Viloproxiss

*Kink* *Kink* *Kink*

The sound of metal against metal sounds off, as 10 young men in their 20s are clashing fiercely. Swords draw and shields up, they continue to clash

"Hector, are you getting slower or something?" said his opponent

"You would truly wish for that I see you are getting tired." He smiled as he continued the match.

"Maybe you should give up on your name as guardian, and don the name slow … haha" Hector continued trying to get under Helios' skin.

"If I did that who will protect you and your weak guard" Helios quipped.

Their banter continued along with their match, with no side gaining the upper hand and they are both clearly tired. With a group consisting of Leonidas, Daedalus, Zopyrus, and the others, they are practising as all spartan warriors do to pass the time. The session comes to an end when they are all tired.

"Where do you think his right now," Zopyrus asked the rest of the group

"Knowing him, he is probably perfecting his skills. You remember the weapon he used before he left-right, if we are not careful, we might not be his match when he returns," commented Leonidas

"You are right we must put in some effort, if not how do we face him when he returns," Daedalus said, if I was there, seeing the look on his face I would know that he is planning something.

"I have an idea, why do we not practice with limitations," he continued

"Daedalus, what are you planning, I do not want to be part of your antics, not this time," said Hector, fearing he would have to do triple training again because of Daedalus' ideas

"Do not overstate things, that was just a one-time mistake," he said with a smile on his face that sent shivers down the spine of everyone.

"What I suggest is to train with one limitation that your opponent gives you. Say I pair with Zepyros, I can say he has to make sure his sword never goes behind him, or I can say Helios should battle with only one hand usable," he smiles

"For once I can say that he has a good idea," Laughed Leonidas

"That I cannot accept, I have come up with many good, o great ideas, you lot simply refuse to listen to me," said Daedalus in his defence.

"Right, and if we had listened, we would have already been dismissed as warriors of Sparta," Helios commented

"I would say that in this part I support this idea." Said another member of the group.

"Agreed" X10

And so, their plan for training was set.

Meanwhile on the other side in Athens 2 men are competing in wild game hunting in the forests some distance away from the city. They are Atredies and a youth named Viloproxiss, Vilo is what he is normally called. His father is a bit eccentric, giving his child that type of name, but it doesn't seem to bother Vilo much, as he always introduces himself with his full name.

"Vilo how is your hunt going, you will have to bow to me as master if you lose this time," I said to Vilo, gloating about my boar catch today.

"Ha, you just have some beginners' luck, why do we not try combat shooting and see who does better then?" he countered

I just laugh it off and move away, yes, we are competing with bows and arrows. It has been 6 months since I arrived in Athens, I have changed my bow to a sturdy longbow that is 6ft in height and weighs about 30kg. I meet Vilo on one of my hunting sessions and mistakenly took his prey, since then we have been competing to see who is the better bow hunter.

At first, it was easy for me to win, as using a bow for someone like me is pretty easy. That was until Vilo challenged me to fight against him with any weapon I prefer. Using a sword, I managed to dodge his arrows and close in on him, normally that will be my win, but he showed me that even at close range a bow can be viable for some.

"You are running away already, I thought the brave Atredies would fight whoever stood before him in challenge," he said as he tries to goad me into a match.

"Yes, I am brave, but also not stupid enough to fight a losing battle for such low stakes as this when I already have the advantage."

"With your curved shooting, I wonder how you got into the army in the first place. In war using a bow in the fray of things will only get you killed," I add

"Worry not about me, with time and practice I will be the best archer there is, and when the time comes, they will commission my regiment with me at the helm," he says with conviction.

"Not this again, you might be able to do combat shooting, but I doubt there will ever be another person like you. Besides, it is not as effective in war, so who will agree to it."

"Just wait and see, in the future, there will be songs about me and my regiment."

"Fine you can dream all you want, but the sun is going down soon and I want to eat, so if you are not going to hunt, kindly start cooking my food 'Student' … haha," I said and laugh as he begrudgingly starts a fire to prepare the boar I killed.

My experience with the bow in straight-shooting has reached a master's level, and if I did not meet Vilo I would have already started making plans to leave Athens. I decided to stay to observe and learn from him, his talent in combat is very high and he could be a great partner to spar with.

Vilo and I sit down as he tends to the meal over the fire, and we talk about our experiences with the bow. From him, I learned how string and shoot could be useful and how the curves of the bow can aid in blocking. Also, if sharp metal points are attached to either end of a bow it can effectively be a very close ranged weapon.

'Huh'

I turn my head around searching for what I just felt. The feeling of being watched by someone you don't know and can't see. Looking around, there is nothing there, then I look up for some reason, I still can't see anything but I know that is where whoever was looking at me is.

This made me feel uncomfortable to the point where I had to write off sleeping for the night.