Saun 1 Spans through Saun 5 708
It was going to be a hot and humid day. Ember opened her eyes after hearing noise in the kitchen. Her father was already up and preparing some sandwiches and other varied cold meals for the day. Ember got dressed and stood up, wiping her eyes. She looked outside. The day had not yet risen but you could see, in the distance, the sunlight which let in faint lights. The young Ember entered the kitchen and made a quick greeting to her father who was also dressed and ready.
If Ember didn't really have any friends in the area, despite her efforts, she still had her father, mother and all her family who were ready to help her. Most had fought in the battles and survived. It may not have been a strong and powerful family, but it was a respectable family, with a variety of talents that Ember kept showing. She had begun to rise in their eyes, though a lot of the responsibilities they thrust on her made her wish she could just run away and leave it all behind.
It was a slack season for them. In the height of summer, there were not many jobs to go around. A lot of her family was left with free time. During these times it was good to train well for the jobs that were to come. She had been warned that she might have more difficult jobs, which required her to be stronger. Ember had taken this notion extremely seriously. She had until the end of Saun to learn lots of new things, to grow into a better self. She had asked her father, who was not very busy these days, for help to train her at least a little. Indeed, Ember's father was probably the best teacher of her family.
A few months after his last meeting with Ember, her grandfather returned to see his son, his son's wife and her grandaughter. She had even told the young Ember’s father that he was impressed by her efforts and successes, and that he might teach her a few family secrets if she kept up the good work. Ember was very happy because her grandfather was well known for having a special touch with regards to his work. It was why he was never out of a job. He may not have been the best, but he was probably one of the most preferred of his trade. Her grandfather did everything to make Ember a follow in his footsteps.
After eating a few pieces of fruit for the morning, Ember and her father finally went outside. There was not much outside life, as the day was just beginning to get up. Some early risers greeted them while they were doing their morning shopping, or their morning jogging. Today, Ember's father had promised her that she would teach her how to use a weapon that had saved his life on several occasions. He explained the basics of swordsmanship to her, while walking to an open grounds in the heart of the forest.
“Don’t forget that the eyes are the portal to the soul. Never forget it, and use that to your advantage,” her father told her. He was implying that the eyes gave indication as to what a person intended to do next, but that concept was a little too much for a kid to understand properly.
Ember was surprised at first and did not dare to say anything. Her father looked her in the eye and slowly raised his sword in the air. Ember was taken aback as she tried to look down to her own practice blade and barely got there. She felt like stakes came out of her legs to keep her from moving. She knew it was just her nerves getting to her, and could have moved if she wasn’t terrified, but it was impossible to move her hands. As she tried, her father slowly came closer and put the flat end of his blade on her neck.
“Well, in real combat you would be dead. So you see how your fear is a detriment. It is enough to look your opponent in the eye than give up. With a good level, you can train the brain, its thoughts, its emotions, even its senses to ignore your impulses. Eye contact is a special thing. Once you draw them in, no one can escape it without opening themselves up to being at a disadvantage, most everyone fights with their eyes.”
Her father stepped back a little, with a small smile in front of the still surprised form of Ember who still did not dare to say a word. Her father explained that the technique he employed in his fights was simply to use their subtle eye movements to his enemies’ senses against him. The touch to make them believe that their eyes could be used against them, and the fear her father could strike at any moment were way beyond what Ember could accomplish. She doubted she would ever rise to be as great as him.
It took Ember a while to understand the principle her father was drilling and over the course of trials at a time. Every morning they got up, she and her father, and practiced using the blade against her father while maintaining eye contact. Her father was the guinea pig and Ember finally succeeded when she was exhausted. It took her a few more trials before she could really master keeping eye contact when scared and be able to do it at least half of the time.
It has been about a week since Ember and her father had been training. The young woman had learned to do a basic slash with the dagger rather quickly, and she was happy. However, every evening, she returned to the fold without energy and completely exhausted. The few superficial wounds she had accumulated during training began to haunt her slowly as they took longer to heal, compared to usual. Her grandfather, still on his way, was likely to arrive in about a week, perhaps a few more days. Ember got up that morning, rubbing her back with her right hand to ease a little pain she was having.
The suns had already risen. Ember had just risen as well and she was already exhausted. Today’s training would be tough, and so would the others, but she had to do it. She had a duty to her family that she hadn’t quite abandoned yet. She had promised it to all her relatives during their gatherings. She had to do everything to become stronger, to become, who knows, the strongest. She absolutely had to become powerful to be able to protect her family. That was what was drilled into her mind since she was a kid.
She left her room. Her father was not, as usual, in the kitchen. He had warned Ember that he would leave a little earlier to train solo, because he needed to move a little and that she slowed him down. It was true that it was not really her training, he gave himself less than Ember, so today he had, obviously, more energy than the youngster. The latter made herself a quick but crappy meal and took a few sips of water before going out in the sun and in the wind to join her father in the forest.
It was, exactly, the fifth nonstop day that Ember trained. Today, her father told her that he would teach her another trick while doing bladework, but that she could not practice it on him. Ember didn't yet know the ins and outs of what he wanted, but she was already anxious to learn more. Since her father did not want to be the guinea pig, it was probably an offensive, more violent, aggressive attack. And that was the case. Once on the ground, her father was seated and sweating. He had probably just started a well-deserved break. He turned to Ember as he approached and gave her a smile and a small sign for him to approach, which Ember did without delay.
Her father still seated, he took a small sheet from her pocket that he had brought for the Ember training. Above, a large picture was drawn and surrounded by various symbols. Ember first had a questioning look, then her father finally explained it. It was a diagram that showed how the arm should rotate while swinging a blade. It was one of the most simple things to teach but it was so easy to start learning it improperly and forever have a bad habit ingrained. No, he had taught his daughter right by making her wait so long. Ember internalized the drawing and practiced throughout the day by swinging her wooden practice sword. It would come to her in time…
