Chaos: Genesis

Spero, Cyrus, and Darius are at the training grounds.

"Alright, Darius let's refresh our knowledge on some basic battle scenarios. Ever since the sneak attack from the elves we need to be diligent." Chaos explains to Darius.

"I wish we were able to assist," Darius replies.

Cyrus then interjects, "It took us all by surprise, you and Basir's men were still a day or two away from our position.

"Alright scenario 1, you're outnumbered 3 to 1, what is the first thing you should do?" Spero questions.

"Back up and create space, try to find a way to retreat," Darius replies.

"And if there is no option to run? What if they put pressure?"

"Rule 1: separate them, try to fight them one on one. Space them out, attempt to secure the high ground, avoid getting surrounded at all cost."

Spero paces around Darius, "Good, what do you do if you get surrounded?"

"Rule 2: Use their teamwork against them. If I'm surrounded, I will try to lure them as close to each other as possible, that way they have to be careful when attacking, they would be too focused on injuring their allies if they are shoulder to shoulder."

Spero stops pacing, "Okay great, I'm sure you've experienced some of these scenarios when on the battlefield, but we made sure you always had someone next to you the whole time. Now let's see how you fair against us two, alone."

Darius nods, preparing himself to face Spero and Cyrus. He raises his shield and grounds himself firmly as he grips his short sword. Cyrus slams against Darius' shield with his own, causing a metallic clang, rattling through him but remaining unfazed. Cyrus thrusts his sword forward, but Darius parries it away with the side of his shield. Spero lunges forward with a front kick, slamming into Darius' shield and pushing him back two steps. Cyrus hurls three rapid slashes, and Darius swipes up his sword to parry them. Spero lunges forward, gripping the top of his shield and slamming it down as he swings for Darius' head. He ducks and scurries away, scrambling for distance between himself and his two opponents. Cyrus chases after him as Darius casts his eyes around the area. A few practice targets and large logs come into view, and he hastens towards them. He zig-zags between the obstacles, determined to separate Cyrus and Spero. Darius ducks behind one of the targets, listening as Cyrus stalks by, his sword piercing through the object but finding no one on the other side. Suddenly, Darius springs out from the side and knocks over the target with a loud crash. As it tumbles towards Cyrus' head, he quickly catches it with his shield and hoists it away. Darius takes off, but Spero quickly blocks his escape, spinning around to deliver a powerful strike. Darius slides beneath the attack and springs back up, kicking Spero firmly in the back of the knee. The blow throws off Spero's balance and Darius darts away.

"That was a good attempt boy!" Cyrus announces loudly.

Darius drops his weapons and sits down, and Spero walks up to him.

"That was nice, but you need to throw some more attacks, being defensive is great but if you don't retaliate, the enemy will know that you're struggling."

Cyrus gets close, "You need to use your parries as opportunities to counter, if you only block you'll be stuck in taking hits."

Cyrus hefts his shield and sword, preparing to meet Spero's attack. He blocks the blade with his shield and thrusts forward with his sword. Spero ducks the blow and counters with a fierce slash. Cyrus parries the blade away again and steps forward, delivering an aggressive strike with his sword.

"Like this. It's a continuous back and forth, you need to match the flow of your opponent to get a feel of their movements and tempo. With this, you learn their patterns and you can time your blocks accordingly. Once you can predict their next attack, you counter."

"Alright, but what if they use magic?"

Spero chimes in, "It's the same principle, many magic spells can be blocked by a shield or dodged unless it's a crowd control attack, then you need to get out of the spell's radius. You could always counter it with your own spell if you have time."

"Uncle, what kind of spells do you use to get away from a group of enemies?"

Cyrus gives Darius a large smile, "I don't."

"What do you mean?", Darius asks confusedly.

"I can't use magic."

Darius is stunned by his uncle's answer.

Spero replies, "I've taught Cyrus how to react to any possible battle scenario, why do you think he's such a great fighter? If you can't use mana you're naturally at a disadvantage in this world, but what happens once you run out of mana? You use your fists."

"What about you Spero, I've seen you use spells before."

Spero glances at his hand and back at Darius, "That is true, but I only use basic elemental spells."

Darius gives a stern look at them both.

"You know... I've never actually seen you two spar, I've always heard stories from the other soldiers, that Spero would only spar with you Uncle."

Cyrus and Spero pause and stare at each other curiously. Cyrus and Spero chuckle.

"Well, Spero has already taught me everything he knows."

"I guess... but it would be great to see two fighters with your experience battle it out."

They glance at each other, shrugging their shoulders in anticipation. Gripping their weapons tightly, they eye each other warily. Darius gawks in wonder as he braces himself for the first strike. In an instant, they hurtle toward one another and collide with a clang of metal blades.

The generals solemnly gather around the wide war room table in the castle of Anshan, each man huddling over maps and battle plans before them. The King sits at the head of the table, listening intently to their reports of success so far and what strategies they think should come next.

"We must secure allies due to the elves' recent advancement," Parsa states. "The reptilians and orcs have retreated, but we cannot wait until they take us from all sides."

Ashkan suggests, "What if we attempt to hold a meeting with the dwarves down south?"

Basir counters, "We have possession of their stolen weapons; I highly doubt they will be cooperative."

Cyrus interjects, "The elves and dwarves have been fighting for centuries. If we can reach an agreement with them, we might just be able to get them to work together with us."

"We can't afford to hand back the weapons, those tools are invaluable," Ashkan replies.

The king proclaims, "What if we barter? What if we offer them one of our weapons?"

He surveys Spero with a piercing gaze, who reluctantly casts an uneasy glance and sighs heavily.