Don't Go Into That Forrest! [Attn: Corwin]

[Talavin]

Physical training was one of the most important parts of warrior life. Arath's few short weeks in the Yards had taught him that much. Weapon's training was important, but because of his small size, he had to work twice as hard as the other trainees. More than just being able to swing a sword around, Arath had to be able to be more physically capable than his opponents. To utalize his size to the greatest advantage, he had to be agile and quick. He had to be able to dance around his opponents and get inside their guard. Unfortunately for him, this meant that he was moving at least twice as much as them, so he needed the stamina of the Creator himself.

 

And so that was what brought him to the forrest in the wee hours of the night. Arath had to run for hours every day, to keep up his endurance and make sure he was always at peak shape. Every night, he would run a little bit further, getting deeper and deeper into the dark woods. After jogging all the way up, he would have to jog all the way back- not a very simple task. Right now he was currently near the end of his jog out; Arath was not yet exhausted but he counted his steps as a way of passing the time. Thump, thump, thump, thump. The rhymical beat of his feet was hypnotic, especially in the dark hours of midnight. Luckily tonight was a full moon, else he would be blind.

 

The trainee was a bit of a loner in the Yards. The other trainees would always be concerned with things like oogling the Novices, or gambling in their rooms, while Arath would train himself to his breaking point. As if that weren't enough, they told him nasty tales about a blademaster who lived in the forest, and did not take kindly to any visitors. Arath knew that these tales were just the trainees' cruel ways of making fun of him and trying to get him to quit. They called the man a monster, tall and scarred all over his body. As if any man would want to live in the woods, alone and suply-less.

 

Tonight was a good night, Arath decided. He was feeling up to the challenge, so he decided to run a little bit further in than he normally would have. Just before he was about to turn back, Arath saw a figure appear in front of him. Not just any figure, but a great, scarred, monsterous figure, who shone with malice in the light of the full moon. All in all, it made a terrifying sight, and Arath began to wonder if those rumors were just rumors.

 

"What the hell are you doing here?

 

Yep, those rumors definately weren't just rumors.

[Corwin]

Life was always funny, it seemed you would get into a habit and it would be all but impossible to break.  Corwin remembered the days when he was Bonded.  He didn't like to think much about it all, it only brought thoughts of pain and memories of Eleanor.  As much pain she brought him, he never liked thinking of what she had done to him.  But it was something he had to come to terms with.  Eleanor had taken most of the things he held dear and his faith.  If it wasn't for her he would still have hope in the Light.

 

It didn't matter though, he had gotten to where he was now and that was all that mattered.  As he rose to go through his nightly training, Corwin thought more and more about these habits he had developed while Bonded and even before.  This was yet another example of something he just couldn't let go.  As he looked at his "home" he saw even more of the things he just couldn't leave.  But as he went through the woods to begin he found an unwelcome guest.  Following the kid he found him going closer and closer to him "home".  This just couldn't be tolerated.

 

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?"  Corwin had worked his way around to being in front of the kid.  Hopefully he could just scare him off.  Corwin wanted to do his exercise and then get sleep.  He never slept much these days.  As he walked toward the kid, Corwin saw a light in his eyes he tended to know.  The same light from making examples of his trainees when they disobey him.  The child had frozen in fear it seemed, well everyone needed a wake up call sometime.

 

Grabbing the child by the shirt Corwin gave him a stiff jarring and threw him into a tree.  Not hard really, but not exactly easy either.  It seemed the kid had woken up and because reacting.  But he wasn't quick enough for Corwin.  Using his sword while it was in it's sheath, Corwin gave the kid a stiff wack to the back.

 

Corwin

[Talavin]

Light help me, was the only thing that Arath could think about. He felt his body slamming into a tree, and was not happy to hear a snapping sound. He didn't think his back was broken, because it didn't hurt that much, but it definately wasn't perfect. Scrambling to his feet, Arath tried to run away, but he felt what seemed like a large stick impact with his back. Unfortunately, it was right where the center of where his original injury was. Waves of pain wreaked his body, but Arath refused to just lay there. He had spent his entire life being beaten down and he wouldn't let it just happen to him again.

 

Raising shakily to his feet, Arath watched the shadowy man warily. A strong sense of hopelessness acumulated in his gut, and he concidered just giving up and letting the man eat him, or whatever the monster did with trainees who wandered into his forest. No! He couldn't die here! He had dreams, goals, things that he wanted to do before he died. If he gave up now, he would never be a good warrior. Every man he would face would be like this: tall and intimidating. This was just the first challange that he had to overcome. He could never beat this man in a strait fight, but all he had to do was get away, to use his speed and agility that he had been working on.

 

With his confidence returned, Arath began running towards the man, but after a step, changed directions completely. The man behind him was big and bulky, and should have a hard time manuvering through the trees because of his size, while Arath himself wove through the trees, ducking below branches that the other man could not. Adrenaline could only work so long, however, and Arath hoped that he reached the end of the woods soon.

[Corwin]

The kid was good, Corwin would give him that.  He knew which fights to pick and which ones to run from.  It always seemed kids needed that lesson most and never wanted to learn it.  But then again most knew to leave him alone too.  He just didn't like to deal with people.  Only Liitha could visit his home.  But it seemed others like to push his patience.  Most people knew he was a troubled ex-Gaidin, why would these kids insist on bothering him?

 

But things were almost over, the kid at least had enough of a sense of direction to know which way was out.  As they neared the end Corwin decided to have one last bit of fun.  Jumping into the nearest tree, Corwin swung around the kid as he tripped.  It had been too long since Corwin was in the trees, his muscles ached and groaned as he threw himself to another branch again and again.  As the kid struggled to get up, Corwin had just enough time to get around him and drop down.

 

"Don't come here again.  You're not welcome."  With that Corwin went back into the tree and made his way to another edge to go to the Yard for some training.  The kids were coming younger and younger these days.  Corwin could barely remember when he didn't need to shave.  But as Corwin went back the Yards, he could see the kid struggling in while he trained on the roofs.  Tonight was a night to work on his balance, so he found himself on the barracks' pointed roof.  He didn't have much room for leeway, and he could feel he had been too slack on his foot muscles recently.

 

Corwin

[Talavin]

Arath knew that he had more adrenaline in his veins than he did blood, but that was fine. He needed all of it to escape from the monster behind him, who seemed to be growing bigger and more intimidating the closer he got to the exit. Arath could see the moonlight shining through the trees, a pale silver glow; it was creepy before, but now it signaled his salvation from the- the... thing chasing him. He was so close, just a few more steps. Step, step, step- FALL!

 

It seemed that the warrior behind him also had the atributes of an ape as well, for he tripped Arath while swinging on the branches. Arath was so close... half of his body was crossing the last tree, but not quite. The scarred man in front of him loomed above him, and for a moment, Arath thought he had lost, that his life was forfeit. The adrenaline in his system doubled, his heart was beating so fast that Arath thought the entire Yard would hear the drum beats. He had tunnel vision; all he could see was the terrifying spectre in front of him. For a single moment, time stopped, until he saw the lips move on the marred face.

 

"Don't come here again.  You're not welcome." It was odd; in his terror, Arath's mind twisted the words, so that they sounded like they were being spoken from a mile away, yet he could hear them clearly. With his animal-like terror, Arath didn't comprehend the meaning of the words until the man was long gone. After the adrenaline had seeped from his body, and he was calmed down, a strange sensation spread inside of him. Arath laughed. No, laughter was not a strong enough word. He was hysterical; he laughed so hard that he was crying. This man, for now that the terror wore off he could see clearly that it was merely a man, was the most terrifying thing in his life.

 

It was humilifying, to know that he was so scared, that he was completely vulnerable to another person. However, at the same time, it was liberating. This was no doubt the hardest challenge he had ever faced, and he had bested it. Of course, he didn't come close to actually beating the man, but he survived. His speed, his agility, it all came through in the end. He was a long way, a very long way, from become a great blademaster, but that man represented all of his fears. His inadequicy, his weakness, his fear, that man was everything that made him feel like he was not a true warrior. While he didn't beat that man head on, all of the sudden he didn't seem so huge anymore.

 

With his pride rekindled, Arath limped exhaused back to his dorm, and slept better than he had ever slept before.