It is with great delight that I can finally say I Abbàn of the clan GrünerSturm am now starting my fifth winters. The reason for my jubilant mood is Mother cannot deny my request to teach me how to use the weapon she trains with every day any longer. She has rebuffed my earlier attempts at learning how to wield the massive two-handed Blade Staff, telling me that the earliest she would consider teaching me was the beginning of my fifth winter. Giddy I rushed from my room, through the halls of our home towards the inner courtyard that Mother uses for her daily practice.

As soon as I entered the yard, I noticed something new. On the weapon rack, there were now two of the staffs instead of just mothers with one being shorter by a fair amount in comparison to the other seeing as one of them didn't have the distinctive blades that signified which one was Mother's. My Mother was standing hands on her hips smiling at my lighting fast pace towards her. Sighing she looks at me and begins to speak "I am going to assume that you want to learn how to wield a Blade Staff." Giggling to myself as I could barely contain my excitement I shouted "Yes please!" my mother was kind enough not to laugh at me to my face, but that didn't stop her from being very serious even while contain her mirth at my excitement. "If your going to learn to wield a Blade Staff Little Star there are Two things I require from you. First is you are going to learn the Elven language no matter how difficult it is, Second if you start on this path there is no turning back, you will continue until you have reached an acceptable mastery and hopefully you will not stop there." Mother was very solemn as she said this to me.

Trying to hide my loathing of the requirement to learn how to speak Elvish, and failing spectacularly. Reluctantly I Promised my Mother that I would follow her conditions. Mothers solemn countenance changed as soon as I gave my affirmation to her conditions stating "Good now that that is out of the way its time for me to explain how your training schedule is going to work. Currently, you are not strong enough to wield any Blade Staff even the one I have had modified to teach you. So to remedy that we are going to train your body with weights running and the stances and forms of the Open Palm. Until I deem you strong enough to wield a Blade Staff without immediate injury."

You would think that one's Mother would not put you at death's door. You would be incorrect in that assumption my Mother set to disprove the notion that a parent would not inflict physical harm on their children, with a vengeance. The weights she described were the 5kg arm and leg guards that covered my shins and forearms; she tossed at me "You will wear these at all times during the physical portion of your training" she informed me with an unnerving smile plastered on her face. The running I was expected to complete was a minimum of 10km; the worst, of the physical portion, however, was learning the stances for the Open Palm. There are ten base Stances which described every neutral position that could appear while using the Martial art of the Open Palm. The Stances were not named but numbered the first being with feet side by side and slightly past shoulder width apart. They continued in this vein dictating where your feet where to be after the completion of a strike or movement. The reason training the Stances was the most physically demanding out of Mother's strength training was that these stances forced you into positions that caused muscles not frequently used to be the ones to hold all of your bodies weight. I was then expected to be able to keep each of the Stances for a minimum of an hour without moving or losing the position I was supposed to hold my entire body with each stance being strenuous in its unique and hellish way.

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The first day which started with Mother's conditions and subsequent explanation was hard; Mother forced me to run through a series of exercises until I failed to complete them correctly or any more of them. She started with Push-ups went to chances then lunges, squats, and more than I can name. At the end of the physical training session, was when the Language instruction of my day started learning the alphabets of Common, Elvish, and the local language of the Humans who lived nearby. Once I had finished the 6 hours dedicated to that, I was exhausted in both body and mind, but I was trembling. My excitement such that it had passed my ability to contain it; I was finally on my way to being able to do what I had spied my mother doing a year ago and what was the start of my desire to learn.

It was almost 16 months ago that I woke up early and went looking for Mother so she could feed me. I went towards the inner yard to the other side of our home hoping to catch Mother still in bed; I could surprise her which would be a first as I usually am awoken by Mother. I sneakily opened the sliding door to the yard and peaked in. What I saw took my breath away, it was Mother Standing at her full height of six feet her back to me with her hair the dark brown of rust cascading down her back. Spinning a staff of at least ten feet, with both ends capped with blades of equal length. The wind seemed to follow her every move, and move she did flowing through the courtyard battling invisible opponents the wind cheering her on with its howls of encouragement. It was breathtaking I felt my heart start to pound I stood entranced I could feel my blood begin to boil I decided my goal in life. I would learn to wield Mothers weapon, and I would dance with the wind as she did. I remember catching her cerulean eyes with mine as she turned around about to continue her movements. It was then that I saw my mothers hair, not as the brown of rust but the darkened color of blood on snow as her hair fluttered around her face with her skin white as snow, buffeted by the wind.