To Arms [Torin]

[Kala Leukos]

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Cintamani Pavilion
20 Ash 121

Kaus had come through. Another young Avialae, a friend of his, had agreed to come and share his skill with polearms. They had landed together in the gardens, the protective screen wisely kept shut down most of the time, and he was introducing him to his twin. He was polite—friendly, even—but there had been that brief assessment in his eyes when he looked at her before he smiled. She was used to it. Kaus might be small for an Avialae, but he was an Avialae. She had no wings, and her smallness was seen as an impediment to bearing more Avialae. It wasn't even something most Avialae did on purpose, she was convinced, but it irked her all the same. But he smiled and she smiled and he seemed like a perfectly nice fellow; she didn't even know that she could call it ignorant as, in all possibility, bearing Avialae children could be more than she could handle. They had almost killed their poor mother, after all.

Perhaps one day she would cross the Boundless Gate and she could ask the Masked Queen why it was so. For now, she wouldn't get angry because she would be able to take out her frustrations with a new weapon.

"I'm sure Kaus has told you already," she said, "but our training salle has several polearms... I was hoping to train up to a sword spear, and our friend seemed keen on the hammer staff, but we can start with spears or whatever you think best."

"Aye," Kaus said, laughing and clapping him on the back. "We will bow to your expertise."

"My lord, my lady, Master Torin has arrived."

"Thank you," they said in unison. The staff had been given to understand that he, and Timon if Timon came with him, ought to be taken directly to the salle. The twins moved to intercept, Yari slowing his longer stride so as not to outpace them.

"Lovely gardens," he noticed.

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[Torin Kilvin]

Torin was surprised when he was introduced to the new arms master to see that he was so young. He was also surprised by his race, though, he realized immediately, it made perfect sense that House Leukos would have arms trainers that would be able to teach their sons.

He did not feel bad for looking the man over, as he seemed to be giving Torin a thorough examination as well. The eyes lingered on his muscles and stance, but not as though they were impressive. The blond suddenly wondered if the training he'd gotten from his time in the forge might not be a hindrance to training in the use of the weapons he could create.

When the talk turned from the polite greetings and inquiries about his work that Kala and Kaus always seemed kind enough to ask after to the matter at hand Torin said,

"I am more than happy to start with something more basic than the hammer staff, until I get a feel for using a polearm at all. I used a bow staff a little, as a boy, but that was more play than anything intended to defend." Of course, such weapons were not purely defensive, but the way they were used in his village had been mainly to frighten off animals.

The weapon's master, Yari was his name, seemed to agree with him, for soon Kala and Torin were outfitted with plain wooden staffs and instructed to stand naturally. Over the next half hour, Yari went over their stances with them, making corrections, inquiring as to why they held the weapons as they did, and adjusting their grips. Torin listened carefully, trying to get to the heart of what he was doing wrong. Understanding the heart of a thing would allow you to make correcting without undoing the work that had already been done. It was so in forging, he believed it would be so in fighting as well.

[Kala Leukos]

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"Oughtn't we to start with spears first, at least," Kala suggested, "since we all want to train toward proficiency in a polearm with a blade or hammer at one end?"

A smile twitched across Kaus' face. Though she was generally calm and tranquil as some mountain pool, he, at least, remembered her fiery origins, the strength that had been tempered with time and with many hours of meditation.

"No, my lady," said Yari apologetically. He was not from a noble lineage, except that all Avialae traced their lines back to heroes, and so he was diffident even though he was a friend of Kaus'. "Training three of you toward three different polearms... well, I think it best you all start from the most basic of polearms, develop your technique to a certain degree, and then begin specializing. Also, 'tis safer without blades or hammers at the ends of the weapons this early in your training. But, if you prefer, we can start with spears..."

"No," she acquiesced. "I apologize. You are the master here. I'm only excited to learn."

Perhaps Torin's friend's teaching would help him see some of the underlying tensions between Avialae of different rank and class, a bit more of the subtle play of dominance and submission that mostly went unnoticed in conversations where people's wants conflicted.

In any case, after teaching them those basics, he eventually paired everyone off to practice short exchanges of planned attacks and defenses. It was important, he thought, to feel the resistance of an actual opponent when learning them. First, he paired off with Torin, trusting his greater skill and the core bond between the twins to keep everyone safe. Then, he had Kaus and Torin pair up since they were about of a height and if Torin topped him a bit, at least Kaus had more martial training. Finally, he had Torin and Kala pair up, and spoke of how in an actual fight, Torin would have to rely on his greater strength to bludgeon a smaller opponent, to shatter her defenses, and how Kala would have to be quick and clever and play against the slower strength that Torin owned.

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[Torin Kilvin]

The blond watched only, as the conversation flowed between the twins and the trainer they had hired. It was intriguing, watching the way that Aurin's teaching was beginning to change the way he thought about other people, about the way they communicated with each other. He would not have noticed, when he'd first come to the city, the subtle differences between how the twins spoke to each other, spoke to Torin, and now, spoke to Yuri.

His head tilted a little bit to the side as he listened, though he didn't stare, concentrating on keeping his expression normal and looking between the speakers as he normally would. There was a little thrill to it, almost like observing conversations unseen. The smith was beginning to see why Aurin's smirk often flashed across his face when he was speaking of how his obfuscation, being seen without being seen, gained him useful information. It was briefly a struggle to keep a grin that would have looked odd for its wickedness off his own face, even though the twins and their instructor all knew who he was and that he was listening.

The thoughts passed as they progressed through the correction of their stances and moved on to the most basic set of moves.

Yuri moved between the two brand-new learners, demonstrating the actions in slow motion and then faster before having them repeat them. He drilled them on a single movement at a time until they could consistently perform it, then moving to another. After three hours had passed they had only succeeded in having the master approve the first three moves in addition to their first stance. Torin was soaked in sweat, which surprised him. Spending time in the heat of the forge had trained his body to sweat less from heat, but movement was another matter altogether it seemed.

Kala had not soaked through her shirt as he had, but she still looked fatigued, hair a bit out of place above her determined face. Yuri called a halt, looking as unruffled as he had at the start. He had them both sit on the ground and listen as he explained and demonstrated several ideas that had been present throughout the lesson but were more concepts than physical motion. Torin preferred to understand the ideas behind actions so he appreciated both the rest and the mental lesson.

Once he was breathing evenly and relaxed again, Yuri told them to practice their stances in the week to come, falling into it whenever they were able, standing in it at any given moment they weren't too busy. Kaus was waiting for them at the outside table where they had dined together several times, having ordered it laden with cool drinks and finger foods.

Torin enjoyed the time, his muscles wrung out and nicely sore, his belly filled and his thirst sated as he chatted comfortably enough that he didn't even bring up his work. When he left, as dusk was falling, he was looking forward to the next lesson.

[Kala Leukos]

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If it irked Kala at all that Yari had allowed Kaus out of the room earlier and with fewer words of critique, it passed quickly. She rarely got angry with him, and he hadn't done anything wrong. He had done things right, and she was glad that his martial focus was providing benefits for him. In reality, she knew that he would often be a first line of defense between her and danger—that was a given, given that he was always going to be bigger and stronger than her and their bond made him care for her as much or more than he cared for himself. But vice versa. She didn't mind being smaller and quicker if she could be the knife in the shadows that their enemies didn't see, distracted by Kaus and his plumage.

In any case, Kaus knew Yari better and would undoubtedly get more one-on-one training as they were friends. She was glad of that as he didn't have the same sort of mandate in Kalzasi as she did, though she hoped he would find one. If he had friends, at least, who weren't her, it would calm her worries on his behalf.

She did what Yari bade her do and listened to his critiques of her as well as the others, knowing she could learn quite a bit just from that and from observing their exercises. But it had been several hours, and Yari released them with a grin. She bowed to him, and then he went out to find Kaus while Kala and Torin put things straight in the training salle. She practiced the series of movements a couple more times before racking her quarterstaff and groaning as she stretched.

With a smile to Torin, she accompanied him out to find refreshments laid out for them. The servants had likely been prepared and then gone into action once Kaus emerged.

Cintamani Pavilion
27 Ash 121

Kala had practiced during the week, both by herself and with Kaus. All the same, she found Yari pushing her as soon as they were all back in the salle. No longer did she think to complain about quarterstaffs. It was more than enough to keep her muscles and mind occupied. She wouldn't have mastered it by the time they switched to spears or whatever intermediate weapons before she graduated to the one she wanted, and she supposed the cross-training would be an education in and of itself.

She went through the new kata with a dancer's precision—at least with her feet. Her dance training helped there, though it was a challenge to coordinate what her feet were doing with what was required to make the staff spin just so.

"Graceful!" Yari barked when she was done, though she already knew where she had made some mistakes. Perhaps Yari knew that she knew and so didn't belabor the point. She bowed, then got out of the way so Kaus and Torin could follow.

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[Torin Kilvin]

Torin had tried to practice whenever he was able, he didn't have a polearm, though he could have purchased a quarterstaff or even found a big stick if he'd wanted to. He had no, though, since a lot of his time was taken up between fixing his home and working at the two forges that were now more a home to him than the house they had come with. But he did try and implement the stance into whatever he was doing, standing at the forge hammering glowing steel, scrubbing the walls, cooking at the hearth, even washing dishes; he would place his feet and angle his body as he'd been instructed. He was just beginning to fall into the position naturally when he stood still by the time the next lesson came.

The master noticed that he fell into stance right away, but began to correct his movements and how he held the staff again without pause. He made them work through the original set of moves again, which he now came to understand was called a kata. Doing each move in order proved strangely challenging to Torin, he didn't know he'd ever done anything like the almost-dance they worked through before. He could fall back into the stance easily when he fell out of the kata, but he fell out of it often. Having to watch Kala to find his place again only to stumble or get too out of balance to proceed from one movement to the next without stopping to adjust.

Compared to Torin, Kala had done exceptionally well. He supposed her background and previous training put her far ahead of him in the realm of combat training to start with, but it was still embarrassing to stand in front of the twins and the weapons master and mess up over and over again. When he'd worked his way through once, at least without stumbling so badly he needed to start over Yuri sent him to the side to keep practicing and moved on to work with Kaus.


Torin was determined to get through the kata at least once without having to stop and reset his body, so he kept at it. Yuri would come over to him now and then and make a suggestion, sometimes reaching over to adjust one of the smith's arms or legs physically. The first time this happened it had been awkward, but by the tenth time Torin let his body move as it was led, knowing the balance he would find if he did so would be worth it. Sometimes feeling how something was supposed to feel helped the mind catch on to what was wanted better than just watching.

He did stop to watch, once his body was too tired to try and work through again. Muscles never used in the way he was now asking them to move were practically shaking as he leaned on his practice staff and watched Yuri give Kaus more minute and precise instruction. After a few minutes of watching he moved to get the water skin that had been left sitting nearby. He drank from it and then brought it over to Kala, offering it.

"How long has Kaus been training to fight?" He suspected the answer was something like 'since he could walk'.

[Kala Leukos]

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"Since he could walk," she said. "Or thereabout." Kala smiled, thanking him for the water. Training together was bringing a new familiarity between them. They now saw each other floundering with new movements and new ideas, sweating, and sometimes even swearing.

She added to her answer, possible proof of Galetira's blessings upon the runesmith.

"I have vague memories of our first lessons. Most of them were simple things to teach us to respect the dangers inherent in weapons. Care and upkeep, how not to cut ourselves. He is better than me, though... He also had to learn how to fight while flying, which doubled his training time, and while we took our magical lessons together, at least some of them, his Reaving works with combat whereas my Semblance is a more meditative art."

Passing the water back, she eyed him.

"You are improving. I know it can be frustrating, but don't lose heart. It just occurred to me that you haven't been able to practice at home most likely. You are welcome to take your practice weapon home if you don't think Timon will bonk out another tooth. Even if you don't have a lot of time or energy, just having it in your hands more often will help it feel more natural there."

That said, she turned at least some of her attention back on Yari and Kaus to learn from observation. At least with her bond to her brother, she could get some sense of how things should feel, but sometimes that wasn't as helpful as it might sound. She didn't have his wings, so nothing would ever translate properly from his muscle memory to hers.

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[Torin Kilvin]

Torin laughed quietly when Kala answered him, seeing the teasing light in her eyes made it feel safe even if he didn't explain all of what he had been thinking.

He didn't have a lot of time to practice but if he took the staff home, well, he could carry it when he walked through the city. No one would look askance at a man with a walking staff, even if he was young and in good health. Few people would look sideways at a man with a sword or other obvious weapon walking through the city, come to think of it. Nodding at her offer he said,

"I would like that, thank you. I don't know how much time I will have to actually practice but perhaps I can go through the moves a few times before I start my work every morning." Building good habits was something that he had been taught he should do. Until that season though, all of his habits had been dictated by one of his teachers. He was too used to rolling out of bed soon after the sun was up to change the habit unless he had been up exceptionally late the night before. As for breakfast and other meals, well, Torin was unlikely to miss any of those unless he was too deep into his forging to notice the passage of time. His young body was wrapping muscle onto itself now that it seemed his bones were finding their adult formation and the sheer amount of food it wanted for the purpose made him glad he had chosen such a lucrative profession.

Taking back the leather water bag he drank again, but less. The water was warm, but he still worried that having too much would cramp him if he was called back over to take another turn.

Watching Kaus was fascinating, more so now, when he was fighting with a weapon that Torin was trying to learn for himself. He was beginning to see how the moves and stance Yuri had taught to Kala and him would be incorporated into the fast-paced dance that the two winged men were making their way through.

Without realizing it Torin's body began to make minuscule copies of some of the moves he was seeing.

"I can see how the stance is changing their balance. There, the way he leaned into it. And that was a variation on the parry we learned." He spoke as they moved, trying to wrap the construction of a fight into his head so his body would remember what this was for and not forget when he needed it. If he ever needed it. He could hope he didn't, but another part of him wanted to put the skills he learned to use. Sparing with Aurin could be a use, or he might use his hammer against wild animals if he was ever caught out by them as he traveled. He did have tentative plans to travel some, and while the area surrounding Kalzasi was patroled, that did not mean that all wildlife was subdued.

[Kala Leukos]

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Kala nodded, pleased that he would take it. The practice staff's absence wouldn't harm her or her House, but would improve Torin's skill and confidence. And that would benefit her House more than the cost of a practice staff, so even if he never returned it, the investment would have been worth it on a bottom line.

She didn't think of him in terms of a bottom line, though she was required to keep an eye on it at all times. It was work for her, but if she could help keep his finances in order, then he could focus on his work, which was beyond her ken at this point even if she now knew the basics of creating viscerite. And all this training, while it would help her protect herself and others, would also help him protect himself. Protecting an asset, one might say if one were more cold and calculating, calling humans resources. But she could be aware of it without dehumanizing her friend.

"He's used to it," she said, observing Kaus spar with Yari, letting Torin in on another perspective, "but he has to balance his wings as well as the rest of him." If she woke up on the morrow with wings of her own, she would feel impossibly blessed, but she knew that she would have to relearn how to walk, how to fight, and how to dance. She would even have to relearn how to sleep and how to bathe.

Kaus and Yari made it look easy, like a dance they both knew the steps to already. She smiled, admiring her brother and his friend.

"Eventually, we'll move on to spears, and then one end of the polearm will become more important, I suppose. Or perhaps not, depending on one's style of fighting. An opponent might be less careful of the butt of the spear, which could be an opportunity..."

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[Torin Kilvin]

The conversation flowed between the seemingly mismatched pair, making Torin wonder what it would look like when they had advanced enough to spar with each other as Kaus and Yari were now demonstrating.

The smith knew that Kala was far more advanced in the fighting arts than he himself was, that her body, while new to the weapon in her hand, was not new to the movements and thought processes that were involved in fighting another person. Torin would have to fight himself to swing a practice staff at her. He imagined that was an issue with some others who had been her teachers or sparring partners, though her two brothers seemed to have gotten over it. No doubt she had taught them that lesson in bruises when they hesitated, as he himself would.

The bruises would be useful, and learning to fight someone who his instincts told him not to hurt would be better than learning to fight someone who his instincts were already afraid of. In a real fight, he couldn't hesitate, regardless of the stature of the one trying to do him harm.

That they would move on to a spear eventually did not thrill Torin. Perhaps the reason a weighted staff, even one heavily weighted as the hammer-staff, appealed to him was that it was a mostly defensive weapon, and doing deadly damage with it would almost have to be intentional. A man could die from a broken arm or shoulder, but he had longer to find a healer and prevent it than if he was stabbed in the same place. Accidents were always more likely to happen when weapons were involved but Torin wanted to be in charge of the damage dealt as much as possible. The point of training with a weapon was to be in control, both of what another person was allowed to do to you, and what you chose to do to them. The heat of a fight wasn't the time to try and figure out if you could attack without killing. Torin wanted to be able to control access to himself as well as deter those who wished him harm. The staff, even the practice staff, felt right for that purpose.

They would meet for practices every week for the rest of the season; slowly stretching out their knowledge and control as the friendships between the twins and their hired runesmith grew.