The crushed gravel ground under his boots as Enzo considered his opponent. After a moment’s hesitation, he stepped forward and swung the hammer down toward Gunnar’s left shoulder. As expected, the experienced captain saw the move coming, and brushed it aside with the shield.

The attack opened Enzo’s left up to a counter thrust and Gunnar wasted no time in attacking. Enzo was prepared, however, and rolled across Gunnar’s shield with the momentum from his attack, keeping the thick metal between them.

Enzo followed through the swing with his left hand and attempted to hook the head of the hammer around Gunnar’s left foot with a low sweep.The captain smiled and, as he completed his counter thrust, he stepped over the hammer and pivoted to face Enzo again.

Crouched low, Enzo turned in place as he fought to regain control of the hammer. It took both hands, but he was able to arrest the swing and return the hammer to his left shoulder.

“Good instincts, and inventive with a new weapon,” Gunnar praised. “And you have already figured out that momentum is the trick to fighting with a hammer like that. Your attacks and your guard must flow together. Single actions without a follow up plan will just get you killed.”

Enzo nodded in response. Despite the cold day, sweat had already formed across his brow. I still haven’t fully recovered from the burns. I feel much better than yesterday but I’m nowhere near full strength. He wiped the sweat from his brow and readied himself for the next round.

“I see you feel the downsides to the weapon already too,” Gunnar continued. “Something that heavy will take enormous strength and endurance to wield properly for any length of time. I’m going to attack this time, don’t disappoint me after such a good start.”

A vicious grin spread across his face as Gunnar crouched low and prepared to attack. He took two impossibly quick steps in close and jabbed directly at Enzo’s chest. Enzo ducked under the attack just in time, the blade passing close over his right shoulder. Rather than swing the hammer, Enzo hooked his right leg behind Gunnar’s front foot and delivered a push to Gunnar’s chest with all his strength.

The captain was stronger however, and resisted the attempted throw. He brought the sword down to Enzo’s neck and met eyes with the young man. After an intense staredown, Gunnar stepped back and let loose a roaring laugh.

“Such great instincts! You assessed that it would be a waste of time to try to parry, and instead went for the dodge and counter throw! Excellent!” Gunnar shouted.

“I still lost in seconds,” Enzo replied, looking down at the hammer in his hands.

“You lost because you are weaker than I am,” Gunnar explained. “If the hammer is going to be your weapon of choice, banking on being the stronger man is a reasonable decision. Targeting throws and grapples is the right idea until you are strong enough to wield the hammer in one hand. Your most deadly attacks require your opponent to be overwhelmed. Otherwise, you’ll rarely land a solid hit.”

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Enzo nodded, internalizing the criticisms as well as the praise. I have the right ideas, I just need to get stronger and practice them.

“In addition to training with the hammer, you need hand to hand combat training,” Gunnar continued. “Getting behind your opponent or getting them on the ground is the best way to ensure you win the fight without injury.”

He looked over at Oskar. “Good call bringing him in, we needed some fresh blood to liven things up. Set him up in the barracks, I’m sure I can work out a timeshare with Tobias to get this kid trained up.”

“Yes sir,” Oskar replied and headed off into the barracks.

“Alright then,” said Gunnar, turning back to Enzo. “Flynn is our best archer, he’ll test out your skills with the bow. When you’re done with all that, come find me. First dinner with the squad is always a family affair.”

With that, Gunnar gathered up the other weaponry and headed back into the barracks. Enzo smiled to himself despite the exhaustion. A family dinner. A weapon and a style I can call my own.

“Come on then boy, let’s get this done quickly,” Flynn barked, breaking Enzo from his thoughts. “I’m supposed to be off duty today, and I don’t want to waste it watching you try to hit a target.”

Enzo leaned the hammer against the wall near the barracks and hurried off after the old man. He was led around the far side of the village, to a corner he’d not seen before. Short grass filled the area, and two targets stood at opposite ends of a dug out stretch along the wall. A cavernous barn filled with cattle separated the little clearing from the rest of the village.

“Don’t mind the cows, Manuel should be around some time soon to let them roam a bit,” called out Flynn. “Probably the last bit of free reign they’ll have this year, this winter looks to be a cold one.”

“Why’s the archery range so far out of the way?” asked Enzo.

“Because the bloody fools in this village can’t hit a damn thing, and too many people complained about arrows being lodged in the sides of their houses,” replied Flynn. “The wall and the cows don’t care, so this is where it is. Grab a bow and a couple arrows, then stand next to this target and fire at that one down there.”

He gestured toward a couple bows tucked away along the wall, then pointed at the target at the other end of the range.

Enzo took up the bow and an arrow, and steadied himself. The target was a good fifty paces away, quite a bit further than the targets he’d used at the cave. Just like I practiced, just a bit further away. Deep breath, hold it in, and release.

He fired the arrow with a satisfying twang of the bow. The shot looked true for the first few paces, but eventually veered off to the left. It embedded in the very edge of the target, several hands width from the center.

“Again,” stated Flynn blandly.

Enzo knocked another arrow and released. This time, he over compensated for the first shot and just missed to the right. Annoyed, he grabbed another arrow and lined things up again.

He closed his eyes and remembered his training with Talwen. Control your breath. Control the flow of the heat in the air. Use the energy to create the flight you want for the arrow.

He opened his eyes and released a small amount of mana. The soft breeze in the area stilled. A torch inside the barn went out. In the stillness of the moment, Enzo released the third arrow. His shot knifed through the air, perfectly aligned. He didn’t even watch the shot, the feeling was perfect and he knew the shot would be too. Enzo turned back to Flynn with a smile.

“Don’t know what you’re grinning about, kid, you missed that last shot high!” Flynn shouted. “Go get the damn arrows and try again!”