Chapter Three: Training

Chapter Three of War Cry

Xethal turned his head and spat on the corpse lying to his right.  He and Juthen had come across an enemy scouting party.  Now they could get a close look at the horrid army that was heading right for Freluna.  It didn't bode well at all.  These enemies were nearly as well equipped as their own Corps.  They wore the mark of another mercenary corps, one that they had feared would step into the ring of contenders.  One that they had feared would challenge their integrity.  One that they had barely beat when the Great Fyrethil Fyrexetha was the captain of the Phoenix Fire Mercenaries.

 

The Forestgyre Mercenaries.

 

Their distinct colors of dark green and black made them the best when it came to forest combat.  However, the Phoenix Fire Mercenaries had an advantage over that.  They had multiple combat uniforms and armor.  The one they used for fighting in the plains or in other similar areas were of mixed mottled browns and lighter greens.  While for night-time combat they wore black and a dark orange.  To blend in with forest situations they wore nearly the same shades of green and black as the Forestgyres.

 

Juthen looked at his partner with a frown on his face, his blade in his hand this time and his bow safely sheathed at his back.  "It seems...that they have great fighting skills.  If you weren't here to save my a*s, I might have died in this little battle..." he stated, rubbing at a rather shallow cut at his temple.  There were deeper wounds on his arms, but that was the only one that had managed to sail its way to his head.

 

Xethal shook his head and sighed.  "I'll have to say the same thing.  Their skills with a blade are exceptional, and they are highly dangerous with a bow...I'd say they're as proficient as you are, Juthen."

 

Juthen shuddered at that statement.  He had scary talent and accuracy with a bow, unmatched by anyone else in the corps with the exception of Vice-Captain Leyesha.  He had spent years and years perfecting his skill with a bow, and had even learned to put some arcane magic into his arrows.  It was the only magic he knew.  He was officially handicapped when it came to learning the magics of his race.  Being a half-breed elf, the magics of his kind had not been granted to him by the gods.  His mother had been elven, but his father had been human.

 

"We need to get to Freluna immediately.  Loraina and Leyesha must be warned about this.  Their numbers are great, too great for us to stop them before they reach the city.  We have to prepare our defenses and get the local militia to help us out as much as possible," Xathel continued, shaking his head and spitting again on the corpse.  This time, his spit was a shade of crimson, signifying that the cut on his cheek had reopened and was now circulating into his mouth.

 

"Agreed...we should get moving, loot what we can from the corpses..."

 

Xathel nodded and bent over the corpse he had been spitting on, only coming up with some loose linen, a few coins, and some loose arrows, which he handed to Juthen.  His partner, however, had looted the blade that one of the enemies had used to score the slice at his temple and pulled out a few silvers.

 

"We can't take anything else, I'm weiged down enough as it is..." Juthen said and immediately began heading once again toward Freluna.

 

*     *     *

 

Leyesha stood out on the training field.  She watched over those who were training. There were sparring matches, arrows flying toward hay targets, the sound of metal clashing against metal.  Hand-to-hand combat was also practiced here, and those who specialized in it were lethal when it came to that particular form.  Loraina walked among the multiple instances, smiling occasionally and nodding with approval, correcting things here and there.

 

Ley blew a lock of hair away from her eyes and sighed, looking to her right to spot a couple of mercenaries struggling with their sparring match.  She chuckled and strode their way, correcting one mercenary's stance as she did so.  It was sloppy and he was likely to trip with such a wide stance.

 

Finally, as she reached the sparring duo, one had knocked down the other and was going for a final strike.  She caught the blade in her hand as it came down and shook her head.  "Finishing slashes should be made as the enemy is standing not as he is on the ground.  To finish a soldier on the ground in the quickest way, for that is what we go for, you must strike with the tip of your blade toward his body, not the edge of the blade."

 

The mercenary nodded.  "Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am."

 

"Now, let me see your stances.  A mercenary's stance can sometimes decide if he or she will survive the battle or the duel, whichever to happen to be fighting at the time."  She nodded as the second mercenary stood and assumed his stance.  They both took offensive stances instead of one taking a defensive stance and the other an offensive.  That, in itself, was a mistake.  If they were both in offensive stances, there was more a chance that the fight would end quickly and nothing would be learned.  But she would let them figure that out for themselves.

 

The first mercenary started with a vertical strike, which the second one blocked and switched immediately to a defensive stance as the first came at him again.  This time he went quicker and put a little bit of a spin in with his strikes.  The second blocked them and held the block with the last strike.  With this he pushed forward, making the first stumble backward slightly and with the opening he took the opportunity to go for the killing strike.  He knew to use the flat of the blade to bring in the horizontal slash to the cut, which Leyesha nodded her head to with approval.

 

"Good, good, now, there was only one real problem I saw, and that was that you both took offensive stances at the beginning.  Now, your slashes were a bit clumsy as if you were unsure of your blade.  I know I've seen you two in quite a few battles, so I know that you're not that nervous when it comes to attacking.  Now, I want you," she pointed at the second mercenary, "to come at me with everything you've got, and don't hold back."

 

She took the place of the first mercenary and drew her blade, standing in a defensive position.  "Begin."  She stated clearly and the mercenary came forward immediately with three strikes, two horizontal and one vertical.  She didn't bother to block them, she simply stepped out of the way and landed a kick to his side, then hit him with the flat of her blade in the stomach.

 

"Don't leave such an opening...ah, Loraina."

"Good afternoon, Leyesha."

 

The other two snapped to attention and raised salutes, which Loraina immediately waved.  "Would you like to show these boys a real sparring match?"

 

"Certainly, ma'am."

 

Loraina took the defensive position this time and Leyesha took her offensive position, customized to her liking.  Her good foot was forward and slightly bent, her rear foot completely straight.  She held her blade with the hilt at her side and the steel pointed somewhat diagonally.  She charged and came around with three horizontal strikes, the third being a low strike.

 

Loraina blocked the first two and leaped over the third, coming down with a vertical strike which Leyesha expertly blocked by flipping her blade so that the steel pointed behind her.  She sprung up in a back flip and blocked a strike from below turning just before she landed and throwing a few more slashes.  These were all blocked but she caught Loraina off guard with a side-kick to the midsection.  Loraina stumbled but managed to flop backward out of the way of a potentially lethal slash.  She rolled as Ley brought her blade down tip-first and kicked her feet out from underneath her opponent's body.

 

Leyesha hit the ground and flipped to her feet, blocking another strike toward her side.  Their motion was fast-paced and the entirety of the mercenaries training at the moment had stopped to watch.

 

The duel continued for a good three more minutes before Leyesha managed to trip Loraina again and bring down the final blow.  She ensured that her blade went into the dirt instead of her Captain's body.  Loraina had the knowledge that she would not have had time to block the strike if it had been a real battle and let Leyesha put her blade in the dirt.

 

As Loraina stood and they bowed, the training field erupted in cheers.

 

"That, everybody, is how a what a real fight is like.  How a real duel is carried out."

Author's Note

Chapter three, I know the ending is a little sudden.