Valence waited, gently digging his feet in as Elise crossed the distance, raising her sword with a cry. She had good reflexes- Vale trained its people well, as per usual. He pushed the respect out of mind- he was required. Delphyne didn't intervene, but the two-legged winged beast leaned out of its perch, taking a couple steps forward, to dip her head into the lip, watching Elise. 

	"A new Empire threatens everyone in the South. My people will be subject to their conquerers soon if I do not have reinforcements, and the Vale is the only people close enough with the available, unused manpower. My people will be murdered while defending at or cowering in their homes, because there was no one to come to our aid."

	He seemed to freeze, just a moment, as her blade started to come down, and then he jerked himself to the left, bringing up his right-hand shield just in case. The sword flared against the magical barrier, but it was a glancing blow- he hardly felt the drain as a result. She was fast, but that was a little predictable. She should've feinted, or somesuch. All she had was that blade- if he knocked that blade away, she would be next to defenseless. Knives wouldn't be enough to take him down.

	However, she just rushed straight towards him, while he was standing on ice. He found snow with his left-hand foot, and his slide ended abruptly. Taking advantage of the unbalance from rushing forward with such a strike, onto ice, he lashed out with his right foot, aiming to kick the side of her knee, hopefully to bring her crashing down.