Wings of War

Chapter 6

"Morning, Hallen."

"Good morning, General." The diplomacy group had been sailing for 3 days, and finally reached the Maronian Sea. "It's nice to be able to see the open ocean, instead of snow and ice everywhere. That storm we had sure did it's work."

"Considering it even sent the wolves into hiding, I'll have to agree. Let's head on over to get breakfast."

"I second your decision. The sea air always makes me peckish."

"Sure, let's go with the air," Alven rolled his eyes and sighed. "After breakfast, we are going to do some training. We can't let the men think they are on vacation."

"Alright. I'll meet you on deck after we eat. Today's special is ham and eggs!"

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A week later, Alven's voice could be heard bellowing throughout the ship, his gruff tones bouncing off the freshly hewn wood."Alright, troops, you've had your rest. Time to get moving, if you want to win a war. If not, well, I might just come visit you in deserter's prison."

"Man, I'm glad that I'm not one of the men up there," Hallen grinned at the cook, then his face fell as he heard Alven yelling his name. "Well, I'll see you for lunch, if I'm lucky." Molu solemnly trudged up the stairs. "I'm on my way, Alven!" Slowly, he came to the top of the stairs. "Here, General." 

"Everyone, grab a sword. You are each going to spar with either me or Captain Hallen, your choice. Raise your left hand if you want to spar with me, or your right hand for Hallen." Almost instantly three left hands shot up, and two right. "Dolan, Botrami, Karo, you're with me. Zaru, Haru, you're with Hallen. Your training begins now!"

Instantaneously, Molu and Alven whipped out their shortswords, and moved back to back. Dolan rushed at Alven, his figure eight motion making his sword a blur in the dazzling sunlight. He was on his way to being one of the next swordsmasters of the kingdom, on his home stretch of final training. Alven deflected his sword with a clang, just as Molu and Zaru made contact. Zaru was a fighter who used the technicalities and ground to his advantage, making sure to keep the preferred position to make his blows most effective. Molu was jabbing and swiping at Zaru, pulling back just in time to dodge a sweep at the ankles from Zaru. Molu knocked the sword out of Zaru's hands with a flourish. Alven sidestepped a jab, slid behind Dolan, but Dolan, being an advanced swordsman, saw this coming. He did not, however, see Alven's foot slide in front of his. Just as Dolan went to turn around, Alven pulled his foot in and sent him down with a  crash. "Not bad, Dolan. Just remember to watch the foot. You never know what tactics the enemy will try to use."

"Yes, sir. I will do that."

"Botrami, Haru, you're next. Hallen, you ready?"

"You bet, sir."

Once again, the spar was on. a small group of sailors had gathered to watch the show from the upper deck. Botrami rushed at Alven, his goal to catch him off guard, and pin him to the ground with his extra weight. Botrami was a small man by no means. Six two and 200 pounds, he was no small force, his body lean and toned to perfection. He preferred to use his size to intimidate attackers. Haru went for a more defensive approach against Hallen, making sure that he was maximizing his balance and speed. He preferred waiting for others to strike first, being a calculated attacker. Botrami's attack was quickly cut short, however. Alven speedily saw Botrami's rush, and sidestepped in order to swing Botrami around. Just as soon as Botrami saw Alven move, he was on the ground. Molu was slowly working his way closer to Haru, in order to prevent him from using his defensive tactics effectively. He easily cut past Haru's blocks, and send his sword flying into the mast.