"Hey guys it's the 3rd chapter and I'm starting to get thehang of it. Still a lot of improvements needed so please let me know the areas in which I can improve (:
Chapter 3
"Good, let's Begin”
Therol, whose back was originally facing Warrick turned around and threw the stone in his hand at his son.
Caught off guard Warrick struggled to raise his sword up in time as the stone hit his abdomen which in turn caused his head to drop. He grimaced in pain as he raised his eyes to look up, his gaze turned sharp as he saw his father ready to throw another stone. He raised his wooden swor to block. He was ready this time, yet the speed of this stone was faster than the last one and hit him in the same spot as he fell to the ground this time, the pain a bit too much to handle.
“Get up now!” Therol roared.
“Do you think on the bloodfield your enemy is going to let you sulk on the ground while patiently waiting for you to get up? The world is not that kind. People are not that kind. One mistake and you can lose your life or cause those around you to lose theirs”
Therol gave Warrick time to gather himself before getting another stone ready to throw it.
‘I can't be careless here, i need to activate Heasing in order to block these’
He lifted up his wooden sword and entered into a trance as Therol threw the stone.The speed at which he threw it seemed to slow down but it was still too fast for Warrick to block.
The result being the same as the previous two, he felt his abdomen swell up but this time paid no heed to it. His eyes were locked onto the man in front of him, at this moment he no longer considered him his father, but an enemy.
His focus reached an extreme as he eyes were glued to the man's hand waiting for his move, which came soon at that exact moment. He knew that to locate the stone itself was to difficult so instead, Warrick stared at the trajectory of the hand, as soon Therol released the stone was going to be the time to block.
‘Now!’
He lifted his wooden sword and swung it right in front of his stomach. That was the location the previous three stones had left their mark, yet this time the stone hit him square in the chest.The impact pushed him back 3 feet but wasn't enough to knock him down.
“Don't think predicting the trajectory will help you, there are forces in this world which defy gravity itself, you must see in order to block”
Gritting his teeth Warrick once again focused on the man in front of him
‘Calm down, calm down i have to focus’
The 5th stone was thrown by Therol, its speed slower than the ones before.
‘There i see it!’
Warrick saw the stone coming at him much slower than he expected, he lifted his sword and went to parry the stone but what he hit was nothing but air. The stone hit him square in the chest and sent back 5 feet causing him to lose his balance and fall down.
Warrick was utterly shocked and mumbled to himself.
“I..I clearly saw it, why is it that i didn't hit it?!”
The usually calm and collected young boy was losing his temper, bit by bit,as he couldn't wrap his head around what was currently occurring. Every time he felt like he was going to strike the stone it would suddenly hit him, it didn't make sense to him.
Therol saw this dilemma and instead of consoling him he took a complete different approach.
“If this has been the results of your training then don't ever think about leaving this valley, the performance you displayed here today was utterly pathetic, we will resume with this beating tomorrow as i don't dare to call it ‘training’ anymore.”
After speaking Therol disappeared from the spot as if he was never there.
Warrick remained motionless as he was on all fours staring at the ground with his eyes wide open. He had never suffered humiliation before today, it would have been fine if he didn't have the ability to block these stones, in that case he would have trained harder. But he did. He had the ability yet still couldn't. He wanted answers but didn't know where he could get them. For the most part he had a timid nature since birth but the anger swelling up within him was too much to contain.
He wanted to lash out at something, anything. He wanted to yell yet couldn't find the voice too. The words of his father replayed in his head over and over again, a peaceful life in the valley truly had took a effect on him which in turn formed his timid nature. Although the training was rigorous and living conditions sub-par, he had never been in danger before. He believed the world above would be a sight to behold but never had he dared believe it was filled with brutality.
The lesson today had opened his eyes, ‘the ruthless live free while the weak cower’ these words had been repeatedly recited to him by his father as were the words following, ‘yet if you have the power, the world will be in your hand’. The reason he had aimlessly trained so hard was to be ready when left this nest to see the unknown but at this moment he realized it was not enough.
His knowledge wasn't enough. His experience wouldn't be sufficient. The only thing which could make up for these factors was strength. This sudden revelation was a turning point in young Warricks life.The anger which dwelled within him subsided as he picked up his wooden sword and went to the nearest tree.
‘Thrust, slash, lunge, stab, draw….’
‘Thrust, slash, lunge, stab, draw….’
He repeated these moves throughout the remainder of the day until sundown. With sweat covering his body he made his way down to the river and took a quick bath. As he was exiting the river he noticed the wounds caused by the stone littered over his body. Although they would eventually heal they would leave a small scar behind.
“I could heal these wounds with some herbs in the forest” he started moving towards the forest until he suddenly stopped in his tracks, “No, let this be a reminder, a reminder of the embarrassment i suffered today”
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There was a slight breeze blowing through the valley. Warricks hair was seemingly dancing as the breeze passed by. He lay on the ground unable to move a finger. This was the 7th day yet he was beaten again, his chest a complete mess from all the wounds he suffered.
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“We are done with this training.” spoke Therol, “It is a complete waste of time”
Therol turned around and started walking away.
“Wait!” yelled Warrick as he slowly stood up, “Once again, just one more!”
These past seven days, his level of Heasing had increased tenfold yet that still wasn't enough to block these stones. He believed in order to achieve a higher level he needed to calm his heart yet, much to his discontent, it was absolutely useless. Warrick, a young boy creeping upon his 8th birth year could only take so much. His anger had reached a level he didn't seem possible and he needed to vent. He would put his all into the next attack.
Across the field, Therol, who was already leaving sensed the anger in Warrick's voice and thought to himself, ‘The time is right’.
He swept his hand across his chest where fresh blood was pouring out. That was one of the reasons he had turned to leave. He didn't want Warrick to firsthand see him on his very last legs. The amount of strength required to throw those stones at a fast speed was no simple task, especially with the kind of injury he bore. He put some effort into sealing the wound again, most likely for the last time. He turned around and faced his son.
“You don't have the ability to block these stones, stay down”
“I said one more!” Warrick took deep breathes and steadied his stance. His face flushed red due to his anger.
Therol chucked the stone again at a speed exceeding those he had thrown before.
‘Concentrate.Focus.’
The stone was getting closer but Warricks sword was still at his side. As the stone was a foot away Warrick lifted his sword slightly with no intention of blocking just yet.
“Heasing!”
The stone's speed appeared to slow down more than he imagined possible and that was when he noticed something odd.
‘The stone curves!’
When the stone was a foot away from him it curved off of its previous trajectory. “How is that possible” thought Warrick. Without wasting time he swung his sword as quickly as possible to intercept the stone and he heard a loud thud noise. A noise that he had been dieing to hear.
“Why isn't this stopping?”
The stone which he thought had just been parried was still pushing against his sword. He dug his feet into the ground as the force of the stone was increasing steadily.
“This power was handed down to us by our forefather. It is a sacred.” spoke Therol, “Yet it is a shame its true power will die with me, in your hand it is worthless. You treat this as a game, a child such as you is unworthy of such a sacred power”. Therol increased the pressure of the stone.
These words stabbed deep into Warricks heart. He put his left hand on top of the wooden sword while his right was still firmly on the grip as he attempted to push back.
“My whole family died to protect this power. Your whole family died so that you could live. Your
Uncles and Aunts died and so did their children, you cousins. They all died to save you. They
had a hope that you could avenge them. They thought that you would have the power. They thought wrong”.
What his father had just said caused his mind to go blank. This was the first time his father had spoken of their family. Yet they were dead, they were all dead and they died protecting him.
“Their hopes and dreams rest on your shoulders but all of that is in vain now”
“S..Stop!”
“Your mother, Mizra, died to protect you. How will you avenge her?!”
“Please...stop”
This sudden information was too much for Warrick to process as he felt his mind go numb. His whole life he wanted to go to the world above, the main reason being,to search for his mother.
But she was dead. He felt tears streaming out of his eyes as he was getting pushed back. His grip on the sword gradually weakening.
“Look at me!!” roared Therol.
Warrick made a weak effort to lift his head.
“Let out the anger inside you. Think of the people that caused our family to perish and let the anger out. Think of the pain and frustration inside you, produced over the past week. And let it all out.”
Therols words fell upon empty ears. Warrick couldn't hear anything at this point. All his concentration was on the stone. The pressure pushing on his sword ceased. He dropped his sword to the side. The stone was now levitating in the air, struggling as two different forces were pushing upon it from opposite sides. He took half a step forward, pointed both hands at the stone and yelled at the top of his lungs.
“Move!”
The stone that was at a standstill till now, disintegrated into nothingness as the opposing forces were too great. Warrick had let out everything welled up within him, including all of his energy.
He had one thought in his mind as he began to lose consciousnesses.
“Mother..”
On the other side of the field Therol wasn't in any better shape then Warrick was. The backlash he suffered from the last attack was above his expectations. He had never expected his son contained such power within him. He saw a glimmer of hope. No, more than a glimmer. He saw a shining light.
The reason he had pushed his son so harshly over this past week was to get him to this point. He was in pain while doing this but it was his only choice. It was necessary. The only way to comprehend the second stage in such a short time and at such a young age, was to reach a mental breaking point. A point which Warrick had just reached.
With blood flowing out of his mouth, he walked over to where Warrick lay.
“You did well son, you did well”, said Therol as he gently caressed his hair. He picked him up and walked to the wooden houses where he put him down on his bed.
After treating Warricks injuries Therol took off his ring and put it on Warricks finger.
“My enemies will soon come looking for me. I can't allow them to find you, my son.”
Therol took out a piece of parchment and wrote down some instructions on the. He took one last look at his son then disappeared from sight.