Daughter of Earth (Tales of the Guardian) (26 page)

Both of them being unfamiliar with such things had led her to believe he might be just as clumsy with his sword as she was bound to be. It was now evident her preliminary assumption was wrong.

Damarus broke free from the group and the other Governing Five parted to the ground level seats only twenty feet away. The elder raised his hands above his head to indicate he wanted silence. The excited whispers abruptly stopped and everyone’s attention was on him.

“Brothers and sisters, I can see you are all just as anxious to see this training exercise as me. But I want to remind you the law regarding our employment of weapons is the same. Emily is human, and therefore not bound by our guidelines. Teaching her to use a weapon will give her an advantage when it comes to war and defending herself.

“Lexington is only here as a sparring partner and under no other circumstances is permitted to handle a weapon.”

Damarus turned to gaze at Lexington. His look was firm and indicated how serious he was about the matter. Lexington would not dare defy Damarus, no Guardian would. It was not out of fear but respect the Guardians found their will to obey.

Damarus turned back to the crowd, a small smirk spread across his face.

“However, if Emily proves to be as agile and talented with a weapon as I believe she will be, then we may need replacements for Lexington, so some of you may still get your chance to handle one of these.” He motioned to the long wooden table and leather chests holding the shiny objects.

The crowd chuckled at the jest. It was as if they were all watching some sporting event. Their eyes were alert and danced with eagerness. Considering their culture and background though, Emily could understand why this would be a source of entertainment for them, something exciting and new.

She wasn’t offended they all came to watch her get pummeled. She was simply certain now she was going to humiliate herself in front of a much larger crowd than originally estimated.

Damarus finished addressing the crowd. He walked directly to Lexington and spoke in a hushed tone with him for a minute and then moved to speak with Emily.

“I have explained to Lexington things are to be done at a slow pace at first and he is not to speed his actions unless I so indicate. It is important for both of you to grow accustomed to the feel of your weapons.”

“He looks pretty accustomed to his sword already,” she pointed out with a high pitch and nervous tone.

Damarus chuckled. “I assure you this is his first time with a sword, but you must remember he’s handled a stave for centuries now and a sword is not too far off the mark in terms of manipulation and skill.”

“Right.” Emily filled her lungs and then let out an exasperated sigh. “Well then, where’s my sword?” she glanced down at his hands and then directly around them.

“Ah…,” Damarus motioned over to the table and chests, “that is the exciting part. You will choose your weapon for yourself.”

They both walked the few steps to stand in front of the table.

“There are many weapons here but be mindful there is one that will call to you and you will feel comfortable with. Over time you will become one with the weapon.”

“So which one is that?” she questioned.

“That is up to you. I cannot profess to know which instrument will easily mold and conform to you. However, I can tell you that if you listen, not with your ears but listen from inside, you will know which one will be the correct fit.”

She took a cleansing breath and began to pace back and forth, appraising each and every object. Most of them could be considered the same weapon, yet each had some individual touch or characteristic.

There was a smaller sword, with a blade that seemed to be only 15 or so inches long. The handle appeared to be made of wood and it looked relatively light. But, Emily felt like she’d already seen such a sword. It resembled the one she thought she’d seen with Lexington. Peeking over her shoulder at the Guardian and the sword that hung loosely at his side, she realized the two weapons were extremely similar.

The thought crossed her mind that maybe choosing this sword would make them more of an even match. If Lexington chose it then there was probably some advantage to it. After all, he was more knowledgeable when it came to matters of war, regardless of the fact that he had not actually used a weapon before. He had at least been around them and that was more than Emily could say.

 She’d only seen things like this in movies. She’d never even touched a real sword or dagger.

Moving down the table to her left she caught sight of an interesting set of what she assumed to be daggers. Upon closer examination, she realized the tips on the daggers were blunter than seen on a traditional one like the dagger she used at the Pool of Tibess. There were also two smaller prongs that branched upward on either side of the main blade. Emily felt as though she knew what these twin blades were but the name was escaping her memory.

She reached out and grabbed both objects by their handle. She squeezed tightly and the leather binding beneath her grasp gave a slight squeak. The main blade ran roughly 12 inches in length with the two smaller prongs projecting from the handle only being 4 inches.

The metal was dark, resembling aged iron which was why Emily was surprised at their light weight when she held them up. She flipped them over, examining every inch of them. The tips, though not extremely sharp, could still puncture someone if used with enough force, but still the weapons seemed less offensive and more defensive tools. The handle grips seemed to fit perfectly in her hands. She felt comfortable with them, as though she’d held a sai before.

“That’s what they are, sais. I remember now, ninja like.”

She turned to face Damarus, the blades still in her grasp. “These are called sais, right?” Emily wanted to confirm her thinking was accurate.

“That is correct.” A large smile spread over Damarus’ lips.

Emily glanced back down at the weapons she held in both hands. It just felt right and she could not argue with it. “This is my weapon then. I want these.”

“Excellent.” Damarus stepped a few paces back and then motioned with his fingers for Lexington to close the space between him and his opponent as she walked to where she’d previously been suiting up.

“Now, Lexington, I want you to do several slow downward strokes with your sword.” He motioned with his arms as though truly holding the blade himself. “And Emily, you will block his blow by holding your sai out in this manner accompanied by a swift thrust upward.” Once again he mimicked the motion as if he held her sai himself.

Emily’s heart began to pound. This may have seemed like taking it easy to all of them but she’d never even held these before now and she had no time to twirl or spin her weapons like Lexington. She wasn’t sure she could have done any sort of trick like he had without dropping her instruments and looking like a fool.

Maybe just jumping into all of this was best after all.

Damarus backed up a few paces and then looked to both of them for an approving nod. Emily was reluctant to indicate she was ready because she wasn’t, but wondered if she ever would be. At this point backing down was impossible without looking like a total coward.

“Okay, Lexington, begin,” Damarus instructed with a nod of his own head.

The Guardian slowly raised his blade and Emily tried to imitate what Damarus had just shown her by meeting her partner’s downward stroke with her sai. The speed seemed turtle like until she held her weapon in the correct position, then Lexington finished his motion with harder force and a quicker thrust.

The metal clanged together and the contact of his blade sent a vibration through Emily’s arm, clear up to her shoulder. There was a sharp pain as the protective metal prongs above her hand slammed down on the sides of her fingers and knuckles.

She dropped the blade, retracting her hand like a child who just got their finger pinched in a door.

“Ah,” she yelped as the sai hit the ground and created a small plume of dust.

There it was, her first official embarrassing moment of the day.

 “That didn’t take long at all
,” she thought.

She bent over to pick up the sai she’d dropped as Lexington waited patiently and silently.

“Emily, hold your weapon a little further down, choking it in your grip an inch or so away from the bottom bar of the prongs,” Damarus directed.

She glanced down to properly readjust her grip on the sai’s as her trainer had instructed. They immediately felt more comfortable with the new hold and Emily gave the nod to indicate she was once again ready.

Lexington began the same motion with his sword and this time when Emily met his stroke she was able to hold firmly to her weapon.

“Good, now the other hand,” Damarus chimed in.

Emily was nervous about using her left hand. She was like most people with a dominant right hand, which meant her entire left arm did not carry the same amount of strength as her right.

Their motions began to look like swimming strokes. Lexington did a forward crawl and Emily reacted with deflective up and back movements. They then began using different tactics, and continued for roughly twenty minutes.

Her forearms ached even though the metal was much lighter than she expected it to be.

Damarus raised his hand to signal for Lexington to stop as he approached the pair.

“Emily you are thinking too much about your movements. You are allowing them to be mechanical. You need to feel them, let your movements come from your core. When you tap into your inner strength your motions will flow more naturally.”

“I guess I’m just nervous still.”

He gave her a reassuring smile. “I know you are, but I assure you if you use your core to drive you, the things I ask you to do will feel more natural. Let me show you.”

Damarus moved to her back and reached around to both of her wrists. “Now close your eyes. I do not want you visualizing what Lexington is doing, I want you to concentrate on the motion coming from your own body.”

Emily closed her eyes as instructed and allowed her arms to be manipulated by her trainer’s firm and powerful grip.

He swiftly raised her arm and then felt the bang of metal on metal contact, he then did the same with her other hand in a much quicker fashion than she’d been practicing.

“Feel the movement, Emily. Imagine your weapon is only an extension of your arms, or your core. Feel the fluidity of the motion, memorize it. Let it be imprinted on your mind.”

He was moving her arms at a much faster pace in a more intricate weaving pattern. The sound of the banging metal grew louder with each blow.

Emily tried to concentrate and imagine the waves of vibration that echoed off her sai each time it met her opponent’s sword. She tried to feel the gust of wind that pushed past her face with every swing of Lexington’s arm. Her movements became rhythmic and a surprisingly tranquil feeling overcame her.

Like she was executing steps and movements to a dance.

“Now,” Damarus snapped Emily from her trance, dropping his hand down and allowing her arms to be under her own control once more. He returned to his former position.

 “It should be exactly the same but this time you may have your eyes open. Focus on how it feels, not what you see Lexington doing.”

He gave a quick nod and they began their exercises again, although this time Emily felt a difference in her actions. They did seem more natural as she concentrated, almost meditated, and attempted to become more in-tune with her body and core.

Once it was obvious she was catching on, Damarus nodded his head at Lexington and he suddenly began moving at a quicker pace. Emily was caught off guard at first, she stumbled and took a step back, but the fight continued.