Crossroads of Two Worlds

7- Training and A Surprise

June 9th
10:14 AM

"Good... no, don't swing quite so much, don't put so much force into it that you can't control it. Yes, that's it..."

Turns out, Adrian was a genius in the art of sword fighting. That's probably why he managed to snag the only spot in the arena that had any shade. A little fear and intimidation goes a long way. From what I gathered, he'd been on a mission a summer ago and when he got back he'd thrown himself into his training and wouldn't tell anyone but Chiron what had happened. I almost didn't want to know what he had seen.

Sword-fighting truthfully was an art. More so than even learning the violin as I had when I was seven. You had to concentrate on so many things at the same time that it was almost overwhelming. Hold your stance and keep correct footing, watch for their weaknesses, guard your face, while guarding your face don't forget to guard your chest unless you want to get gutted... it was a lot.

For whatever reason, I was somewhat of a natural. I picked it up much faster than most others had. I had only been training for a few days, and though I was not nearly as good as Adrian, the best swordsman in the camp, I was much better than many of the others learning swords.

I was sweaty and my entire body ached more with every twist or dodge I administered to today's lesson, but I had no intention of giving up. I was trying to learn to be patient with this, as well as many other things (the lava rock wall was not my friend) but that didn't mean that I wasn't persistent and stubborn. Unfortunately, patience was my biggest struggle.

Adrian lunged at me with his swords, poised for offensive moves, but I saw it coming, he had taught me the same moves just twenty minutes ago. Much like the others he had introduced, I had picked it up in minutes. I blocked his attack and swooshed my right sword up against his neck, but stopped before I injured him, then lowered both swords to my sides.

Adrian nodded in approval while wiping sweat off his brow. It gave me great pleasure to know that he was sweating because of me. Not that I wasn't, I looked like someone had thrown a bucket of water at me, whereas he looked like he'd walked through a light mist. At this point I would have been grateful for a bucket of water, but no one came running up behind me heroically.

I was immensely proud of myself for the sword I had held at Adrian's neck, though I had a sneaking suspicion that he had helped me get past his defenses. But three days ago I couldn't have done anything of the sort, so I figured a bit of pride was in order.

Before Adrian and I began to circle around each other, I noticed a small crowd gathering to watch us from a distance. I turned my attention back to my trainer as spoke in panting breaths (at least he could speak at all), "I think you're ready to kick it up a notch. Remember, just let one motion blend into the next. Keep it interesting. If you are bored then so is your opponent. And a bored opponent will always find a way to trip you up."

I breathed heavily and spoke through gritted teeth, "Maybe they'll get so bored that they'll collapse in a great heap of boredom and we'll be done fighting."

He shook his head with a smirk, but advanced toward me. This time he didn't stop after one move he kept going and suddenly, we were engaged in an actual sword fight. I realized as we were fighting that all of the techniques and moves Adrian had taught me in the past few days were near second nature, and I used them all.

I could hear the people around gasping and whispering things. But I ignored them, sinking inside myself to concentrate on the fight. My reactions sped up and Adrian seemed to be moving in slow motion. I could see what he was going to do and beat him to it.

I kicked his legs out from under him and stomped on his sword. Soon, I had one sword blocking his remaining one and the other at his collarbone. We were both panting but I held out my hand to help him up off the ground. As he gripped my hand he flipped me and suddenly I was on the ground, my swords yards away, as he stood above me smirking, "Never do your adversary a favor."