[Ranger's Hall] Two swords are better than one (training, self-mod)

[Apakai]

The 5th Brightening of Cryxatum, Era XIV Post Fractum

The early brightening sunset found Apakai once again walking the road to the Ranger’s Hall. It had been a long time since he had seen his friend Owaten, and was eager to catch back up with her. So eager, in fact, that he forgot his fear of orcs hiding amongst the trees, ready to jump out and grab him. He happily walked along, whistling a nameless orc tune, almost oblivious to the horrors he grew up around.

It didn’t take long for him to get to the well-fortified building. And just like before, he was quickly greeted by a ranger. It was the same elven woman who had greeted him the first time he had arrived here.

“Serale, Apakai!” she said smiling. “Are you here to finally train to be a ranger?”

He laughed. “Unfortunately, my only skill so far is being able to talk. I don’t think that quite qualifies me for such a position.” He smiled at the woman, happy to be able to talk to her. “’First things first’ is a common saying, isn’t it? I need to speak with Owaten about training, and we’ll see where it goes.”

She smiled and turned, heading through a wooden door, her cloak billowing behind her. It only took a few minutes for his old friend to return.

“Serale and well met, Owaten!” He said. He hit his fist to his chest in greeting.

“I wondered when I would see you again, Apakai,” she responded. “It has changed to summer since we last met, and I was wondering if you were ever going to come and visit.”

“I missed you too, my friend. Unfortunately, I didn’t come to just visit. I need…”

Owaten quickly interrupted, “Dear Apakai, always abrupt and to the point.” She lightly giggled. “I know why you’re here. I knew it from the moment you walked away last season that you would be back for this very thing.”

He was taken back. The rangermistress’s intuitiveness had always surprised him. “So you will train me?”

“Of course. I can’t in good conscience send you out to protect Natura from a pack of bloodthirsty orcs armed with just your fists and a mediocre understanding of language, now can I? We will begin tomorrow when the sun rises.” She turned and walked away.

In his happiness, he forgot to ask what mediocre meant.

[Apakai]

The 6th Brightening of Cryxatum, Summer in Era XIV Post Fractum

The brightening was early when Apakai found Owaten sitting under a tree in the forest outside of the Ranger’s Hall. She was sitting cross-legged, patiently awaiting her student.

“Good morning, Owaten. I hope…”

“You're late,” she grouchily said. She stared at him icily.

He hesitated before responding. “Apoligies. I had a problem with…”

“I don’t care about your problems, Apakai, I am here to do you a favor. Show me the same respect.” Apakai looked at the ground embarrassed. “There is something you have to understand,” she continued, “Swordplay is not a laughing matter. It is a serious trade and cannot be taken lightly. If you eventually find yourself at the end of another’s blade, you will realize that he is not you friend. This training I am willing to provide will be no different. While you study, I will not be your friend, I will be your teacher. Do you understand.”

Apakai looked up and met her eyes. The look he gave her said that he did.

She looked the human over. She noticed he had brought his weapons this brightening, though she was surprised to see he had two.

“I do hope that one of those swords is for me.”

Apakai looked at her, confused. He put his hands on his swords. “They are both mine. I want to use them both.”

“Very well, both it is then. Come, sit down.”

Apakai walked under the tree and sat down in front of her. It took him a few minutes to figure out how to cross his legs like she had, but he eventually got it. It was uncomfortable, however, but he didn’t complain.

“Unsheathe a sword and place it in front of you, on the ground.” He quickly did as she asked. He quietly noticed the way his sword glistened under the sunlight. He loved his new swords. They were much more beautiful than the crude weapons he was used to seeing while he was growing up.

“Now pay attention, I don’t intend on repeating anything.” She pulled the sword closer to herself, letting it rest about a foot from her knees. “A longsword is composed of two ends, the ’blade,’” she said while pointing at the metal end, “and the ’hilt,’” she then pointed at the other end. “Now, both the blade and the hilt can then be separated into three distinct parts. Let us start with the blade.“

She ran her finger softly against the sharpened edge of the sword. “This part here, is called the ‘edge.’ Though almost all damage done with this weapon occurs here, it is far from the most important part.” She then ran her hand down to where the blade met the hilt. “This area here, the widest part of the blade, is called the ‘forte.’ It is by far the strongest part of the blade, and insures the that the weapon will not break in half when striking.” She then pointed at the hilt. “But the blade doesn’t stop there. Inside of the hilt is the ‘tang.’ It is dull, and primarily used to secure the hilt to the blade. Are you following all of this Apakai?”

He nodded. “Edge, four tay, tang. Got it.”

“Good. Let us continue.” She looked back at the sword, pointing to the top of the hilt. “This part right here is called the ‘cross guard.’ It protects your hand from the blade of others that might slide down the sword. Below it is the ‘grip,’ which is self-explanatory.” She then pointed at the metal disk at the bottom of the hilt. “And this is called the ‘pommel.’ It is probably the most important piece of the entire weapon. It balances the sword so that it’s wielder will not be encumbered with a heavy blade. It allows for increased mobility, speed, and overall maneuverability. Without it, the longsword’s use would equal that of a hammer or axe, stripping it of it’s more intended finesse. Does all of this make sense?”

In truth, he didn’t, but Apakai once again nodded. “Edge, four tay, tang… cross guard, grip, pommel. I understand.”

She indignantly looked at the human, realizing his lie.

[Apakai]

Early afternoon, the 6th Brightening of Cryxatum, Summer in Era XIV Post Fractum

After the lecture on the separate parts of a sword, Owaten decided to gauge Apakai’s abilities with the weapon. She had him re-sheathe his sword and place both of them by the tree. She then removed 4 wooden practice blades from a burlap sack she had sitting on the ground near her and handed two to the human.
Apakai quickly grabbed them by the hilt, and lifted them up high in the air. He haphazardly swung them around a few times, slicing the air without a trace of coordination. She shook her head at him.

“When do we start with my swords?” he asked, chopping and stabbing at unseen foes.

“When you learn how to handle the ones you are holding. It wouldn’t do to have you getting hurt on your first day of training,” she answered.

“You won’t hurt me Owaten, I trust you.”

“That is fine. You can trust me,” she responded. “But I’m worried you will hurt yourself.”

He dropped his arms, allowing the practice swords to touch the ground. He looked hurt. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Did you see me? I am a master swordsman already!” He said, slightly smiling, somehow proud of his own poor display of ability.

“Very well,” she said, “Let us see.” She went and picked up one of Apakai swords and returned it to him. “Drop both of the blades and hold this one,” she said holding it before him. He quickly let the wooden swords fall to the ground, grabbing his steel sword in his right hand. Backing up a few feet she said, “Now, point your sword at me. Keep it level with your head.” He raised his sword arm and pointed it at the elven woman. He found it hard to keep the sword balanced. It wobbled faintly in the air.

“What now?” he asked.

“Nothing. Don’t move. Not an inch.” She looked him deep in the eyes, noticing the trouble he was having holding the sword. It only took him a few minutes of heavy breathing and sweating to drop his arm, allowing it to hang lifelessly in exhaustion.

“You see?” she said, “you cannot handle the weight of such a weapon yet. And now, you have given me a wonderful idea. If you want to practice with them so badly…” she noticed that his face was full of fright as he nervously shook his head back and forth. It was as if he knew what she was going to say next. “We will have to condition your body for them.” She picked up his other sword and tossed it to him.

He dropped the sword he was holding as the other came whistling through the air at him. He snatched it before it hit the ground. “Unsheathe it and pick up the other one. Do try to not drop it in the future, ‘Oh great swordsman.’” After he had, she continued, “Pick your arms and point them straight into the air. I want the blades pointing at the sky, and I want them to stay that way.” He did so, his right arm still burning from before.

She picked up one of the practice blades as he asked, “What now?”

“Now,” she said, pulling the sword back, ready to strike, “You run!” She quickly, (and painfully) struck the flat of the blade up against Apakai’s buttocks. He needed no more prodding than that, as he ran recklessly into the forest, his swords held high in the air.

[Apakai]

The 8th Brightening of Cryxatum, Summer in Era XIV Post Fractum

Apakai felt like an old mule. He had been running nonstop for the past two brightenings, and his arms and legs felt like jelly. His backside was sore from Owaten’s constant ‘encouragements,’ making it hard for him to even sit down and rest.

Needless to say, he was happy this time to find himself holding the wooden practice swords again under the ancient tree outside of the Ranger’s Hall. Owaten was instructing him.

“Now, the way you hold your sword is different for each hand,” she stated. “As you are right-handed, your left arm will be your Lead arm. Grip the sword in that hand between your index finger, middle finger and thumb. You pinky finger and ring finger should stay relaxed, only gripping harder when making contact during a strike. Now, in your right arm, grip the sword between the pinky finger, the ring finger, and the thumb, allowing the index finger and middle finger to relax. Again, those finger should only tighten during a strike.” She allowed him to shift his grips on the swords before she continued.

“Bring you left foot forward and face it directly towards me. No, that’s too far. It should be less then a foot further than you lead shoulder. Much better. Now, take a small step back with your right foot, but keep most of your weight on your left. Very good.” She picked up a single wooden sword as she continued instructing the human.

“Now I want you to raise you lead arm, pointing the sword in my direction. Do not straighten it completely, leave it more relaxed, but keep it pointing in my direction. Take your other arm and bend it at the elbow, bringing you hand close to your face. Allow that blade to also point at me.”

His stance looked extremely awkward, but it was getting better. She started walking a slow circle around him. “Raise your right elbow slightly, and bring the tip of the sword higher. It may feel uncomfortable now, but you will get used to it. Bend at the knees slightly, keeping your weight on your lead foot.”

She stopped when she walked back in front of him, then took a few steps back. She took a moment to look over his entire stance. “Well now, you almost look like a proper swordsman. Let us move on.”

“Remember this stance. It should be how you stand whenever you are battling offensively. It allows for quick yet powerful strikes, aided by the fact that the weight on your lead foot is pushing your momentum forwards.” Apakai nodded in agreement, staying quiet.

“As you move forward, don’t take normal steps, as that will take you out of stance and leave you vulnerable. Instead, shuffle your feet quickly. Start by shifting the rest of your weight onto your lead foot and moving your rear foot forward. Now, try and strike me.”

Owaten took a different stance, preparing for the attack. Apakai shifted his weight as she described and began moving forward. When he neared her, he quickly thrusted at her midsection. She quickly moved to the side and deflected his blade with her own. His forward momentum was in control, however, and as he moved past her, his feet got tangled together and he fell face-first onto the ground.

He lifted his face and spit out some dirt when he heard the elven woman say, “Again.”

He quickly got to his feet and returned to the offensive stance. Before he started, she said, “This time, make sure to stay in control of your own feet. You’ll find it hard to protect yourself while you lie face down in the dirt.”

He moved forward again, but this time he paid more attention to his legs. She easily deflected his thrust and moved to his right once again, but this time he had control enough to stop his forward charge. He followed her by pivoting on his left leg and sweeping his right leg quickly to the right, allowing him to attempt a powerful slashing blow with his lead arm.

When she parried the blow this time, she used the momentum of the sword to knock it further to Apakai’s right side. Moving this time to his left, she lightly poked him in the ribs with her weapon.

“Much, much better,” she said. “I nearly forgot how quickly you learned. However, don’t forget that you have another sword for a reason. If you don’t plan on using it, you might as well grab a shield instead. Again.”

She backed up as Apakai reset his body. He knew that he would be able to counter the moves she was making, but that would require her to keep making those same moves. Twice now, he had thrusted, and she had parried before moving to the right. He then tried a slashing move as she parried while moving to the left. He played the scene over in his head several times before shifting his feet and moving forward once more.

As he made the same thrusting motion, he pulled his right arm up over his head, moving the tip of the blade over his left shoulder. As before, she moved to the right and deflected his thrust, but this time his rear sword was circling above his head, eventually coming around and slicing the air on the way to her head.

At the last possible second, she brought up her one sword and caught Apakai’s before it reached her face. Her eyes went wide with shock. Apakai was breathing hard, obviously still exhausted from the running. He was sweating, his white cotton shirt becoming damp with moisture. Fatigued, he stopped his charge.

“Excellent,” she said, eyes still wide. The shock of his move drove any other words from her mouth. She quietly walked over to the tree. Out of surprise of his last move, she picked up another practice sword. Now holding two swords herself, she returned to her stance, saying, “Enough rest. Do that again.”

[Apakai]

The 10th Brightening of Cryxatum, Summer in Era XIV Post Fractum

It had taken two brightening of training for Owaten to trust that Apakai had a strong enough grasp of the offensive stance to move on. He had been starting to show such excellent improvisation and execution in his attacks, that she was beginning to find it hard to come up with new ways to test his skill. So instead, they moved on to the defensive stance.

She began this brightening by saying, “Pick up your practice swords and place your body in the stance I showed you.” He was able to do this quickly, having practiced it so much. When he was ready, she continued. “Now I want you to shift you weight instead to your rear foot. Keep your knees bent, now. With your lead arm, bring your sword back and ready it cross-wise in front of you, instead of pointing straight out. Now take your rear arm, and drop it about a foot. Leave it resting close to your chest now, instead of your face. Very good.” He didn’t look near as awkward as he did a few brightenings ago.

She continued, “This is your defensive stance. From this stance your swords are better placed for quickly parrying another’s attack away from the plane of you body. Also, the weight on your rear foot is pushing your momentum backwards, allowing for better dodging and a quicker retreat. Does that make sense?”

Apakai enthusiastically nodded his head. The terms she was using and her direction was much easier for him to understand now that they had spent plenty of time practicing.

“Now I am going to attack you. I will thrust at first, and we will reset. Stay lively on your feet, and once you parry, move to the side opposite of the direction you deflected my weapon.” Without another word she quickly moved in, thrusting at his torso.

Apakai quickly dipped his sword beneath hers and pushed it to his right side as he moved to his left. They stopped as she said, “Not bad, but next time you parry in that manner, pull the motion, don’t push it. Use my momentum against me. Push too hard, and it will stop me in my tracks and allow me to reset. Instead, pull slightly, allowing me to keep moving in the same direction. It will leave me open to attack. Try again. I will thrust and then we will reset.”

As she lunged at him again, he did as she asked and pulled his parry. As she had said it would, her forward momentum kept her moving forward, but to his surprise, she in the same direction as the parry. Swiftly and powerfully she spun around. In the blink of an eye she had turned full circle and hit the flat of her blade up against Apakai’s upper shoulder.

He dropped his swords, rubbing what was sure to become a nasty bruise. “You said we would reset after the parry!” he whined.

“Your mistake was believing me. I told you before. While we are training I am not your friend. I am your teacher. And while we spar, I am an opponent. Look for the openings that your opponent gives you, Apakai, but don’t commit yourself to them fully. It is a mistake to believe that you know every move your opponent is going to make. Again.”

Pouting in anger, Apakai picked up his swords and got into position. Owaten moved in and lunged for his torso, which he quickly parried and moved away from. This time, however, instead of spinning around, she planted all of her wait on her lead foot and pushed, slinging herself back against her own momentum. She quickly changed her thrust to a backwards slash, aiming for Apakai’s chest. He quickly parried the blow with his left arm, back-peddling. With a god-like grace and speed, she then pivoted on her lead foot and spun to face the human, bringing her right-handed sword sailing towards Apakai, on a path identical to her previous blow. Apakai brought up his right arm, that sword slamming hard against her blow. Both of their bodies stopped in a deadlock.

They both breathed heavily as they struggled against one another’s swords, fighting for dominance of the stand-still. It was then that Owaten looked off to the side, her eyes wide in terror at something standing behind Apakai. “Orc!” she shouted.

Apakai quickly spun, but instead of seeing an orc, he felt the hard-soled boot of Owaten’s kick him down to the ground. Unsure of what was happening, he once again looked in the trees to see the orc. The wind lightly rustled the leaves in the trees. The forest was silent and empty. He felt foolish.

Clearing his head and getting to his feet, he looked at her. “What was your mistake?” she asked.

“I believed you.”

“Correct,” readying herself for another attack. “What have you learned?”

“Never to trust my teacher,” he said, as Owaten sped towards him yet again.

[Apakai]

The 12th Brightening of Cryxatum, Summer in Era XIV Post Fractum

“Today, Apakai,” Owaten started as she handed two practice swords to the human, “We will be combining what you have learned thus far.” She picked up two swords for herself and stood in front of him. “So far, you have learned a basic offensive stance, and a basic defensive stance. But those are only half of what you need to learn.”

“Know this; no two battles are the same. To fight entirely defensively or offensively will only lead you to defeat. It is a balance of the two, offense and defense, that the dance of dual-wield swordplay is based on. You must learn to quickly maneuver between the two at a whim if you are to be victorious.”

“Now,” she continued, “Let us be creative and pretend that I am a seasoned warrior, twice you size. So strong, am I, that I may wield a large battle axe in each hand, each axe’s blade tipped with fresh blood from a victim newly felled nearby. My eyes glow in anticipation for you; my next victim. What stance do you think you should begin the battle in?”

Apakai thought for a moment before responding. “I would choose the offensive stance.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because the man has proven that he has obvious strength. I would want to strike him down as quickly as possible, before he had a chance to hit me first.”

“And you would be the one to quickly strike him down, as you say?”

Apakai shuffled his feet, unsure of how to answer her question. He though on it for a moment, realizing that he needed to put his ideas aside and think like a swordsman. After a few moments of silence, he responded.

“No, I wouldn’t be the one. In his anger, I would allow him to take the offense first. I dunno, maybe he would be hasty and make a mistake, which in this situation would be my only chance of surviving.”

“Correct.” She answered, smiling slightly. “The better course of action is to always start defensively, when possible, of course. By allowing me to make the first move, you are also allowing me to show you my skill and ability. That information will also help you discerning the best maneuvers to respond with, which in turn will make your attacks focused, powerful, and accurate.”

“But what if he just stands there?” Apakai asked, “What if he doesn’t attack me at all, knowing this. We could stand there all day.”

“At that point you have two options. The first one is to attack. His unwillingness to make the first move may be showing you that he is fatigued, or maybe afraid. Though by the looks of you, the latter seems more than incomprehensible. You could exploit that weakness by forcing him to fight without rest, and showing him that you are unafraid. However, if he unwilling to attack, maybe he is also unwilling to fight at all. The second option, which you will find is almost always an option, is to simply walk away. As to which course you take in this situation is up to you. I cannot council you on every possible scenario.”

“Just remember this; The best offense is oftentimes a solid defense. Now prepare yourself.”

Apakai nodded his head as he took a small step forward with his left foot, pointing his toes at Owaten. He brought his left arm up, his sword held diagonally in front of him, as he raised his other arm, placing his hand near his chest, it’s sword pointed directly at his teacher. He slightly bent at the knees and leaned back on his rear foot.

“When I say stop, you stop.” She raced forward, her swords flailing through the air in Apakai’s direction. He parried them easily and quickly. She obviously wasn’t in the mood for hurting him today, as she was moving quite a bit slower than usual.

After the third parry, Owaten took a step back and said, “Stop.” The human stopped in his tracks, as if frozen in time. “What was the last movement I made before I stepped back?”

“A sideways backslash from your lead arm, from my left to my right.” He smiled. “I stopped it.”

She waved away his remark, annoyed. “And you also missed the bigger picture. As my sword was deflected back to your left, I came down from the ball of my feet and shifted my weight to my rear foot. When I did that, I showed you that I was going to move backwards. That was your chance to strike and take the offensive ground. Now do this.”

She walked around to Apakai’s left, the human still standing in his defensive stance. “I want you to shift your weight quickly to your lead foot, while ducking slightly down. Do this quickly, and when your weight changes feet, thrust quickly at my midsection, as if I’m still standing in front of you.”

Apakai did as she asked. Once his arm was extended, he heard her say, “Stop!” he froze again. “How are you standing now?”

Apakai realized that his lead arm was outstretched, and when he ducked down, his rear arm raised up, his hand resting near his face. His weight was on his lead foot, and allowing him to move forward quickly and powerfully. He smiled at the realization. “I am in the offensive stance.”

“Very good. This is just one of many ways to quickly change stances in battle. You must become used to it, and do it without thinking, almost like a reaction. Now reset.”

He barely had time to change stances before Owaten came running at him all over again.

[Apakai]

Late Afternoon, the 12th Brightening of Cyxatum, Summer in Era XIV Post Fractum

Owaten and Apakai had practiced the changing of stances the entire brightening. His arms, like that had been for the entire cycle so far, were tired to the point of being useless. That didn’t stop his teacher, however, from coming after him one spar at a time, until lunch time had come and gone, an the sun had found it‘s way to the other edge of the sky. He wondered how an old woman could have so much energy, but dismissed the question from his mind. Owaten had found ways of surprising him almost every minute they were together. She was quite a remarkable woman.

However, Apakai found that feeling of admiration eluding him as he laid on his back, his nose bleeding. He picked his head up from the ground and looked at the wretched old elven hag. “What was that for?”

“That was for allowing me to,” she answered. “If you refuse to protect your face, I will be forced to constantly attack it.”

Apakai got to his feet and brushed the dirt off of his pants before picking up his practice swords. “That wasn’t fair.” He believed it, too. As they sparred, she had been noticing Apakai fumbling his feet, trying desperately to grasp at the coordinated footwork that his teacher easily displayed. She took the most previous “fumble” to teach him another lesson, punching him in the face with the hilt of her practice sword.

“Did you think that the blade is the only dangerous part of a sword?” she asked. She wasn’t happy at all about causing Apakai pain. She did, however, view it as necessary. The human had a lot of rage in him from his earlier life as a slave. They had talked about several times and at great length, bringing her to a single conclusion: this was a man that would find himself at the sharp end of a blade soon and often. She wouldn’t allow herself to feel guilty for not properly teaching Apakai how to defend himself. And though she wouldn’t show it in the practice field, she was quickly learning to love the man as if he were a son.

She walked up to Apakai, stopping a feet away from him. While staring into his brown eyes, she lifted her sword, the weapon stopping in between their faces. “Look at my weapon.” She said. “What part of it can I attack you with?”

He looked cautiously at the sword, not knowing for sure if the woman was planning on hitting him again. “All of it I guess. Every inch of it.”

“You are correct. However, there is a part of it that you are forgetting.”

“How? I said all of it. Isn’t that…. OW!” Apakai grabbed his left shin and started jumping up and down on one foot. She had kicked him, and kicked him hard.

As he continued to hop around, she turned and walked away from him again, getting back into and offensive stance. “Stop playing games and get back into stance. Only this time, remember that as an opponent, I am willing to use anything and everything at my disposal to defeat you. Understand?”

“Yes, Owaten,” he angrily spit out. Limping slightly, he prepared himself for another attack.

[Apakai]

Evening, the 12th Brightening of Cryxatum, Summer in Era XIV Post Fractum

Apakai collapsed to the ground. This brightening had been worse than most, and his body proved it. His nose still hurt, but it was a small pain in comparison to what the rest of his body was feeling. He couldn’t even move without his muscles and joints crying out in agony.

Owaten walked up to the man and placed one of his sheathed, metal longswords in front of him. She then walked a few feet away and sat cross-legged in front of him. Taking his other sword out of it’s scabbard and laying it across her legs, she said, “Sit up and pay attention.”

The human sat up slowly, the dull ache of exhaustion visiting his abdomen. She opened up a small nap-sack on the ground next to her, removing two cloths and a small vial. She threw one of the cloths to Apakai, then uncorked the vial.

“What are we doing?” He asked.

“We are properly caring for your weapons. Without proper maintenance, the blades could rust and become brittle, and therefore useless to you. Unless you plan on purchasing a new blade every season or so, you need to learn how to take care of the ones you have.”

“Take out your sword and do as I do.” When he had unsheathed his sword, she continued. Wiping the blade with the cloth, she said. “Your blade must stay clean at all times. While it is a strong metal and can easily cut limbs when wielded by a strong warrior, it is at the same time very vulnerable. It can be broken easily if allowed to get dirty. Blood, water, dirt, anything foreign to the metal itself, can make the blade rust and decay through the passage of time.” He mimicked her motions, wiping imaginary stains from his sword’s blade. “Mind you, even the tiny oils left by your fingertips must be wiped off. It is essential.” The human nodded his head in understanding.

She took the open vial from beside her and allowed a few drops of a liquid to spill out onto the blade. Slowly, she began wiping the liquid down the entire length of the sword. “The very air around us can also rust the blade. So it is necessary to make sure your sword has a proper coating of oil. This will not only protect it from the air, but allow it to keep from rusting while it is sheathed. The oil will not coat the blade forever, Apakai, so you must inspect it often, at least once a cycle, to make sure that rust hasn’t set upon the metal. If the blade itself seems dry, then it is time to apply more oil. Do you understand?”

He wiped the oil down the last tiny section of metal before responding. “Yes, I understand. Why are you teaching me this now? It seems as though this would be the first thing you would want me to learn.”

“Because you had to learn how to think and act like a swordsman first,” she answered dryly. “Now I want you to take tomorrow off. I’m sure that you will agree your body could use a break.” he enthusiastically nodded his agreement, his neck bubbling up with aches and pains. “Use the time wisely, and come back refreshed, for the brightening after next, you will be wielding these swords. You have come too far to be able to learn anything from those wooden practice blades.”

She got up and walked away, gently saying, “Sleep well, my student.”

And as he returned to his home, he did that very thing.

[Apakai]

The 14th Brightening of Cryxatum, Summer in Era XIV Post Fractum

This early brightening Apakai found himself walking slowly back to the practice field outside of Natura’s Ranger Hall. He he had slept most of the previous brightening through, only getting out of bed once to have a quick meal. He believed before that the day of rest would do him good, but he realized now that his body felt as if he hadn’t gotten any sleep at all.

He found Owaten waiting for him under the ancient tree, but to his surprise, she wasn’t armed. He pondered this for a moment before she began talking. “I hope this brightening finds you well, Apakai. Are we ready to begin?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose,” he answered.

“Wonderful,” she replied. “I would like to try something new today, as you are new to swordplay, and this will be the first time you use real weapons. I thought I would bring along a friend of mine, and you two could spar a little bit. What do you say?” Apakai was about to answer when he saw movement from the corner of his eye.

With the loud sound of metal on metal, a short bulky figure came slowly out of the trees. The thing, whatever it was, was covered in a full suit of plate mail and was carrying two shields. Apakai had heard of golems before, but had never seen one. He was extremely surprised to find one near the Ranger’s Hall,(if that’s what it was) as he mistakenly understood the very existence of them to be somehow at odds with the morals of the rangers and the druids.

It moved slowly and mechanically, the plates of armor it was made of slapping against one another, and eventually stopped by the rangermistress. It was then that Apakai looked at it and realized it wasn’t a golem at all. Two beady blue eyes peered out of the helmet in fear.

“This is Tymothy, Apakai,” Owaten said, lovingly patting the short figure on the top of the helmet. “Say Serale to Apakai, Tymothy.”

“Serale,” came a high-pitched, frightened voice out of the armor.

Owaten addressed Apakai, “Tymothy has just traveled from Primus Gaudeo to be trained by the Rangermistress of the Naturan Ranger‘s Hall. It appears that his mother and father sent him to me to learn the art of self defense.” She smiled. “Isn’t it funny how life is sometimes filled with delicious conveniences?”

“I’m not so sure about this,” came a shaky voice from the armor.

“You’ll be fine, Tymothy,” she responded. “This is Apakai’s first time wielding a true sword. How much damage could he possibly do?”

The boy in the armor tried to respond, but Owaten interrupted him with a cough and quickly began her instructions. “Apakai, unsheathe, and attack little Tymothy. Do try to be careful, though. It wouldn’t do to kill they poor boy before he learned anything.”

The panicked, squeaky voice said, “Kill?! I thought you said….”

“Attack!” Owaten yelled, barely able to keep herself from laughing.

Apakai lunged forward, attacking the small armored figure. Out of pity, he only aimed for the two shields. However, Tymothy was still getting knocked around a great deal.

The training went on for several candlemarks, all the while Owaten instruct the human. “Don’t forget to move from side to side, not just back and forth. Keep you rear elbow high at all times of inactivity. Never stop moving your feet! Thrust, move, thrust, move, thrust, move! Push the blow, pull the parry!” Little Tymothy began the experience grunting and squeaking his displeasure at every blow, but after a while, he quieted down. In truth, the boy seemed to be gaining confidence in himself.

As the sun went down, Apakai found that his body could indeed get more sore than it was when he woke up. It was necessary, he understood, that he get his arms conditioned to constantly swinging the swords around. He was proud of himself for lasting through the entire day without passing out.

As he put his hands on his knees and sucked in as much air as he could, the short armored Tymothy took off his helmet. To Apakai’s surprise, the boy was smiling.

“That was fun! Can we do that tomorrow?” the boy said.

[Apakai]

The 17th Brightening of Cryxatum, Summer in Era XIV Post Fractum

The last few brightenings had been a high-point in Apakai’s training thus far. Owaten seemed to relax with Tymothy around. He was younger, and she wasn’t near as hard on the boy as she was on Apakai. And in turn, she wasn’t as hard on Apakai while the boy was around. However, she was still a cold teacher, no matter how relaxed she bacame.

He woke up excited to get to practice. He strapped one sword to his belt, near his right hip. The other, he fastened around his back. He learned in the last few days that he could unsheathe both weapons quicker this way, and stand ready in a split second. With both swords on his hip, his arms sometimes got tangled in one another when taking them out of their scabbards.

Apakai was sad to see that Tymothy was not with the rangermistress this brightening. He and the boy had become fast friends, taunting each other and joking about each others prowess on the field. But as Apakai had learned many times before in his life; all things eventually came to an end. It was time to get on with his training.

Owaten stood under the ancient tree. This time, however, she wore a skintight leather armor, and two long daggers hung from her belt.

Apakai was about to proudly comment about why he decided to put a sword behind his back, when Owaten drew her daggers and came running full speed at the human. Reflexively, he quickly drew his swords, and in a split second was standing in a defensive stance.

The sound of colliding metal rang through the Naturan forest as the first blow was struck. The elven woman quickly followed it with two more slashes from her daggers, Apakai parrying them both before lunging in with a thrust and going on the offensive. Owaten easily evaded his thrust, moving to the left and slashing the dagger in her right hand in a downward diagonal direction, towards Apakai’s head.

As Apakai ducked, allowing the dagger to barely pass by him without making contact, he thought, The old elf has gone mad! She’s trying to kill me! As the dagger went by his head, Apakai pivoted on his rear foot, slashing from left to right with left arm. The movement proved to be to much for him, as his leg folded underneath of him. Owaten parried the blow with her left hand with such surprising speed and strength that it knocked the sword free of the human’s grip, sending it to the ground about 10 feet away.

Apakai laid on the ground for a confused moment before Owaten walked up to him, deftly flipping a dagger uspide-down in her hand. She momentarily raised it in the air before it came streaking down towards Apakai. He quickly kicked the elf in the stomach and rolled out of the way. He knew as soon as the move was finished that she would be after him quickly, the armor she wore protecting her torso.

He scrambled quickly to his sword and retrieved it, standing up and regaining his stance. He turned to Owaten as she was doing the same. They stood for a moment in silence, sizing each other up. Apakai was already sweating and exhausted from the shock of the situation. However, for the first time his body showed no trace of fatigue. He was focused wholly on his abilities. His hands where steady, his body limber.

Owaten came racing at him yet again, but this time she didn’t allow Apakai to make an offensive move. He parried blow after blow, but she left no opening for an attack of his own. Keep your rear arm up! His mind screamed at him. Five, six, seven rings in a row, the whole time Apakai was quickly moving backwards, trying desperately to stay out of the reach of the woman’s daggers.

After a few consecutive thrusts and a wide-arching downward slash, Apakai saw his opening. He moved to the left, completely evading the strike, and slashed the sword in his left arm from right to left, the blow coming at Owaten from behind her. She quickly pivoted on her rear foot and met the blade with her own, but now Apakai was able to begin a volley of attacks himself.

As his first blow was deflected back in the direction it was coming from, he lunged deeply, thrusting with his right arm, aiming for her torso. Thrust, move, thrust, move! Almost off balance, she parried the blows, deflecting Apakai's right-handed sword downward. However, he had already moved to the left and had thrusted again. Again and again the human thrusted, until Owaten parried so powerfully Apakai almost lost control of the sword in his right hand. However, he had already brought his left arm up into the air and was slashing downwards. The momentum of the attack began spinning Apakai to his right side, as Owaten’s momentum from dodging it began spinning her in the opposite direction.

When they both had finally turned full-circle, their weapons collided with a ring so loud that birds scattered from the trees above them. The clash was in Apakai’s favor, as he held the heavier more powerful weapons. The dagger in Owaten's right hand was knocked free from her grasp and was sent sailing into nearby bushes. Before she could make another move, the tip of Apakai’s sword was poking her in the chest. His arm was extended and steady, ready to take the killing blow.

She sighed heavily. “Finally,” she said sarcastically, “You’d think it would have killed you to make a move like that.”

Confusion painted Apakai’s face as the rangermistress swatted the sword from her chest. “Oh, do put that thing away. Let’s go eat.” She quite happily placed her dagger in it’s sheathe before retrieving her other blade from the bushes. “Well don’t just stand there,” she said to the human, who hadn’t moved a muscle. “Are you hungry or aren’t you?”