Kaladin- Grappling

The Regal hissed in pain and dropped the axe. But then he pivoted hard and rammed his side into Kaladin’s chest, shoving him against the counter. Kaladin’s father was shouting, but the warform—­instead of helping—­remained by the opposite wall. He didn’t seem eager to attack a Radiant.

Without Stormlight, Kaladin wouldn’t have been able to withstand the constant jolts of energy from the stormform’s touch. As it was, he was able to hold on—­not letting the enemy force him back too much—­until the Regal tried another punch. At the windup, Kaladin hooked his leg around the foot of his opponent, then sent them both to the ground.

He landed with a grunt and tried to roll into position to choke his opponent unconscious. If the fight ended without bloodshed, perhaps his father would forgive him.

Unfortunately, Kaladin hadn’t done a lot of wrestling. He knew enough to keep himself from being pinned easily, but the Regal was stronger than he was, and that carapace kept jabbing in surprising places and interfering with his holds. The Regal leveraged his superior weight and strength, twisting Kaladin around with a grunt. Then—­with Kaladin pinned beneath him—­the creature began pummeling him in the face with his good fist, the one that hadn’t cracked.

Kaladin breathed in a gasp of Stormlight, draining the spheres on the counter. He brought his fist up and slammed it into the back of the hand that had cracked earlier. His enemy flinched, and Kaladin was able to kick free, throwing the Regal off—­though both slammed into the counters in the tight confines as he did so.

Rhythm of War Chapter 43