The Hunt

Chapter Four: Training

"First rule of the assassins: medling in light magic will get you killed. I have seen light mages go up in balls of flame because of that stuff. Dark magic is far more powerful and far less dangerous. Ever wanted to disappear, appear, teleport and whatnot at your own will? Dark magic is the way to go." The groupmaster adopted a nicer personality when he got to brag about the dark powers and how they're better than light. Atleast, that's what Ed noticed pretty quickly.
"Assassins are both off the front line and on it, sometimes at the front or at the back, it depends mainly on what our job is." Ed noticed the battlemaster refering to both of them as 'our' and smiled to himself. He hadn't realised that he was actually part of this path and only now did he actually realise what his life will be like on the future.

"Snap out of it! Did you even hear what I said?" No was the answer to that, and both of them knew it.
"No, path master, I apologise."
"Pfft. No matter. As I said, hunters have the unique ability to cast spells by twitching fingers. Watch now, I am going to cast a series of spells. Watch my hands." And with no warning he disappeared. He reappeared on the roof and twitched his two index fingers. A dagger that was so dark it seemed to be made out of nothingness appeared in his hands and he threw it. With a twitch of his left index finger and his right pinkie, the dagger altered it's course and flew directly at Ed. Before he had any time to react, the path master twitched his fingers so fast Ed couldn't see it and the dagger transformed into a cloud of purple smoke as soon as it collided with his chest.

"Woah." The path master teleported back infront of Ed and smiled.
"First off, we're going to learn how to activate your weapons. Follow me." He strolled inside and Ed slowly came to the realisation he needed to follow. Dumbfounded after the spectacle he witnessed, he hurried back inside and slammed the door.

"Every assassin needs their weapons. Magic can do wonders, but it is only so good when you're in a life or death situation. One wrong move and BAM-" the Path Master slammed the knife into the table, millimeters from Ed's hand and causing him to recoil in surprise. "A knife thrust between your ribs and a failed mission." Ed took on board the wise words from the older man, staring intensely at him, trying to learn every bit of information he could to finally be the first to leave the support path. He did not want to disappoint his family. He did not want to become a laughing stock. But above all: he did not want to die.

After what seemed like an age, the path master finally laid down a collection of weapons. There were three types: bows, swords, and daggers. Most of the assassins took a very standard loadout; compound bow, long sword, throwing dagger. Most took these as they were the weapons they were brought up using, using targets of snow mounds and snowmen. Edgaras was not as lucky. Coming into this from a fresh perspective, he began by overlooking the bows. The compound bow, an ornate piece of wood chiselled perfectly into the shape of a large yet disproportionate 'W', looked easy to use but rather weak. The crossbow, with its perfectly flexible cross piece looked more agile yet still rather weak compared to the final contender.

The long bow looked to be a very strong contender, if it wasn't for Ed's height. The bow, when released, was nearly the same size as him and would not be available for him. Based on the two options left, Edgaras made a decision never made before:
"I will take the crossbow."

The Path Master laughed quickly, before turning to Ed with a new look on his face. The crossbow has not been picked since the beginning time. The difficulty of the loading and severe disadvantage with both range and damage made it difficult to use, despite the fact that it could be fired faster. The Path Master looked at Ed with disbelief. He could not tell whether Ed was serious, but the intense energy within him showed he was serious.

Now he had made his point, Ed picked the standard sword and dagger from the lineup. He had shown he was not going to train passively, and the Path Master had realised this.
"When it comes time to summon your weapons, just reach for where you would expect them to be.

"We don't carry them with us as it allows us to appear innocent until the last moment, and as it is easier this way. Now, reach to where you expect your sword to be." Edgaras reached down to his hip and feigned gripping a sword and drawing it, and to his shock he was holding his sword. He released the sword in panic, and as soon as the blade left his hand it vanished. He tried resummoning the sword and admired it's beauty, the originally cold and bleak weapon now a deep scarlet.

"It has that colour thanks to the energy inside of you. Your Dark powers fuel the blade and influence it, lending to it's red colour." After saying this, the Path Master drew his own blade and revealed it as a shorter, stouter blade with a purple tinge. They continued with the summoning, and Edgaras could reach his dagger by dropping his hand to his right hip and forming a fist, and his crossbow by reaching over his shoulder. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the crossbow shot bolts of energy, meaning all Ed had to do was pull the string back and the crossbow would be loaded. All of this weapons had the deep red that matched him.

He could have admired his arsenal of weapons all day, if the Path Master had not spoken up, breaking Ed from his trance.
"Well? What do you say we get training?"