reward; compensation; collateral; security; turning to look behind
atrocious; fiendish; brutal; villainous
paralysis; palsy; numbness; stupor
to gouge; to hollow out; to greatly perturb; to cause emotional pain; to get to the bottom of things; to relentlessly bring the truth to light
stone (of a fruit); pit; core (of an organization, team, etc.); nucleus; nuclear weapons; nucleus (of an atom); nucleus (of a cell)
change; conversion; transformation; transformation
from the bottom of one's heart; heartily; sincerely
cruel; brutal; ruthless; merciless; inhuman
absurd; unreasonable; excessive; very; extremely; excessively
one's first campaign; one's first battle
to complain; to lodge a complaint
payback; tit for tat; retaliation; doing over again; redoing
concerning the result (as opposed to the means used to achieve this result or the original goal)
advantage; point in favor; point in favour
majority; more than half; most (of); mostly; largely; mainly
to allow (someone or something) to come near; to let get close
living up to one's reputation
warfare in which soldiers fling themselves at the enemy; hand-to hand combat
one turn; spinning around; complete change; reversal; (an) about-face
ordinary; common; mediocre
head-on fight; direct confrontation; head-to-head contest
swordsman; swordswoman; fencer
selection; classification; sorting; screening; triage
hundredfold; hundred times as much; much more (than previously)
breath; breathing; tone; mood
mincing; chopping finely; short and repeated (movements) (e.g. trembling, stepping quickly); gradual; bit by bit
palpitation (of the heart); pounding; throbbing; thumping
affinity; compatibility; chemistry (between people)
still having a very small chance; still having a tiny shred of hope
just barely; only just; at the very limit; at the last moment
to bear; to stand; to support; to withstand; to be fit for; to be equal to
to wet; to moisten; to dampen; to soak; to dip
somehow or other; for some reason or another; without knowing why
permission; approval; authorization; to permit; to authorize
to take responsibility (for a fallout); to accept the blame; to take the blame
hilt (of a sword); haft (of a dagger); handle; handgrip
to refuse; to reject; to inform; to give notice; to ask leave; to excuse oneself (from)
darkness; the dark; bewilderment; despair; hidden place; secrecy
to colour; to color; to apply make-up; to decorate; to garnish
temper pattern of a sword blade
length of a blade (sword, knife, etc.); walking on the edge of a sword