Clash

 

Clash is another small companion piece for A Call To Arms, and will likely be the final instalment until my next project is completely finalised. Taking place later in the overall chronology of the series, it features our first story within the dunes of Dahabi, with Lord Crispin Ellery Labourt and Baroness Serra Celestia Anhera having successfully negotiated a lucrative business contract with a dwarven merchant house. As Crispin walks through town with his betrothed to see what the bustling town around them has to offer, to Serra's constant disinterest, the two come across an amphitheater being used for basic combat demonstrations. Pressed by Crispin to showcase the might of the Anhera name, Serra finds herself squaring off against an elven fighter who proves a dangerous fighter himself.

Clash can be read here.

The above image was drawn by Kent Davis, whose online portfolio can be found here. 

Clash was named after the song by French electroswing band Caravan Palace. I discovered the band through the real-life Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm part of; with the DM blanking on what to call a tavern, one friend blurted out "Caravan Palace" as a joke, and it stuck. I actually managed to see the band live in April 2025 at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit, and indeed, Clash was actually the first song they performed, which I recorded for my own amusement.

Clash was initially intended to be part of another series of stories involving the original cast of A Better Place, acting as the "bridge" between Serra Anhera and Saeros Elendil. Ultimately, however, I found the end result too simple and uninteresting, doing little to develop either character in a meaningful way, and it felt more akin to a "fanservice" story, as though to answer the question of whether Serra or Saeros is the stronger swordfighter. As a result, it's here as a one-shot, and even including it in A Call To Arms feels a bit disingenuous. But hey, I had fun writing it anyway.

To be honest, while Clash ends in a tie between Serra and Saeros, I feel the former would likely win if given unfettered access to her magic. But even then, she'd definitely have to work for it.

As one final note, while this story is named after a Caravan Palace song, its overall progression, particularly the actual fight between Serra and Saeros, was heavily inspired by the track Hajnal by Canadian breakcore artist Venetian Snares; in particular, the increasingly hectic and fragmented progression of the song helps to mirror the increasingly sloppy form both Saeros and Serra display through their fight. 

And yes, the character Hajnal Pallona from To Be Saved and To Forgive A Stranger was named after the song as well. Everything is connected!