Crashing the Family Tradition [Private/Spec Training]

Ayero had been staying with Nai’s family for nearly a week. She left to try and scrounge up work each morning but Nai’s mother, Nera always seemed to find her wherever she was in the city and drag her back to her house for dinner. At first the halfling was uncomfortable receiving this much hospitality from strangers without giving them anything in return, but Nera assured her that sparring with her son was more than enough. The woman seemed to take to the half-breed well, always dropping little hints and pushing her toward her son in hopes that the two would become closer, though neither seemed all that interested in each other outside of battle.

One day after dinner, she was approached by Nera’s husband, Gaad. He was a large man with a short, graying beard and a gentle disposition. He informed her that every year he and Nai went out into the desert to train their skills in battle as tradition, the arid desert adding an extra layer to their training with its harsh climate. He offered for Ayero to join them after seeing how well she fared against his son with her own blade. Later that night over tea, Nera explained how Gaad had always wanted a daughter in addition to their only son.

The next day, Gaad led his two younger companions into the desert as soon as evening fell upon them, insisting that it would be better to travel through the night and early morning rather than face the oppressive mid-day heat. By dawn the trio had reached a tiny oasis. Exhausted, they set up camp and slept through the morning.

Ayero was awoken by a large hand gently jostling her shoulder. ”Come now, it’s time to wake up. We didn’t trek all the way out here to sleep, now did we?” Gaad chuckled as he shook the woman once more, eliciting an irate groan from the sleepy red head as she struggled to rise. ”Already?” She props herself up on her hands and squints at the man, still partially asleep. ”Of course. We must make full use of these two weeks in the desert.” Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the halfling nods and clambers up into a standing position and stretches. ”Right then. I’m ready.” She announces, patting the sword at her hip.

”Hm?” Gaad looks over his shoulder at her while rummaging around through a large canvas bag. ”Oh, I forgot to mention. You won’t be using your own weapon during this trip.” He chuckles deeply at the woman’s confused expression as he retrieves two sheathed swords from the bag. ”You’ll be using a special sword.” He hands one of the weapons to Ayero. As she takes it from him, the unexpected massive weight of the sword causes her arm to drop suddenly. Staring down at the weapon in disbelief, he head snaps up.

”What the hell is this?” She raises the blade without much struggle. Though it was heavy she was still able to handle its weight. Unsheathing the sword, it appeared relatively normal save for the small weights strapped thickly to the grip and guard she hadn’t noticed before. ”A training sword.” She lifts it up to examine, frowning. She had dealt with her fair share of training weapons that were weighted down, but this was by far the heaviest. ”Exactly. After training with this blade, you should be able to perform better you’re your talwar. It’ll be light as air.” The man affirms, scratching at his beard.

[587/1000]

Grasping the hilt of the sword tightly, Ayero barely has time to bring up the heavy blade to block Nai’s attack. Grunting as she’s knocked back by the force of his strike, she shifts to attack him, but the man easily dodges her sluggish strike. Ayero was frustrated; though she was half Fanalis, the heavy blade would take some getting used to. Until then, her movements with the blade were greatly retarded. Nai was faring better, being used to handling the heavy training weapons over the years. Gaad stood several meters away with his arms crossed, a focused look on his face as he watched the two fighters. He said nothing after they began, only telling them to fight as how they normally would.

When they pause for a breath, Gaad signals them to stop with a wave of his hand. ”Here, put these on.” He produces  a pile of thick-sand weights and rope from his bag. ”Tie one to each limb.”

You’re kidding me. Her eye twitches as she straps the heavy weights onto her arms and legs, watching as Nai does the same. How the hell are we supposed to fight like this? As predicted, it was worse. By the time Gaad had told them to stop the cool desert night had been upon them for several hours. She had practically flopped into the sand after removing her weights, arms and legs reduced to jello. There’s no way this is going to get any easier.

The next day, Gaad had added a little more weight to the bags which strained their muscles even further. Still, they pushed forward and continued sparring in the post-noon sun, gradually becoming accustomed to the weight and figuring out ways to work around their handicap as the days passed by. But Gaad insisted on increasing the weight slightly each day. Though it did become easier to maneuver their weapons, Ayero wondered how well it had really worked. The day before they were to leave for Heliohapt, she had her answer.

The soreness in her muscles began to dissipate with the consistent practice. When she and Nai had reached for their weighted weapons that afternoon, the older man had stopped them. ”You’ll be using your own weapons today.”

Unsheathing Kotowari, Ayero’s brows raise in appreciation of how light the talwar felt in her hands. Signaling for them to begin sparring, each warrior flies at eachother with their newfound speed, far more light on their feet than they were before. This feels like dancing. Ayero almost smiled as she sidestepped Nai’s blade, watching as the man parried her own strike. They continued for several hours, their newly enhanced stamina enabling them to battle for quite a bit longer than with the training weights attached.

”Alright, I think you two have made your point.” Gaad had taken to sitting cross-legged on the sand, a flask in his hand as he addresses the pair. ”You’ve both done excellent. Come, let’s pack up and go home a bit early.”

[1088/1000]

[Exit]