Basic Training (part 1)

When Bhirl and Rahz arrived at the training grounds, the teachers were already there and were talking among themselves. There were 4 trainers specialized in the different paths as well as an elder supervising the overall training.

The training for the new awakened consisted of a 3 month boot camp to help them assimilate to the warrior life as well as to teach them the basics of fighting with their respective abilities. The first part of the training was the physical conditioning made up of exercises such as such as running, lifting, Martial arts and finally sparring.

Rahz's age group only had to do two laps around the village which represented about 20 miles without any time limit since they were all just starting and need to get used to the regiment.

Once the laps were completed, they proceeded to carry buckets full of water from the river to the village for the various uses of the community. After they finished with their previous tasks, they were trained in barbarian fighting tactics before sparring with each other.

The second part of the training was focus on developing their paths towards the respective classes and this included the use of their respective weapons since the use of energy was very limited at the early levels. The awakened children needed to learn how to use their weapon of choice whether it was the shield and sword, two handed weapons or single handed weapons.

"Before we begin todays training let's welcome our new awakened" said the elder.

Clap .... Clap

"Teachers, please help them familiarize themselves with the training, it is imperative to remember that we are all part of the same family known as Hellgahvall. It is prohibited to strike another with the intention of causing irreparable harm and if found guilty, that person will be severely punish".

"That being said, hard work will never go unrewarded. There will be plenty of rewards for those of you that excel in the different modalities of training. Hopefully, the skills that we teach you helps each and every one of you to survive in the wilderness where there is danger in every corner. Now go and make us proud".

With their fighting spirit ignited, everyone started the morning run. Rahz thought that with all the previous training he had done at home he would excel at all the modalities but he was sadly mistaken. Very soon he realized that not even Bhirl could keep up with the scouts. Once awakened the scouts' agility had gone through the roof and they were super fast. Rahz only consolation was that the healers seemed to be struggling more than the warriors were.

For the second event, it was the warriors time to shine. Carrying buckets full of water to the village relied on strength and stamina something that they did not lack at all. Each trainee had to do about 10 trips to the village carrying buckets weighting about 50 pounds.

In the martial arts portion of the training they learned hand to hand combat. They teamed up in groups of 2 and practiced attacking and defending the technique being taught. Once everyone developed some proficiency in the martial art technique of the day, they will form a circle and spar against each other.

The sparring was no holds barred and the only two conditions were that everyone had to fight at least one time and they could not use any class abilities. Rahz believed that he could easily beat anybody but Bhirl inside the ring and was ready to try his luck.

Thanks to the Elf blood he easily learned the technique taught during the martial arts portion of the training and was eager to put it into practice. Rahz jumped to the arena very enthusiastically and while looking at the crowd said, " I am taking all challengers, so who wants some of this? anyone but Bhirl. don't be shy". Everyone rolled their eyes after hearing Rahz speech.

"What a courageous fool" thought the elder that was supervising the matches.

After a couple of seconds of silence a skinny youth named Arne moved to the center of the arena. Arne had long arms and legs and had opted for the scout path with the intention of becoming a rogue. His long Arms coupled with the agility boost from scout path gave Arne the advantage in speed and reach.

When the fight started, Rahz didn't have the time to get into a fighting stance before he felt a sharp pain in his left leg. It was the fighting technique learned in class that same day, a kick to the leg followed by a big hook.

Even though, he had experienced this same technique during class many times before, it was a completely different feeling in a real fight. Rahz felt unsteady due to his left leg buckling which in turn made him lean left exposing his jaw. It was complete textbook. Rahz felt some pressure on the left side of his jaw then everything when dark.

Even though it took some time to described it all happened really fast.

Before Rahz could do anything, he was passed out on the floor.

The teacher cast a Cure Spell on Rahz removing his stun state and helped him stand up. Once Rahz came to, the pain assailed him and he couldn't help but ask, "What happened?".

A roar of laughter escaped the trainees mouths as tears came down their cheeks.

Rahz's face turned three shades of red from embarrassment as he quickly went back to his seat. It took awhile for everyone in the audience to stop laughing at Rahz but when they finally quiet down the elder was able to review the fight and gave pointers to Rahz in the nicest way possible. In no time at all, one by one the younglings went to the arena to experience their first fight and discovered it was way harder than it looked.

The second part of the training started in the afternoon. For this part of the training Rahz was extremely excited to finally be able to learn how to use his amazing axe and quickly forgot that he was knockout cold in the morning.

The kids were divided into their respective paths and were giving individual attention while they went through the basic movements. The weapons instructor was a guardian class by trade but his vast experience allowed him to explain the basics of 2h weapons.

" It is very important to understand the strength and weaknesses of any weapon you use. The strengths of a 2 handed weapon lies in its that it has a longer reach and the massive damage that could be inflicted by the momentum of a swing. The weaknesses, however, are also very obvious. The 2h axe is not a subtle weapon nor is it particular good at changing directions. So usually your enemy will see it coming from a mile away".

" So does that mean that the 2h axes are weaker than other weapons?"

" No it doesn't. It just means that the way you attack and defend is different. In any life and death fight, understanding the extend of what your weapon can do will definitely be an advantage over somebody that doesn't understand his or her weapon".

" One of the basic things that you have to be aware of when using a 2h axe is the weight of the head when you are swinging. In order for a warrior to recuperate easily after launching an attack with a 2h axe is to attack at an angle. A straight down attack is a bad idea because is very hard to recovered from it. That being said I want you to swing your Axe from your right shoulder to your left leg at an angle and then repeat the same swing from the left shoulder to your right leg. Then your next swing will be going up at an angle from your right leg towards your left shoulder. Finally, you want to train sweeping through the center from left to right and then from right to left. You will do this until you can do the movements freely."

Rahz picked up his axe and started to follow the instructions. After one set of exercises Rahz found out that it was really hard to continue swinging the axe perfectly, the axe was quite heavy for the current him. Even the one set that he manage to perform took everything he had.

When his instructor saw him struggling with the set, he urged Rahz to take a break instead of doing the exercises incorrectly. Weapon proficiency was one of the hardest skills to level but it was considered more important than any other ability a warrior could possess. Rahz understood that only by training hard would he be able to become a hero in the future.

As the day came to a close Rhaz could not wait to go home, take a bath and eat his mother's wonderful cooking. Rahz said goodbye to Bhirl and said to Arne " Today was your lucky day Arne, I was generous enough to stop your fist with my face but tomorrow it will be different. Don't get too cocky".

Arne just sneered and continued walking.