Thibault was born at the end of the 16th century in the family of a wealthy textile merchant – Henry Thibault. From childhood, he was fascinated by melee weapons – especially rapiers. However, his father had other plans for him. He hoped that he would take over and develop the family business.

Unfortunately, Thibault was sickly from an early age. When he was less than 10 years old, doctors pronounced that Thibault only had a few years to live. Father summoned and paid more medics, but the diagnosis was always the same. In the end, he gave up and allowed his son to pursue his dream. This way Thibault started to train under master Lambert van Someron. Years passed and Thibault, although sickly, turned out to be a natural fencing talent. He learned quickly and soon equaled his teacher in fencing mastery. The strangest thing was that he was still alive. Some say he duels death itself every night and wins that fight every night. His father, seeing that Thibault was growing up and doing well, entrusted him with a part of the family business.

During one of his trade expeditions, Thibault ended up in Spain. There, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in the Guadalquivir Valley, for the first time in many years he met a swordsman who better than himself.

A strange, old man in a threadbare clothes with an embroidered cross of the “Ordem do Hábito de Cristo” stumbled into Thibault. An argument ensued after the stranger refused to apologize. Thibault reached for his weapon to teach him a lesson. The stranger didn’t even draw his weapon. He only picked up the shod cane on which he was leaning and attacked. Thibault parried with ease and pushed the blow away. However, the opponent, reacting to the pressure of the blade, only changed the position of his hand and continued the attack. Thibault realized that his defense got him into an even worse position and he had to defend himself again.

Every action, every move was met with an immediate response from the stranger. It was as if Thibault’s rapier and the old knight’s cane were bound together by an invisible bond. Finally, after a few moves, the stranger took advantage of Thibault’s slightly too strong parry, broke the staff off the blade and hit into the resulting opening. Thibault was disarmed. He was standing in the square and emotions were boiling in him. On one hand, he was furious and humiliated, on the other – he was fascinated. He asked the stranger his name. – Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza, retired Grand Master of the Order of the Robe of Christ. You are talented. Come with me. And so Thibault began studying with the creator of la Verdadera Destreza, the true art of fencing.

When Carranza died, Thibault returned to his homeland. There, at the tournament in Rotterdam, before the assembly of Dutch martial arts masters and in front of Maurice Orange himself, he defeated all his opponents. The unusual fighting style caught the attention of the prince and the fencing masters. However, they remained skeptical. Thibault calmly announced that he could defeat anyone who had any doubts. This is how one of the most unusual duels in history took place. News were sent out. Soon a place was marked out in the market square at the Prinsenhof in Rotterdam.

Every morning, for 3 days, Thibault waited there. Anyone willing could cross blades with him. Thibault was leaving undefeated every night. The prince and his guests watched this extraordinary spectacle of one actor from the windows of the palace. This event echoed widely on the continent and strengthened Thibault’s position. Thanks to the patronage of King Louis XIII, he wrote and published a fencing treatise.

He also taught fencing. With time, however, it turned out that for many his system was too demanding. They preferred other, simpler ones. After the flintlock was invented, the pistol gained popularity as a self-defense tool. The aging Thibault, following the example of his old master Carranza, stepped back into the shadows and began to live an almost hermit life in the countryside.

Today Thibault is almost 80 years old. A man who was diagnosed never to reach adulthood still fights against death every night and still wins. The archangel he saw in a dream ordered him to go to Vienna. The old master has the last and most important task to complete. The last duel. He must defeat the Enemy of all mankind.