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The Nobility, Vol. I "A Bit of Happy Time."

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 15:28

Prologue

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The Nobility

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Vol. I

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 15:32

A bit of a happy time

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 15:32

//"Most fans of the fantasy-historical view of the Middle Ages and Renaissance have one problem in common: they don't realize that violence was a constant of life at that time. For a nobleman (and not only), death from an overabundance of iron in the body was an occupational hazard that began with the first steps and continued right up to the funeral service (often in the absence of the body). It was so natural that it was not even thought about and certainly not lamented. Barons and counts (as well as churchmen of all kinds from abbots to cardinals) moved at least accompanied by a dozen or two armed servants, not out of noble pride, but out of a banal desire to live. After all, a blow could be struck suddenly and from any direction. The number of meetings, negotiations, as well as simply road crossings that ended with the removal of bodies, can not be counted. Calm times differed from turbulent times only in the total number of incidents and the reaction of the central authorities to them"

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:42

Kirill Kopylov

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//"All the characters were on complicated faces, had harsh fates (or rather, fate had them), difficult pasts and dangerous futures"

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:44

Ivan Koshkin

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Prologue

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:18

"They're scum, but they're not stupid."

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With those words, Ranjan put his hands on Elena's waist. The gesture looked intimate, almost like a prelude to a kiss, but the Brether only "settled" the belt lower on her hips.

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"Nothing should be dangling," Ranjan admonished and continued his interrupted thought. "They don't believe a woman can challenge them and win, but if it happens they will be careful. And they'll put the weakest first. If he kills you, no one's honor will be damaged. If the opposite happens, his example will serve the rest of the group well."

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:49

"Is that good?" Elena asked.

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:49

"It's not good or bad. These are happenings, they just are. On the one hand, it's good to increase your efforts, to go from weak to strong. On the other hand, the battles will wear you down, you'll approach the strongest opponent tired. Probably wounded."

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:50

"You have faith in me," the woman remarked softly and answered the Brether's mute question. "You have confidence that I will cross swords with all of them."

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:51

Ranjan remained silent. He took Elena's blade, the woman raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, and the Brether placed a large bundle of sturdy cloth wrapped with a strong cord on the table. The bundle seemed heavy, and the metal rattled against the boards, dark with time and dampness.

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:52

"A gift," Ranjan reported, setting aside Elena's krigmesser. "From ..."

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:52

He didn't finish, and it was clear who was being generous. The woman quickly untangled the cords. The light-colored cloth held a straight, double-edged sword and a dagger with a powerful, well-developed hilt and a shell-shaped side cup. Valuable things of good workmanship, a fortune, life, and death forged in steel.

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:53

Meanwhile, the herald behind the thick grille was blasting away, describing the essence of the conflict in a highly artistic form. The noise of the crowd penetrated through the stone and wood, echoing in my bones and nerves. It filled the soul with anticipation. Judging by the murmur, like the sound of the surf in a storm, there was a goodly number of people. Somebody whistled shrilly, and vendors of sweet cane and honey grains shrieked, hurrying to sell their goods before the action began. Trumpets and flutes accompanied the herald's words, emphasizing important points. Through the background of the music there were individual "dishonorable person of dubious qualities...", "despising the law..." and other circumstances of the case. Elena didn't listen, concentrating on the gift.

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:54

"Good steel, properly balanced," Ranjan approved, raising the sword on the edge of his palm. "Still, check to see if it's a good idea to change weapons before a fight."

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Elena took the blade, waved it a couple of times, and answered:

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:56

"It's just right."

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"You know best," Brether frowned, but didn't argue. A fighter knows best what he's more comfortable with in a fight to the death.

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Elena tried on the dagger as it would be on her belt from behind, under her left arm. It was uncomfortable, the cup was in the way. Then the woman slipped it into her left boot, but it was even worse, the heavy garde wobbled from side to side, despite the tight shank. She had to go back to the first option, and Ranjan helped tighten the straps, hooking the scabbard to the wide belt. Elena hung a small trapezoidal targu shield on the left side by a special hook. The second dagger, smaller and simpler, fit into her right boot as if it had been fitted.

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 19:58

"Just a moment... I almost forgot," the woman stuck a long, polished silver barrette into her hair. A dubious, borderline contemptuous concession to public opinion, which condemned the uncovered head.

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Ranjan lifted and wanted to lace up the high creased collar of her shirt.

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"Leave it," the woman shook her head.

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"Can protect your throat from being cut," Ranjan reminded her.

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"To hell with it," the swordswoman laconically cut off.

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 20:55

"Whatever you say," Ranjan shrugged.

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Elena glared at him, thinking that some true values in the world were timeless. No matter what happened, the Brether would always be stylish and sinister, long-haired, dressed in black, and generally looking like a decadent vampire or a tragic musketeer.

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 20:56

Ranjan, nicknamed Plague, the greatest Brether of his generation, is helping her get ready for the fight like his own daughter. He seems genuinely worried, though who knows what he's really feeling beneath the mask of a dapperly trimmed mustache and wedge beard.

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 20:57

"The dagger," said the Brether. "Save it for last."

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 20:58

"What?"

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 20:58

"Barbaza is good, very good," the man explained patiently. "He's not a Brether, but he learned from Brethers. If you get to a fight with him, it won't be easy."

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 21:01

//"Thanks for the if." - the woman wanted to say caustically but held back.

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 21:01

"He's used to fighting against sword or sword and shield, large and small. But your new style... Unusual. Unexpected. From the outside, it will look like you're exhausted, no longer able to hold your shield and grasping at straws. Use it."

Camrad_RIP 19.04.24 в 21:02

"Thank you."

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Elena looked into Brether's black impenetrable eyes that looked like polished obsidian

Camrad_RIP 20.04.24 в 09:05

"Do you think he's in there?" she suddenly asked. "Is he looking at... his science?"

Camrad_RIP 20.04.24 в 09:06

"Maybe. He doesn't need to sit on the podium to know," Ranjan replied very seriously.

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"Yes, indeed," the woman sighed. "I hope Artigo doesn't see it."

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"The crowned bastard will bring the boy to the podium," Brether rumbled, glancing around to see if anyone was listening. Elena regretted stepping on a sore thumb.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.24 в 09:24

Trumpets howled behind the bars, indicating that the time had come. Elena swallowed and placed her hand on the shield, feeling the familiar heaviness and sharp angle of the bronze edging. The sword in her right hand seemed huge and weighty, like a two-handed poleaxe axe. Fighting and possibly - very possibly! - she didn't want to die. To the point of trembling in her arms and legs.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.24 в 09:25

//"When you leave, leave," she remembered her grandfather's words and took a decisive step toward the bars. The watchman rattled his keys on the other side, preparing to open the way for the duelist.

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"Stop," Ranjan placed a broad gloved palm on her shoulder, as heavy and hard as the hand of a copper statue.

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"Don't take your little finger off the hilt," Brether reminded me. "You do tend to lose the two-finger turn on the blade. You have to grip the handle tightly."

Camrad_RIP 20.04.24 в 09:26

"Yes, I'll remember," Elena promised.

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They froze for a moment, standing side by side.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.24 в 09:27