Tammy: You couldn’t really compare the fighting styles of these three–neither Aly nor Beka could beat Kel in a stand-up fight on Kel’s terms, and neither would try–both would use stealth methods to get the better of a full-fledged knight. Aly and Beka both would try to come at her from behind and go for her soft spots, and if Kel is armored and isn’t overwhelmed in the first few moments, both Aly and Beka would be in trouble.
As for Aly and Beka, Aly would once again have to hope to take Beka by surprise. Beka fights on almost a daily basis in the streets, straight up and when she’s taken by surprise, and she trains daily, as does Kel. Aly practices as often as she can, but she doesn’t always get to fight opponents who are trying to disable or kill her, as Beka does. That means Beka has the advantage in speed and stamina. Unarmored, with a staff rather than a sword, Kel could give Beka a run for her money, since Kel trains on almost a daily basis, and moves faster without the weight of armor and heavier weapons, but she is bigger than Beka, and she’s not a street fighter. If Beka gets inside the movement of Kel’s staff, Kel’s in trouble.
It’s all dependent on the combat arena, the weapons, and surprise. Each woman is a specialist at what she does. On her own terms, she would be very hard to beat. Each is used to fighting to live, which means all bets are off!
SOURCE: [Random Buzzers – Fall 2011 Chat with Tamora Pierce!]
Words of Tamora Pierce 