The Sleeping City

Chapter Two: A Song of Swords

A shiver passed over Eresse as the wind hurried past him. Beads of sweat poured down his face as he tried to get up again. His bones begged for a moments rest.

"There's no time for this, Eresse, you're too far behind." His father stood over him, turning a sword in his hand. He watched him try to slow his breath before he lashed out.

"How many times will you knock me down?" Eresse grabbed his sword and sunk it into the ground. Using it to push himself up.

"As many times as it takes. You're worrying too much on falling and not enough on getting up. We must-"

"We must face ourselves before we confront anyone else. I know, I've heard it a thousand times. That's what I'm doing." Eresse rose to one knee.

"You're still facing the ground, son, the pain, the sword, me but not yourself!" His father barked and then got back into his stance.

Eresse was finally back on his feet, but he could taste metal, and his sword grew heavier with every second. They had been out here for hours, but his father barely had a shred of sweat on him. His guard hadn't dropped a bit, even though Eresse couldn't even touch him, he still gave his all.

"It's been years, and I don't feel any closer. How am I supposed to win?" Eresse gasped."You're not listening!" His father boomed and swung at him.

Eresse blocked him but his sword arm was thrown back, and he stood there, wide open. He threw himself back before the opening got taken advantage of, but his father followed him. Eresse evaded the next swing and lunged his sword towards his father's leg, but he blocked it and swung down on Eresse. Their blades clashed.

"Don't buckle beneath my blade. Rise above it, get through it, do something, son!" His father pleaded, but Eresse couldn't take it anymore and lost his grip on his sword.

For a moment he thought he was about to get pierced, but right before the sword touched him, his father pulled back and kicked Eresse in the gut. He felt the blow throughout his whole body, and he could only hold his stomach as he fell to the ground. He ground his teeth, trying to control the pain.

"Every time you think it's not important to train or to give it your all remember this sensation. There are far worse pains waiting for you." His father said as he sheathed his sword and picked up Eresse, putting him over his shoulder.

It wasn't often his dad carried him, but there were days the training went too far, and he knew today was one of those days. He carried Eresse up a grassy hill to a tree that sat on the top.

Eresse opened his eyes and looked down at their home. He and his father climbed the mountains behind their village to train in a flat ground they had discovered when he was young. He watched the smoke rise from the blacksmith's shops as everyone below began to wake up. Kids ran back and forth between their discolored, brick homes. Someone was sweeping in front of their front door even though the ground was dirt. They all had their daily routines in the shadows of the trees that surrounded them.

"I almost had you that time." Eresse joked as he leaned back. "I saw a stutter in your leg at one point, did something happen?"