Arc 2, Chapter 41: First Swings

"What do you know of lessons of the blade, if any?" he asked, holding a sword of his own whilst Jotou still had the one she borrowed.

"Uh," Jotou pondered in the tranquil location, in between trees and stones on a grass patch, "Your sword is an extension of yourself?"

"Who told you that nonsense?" Jotou shrugged cluelessly in response. "Your sword is a weapon; a tool and tool alone.

It doesn't fight unless the wielder does, but you can still fight without it. Maintenance and care must be given to your blade, but don't treat as an asset of yourself.

When faced with unimaginable peril, drop your sword if you're unable to wield it. Treat it as an extension of yourself; then you better be ready to lose yourself as well…

You are not your blade. You and your sword are allies. Your movements and its movements must differ if you are to adeptly handle an enemy; even an enemy much stronger than yourself.

Now then, learn to dodge and block," Master Tensuo readied his blade, holding one hand behind him as he—"SLASH!"—went for Jotou's head.

She felt jolts of lightning trickle down her hair. Jotou moved back and ducked in response.

"Don't bend your back!" Master Tensuo yelled.

Jotou stood up straight, "Sorry; just instinct…"

A tiny lock of her hair drifted down from the blade's slash; it turned completely black in an instant, blown by the wind and hidden from sight.

The little strands at the end of her blonde hair that was cut blackened, matching the complexion of the rest of her hair; every blonde strand, black near the end.

"Again!" his blade swung forth; this time Jotou was not given a sparky warning.

Jotou made sure her back was straight as she bent her knees, using her hips to dodge leftwards. No harm was done as the sword sliced the air.

"You used your waist to turn-"

"Sorry!" Jotou apologized standing up.

"No, that's good."

"Oh."

"Your backbone is your centre—your focus. Picture your eyes in line with your spine. That centre point will be where you extend and turn every part of your body from.

No matter how you move during a fight, that must remain integral for your balance. With that, you can recover from most attacks and counter most combat styles," he said, "Now, block."

"Ting!" Jotou held the sword with both hands to block his.

"Two hands? Only one; again," he reared back, preparing for another strike.

"Tink!" The blades met—Jotou blocked it using only one hand on the hilt.

"Always use your dominant hand; one more," he struck again and Jotou blocked it. His strikes were relatively slow.

"What is your other hand doing!?"

"My left? I don't know? Should I be ready to catch the sword?"

The master swung again—"Ting!"—blocked once more. "Let that be something of your own decision. However, it should be in a stance alongside your armed hand.

Be prepared to grab something, push something, pull, hit, otherwise. And be ready to fight with a blade in that hand as well. While your dexterity should be focused on your blade, let your other hand be steady and tense till you need to switch arms."

"Slink!" Jotou blocked another incoming strike. She brought her left arm up to her chest and clenched her fist, "Blade in this hand as well? Am I gonna learn to dual-wield?" excitement flashed across her face.

"No." "Tink!" "Let's teach you better on your current stance first. That's a longer process," he reasoned, teaching Jotou to block, increasing the speed of each time he swung.

"By the way," "Clang!" "What stance am I learning? There's a lot of them I assume," Jotou queried.

"No name is given I suppose."

"Huh?" "Ting!"

"Each student is unique. There is a different way I must fine tune and teach. I must hone your strengths and cover your weaknesses.

Based on you so far; you give your body no care, like a vessel rather than yourself. As I said, you are the wielder, let your sword be the weapon and take the damage, not yourself." "Tink!"

"Well, that's a long story… Hmph," Jotou pouted, "But I'll give it more care. I'm working on it myself. What about strengths I need to work on?"

"Clang, Clink! Tang!" The series of three strikes by the master served as an answer as Jotou blocked them all; the metal hummed right near her eye…

"You are swift by mind. Your ingenuity and cleverness keeps you alive. However, your body and mind are operating at different speeds. You need to strengthen how quick you strike.

You don't need to make heavier hits; instead, focus on several lighter ones. Your strength should be your quick wit. Much like another student I had," another slash went as he explained.

"Okod?" "TinGgnG!" his strikes were becoming stronger with each swing.

"I presume he is the one who led you here?" Jotou nodded to the question.

Master Tensuo sighed, "That boy is filled with pride. If you convinced him to show my abode; then you must have played into that pride."

"Clink!" "Subconsciously maybe," Jotou replied, blocking a few more strikes, becoming more accustomed, "I kinda, fought him."

"Hm," the master frowned, "How did it go?"

"Well, I was clearly outmatched, but I grabbed his sword and sent a lightning-based spell, paralyzing his arm for a bit which made him madder. I think it ended in a draw…"

"Clang! Tink! Clank!" "Better that then being mortally wounded. This is what I mean about your ingenuity however. It may be your most vital strength.

I will train you in quick attacks and counter attacks first. Test and repeat till you're swift with the blade and can bring fluidity into your stance," the master reared back, letting Jotou catch a breath as she dripped sweat.

He held the hilt on his pinkie, twisting it between to his middle finger then his thumb pushed it down to his ring finger. He then did it quicker and repeated, starting to spin the sword between his fingers.

He caught the hilt by the palm and swiped the air, "Flexibility and swiftness become dexterity. You're the Thundering Blade and you told me of your lightning.

I've heard your thunder myself. Like lightning, you must be quick and decisive with your attacks. Due to your physique and what seems to be enchanted armour…

Your training will include a lot of rotation and spinning, to gather momentum for your strikes while goading your enemy. This means even opponents you don't see behind you will be vulnerable to your attacks.

Hopefully, you do not have motion sickness. Keep your eyes at the ready at all times; your sense of smell, sound and even feel must be at the ready if you can't see," he went over, taking back his sword from Jotou.

"If I can't see, why wouldn't I try and back away first?" Jotou queried.

"You can, but not every situation is open to fleeing. You must feel your opponent's next attack. When they strike, feel the wind and which way it moves.

This is where you use your wit to imagine where to strike back or defend. Their footsteps you can hear, the stiffness in the air where they stand you can smell.

For now, don't worry about such matters, that takes time to sharpen. Care to show me your current blade?"

"Uh," Jotou unsheathed the best sword she had, "I know it's not great… Whenever I use a really powerful spell, my swords crumble like sand," embarrassment washed over her.

"I could see the state of your sword when you walked in. That just means you need to prepare and care for several blades; that's all," he reassured.

"That's enough for today. I will prepare better training tomorrow," he stated. "Come any time during the early morning; I'll be here till dusk."

"Tomorrow? Alright," she smiled, "And, thank you; so much."

"Hm," he nodded, "This old man has not much to do," he gave a soft bow. Jotou reciprocated with a bow of her own. "If there's other questions, you may ask them now."

Jotou pondered for a second, "Oh yeah. How did you get the title of Swivelling Blade? I mean, you swivel a lot, but I mean getting it," Jotou joked.

"Hm," he let out a chortle, "You want to know that story?" he looked to the sky… "Forty-three years ago now…

During the Trailon Regime's first attacks on Kria, I was working in the Krialin. The Krialin during peacetimes serve as police, but are the first line of defence during war.

At that time, they didn't have any fancy crossbows or firearms unlike the Trailon Regime who were using new, prototype weaponry. They were still no match to us.

We could fight them head on; their projectiles did not travel far nor was it too fast like it is now. A blade in close range would send them running away for their mothers.

During those attacks, many Krialin fell… with it a platoon of expert swordsmen. Only a few survived; like me. I just refused to lay down and die," he chuckled.

He coughed a little, "I was given the title after our success, for my peculiar fighting style of spinning my blades into battle.

Many seem to forget; before a battle of attrition comes the battle of the mind. That's what I used to justify my need to show off anyway.

In any case, once they were driven away, the mayor at the time gave me the title. I never asked for it, but I wear it with honour. To think, I was just some humble boy from Luxinor…" a grin crept up on him.

"Thank you for allowing me to reminisce," Master Tensuo replied, "I'm sure you have stories to tell yourself."

"Maybe not as heavy, but certainly interesting," Jotou smiled back.