The Peachwood Sword

Cory could no more sleep than could the sea. Its cold breath raised goosebumps along his bare arms while he sweated under his leather tunic. He paced the beach restlessly. Crabs scuttled out of his path. He kicked aside a severed arm. Someone’s from the village or a sea rover’s? Too dark to tell. All the steel was gone, picked up by the women and carried away with their men’s bodies. Even the arrowheads had been broken off and taken. Just the shafts and feathers remained from the battle this afternoon. Those, and pieces of bodies waiting for the tide to sweep the strand clean. Cory kept on walking, looking for something he couldn’t name, only feel the lack of.
In the simplicity of the fighting he had learned he

Just want to know what you are expecting so I can provide some useful feedback.

You can e-mail me at the address listed in my Hatrack profile.

Thanks, and I look forward to it,

Here are my thoughts on the first thirteen; mostly little nits with wording (excellent imagery, by the way).

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Cory could no more sleep than could the sea. Its cold breath raised goosebumps along his bare arms while he sweated under his leather tunic. He paced the beach restlessly. Crabs scuttled out of his path. He kicked aside a severed arm. Someone’s from the village or a sea rover’s? Too dark to tell. All the steel was gone, (1) picked up by the women and carried away with their men’s bodies. Even the arrowheads had been broken off (2) and taken. Just the shafts and feathers remained from the battle this afternoon (3). Those, and pieces of bodies waiting for the tide to sweep the strand clean. Cory kept on walking, looking for something he couldn’t name, only feel the lack of.
In the simplicity of the fighting he had learned he (4)
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quote:

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Cory could no more sleep than could the sea. Its cold breath raised goosebumps along his bare arms while he sweated under his leather tunic. He paced the beach [restlessly.<-- not only redundant, but an adverb. You covered it with the opening sentence.] Crabs scuttled out of his path. [He kicked aside a severed arm.<--[Pretty cold. Not drawing any sympathy from me.] Someone’s from the village or a sea rover’s? Too dark[It's dark?] to tell. [All the steel was gone, picked up by the women and carried away with their men’s bodies. Even the arrowheads had been broken off and taken. How does he know this?] Just the shafts and feathers remained from the battle this afternoon. Those, and pieces of bodies waiting for the tide to sweep the strand clean.<--[Huh?] [Cory kept on walking, looking for something he couldn’t name, only feel the lack of.<--Huh?]
In the [simplicity of the fighting<--I've never heard fighting/battle called "simple"]. he had learned he

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There's no doubt that you've painted a scene of a battle's aftermath--though, to me, it's still a little vague--but, there's no hook.

I like the reference to the villagers (what village?) taking all of the metal, but it seemed somehow disjointed. It took three sentences/fragments to get this clear, and I don't habv any idea how he knows. I guess, if he'd seen the women and children stripping the arrows if their heads, I'd feel different.

I don't feel any personality, except that his cold when it comes the debris in the aftermath of a battle. I don't feel like he's a part of these people, and I have nobody to connect him to, so it looks like he's a scavenger looking for what he can collect from the dead. Not a good picture, and not someone I care about.

The "Cory kept on walking, looking for something he couldn’t name, only feel the lack of." is totally ambiguous. Reads like the end of every episode of the Incredible Hulk T.V. series (and every beginning).

Hope this helps.