I still had some meat on me. I was used to carry supplies with me, at all times. Aran on the other hand, asked me to follow him to the canteen. I replied "I have food with me, I just need to roast it. You can join me if you want". He smiled, and said "It"s fine. I will just go to the canteen". I didn"t stop him, and simply roasted my own dinner. Some youngsters were also taking a break. When they smelled roasted meat, they asked if they could try. I said "Sure. Sit down, and take whatever you like when it"s roasted". A few kids grabbed the roasted meat when it was ready, and started eating. I quickly heard complaints, such as "It"s bland", or "It lacks salt".I smiled, and replied "You know, I ate like this for many years. When you are hungry, you don"t really complain about the food". They looked at me, and then at the roasted meat. One of the youngsters asked "You ate like this for many years?". I nodded, and said "Yes. I ate whatever I could hunt. I never carried any spices or seasonings. Even though I ate like this, I"m still healthy", then smiled. The kids began eating the meat like crazy. I was a bit confused, until I heard one of them say "We can eat like this too! After all, Nex became so strong on his journey".
I smiled, and didn"t reply to this. I didn"t know whether my diet helped me or not. Although I knew, that not being fussy about food, aided my survival. If a person was fussy about their food, they may become weak, and even lose their lives. I would eat anything, as long as it was edible. I knew what hunger was, while these kids didn"t. It wasn"t something, I would recommend finding out.
One of the kids asked "When you talked with Aran, we heard that the daggers are your weapon of choice. Who taught you to use them?". I smiled, and replied "An old friend of mine. He pa.s.sed away a long time ago. I"ve been developing my skills by myself. When you grow up, and learn all the basics, then advanced stuff, you will be able to experiment, and come up with your own skills. You just have to work hard". The kids nodded, and replied in unison "Yes!".
As we chatted, Nade came over all sweaty, and tired. I asked "How is it going?". Nade replied "I"m dead tired. I need to rest…" He then looked at the roasted meat, and asked "Can I have some?". I replied "Sure, go ahead". Nade began eating, like a starving animal. He never complained about the lack of salt or seasonings, and even praised the taste. Other kids were a bit envious of him, and ate as well. The roasted meat disappeared quickly. With my meal taken care of, I stood up and said "After such a meal, you guys need to move a bit. Go practice your sword or archery". The kids nodded, and went back to their practice. I stopped Nade, and said "Rest". He looked at me, and was about to say something. I added "Rest is important too. If you overexert your body, it will bring negative effects, rather than positive. Rest here for a while, let your body recover. Then you can continue".
Nade nodded, and said "I will do as you said". I smiled, and left to do my own practice. Aran returned not long after, and said "Already practicing? I guess youngsters have loads of energy". I smiled, and asked "Can we continue?". Aran nodded, and replied "Yes. We will now move on to the Defensive Styles". He held a sword in a specific way, and said "This is the Horizontal Hold". The sword was placed horizontally in front of him. He held it with both hands, where the blade of the sword extended across his body, at the height of his neck. Aran continued "With this style, you can block the overhead attacks, and piercing attacks. This stance is mostly used with both hands, and therefore suits two handed weapons better, but you can also do this with one handed weapons".
Aran continued this time, and didn"t let me practice just yet. He said "The next style is called Vertical Side Hold. You will hold it like this". He held the sword with two arms again, placing his hands at the upper right side of his body. The blade was pointing downwards, while its edge pointed towards me. Aran explained " With this style, you can block horizontal attacks. Notice that the blade"s edge is pointed towards the opponent, or you in this case. This style not only allows you to use your whole arm, as a blocking support. It allows you to carry out counterattacks. I will talk about that more in the future. You will also learn how to alternate between different styles, and do so fluidly, even during a battle. Let me first continue, with the next style". I nodded, and listened.
Aran continued " The next style is the same as the Neutral Hold. But this time, you are executing it while in Defensive Stance. This style is neutral and the standard hold you will a.s.sume. The reason we have separate styles, is that the Neutral Hold is a jack of all trades. The Vertical and Horizontal Holds, are part or rather extended styles of the Neutral Hold. The Neutral Hold is just that, neutral. That doesn"t mean it"s useless. As I said, this is the base of all the styles, that is why Neutral Hold looks the same in both Attacking and Defending Stances".
I nodded my head, and asked "Is there any other style, I need to learn about?". Aran shook his head, and said "That is all for the basic styles. When you are advanced enough, I will show you more. For now, practice all the styles and stances. I will later show you, how to change between attacking and defending styles fluidly". I nodded, and began practicing.
Time slowly pa.s.sed, while I trained using the different styles. Later on, Aran showed me how to change between Attacking and Defending Styles. The day pa.s.sed like this, and Aran said "That is enough for today. We will continue tomorrow. When you get accustomed to all of this, we will move on to striking, and receiving strikes". I nodded my head, and bid him farewell. "Sword seems so complicated. Maybe because I didn"t learn, how to wield a weapon properly in the past. Nick taught me some basics, but not that much. I wonder if Aran"s training, could be adapted to my daggers as well" I thought.
This was something for the future. I would need to advance with the sword first, before I could try and adapt some skills to my daggers. "I should visit the field tomorrow too. It"s been a while now, so something should"ve already happened. If not, I will give it a week of time" I thought, and returned back to Finch"s house.
The next morning, I resumed my sword practice. While Aran took a break, I went to the field, and checked it out. "Good!", I exclaimed when I saw the field. The herbs were able to grow outside of the North. The small sprouts of Arran Gra.s.s proved it. "Now I just have to let them grow, and make sure to fill in the large water tank once in a while" I thought. I quickly took care of some weeds that managed to grow up, and left the field to continue my training.