my voice is strangely clear , seeing only what is in front of me , the rocks on the path , the dry riverbed , the hand of the sky reaching out to stop me as i pass him but too slow in his elaborate armour to do so- i am crossing the ground towards her- my voice is growing louder , a yell emerging from it , wordless in the languages of the burden and the land- i know we are watched , watched from the vessel , watched from the lights that hover alongside it- i am hoping that the knife can see- see as i race forward to kill his one in particular- the heavy blade high in my hands- she sees me coming and stumbles back towards her mount- the man from the clearing shouts something , his own mount trying to move between me and the knife 's one in particular- but i am too fast , the space too short- and the sky is shouting behind me , too- his voice , the voice of the entire land booming behind me , reaching out to stop me- but a voice can not stop a body- and she 's falling back farther- falling against the legs of her own mount , who is also trying to protect her but is tangled up with her- and there is no time- there is only me- only my revenge- the blade is up- the blade is back- ready and heavy and dying to fall- i take my final steps- and i put my weight behind the blade to begin the end- and she raises her arm to protect herself- { viola } the attack comes from nowhere .