⌘ Sharpening Your Blade Ⅱ ⌘
10th of Searing, Year 120, A.o.S
After several well placed hits, the woman was exhausted from her assault on the tree. "This surely is tiring." she exclaimed, watching as the sap from the tree she had been slicing began to trickle down the trunk. She backed away from the tree for a moment to let her body cool off as it was hot to the touch from all the training.
Following her training with Hellig, Rhea was both excited and anxious to become stronger. She was glad to have found a quiet little glade out in the middle of nowhere to practice as she knew she wouldn't be bothered by prying eyes. With the sun kissing her skin and the breeze teasing her hair, Rhea was at peace here, the clearing being the epitome of serenity.
For the moment she would take a break, and allow her body to relax a bit more, soreness from her earlier training still humming on her bones. It was moments like this that she enjoyed, basking in the beauty that was nature. The wind dance passed her, its whimsical whisper in her ear. To non-mages, it would have seemed weird for the girl to be using and smiling for no apparent reason, but she was giggling along with the wind as it spoke.
After enjoying her quick break she decided it was time to get back to work, this training wasn't going to finish itself. She decided the best course of action right now was to put what she learned and experienced up till now as a whole into practice. She was able to find things to use as fake enemies for practice. Even Iulides needed practice, and she was no exception.
The hilt of her sword clenched in her hand she quickly charged at the makeshift enemies, swing her blade at where organs and limbs should have been on the dummy targets, some landing a clean hit, while others missing their mark completely. Looking at the results she was not satisfied. She set them up once again and repeated the process, this time shaving off some seconds on her timing.
Now came for the next try at this makeshift obstacle course once again. After resetting the forest with targets, as well as mentally prepared she went again. Rhea went and delivered strike after strike; a slash across the chest, an upward slice that would slice the neck, and downward stab into a leg or arm. She was truly laying into the sea of practice dummies. She delivered well-placed slashes across the few fake enemies set up around her.
Though upon finding herself amidst the targets her mind began to play tricks on him. She could have sworn she saw one of them move, but that couldnt have been the case unless the wind was blowing. But there was no breeze that strong to do that so what was going on. She brushed it off as nothing more than an illusion of her mind, but it did not stop her from panicking for a split second.
With a deep breath, she sprinted forward, diving her sword back into the fake foes. With a lunge, she rotated her body weight in order to cause herself to spin. With heavy slash during the spin, she cut down two of the three targets she was aiming for. Once her maneuver was finished she turned and sighed. "My mind would choose now to play awful tricks on me?" She panted preparing for another go at the test dummies, resetting them all back into their proper places.
Repeating the process for the third time she charged head-on into the horde of fake targets, slicing them up as she saw fit, making each strike count as much as she could. She was finally getting a better feel with her sword, coming into her own rhythm, with the sword. The young woman sent a flurry of stabs and slices into the fake enemies.
She fought till she couldnt go on any more, and with a heavy exhausted sigh, she collapsed onto the cool grassy field. Laying on her back she gazed up into the sky, watching the clouds float by, the birds sing the chirping melodies. She had the skill, to say the least, even if it was still a little unrefined. She realized her strikes were swift yet lacking precision, something she would have to work on. But she could credit herself for how she was starting to learn to weave her attacks together.
She began to remember the very first training session she ever had her father in the wings of the training hall watching from afar as Hellig tested her skill.
The clang of steel echoed as he parried her blows, barely having to swing his sword to do so. In fact, he barely had to move in order to deal with her strikes, able to see her strikes coming and act accordingly. Once her combo came to a close he decided to show her the disparity of their skills sidestepping her.
As he moved to the left of her, he brought his longsword up, and with his strength parried the blade from Rhea's hands. In that same motion, he brought the blade to rest under her chin. "I've seen enough Rhea."
He said, stabbing his blade into the ground, leaning on the hilt a bit. "You have a good foundation, but that's not saying much. You have speed, but to make it as a vikinger of Loregard, of Clan Iulide, and as a daughter of Clan Iulide, you need the power and conviction to go with it." he explained, going to grab her sword and offering it to her.
"Combat isn't all swift strikes and flashy combos, its brutal and unforgiving. If this was a real fight, you would have died today. Take that and learn for future glory." he noted, his amber eyes gazing down into her eyes. He could see great potential in his younger sister if she had the dedication to see it through.
"I'll tell you what, if you want, I can be your sparring partner whenever you wish, no charge, no strings attached. But that's only if you want to fight like a real warrior that is." he offered, to which Rhea nodded in agreement.
He was happy to see her so eager to learn, and for showing enough potential to become great. He was interested to see how she would develop and she might just have a chance to survive in this harsh world. If not she would die for sure.
She found herself caught in the lull of the memories of training, remembering how thrilling it was, hearing a blade sing for the first time. She remembered what it was like to watch her brothers and sisters fight, hearing their stories from their adventures, it was what made want to be a warrior now.
Rhea noticed that a lot as of late as well, fresh warriors from different lands, coming to her clan to try and gain strength and glory. She found it rather interesting that others came to learn how to become great from her clan, instead of looking in themselves for that power. It was so baffling that Rhea couldnt help but feel proud of the heritage and blood she came from.
Looking around she could see a mix of wildlife, some looking at her with the utmost curiosity. With a smile she stood up and gather her things, dismantling the test dummies before she left, making sure to mentally note this place as she would return at a later date. For now, she would head home and rest her body, gods know she would need it
As she entered Loregard she was greeted by the people, smiles and waves alike. Once she got near the Iulide Estate, a group of children approached her, wanting to test their skill on the warrior. With eyes of endearment and love, Rhea smiled and got into a fighting stance, trading her real weapon for a practice one.
She gave the little ones a good show, allowing them to make their own mistakes, only so they can learn from those bruises and get a style they wanted to fight in in mind. She found it optimal to do so when training the future. She showed them techniques that helped her when she was their age when it came to wielding a weapon.
Overall this day was a good one and Rhea especially felt good about the seeds of growth she had sown in her training, hoping to see them blossom into something special, and she couldnt wait. Off into the distance however, a figure looked on as she had been followed, before disappearing as a patrol had come by. ⌘
"Common Tongue"
"Kokalath Tongue"
"Analine Dialogue"
"Hellig Dialogue"