Chapter 1 -The Beginning

Just outside Brighton City in the Country of Freide

The sun started to peak over the horizon to usher in a new day. The rays painted the sky with shades of all different colors as the birds began to stir and chirp about. The spring air was crisp and damp with the morning dew which blanketed the grass and grains in the surrounding fields as the wind gently caressed the trees causing them to sway rhythmically. The town of Brighton stood proudly in the distance with plumes of white and grey smoke coming from various places within the city proving its activity early in the morning. Yet they were not the only ones who was up and working as the many fieldhands and farmers were busy with their morning chores in preparation of the final few days of the planting season.

In the middle of one of the many small farms there was the silhouettes of a pair of workers who were finishing up their last row of corn seeds for the season. One of the silhouettes stood up and was illuminated by the sun which let his sweat-laced blonde hair glisten as he wiped his dirt covered hand across his forehead leaving streaks of dirt across his sun kissed skin.

“Whew!” he exclaimed. “Alger I think that about does it for this morning. We can spend the rest of the Morning training and tending the animals” he said to the other silhouette with a vibrant smile.

The other silhouette who stood up was just about half the size of the blonde-haired man, though he looked very similar to him when it came to his skin and hair color. In a similar fashion his head had the same kind of dirt streak as the older man. His face had an excited expression showing his anticipation.

“You said it yourself father, you can’t take it back!” He said in a slightly immature voice and a chuckle, it was clear that his voice was only just starting to deepen. “You know I like training with the sword, if you trick me again, I won’t talk to you for a week”. Both laughed at the joke with the same gusto.

“We finished up the field early this year, there won’t be much left to do but tend to the field normally until harvest. Well, come to think of it we got the winter beets that you were personally tending in the other field. If they are decent, we can pick them and sell them in the market.”

“That would be awesome, I can’t wait to see what they look like. The one I pulled out last week looked big, maybe the rest will be the same!” Alger said excitedly.

Just then the door to house opened and a woman with long auburn hair walked out and shouted to the father and son pair. “Breakfast is ready you two. Clean your faces and come back in.” she said while wiping her hands with the sackcloth apron she wore. Father and son both ran up to the house and used a basin which was situated outside to collect rainwater and used a cloth that was nearby to wipe their faces before they entered the house to eat.

The inside of the house was intimate. There were three rooms to the house, one room for the parents and another room for Alger, last room was bigger than the other two rooms as it was the kitchen, dining room, and living area all in one. It was a simple house yet comfortable house for the family of three. At the table was a few plates set up with some eggs, bacon, and biscuits, hearty enough for a hardworking man and growing boy to eat. The family sat down at the table to eat and slowly chatted.

“Did you two finish up the planting? I saw you guys smiling and chatting without a care” he asked with a smile.

Alger was the first to reply. “Yes, its all finished up, and father promised to help with my training today!”

“Oh? Did you really promise him that, Henry?” She asked while turning to her husband with a smile that wasn’t really a smile. “You know that swords are dangerous, I know you used to be an Adventurer, but I think he is still too young to learn that kind of stuff.”

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“Ann, he is a natural at the sword and he is really excited about it. He is a hundred times better than me when I started learning. I think he won’t have a problem making money out of it.” The father Henry said.

“I don’t know how good I am, mother but I am having a lot of fun learning it. Please let me do it” Alger added while looking at his mother with pleading eyes. These eyes were his secret weapon as he knew that when he made this kind of look his mother always had a hard time saying no.

As expected, his mother began to hesitate as she looked into the eyes of her beloved only son who was making the eyes she didn’t like to see. She knew he was doing it on purpose, but he only did it when he really wanted something, which was rare for him. “Ok, fine then.” She said as she sighed in defeat.

“Thank you, Mom!” He exclaimed as he happily dug into his food.

“You can do it and I won’t say anything about this for now, but you must not slack in your chores, or I will beat the both of you” she said in a huff after seeing Alger’s excited face.

“Yes, mam!” They both said at the same time as they turned back to their food.

After breakfast Henry and Alger finished up their shores and put feed out for the chickens and cud for the Ox that they owned for plowing the field. After all tasks were complete, they both went into the house to get their wooden practice swords which were crafted to look like short swords, which was the only kind of sword Alger could handle right now. They then went outside to the front of the house where there was enough of a clearing to swing their wooden swords around.

“Let’s begin with practice swings.” Henry instructed. As he assumed a stand with both handles holding onto the handle of the sword while holding it in front of him with the point facing upwards. This was a basic practice stance that is intended as a neutral stance.

“Yes, sir!” Alger answered as he copied the stance while standing beside his father.

“On my count, we will swing at the same time. We will do this for all the stances, and I will show you ways to combine the moves following our warmup. Let’s do it!” Henry said with authority. After a grunt of acknowledgement from Alger, father, and son both counted out loud as they synched up their swing timing. This exercise went on for around 10 minutes as they fluidly swung their swords according to the stances that Henry taught Alger. After the warmup session they were already beginning to sweat.

After taking a water break, Henry motioned Alger to come over and stand in front of him. Alger was used to this silent motion of his father and after he came and set himself in front of his father henry began to speak.

“The meaning behind sword stances can be confusing to beginners, which is why most people who practice on their own end up forsaking the training of the basic stances. Here I will tell you the key to utilizing stances properly.” He said as he took a stance. He held the sword on his right side with the point facing upwards and the hilt was brought up level with his ear with his right hand above his left-hand on the handle. His left foot was forward while his right foot was planted diagonally behind.

“This stance is a basic stance for downward swings called the Execution Stance. When you use this stance, you are limited to these options when it comes to swinging the sword.” He then moved the sword as he readied another stance. This time his sword was on his left side, pointed towards the ground at a forward angle with the hilt level with his waist as his right foot was brought to the forward position with his left foot behind.

“This stance is called Boar’s Tooth Stance. The main options for this stance are upwards reverse swings.” He said explained. Alger nodded at his explanation as he was aware of the swing options due to the warmup swings he performed earlier.

Henry smiled as he continued with the explanation. “They key to stances doesn’t lie in how the stances are set up it lies in how you set up the different stances.” He said with a grin.

“I don’t get what that means father.” Alger said after a few seconds of pondering with a confused expression.

“It’s understandable that you don’t get it. I will show you instead.” He said as he broke his stance and set back up the first stance. “I will start here at this Execution Stance…” He said as he slowly stepped forward and swung the sword to follow through with a downward swing which traced a line across Alger’s chest starting at his shoulder and going down to his waist before the sword continued down until it reached the end of the swing. As he did this Alger watched carefully as his father swung the sword and while he was looking down at the feet of his father his eyes went wide as he realized what just happened.