Deleted Chapter from The Shadow Spinner

The Shadow Spinner has too many fight scenes and training scenes. We all know it. I’ve mentioned in past posts that I actually deleted fight scenes and training scenes from the book! Here is a big chunk of proof. An entire chapter I ended up cutting out on Jace training N’Halia how to fight in hand-to-hand combat. This chapter was between chapters 36 and 37. It actually dips into both chapters a bit, but I included all the cut material just so you can read it.

Learning By Feel

Jace led N’Halia back into the Hoops court. 

“Many of the techniques that apply to weapons, also apply to hand-to-hand fighting. You still need to maneuver, feint, measure distance, and so on. But even with no weapon in your hands, you still have many weapons at your disposal.”

“What do you mean?” 

To demonstrate, Jace waved her to approach him. He assumed a fighting stance and she stalked forward, cautiously. She raised her fists, left hand forward, and edged closer. As she stepped forward to punch Jace, he kicked his leg before she could enter range. His foot slammed firmly into her lead leg’s thigh, checking her progress. It didn’t really hurt, but it did stop her from closing the distance. She circled around and came in again. He lifted his leg to check her again and she jumped to the side. As she quickly moved through the air, she saw that his leg had never actually kicked. He had just feinted, making her jump to the side prematurely. She landed and this time his foot did connect with her, crashing into her chest and sending her stumbling backwards. He hadn’t kicked her hard enough to hurt her, just enough to knock her off balance. 

She regained her balance and paused. Instead of charging in, she nodded to him – point taken. Her legs were weapons that she clearly didn’t know much about using. 

“As you can tell, your legs are actually some of the most important weapons in “hand”-to-”hand” combat.” 

She nodded along. “So you use them to stop your opponent from approaching or kick them backwards. I can only imagine what a kick to the head would do!” 

Jace laughed, but shook his head. “You may see high kicks from martial arts demonstrations, but in a real fight, you wouldn’t want to kick that high.” 

She frowned, “Why not?” 

Once again, he beckoned her forward. She creeped towards him, but he made no effort to keep her back this time. She realized she was supposed to be the one kicking him in the head. Not wanting to be too obvious, she started with a few punches at him. He blocked and dodged them easily, patiently waiting for her kick. After another engagement, she decided to go for it. She whipped her leg towards her head and he simply blocked with his arm and caught her leg before she could pull it back. She was left standing on one leg while he held her other one. She expected to be knocked backwards or thrown to the ground, but he merely held her leg there. Her first impulse was to try to jerk her leg back or throw a punch to try to break free, but she paused. He wasn’t attacking, so maybe she shouldn’t either. She stood there, in the awkward position, for a moment. 

“High kicks make you vulnerable, don’t they?” 

He cocked an eyebrow at her and then pivoted his body away, taking her leg with him. It jerked her off balance and he swept her other leg out from under her. 

“A simple ‘yes’ would have sufficed!” She said angrily, picking herself up from the ground. Still, she got the point. 

“High kicks are high risk-medium reward,” he explained. “In a competition, that might be worth it because the only negative consequence might be that you may lose. In a fight to the death, though, losing means dying.” 

“So you kick the legs and trunk, then?”

He nodded. “In a competitive fight with several rounds, you would kick the legs and stomach repeatedly. It’s tiring getting hit, so kicking the legs “takes their legs” and kicking the stomach “takes their air”. Both cause them to be able to move around less. But in a real fight, you don’t get several rounds to win. You’re looking to incapacitate them as quickly as possible – either to finish them off or to be able to run away.”

N’Halia didn’t like the thought of running away from a fight, but she knew that they already had run away from several fights. They were just constantly outnumbered. She figured that wouldn’t be getting any better, though, so she focused on the “finish them off” part. 

“So if I want to finish them, but I can’t kick them in the head, what am I supposed to do?” 

“First, think of your legs as less of a way to hit your opponents, and more of a way to knock them off balance. Second, of the strong opponents you’ve seen, who would you not want to fight hand-to-hand?”

She thought quickly through the strong fighters she’d seen. The Donkey, The Dragon, even the Surge Protector would be nasty to fight up close. “Honestly? None of them.”

“Why?” 

“Their Powe- ah!” 

Jace nodded. “Strength, Fire, Ice, Lightning – most offensive Powers that suck to fight against with a weapon, suck even more to fight against without a weapon. Ironically, even though Hermit doesn’t like hand-to-hand fighting, he’s at an undeniable advantage.” 

N’Halia begrudgingly had to agree. He didn’t have to worry about getting Punched, Blasted, Frozen, or Shocked. She stepped in close to Jace and asked quietly. “Jace – why doesn’t anything hurt Hermit?” 

He looked at her searchingly. “You really haven’t figured it out, yet? There’s nothing special about his body, you know.” 

“So it is his Power. Something about how Shadow Flows?” She had figured that, but had secretly feared he was in some sort of immortal form that she could never hope to beat. 

“When Shadow and Light Flow, they have opposite effects. Shadow makes you Fade from the influence of the world. Light makes you Radiant to the world.” 

“Hmm. So things don’t really hurt him. But wouldn’t that mean he also couldn’t hurt other people? I’ve seen him knock people out.” 

“How’d he do it?” 

“He hit them in the head with his… Oh, I see! So that’s why he doesn’t like unarmed combat, isn’t it?”

Jace nodded. “Exactly. Like all of us, he’s a powerful wielder. No human could ever hope to use Shadow the way he does, especially in a fight.” 

N’Halia thought about what Jace had said. “So, does that mean a Light wielder can have the opposite effect? They would be super strong or something?” 

“Technically yes – not super strength per se, but their attacks would be particularly harmful. But no Light wielder would ever Flow during a fight.”

“Why not?” 

“Again, their Power would have the opposite effect of Hermit’s.”

Realization dawned on N’Halia. “Oh… they would be much more vulnerable to harm as well, right?” 

“Yes. It would make fighting with the Flow far too risky, even for a skilled fighter.” 

“So it kinda sucks then.” To N’Halia, anything that didn’t help you fight better was a waste of time. 

Jace examined her. “Where do you think Hermit should live?”

She snorted. “He lives on the road, but he probably belongs in jail.” 

He nodded. She had actually given him the answer he was expecting. Mostly because it was the answer most people who knew Hermit would give. “Have you ever seen Hermit be arrested?” 

“Well, no, but we’ve always fled the city.”

“Ok, have you ever seen a wanted poster for him? He’s been to Alland and Riford many, many times over the years and has often left in a hurry.”

She paused. She hadn’t actually ever noticed any sign that he was a wanted man. And she believed Jace unquestionably – Hermit certainly must have fled many times, making away with whatever he’d stolen. 

“Like I said earlier, Shadow lets you Fade from the influence of the world.”

The pieces fell in place for N’Halia. “That’s why he almost never pays for anything. People just don’t notice him most of the time!” 

Jace nodded. “One of the Twisted you’ll have the privilege of fighting is the fair Lady Stapes.”

N’Halia had heard Hermit mention her name.

“She’s also known as the Light of the World.” N’Halia tilted her head, curiously. 

“So what, she’s a Light wielder. That’s good for us, though, right? That means she can’t fight.” 

“She is the Stirrup – she’s lifted the other two up. Incus and Malleus aren’t exactly the most charismatic leaders. And yet, Incus was able to gain a massive cult following that eventually blossomed into the Church of Blood. And Malleus is a king here with a rapidly growing army. This was made possible through her brilliant guidance!” 

N’Halia frowned. This idea of a non-fighter being powerful was interfering with her view of the world. She would not tolerate it. “I’ll just have to kill her first, I guess,” she decided. 

Jace choked. With a sad sigh, he merely nodded, acknowledging the necessity of it. “And on that note, back to training!” 

He beckoned Araina to join them, starting with the foundations of unarmed combat, covering the wide variety of ways to incapacitate a person, before moving onto grappling. N’Halia couldn’t help but agree with Hermit – she did not like hand-to-hand combat. Both Jace and Araina were bigger and stronger than her, making grappling considerably more difficult. Jace had also forbidden the use of Powers in order for them to learn the basics cleanly. 

“Don’t beat yourself up too much, kid. Mages are about the worst people to actually fight hand-to-hand in a real fight,” Jace told her as she hit the ground in frustration after Araina had wrestled her down again. 

“Then why do I have to learn this and why can’t I use my Lightning??” N’Halia fumed.

“It’ll make you a better fighter overall. And one day, you’ll need it in a real fight.” 

N’Halia sighed, but she couldn’t deny the utility of it. Besides, if she wanted to re-test, she’d have to do better at this portion.

They trained for the rest of the afternoon and then eventually made their way back inside to eat. Vhithe and Talla arrived shortly after them, with Vhithe carrying a guitar. 

“Did you enjoy your lesson?” Araina asked her grandkids, smiling at them.

Talla was grinning widely. “It was amazing! I can’t wait to go back!” 

Vhithe smiled, too. “Yeah, actually it was a lot of fun,” he admitted. “They were amazing.” 

N’Halia eyed him suspiciously. “Uh, their music, that is!” He added quickly. 

Hermit came over to rescue him, clapping an arm around his shoulders. “They were pretty beautiful too, weren’t they, kid? Eh? Eh?” 

Vhithe quickly extracted himself from Hermit and his toxic influence. He cleared his throat and instead looked down at his guitar. He began plucking a simple melody. Talla eagerly sat up and then closed her eyes. The Sound of a Horn filled the air, intertwining with the notes of the guitar. Together, the two played the simple piece that they had spent that afternoon practicing. It was short, but sweet. Araina felt a hitch of pride in her chest as she listened to her grandkids. When it was over, they all clapped loudly, making Talla blush. Araina hugged them both tightly. 

“What’d you think?” Talla Asked N’Halia. 

“It was great! I like that Horn!” 

“Well, I can’t Produce an introductory piece for you yet, but…” 

Talla closed her eyes and focused again. Suddenly, a powerful, long note of a War Horn Blasted through the air. N’Halia’s eyes widened as adrenaline surged through her body. She jumped to her feet.

“OH YEAH!!!” She snatched her staff up from where it was leaning on the table next to her and looked around hungrily for something to smash. Her eyes landed on the water pitcher, but Araina firmly grabbed her staff and shook her head. N’Halia reluctantly calmed down and sat back down at the table. Talla beamed proudly. 

“One day, I’ll be able to add War Drums and an Eviola to it as well!” She Said enthusiastically. 

N’Halia had no idea what an eviola was, but she liked the sound of war drums being added in. They all chatted back and forth for a while, while they waited for Arol to get back. Eventually, he hurried through the door and saw them all waiting in the foyer.

“Sorry! Sorry! I completely lost track of time down there!” 

They all stared at him in horror. 

“Oh, wow – ok, look, cut me some slack here! There were no windows or anything, I had no idea how much time had passed!” 

“Arol! What happened to you?” Araina asked, aghast. 

He paused, confused. Suddenly, he realized why they looked so horrified and he laughed. “What, this? No, don’t worry, I wasn’t hurt! I had to get ingredients from that necromancer and he asked me to help him in his lab as payment. We were dissecting all day.” 

His clothes were, of course, completely stained with blood and other bodily fluids. 

Talla wrinkled her nose. “Grandpa, you stink!” The others nodded in agreement and edged slightly away from him. He laughed ruefully.

“Would I be able to use your bath and borrow a change of clothes?” He asked Jace. 

“Of course, my good man! Follow me!” Jace said amicably, not at all disturbed by the blood and guts all over Arol. N’Halia supposed that you spend several thousand years fighting to the death and that kind of thing doesn’t bother you so much. Jace led Arol up to his room to bathe and change. After he had shown him his facilities, he came back down, holding a pair of leather gloves in his hands. He handed them to Araina.

“Try these on.” She grabbed them and put them on as told. He had sized her hands up well and they fit comfortably. 

“You’ll want to wear those during your match. Advanced players have all sorts of nasty tricks. Those will save you from fighters using their Power on your weapon.”

Araina recalled the feeling of N’Halia sending a Charge up her sword and she nodded.

“Thank you.” 

Jace smiled and then began coordinating with some of his workers about getting the food all set up. It turned out that they actually had a kitchen on the premises where Jace employed a top quality chef. That explained why they had such easy access to the feasts he kept providing. He definitely has the right idea, N’Halia thought appreciatively, comparing his opulently supplied temple to Alnea’s humble one. 

Arol came back down cleaner and in considerably more refined clothes. He looked slightly self-conscious in the silk garments, far different from the more simple clothes he was used to wearing. He couldn’t wait to get back to their inn so he could change back into his normal clothes. 

N’Halia drummed her fingers impatiently. She was eager for the feast, but her thoughts were solely focused on her coming test. If she did well, she would get to fight the strongest opponents for the fattest prizes. The prize money increased significantly due to the much higher likelihood of death. In the Advanced-tier, it wasn’t win-or-lose. It was win-or-die. 

Now that Arol was back, everyone was reunited and not reeking of death. They enjoyed a feast for their early dinner. N’Halia crammed her face as usual. She figured she’d need the energy since she was going to compete in the Advanced-tier of Hoops. That was a fact that she had already made up her mind about. She would re-test and make it into the higher level. 

“We’re walking to the Hoops stadium after this, right?” She asked, making sure they were all on the same page. 

Hermit nodded in confirmation. “It’ll be a good test of today’s training. Plus, you two still need money, I assume.” 

“I’ll be testing into Advanced,” N’Halia announced to the table. 

“Really?” Talla Asked eagerly. N’Halia grinned and nodded smugly. Talla turned to her grandma. “Will you be retesting as well, Grandma?” 

Araina considered the matter for a moment but then nodded. “Yes, I think I’ll enter the bottom tier of Advanced.” 

Hermit nodded in approval. “Excellent. Be wary, both of you. The jump from Novice to Intermediate is sizable. The jump from Intermediate to Advanced is just as big. Everyone in the Advanced tier is both a good fighter and a good Power wielder.” 

Araina accepted his words of caution and already began mentally preparing herself for the serious encounters ahead. She rubbed her hands pensively. 

N’Halia rejected his words of caution and already began mentally spending her winnings.  She rubbed her hands greedily. 

As they finished their food, Jace stood. “I wish you all good fortune this evening at Hoops. I’d love nothing more than to join you and watch, but I’ll be wrangling my Champion to meet you here tonight, instead. So remember: don’t lose!” 

N’Halia grinned and raised her staff in salute. Araina chuckled and bowed her head in agreement. With that, they all headed out.