Training

Without seeing or feeling anything, I heard that earthrumbling voice say, "Good..."

Immediately after, I woke up. Beside that small five-second stretch, my sleep felt like a blink. I guess that's better than a full dream.

I looked to my left to see Dannas still unsurprisingly asleep. I put my shirt on and peeked out of the tent. I must've woken even earlier than last time since few people were out. Because of all the forest around, it was hard to tell the time. It must've been near daybreak since it was just bright enough to see, but not bright enough for the forest to shimmer. I could tell if I tried to go back to sleep, it wouldn't work. It's not like I exactly wanted to sleep and risk another one of those dreams either. What if those dreams are somehow real? Either I'm going crazy or the world is.

I exited my tent and sat in front of it. Incase the world is crazy, I suppose I should practice more. For the next couple hours, I increased and decreased the heat in the air above my hand repeatedly. Each time, I watched as the air would wobble in quick waves just to go back to normal. Just before I could get tired of it, I heard the steps of a man, who's stature was unmistakable, walk toward me from a distance. I looked down the path to see Soras walking from the large tents down the T separating the sleeping tents from the training area. I noticed the rest of the camp was beginning to wake aswell. I could smell the scent of food and burning wood come to creation from the mess tent.

"Hungry?" Soras asked, now only ten feet away, which I hadn't noticed earlier because of the distracting smell.

"A little bit."

"Well, after a few hours of learning and training, you can have some food. It's a good thing you rose early. I was going to wait till you woke, but since you're already awake, we can begin immediately. Follow me." He turned, and walked.

He led me into the training area, onto one of its circles. "Grab a blade, whichever one you want, and come back.

I went to the same table from the test. To my surprise, the busted messer was no longer there, and was replaced by a near-identical one, as if it was repaired. I picked it up somewhat carefully and walked back onto the circle.

"So. You've learned some things on the test. You learned some basics, counter-attacking, and parrying. Today, I'm going to start teaching you the rest. After that, with my help of course, it will be your job to train it all into muscle memory. Battle is fast—always faster than you might think. It's important to train everything into your muscle memory because you need to think of what your opponent is doing and what they will do in order for you to react properly. You'll have neither the time, nor the energy to think of what technique you should use. If you have it all in your muscle memory, then it'll all come with reaction. Of course, experience will hone it further. No matter how much time and patience it will take, it's a necessity to move forward in your sword-fighting skills."

"Okay."

"Let's begin." Soras pulled his sword out of its scabbard. "You know how to block, cut, slash, and thrust. There's eight angles of attack you can use. Technically, you can use any angle of the circle, but the main eight are the most important for now. It's important to know which angle to use for a given situation. Each angle can be used for your defense and offense. Fortunately, you seemed to have it down."

Quickly, he sent a downward slash my way. My mind acted on its own through shock and blocked his blade with my perpendicular one.

"You proved me right."

"That was sudden," I said in a slightly bothered tone.

"Good. Your opponents won't make it that easy. I'm sure you know all too well how humans can be. Never let your guard down."

"Right."

"Now, sword fighting isn't all about clashing blades. Though it can definitely happen a lot, the goal isn't to waste time and energy; the goal is to kill or incapacitate the opponent as quickly and easily as possible. In a duel however, it can be quite different. Make sure that if you cannot avoid a fight, you understand what kind of fight you're in, what kind of opponent you're up against, and judge accordingly. If you're on a battlefield, you don't want to use more than two techniques per person. If you're in a duel, like your first test, you can choose how much of a fight you want to make it. There's nothing necessarily wrong with a prolonged fight; you just need to be certain you're not fighting again when it's over."

"Okay."

Soras walked off the side of the circle to a scarecrow-like dummy, and carried it to the circle. "For today, we'll be training two things: blocking and attacking. After a few hours of blocking and giving attacks, you can eat. After that, keep practicing on this dummy for as long as you can. I won't be here then since I'll be busy. Tomorrow morning, we'll train more and move forward from there."

Just as Soras said, I spent the next few hours blocking his strikes and giving him strikes. When that time was up, he set off to do something, and I set off to get some food. After I left the training area, when I reached my tent on my path to the mess tent, Dannas walked out.

"Oh, Ladon. Ready for some food?"

"Yes."

We walked to the mess tent, got the soup of the midday, and sat down to eat.

He shoved a spoonful of food in his mouth while saying, "Sho, wha 'ere you doin'?"

"Training."

"With Shoras?"

"Yes. I woke up early so we had plenty of time for it."

"Makes sense. He usually doesn't have a whole heap of time, but when he does, he likes to train, especially with the newbies. Though I will say, he seems to be nicer to you for some reason. I wonder why?"

"What do you mean?"

"How was he treating you this morning?"

"Well, there were unexpected attacks, but outside of that, he just told me some things, and we practiced awhile."

"I see. He's usually much tougher on the people he trains. But I guess even that depends on the newbie."

"I see."

"What'd he say the rest of your training's gonna be like?

"He's going to teach me more tomorrow, and that I'm going to spend a lot of time on muscle memory. I'm supposed to keep practicing after I eat."

"Alright then! I'll join you. I might have some pointers to give."

Once we finished eating, we walked back to the training circles. I spent the rest of the day hitting the dummy with my sword in alternating angles. Dannas gave a couple pointers here and there, mainly involving the different stances, and reverse grip, but got bored halfway through and left me for other things. Finally, when the moons were high enough for their light to shimmer through the ever-shifting leaf roof of the forest, I went back to the tent to sleep for the night. My body was feeling somewhat sore, but I felt just fine, for the most part.

I arose in the morning without a new dream to ponder on, then left the tent to be greeted by Soras who'd just made it to the training circles.

"Did you practice as I asked?"

"I practiced for the rest of the day."

"Good. The more you do, the better it will be for you. Although, I didn't expect you'd want to practice that much."

"I . . . have a feeling I need to. So I intend to practice as much as I can."

"Very well. Let's not waste any time then, shall we?"

Soras taught me about footwork. I practiced my stance, where to put my feet, how to move them, and how to apply all of that to my attacks and defenses. He was less busy that day, so we practiced together for a couple extra hours before I ate. After that, I practiced on my own for the rest of the day again. Once again, I was met with blessed silence in my sleep.

The next day, he taught me various parries, ripostes, and counter-attacks, and had me practice them with the strikes, blocks, and angles I practiced before. After a few hours, he left. I ate, then practiced on my own for the rest of the day. I was feeling rather energetic today, so I spent an hour or two in the night practicing my control over heat. I didn't dream once again.

When I woke up, Soras was at the training circles, just like the last few days. I grabbed a sword and walked over to him.

"I've taught you most of everything except what experience has yet to teach you. Your diligence is admirable and you have been improving greatly. I won't be able to help you every day after today, so I want you to keep training on your own. Feel free to ask any of the rangers for help when they're not busy. I'll check up on you in a week after we're done here today."

"Okay. How long is it going to be until I can get my first mission?"

Soras's statued face untensed for a moment. "That eager, are you?"

"I just like to plan ahead."

"I see. Well, if you keep progressing at this rate, maybe a couple weeks. Maybe more."

"If my rate increases?"

"Then likely less."

"I see."

"I can tell you're not one for conflict. Every fighter has a style. I can already tell strength, movement, and out-of-ordinary techniques are likely to be your strengths. For you, I recommend patience. Wait for your opponent's action, react, then conquer. Repeat for as many enemies as you have. Imagine I'm an infinite amount of enemies."

He lifted his blade. "Shall we begin?"

I lifted mine. "Yes."

We crossed swords for a few hours until it was time to eat. We trained rather hard this time; more than enough for both of us to break a sweat. Soras seemed like he was enjoying these training sessions, so I felt a little bad that he couldn't train me longer. Before he walked away, he spoke.

"Make sure you continue to train hard. I want to see what kind of ranger you become before senescence deems me too old to duel anymore."

Regaining my breath, I answered, "Okay!"

After he walked away, before I could walk past my tent on the way to the mess tent, Dannas walked up to me.

"You look like you trained pretty hard this morning."

"It was fun."

"Did I just hear you say you enjoyed something?"

"Yes? What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. Just didn't expect it."

We grabbed our food and sat down in our usual place in the tent.

"So what're ya gonna do for the rest of the day, Ladon?"

"Same thing I'm going to do for the rest of the week."

"Which is?"

"Train."

"But you've been training all day forever now. Come on, let's have some fun."

"I need to train more. I need to train harder."

"Why? None of us trained this hard; we took our time."

I didn't want to tell him about my dreams. "I . . . have a feeling. I guess . . . that I don't have much time to take."

"Are you dying?"

"No."

"Then where's all the time going?"

"I don't know. I just know I need to work as hard as possible."

"Okay, I guess. You go train then," he lowered his voice to vaguely match mine, "Mr. I-Don't-Have-a-Lot-of-Time."

Dannas walked away. I sighed before finishing my food and heading back to the training circles. Once I made it, I spent the day until sunset training with three dummies. I was training to fight multiple enemies at once, using my time to come up with my own ways to deal with everything that could happen in such a scenario. Once it was sunset, I sat just outside the training area. Just above my now-calloused and raw hands, I began to practice my magic again. This time, I was trying to see if I could control increasing and decreasing the heat in two different spots at once. After a few frustrating hours, I realized I could, but it only made me twice as tired to do so. Guess I shouldn't go too far if I don't want it to affect my training. It was getting late, so I went to bed for the night.

I had no dreams again. Somehow, this pattern was starting to unsettle me more than the dreams themselves. It was like the silence somehow proved they were real . . . like I was appeasing that voice. If that voice is real, then what am I preparing for? When can I tell Abraxas? Why can't I tell Abraxas?

I left the tent and started practicing for the morning. Fear and frustration started to pen up, so I used the opportunity to strike it out of my system onto the dummies. Strike after strike, my practice sword popped against the wood. For some reason, I just kept hitting them harder and harder until I finally broke straight through one. Once I realized what I did, I was a couple hours late to when I'd normally eat. I wasn't feeling very hungry yet, so I replaced the dummy and continued training. After several hours more of this, I realized my frustration wasn't going away. This clearly wasn't helping, but I didn't know what else to do. I spent the rest of the day training through the frustration, then went to bed soon after.

As soon as my eyes closed, they opened to darkness. Suddenly, that girl's screaming voice from all the dreams echoed through the infinite space, muffled and repeating until—it stopped. In a circle around me, an imposing wall of fire rose into the air from the black ground. I could see the reflection of the fire on the ground around me. Despite all the light, the space was still black. The ground had a shine, but beyond that, was still void.

The earth-rumbling combination of my voice and a stranger's spoke. "You're working hard. But I fear it's not enough."

"What do you mean?! I've only ever taken breaks for food and sleep! How is that not enough?! What am I training for anyway?! Why can't I tell Abraxas?! ANSWER M-"

"DO NOT USE THAT VOICE ON ME, BOY! I AM TRYING TO ENSURE YOU STAY ALIVE! WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU TRAIN FOR?!!" A few seconds of silence were taken. "You cannot tell Abraxas because he will waste his and your time trying to figure everything out. Right now, You need to use all the time you have and use it well."

"Can you tell me what's going to happen since you can see the future or whatever?"

"No."

"Why?"

"You are not ready to know. If I tell you now, you will find any way to avoid it. It will not work, nor would it ever work, then everyone you currently care about would likely burn and parish, including yourself."

"How do you know all this?"

"I do not know. I do not know the means that were taken to give me this knowledge. I do not know who used those means. And I do not know how I even have a voice. But it doesn't matter. What matters is what you do now."

"What?"

"What are you going to do, boy? Cower in fear until you die? Or work and fight for what matters to you?"

"The latter?"

"Good."

Suddenly my eyes opened again to the tent.

"Shit. It's real. It's all real."

"Huh? What's real?" Dannas groggily asked, laying on his side.

My body jolted. I didn't realize I said that out loud. "What? Nothing."

"Alright, whatever. I'm going back to bed." He rolled over.

I took a few seconds to breathe and reflect. What in the hels is going on? How hard do I need to train? How long do I need to train? What will becoming a ranger even help? Does it even matter? If he's right, then what does it matter? Once those few seconds were up, I realized I wasn't frustrated anymore. I was scared, but weirdly sure. I didn't know what was really happening anymore, but I knew I needed to work harder.

I left the tent and wound up training for the whole day without eating again. My hands were really starting to hurt, but I never let it stop me. When I woke up the next day, I went back to training. Once again, I took no breaks. My hands were hurting more. I woke up the next day and started training again. This time, my stomach was starting to attract the ears of the nearby rangers who heard it, so I went to the mess tent to eat. I wound up eating enough for five people. I looked at my hands. They looked more raw, especially on my growing calluses. I trained through the pain for the rest of the day. I woke up the next day, and trained through the morning and the worsening pain. After that, I went to the mess hall to eat.

When I grabbed my food, I saw Yara eating at one of the benches. She looked at me and waved. I waved back just to see her shocked face. She angrily stood up and quickly walked to me. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I took a step back. "Tell you what?

She took a step forward and grabbed my free left hand and turned it so my palm would face upward. "Your hands! They're bruised and bleeding!"

"Oh." I looked down and my eyes confirmed what she said. They were bleeding where the calluses had been building.

"Bring your food. I need to patch you up."

She took me to the medical tent she ran, and sat me on the same table I sat on before.

"You've certainly been training hard. A little too hard perhaps?"

"Probably."

"You need to take care of yourself better, Ladon. You're not always going to have me to patch you up, and I can't patch up everything that can befall a person."

"I know."

"Anyway, I'm gonna clean the wounds, apply an ointment, then bandage up your hands."

She started the process.

"Can I still train after?"

Yara sighed, while applying the ointment. "That's what the bandages are for. Come to me every morning, and I'll do the same until your hands don't need it anymore, alright?

"Alright. Thank you."

She finished with the bandages. "No problem. Finish your food before you train."

"Okay."

I went back to the mess hall to eat. I saw Dannas was sitting down and eating, so I sat down with him while finishing my food.

"Taking a break from training, Ladon?"

"Yara told me to finish my food."

"Sounds like her. She can be a bit of a mother bear sometimes."

". . ."

"Gonna keep training today?"

"Yes. Soras is going to check on my progress in a couple days. I want to work as hard as possible for it."

"I don't know how you do it. Try not to kill youself out there. Losing a friend's tough."

I lightly chuckled. "Alright."

"Got you again!"

I quickly finished my food and went back to the training circles. This time, I had five dummies around me in the circle. Hopefully, I could train well enough against this many variables. I trained on them for the rest of the day. The next day, I went to Yara, then trained for the rest of the morning. My hands hurt less than before. I ate, then kept training. The next day, I did the same thing. My hands hurt even less.

Today is the day. I left the tent and didn't see Soras. I went to Yara and she did her thing. Soras was still not out. Maybe he was late, or busy. I started training on five dummies again. Strike after strike, I moved from dummy to dummy. Spinning and ducking, I used my sword to make contact with all of their protruding sticks. As if they were attacking me, I dodged, deflected, and parried each of them differently until I reached the last one, which I proceeded to double deflect and cut through, shattering the wood as it toppled over iteself.

I stopped to catch my breath, at which time, I heard slow clapping. I turned around to see both Soras and the captain watching me, silently assessing. I walked over to the table to put the sword down, then walked back. They both kept looking at me for a few minutes, then eventually, walked up to me.

The captain looked at both of my hands. "Admirable work and determination, Ladon." She cracked a small smile before continuing. "It seems you're ready for your first mission. What do you say, Soras?"

"I'd say he trained like the hels were trying to take him. I'd say he's ready. Only thing he has left to learn is what only experience will teach."

"It's settled then. Ladon, tomorrow morning, we will brief you and equip you for your first mission. Enjoy the rest of your day, eat well, and make sure to get some good rest."

"Okay!"

It was better than anything I could've expected. I thought it would take more weeks; I didn't know I'd be ready this early. I'm sure I'm no master yet, but it was still a shocker.

"What will the mission be like?"

Soras looked down at me. "We can't tell you that yet."

The captain continued. "Meet me in my tent at dawn. If you have any more questions, you know where to find us."

Soras patted my back. "You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Alright."

They turned and walked back to their tents. I took a second as they walked away, trying desperately to keep a calm demeanor, at least until they were far enough away. Once they were gone, I sprinted back to my tent.

I burst through the flap. "Dannas!"

He jolted up, holding invisible daggers. "What! Are we under attack?! Oh gods please don't tell me it's a dragon!"

"I'm getting my first mission tomorrow."

"Holy shit! Really?!"

"Yeah."

"I'm going on a mission tomorrow too. I wonder if we got the same one."

"Is that possible?"

"Sure, why not?"

"I need to tell the others."