Sig looked almost disappointed when I showed no reaction to his presence.

“You don’t seem shocked to see me. I was hoping for a little more dramatic of a reaction. You could have at least pretended to be surprised.” Sig said, crossing his arms with a frown.

“It was not exactly hard to predict, now was it? You are an older Mage, clearly skilled in martial combat, and have frequently emphasized the necessity and usefulness of knowing how to handle yourself in a fight. In truth, it was a bit obvious all things considered, though I am a little surprised you are a Master since you seem never to use magic yourself.” I said, folding my arms myself and allowing a bit of a smile to slip onto my face.

Laughing, Sig shook his head a little. “Fair enough, but you missed a few things. I’m a professor, but not a Master. I always lacked the raw power, and a narrow escape up north gave me a wakeup call and a new appreciation for martial skills. It took me years to convince the higher-ups to see things my way, and even then, it took calling in some serious favors to get this class arranged. Oh, but fair warning, call me Professor Sigmund, and I’ll still throw you out on your ass.”

I felt my smile grow wider, before turning my attention to the girl and examining her more closely. She was my age, tall and leanly built with dark hair and lightly tanned skin. Something about her seemed familiar, which I assumed meant I had seen her around the Academy or possibly earlier today in one of my classes. She glanced at me with deep brown eyes and gave a small grin before turning back to Sig.

“I don’t have any boring, complicated explanations for this class like most teachers. It’s called “Martial Combat” only because “Ass-Kicking 101” got turned down as being too vulgar for their delicate sensibilities, though I think it is more accurate. I’m going to teach you both how to handle yourself when your channels are screaming, your core has run dry, and you are too panicked to form a spell. And trust me when I say that what I can teach you will someday be the difference between life and death. No time like the present to start, so the two of you start warming up.”

The girl began stretching, and after a moment of hesitation, I followed suit.

“I’ve never been a big fan of long-winded introductions, so I’ll make it fast. Vayne, this is Amelia, an old friend that I’ll be teaching this semester. She’s nice enough, if a bit of a terror with a weapon in her hands. Amelia, this is Vayne. He’s a hard worker but a bit snobby and full of himself, so feel free to knock a bit of sense into him when we get to sparring.” Sig said, flashing me a smile at the end.

Turning around, Sig leaned down and picked up two sticks around six feet long and made of a dark wood.

“The stuffy nobles would start training their kids with longswords or rapiers, but that’s for people expecting to fight in formal duels, not pitched combat on a battlefield. Instead, I’m going to start the two of you on the oldest and most simple weapon in human history, the spear. Obviously, I can’t give you two sharp sticks with metal tips and tell you to start swinging them around, or you’d probably lose an eye. Because of that, these staves will be a good substitute for now.” he said as he tossed one to each of us. Amelia casually caught her staff and twirled it in her hands with a graceful flourish.

I closed my hand a second early and felt the hardwood knock against my knuckles painfully, leaving a bruise before smacking against the top of my foot and causing a matching injury. Scrambling to pick up the staff, I felt its smooth finish fit easily into my grip though I had never held a weapon in my life before now.

“Off to a great start Vayne. As I was saying, a spear is a better choice nine times out of ten over anything else when you come face to face with someone ready to gut you. It’s simple to make, easy to handle, has good range, and is just as effective as any other weapon if you learn it right. We will split every one of our classes into two halves, one for drills and the other sparring. So, both of you face me and take up the starting stance.” Sig said, taking a few steps back and crossing his arms with a cold look appearing in his eyes. 

I looked over at Amelia, who spread her legs evenly while holding the staff comfortably with both hands and attempted to mimic her. Sig picked up his staff and took up a matching stance, albeit instantly and with ease. 

“You want to try and keep your weight balanced, with both feet spread a good distance apart. A little further Vayne, that’s better. Alright, now grip the shaft with your dominant hand leading and the point facing right where your opponent’s face would be. The spearpoint is what will keep you alive, so make sure whoever is trying to kill you stays on the other end. If they get past it, you’re already in a dangerous spot. Now then, let’s go over the basic strikes and blocks of a spear.”

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We spent the next half hour mimicking Sig’s movements, with limited success in my case. My weapon was well-balanced but felt heavy and unfamiliar to my still weak muscles. After he seemed satisfied at our progress, Sig called a halt and led us over to one of several circular patches of bare dirt, with a painted white circle. Standing a dozen feet away, he folded his arms behind his back with a focused look in his eyes.

“Drills are all well and good, but the best way to learn is by getting hands-on practice. Both of you stand facing each other and get into your ready stance. You both need some combat experience, and sparring with each other should help with that. First clean strike wins. Begin!”

Before I could register his last few words, Amelia took a quick half-step forward and thrust the point of her staff hard into my chest. Immediate pain shot through my torso, and I was unable to breathe, falling to one knee and clutching my stomach. It took me around half a minute before I finally was able to take a shaky inhale of air.

As I rubbed my stomach, I heard a gentle cough and looked up to find Amelia holding one hand out to me with a barely concealed grin. I gripped her hand, and she pulled me smoothly back onto my feet before returning to her stance a few steps away.

“Nice job Amelia, that‘s what we call getting the wind knocked out of you. First important tip Vayne, mind the distance to your opponent and, more importantly, the reach of their weapons. Learn to keep out of their range, or you’ll end up with a spear in the gut every time. Again!”

This time I lunged forward clumsily in an attempt to preempt Amelia, but tripped over my own feet and stumbled. While I attempted to regain my balance, Amelia stepped to one side and swept her staff along the ground, taking my feet out from under me. I slammed into the grass and felt the wind drive from my lungs again.

“Not a bad idea, but a surprise attack only works if you can keep proper footwork. You took too long of a step and unbalanced yourself, which left you open to a counterattack. Another important tip, mistakes get you killed, and the bigger the mistake, the more likely you are to die. Again!”

I straightened up again and stared at Amelia with my makeshift spear leveled at her. She gave me a wink, and I blinked in surprise at the unexpected gesture. Then, she stepped forward and thrust her staff at my face as my mind sluggishly tried to comprehend the motion. I swung my weapon up in a haphazard attempt to block her strike, only to hit air and realize it was a feint as I felt a stinging pain in the side of my ribs.

“Excellent, Amelia! A much better example of how to pull off a surprise attack, though I would suggest aiming a bit lower on your haft strike. A hit to the liver is much more debilitating. Vayne, you focused too much on one spot and didn’t consider that it could have been a trick. Again!”

The remaining half-hour passed agonizingly slowly, and by the end of the class, I found myself covered in dozens of bruises, out of breath, and considering abandoning my plans to leave the Esttons. I never had to deal with this sort of thing when I was studying how to take advantage of market swings. The closest I came to hitting Amelia during our sparring was one particular round where I had slipped, and my flailing staff missed her knee by a few inches. Sig chuckled as he reached down and retrieved my quarterstaff, which Amelia knocked from my hands during her last victory.

“Well, that was fun to watch if nothing else. Practice makes perfect, so we’ll pick this up again next class. But Vayne, I’ll still be expecting you here tomorrow morning for our usual workout. We have a lot of work to do, getting you up to snuff. Any questions before we call it for the day?” Sig asked, with his hands on his hips.

Amelia shook her head, but I was a bit curious about something.

“Will we be learning more than just a spear? I understand why you picked that first, but I would be lying if I said I was not interested in learning how to use a sword.” I admitted, thinking back to the stories of brave knights.

Snorting, Sig shook his head at me. “Swords are useful mainly as status symbols, but yes, I will be teaching you the basics of handling them as well. Our first few weeks will focus on the spear, but I want to give you both the basics of most common weapons, including swords, axes, and bows. You’d never hold a candle to a trained knight, but it will be better than most rank and file soldiers. And if you kept up that training until you graduated, you’d be shocked at your improvement.”

I scowled a little at his words. I was a perfectionist at heart, and hearing I would fall short at any skill did not sit well with me. When I did not reply, Sig nodded and gave us both a smile. “Get some rest, you two, and make sure to grab a hearty dinner. I’ll see you in the morning Vayne.”

With that, Sig walked away, carrying the staves in his hands and whistling as he went. Amelia and I sat in silence for a few seconds until she broke the tension.

“You’re not very good at this, you know,” Amelia said with a smirk as she looked at me. I scowled, my pride bruised, and stood up with a pained grunt.

“Thanks for the observation. I thought I was a natural warrior. Honestly, I should have gone to be a knight instead of a mage.” I replied sarcastically, shooting a bit of a glare her way. I usually kept myself withdrawn, but the bruises covering my body left me feeling bold.

She frowned herself and crossed her arms. “I was just kidding. There’s really no reason to be so cranky. It was just sparring. You don’t need to get so defensive.”

I gritted my teeth and stared at her silently. After a few seconds, she huffed loudly and turned to leave. As she walked away, I sighed a bit but did not call after her. She had a point, and it was not her fault I was terrible at this sort of thing. 

I was proud, near to the point of arrogance, and I knew it hindered my success. If I wanted to improve, as both a mage and fighter, I needed to learn to let go of my ego. Otherwise, I would keep losing to Amelia. And there was one step I could take right now to fix that.