2 Ymiden 721
Silk chimed in thinking that it would help, "Exactly! So what difference does it make if we call her the leader? You two are still-"
"If it didn't matter they wouldn't make us go through the effort to change it. If nothing else it is a symbolic 'chew sand.'" Balthazar cut Silk's momentum out from under her and brought the hammer around with two hands into the side of the tree. He had to swing with the full weight of his body to do real damage to the wood. Hammers were, as he'd figured out, more top heavy than swords and axes were. He brought it around on the left for a two handed swing and it hit with a loud thud, then he followed the momentum of the hammer bouncing off its hit and brought it around his body to swing it from the right with both hands. He liked the speed he could move a blade with using two hands but with the hammer he really had to aim because the weight forced him to commit to strikes. It was slower than a sword but it hit harder.
"Maybe they just wanted you back in the Flame Tro- keep your back straighter or you'll hurt yourself." Balder, the one most familiar with axes and hammers, advised without answering Balthazar's question. Balder and Silk looked at each other to see if either one had an answer but they seemed not to.
"I still don't understand why."
"We don't know, Balthazar, just ask the Albarech."
"The Albarech isn't who I'll be working with." Balthazar responded bitterly as he adjusted his posture a little and held the hammer in front of him in both hands. He imagined the tree was an opponent which was the only way to really gain anything from this form of practice, and he brought his hammer up in a sweeping motion before stopping half way through and waving the hammer in the air a little. It was easier with a sword but the general motion of a riposte seemed like it would work. Balthazar swept the hammer up again with both hands and rather than bringing it up and around into another swing as he usually would, he pulled his elbow in and thrust it forward into the tree. That impact was more jarring and Balthazar shifted the hammer into one hand to shake out his other. He'd always felt more comfortable with it in one hand given the smaller size of the handle but he was trying to perfect all forms of battle with it.
"Is that why are you so angry?" Silk asked a little nervously.
"I'm not angry!" He shouted, angrily, as he drove his hammer down into the tree with an overhead swing. He pulled it back and repeated the same strike three more times in quick succession before slowing down. "I'm disappointed."
"You'll have to forgive us for thinking otherwise." Balder said with a gesture to the tree Balthazar was striking. Balthazar sighed and nodded.
"Fair point." Balthazar shifted the hammer into his left hand and shook out his right arm a little. Every impact had a shock that a blade did not and he was getting used to it still. Balthazar placed one hand on his ribcage just beneath his left arm and attempted a few swings with his off hand. Simple swings, overhead, front hand, and backhand swings but nothing frivolous with twirls. He did not have the dexterity with a hammer yet to do anything more than the most plain but he was paying attention to the way that it felt in his hand. Focusing on learning helped him not focus on other things. Balder and Silk looked towards each other again for support and this time Silk lead. They were guards but unlike the Flame Troopers who had been monitoring Balthazar, the trio of Silk, Balder, and Ronan had worked closely with him throughout his time as the leader. They were friends and they could tell their friend was upset but they did not know how to fix it. It was easier now that he was not also their boss but that seemed to be the root of his anger.
"Do you think Elisabeth can't do the job?" Silk asked.
"No, no," Balthazar stopped swinging into the tree and turned to face Silk, "it has nothing to do with my faith in Elisabeth's ability to lead. She will be fine and if she isn't, I'll be back to sort you all out for not listening to her." Balthazar grinned when he said it, prompting Balder to laugh and Silk to smile. He was joking and they knew it... or hoped. No one there thought that he would ever have to because they were all confident that Elisabeth could do the job.
"Then, shouldn't you be happy?"
"Would you be? If everyone who you thought had faith in you decided you were a failed experiment?" When he said that, the guards seemed confused. They couldn't understand because he had done as he asked. He didn't let the settlers rest on the laurels of Saoire and Faldrass looking out for them. Balthazar took a deep breath and shook his head as if to dismiss the topic. "It's complicated. I'm happy for Elisabeth and lets leave it at that?" The guards nodded. She was their new boss after all. "I'm going to head into the Serenity Garden for a little while before I pack, if anyone needs me I'll be there." Balthazar said, excusing himself from the group. Balder and Silk nodded to the former leader who took a few more practice swings before tying his hammer down to his belt and heading off towards the garden.
