Heading to Jorrvaskr, after a hearty meal and few drinks, most of the Companions were waiting for us behind the mead hall. Cheering for Aela's presumed success in winning me over, Kodlak and Vignar congratulated her while the other men took turns teasing her about being a late bloomer. Punching Farkas in the face when he called her that, Aela immediately corrected their assumptions and explained everything to them. Hearing that I wanted to get to know her before giving her my answer, her Shield-Brothers looked at me with newfound respect. Happy that I was not taking advantage of her attraction to me, their assessment of me rose significantly.
"I assume then that you are here to grant her request for a duel then?", Kodlak asked.
"That is correct.", I confirmed, turning toward her, "So what will it be? Swords, axes, maces, fists, or some other weapon?"
"Pick whatever you want, I will stick with my sword and shield.", she answered, readying herself for the fight.
"Very well then.", I acknowledged, pulling two steel swords out of my storage, "Since you are not wearing a helmet, neither will I."
Tossing my helmet to Mylene, I stepped over to the training area to prepare for the fight. Standing roughly twelve feet apart from each other, Aela turned to Kodlak and asked if he could officiate the duel. Agreeing to her request, the older man got up from his seat and walked over toward us.
"Are both of you ready?", Kodlak inquired, once he was in position.
"Good to go.", Aela confirmed.
"Ready and waiting.", I answered.
"Alright then, begin!", he shouted.
Launching herself forward, with a loud war cry, Aela covered the gap in a few seconds. Ripping her sword through the air, as she threw herself at me, her blade passed harmlessly through the air where she visually thought I was. Watching the image of me suddenly vanish from sight, I reappeared next to her and slammed my knee into her gut. Knocking the wind out of her, Aela rolled across the ground gasping for air.
"The winner is- ", Kodlak began to say.
"I…can still…fight…", Aela wheezed, picking herself up as she gulped for air.
Vanishing from her sight once again, Aela immediately raised her shield in expectation of a frontal attack. Shattering the shield with a flurry of slashes, I reappeared behind my completely defenseless opponent and held both my blades just millimeters from her neck.
"The winner is, Victor!", Kodlak said, with a huge grin.
"By Ysmir's beard, what was that technique you used to make yourself invisible?! I did not even notice you move from where you started!", Vilkas stated, rising from his seat.
"It is a mix of high-speed movement and controlling where my opponent perceives my physical location is. This technique is one that took me years to learn, and even now I am still perfecting it.", I admitted, as I put my blades away, "No matter how great I think I am; I am fully aware that there could always be someone faster, smarter, and stronger than I am. It is that thought that drives me to continuously train myself and improve my equipment. My only fear in this life is letting down those that I care about, and I refuse to ever let that happen again."
"Never have I heard truer words than those. To think a young man like you would utter them…maybe there is still hope left in this damn world.", Vignar said, with a proud smile, "I am convinced you will be a fine husband for our young lass."
"Agreed, make sure you take care of her. She may be a bit headstrong at times, but you will find no woman more loyal and trustworthy than Aela.", Kodlak added, patting her on the shoulder, "And you, make sure you treasure this man. I can tell you from years of experience that you will never find another one like him no matter where you look."
Promising to look after one another, Aela looked down at her destroyed shield with a bit of frustration. After staring at it for a moment, she began laugh joyously as sense of relief began to fill her heart. Asking her if she was okay, Aela nodded her head and gave me a big grin.
"Of course I am, I have finally met someone who can best me in combat. Sure, I did not think the gap between us would be that big, but it gives me a new goal to reach for.", Aela stated, "You have no idea how frustrating it has been to not have a rival to push me to do better!"
"And what exactly would you call us then?", Skjor asked.
"A pain in my ass.", Aela retorted, making her comrades laugh loudly in agreement with her.
"So does this mean they are joining us?", Farkas inquired, looking to Kodlak.
"I initially wanted to invite them; it is fairly apparent that we would only hinder their growth. While we may not be Shield-Brothers, I hope we can call each other brothers-in-arms.", Kodlak answered, offering me his hand.
Giving him a firm handshake, I wished them all the best of luck on the Path. Taking my helmet back from Mylene, the nine of us headed to the newly purchased Breeze Home to plan our journey to Solstheim.
---3rd Person POV, Imperium Warfront---
Stepping into his office, aboard the Macragge's Honour, Primarch Guilliman greeted a messenger who had come seeking him out on behalf of the High Lords of Terra. Looking upon the Primarch with respect and reverence, the messenger quickly handed over a sealed letter from the Lord Commander Militant himself.
"Before I open this, tell me, has something bad happened along our shared front with the Galactic Republic?", Guilliman inquired, looking at him with curiosity.
"Not to my knowledge, sir.", the messenger said, taking a second to think, "Aside from a few skirmishes, everything is relatively peaceful over there."
'So this is not a call for aide or guidance then…', he thought, opening the letter.
Taking a few minutes to read the letter's contents, the Primarch set down the paper and looked out the window. Having sent him a full battle report on the annihilation of the Butcherhorde fleet and the death of Khârn the Betrayer, Guilliman found the entire event intriguing. Using vessels most captains would scoff at, due to their small size, a relatively unknown bounty hunter wiped out one of the Imperium's most hated enemies in a matter of minutes.
'I can understand why the High Lords accepted the bounty hunter's request so easily. Even I am having a hard time comprehending how he did it.', Guilliman thought, "Tell me, where you there when the fight between the bounty hunter and the Butcherhorde took place?"
"I was sir, yes!", the soldier acknowledged, with a joyous smile, "The bounty hunter's ship looked small compared to the Butcherhordes, but sir, the Butcherhorde did not even know what hit them. None of the bounty hunter's ships were damaged, the did not even scuff the paint!"
"Would you say that they were of similar quality to the Republic's ships?", Guilliman asked, wanting further details.
"No sir, the ships the bounty hunter fielded were unlike anything I have ever seen before. His flagship is armed to the teeth with heavy laser cannons, photon torpedo tubes, and a powerful cannon that tore a whole planet apart.", the messenger said, before fidgeting around uncomfortably in his seat, "When I caught of glimpse of him, as he was carrying Khârn's lifeless body to the Lord Commander Militant, he had the same presence about him that you do sir. He exuded an air of nigh invincibility and power that I have not seen anywhere else besides you. Please forgive me if I am stepping out of line, sir."
"Do you by chance have a photo or video of him?", Guilliman asked.
Nodding his head, the messenger pulled out his personal tablet and pulled up the video he took of the fight. Handing it to Guilliman, the Primarch watched the video from beginning to end before scrolling through a few photos the messenger took. Impressed by how the bounty hunter carried himself, it was clear why the Lord Commander Militant did not like him. Guilliman himself butted heads with him on several occasions so it was no small wonder the bounty hunter did too.
'Could he be a descendant of one of the two Lost Primarchs?', Guilliman pondered, 'I only had the privilege of meeting them twice before they were stricken from the record. Maybe they found something out there that neither our father nor any of us believed existed. If he is the descendant of a Primarch, I am certain the Emperor would want to meet him.'
Deciding to make that happen, Guilliman drafted a letter to the Bounty Hunter Association asking for their help in arranging a meeting with Victor. Wanting to gauge the type of man Victor was before bringing him before the Emperor, he hoped that Victor would be the key they needed to turn this crusade around.