"ETO, TIME TO GET UP!"
Cedric burst through the door of his son's room almost breaking the door off its hinges.
"It's time to start your sword training! I'll be outside."
WIth that, Cedric marched out of Eto's bedroom and out the front door of the house, even while sleepy Eto could still hear his thudding footsteps and laughter all the way out the door.
"Ughhh, fine."
Groggily, Eto flopped out of his bed, changed out of his pajamas and headed outside.
It was early in the morning, earlier than Eto have ever woken up as it was still dark outside. Eto, who was annoyed that he was woken up so early, complained in his head, why this early? Spotting his father, he walked over where he saw him holding two wooden training swords, one smaller than the other.
"Took you long enough, here."
Cedric tossed the smaller of the two swords towards Eto, which he barely caught after fumbling it a few times. After stabilizing the sword in his hands he turned it over a few times. It was made of perfectly carved and polished wood, no splinters hanging out anywhere, no scuff marks, his name was even engraved on the base of the blade, it had obviously been made by a master woodworker.
"Quit looking at the thing and pay attention."
His focus broken by his fathers sudden remark, Eto snapped to attention.
"Good. Now, I'll first teach you how to hold a sword properly. As your right handed, place your right hand at the top of the hilt and your left hand under your right, grip it firmly, not too tight and not too loose."
Eto did as he was instructed, placing his right hand at the top of the hilt and his left hand at the bottom.
"Good, for today I'll only teach you the most basic stand and swing. Have your legs shoulder-width apart and hold the sword out in front of you. Bring the sword up above your head while taking a step back with your right foot and sliding onto your left heel. Stop forward with your right leg and swing the blade straight down, like this."
Cedric, taking a perfect stance with his blade out in front of him, took a deep breath in and swung his sword down all his strength, perfectly showcasing the swimple swing he meant to teach his son.
"Now you give it a try."
Eto nodded and got into position with his sword out in front of him. He took a step back and raised it above his head. However, when he began to swing down, he over swung and fell flat on his face.
"No, no, no, swing down until your arms are fully extended and stop, don't swing at the ground."
Eto, now with dirt on his face and obviously annoyed, stood back up and tried again, only to fall again, and again, and again. Eto kept falling over and losing his balance for the better half of an hour, Cedric tried coaching him through it but every time Eto would lose his balance in one way or another. Cedric, unsure of why his son couldn't succeed at something so simple, tried a last ditch effort.
"Okay, how about this, imagine you'rew cutting up one of your pig corpses, you have to cut it far enough to completely open it, but not too far that you don't accidentally ruin part of it."
Eto nodded, picked up his sword, and got back into position. Cutting a pig. Cut it so that it screams its loudest but doesn't die. With that thought in mind Eto once again swung his sword.
It was a perfect swing. He kept his stance, didn't lose any balance, and his blade was completely level.
*Clap, Clap, Clap*
Cedric, who was slightly annoyed that it was his son's hobby that was the thing to help him perfect his swing, could only clap.
"It's almost time for me to go to work, so you continue to practice this swing for the next few hours."
With that, Cedric headed off to work in the village guard. For the next few hours Eto practiced his swing until his mother called him in for breakfast.