First story written here, lets see how it goes, shall we? Hope the actions are distinguishable enough for any and all readers, enjoy everyone!
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Theum 'Ripostee shook his head, and glanced down.
Examining the deactivated hilt of an energy sword in his hand, he used his palm to shift its positioning slightly. Slowly wrapping his hand around the hilt, he felt the contours of the carved symbols embedded on the blade. Reading himself for the battle that he knew was to follow, he gripped it firmly and activated it. Holding it to his side confidently, he shifted his legs, taking up a more comfortable and confidant stance. Dimly aware of the sounds of fighting surrounding him, he focused solely on the being standing before him. The Sangheili was tall and imposing, muscled with a graceful shaping. A prideful gleam shone in his eyes. Theum narrowed his eyes at the Sangheili, determined to take him down and claim the honour that would come from such an act.
The Swordsmaster flared his mandibles impatiently, just as the Sangheili standing before Theum activated his own sword and took stance. The Swordsmaster regained his composure and examined the stance of the second Sangheili, Narth 'Mandee, before pausing momentarily. Satisfied that Narth 'Mandee was in a proper position, he decided to let the battle commence. "You may begin." He stated simply.
Immediately after hearing the Swordmaster's words, Narth sprung forwards, unleashing a wide swipe with his sword that was only narrowly sidestepped by Theum. Tightening his grip on the hilt, Theum swung his own sword upwards in a vicious uppercut. Using his sword to knock Theum's blade away from his body, Narth delivered a heavy elbow to his opponent's face, causing him to step back with a stunned jerk of his body. Wasting no time, Narth took a brutal horizontal sweep at Theum, grazing his protective armour coating slightly and causing Theum to jump back again in surprise.
Theum focused more thoroughly this time, observing every detail that he could about his opponent. To his great anger, he also noticed that Narth wore a smirk on his face, standing there and smugly watching Theum. With a shout, Theum dived forwards towards Narth, causing him to fall to the ground in surprise from the unexpected movement. Rolling forwards before standing up quickly, Theum rapidly approached Narth who only barely had enough time to get to his feet before ducking out of the way of an overhead swipe. Now taking the offense, Theum launched a volley of strikes from all angles towards Narth, who could do naught but block and avoid the strikes.
Feigns, swings, chain strikes, and heavy blows continually flowed from the arms off Theum, who could not deny the sense of tiredness slowly creeping through and threatening to overcome his body. Swift blows slowly turned into prolonged sweeps, and the powerful strength and desire for victory that Theum had felt earlier was burning away. Theum put large amounts of power into his attacks, but could not land a blow on the defending Sangheili. Eventually, he was forced to fall back into defence as Narth's attacks took over his movements; dictating his actions and controlling the maneuvers he attempted. Theum could feel himself slowly beginning to weaken his grip on his sword, and knew he could not last much longer. Gathering his final reserves of energy, he quickly knocked a swipe from Narth aside and put all of his strength into one final strike. Bringing his arm up over his head, Theum brought the sword down in a powerful overhead strike… before feeling an iron grip clinging to his arm. Unbalanced, Theum stumbled for a second, before feeling the grip release. Just in time to take a powerful kick to the back of his head.
Collapsing face down in the ground, Theum could not gather the energy required to lift himself back to his feet. Rolling over onto his back, he was immediately greeted by the sight of the tips of Narth's sword pointing at his face. Theum sighed, before letting his head loll back to the rough ground. "I submit." He stated, feeling indescribably weak as the words escaped his mouth. Theum relaxed against the ground, grateful for the momentary break. Taking a few seconds to rest, he finally gathered his willpower and pulled himself back into reality, heaving himself onto his feet.
Noticing Narth having a conversation with the Swordsmaster, Theum walked towards the victorious Sangheili. He would not disrespect a worthy opponent by ignoring him. Approaching as fast as his wounded pride would let him, Theum was able to catch the last fragments of the words the Swordsmaster was speaking.
"…have earned the right and honour to wield the traditional sword, just as your forefathers did before you. May your strikes be swift, and may your foes fall before your might." Theum watched as Narth bowed to the Swordsmaster, then approached him.
"You fought well, Narth 'Mandee. It was an honour to fight you." Theum stated, as politely as he could manage in his current state.
"You too, Theum." Narth stated bluntly. Feeling put off, Theum sidestepped Narth and approached the Swordsmaster, watching as the Sangheili looked away from Narth and glared at him instead. The Swordsmaster's voice was laced with venom. "You have learned nothing of that which I have tried to teach you. You attack without consideration, and let emotions dominate your movements. You will raise no sword against your foes, and they will slaughter you for your lack of honour. Leave me until you are prepared to learn."
Already aware of the outcome of arguing this point with the older Sangheili, Theum didn't even attempt to do so. Turning away from the Swordsmaster and the rest of the training fields, Theum could think of nothing else to do but return to his barracks.
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First entry here, yay. I don't know if this will be confusing to read, my writing style is generally more focused on visual literacy and reflects that. If I make a new chapter, I promise it will be more focused on speaking instead of just fighting. Thanks for reading, everyone. Any critique or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Edit: Altered parts of it to make the reading more smooth and less broken-up. Hope this has increased the chapter's readability.