In one unknown part of the snowy forest, where the world was painted in shades of white, a tiny clearing stood as a sanctuary of tranquility. Three massive trees, their branches distant and heavy with snow, encircled the space like silent sentinels.
In this serene scene, two people face each other; a swordsman and an eager amateur.
The swordsman, Hassan was a man who was as enigmatic as the Cold Lands and whose knowledge about the ways of the fighters was as mysterious as he was. The skills given by the organizers helped us to demonstrate them but with the way Hassan fought it seemed as though he had been a swordsman all his life.
Clad in layers of dark clothing that blended seamlessly with the winter landscape, he carried an aura of quiet confidence.
His Ice gladius, an extension of himself, hung at his side like a loyal friend. It had materialized when Sky had accepted his offer to help her.
Beside him, shivering from near exhaustion but determined, was Sky. Clutched awkwardly in her hand was the frost-fire dagger as magnificent as it was when it was first obtained.
Hassan looked at Sky, his gaze assessing but not unkind. "Remember Sky, it is not always about brute force. It's about finesse, control, and patience. Let's begin."
I listened as he spoke and couldn't help but note that all the things he said weren't always what he used as he fought. It almost seemed as if he was just saying them to sound cool.
The only characteristics I could discern in his fighting style were control and patience. He always found a way to change the battle flow to his favor so you could say that he had control over the battle.
He also displayed patience in the sense that he was willing to wait for the opportune moments to deliver his decisive strikes.
But nothing about his fighting style was artful or of grand finesse. It looked brutal and merciless especially coupled with his countenance when he delivered such attacks.
Perhaps it was a perspective held by fighters, where what might seem cool or finesse to them could appear different to outsiders.
He then moved through a series of precise strikes and parries, his movements fluid as a river. Each step, each swing was a dance of steel, and the snowy forest was his stage.
Sky watched, her eyes wide with a mix of awe and frustration. She attempted to mimic his movements, but her limbs felt clumsy and uncoordinated. The frost-fire dagger seemed more an extension of her uncertainty than an instrument of combat.
Hassan stopped, noticing her struggle. He made his ice gladius disappear into his inventory and approached her with a patient smile. "Sky, you're trying too hard. The tool is an extension of yourself. It doesn't matter what it is; a dagger or sword or an axe... It obeys your will, not the other way around."
Sky groaned in frustration, her words emerging in short, ragged bursts, intermingled with her irregular breaths. "How did you learn this?" she inquired.
I shared Sky's curiosity, eager to learn how he had acquired such knowledge and skills.
"I had a friend who was obsessed with learning different combat skills. I learned all I know about fighting from her. Little did I know that I would actually be needing it" As he explained, there was a particular expression on his face that seemed to convey deep-seated regret. "Let's continue," he urged as if trying to cast off the gloom that had momentarily enveloped him.
What aspects of his fighting history had brought about this sadness?
He then moved closer to her and moved with her guiding her as she swung her dagger through the air, still as inexperienced as she was at the start.
His touch was gentle as he adjusted her grip and posture. The forest seemed to hold its breath, as if in reverence of the timeless art being passed down.
Moments stretched into a timeless eternity, and the clearing bore witness to Sky's determined efforts.
Yet, despite the expert guidance, her progress was slow, marked by countless missteps and fumbled strikes. The frustration in her eyes was palpable, but Hassan remained unfazed.
At a point in time when it looked like no progress could even be attempted Hassan said "I'm tired. Let's stop"
We all knew that wasn't the case. If anything we had witnessed the unwavering stamina of the great fighter and knew that he was nothing short of energy for the length of time they had practiced fighting.
Perhaps he was low-key frustrated with their slow progress and was tired of feigning not being irritated.
Sky's shoulders slumped with exhaustion, her breath coming in ragged puffs. She felt defeated, tears welling in her eyes.
Hassan, however, only smiled. "Sky, you've made progress already. Remember, it's not about perfection; it's about the journey, the dedication to improvement."
It all sounded cheesy but it was working in convincing her that she wasn't a failure yet in the art of combat.
The words seemed to work because a smile appeared on her face which hadn't been there throughout their training section.
It felt great having her countenance change to her usual lively and jovial self.
"Hey, Jess," she greeted me as she donned her winter cloak, concealing the dirty and torn green garment that we had mysteriously worn at the beginning of this entire ordeal.
They hadn't paid any attention to me throughout their training section...
"You did well," I said trying to cheer her up. Even though she wore her usual cheerful smile I could also notice the feeling of failure lying beneath that facade. But then this was her first time trying so what else did she expect?
Even if this strange terrain had some aspects of magic in it that doesn't mean that it would speed up someone's skills just like that. And besides she wasn't given the swordsmanship skill ...
Even without the swordsmanship skill, it would take time for her to learn how to fight.
But then it made me question something...
Swordsmanship wasn't an exclusive skill since someone else could do it... so what about it was exclusive?
' These organizers need to be taught a thing or two ' I thought as I looked at the girl sweating in a snowy area.
" This is really hard. It is so much harder than yoga. Have you ever done yoga? "
I couldn't believe the girl. She was already back to talking even though she had just gone through intensive training.
'Wow! ' I thought to myself.
"NO. I haven't tried it before," I said to her.
Hassan was resting on the tree with his eyes closed. Was he really exhausted?
"Then whenever I did it, I felt like I was going to explode . " she continued.
Sometimes when she talked when I thought she would have been quiet I thought that maybe it was to distract herself from stress.
" And don't get me started about the time we had to exercise. But it seems like learning how to fight is more stressful. Obviously!"
The good side about it was that at least we knew that the training didn't cause her any harm. It wasn't as if they fought or anything of that sort. All they basically did was swing their daggers ...
"Shhh" Hassan motioned to us.
"What is it? " Sky asked her countenance immediately changing from relaxed to anxious.
"There's something not right," he whispered as he searched around for what I had no idea of.
"What is it?" I asked him, the feeling of panic slowly creeping up in me.
Sky made her frost fire dagger materialize into her hand and scanned the surroundings with a seasoned eye.
There was indeed something wrong. All the insect sounds were gone and in its place was an eery silence that we hadn't noticed due to Sky and Hassan's practice.
How long had it been like that? Something about the eery silence made my body quiver in fear.
There was no creature to be seen anywhere so the only source of noise should be us and the tinier creatures that didn't seem harmful but that didn't make the quiet comfortable.
Then a low, ominous hiss pierced the silence, sending shivers down my spine. Sky turned to look upward where it seemed like a snake was approaching.
Hassan's eyes widened in realization, and he made his dagger materialize into his hands and stood up while looking at the tree that he was just resting on.
Its gnarled bark, rich with shades of brown and green, held an intriguing secret.