Damnation: Dawn of The Apotheosis

TRAINING

“Hey, wake up man.” Ashviel tugged at his friend’s shirt. He had gone through Kael’s possessions and found an interesting sword.

The sword was long and almost frail, and with one end sharper than the other end. Beautifully engraved on the silvery sharp sword was a purple emblem of a wolf’s head with a wide opened mouth and bared fangs.

“I saw this sword with a wolf emblem among your stuffs and it is quite bizarre,” he said as he examined the blade with glistening eyes. Kael stood up immediately,

“That’s a Zeroszen family relic; I got it from my dad before I left.”

“Why did you leave the Zeroszen House?” Ashviel inquired, his gaze still fixed on the sword in his hand.

“It’s a long story” Kael began, “but I don’t mind telling you.” Ashviel returned the sword to its sheath and turned to face Kael.

“I am the first son of my Zeroszen family. My dad used to train my siblings and me in swordplay, and encouraged us to train at our own time. One of these days saw me sparring with my cousin, Ilya. Ilya was a very skilled fighter among us so I enjoyed being her opponent. As we sparred intensely with wooden swords under the mid-day sun, some Zeroszen family elders trooped in, and watched the fight earnestly. This was not a common opportunity: having the elders watch and correct your moves, so you can understand why I was pumped up with enthusiasm. Fatigue was setting in on the both of us but the elders egged us on. In a bid to impress them, I charged at Ilya and made a casual swing with my sword, to which she attempted to block casually with hers. I have no idea how it happened but the sword flew off her hand, allowing mine to strike the side of her head, giving off a loud bang and knocking her down.”

Tears welled up in Kael’s eyes as he struggled to continue.

“Ilya died instantly. It was shocking and horrifying. My sword was wooden and the strike wasn’t an exceptionally good one. Under normal circumstances, anyone could recover from it in seconds without even falling to the ground. The circumstances that day were however far from normal. The elders present seemed pleased with the outcome and each stood up immediately, a gleam of victory in their eyes. I remember that day as if it was only yesterday. They locked me up for days and then tried me before all. The ones present on the day of the fight opined that I be executed, while others suggested milder measures. They finally concluded to exile me from the Zeroszen land; I am not allowed to return nor is anyone permitted to search for me. My father, not being an elder, could do only a little to help me. The sword is a parting gift from him before I turned my back on the Zeroszen lands.”

He rose up and sat on one of the elegant red chairs in the hotel room before proceeding to end his story.

“I stayed away from the main roads and travelled through the wilderness. I soon ran out of supplies and lay down on the plains, awaiting death. I was disturbed by approaching footsteps and opened my eyes to find a man looking over me. I recognized him as Rotial Zeroszen and thought he had come to rescue me. It didn’t take him long to prove me wrong as he attacked me furiously. He would have certainly killed me if Master Vauxall had not come to my rescue. He ripped off Rotial’s arm and slit his throat with his bare hands, all in a single instant. I begged him to take me along as he turned to leave. He considered the idea for some moments before smiling in his weird way. He then magically conjured a dummy of myself and burned it along Rotial’s corpse, making it seem like some sort of fire accident. I’ve been stuck with him as an apprentice ever since. It’s amusing how one’s life can change entirely in just four months.”

“I-I’m sorry for what happened,” Ashviel muttered.

“You shouldn’t be,” replied Kael, “the past is past. I’m a new person now, with a new life ahead.”

Ashviel wondered if he should also give up on revenge and focus on his new life. He was about to speak when their discussion was interrupted by a messenger’s knock on the door.

“Young masters, Master Jean would like you to join him at the backyard,” he said and went on without waiting for a reply.

The two hastened to the backyard to join Master Vauxall who was wearing a long robe. He was back in his usual Master Vauxall form and held a wooden sword in his hand.

“Never mind, we have the whole backyard to ourselves. Money is of little value to mages,” he said with a wink. By his sides were about a dozen wooden swords bundled with a rope. He motioned to the two to pick up their own swords from the bunch.

“We’re beginning our trainings now?” Ashviel asked. He had not expected their trainings to begin at the hotel but he was nonetheless thrilled. He bent to pick a heavy sword among the cluster.

“Show me your swing,” Master Vauxall instructed the two.

Ashviel attempted a swing that only earned him the laughter of his two companions.

“You call that a swing? You know, my great grandmother is blind yet she swings far better than that.” Kael had teased him.

“You have 124 flaws in your swing,” said Master Vauxall. “How about you, Kael?”

Kael assumed a fighting stance, he moved the front foot first, beginning by lifting his toes. Then he straightened the leg at the knee, pushing the heel out in front, before swinging his sword.

“Fewer flaws, but still far from the best of swings,” Master Vauxall said, seemingly unimpressed.

He then proceeded to show the two lads his own swing, which appeared rather ordinary and not extraordinary. Replicating it was however not easy for his two students, Ashviel especially. Master Vauxall showed them a few more movements before leaving them to practice continuously for the rest of the day.

Disappointment was an understatement to Ashviel’s disposition that day. There he was, expecting some real magic training, only to be ordered to swing swords incessantly. To top it all, Master Vauxall seemed unconcerned about Kael’s manifest edge over him.

The next day was no better, he spent the whole day bathing in his own sweat under the sun’s heat and taking only few breaks in-between.

On the third day of training, Master Vauxall had Ashviel spar with Kael. The duel was quick and decisive; a wild swing from Ashviel, then of course a miss, and finally a smack from Kael. Ashviel stood up repeatedly but stood no chance against Kael, who defeated him each time in seconds. Seeing Ashviel’s distraught condition, Master Vauxall told the two to attack him at once.

Fueled with anger and frustration, Ashviel charged at Master Vauxall, only to trip a few spaces before the man, catching a kick in the jaw before falling face down. Kael on the other hand managed to reach Master Vauxall and unleashed a wild series of attacks on the veteran who dodged each adroitly. Kael would have wished he had tripped and got kicked away, for Master Vauxall responded with a similar barrage, only that his was much faster and landed on each spot on Kael’s body.

Ashviel felt nothing but a bitter disappointment towards the man who had promised to teach him magic, only to make him undergo ceaseless sessions of sword swinging.

Try as he might, he was only increasing in the number of bruises and scratches he sustained daily.

This morning however, he felt a cruel calmness and comprehension covering him as he picked up his sword and assumed a stance. He attempted some of Master Vauxall’s technique, and to his astonishment, he was not just getting them, but was also comprehending the technique altogether. It was a technique devoid of unnecessary motions, as if trimmed down by a cautious tailor. The movements were coordinated, each one flowing into the other with harmony.

Wordlessly, he walked towards his usual sparring partner, Kael. At Master Vauxall’s signal, he charged forward with a well-calculated swing, which stunned his opponent and nearly connected with his collarbone but for a quick duck.

Kael was not one to be caught by surprises. He countered the strike with two quick ones – at least he tried to. Ashviel dodged the first one and stopped the other in its track by hitting Kael’s wrist hard, making him to let go of his sword. He then completed the sequence by raising the side of his sword to Kael’s neck – just as Master Vauxall had taught.

A big smile crossed his lips as his opponent surrendered, securing him his first victory. Even Master Vauxall beamed with satisfaction from his high seat. His student was finally getting the hang of sword fight.