his father with evil intentions.
Yart allowed him to get close before swinging his blade with experienced accuracy, however, like the figure sidestepped the blade and delivered a blow to his father's temple.
Yart's vision blurred a bit, the figure capitalized on the moment to disarm his father but the old general gained a fair measure of revenge as he delivered a powerful kick to his son's face.
Both fighters fell to the snow, but the figure was first to recover. He grabbed hold of Yart but the general crashed his head against his's forcing separation.
Yart attempted to press the attack but he gravely underestimated the figure's resilience.
As he lunged forward in attack, the figure reached for his neck and in one fluid motion, broke his throat.
Dalian cried out in horror as her father struggled to maintain his balance.
Yart had used this move a thousand times, infact, he invented the technique. Never he had thought he would die at it's hands. He decided it was true what they said about those who lived by the sword.
Yart allowed himself to slowly lay on the snow. The lack of oxygen had begun to kick in and he knew he had very little time to live.
So he thought of only happy memories, of his childhood, his military life, his wife, his children, even of the one who killed him.
It did not take long before the old general passed away.
The figure left with his army after he confirmed his father's death but not before tossing another blood covered parchment on the snow.

AUTHOR'S NOTE.
AS A TRIBUTE TO YART. TELL US IN YOUR OWN OPINION, HIS MOST HEROIC ACTION.