“Well, that too probably,” Blaize said chuckling. “But don’t worry about it yet. First you have to get all of your new exercises down. Then you can start worrying about fighting me.”
Traven just shook his head as he stretched out for the night, pulling his cloak over himself. It would be interesting to face Blaize again. This time maybe he could hold out for a minute or two. Blaize was right, though. He needed to concentrate on his new difficult routines before Blaize would let him fight him. It was going to take a while to get them all down, but he was determined to have them down as close to perfect as he could before they reached Calyn so he could practice fighting against Blaize. Then he would be able to see how much all of his hard work had really paid off.
Traven arose early the next morning and started on his new exercises. By the time he was done with the agility, endurance, and free combat exercises, he did not feel like doing any blade work but knew he had to. He decided to concentrate on getting the first two parts of the routine down. By the end of the day, he had the first two parts down well enough that he decided the next morning he could move on to work on the third and fourth parts of his blade routine. By the third day, he had the third and fourth parts down and was able to combine them with the first two. On the fourth day he tried doing the fifth part but could not remember it all, and he had to have Blaize show it to him again. It took him an extra day to get the fifth part down, but by the sixth day he was doing the whole routine from beginning to end. It still didn’t flow smoothly like it had for Blaize, but everyday Traven got better. At first, all of the exercises and the blade routines left him exhausted and sore, but by about the seventh day it was no longer such an intense struggle to get through all of them, and he still had energy left to do other things.
On the seventh day of his new routine, the landscape began to change. The side of the river that they were traveling on stayed the same but the area north of the river turned into marshland. Blaize told Traven that they were on the outskirts of the southeastern part of the Black Marsh. He said that the marsh covered a large area of land from where they were all the way to the coast and extended north about a four days journey. At the same time as the marsh appeared to the north, farming communities began to appear to the south of the road. The farmers had huge fields that extended as far as the eye could see. Traven was surprised by the sizes of the fields but understood why when Blaize explained that it took a lot of grain to feed a city as large as Calyn. Other travelers soon began to dot the road. Traven was glad to see signs of civilization once again. There were not any inns in the farming communities, but it was nice to be able to sleep in a barn and buy some fresh food. As they got closer to the city, Traven also spotted several cattle ranches off in the distance. By the eighth day, there were no more breaks in between farming communities. The communities had been getting more frequent and now ran into one another. Blaize said that it was like that all the way to the city. Traven grew more and more excited each day as they traveled closer to the great city of Calyn. By the time the sun began to set at the end of the eighth day, Blaize said they would reach Calyn sometime the next morning if they got an early start.
“Yep, we’ll finally be there in the morning,” Blaize said with a smile. “It’ll be nice to sleep in a bed once again and have someone to talk to beside your sorry self.”
Traven pulled a face at Blaize and followed him as he turned off the main road and headed south along a country road. They continued on down the road, not stopping at any of the farmhouses they passed.
“Aren’t we going to stop at one of these houses?”
“No, we’ll camp out under the stars one more time before we get to the city, for old time’s sake.” Blaize tried to hold in a smile but without success.
“Alright, where are we really going? What are you smiling about?”
“Oh, we’re really going to sleep out under the stars tonight but not for old time’s sake. You’re not perfect with your new routines yet, but you’re almost there. Tonight, practice hard and sleep well. We’re going away from the main road so that in the morning we can fight each other in solitude.”
Traven’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t been sure if Blaize was actually going to let him fight. Blaize hadn’t said anything about it since the first time he had mentioned it and wouldn’t answer him when he had asked about it. When they were finally beyond all of the sprawling farms, Blaize led them out into the grasslands for a while before finally stopping to set up camp. He sent Traven out to practice while he got dinner ready. Traven concentrated and practiced very hard. The routine was beginning to get easier, and he was able to do it with less and less thought every time he exercised. It would be interesting to fight Blaize in the morning. This time he would hopefully be somewhat of a challenge since Blaize was not going to be fighting his hardest. Upon returning to camp, Traven ate and went right to bed. Blaize said he wanted to have the camp broken very early so they could fight and be ready to leave with the rising of the sun. Traven tried to fall asleep quickly but was too excited and nervous. After staring at the stars for what seemed like hours, he finally drifted off into a sleep filled with dreams of battle and victory.
Traven woke up with the land still shrouded in darkness. He glanced across the dying embers of the fire and saw that Blaize was still asleep. He tried to go back to sleep but could not. Traven had no idea how far away dawn was, so wrapping himself tightly in his cloak against the cold, he settled down to wait for Blaize to wake up and announce that it was time to get up. Traven was pleasantly surprised when after only a few minutes Blaize suddenly stood up and headed around the fire towards him. Traven quickly jumped up before Blaize had a chance to kick him awake. Blaize just smiled and began to break camp. Traven joined in, and by the time the sky began to lighten, everything was loaded on the horses and ready to go.
Blaize took a long, round bundle from off of Flame. He then led Traven out onto a stretch of level ground and turned to face him.
“Are you ready?” he asked with a smile as he set the bundle down.
“I guess so,” Traven answered hesitantly as he began to draw his sword. “Let’s get this over with.”
Blaize looked at him strangely for several moments and then started laughing as he shook his head.
“Traven, what are you going to do with that sword?”
When Traven just stared back with a confused look on his face, Blaize uncovered the bundle that he had brought along. Underneath the cloth were two tightly wrapped bundles of reeds shaped to resemble swords. Traven felt incredibly foolish when he realized why Blaize was laughing. They were not going to fight using real swords; they were going to use reed swords.
“I forgot that you’ve never done any of this before. When we practice against one another, we don’t want someone to end up dead, so we use these reeds in place of our swords. Now don’t think that these won’t hurt if you get hit by them because they will. Theu will leave welts and bruises, but at least you’ll still be alive if you get struck.”
Traven nodded his head in understanding and laid his sword off to the side next to Blaize’s two blades. He snatched the reed sword out of the air and swung it around with his hand when Blaize tossed it at him. To his surprise, he found that the practice sword was fairly close to the weight and balance of a regular sword. He swung it around a few more times to get used to it and then turned back around to face Blaize. The large warrior was standing motionless about ten feet away with his practice sword poised in front of him. When he just stared back at him, Traven took up the same position and waited to see what Blaize would do. They both stood in silence for several moments staring at each other, wondering who would make the first move.
Suddenly Blaize burst into action as he lunged toward Traven with his sword outstretched. Traven immediately brought his sword down to block Blaize’s thrust. The two swords crashed into one another with a loud crack. Blaize continued his attack with several more slashes. Traven moved his sword quickly to block all of
the lightning quick slashes but was too slow to block the last slash and ended up being smacked in the ribs by Blaize’s sword. He gasped and jumped backwards away from Blaize. Blaize followed and this time attacked with his blade whirling. Traven blocked it and ducked to avoid being hit in the head. He then dove to the side and came up out of the roll several yards away in a crouched defensive position. No sooner had he set himself than Blaize was back on him. After blocking several more slashes, Traven missed one and received a welt on his thigh. He braced himself to be struck again, but luckily Blaize backed away.
“Traven, you’re thinking too hard. Every time I come at you, you tense up and concentrate all of your strength on trying to block my slashes. Don’t think so hard.” Traven stared back at Blaize as he rubbed his thigh. “You don’t need to think about blocking me. You’ve been practicing blocks and already know them. Just follow your instincts. Don’t get me wrong. You have to pay attention to what I’m doing, but you need to forget yourself and concentrate on the blades and striking me. There are signs that my body gives off allowing you to know what I’m going to do. When my muscles contract certain ways, I am preparing to swing the sword a certain way. You don’t have time to sit and figure it out, but your subconscious will eventually learn to recognize every slight movement that I make. Trust your instincts. There’s a reason why they tell you to do things. Stay calm and relaxed. Don’t think so much, just do.”
Traven understood what Blaize was telling him, but it was one thing to understand what he was saying and another thing to actually be able to do it. He wanted to not worry about everything and just trust his instincts, but whenever Blaize attacked he couldn’t seem to stay calm and relaxed. All that he thought about was how much it was going to hurt when Blaize finally hit him. Blaize backed up and took the same position that he had started from earlier. Traven took a deep breath and assumed the same position. He had held off Blaize for a little bit. Maybe he actually could do okay if he just did what felt natural and stayed relaxed. All he had to do was stay calm and trust in his instincts. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Traven’s thoughts were interrupted as Blaize suddenly rushed him again.
Without thinking, Traven moved his sword down quickly to block Blaize’s thrust and jumped to the side to avoid a slash. Blaize then attacked him from several different angles. All were stopped as they cracked with a loud burst each time the two swords met. Blaize then took a swipe at his head. He instinctively dropped into a diving role and came back up several yards away. This really isn’t that bad, Traven thought as his tension and muscles relaxed. He spun his sword around with a smile and went on the offensive. He struck at Blaize with sharp, quick thrusts that Blaize easily parried. Traven then began to slash back and forth. Blaize dodged the blade and counterattacked. Traven was suddenly on the defensive again but was easily able to deflect all of Blaize’s strikes. He then began to use the whirling patterns that he had been practicing.
The sword fight immediately turned into a blur of whirling swords that clacked against each other almost constantly. All sound disappeared to Traven, however, as he shut out everything but Blaize and his sword. He pressed harder and harder into Blaize’s defense. Traven flowed through the forms so easily that it felt as if he was merely following preset patterns that were already swirling around him. Blaize suddenly began to attack once again, and Traven found himself on the defensive. His sword continued to whirl through the swirling air, stopping Blaize’s advance. Almost without noticing, Traven found himself back on the offensive. He became lost in the dance of blades, not feeling his own exhaustion or the increased warmth that was emanating from the stone against his chest.
Abruptly, he felt a change in the whirling patterns. Blaize’s sword began to crack harder and faster against his. He quickened his own forms to match Blaize’s, and the whirling dance was once again in harmony. Traven changed back and forth from attacking to blocking many times without even realizing it. Suddenly after a particularly fierce attack, Blaize dropped to the ground and rolled past Traven, coming up behind him. Traven spun with his sword already in the right position to block Blaize’s coming thrust. The two swords cracked and the whirling of blades resumed. Blaize again suddenly dove to roll past Traven, but in the middle of his roll his sword flew out from his compressed form. Before Traven could bring his sword down to block, Blaize slashed his legs out from under him.
Traven fell crashing to the ground with his practice sword flying from his hand in surprise. Lying on his back, he immediately felt Blaize’s practice blade pressed against his throat. Looking up, he saw Blaize standing over him. Sweat was dripping from Blaize’s red face, and he was breathing heavily. Blaize’s determined visage changed to a smile as he pulled the sword back from Traven’s throat and helped pull him to his feet. As Traven rose, he realized how tired and hungry he was. He cringed as he rubbed the back of his legs where Blaize’s practice sword had crashed into him. He then wiped the dripping sweat from his brow as he tried to catch his breath. A cool breeze suddenly rose across the grasslands chilling him. He realized that his whole body was drenched in sweat. How long had they been fighting? Traven glanced over at the horizon and found the sun already climbing into the morning sky. They must have been fighting longer than he had thought. He could hardly believe that he had lasted so long against Blaize. He had definitely lasted longer than the first time they had fought. Of course Blaize hadn’t been fighting his hardest, but it was still nice to know that all of his training was beginning to pay off.
“You did well,” Blaize said as they picked up their blades and sheathed them. He also took the two practice blades and bundled them back up. “If you keep doing the exercises I showed you every morning, you’ll become a top swordsman in no time.”
“Thanks for saying that, Blaize, but I know I still have a ways to go.”
Blaize just smiled as he put the bundle of practice swords back in place and mounted Flame.
“It’s true that you have a ways to go, but remember that when we met you had barely even picked up a sword before. That was a pretty good work out.” Blaize stretched out his arms as Traven mounted Pennon, and they started towards the highway. “We better hurry up. We’re getting a later start than I wanted.”
Traven nudged Pennon into a gallop as he raced after Blaize. They were soon pounding down the country road that led to the main highway. Pennon wanted to run faster, and Traven let him. They were soon past Blaize and Flame with farmhouses and fields blurring at their sides. Traven loved riding when Pennon ran flat out. Pennon was undoubtedly fast. It made him feel as if he was almost flying when he was atop the swift horse. He smiled deeply, feeling the rush of the cool morning air against his face. Blaize had actually complimented him on his sword fighting, and in a few hours he would finally be in Calyn. He had always dreamed of seeing Calyn; especially since he had first read The Wanderings of Gelan. Now, at last, he was finally going to see the magnificent capital of Kalia. He let out a delighted laugh and urged his mighty horse to run even faster.
* * * * *
Blaize smiled as Traven flew past him and down the road with his cloak flapping wildly behind him. Blaize urged Flame to go a little faster so they wouldn’t get too far behind the young man and his lively horse. Soon he would be in Calyn once again. It had been a while since he had been there and even longer since he had been a soldier in an army. It would be fun to be surrounded by other fighting men for a while. He would also enjoy the comfort of a warm barracks during the winter. Maybe he would even end up marching for the borders of Balthus to quell the ragtag army being raised there.
Blaize’s smile then left his face as he thought some more about what had just happened. He didn’t understand what had occurred during the practice fight, and it was troubling him. At first, Traven had been fighting like the newcomer to sword fighting that he was. Then he had begun to fight like a veteran. Blaize had been pleased at how well Traven was doing but was shocked when he began to fight harder and still couldn’t s
trike Traven. He had begun to fight with all his strength, and he still could not gain any advantage over the young man until he finally pulled a difficult trick to end the fight. He couldn’t believe that Traven had been able to withstand his attacks. He knew he could have ended the fight faster if he had been using two blades like he was accustomed to, but the point remained that the boy had withstood him. The young man had seemed as though he was almost in a trance as he stopped all of Blaize’s advances and then attacked back just as fiercely.
He didn’t know what to think of it. He was unquestionably excited for Traven. He was very proud of the young man he had taught, but nobody should be able to become that good so fast. Traven was definitely an extraordinary young man. While he was fighting the boy, he could almost swear that the stone Traven always wore had been glowing brightly under his shirt. Blaize wasn’t sure what had happened during the fight. However, he was sure of one thing as he watched the back of Traven far ahead; there was something very special about the young man.
15
Wraith glanced back at the burning houses of the small farming community. He had thought about bringing a few of the thieves that he had gathered but had decided against it. He liked working alone better anyway. He could move much faster and quieter by himself. The bandits that he was leaving behind would continue to make trouble until the royal army came and disposed of them. Meanwhile, Wraith had more important matters to take care of. He had wasted too much time in the last few farming communities and was sure that the two men would reach Calyn before he caught up to them. He cursed himself for not catching up to them sooner, but they had been moving quite fast and had left a day before him. Besides, it really didn’t matter. He would have fun roaming the largest city of Kalia in search of the young man. He had never been to Calyn, and it would be interesting to see.
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