Ydriss had always respected his father. But now this respect has shifted to admiration. Seeing all the scars on his body, he was speechless. He knew that his father was a retired veteran, but every time he asked about those days, his father simply avoided the question, saying that he was too young to hear about those.

"Let's begin with teaching you the basics of hand-to-hand combat," Indris said, retaking his authoritarian tone. He then quickly shifted into a fighting stance. "Now get in a fighting position and try to land a blow on me."

"W-wait, how? What!?" was all Ydriss managed to say, still numb from the realization.

"I've seen yesterday that you've practiced the punch and kick that I've taught you over the years. Now, I'm going to show you how to defend yourself against it."

"No, that's not it, father. I wasn't expecting you to be so... to have all those... to be like 'that'," he said, his face blushing from the admission. "Anyway, can you stop saying that you taught me those drills? The only way I managed to get them was by seeing you train. But even trying to mimic you, with those loose clothes you always wore, it was almost impossible to clearly see how you moved." he quickly added in an attempt to change the subject.

"And yet, you still managed to recreate them almost perfectly," Indris said, dropping his fighting stance for a sad smile.

"What do you mean? Was it not some kind of hidden test or something?"

"No... Truth to be told, the reason I didn't want to teach you until now is because I was hoping that your interests towards martial arts would fade with time..." he said, scratching the back of his head.

Ydriss simply stared at his father. Not knowing if he should be happy to hear the praise or angry that his dad didn't want him to pursue this path.

"Look... Now I know that this is the path that you want to pursue, I will not try to stop you. Those were never my intentions, I'm even training you, aren't I?"

"But... you're saying that you won't let me go in the army, right. You, more than anyone, should know that this is the best way to—"

"I know, I know, Ydriss. Don't get me wrong, I've never said that I won't let you go... If you truly want to follow the martial arts path, I agree. The army really is the best way to quickly gain experience. But, it's also 8 years of your life that you need to sign away... That's not something to consider lightly. Know that you're not forced to keep going that route, at least not for now. You still have four years to make that choice."

"Oh... Good then... So yesterday's training was the test!"— His eyes widening —"Does that mean that, since I passed, you will stop acting like you're trying to scare me off?" He added, hopeful.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I wasn't lying earlier when I said that training isn't something I take lightly. And even if I said that I won't stop you from joining the army, that doesn't mean that I will let you go no matter what. If you really want to go, the training you will go through for the next 4 years will be unavoidable."

Ydriss frowned, "But... the three first years of service aren't supposed to be training? I mean, I'm not against you training me at all. I'm glad you will, but I was thinking of it more as having a lead over the others. I didn't know that you needed to be trained before joining?"

"You don't. But the army doesn't care about anything else but strength. If you come in weak, they will do the strict minimum to train you. Only the already strong are truly trained to become stronger. But even then, the fighting styles they teach aren't even that good in a real fight."

"What do you mean, in a real fight? They don't make you fight for real?"

"Well... they only teach you how to fight honorably... I've nothing against that philosophy, but you need to understand that outside of controlled events, honor will only drag you down..." Indris said, seeming to recall past events.

Ydriss wasn't sure if he was agreeing with his father on that part. In the stories he read, honor was the heart of a true warrior. Without it, what would make them different from their foes? The more he thought about it, the less his father's words made sense to him. His thoughts were cut off when he saw his father clenching his fist.

Seeing that now wasn't a good time to argue with him, Ydriss quickly added, "Then what are you going to teach me exactly?"

Indris shook his head, seeming to faze out of his thought and said, "If they are going to teach you how to fight honorably, then I will teach you how to come back alive. Now less talking and more punching!"

Indris took a fighting stance and waved for Ydriss to come at him. Not a hint of the earlier anger in his eyes.

Ydriss, a little confused about his father’s words, held up his fist and ran straight to Indris. Noticing that his father didn't begin to move out the way, he decided to throw a testing jab. The next thing he felt was pain on his back. Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was the ceiling.

"Lesson number one, never blink when you throw or receive a blow. You need to see where you strike and what your opponent is doing to counter it."

"But dad, th—"

Indris gave him an intimidating glance.

"But Sir, that's impossible, my eyes close by themselves when I strike," said Ydriss while standing up.

"Well, you will need to work on that. Mastering this skill alone will probably put you above average in the first year of military training. Not easy by any means at first, but a skill that any soldier should have."

Learning that he could become above average just by keeping his eyes open, Ydriss decided to start practicing right away.

"What are you doing?" Indris asked with a weird expression.

"I'm practicing on the skill. You said that I need to stop blinking so I'm starting to practice right away," answered Ydriss proudly, his eyes wide open.

The weird expression on Indris' face shifted to an almost unnoticeable chuckle. "Then let's see how long you'll last."

After two minutes and a handful of facial expressions, Ydriss wasn't able to keep his eyes open anymore. With his eyes now completely dry, Ydriss couldn't stop himself from rapidly blinking to stop the pain.

"And that's why I said that this is a skill, not a capacity. No one's able to stop blinking entirely, so you need to learn when it's safe to do so. Forget to blink in a fight and you'll be half-blinded for a while, as you're experiencing right now," said Indris, dead serious once again.

Noticing his father taking his fighting stance once again, Ydriss held up his fist and ran straight to his father. Wanting to take him off-guard, Ydriss decided to use the increased range of a turning kick. Confident in his choice, he focused himself to not blink. Then, he saw it. His father, unfazed by the incoming threat, calmly sidestepped the kick and redirected the blow, making him lose his balance in the process. His father didn't even strike him once, yet for the second time, Ydriss was the one looking at the ceiling.

"Lesson number two, you need to stay on your feet at all times. I shouldn't be able to make you fall this easily."

Standing up, Ydriss nodded and said, "How can I do that?"

"By taking a fighting stance. Simply running toward me is probably the worst thing you can do. The transition between running and striking is not only slow, but it makes you predictable. What's more, it leaves your vital points completely open."

Ydriss gulped then nodded.

Indris chuckled, "Good, now there exists a wide variety of fighting stances. Each has its strong and weak points. I will teach you the one that I use."

"First, which foot is your lead foot." His father asked, walking toward Ydriss.

Frowning, Ydriss said, "What do you mean by lead foot?"

"Oh right, the lead foot is the one with which you’re the most comfortable with. The one you are able to strike harder and more precisely."

Tilting his head on the side, Ydriss said "What do you mean? I didn't notice any difference between them."

Indris, now just in front of his son, said, "Maybe you’re not experienced enough to know yet, don't worry. Which hand do you write with?"

"You taught me how to write with my right hand. So usually with my right hand, why?"

"What do you mean ‘usually’?"

"When my right hand is tired, I just switch. Why are you talking about writing? how does that have anything to do with my lead foot?" Ydriss said, even more confused.

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his father furrowed his brows.

Seeing his father’s weird expression, Ydriss asked, "What? Am I not supposed to switch hands when I'm tired?"

"I see..." Indris finally said after a while, "It seems that you are one of them." He added, seeming thoughtful.

"Is it bad! Am I in trouble? I won't do it again, I promise." Ydriss quickly said.

"Oh, no, sorry. I was just surprised. It is an incredible gift that you got there. One that any warrior would kill for actually." His father answered, a small grin creeping in.

"Wait, people are not usually able to write with both hands? Even you can't do it?"

"Yes and no. People can learn it, but it takes an absurd amount of training. Even then, most people will still be more comfortable with their main hand. But for you, it seems that you aren’t going to need this training at all. To answer your question, yes I'm able to write with both hands, but for me it's..." He paused, seeming to reconsider, "...different. Anyway, choose one leg and--"

"How is it different for you?" Ydriss interjected.

"Not important, now choose a le--"

"You can't just say that and not explain why. It is not fair," Ydriss interjected, again.

Giving Ydriss a knowing look, he said "Yes, I will and now, choose a leg."

Ticked off, Ydriss reluctantly pointed at his left leg.

Ignoring Ydriss' visible irritation, Indris said " First, move your right foot backward, toes pointing slightly sideways. That way, your torso is never directly facing your opponent, protecting most of your vital points." —Gently kicking Ydriss' feet in the right spots, Indris added —"My style relies heavily on mobility and fast reaction time, so keep your feet closer and don't bend your knees too much. For now, keep your weight equally divided between your legs and keep both your hands relaxed near your chin."

Tapping Ydriss on the shoulder, his father said "And that is the fighting stance you will learn for the next four years. Depending on the situation the stance will slightly change, but as I said the main purpose of this stance is to prioritize quick movements over brute power."

Like his father knew that Ydriss wanted to argue. His father quickly added "No more talking and more training. Try to familiarise yourself with the stance while trying to land a blow on me. And remember; eyes open and better balance."

On that note, Indris created some distance between them and took his fighting stance. The exact one he showed Ydriss.

Keeping his eyes open while striking proved to be a lot easier than he’d thought. Keeping the fighting stance, on the other hand, was hard. Ydriss started to try to mimic his father about three years ago. While his kick and punch were pretty good, doing them while keeping the stance, showed him the bad habits that he had taken over time. Now, he needed to unlearn those bad habits while trying to fight his father at the same time. But as he was struggling to stand up for the thirtieth time he had enough.

"Aren't we supposed to be sparring? All you've been doing is to dodge my attack and make me fall."

"I never said that we were going to spar. I said that I was going to show you how to defend yourself."

His father, seeing the look on Ydriss' face, chuckled and said, "What were you expecting, Ydriss? For us to exchange blows?"

"But, that's what a warrior is supposed to do," Ydriss said, crossing his arms.

his father sighed, "Ydriss, for the hundredth time..." He then shook his head, "Nevermind, I think we should end our training early for today. We have a long day ahead of us. Tomorrow, I don't want to hear any complaints on the way we train or there will be consequences."

As Ydriss was about to protest, his father shot him an intimidating look. Surprised by the unexpected turn on the conversation, Ydriss shyly nodded.

"Good. Now get ready, because today is the Great Wash. So if you don’t want to spend the whole night washing your clothes like last time, I recommend you start right away."

***

Doing his task of the day with a sore body proved to be a lot harder than he thought. Today was the dreadful Washing Day. Ydriss never understood why his father wanted them to do it once every two weeks. Ydriss knew some people who only did it only once a month, life was truly unfair sometimes.

Two weeks ago was the first time his dad made him wash his own clothing. He spends the whole day and most of the night on it, while his dad only needed 5 or 6 hours. It was the most difficult and disgusting thing he ever did. He always wondered why his dad was keeping urine bottles outside, but now he understood and it was sickening. The odor was unbearable. Coughing heavily, Ydriss started to work the dirt out of his cloth.

After finishing the washing part of the process, Ydriss went to lay his clothes on the drying line outside. Seeing that the sun was almost set, Ydriss grunted. He ended up wasting the entire day, again... He did take a few breaks to eat, but honestly, spending the whole day with his hands in old urine wasn't a great appetite opener. Remembering that his father wanted to see him, Ydriss quickly spread his clothes on the drying line.

Stepping inside, he saw his father sitting cross-legged in his usual spot; the middle of the living room, in front of the fire.

"Why do you stare at the fire every night?" Ydriss asked.

Almost jumping at the sound, Indris answered "Oh, hi Ydriss. I take it that you've finished your task?"

Ydriss nodded.

"Good, I wanted to show you just that, actually," Indris said with a fatherly smile, "Come sit next to me, I will explain," he added, gesturing at him to come.

Ydriss nodded once again and sat cross-legged the same way as his father.

"To answer your question, no I'm not staring at the fire, it is simply that I find myself a lot more at ease while meditating in front of one."

Ydriss furrowed his brows "Meditating? What is that? What does that do?"

Indris chuckled "Well, It's not a very popular practice, but I found it really helpful. I found that it helped me focus during everyday life and allow me to react better in unexpected situations."

Hearing the last part, Ydriss' eyes lit up. "Does it really help you stay calm in even life-threatening situations?"

"It isn't foolproof, but yes, in a sense that helped me a lot in those situations."

Remembering yesterday's incident, Ydriss eyed the fire curiously, "How do I meditate? Do I need to stare really hard at the fire?"

"No, as I said this has nothing to do with the fire, Ydriss." Indris chuckled. "It's just as I said, I feel more at ease meditating around a fire. Maybe it's because I always used to meditate in front of our campfire back in the days," He added, pinching his chin.

"Now, to meditate you simply need to sit, close your eyes and empty your mind," he said, gesturing to Ydriss to follow his instruction.

Closing his eyes, Ydriss tried to do just as he was asked, emptying his mind. But, just as he was about to start, he stopped.

"How do you empty your mind? What does that even mean?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"Oh, right. You can think of it as trying to think about nothing, every time a new thought pops into your head just dismiss it, let it go away. I found that it is a lot easier for me when I'm focusing inward. I focus on my breathing and I try to forget about everything else."

"Ok, I'll try"

Closing his eyes once again, Ydriss took a few deep breaths.

Think about nothing.

Empty your mind.

...

I'm going to become the greatest warrior—

...

I wonder if dad met one of those legendary warriors?

What if he was—

...

I hope dad will—

I hate washing d—

why is it so hard? Right, I need to focus inward.

Taking deep breaths, Ydriss concentrated on his dad's word. "Empty your mind"

...

He—

I wonder—

I'm going to be the biggest sta—

Stop!

...

My whole body hurt so—

I said stop!

I'm—

He—

I wonder if dragon—

Clenching his fist, Ydriss opened his eyes only to see his father trying to hide his chuckle. Unable to keep it in, Indris bustled out loud.

"I knew it! I knew that you were messing with me," Ydriss said, crossing his arm unhappily.

After regaining his composure Indris said, "no, Ydriss, I wasn't messing with you. I truly meditate every day and it is truly beneficial for me."

"If you are not messing with me, why are you laughing," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"You should have seen your face. You really are like your mother, she had the exact same facial expression when she tried it for the first time."

"Really? This could really help me?" Ydriss said, his smile slowly returning.

"Well, for me it does, but your mother, for example, said that was a waste of time for her. Just to be clear, I'm not going to force you to meditate, if you don’t find it helpful, you can stop anytime."

Nodding in understanding, Ydriss said "I want to do it, but how do I stop my thoughts. The more I try to think about nothing, the harder it becomes."

"Focus your mind entirely on breathing, every time your mind wanders to something else, simply return your attention to your breath, those were the words of the sage who taught me this practice. For him and pretty much everybody else, this seems to be the best way to do it. For me, I found that when I focus my mind on a specific area below my navel, meditation becomes a lot easier. I don't know anybody else who does it like me, but who knows maybe it will work for you. Other than that, practice is the only way to get better so, good luck!"

On that note, his dad closed his eyes and started his meditating session. Ydriss, understanding that his father was done talking, closed his eyes and decided to try his father's method.

Unsurprisingly, after a short while searching for that spot below the navel, he found nothing. He spent the next few minutes searching if there was another spot in his body that felt easier to focus on. Unfortunately, he found none. He reluctantly returned to the previous advice. Focus on his breathing and keep his mind from wandering. That's how he spent the next hour sitting across his father, meditating, or trying to do so. Keeping his mind from wandering was far from easy.

Hearing something move close to him, he opened his eyes to find his father standing up.

"You should go to sleep. Tomorrow’s training will start early, but unlike today, the training will not be interrupted by anything, so you need to be well-rested."

Nodding, Ydriss stood up. On his way to bed, he felt a small headache. Maybe he concentrated too hard and for too long during the meditating session.

Laying on his bed Indris was feeling very happy about his day. Although he spent most of it washing his clothes, he was glad that his father chose to acknowledge his desire to follow the martial arts path. He was also cheerful about the fact that, even though his father said that he was going to be harsh on him during training, he didn't yell at him even once today and was a lot more like himself during training today. His father even taught him how to meditate. Today has truly been a great day, he thought to himself.