The Otori Prophecy

XLIV - First Flower's Bloom

I ran through the awakening forest, dodging trees as I did. Ludens was keeping track of me with watchful eyes. His sword was held over his shoulder, paused from his exercise, and I wondered if he ever got tired of holding it. It seemed much heavier than mine, Ludens offering me to try picking it up, broader in the blade too. It was also nearly the height of Ludens.

"Faster," he called. I hadn't even realised that I started to slow. Ludens started to swing his sword returning to his practice. Stances and directional swings. We had been doing this for the first few weeks after the snow melted. At first it was in the clearing at the base of the mountain, then we ventured further and further out into the forest. Each time Ludens would add something for me to do, explaining why we were doing this.

I picked up my legs, they were already burning from the exertion, but I knew that I could push myself a little harder than this. Was this what Dad used to do with Ludens before Nantgarth? Did he train Ludens himself or was Ludens left to figure it out? Without noticing how lost in thought I had become, I caught my foot underneath an upturned root, sending myself towards the floor. I rolled it off as best as I could, landing with a thud against the bottom of another tree. I stared up at the canopy from my position, breathless, eyes tracing the intertwined branches. They were already beginning to get the first buds of new leaves.

The sky was also changing, a soft blue today, the first of its kind this season. Though I did notice the odd smattering of grey clouds lingering here and there. I huffed, closing my eyes and drawing in steady breaths. I will move when my body isn't screaming at me to rest.

The running and dodging were the first stage of my training. Ludens insist it was to test me on my pacing and reaction speed before he would let me hold a sword. He ruled out sparring too. The trees had been my opponents for the better part of the morning, running through them as fast as I could without breaking concentration, dodging them as close to the last possible second as I could. It was fun but Ludens had prohibited me from using any tactic that would give me an advantage; saying that that part of training would come later. For now it was back to basics.

As I caught my breath, I realised that I longed for the feeling of bare feet on moss carpeted forests, the feeling of warm mud and the uneven terrain as I ran. I couldn't. Not for a long time... The forests could soon be prowling with hunters- animal and bounty- or monsters. At first sight of them we'd have to flee or fight. To take the risk of not having boots on would be the difference between running as far as we could in little time and falling to our deaths. Besides, we were being hunted by at least five different organisations, we needed to be prepared to run as soon as possible.

Ludens rushed over to me, looking down at me, his brow creased in concern. Blue eyes surveyed me for injuries. "Are you okay?" he asked, worried. He looked relieved when he saw no visible injuries. I nodded, twisting around until I was on my feet again, brushing the dirt from my clothes. There was a small ache in my right shoulder from where I had rolled over tree roots, otherwise, I was completely uninjured. He held his hands out until he was certain that I had steadied myself. I was thankful for the fairer weather, wearing a cloak would've made that tumble turn into something more severe.

He led me back to his sword, left leaning against a tree, training was over. "Can we explore?" I asked, twirling around. My head was raised to the sky, watching the branches of trees to find any birds' nests or for footholds to climb. There had to be more to see now the snow had melted. The weather was made for it, being mild with a cool breeze, but warmer than it had been in many months. I wanted to be outside longer; the cavern was starting to feel too small.

Ludens thought for a minute, running through all the reasons not to, ultimately settling for raising his shoulders in a shrug. He slung the strap of his sword's sheath over his tunic, hoisting his sword onto his back.