I sat on a bench just outside the fortress near the end of a long day of training.
It was the beginning of spring, and even though the air was supposed to be much colder than it was, I was soaked in sweat after seemingly endless hours of sword training. It had been a few years since my brother, Bernar, left for his training in Caegwen, but that didn't mean that my own training had stopped.
For whatever reason, he was on my mind that day, allowing me, in that moment of solace, to drown out the last few sounds of weapons clashing in the background.
I wonder how Bernar's been doing with his training because this regimen has been kicking my ass, I thought, doubling over and leaning my elbows on my knees.
I watched as a bead of sweat fell from the tip of my nose into the dirt beneath my feet. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in, trying to regain some of the breath I was out of.
Since the day he left, I'd been training as hard as I could to make good on the promise I made him. This, obviously, was easier said than done, but Batch, Edryd, and a newcomer named Irun certainly, who came in almost two years after me, helped stave off any feelings of loneliness I might have had. I would be lying if I said that it was easy, but Bernar and I both knew, fundamentally, that this was the best decision for our formative years.
However, that doesn't mean that the Master had let up on my training one bit.
I was still lanky and apparently had a lot of difficulty putting on muscle. My core ached occasionally, but over the last few years, I'd gotten used to the strange feeling to the point where I hardly even noticed it anymore. Every day, the boys and I would practice sword techniques and try our best to keep up with each other. Physically, I was pretty far behind them all, but I found that I had an affinity for mana that they could hardly fathom.
"Hey, Thoma. Are you alright?" I heard a voice call out. It was Irun's voice I heard speaking between his footsteps on the packed earth. "Oh, I'm alright. I just need a minute to catch my breath," I replied with a pained smile. Irun chuckled momentarily but then offered a hand out for me to take. I eyed it carefully. His gloved hand motioned once or twice, trying to signal me to take it and stand up.
With a short sigh, I accepted the help and stood back up on my own two feet. "You know, it must be nice to be physically capable of doing even half of the shit the Master asks us to do," I joked, dusting my ass off from the bench. "Oh, trust me, you should be thankful he takes it easier on you," Irun said, punching my arm and forcing me to wince slightly.
In my defense, that punch of his didn't hit much muscle.
"I know. There are just a few moments where I wish I had even half the physical capabilities you three do," I said dejectedly. "Fair enough, but you're way better at spells than I think I'll ever be. I suppose you could be the Mage or Druid Synner of us four," he said, trying to cheer me up.
I could only chuckle at the idea of having a long, white beard and some sort of fancy hat to go along with my black robes that dragged across the forest floor as I pranced around with a random assortment of animals.
"Yeah, I don't think that's where I want to end up," I said between laughs. "Come on, the Master says we've got one last thing he wants to show us, then we'll be done for the day," he said encouragingly.
I feel like I'm going to puke if I have to do another set of sprinting cuts, I thought momentarily.
We trotted over to where Batch, Ed, and a few others were gathered around the Master for some kind of demonstration. "Ah, there you are, Thoma. Good, now we can begin the final lesson of the day," the Master began. "Now, you've all had a fairly extensive day, but it is these exact conditions that we will most often find ourselves when on missions," he said, looking at every one of us carefully.
He began to pace back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back. "Most of you have already learned the basics of spell-casting, but now it's time to try and combine it with your skills in sword combat. This fundamental is what sets us apart from most other soldiers, and it's time you begin learning it," he said, turning to face us for a moment. "I don't expect any of you to figure it out on your first try, but it should give you something to think about tonight since we'll be practicing this nearly every day from now on," he continued.
Wait, we're going to cast a spell and attack at the same time? I thought, trying to figure out how that was supposed to work.
"Before any of you ask, yes, the spell must be cast during an attack," the Master said as if he'd just read my thoughts. "Now, who would like to go first? Any volunteers?" he asked in a warmer tone than usual. Edryd raised his hand before I did, and I could just barely see the shift in the Master's expression.
"Thank you, young Edryd. Now, before we begin, I will provide a small demonstration of what I want you to do, as it would be dangerous to try this without any guidance," he said, ushering Edryd beside him.
"You should all be familiar with the Exar spell, one of the very first you were taught after receiving the Gwynnleaf tincture. As a reminder, the tincture only prevents your consciousness from being trapped in the Ethereal; it does not grant you your mana. You must draw that from the realm yourself," he said, drawing his sword from its scabbard on his hip and turning to face the training dummy equipped with a wooden sword and shield.
He choked up on the hilt, leaving his right hand a finger's width from the base of the guard and gripping the pommel with the other. He rested the flat of the blade on his collarbone and held the pose for a moment.
"When a sword-caster combines his strike with a spell, the spell generally comes before the intended strike since at least one hand is required for most spells. For this demonstration, I will show you your first combination strike, which will be an Exar blast followed up swiftly by a downward diagonal cut," he said, glancing at each one of us to make sure we were paying attention.
With the flat of the blade still resting on his collarbone, he drew mana from the Ethereal, releasing his left hand from the pommel and performing the pull-push motion with his hand. The blast from the Exar spell knocked the dummy's shield away from its body, leaving it wide open for his follow-up attack. His cut was perfectly angled to cut into the crook between the clavicle and the base of the neck, ultimately knocking the dummy over on its back.
None of us had the strength to pick our jaws up off the floor.