Profession

Ardiel Elrond

That is how we began to not only study the human language while riding the wagon, but also training in swordsmanship during our regular stops. Loueras admitted that this way we will get to the human town a little bit later, but it would only be for our benefit.

He said that he would begin to train us in swordsmanship of the elven style. This is this first ever style I have heard about. Are there perhaps any other ones out there?

I also noticed that when Loueras taught us it, it was very similar to how dad fought against me. He explained that that was because all Elvedreil soldiers are practitioners of the elven sword style, and dad wasn't an exception. Loueras too, was a practitioner of this style as well, and he didn't teach us any other ones, although he did explain that there do exist different styles of the sword.

Firstly, the elven sword style. It focuses on a flowing battle, where every move flows into the next, not allowing the opponent even a moment to catch their breath. Each strike is followed by another one, and the same goes for every dodge and parry. The trick is to predict the movement of your opponent, and flow into your next move accordingly, making this style albeit effective, but very tricky to master. A balanced and deadly combination of offense and defense.

In comparison to the elves, humans do not have something called the "human sword style" of whatever, but a variety of styles created by different people. Firstly, there is the sword of light style. Practitioners of this style are known for their fast and deadly strikes. The whole concept behind it is to finish the battle off in one strike, or as soon as possible. The sword of light is known for its speed and strength, but it lacks in many ways such as ineffective defense, and its users have comparatively lower stamina than other style practitioners. A purely offensive sword style.

The other one that Loueras knew about was the water sword style. Unlike the sword of light style where the user is mainly on the offensive, the water sword style focuses on defense, parrying, and counter attacking. Practitioners of this style never land the first blow, preferring to allow the opponent to do it first. It exploits weaknesses and mistakes, and creates openings. By constantly being on the defensive side, the swordsman will continue parrying until they see an opening to strike at, and will counterattack. Swordsmen of this style have great endurance, and incredible awareness and reflexes. Since it is a defensive style, skillful practitioners can face off against multiple opponents at once, being aware of all of their movements, with equal effectiveness and deadliness regardless of the opponent's position, be that in front, to the sides, or even behind.

Those are the three styles that Loueras knows about. One is balanced, the other one is purely offensive, and the other one focuses on defense and counter attacking. One thing that he did not know was why the water sword style was named that way. I mean, I understand the reasoning behind the first two names, but why water? Loueras also did not know, as there are many theories behind this, the most popular one being that the one who invented this style over two thousand years ago was a sailor, hence the name "water sword style".

Anyways, perhaps this is when my actual sword training starts, as training with my dad as it turns out, was just to learn the absolute basics of swordsmanship and master them. Loueras on the other hand, started training me and my friends a particular style. One thing I missed out on when I was living in the elven palace, was that my friends were not stagnant, and actually practiced and bettered themselves in swordsmanship. Galen was obvious to me of course, but I expected others to have great difficulty, and it came as a surprise for me to see them weidling their wooden swords somewhat decently. Even Faelar, although being the weakest of the bunch, could at least swing the sword without it slipping out of his hands, which, embarrassing as it is to admit, happened to me a bunch of times when I first started.

Despite being the most experienced swordsman out of all my friends, and having great stamina thanks to dad's brutal training, it was difficult for me to learn this flowing style of battle. I almost had to foresee Loueras's next movement, and I also had to allow for a nice flow into my next parry or strike. So although I had high hopes that I would be able to show off in front of my friends, I got planted on my ass the very moment I began the spar.

I found it much easier to swing my sword the way I used to before, but Loueras rebuked me saying that just sticking to the basics would stagnate me at maximum around an advanced level swordsman, and to utilize my potential I had to learn an actual style.

Galen had about the same amount of success, the others even less, and let's not mention Faelar because the moment he tried out the elven style his swordsmanship was nothing short of an embarrassing disaster. It was so awful it was almost comical, and even he squeezed out a chuckle as the rest of us roared with laughter. Perhaps not the best encouragement for a beginner, but we had no ill intent, and the guy was smiling as well. Also according to Vie, she saw a powerful mage in Faelar given his ability to learn and focus, so maybe swordsmanship just never meant to be his strong point.

'Imagine if he turns out to also be a quadra elemental mage like me.'

'I can not foresee that future, but the possibility is never zero. And even if he isn't, it does not mean he won't be able to cast other types of magic. What I am sure of is his potential, that I can clearly see. It will be intriguing to watch him grow. Teach him well, and you will find yourself a great ally.'

'For whatever that thing is I need to get stronger for?'

'Perhaps.'

I paused for a moment before asking what has been on my mind lately, but Vie was never there to answer me.

'What about my friends?'

'What about them?'

'Do you see any potential in them?'

'Hmm…' Vie thought for some time before answering, 'the twins seem to be capable mages as well, and their swordsmanship is decent. I can see Galen becoming a powerful fighter, especially in hand to hand. As for Tariel…'

Vie went quiet. 'What? What's with the pause?' I pressured on for her to continue, somewhat anxious that she will pull another "I can't tell you yet" bullshit she keeps on doing.

'I suggest handing her a bow.'

'A bow?'

'Yes, suggest to her to wield a bow. Making her an archer instead of a swordsman seems to me to be the best decision.'

I looked over at Tariel, who was hanging somewhere in the middle between Faelar and the twins in regards to handling the sword.

'But where will I get a bow? I mean, we all brought our wooden swords along the way, and those are store bought, but where can I find a bow for her?'

'Ardiel…' Vie sighed in exhaustion, 'you strike me as both an intelligent and foolish person at the same time. Look around you, look at all the trees at your disposal. How do you think bows are made?'

'But I don't know how to make one.'

'Loueras does, ask him.'

'Hm.'

I made my way over to Loueras who was leaning on a tree and spectating my friends repeating a series of motions he instructed them some time before.

"Ardiel? What is the matter?"

I explained to him that maybe we should hand Tariel a bow instead of a sword. Loueras was first surprised at my suggestion, and then his lips quirked into an amused smile.

"Is there any particular reason?"

"No, none at all." I answered almost immediately.

"You are awful at lying, Ardiel, there surely is a reason."

I stayed quiet, and both of us looked at each other for some time before Loueras continued.

"Let's say it would be better, but where will we get a bow?"

"You can make one!"

Loueras regarded me for a few moments before asking. "How do you know I can make one?", as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked down on me in curiosity.

"Well…I assumed it since you are an adventurer."

"Hmm, interesting…ok sure, I can make one and see where it brings us. You are always so full of mysteries and uncanny maturity Ardiel that I can not refuse if you are so determined."

"Oh and one more thing!"

"Yes?"

"Faelar should strictly be a mage, as you can see his swordsmanship is just…mediocre. Oh, and it is better to have Galen focus more on punches and kicks rather than the sword!"

This made Loueras stop in his tracks, and look me over not with curiosity, but with some kind of concern.

"How can a boy your age be able to assess the capabilities of others so well?"

"Well I…just spent time with them?"

"Why did you formulate that response as if it was a question? As if you are not sure of it yourself?"

Come on man, give me a break. It's not like I can tell you that there is a ghost woman sitting in my head and telling me all these things. Of course I wouldn't be able to assess their abilities if it was just me and not Vie giving me the answers like a cheat sheet to a test. And even if I was to tell you, you wont believe it. Time to utilize my childish appearance and look innocent. All for the sake of getting out of the situation alive without being burned at the stake accused of being some future predicting freak.

So, I just shrugged, and did my best innocent child face, to which Loueras only grimaced.

"Don't, that expression does not suit you one bit, Ardiel."

Despite his suspicions, he gave in to all my requests. The following days flowed into a week, and then into two. Loueras taught us combat, and then I taught my friends magic, primarily focusing on Faelar as per Vie's suggestion. 

Galen and I were taught the elven sword style and hand to hand combat. Many times I sparred against Galen or Loueras, with both the sword or my bare knuckles. Sometimes I even had a mage battle against Loueras.

As Galen began to get trained by a professional, his skills also improved. Vie was also correct about him, and he was more skilled in a fist fight than with a sword. In a manaless battle against him, I won simply due to experience and higher skill, but every fight began to seem harder and harder to win. Of course I would plant him down the moment I used mana, but since I wasn't able to, I began to grow more and more afraid that soon I would be the one sitting on my ass. If the guy becomes more skillful and experienced, and utilizes his mana better, he would become a formidable foe even for me.

Lyra and Nariel proved to be capable in both swordsmanship and magic, but didn't excel in either. Those girls were like the jack of all trades, not the best, but certainly not the worst, making them quite balanced in terms of their fighting capabilities, somewhat like me. They could do well both in close battles, and at range.

Also, Vie's suggestion to have Tariel practice at the bow was a huge success. It was like she was born to wield the weapon. She was as good with the bow as I was with the sword, and in just a matter of two weeks of training. Honestly I became quite jealous of such talent and progress, but also proud for some reason even though I didn't teach her it at all. She was already capable of shooting an apple off a stick from a distance of twenty meters away. Loueras taught her that for better precision and overall effectiveness as an archer, she would need to augment her body with mana, mainly her eyes and arms. At first she was able to augment just a little, but by the end of these two weeks, she was already enhancing her body to a great extent and firing off precise shots. The next step was to imbue the bow and the arrow with mana, but I don't suppose she would be able to do that just yet.

Faelar also pleasantly surprised me. After we had our talk and I encouraged him to believe in himself, his progress with magic was just as incredible as his progress with learning the human language. By now, he already was second only to me in terms of magic casting in our friend group. He already became a dual elemental mage, his spells were up to the intermediate level, and he was already able to cast chantless magic on beginner spells. Honestly, such progress was even better than my own. I did not develop chantless magic that fast, nor did I have such progress on my spell casting. It could be his innate talent, but me doing it at such a young age could also be a factor as to why I didn't progress this fast. Anyways, I think Vie was right when she saw potential in Faelar. With each successful spell, his face brightened more and more, his confidence rose, and so did the speed of his growth as a mage.

Honestly, I no longer feel like a prodigy, now that I am surrounded by prodigies. My pride was hurt, but my pride for my friends grew tenfold.

Looks like it's time for me to up my game in combat and magic if I don't want to be left behind.