Elden Ring: A Sword's Purpose

Mary rushed forward, wooden sword pulled back. Her first attack, a slash to his right side, came quick but the ones that followed were much slower. A stab for his stomach, slashes aimed for his arms and legs, more stabs for his legs. Varied as they were, none of the attacks flowed together, hesitation slowing the assault down. Every time he dodged or parried an attack, she'd slow down and focus solely on the wooden blade held loosely in his hand, cautious of retaliation.

Fear still held a tight grasp on her.

As soon as her twelfth strike landed, Jin finally stepped forward. Mary instantly backpedaled, eyes wide and glued to his blade. Her foot caught on one of the roots of a nearby tree and she stumbled back, unable to avoid the kick to her stomach, not that she saw it coming in the first place. She hit the dirt, blade slipping free from her hand, and he followed, his own sword pulled back. She fumbled for her sword, eyes screw shut as she raised it to block his strike.

He shifted the trajectory and eased off the force, jabbing her defenseless chest with the tip.

"You are too scared. That fear of yours makes you can easy target." Jin chided as he took several steps back, Mary rubbing her chest as she stood up. "Again."

Teeth gritted and brow furrowed in frustration -her anger likely boosted by the fact that the others sat nearby watching the one-sided beating- Mary rushed forward. Her attacks were packed with more force and chained together far more smoothly, attacks flying out one after the other, careless of whether or not he planned on retaliating.

Offense certainly made for a good defense but it took experience and proper self-control to employ such a tactic. Neither of which she had.

Once more, Jin waited for her twelfth strike. In came In the form of a slash that he blocked. As she went for the next, he swung, his wooden blade slamming into the elbow of her dominant arm and forcing her to drop the sword.

"Your fear still controls you." He noted with a shake of his head.

"What is that even suppose to mean?" Mary spat out, elbow clenched. "I try to be more careful like you said and I still get beat. I stop being careful and the same thing happens. What am I suppose to do?"

Jin had explained that to her numerous times since they started training together but none of it ever clicked with her. Whether it be literally pointing out her mistakes or being more obscure about it words weren't enough to help her. What she needed was a demonstration.

"Amy." He called out. "Come here, you and I are going to spar."

"Finally!" Said girl cheered, leaping up from the log where the others had been watching and running past Mary, sword at the ready. "I'm going to win this time!"

Mary prepared to protest his decision but a sharp look from him stopped her before she could start. She picked up her blade and stepped back, not joining the others, but giving them enough space to start.

"Come." Jin barely got the word out before Amy began to close the distance between them, swinging her blade the moment she was close enough. Her slashes and stabs -all of which he deflected or stepped around- didn't hold nearly the same force as Mary's but they flowed together nicely, little chance given for a counterattack.

As with Mary, he waited for the twelfth attack. Unlike Mary, whether by instinct or observation, Amy picked up on the self-imposed rule after several spars, already moving to put distance between after she threw out that last slash. She backpedaled, easily avoiding roots, and ducked beneath a slash from him. He brought it back for another but that was avoided as well, the girl full on throwing herself away from him with a roll.

He gave chase.

A stab towards her shoulder marked his third attack which was also avoided.

A kick to her stomach, barely blocked, sent her tumbling across the dirt, though she used the momentum to roll back to her feet, that smooth recovery of hers marking the fourth.

And as he went in for his fifth attack, Amy suddenly pushed forward, his wooden sword grazing her grinning face as she jumped up from his left side, prepared to stab him. Just as she picked up on his other rules, she noticed he never used his free hand to attack them. Of course, he stepped around it and grabbed her by the back of the collar.

"Hey! This is cheating!" She whined, flailing about in his grasp.

"Do you understand now?" Jin questioned, ignoring her.

"I understand that you're going easy on her." Mary said with a frown. And that was true to some extent; he didn't move nearly as fast or use as much force against Amy though still kept the same handicaps he put on himself against Mary.

"Would you rather I treat you like a baby?" He shot back causing Mary to look away.

"I'm not a baby!" Amy called out, still struggling, though they both ignored her.

"I allow you both twelve strikes. I only make five against the both of you before backing off. I never use my left hand against either of you." Jin abandoned any pretenses, throwing the rules out. "You never noticed any of this because you allow your fear to control you."

Mary was silent for a few moments likely recalling all her failed attempts to land a strike at him and the opportunities she would've had had she taken advantage of those details. She shook her head and looked back up at him. "Then how do I stop being scared?" She forced out the last word, not at all happy to admit such a thing.

Jin shook his head. "You should not attempt to rid yourself of fear. Fear is good." He said, Mary's skepticism spreading across her face. "If you do not fear your opponent then you are so far out of your league that you don't realize you should or the battle you're fighting isn't worth your time. What you need to do is accept that fear, to treat it as no more than another aspect of battle. If you don't, fear will make all the important decisions for you."

Tossing Amy back towards the others, Jin readied his sword, staring down at Mary. "Again."

…

"What do you mean you're leaving with her?" Mary questioned glaring up at him.

In the early hours of the morning, not long after the girls refilled and rolled barrels of water back to the camp, Jin and Maureen now stood at the entrance to their camp. The latter held her book to her chest and stared down at the ground, a rudimentary pack of supplies on her back. Mary, Millicent and Amy were gathered before them, Polyanna, crawling around near their feet.

"I'm going to find someone who can teach her sorcery." Jin stated.

"Sorcery? Like magic? Why don't you teach her?" Mary questioned.

"I don't know anything about sorcery."

"But-"

"My flames are not sorcery." He cut her off before she could start. "We will not be gone long." Jin beckoned Mary to him and she obeyed despite her deep frown. He undid the dark red rope tying his katana to him and held the sheathed blade out. Mary's eyes widened slightly and she looked up at him, only taking it after he nodded. Her arms fell slightly, the katana heavier than she expected. "Only use that blade if you or your sisters are in danger and be prepared to kill whoever you draw it on. Understand?"

"Y-Yes." Mary said quickly.

Satisfied, Jin turned and unbarred the door. While he prepared to leave they took their chances to say goodbye, Millicent and Amy both hugging Maureen. They moved on to him as well.

"Why can't I come?" Amy whined, refusing to let him go.

Mary was the one to pull her away. Though she didn't join in on the hugs whether they be for him or Maureen, she did fix the latter with an intense stare. "Stay close to the old man."

She didn't intend on using his name did she?

"I will." Maureen said as she joined him beyond the doors. Jin shut them and listened out for the girl barring it before they fully set out.

The whole time, he was all too aware of the missing weight where his sword should've been.

…

"An interesting request, my friend." Kalè said, setting aside the instrument he'd been plucking at.

Jin and Maureen sat across the man's campfire. While not as put off compared to their first meeting, Kalè still regarded the gold eyed girl with suspicion while she sat partially hidden behind Jin.

"My people know little about sorcery. Its is not out specialty." Kalè continued while twisting one of the skewers of meat he had cooking over the dim flame. "That said, I do believe I have information that may be of use to someone with particular interests in such a subject. Information pertaining to a sorcerer that may be nearby."

Well aware of how things worked, Jin turned, reaching into pack on Maureen's back and producing some of the supplies they brought. Furs, cleaned bones, and food.

"Thank you, my friend. Godrick's men has made things rather difficult as of late." Kalè said as he took the offered supplies. "East of here, just off the roads that leads towards southern Limgrave, you will find ruins home to poisonous plants. A sorcerer is said to make their home in the basement of the old structure."

Jin raised a brow.

"That is all I know of the sorcerer, truly." Kalè said. "Though the one who shared this information mentioned sounds akin to a beasts from below the ruins. I would prepare for the worse."

Jin nodded in thanks and stood, Maureen quickly following.

"I'd steer clear of the main road. More patrols have been spreading out from the Gatefront." Kalè warned them as they left behind the dilapidated church and resumed their journey down the land's main roads.

While not as windy as its more northern areas, winds swept past them, rustling their clothes and threatening to break down the already worn fences that outlined the old trail. There were still signs of activity, depressions in the dirt signaling that some wagons and the like were wheeled through at one point or another.

It might be worth securing one from the soldiers around here for any future travels and chores around the camp.

Speaking of soldiers, a pair crested the uphill turn ahead, one outfitted with a basic sword and shield and the other with a tower shield and spear. Jin slowed, hand instinctively dropping to where his sword should've been only to grasp at air.

No matter. Handling a patrol as small as this wouldn't require a blade.

"-a tarnished and…is that the Scarlet Rot?" The soldier with the sword said, his voice becoming audible as the pair closed in. "Should we kill the girl and take him?"

"Best to burn them both. It'll save us the trouble of dealing with that disease." The other said, readying shield and spear.

There was no room to debate their intentions.

Too confident for his own good, the one with the sword began to rush ahead of his comrade, prepared to run Jin through. He side stepped the far too slow attack and seized the soldier's neck, a familiar crack joining the whistling winds before the man could so much as gasp in surprise. Allowing the limp corpse to drop to the ground, Jin focused on the other.

The spearman's lax form changed in an instant, shield held defensively as he took slow steps backward. Jin had never been one to use a shield. He'd never been interested in them. That went double for such an oversized excuse of one.

He shot forward, sprinting at an angle that turned the shield against the user, its excessive size allowing Jin to slip out of the soldier's sight with minimal effort. Desperate, the man swung the spear rather than stabbed where he thought Jin would be. His spear swept only through air.

Having leaped into the air, Jin landed behind the soldier and wrapped his forearms around the man's neck, another crack filling the as the man slumped to the ground, head twisted too far in the wrong direction.

Just like the soldiers back in Caelid he didn't recognize the surcoats of these soldiers or the symbols they wore but the golden color of their armor and shields were enough to signify their allegiance to the Golden Order.

He had little trouble imagining that anyone under Marika's banner would want to kill those without Grace but why would they want to capture him? Slave labor? Unless the misbegotten had gone extinct he was certain they had enough bodies working tireless under them.

Stowing the thoughts for later, Jin picked up the sword from the first soldier, taking a few test swings to get adjusted to its weight. Other than the faded and chipped black pattern at its center, it was a typical straight sword, kept in decent condition. Freeing the sheath from the soldier's belt, he attached it to his own hip.

"Mister Jin?" Maureen called out. She wasn't bothered by the dead bodies, already at his side now that the brief encounter was settled. "Why don't you use your other swords?"

"They…aren't weapons. Not mine anyways." He said while moving over the other soldier and kicking up the dropped spear. Like the sword it was somewhat worn down, the patterns that one marked its wooden handle all but faded but it was kept in useable condition. "They're mementos."

"Mementos?" She asked curious as ever when it came to new words.

"It means I keep that as reminders. Keepsakes so I remember the people they belonged to." He explained as he held out the spear. Maureen slipped her book in her bag then took in, needing both hands to hold it steady. Amy or Mary would've been excited to get their hands on a real weapon they could use freely but she didn't look particularly thrilled by it. She did away with her small frown when she noticed his eyes on her.

"Thank you." She said quickly.

"There is no need to pretend." He assured her. "Perhaps you'll be able to go your entire life avoiding battle. Perhaps not. What I'm teaching all of you is not how to use a blade but how to live on your own terms. Without strength that is impossible."

Maureen slowly nodded. Reserved as she was he still picked up on her relief that he wasn't expecting her to actually fight alongside him. "I understand."

"Good." He said as they set off once more.

Jin didn't understand her distaste for violence. He likely never would; he never understood Akai after countless years together after all. But maybe, just maybe, if she grew unimpeded, he'd be able to understand what it was that Akai desired by attempting to abandon the clan.