"Harder, punch harder, Ydriss," his father ordered, maintaining his handmade focus mitts at chest height.
His father was wearing his usual long black tunic with long sleeves that seemed a size and a half too big for him. His long black hair rested on his shoulder, marred by a few streaks of grey. Looking up to meet his father's eyes, Ydriss never felt so small.
"But dad, I have nothing left, I—" Ydriss said, dripping with sweat and trying to catch his breath, before his father cut him off, looking mildly annoyed.
"What did I say about that during our training session?"
"I mean Sir, I can't—"
"When you said that you wanted to become like those legendary warriors you won't stop talking about, did you think it would be an easy path? Even if those proved to be real, It’s not with this attitude that you will become stronger. Now keep punching or this will be our last training session."
"But this is only our fir—"
His father quelled him with a look. Intimidated, Ydriss nodded and started punching again.
***
After throwing up the rest of his last meal, Ydriss slowly cleaned up and put on clothes to go outside. His last task of the day was to go collect water from the well.
Seeing the red sky as he stepped outside, he quickly realized that the training earlier had taken most of his afternoon. Being on the outer part of the small residential area, the closest well, unfortunately for him, wasn't close. The 'dark hours' would come quickly, so he needed to get going right away. Feeling the aching of his muscles at every step, Ydriss could only imagine the pain that two full buckets of water was going to bring.
Going out so late was very unusual for him. His dad had always forbidden him from being out at night, especially on nights like this one.
From his understanding, this month, like every month out of two, every night would be a moonless sky. Ydriss never understood why people were so afraid of those nights. From what his dad told him, all you needed to do to be safe was to stay inside. He still remembered the first time that he looked up at the sky during one of those nights. The sight he saw still made him wonder. It was a completely cloudless night, and the sky was filled with countless little dots of light. Some bigger than others, and to his amazement, the bigger ones seemed to form shapes. When he asked, his dad told him that every time someone died, a new star would appear in the sky.
Now that he thought about it, what were the requirements for people to become bigger than others when they died? Were they stronger than everyone else? Was the sun a dead person too!? Surely he or she was the strongest to be that big. Nodding to himself that night, Ydriss decided that he would become the biggest star in the sky.
Imagining himself becoming bigger than the sun, Ydriss entered the center part of the residential area. What woke him up from his epiphany was the peacefulness of the area. With hardly any people walking around, the marketplace seemed way bigger than before. Usually, sounds of vendors yelling prices and negotiations would pierce his ears, and small children couldn’t help but bump into him as he would work his way through the crowd. But now all he could hear was the stalls' owners closing their business for the day. Pleased by the sight, Ydriss started to seriously consider changing his usual schedule. But as he kept walking, he grimaced at the revolting odor. Turning the last corner of his usual route, Ydriss discovered the origin of the stink. Every day, he passed by this store, but he never saw it this crowded before. As he got closer, Ydriss couldn't help but hear bits of conversation.
"... nonsense! True, I didn't see him for a while, but that's because he just moved in with his family. To say that they got killed by a herd of wild beasts..." The man said, drinking on the little terrace of the store.
"You know the reputation of those lands—" Answered the woman serving him.
Smashing his huge bottle on the table and spilling half of its contents, the man shouted, "Rheinallt would never die to those fiends!"
"Look, I'm just telling you this because I know you two served together. It's something I overheard today..."
Hearing this made Ydriss sigh. Beast attacks weren't unusual for the families buying land too close to the wilderness. In the past, when he asked why people were trying to do so, his father ignored the question. His answer was to never go close to the village's borders and to always be home before the 'dark hours' arise. Remembering this, Ydriss hastened his pace.
Every time he went to the well, Ydriss always wondered the same thing. Why build only one well for the entire residential area? When he learned that each farming land got its own well, Ydriss couldn't stop himself from thinking it was unfair. He was definitely going to ask his father about it.
The well was a massive chiseled stone construct. From all the wells that he saw, it was the only one with a wooden roof built on top of it. After filling up his buckets, he carefully lifted his carrying pole. Wincing at the pain, he started his journey back to his house.
As he kept walking, the dirt road became less and less smooth. The houses were getting farther apart from each other, meaning that he was now in the outer part of the residential area and halfway home. Too focused on trying to catch his breath between each step, he neither saw nor heard the horse carriages coming right in front of him at top speed.
"Stupid kid, out of the way!" screamed the man driving, sounding more desperate than angry.
Startled by the man's shout, Ydriss nearly tripped and barely managed to dodge the carriages' horses, losing a quarter of his water in the process. Still shocked by the fact that he almost got trampled on, Ydriss looked back at the carriages. To his horror, at the back of the carriages, he saw a pile of bodies covered with blood. Aside from it, there was a man sitting on the other side of the carriage. Ydriss started to feel light-headed when he saw the state of the man. The man was leaning forward, twitching at every bump. His right hand was on his forehead, elbow on his knee, and his left arm hanging on his side. At first, Ydriss thought that his left arm's sleeve was badly torn up with blood leaking everywhere. After better observation, he saw that the man wasn't wearing a shirt at all. Ydriss had read and listened to multiple stories of men losing limbs, he even found it to be captivating. But, seeing the man's half-chewed left arm only hanging by some layer of torn flesh, he froze on the spot, unable to move.
It was the first time that Ydriss saw death and a true injury with his own two eyes. He started to hyperventilate, his mind replaying the event again and again. Limbs shaking, each breath feeling less and less effective. He dropped his carrying pole to the ground, then he fell on his knees, gasping for air.
Why can't I move? I can't breathe. Why am I reacting like this? I read countless stories about death and injuries. Why am I reacting like this? Am I that weak? I can't breathe. What would dad do in this situation? Right, he would stay calm. I need to calm myself.
After what felt like an eternity, Ydriss managed to calm down. Slowly, he recovered his breath and his vision cleared. Still shaking heavily, Ydriss stared at his hands, his mind racing.
If this was a life-threatening situation, would I react like that too? No! A warrior is never scared. What if I react like that too, the next time? No! I wasn't even scared, I was just tired. Right, I'm just tired…
Misty-eyed, Ydriss lifted the carrying pole with shaky legs. Then he resumed his journey, still processing the last event.
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Still light-headed, Ydriss finally saw the place he longed the most for, home. The sun no longer visible on the horizon, only the faintest speck of light still got through. The small wooden house never seemed so appealing before, he could clearly see the light coming out from his home's front window, his father was probably waiting for him. Coming in, he tripped, his carrying poles suddenly feeling heavier than ever. His father, seeing the state he was in, stood up from his cross-legged position and rushed to help him.
"Are you ok? What's going on?" He asked, helping Ydriss to sit on a wooden chair.
"I'm ok... I'm just more tired from today's training than I thought," Ydriss said, his voice and entire body still trembling.
"Ydriss, don't lie to me! Did someone do this to you?" his father asked, standing in front of him.
"No, I'm... I'm just tired—"
"I've seen enough scared people to recognize one, Ydriss. Now tell me what happened."
Trying to hide the fact that his eyes were welling up once again, Ydriss explained the event to his father, emphasizing the fact that he hadn't been scared at all and that he was trembling with excitement over the life-threatening experience.
"I see, so you're saying that you're excited about almost being trampled and seeing blood?" His father said, arching an eyebrow, but seeming relieved that his son was ok.
"Well..."
"Ydriss, what are you trying to prove? That you are fearless?"
"True warriors are fearless. They can defeat an entire herd of wild beasts alone without flinching. So seeing blood is nothing for them," Ydriss argued, crossing his arm.
"Listen, nobody is fearless. Not even those made-up warriors of yours... You really need to listen to me when I say to not believe everything you read in books."
"They are real, just wait. When I come back from the army, I will show you that I can become like one of these legendary warriors, "Muttered Ydriss to himself, staring at his father, no longer trembling.
His father, looking somewhat relieved, decided to send him to bed, mentioning that they will start training early tomorrow. He didn't even comment on the fact that only a quarter of the water was left.
Dropping on his bed like a rock, Ydriss closed his eyes and couldn't stop himself from thinking that this had to be his worst birthday yet. The sight of the man's arm still frightened him, and the fact that his father had screamed at him the whole afternoon, truly troubled him. When his father finally agreed to teach him how to fight, Ydriss was ecstatic. But, he hadn't expected him to take his training this seriously. His father never yelled at him like that before. Hoping that he didn't make a mistake by asking his father to train him and thinking that maybe he wasn't fit to become a warrior after all, Ydriss finally fell asleep.
***
"Wake up! It's already 5 in the morning, and we've got a lot of things to do today," screamed his father, at the front of his bedroom door.
"Hmmm!" was the only answer Ydriss managed to send back.
When he began his journey to the kitchen, he couldn't stop himself from wondering if his dad would keep screaming at him today. He really didn't like to see his dad like that. Weirdly enough, he found himself more scared about his father screaming at him than the poor man's arm and the bloody body he saw yesterday. Thinking about which, maybe this man was Rheinallt, the man that was rumored dead. Deep in thought, he entered the kitchen to see his father already eating.
After sitting down, Ydriss finally got the first hint of what he was worried about. His father was completely stone-faced as usual, but he didn't even say good morning. Shifting uncomfortably on his chair, Ydriss started to eat, keeping his eyes low, expecting his dad to shout orders at him at every moment. Then he sensed his father's eyes shift in his direction. Ydriss, suddenly petrified, stood still, afraid to even breathe.
"You know why I wanted you to call me by a different name when we are training?" Asked his father, still stone-faced.
"To... prepare me for training in the army? S-sir," Ydriss answered apprehensively.
"Well, you can see it that way but no and you can stop calling me sir, Ydriss," he chuckled.
"The reason behind it is that I don't want it to damage our relationship. When we are training, stop seeing me as Indris, your father, but as your trainer and nothing else. Otherwise, everything will stay as before."
"Is that why you acted so differently yesterday?" Ydriss asked, his smile returning.
"Well, that's part of it, but if you truly want me to train you that's how things will go. I don't see training as an activity. For me, training is the only thing that will save my life in a life-threatening situation," Indris said, now looking dead serious.
"But don't you like training? I mean sure it is important to stay serious and all, but if it isn't fun, why choose to be a warrior in the first place." Asked Ydriss, relieved to hear his dad's normal attitude returning.
"Not everyone can make that choice," Indris sighed "You have the luxury to make that choice. Your mother and I managed to make enough money to buy you out of your service in case you didn't want to go. But you already know that's not how things work for most people."
Ydriss nodded and quickly asked, "Are you saying that you don't enjoy fighting? Didn't you and mother do great in the army for us to not need any farming land to live from? Do we live off the money the two of you made in the past or do you receive ongoing compensation?"
"What did I say about you throwing people more than one question at a time," Indris chuckled, now seeming happy?
"Anyway, for your first question, no, I don't enjoy fighting. Your interests in fighting remind me of your mother," Indris answered with a fatherly smile.
"Emyr, your mother was a true warrior. To this day, I've seen no one fight like her. The fighting style I will teach you is the one we developed together. The only time I truly loved to fight and spar was when it was with your mother. The way she fought was so graceful..." added Indris, seeming nostalgic at the thought.
Ydriss simply smiled at his father. The only times he saw his father so happy and excited about something was when he was talking about Emyr. Hearing all those stories about his mother over the years made Ydriss wonder what life could have been if she was alive. How different his father would be if she was around.
"... Sorry, I was lost in thought again," added Indris, looking embarrassed.
"To answer your second question, yes, we did special missions in order to make more money. But you're still too young to hear about those," Ydriss grunted at that. Indris simply laughed, expecting the reaction.
"What about the last question," asked Ydriss eagerly.
"Does it really matter to you if we receive ongoing compensation or not? It's not a conversation I should be having with an 8-year-old," Indris responded, raising an eyebrow.
Knowing that he wasn't going to get his father to talk more. Ydriss just started to eat again.
After a short while, Indris stood up making his now usual grunt.
"Get ready because today we start your true training," said Indris with a small grin. Cleaning away the breakfast.
"What were we doing yesterday if that wasn't our true training?" asked Ydriss, taken aback by the revelation.
"Yesterday I was simply testing the drill that you managed to get from me over the years. Also, I was testing your mental and physical limits to see how you react under exhaustion."
"And?" Said Ydriss expectantly.
"Your execution of the drill I gave you are..." Indris paused briefly, seeming to reconsider.
"... passable. But we need to work heavily on that body and mind of yours."
Ydriss nodded, sad that he hadn't impressed his father, but was expecting worse results coming from him.
***
After Ydriss put on his training clothes, which were simply an old white shirt and old brown trousers, he rushed inside to the training grounds. The training room was the biggest room of their little house, taking around one-third of the entire house. The entire room was mostly empty, apart from the handful of weapons that his dad used to train every day, hanging on the wall.
This room was the principal reason it surprised him to hear his dad say he didn't enjoy fighting. Why build the training grounds so big if he didn't even like to fight? Another question to add to his list.
As he entered the room, he saw that a man was already there, his back facing him. His father didn't mention that he was going to involve other people in his training, but it was to be expected. His father was very good at hiding it because he always wore very loose clothes, but Ydriss could see that he was starting to get out of shape by looking at the way he moved. He was wearing a shirt looking too small for him, revealing his developed muscles. The shirt's sleeves were missing, revealing the man's broad shoulders. What struck Ydriss almost instantly was the sheer amount of scars visible on the man's arms. He could see a particularly nasty one starting on top of his right shoulder, seeming to go all the way to his back. His long black hair tinted with some streaks of grey reminded him of his father's hair. At first, Ydriss was totally awed by the man. That was the body of a true warrior. But when he turned to face him, reality struck him.
"Father!?" asked Ydriss, in almost a shout.
Indris, now facing his son, simply said, "Right, now let's begin."