[color=goldenrod][i][h2][center]Gerard Segremors[/center][/h2][/i][/color]

It began not with a war call, nor with a burst of violence, but instead with a flicker, at the edge of what could be caught. Were it not for the fruits of his hard labor in the dream that had been granted upon them all, Gerard was sure he would have been smote in that single stroke.

A flash of movement, a nudge of the wrist that a duller eye would have believed a twitch, barely running down the length of her bone-wrought blade.

The faintest whisper of wind approaching, honed to an edge so fine his ears barely caught warning before it brushed against his skin.

Barely there. Tells even the prescient would struggle to read, of such he felt certain— it was by Reon’s grace that he saw the truest sign of danger, one that seemed in its own right madness, everything he saw falling out of line for the barest instant.

Deadly experience roared to life within him, one of the many quaint lessons imparted by Cyrus at the end of his Hammer— when the world is split before you, no matter how impossibly, you by Reon’s grace got the [i]hell[/i] out of the middle.

An instant later, fast as he could, the knight let his feet take him to the left, choosing the side of the world that brought him close to where his mysterious opponent stood, his longsword coming to bear in the wake of the unseen attack even as a thin line opened onto the fresh steel of his helmet, and his thoughts raced.

That was different from the projected slashes he had become accustomed to, insofar as what repeated trouncing at the hand of Rui had taught him to be able to see— they didn’t attack his perception like the pale lady had, either. It was impossible, surely, to split the world. He’d seen as he had darted to the side, the change in angle revealing only a light fissure through the earth where he had stood but an instant ago. Had she cut at his sight itself, the same as the realm’s mistress had attacked the Duke’s mind?

He whipped the point around as he came into the dominant angle, outside her sword arm— his first blow swiftly tearing through the air towards her veil. Not quite a simultaneous counter, but decently close— enough that he could test her defensive reactions with it. Already, this much told him that he’d need to stick close if possible— whatever the true nature of that projected cut was, he wasn’t keen on finding out how far away she could manage it from by way of getting stuck on the outskirts of her range.

No, not his sight. His eyes were working again as soon as he had thrown himself clear of the divide. Her cut had [i]landed[/i] upon his visor, not his vision.

[color=goldenrod][i]So what the hell, then?[/i][/color] Invisible, barely audible, still sharp enough to rend earth and steel… But with a tell that threw everything he saw behind it into a subtle offset. Vexing. And dangerous, even before the fact that despite the veil obscuring her face, he’d felt her eyes on him just as his were measuring her.

Hn. Were it so easy to confuse her sight similarly. But unless he wanted to kick up the bisected corpse and stain that veil of hers red… such potentially unsporting ideas would need to simmer while he fairly, honestly, and valiantly kept himself alive. He had accepted a challenge between the two of them, and no other. If her steed would not ride to her aid, then…

There were far less openly foolish ways to cross the Fae than chucking a corpse at them.

He doubted their blades wouldn’t cross here. His full weight and strength was behind the blow— If they reached a bind, he would take measure of her strength before trying to wind over for a a thrust. The unseelie lady was as dainty as any foe he had seen upon the field of battle, practically a reed. In approaching to present arms, Gerard had found even his rather middling height to loom over her. He was probably thrice her weight.

All things that were at most points similarly true of Tyaethe, a few hundred meters away. He had a nose for a suckers’ bet— if he [i]could[/i] muscle her around, he wagered he’d find out the old fashioned way.