Lore:Nature

Nature is a one-shot, canon story in the Clouded Horizons series' Eighth Realm. The story takes place at an undetermined time in the storyline, and features Ben musing on the reason why he fights.

Story

It’s a strange feeling, you know?

You never quite get used to being on the battlefield. I mean, sure, you learn to deal with it, learn to deal with the fear that might grip you, but you never really learn to be one hundred percent comfortable. At least, that’s my opinion.

Maybe it’s just because I never expected I’d ever be on a battlefield. Where I come from, sure, I may have known how to wield a sword, but that didn’t mean there would ever be a time where I would really need to use it to defend myself. Now? Yeah, I’m fighting for my life pretty much every day, using my sword like I’ve been using it since I was about four.

Now, call me crazy, but there is something I enjoy about being in battle. And I’ll be perfectly honest, it’s not the most honorable reason, if honorable is even the right word. It’s simply the rush you get from locking blades with a potentially overwhelming opponent. Sure, I fight to protect my friends, to protect myself...but there’s this tiny little part of me that enjoys the feel of having to make every move perfectly, calculating every strike, block, and counter with the utmost care, lest you wind up dead.

Is that the main reason I fight? No.

Is that a reason I would continue to fight? Maybe.

Is that a reason I consider morally right? I don’t think so.

But it keeps you alive.

Without that rush, your strikes get dull, less focused...and that makes you vulnerable. Let’s face it. Without that adrenaline coursing through your body, you’d freeze up. You’d be afraid to do what it takes to win, and you’d end up dead as a result. Everyone gets the rush, they have to...but I wonder just how many feel the same way I do about it?

Who knows. I’ll probably never know the answer to why I enjoy it so much. Maybe it’s the tactical side of my mind that makes me enjoy the complicated thought process behind a life-or-death battle. There is, however, one simple thing I do know.

It’s my nature.