“If you could lay me flat, I would concede you were the better warrior and step aside,” the Shield jeered, though it was all in good fun. They hadn’t seriously fought in years. Decades, even. It didn’t matter who was the better, it mattered that they could work together and trust one another. Clarus saw no reason that should change, even if they wouldn’t have the same working relationship here.

Rather than waiting to feel Cor out, to see if The Immortal would strike first, Clarus took the initiative with a hard arc over his head culminating in a downstroke. Of course Cor would block, but they’d likely block each other at every strike. That was how the game was played.