Capítulo 90: Time to Say Goodbye
A few days went by quickly. Kalim and Jena were improving bit by bit, but any great improvements required much more time. I was satisfied with their persistence and determination, this gave me confidence that my teachings would go to waste. Jena grasped the basics of the bow really well, though her stance was not that great. Kalim struggled with the stances too, but he was learning.
I also introduced the basic attacking and defending methods to him, but wouldn't teach him any advanced methods. There was simply no time for movement techniques or anything else. Moreover, I wasn't an expert of any sort when it came to advanced techniques.
During the fifth day of their training, I added another factor to their daily exercise. "From now on, you will be exercising with these on. I got some metal, and made weight bracelets with the use of wolf's skin. Each bracelet weighs about half a kilogram, so a kilogram for both combined. You will train while wearing them, whether it's your body or your weapon practice, alright?", I explained. I had to sell one of my skins just to get a bit more money, but I had a few more in my backpack.
They didn't seem that impressed by the amount of weight, but they'd quickly change their minds. "Besides that, I got some feathers and a few more shafts from the craftsman. I'm no fletcher, but this should make them more like arrows instead of pointy sticks. Here, take them", I added while handing them to Jena. "Thank you, master Anna", she replied. They decided to call me that, since I was teaching them. I didn't mind really, and it had a nice ring to it.
"I also brought this log for you. You can practice your attacks on that log, we just have to bury it in the ground. I can't really help you much with defence, since you need an opponent. Perhaps Sara or Jena can help you once in a while. They don't need to be extremely skilful, since you'll only defend and watch their movements", I said. Kalim agreed, then helped me bury the log.
"Before you start the practice, I have another thing to teach you. Remember when I mentioned your balance? With a good balance, your stances and ability to move about will improve. Hence, we will add the balance practice to your daily training. For that, you will follow me outside to gather some more logs", I announced. Before leaving though, I told Sara about my intentions and promised to take care of them. This also gave me an opportunity to show them how to make fire without tools. "Aright, but please be careful", Sara agreed.
We didn't go deep inside the forest, but we had to find a few trees of a specific breadth. "This one will do, and I see another one a bit thicker over there. We will take these two. Guys, look out while I cut them down", I warned them. "Swoosh!... Bam", the tree fell with one swipe of my sword. "Wow! You can cut a tree with your sword!", both of them exclaimed at the same time. "If you practice for long enough, this will be easy for you as well. Anyway, help me clean the branches. Here, you can use this dagger but be careful, alright?", I added while taking out my dagger.
"This dagger looks so weird… Is it as good as your sword?", Kalim asked. "No, or at least I think so. Anyway, watch out. The dagger is very sharp regardless. Don't cut yourself, otherwise Sara will kill me", I replied. Just to make sure they didn't hurt themselves, I showed them how to handle a dagger. "Jena, a dagger isn't a bad idea for you either. What if your opponent is too close, and you can't shoot? We should get you a dagger, and you can train a bit with your brother. What do you think?", I asked. Jena liked her bow the most, but she accepted my offer on the basis that I knew better.
Once the first tree got taken care of, we did the same to another tree. My plan was to replicate my mother's balance exercise. Of course the logs wouldn't be as tall, but tall enough to practice their balance on. "Alright, we have the required logs, but there's one more thing I'd like to show you. Follow me". I gathered appropriate materials, then found a suitable location for my fire making demonstration.
"I'll teach you how to make fire without tools. You'll use the wood itself to make fire, or rather hot ash. Here, have a look", I said while showing them the method. "You have to rotate this stick on top of another piece of wood. Flat piece is the best, and you can use a knife or a sword to make a small grove for ease. The faster you do it, the better the results will be. The hot ash isn't able to ignite a piece of wood, but dried grass is a different story… Can you see the smoke coming out? That is the hot ash I'm talking about. I'll do it for a bit longer, then quickly tip the hot ash into the dried grass… Like so, and blow on it gently", I explained.
The dried grass began smoking, prompting me to place it between some thin sticks. A while later, the fire grew a bit bigger, at which point thicker branches or sticks could be added. "That's how we make fire… Remember though, fire can attract animals during the night. Something to keep in mind, if you ever find yourself in such a situation", I said while extinguishing the flame. "How about you two give it a try? It's not easy at first, but the more you practice, the better you'll get", I proposed. They were really eager to try it out, but they had to gather their own materials, which was part of the experience.
With everything gathered and prepared, they tried to create a fire. We spent more than half an hour there, but neither of them succeeded. Kalim was close though. He managed to produce some hot ash, but the dry grass didn't catch fire. He simply took too long, and the hot ash cooled down. "That's so difficult… I have a question though. How would you start a fire during winter?", Jena asked. "You have to keep a supply of dried wood and tinder. That is part of your preparation for winter. You can also get a flint to create sparks, that is another method. Either way, you'll need dry tinder to create fire. Alright, it's time to go back. I don't want Sara to worry", I replied.
Once we got back, I told them to simply exercise or practice with their weapons, while I set up the balance exercise. We brought back eleven logs. All of them had to be buried at varied heights. Setting up that exercise took a while, and brought back some memories too. 'Hehe, they are still at it', "Alright guys, take a break and join me here... This will be your new exercise on top of the others. The goal is to train your balance. You will travel across these logs without falling. Simple, right?", I explained.
"Master Anna, can you show us?", Jena asked. "Sure", I replied before jumping atop the first log. "Once you get a good grasp of your balance, this will become very easy for you", I added while jumping from one log to another. "Let me try next!", Kalim exclaimed. The tallest log was less than a metre tall, the shortest was about half a metre tall. Though not exactly dangerous, a few bruises were inevitable.
Kalim jumped onto the first log, and immediately noticed the lack of space. This made him wobble, and fall to the ground. "They are quite narrow… I didn't think you'd tell us to exercise like that", he said quietly. "Jena, it's your turn now", I said with a smile. She already knew what to expect, therefore her initial jump was alright. The second jump was a disaster. "Ow… How could you jump across them like that?", she asked me. "Years of practice. This thing isn't easy by any means, but a great balance does help. You'll have to train this until you can run across these logs", I replied.
They tried a few more times, but of course none of them would succeed. "Anyway, make sure to practice that every day. You can return to your weapon practice for now", I told them. There were only two days left to teach them. I thought about staying longer, but my journey had to continue. The purpose of my trip was to learn about the real world and improve myself, not to teach youngsters.
'Though I'd like to stay and teach them a bit more, it's time to move on really. They should be fine, as long as they keep that determination', I thought. Sara agreed to my idea of providing Jena with a wooden dagger. She ordered it from the old craftsman for only fifteen coppers.
For the last two days, I decided to teach them the basic footwork uncle Aran introduced to me. I knew they weren't ready to even practice that yet. But as long as they memorised the concept, they could try to develop their own technique in the future. "This is the last thing I'll teach you before leaving. It's not something you will practice right now, but something to keep in mind for the future. That's the basic footwork allowing you to get closer to the opponent, and it looks like that…", I explained.
I showed them how the basic attacking stance can be used for movement, then explained about retreating. That was a similar concept, but utilised the defensive stance. "Jena, the second footwork is quite crucial to you. You have to keep a distance to shoot the bow, and that footwork can help you with that. The first footwork is more for you Kalim, but make sure to remember both. Both advancing and retreating are very important", I added.
"Master Anna, do you really have to leave?", Jena's question sounded sad. "Yes, but you are doing great. Work hard and the results will be there. You don't need me to work hard", I replied with a smile. Both of them hugged me, and refused to let go. "They grew really attached to you. I'm not going to force you though, we all have our own lives to take care of. Kalim, Jena. Anna has her own life to live. We can't make her stay by force, that would be wrong", Sara said.
"Can we see each other in the future? Will you visit us again?", Jena asked. "I'm not sure, but I can promise to visit you if I'm in the area", I replied. "That's a promise, don't forget!", Kalim added. "That's a promise", I replied then bid them farewell. 'I'll miss them…', I thought after leaving the village.
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