Estelle stood in the clearing, across from the High Maiden with a sword gripped tightly in her hand.

The hoots from the nymphs to support their clan leader echoed loudly all around Estelle.

Estelle sucked in a deep breath, calming her heart and blocking out all the sounds from around the clearing to focus only on the battle at hand.

The High Maiden stood there, calm and poised with hands placed gracefully at her front.

Her expression was perfectly confident, Estelle could see the High Maiden did not believe Estelle stood a chance against her.

For good reason too, considering the significant fact that Estelle was not a being blessed with magic.

Estelle also had her own doubts, but she had left them at the other side of the clearing right before she stepped into the center.

Now, all that mattered to Estelle was putting all she had and all she had been taught to use.

"The rules are simple... the winner draws first blood." The head guard of the Nord nymphs announced.

First blood, it was considered even more tasking than a fight to the death.

A fight to the death would mean one had many chances to fall and rise till the last breath, but first blood meant all it would take was one mistake and the battle was lost.

Estelle’s fists clenched tighter, her eyes narrowed slightly as a drum was beat thrice, the fight had begun.

The hoots of the nymphs grew even louder and more excited as Estelle placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, her gaze narrowed in focus.

The loud hooting all around still penetrated through Estelle’s block, distracting her.

Estelle’s eyes roamed around the clearing, darting quickly from one nymph to the other, their hoots loud and overwhelming.

Estelle shook off her anxiety, letting her eyes flutter close as her mind took her back to those moments in the training grounds with her father and her Uncle Ranjor.

"Father, what am I to do if I face a stronger opponent...far stronger than I?" Estelle had once asked Lord Starron.

"You are learning to ask the right questions, child. Every battle requires a different approach, every battle is won in a different manner... understand your opponent but not your opponent alone."

"Understand your surrounding, and you will know what the battle demands of you." Lord Starron’s words echoed in Estelle’s mind.

"Slow your heartbeat, let the whole world fade away... everyone else does not matter, all that exists is you and your enemy."

"Concentrate on your environment, let your senses guide you... what you hear may be deceptive, what you see may be an illusion, focus on what you feel."

"Elle, do you know what makes a dragon undefeatable?" Lord Starron had asked.

"Their size?" Estelle asked back uncertainly.

"No child. Strength, size, weapons or armored scales...none of these are right."

"The greatest strength of a dragon is his instinct, sharper than any sword. Instinct is what you can trust Elle, they will guide you when nothing else can." Said Lord Starron’s voice.

Estelle mind settled completely, the hoots and distracting noises about all faded completely and all Estelle could hear was the heartbeat of the person across from her.

Calm, steady beats for a short moment and the moment there was a change in the pattern, Estelle knew her opponent was ready to move.

Estelle’s eyes fluttered open and she drew her sword, swinging it just in time to slash down a vine that shot up from the ground.

Vines, rocks, trees, everything within the forest was subject to the High Maiden’s will. Estelle was facing a being of the forest right in their own forest.

"There are no advantages." Estelle thought as she waited for the High Maiden’s next attack, her senses on high alert to pick up the slightest movement.

"You are lightblood, you make your own advantage." The voice in Estelle’s mind said.

More vines shot up from the ground all around Estelle, lunging at her one after the other and Estelle swung her sword in quick successions, slashing them down.

The vines were unrelenting, the more Estelle slashed, the more they grew.

"She is trying to keep you far away, she will not face you herself but relies on her magic alone..." The voice in Estelle’s mind whispered.

"She is not confident in her fighting skill... that is my advantage. I must close the distance between us and restrain her magic somehow..." Estelle realized as she slashed down the vines that besieged her from all around.

Estelle focused on the sound of the vines, the slight trembled of the Earth just before they shot up, she familiarized herself with this sound so she could predict where each vine would emerge.

The vines were fast and easily overwhelmed Estelle, Estelle was forced to retreat a few steps as she slashed them down as quickly as she could so she did not end up boxed in the middle of the vines.

Estelle figured this was the High Maiden’s intent, if Estelle got boxed in the vines with no way of escaping, she would be defenseless and the battle would be over before it had even fully begun.

Estelle slashed the vines from their roots, yet they easily regrew again, seeming to regrow even faster each time Estelle cut them down.

Soon, Estelle was surrounded completely by vines, despite how hard she tried to clear her path.

And the vines kept growing over each other, creating a thick wall of crisscrossed vines.

Estelle stopped fighting, letting the vines grow as they pleased, instead she focused her attention on the sound of the vines moving beneath the ground.

"The essence of knowing one’s enemy and one’s surrounding is to take hold of every odd and turn it into your favor." Came the voice, the exact words her father had said to her so long ago.

"What do you think is the enemy’s advantage? It can also be yours." The voice reminded.