Haily's Games

I left Kara there, and went to Olav's office. Inside, I saw Olav trying to make some sort of medicine. I decided not to interrupt him, and waited. After a while, he failed the recipe and sighed. I asked "How are you doing?". Olav finally realised that I was inside the room, and exclaimed "Oh Nex! I was trying to make some medicine, while modifying your recipe. It didn't work as you can see. How are you these days?".

I smiled, and replied "I'm doing alright". Olav thought about something for a while, and said "My daughter became really secretive lately. She always lock herself up, and stays in her room for a long time. Did you perhaps...". I replied "I did, but she is not allowed to share it". He shook his head, and said "I'm old, so teaching me is pointless. I'm very grateful nevertheless. You are willing to pass some of your knowledge to her, this is priceless". I said "She will inherit some of my stuff, but don't spread it around. I don't need more attention". Olav was really happy about the news, and said "I hope she studies hard. I don't believe that the recipe you gave me, was anything special to you. If she can become half as good as you probably are, I can die a happy man".

I replied "That will depend on her. I thought I will mention this to you, so that you don't worry too much". He nodded, and said "Thank you, she will be in good hands". I bid farewell to Olav, and returned to Kara. She was still resting on the sofa, and asked "Were you checking, if I said anything to my father?". I smiled, and said "Maybe. Do you feel better now?". She nodded her head, and replied "Yes, my body doesn't ache as much anymore". I nodded, and said "Drop the weight stuff on that exercise list. This should make it more manageable".

She replied "No, I will...", but I interrupted her by saying "Drop it. I don't have the time to fix you everyday. When you build up your stamina and strength, you can resume the training while carrying the weight". She nodded, and asked "So, what am I going to learn today?". I took out the recipes, and passed them to her. She looked at a few of them, and exclaimed "This… This is great!". While she was looking at the recipes, I said "You have 5 days to memorize them. I will return in 5 days, and collect the notes. If you try to copy them, you will not receive any more teachings from me. Understood?". She gulped down her saliva, and replied "Understood".

Before I left, I said "You are still going to train everyday, so manage your time properly. For now, stay there and let your body rest. You can continue your training in the afternoon". She nodded her head, and said "I will". I then bid her farewell, and left. I headed towards the field, to check up on it. The herbs were growing nicely, and although I could already harvest the Blood Yarn, as well as Earth Grabbing Sprouts, I decided to wait a bit longer.

'I will be collecting all of the herbs, leaving none' I thought. This was not because I didn't trust Finch or others, but because these herbs were to valuable. If others learned about them, they would surely invade this place, to get their hands of those herbs. I didn't need a whole city trying to destroy my home village. Besides, no one in the village would be able to use those herbs properly.

My field taken care of, I went to the training area to practice my sword. There were more people training, when I arrived that time. The younger generation also trained there, and more teachers were present too. They were the middle aged people from the three groups, that returned not too long ago. Aran came over, and said "We can now move on to some skills. There are a few other teachers here, so if you want, they can teach you as well". I shook my head, and said "No need. You are more than enough. Shall we start then?".

Aran smiled, and said "Of course. The first skill, or rather Form I will show you, will be the combination of the basics. Have a look". Aran attacked with his sword swinging it left, right, upwards and downwards, but everything was done with purpose, and fluidly. He ended with a reverse grip cut, and stopped. Aran said "This is the First Sword Form. I will be teaching you seven Forms in total. The form you just saw, was the basic Form, and it focuses on both attacking and defending. It's a bit difficult to explain, but in short, you can attack while defending, and defend while attacking. That is what this Form is about. When you learn it, and understand the movements better, you will know how to use it during the real battle".

I nodded my head, and tried repeating the First Sword Form. Although Aran used a one handed sword, I treated my sword as one handed too. I tried a few times, but ultimately, I couldn't repeat the same movements that Aran displayed. Aran gave me some tips, and also showed me this Form using a two handed weapon. I trained like this for a while, until some youngsters came over.

One of them said "So you are Nex? Wanna have a spar with me?". I ignored the kid, and focused on my training. Aran replied "If you have so much time, then go train. If you are lazy, you will never achieve anything". The kid retorted "Isn't sparing a good method of training?". This time, I replied "You have no way of winning with me, or learning anything from me. Go back to your training. Aran is your teacher as well, be more respectful to your elders". The kid became pissed, and charged at me with his sword. Aran wanted to intervene, but I stopped him. He smiled, and nodded his head. The kid used some sort of Sword Form, and attacked.

I raised my Bastard Sword, and blocked the attack without any issues. The kid jumped back, and exclaimed "A fluke!". I didn't move at all, and returned to my practice, ignoring the kid. 'I will play with you if you want it so much' I thought, as I tried to execute the First Sword Form. The kid was almost foaming with rage, at this stage. He attacked again, but used the same Sword Form, that I was currently practicing. I blocked his attack, but used a bit more strength to push him back.

He was surprised, when he got pushed back a few metres, but still attacked. He used the same two Forms all the time, so I got bored and said "Aran was right. Even I can see that the execution of your Sword Forms is sloppy, and I'm no sword master. Go back to your training, instead of wasting your time". The kid attacked with an angry "RRRAAAAHHH!", which made me speechless. I swung my sword with a bit of strength, and made him fly through the air. He landed with a grunt, then picked himself up with some difficulty.

He was about to attack again, when Aran shouted "Stop you ignorant kid! Not only is your sword sloppy, you have the balls to go against Wintersteed? Know your place!". He immediately stopped, and dropped his sword. I said to Aran "It's good to be young". I then turned towards the boy, and said "Pass my regards to Haily. You are not stupid enough to do this on your own. Now go, and focus on your training. Hard work always pays off". The kid picked up his sword, and left. The other youngsters quickly returned to their training too.

Aran asked "How do you know, it was Haily who ordered him to do this?". I smiled and said "Because I'm aware of her character. Don't worry though, I don't intend to punish that kid or Haily. They are playing kids games. Although they are wasting my time, it's not such a big deal". Aran nodded, and we returned to the Sword Form training.