Gavin was fairly tall, he wore minimal Armor, for more freedom to move Sven guessed. Gavin's choice of weapon was a sword. A long sword to be precise. Gavin boasted about how his hardwork and skill made him a Commander, directly under The Heavenly general himself. Sven had heard of Gavin's fiendish methods of training from the escort soldiers but he could never have expected it's intensity. Gavin started by inspecting the recruits' physiques. He seemed to be impressed. Then Sven was made to run laps around the grounds. The castle grounds they were using was also an auditorium that was used when the king wanted to adress the whole of Citadel, to achieve this, the place was made to be the size of a full sized Giant. Most soldiers fainted after the first round itself. Sven could hold on for three rounds before his eyes shut. Sven woke up in the dorms. There seemed to be no privacy, which Sven really didn't mind.
Cleanliness was crucial in Pelagus. The health of the soldiers was foremost hence they were meant to wash twice every day. He was given a few large rocky nuts called the 'Soap-nuts' to clean himself. They had to be crushed and the concentrated juice was used. Sven was given huge lumps of roasted meat and vegetables for all three meals to build up fat. Sven was free throughout the night and most of the evenings. He was however required to be in the training grounds two hours from sunrise.
Sven got down from his bunker. In the moonlight he could make out all his fellow soldiers getting their well-needed rest. Sven slipped through the door into the castle. The rookie soldiers' dwelling was a few yards away from the castle. Sven went into the castle. The night left an eerie smell through the castle. Armor sets shone in the moonlight. The soldiers patrolled the area but slipping past was easier than one might think. He got around to the castle training grounds. He took the spear off the stand and twirled it, ready to release his might onto the unfortunate training dummy."Care if I join you!" hummed a voice from the top of the stairs. A man of similar height to Sven, maybe even similar age walked down one step at a time," You see the guards don't allow me to spar with anyone. It gets boring training while not knowing if you're improving or not." Sven carefully studied the man. His hair glowed silver in the moonlight. He was light-skinned, fairer than most people Sven had met. He wore simple clothes but they seemed pretentious. He walked up to the stall and picked a leaf-shaped short sword. His aura changed. Sven and the man walked to their spots and readied their weapons.
Sven bent his spear so that the tip was in front of his face. The man charged first. He went for a clean pierce to the face. Sven parried with an upward slash, followed by a quick downward slash and a stab of his own. The man stepped back to avoid it. He went around and drew a huge arc, slashing at Sven. Sven ducked down, avoiding the blade. He shifted the spear to the left and punched the man in the gut sending him a few feet back. The man ran in again, stabbing Sven multiple times. Sven dodged most except a graze on his cheek. Sven went in for a skewer. The man dodged and kneeled nimbly stabbing Sven in the calf, leaving a gaping hole before backing off. Dull agony spread through Sven's body. His eyes narrowed down. The man charged to finish.
To Sven time slowed. His mind raced. "Distance," Nelson had once told him," The greatest advantage of spears is distance. Get distance then attack!"
Sven spun on one foot, barely dodging the stab. He slashed on the man's back but the spear never reached its target as the man spun pulling his sword to Sven's neck, smiling."I am Rex! This was a refreshing experience my friend," The man said, handing Sven a round plump bright red berry.
"I am Sven." Sven introduced.
"I certainly hope to meet you again Sven," Rex said as he left the grounds.Sven waited until the man was out of sight. He inspected the berry. It looked good enough, he swallowed it whole. Dim white light exuded from him and the pain slowly disappeared leaving behind only torn fabric.
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