It was the hottest day of summer in the Valen. Hot air blew across the meadows and flower fields, the many cities and towns that called the Valen home were practical furnaces being constantly scorched by the radiance of the sun. Many farmers, and outdoor laborers such as blacksmiths and woodworkers took the day off. The Citadel however, which sat in the Blackwood forest of the Valen did not take a day off. Both Wardens and Initiates worked tirelessly regardless of how hot and unbearable it was.
During these uniquely hot days, initiates were taken to the outer walls of the Citadel’s keep and into the surrounding Blackwood forest. In the forest, the trees provided much needed shade to continue training, since the usual mustering field was flat and completely lacking shade of any kind. It was Khalia who made the ultimate decision to train for the next couple days in the Blackwoods, hoping to get out of the heat and wait for the mustering fields to cool down.
However, being outside of the walls was dangerous. The Blackwood was host to many bandits, rogues, and highwaymen, looking to escape the King's prosecution. So Scar decided to come along just to help Khalia keep an eye on things.
Khalia stood with Scar under the shade of an oak tree with arms crossed. She never wore her armor, and instead enjoyed training in casual wear. However, today was different, since she was outside of the wall. Khalia was dressed head to toe in the formal armor of the Warden. Her armor was similar to that of Scar’s with the steel pauldrons, cuirass, gauntlet, and even the blue cape. The only difference was that her armor lacked the intrigue dragon design that Scar had on his.
Standing patiently in front of Khalia and Scar was a formation of initiates standing in three rows, exactly like they would at the mustering field. It was the beginning of the day and the start of training with everyone fresh and ready and with bellies full of breakfast.
“Good morning to you all,” Scar shouted.
“Good morning, Ser!” yelled the initiates.
“Before you can wield a sword, you must prove to me that you are capable without a sword. A Warden does not rely on only their weapon but their bodies,” Scar stated, running his eyes over the initiates in formation. “We will mold your bodies into weapons first.”
Khalia unfolded her arms and stepped forward, her eyes scanning the formation until her brown eyes set on Jacob Crofen; the boy from Summerview.
“Jacob, step forward and stand next to me,” Khalia ordered.
Shocked that he was picked, Jacob looked to his teammates standing next to him in the formation, but all they responded with was the shrug of their shoulders. Jacob felt uneasy in the pit of his stomach, in truth Khalia terrified him. “Of course Lady Khalia…” he uttered.
Jacob walked to the front of the formation and stood idly on the soft leafy grass next to Khalia. Jacob stood a foot taller than Khalia, but lacked the confident posture of a warrior making Khalia almost seem as tall as him.
“Alright Jacob, I want you to attack me,” Khalia said plainly.
“Uh…attack you?” Jacob reiterated.
“Yes, throw everything you got at me. Punches, kicks, bites, whatever it takes for you to get me on the ground,” Khalia explained.
“And you’re not gonna get mad at me if I punch you? Whatsoever..?” Jacob asked, looking over at Scar who silently stood by the oak tree.
“I will not get mad,” Khalia assured.
Jacob looked over to the initiates that watched eagerly. Although they were quiet, they secretly wanted to cheer Jacob on and give him a little confidence boost, he was one of theirs after all. After a momentary hesitation, Jacob tried to get as angry as he possibly could. He thought of things that would get him pissed, he thought of that time Khalia made him carry two sacks of potatoes up and down the tower stairs of the Citadel for sneaking a potato in his room as a late night snack.
Jacob balled his hands into fists and took the first step forward, he wasn’t stupid, he was still cautious. A deafening silence swept through the trees all around them as everyone held their breath for the first move. Suddenly, Jacob shoots forward to quickly close the gap between him and Khalia. No one expected such speed from Jacob Crofen, his arm twisted backwards and flung forward like a whip aiming a fist right for Khalia’s jaw. It was clear he wasn’t going to hold back, and that was exactly what Khalia expected of her students.
Khalia maneuvered away from the punch like it was nothing, pulling her upper body to the side. In one swift movement, Khalia grabbed at Jacob’s inner forearm and twisted it clockwise, contorting his entire body to move along with the twisting joint. Khalia then planted the palm of her hand on Jacob’s face and pushed him down to the ground with a bit of force. The fight was over in two moves.
“Ouuuuhh…” Jacob groaned on the ground, holding his arm.
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Khalia knew he was fine. That move was designed to snap the arm of an assailant but with the careful technique of a master, it was easy to just subdue an attacker without the unnecessary breaking of joints. “You’ll be fine Jacob,” she assured.
Khalia turns her attention to the initiates and folds her arms once more, “there are hundreds of different ways to takedown an opponent. We will be practicing all of them until one of you is able to take me down. We will not stop until you do so. With that being said, does anyone else want to try their luck?” Khalia asked plainly.
Scar let out a bellowing laughter from behind the steel of his helmet, “this’ll be fun to watch.”
Khalia’s challenge for any more volunteers was met with complete and utter silence. “Alright then, you will turn to the person next to you and train, until I say stop. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Lady Khalia!” shouted every initiate in formation.
“Good. Your training starts now.”
Each initiate turned to face the man or woman standing beside them. Most decided to turn towards their teammates, knowing their weaknesses, while others got the short end of the stick and ended up with somebody much bigger than themselves. Akaro was one such person, turning to face Arneth who was arguably one of the strongest initiates in the formation. Arneth glared down at Akaro and formed a cheeky grin on his lips. “Ah..fuck..” Akaro muttered under his breath.
Iris on the other hand was paired up with Wigyur. The two turned to face one another and as a sign of respect, Wigyur bowed to the Ivorian. “I won’t go easy on you,” Wigyur said, taking a fighting position.
Iris returned the bow, appreciating the gesture. Wigyur might have been annoying to her, but he was unapologetically genuine.
Iris fastened the hair tie around her ponytail making sure it held in place. It was her first time wearing her hair in such a style since it was never needed in a cold place like the Ivory. Once she was done fastening the hair tie, she stood in a similar fighting stance as Wigyur, almost mimicking him.
Wigyur erected his posture and took a step forward, seriousness painted upon his face. Iris meanwhile, stayed in complete focus, watching any movement he made. Without warning, Wigyur lunged forward and grappled Iris with both of his arms. Iris reached her hand out to grab Wigyur’s inner forearm just like Khalia had done to Jacob Crofen, but Wigyur bent downward and forced Iris to roll over his shoulder, instantly dropping her to the ground.
Iris dropped to the ground with a thud, but wasted no time in rolling back up to her feet. She blew a leaf off her face and glared at Wigyur who had a smirk from ear to ear. Iris knew only the bow and arrow her whole life, learning new forms of combat was going to be difficult but it was a challenge she wasn’t going to back down from, even from someone like Wigyur. “Again,” she uttered.
The summer sun rose to its peak after about four hours. Even under the partial shade of the Blackwood trees, everyone was sweating and tired. Regardless of exhaustion however, everyone pressed forward with their training and sparred their partners.
Khalia was impressed with the newfound energy her initiates had. She roamed the grassy field of the forest, watching her students fight one another. When she saw a flaw in their posture she would correct it. “Your knee needs to be a little higher!” she shouted, “that was a good takedown Benson!” she cheered for another. Khalia was watchful over all of them, impressed with some of the initiates. Scar on the other hand, was silent and only kept a watchful gaze on a single person.
A voice suddenly yelled out amongst the training. “Lady Khalia, I wish to take you on your challenge!”
Khalia turned her attention to the voice, seeing it was Garelda Whitters of Team Gales. The very same girl that defended Iris in the washrooms when Ilya and her groupies confronted the Ivorian.
“Garelda? Very well. Challenge accepted,” Khalia replied.
The rest of the initiates stopped sparring entirely and moved out of the way to create space for the two, forming a circle around them. Garelda approached the center of the circle pushing a lone strand of thick braided hair behind her ear. Khalia met with Garelda and stood a mere few feet away from her. “Your move,” Khalia said, standing perfectly still.
Garelda took a different approach and instead of going for the upper body, she ducked down and rammed her shoulder onto Khalia’s waist hoping to push her off balance. She lifted her heels up and pushed the weight of her body onto her tippy toes. To Khalias surprise, she slid backwards due to the impact but still kept her footing. “I won’t be going down that easily..” Khalia muttered, taking her arm and hooking it between herself and Garelda’s shoulder. The two remained locked in a fierce grapple with one another attempting to outbest the other with a better grip. Garelda however was in a worse situation with her head locked between Khalia’s elbow and leg.
The initiates all began to cheer for Garelda. “Get her leg off the ground!” shouted somebody, “wrap around her, get to her backside!” yelled another. Whatever piece of advice they could toss her way to hopefully even out the odds, but it was all pointless. The intense grapple suddenly shifted with Khalia pulling the arm she had hooked between herself and Garelda’s shoulder to peel her off of her waist. Garelda lost her grip entirely and was twisted and turned around. Khalia then wrapped her arm around Garelda and held her in a chokehold, forcing the initiate to tap her gauntlet. “I submit, I submit!” she gasped with ragged breaths.
Khalia pulled her arm away and immediately let go the moment she felt the taps. The wave of cheering initiates fell into a somber silence. It felt hopeless, everyone was tired, bruised, and hungry.
“Good try Garelda,” Khalia said, offering a hand to lift her off the ground. Khalia then turned to the group and noticed them entirely exhausted and sweaty. She glanced up to the sky seeing the sun sat perfectly above them, beaming rays of heat through the green leaves above. This was what ultimately made her decide to finish things up in the Blackwoods. If it wasn’t so damned hot, she would have made the initiates keep training till nightfall. So a decision was made. “Alright, it's hot. Let's get back to the Citadel and continue with takedown training tomorrow. We’ll meet at the mustering field early in the morning,” Khalia ordered.
“Yes Lady Khalia!” shouted everyone.
The group returned to the Citadel and settled in for the night. While the summer day was hot, the night was incredibly cool and windy. The countless white stars of Ikorum’s sky glittered natural light all throughout the Valen making it a beautiful night. The glowing blue hues of the flickering flames sat on the surrounding walls of the Citadel only added to the enchanting ambience of the summer night.
Iris laid in bed but she tossed and turned rummaging in her white sheets, unable to sleep. Edalia, her roommate, looked at Iris out the corner of her eye and raised a brow. “Can’t sleep?”
Iris turns her head over her shoulder but remains with her back facing Edalia. “Homesick,” she shares.
“Me too. I miss Evershaw and my fathers cooking. I miss Joss and everyone back home,” Edalia paused and stared at the back of Iris’ head. “And you? What do you miss?”
“I miss hunting every day. I miss the snow, the people, and I miss my brother,” Iris responded with a broken voice.
“We have to keep pushing forward for everyone we love. Imagine how happy everyone will be when we graduate,” Edalia said with a smile. “I’m sure no one expected the daughter of a farmer from Evershaw to be a Warden of the Veiled.”
Iris turned around in bed to face Edalia. “I’m sorry I yelled at you and said those horrible things to you,” Iris unexpectedly blurted out.
Edalia was surprised about the sudden apology, and it was evident by the expression on her face, it was the last thing she expected. Edalia propped her elbow onto her pillow letting her braided blonde hair flow down her shoulders. “I forgive you, Iris.”
Iris stared at Edalia and attempted a weak smile. She then turned back around in bed and raised her woolen blanket over her shoulder, “have a good night.”
Edalia laid her head back on her pillow and shut her eyes, “you too.” Edalia said, slowly drifting to a slumber.