Chapter 69: weapons training

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: weapons training

Thanks chandurox for the golden ticket.

....

Ore had noticed them immediately.

She had simply assumed there was a reason.

There was.

"Look at this."

Folami turned the weapon slightly.

"These flat surfaces aren’t a flaw."

He tapped one of them.

"They’re intentional."

Ore nodded.

"I thought so."

"Good."

Folami pointed toward her.

"Your bow is your primary long-range weapon."

He glanced at the bow strapped to her back.

"Your wind affinity makes it excellent for that."

He raised the three-way staff.

"But once someone enters your range, the bow becomes less convenient."

Ore nodded.

"So this gives me a close-range weapon."

"Yes."

Folami rotated the staff.

"But the weapon does something more."

He positioned one of the flat surfaces toward the air.

"Your wind doesn’t have to travel around this."

He pushed his palm toward the surface.

"It can strike it."

Ore’s eyes widened slightly.

Folami continued.

"When you attack, you can drive wind into the flat surface."

He made a short forward thrust.

"The surface catches the wind instead of allowing it to simply flow around the weapon."

Ore’s eyes followed the movement.

"And that creates additional force."

"Exactly."

Folami nodded.

"You can push wind behind a strike."

He swung the staff.

"Or into the side of it."

He rotated his wrist.

"Or use the wind to accelerate the weapon during a rotation."

Ore slowly spun the staff herself.

The idea became immediately obvious.

The unusual shape wasn’t merely decorative.

The flat surfaces gave her something to push against.

"A normal cylindrical staff would allow much of the wind to flow around it," Folami explained. "These flat surfaces give you a place to catch and redirect it."

Ore nodded slowly.

"So I can attack with the staff and wind at the same time."

"Yes."

"Without having to stop using my bow."

"Exactly."

Folami looked at all four of them.

"That’s the point of your weapons."

He gestured toward Tolu.

"Your hammer gives your earth affinity something powerful to reinforce."

Toward Akin.

"Your great sword gives your ice affinity a large surface for shaping and strengthening."

Toward Temi.

"Your twin short swords allow your fire to follow rapid, close-range movements."

Then Ore.

"And your staff gives your wind affinity a way to generate additional force in close combat."

He lowered the wooden sword.

"None of these weapons were chosen because they look impressive."

He looked at them one by one.

"They were chosen because they give your affinities something useful to work with."

Tolu tightened his grip around his hammer.

Folami nodded.

"Now we’re going to find out if you can actually use them."

He stepped into the center of the courtyard.

"First, basic movement."

They all took their positions.

"Don’t use your affinities."

Temi frowned.

"Not even a little?"

"Not yet."

Folami pointed at Tolu.

"You’ll learn how to move without letting the hammer control you."

Then Akin.

"You’ll learn how to carry that sword without wasting energy."

Temi.

"You’ll learn how to move both blades independently."

Ore.

"And you’ll learn how to rotate that staff without hitting yourself."

Ore raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn’t going to hit myself."

Folami smiled.

"Everyone says that before they hit themselves."

They began.

For the first hour, there was nothing impressive about the training.

There were no explosions.

No flames.

No ice.

No earth.

No wind.

Only movement.

Tolu learned that the hammer was much more demanding than he had expected.

It wasn’t simply a matter of possessing enough strength to lift it.

Every swing had to be controlled.

If he swung too far, recovering his weapon took time.

If he stopped too abruptly, the momentum fought against him.

If his stance was wrong, the weapon pulled his entire body out of position.

"Again."

Tolu swung.

"Too wide."

Again.

"Your back foot moved."

Again.

"You’re fighting the hammer."

Tolu breathed heavily.

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Let it move."

Tolu frowned.

Folami stepped behind him and adjusted his stance.

"The weapon has momentum. Don’t fight it."

He tapped Tolu’s shoulder.

"Guide it."

Another hour passed.

Akin’s training wasn’t easier.

The great sword demanded both hands.

Every swing required his entire body.

Folami repeatedly made him stop midway through attacks.

"Why?"

"Because you keep thinking the attack ends when the blade stops."

Akin stared at him.

Folami pointed toward the sword.

"Your recovery is part of the attack."

Akin tried again.

Swing.

Stop.

Turn.

Guard.

Folami nodded.

"Better."

Later, Folami finally allowed him to use his ice.

"Only a little."

Akin gathered his energy.

Faint frost crawled across the great sword.

He concentrated.

Small ice formations appeared along the edge.

Then several short spikes formed along one section of the blade.

Akin swung.

The weapon cut through the air with considerably more presence.

Folami nodded.

"Good."

Akin looked at the ice.

"More?"

"No."

Akin stopped.

"You’ll learn to use less before you learn to use more."

Temi’s training became increasingly fast.

She moved between wooden posts while practicing with her twin swords.

One blade attacked.

The other guarded.

Then they switched.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Her arms began to ache.

Sweat gathered along her forehead.

Folami remained relentless.

"Your left sword is following your right."

Temi frowned.

"Isn’t that what it’s supposed to do?"

"No."

Folami stepped toward her.

"If both weapons always move together, one might as well not exist."

He pointed toward her left hand.

"Your opponent should never know which sword is coming next."

Temi nodded.

She tried again.

This time, the movements were different.

Her right sword slashed high.

Her left came low.

Then the opposite.

Her body began to flow between them.

Only after she had improved did Folami allow her to add fire.

Small flames appeared around the blades.

Temi smiled.

The flames followed her movements.

When she swung, they stretched behind the blade.

When she stopped, they shrank.

When she thrust, the fire gathered around the tip.

Folami nodded.

"That’s closer."

Temi grinned.

Ore had perhaps the strangest training of them all.

At first, she nearly struck herself several times.

The three-way staff required an entirely different sense of spacing.

She had to understand where the two large heads were at all times.

Folami made her practice slowly.

Spin.

Stop.

Reverse.

Step.

Rotate.

Strike.

Recover.

Again.

Eventually, he allowed her to use wind.

"Don’t throw the wind everywhere."

Ore nodded.

She gathered a small amount.

The air around her hand began to stir.

She swung the staff.

At the exact moment one of the flat surfaces faced forward, she pushed the wind into it.

Whoosh!

The staff accelerated.

Ore’s eyes widened.

The weapon nearly pulled her off balance.

She stopped it just before losing her footing.

Folami smiled.

"Now you understand."

Ore stared at the staff.

"That was stronger."

"Much stronger."

"But I almost fell."

"That’s why you’re training."

She nodded.

They continued.

Hour after hour.

The sun climbed.

Then slowly began its descent.

Their movements became slower.

Their breathing grew heavier.

Their muscles burned.

Tolu’s palms were raw from gripping the hammer.

Akin’s shoulders trembled whenever he lowered his great sword.

Temi’s arms felt like they were filled with lead.

Ore’s wrists ached from constantly controlling the staff.

Eventually, Tolu dropped the head of his hammer onto the ground with a heavy thud.

"I’m done."

Folami looked at him.

"Good."

Tolu stared at him.

"Good?"

"Yes."

Folami lowered his practice sword.

"Knowing when your body has reached its limit is part of training too."

Temi immediately sat on the grass.

"I thought you’d make us continue."

"I could."

She looked up at him.

"Please don’t."

Folami laughed.

Akin slowly placed his great sword against the ground.

Ore leaned her staff against a nearby pillar.

For several moments, nobody spoke.

They were simply too exhausted.

Folami looked at the four of them.

Their first day with their new weapons had not produced anything spectacular.

They hadn’t mastered them.

They hadn’t suddenly become great warriors.

They had only taken the first few steps.

But that was exactly what Folami wanted.

He looked at their weapons.

"Remember something."

The four looked up.

"You don’t need to become experts tomorrow."

He turned toward the setting sun.

"But every day you train, your weapon should feel a little less foreign."

His gaze returned to them.

"Eventually, you won’t think about how to hold it."

He pointed toward Tolu’s hammer.

"You’ll simply swing."

Toward Akin’s sword.

"You’ll simply cut."

Toward Temi’s blades.

"You’ll simply move."

And finally toward Ore’s staff.

"You’ll simply attack."

He sheathed his own twin daggers.

"That’s when your real weapons training begins."

The four remained seated in the fading light.

Their bodies were sore.

Their hands hurt.

Their clothes were soaked with sweat.

But none of them complained.

For the first time, their weapons didn’t feel like objects they had simply picked up that morning.

They felt like the beginning of something.

Something that would take years to master.

Folami looked at them one last time.

"Go eat."

That was all it took.

Tolu immediately pushed himself to his feet.

"Best thing you’ve said all day."

Temi laughed.

Akin shook his head.

Ore smiled quietly.

Together, they carried their weapons back toward the manor.

Behind them, the courtyard fell silent again.