Chapitre 57: Curiosities

Mab lifted the heavy practice sword, moving into the first stance- readiness.

'Get used to the weight,' his father told him. 'You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring. The first lesson is to make yourself that strong.'

It will hurt. Pain makes you strong.

He planted his feet in the grass. Wind ruffled his hair as he moved through stances.

One : The sword before him canted to one side, protecting his body. Two : the pommel is high, as through the blade was a horn coming from his head. Three: down to his hip, then in a deceptively casual droop in front of him. Then four: up again, to his shoulder. Each position could move easily into a strike or a defense. Fighting was like chess, anticipating the moves of one's opponent and countering them before one got hit.

But it was chess played with the whole body. Chess that left him bruised and tired and frustrated with the whole world and with himself, too.