บท 18: Chapter 18

Under the shimmering cold light of the starry sky above their heads Alvar and Veli walked side by side down the earthen path that made up the main street through the living quarters of Hoelbrak, a smooth silence accompanying the duo.

It hadn't been long ago that the meeting with the old Havroune had come to an end. The normally so boisterous children, who usually would chat enthusiastically over the just heard tales of some hero of the past, had seemingly been contaminated by the heavy weight of the just heard story and thus left, Alvar and Veli amongst them, in obvious contemplation.

"Do you think we will ever beat the ancient dragons?" Veli asked suddenly into the silence of the evening while the chirping of a few birds was faintly heard in the distance.

Turning his head over to face his friend while the two continued walking home Alvar let Velis question run through his mind once more before he gave his answer.

"I-I don't know honestly. When I heard of the mighty ancient dragons for the first time I imagined myself growing into a powerful mage that would one day slay each one of them with storms made of fire or something like that and thus leading our people back into the far north. But the more I learned and experienced while out in the wilderness I realised how naïve I was and still am. I mean I nearly got done in by a boar! Hahahaha" Alvar replied while a little bit of heat crept up his neck in shame at his admittance.

"Hahahaha! Ye, that was a good story hehehe…Alvar, the mighty boar slayer! Hehehe" Veli replied with slight laughter which earned him a shove from Alvar that nearly sent him into the bushes at the side of the street which in turn caused Alvar to grin in satisfaction while Veli tried to keep his balance, so to not fall into them, by hopping on one leg.

In good natured revenge Veli jumped back onto his place at Alvars side and in the process slightly wrestled Alvar into a headlock under flailing arms from said boy. After a slight back and forth the two returned to walking into the silence of the night while their arms were still thrown over the others shoulder and the faint sound of chuckles could be heard as they disappeared towards their homes.

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With a thudding sound the blunt training sword of Sjorn struck down at Alvars thigh causing the lad to grunt in discomfort. In reaction Alvar swiftly moved his leg backwards though he wasn't fast enough and was tripped over by his instructor and thus landed in the dirt once again as was the usual routine.

"Up and into position!" Sjorn bellowed towards Alvar who grunted and stood up with exhausted legs once more. Walking over to his dropped weapon Alvar made to pick it up only to flinch backwards slightly when he registered Sjorn raising his blade from the corner of his eyes as if the man was about to strike down.

Jumping back in caution Alvar regarded his trainer carefully. After all he had come to learn just how painful even a blunted blade could be in the last few weeks while being trained under the tutelage of Sjorn.

"Eyes on your enemy, boy! Always keep them in your vision." Sjorn spoke while lowering his blade which had Alvar relax a little after which the lad nodded in understanding and made to pick up his weapon once more, though this time never letting Sjorn out of his sight to which said man nodded in satisfaction.

As soon as Alvars fingers had closed themselves around the leathery hilt of his sword Sjorn struck once again. This time from below, as his sword was pointing towards the ground, which would target Alvars already green and blue legs though the lad had no intention of letting his instructor hit him there once more.

While pulling one leg backwards Alvar brought his heavy training sword to his side and with a swing of his own from below struck his instructors blade at the side, thus changing and guiding its trajectory away from his legs.

After Alvar considered himself out of harms way for the moment he moved to attack in reply though Sjorn simply stepped into Alvars guard while his blade was still up in the air and smashed his fist into Alvars stomach causing the boy to gasp for air while stumbling backwards from the blow.

"You focus too much on your weapon! Yes, your sword is your main tool but don't forget that the rest of your body is just as much a weapon as your blade! Now up and again, boy!" Sjorn said and not long after the man had ushered his words the sounds of metal against metal echoed over the training grounds once again.

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"By the spirits of our ancestors, what happened to you Alvar!?" Veli asked after he and Gerdi had arrived to their usually meeting place at a nearby lake that was framed by a few trees and bathed the lake in swaying shadows.

In one of the shadows the exhausted Alvar sat leaning against the trunk of one of the trees. After his usual training session with Sjorn Alvar had bought himself something to eat in Hoelbrak and afterwards stumbled to their meeting place where he began to eat his slight meal but fell asleep halfway through out of tiredness.

Not long after his two closest friends had arrived and both of their eyes had widened at the bruised and beaten appearance of Alvar who only after hearing Velis voice slowly opened his drowsy eyes.

"Urgh, pipe down a little, will you?" Alvar replied while yawning strongly as the soft rustling of the leaves had lulled him to sleep rather fast.

"Pipe down he says…would you look into a mirror? You look like the stew prepared by my mom made out of mashed potatoes and carrots with how your face is coloured!" Veli replied after which the boy walked over to Alvar where he sat on his heels before his friend and began to poke the different bruises on Alvars face like a curious child that had found something new to examine, which in turn earned him a foot to the face followed by the two of them beginning their usual routine of wrestling. In the end though Alvar was way to tired and thus lost rather spectacularly.

"Did your instructor do that? If so then I'm glad that I didn't pick the warrior profession…" Gerdi said after having walked over and sitting down next to the duo that were by that time reclining at each others side under the slowly swaying leaves of the trees above their heads.

"What have you two been taught so far? I've been mostly fighting, or lets say all the time. Sometimes I get to learn a bit about strategies in warfare and such but not that often." Alvar asked while narrating his usual day.

"Mostly theory. Though we have been introduced to a daily fitness regime in order to build a solid foundation before we will begin learning how to fight. I tell you. Even though the theory is boring as hell I can at the very least get some amusement out of Gerdis state of fitness. I swear, she is sweating and huffing more than all of us remaining trainees combined hehehehe" Veli said while grinning at the memory of the last routine this morning.

Gerdis face meanwhile had turned rather red in embarrassment and without even ushering a response turned around and promptly ignored Veli and Alvar, thus the only ones that continued to chat and laugh with each other were the two boys. An observant eye though would easily spot Gerdi glancing over at Veli from time to time only her thoughts remaining a secret.

And so the three spent the rest of the evening companionable bantering until it was time to head back home in order to prepare for the next day and the exhaustion that would come along with it.