Beyond the Glow

Chapter 39

The training fields are huge, a complete one hundred yards of blank grassy space with circles of dirt for sparring. The wall closest to where we walk in has just about every weapon I can imagine. My eyes are drawn to the ceiling, where I can see faint morning sunlight filtering in. I look up, marveling at the ceiling design, we're still underground, but the fields have been built into an area of extremely old and thick trees, the roots holding the dirt in place while holes in the structure allow sunlight to filter down below, diminishing the need for torches and letting some fresh air into the stuffy compound.

"Amazing isn't it?" Says Kendi, watching me with a smile. "We came here to it like this, and with a little magic to strengthen the roots, it makes one of the most violent places in the compound," She grins, "Into one of the most beautiful."

"Wow." I breathe, inhaling the much needed fresh air after the night in the stuffy room with three other bodies. Even inside the lamp, the air wasn't filtered completely, and I could feel the heat from the other three even there. Not to mention when Kendi woke up to find me in the lamp, and not sleeping like a normal person to protect my identity, she shook it until I left.

As a result, we got up much earlier than everyone else, and ate more of the tough travel rations I was becoming so used to for breakfast on out way here. Of course, Len wasn't too happy getting up so early, but Kendi insisted it was a great opportunity, saying that now we could train without holding back, the area would be almost completely deserted at this hour.

She was right, of course. I look around, there are maybe two or three early risers working on the other side of the field, but other than them, we're alone.

"Let's get started then." Says Kendi, walking over the the wall, where shining blades are held up by pikes and hooks driven into the hard dirt. There's an array of swords, from short swords to broadswords, they seem to have any blade I can think of, shining in the dim morning light. Kendi waves at the wall, "Take your pick."

Len steps up, picking a moderately sized sword from the wall, holding it and staring at it a bit before frowning, and putting it back, and continuing along the wall. Kendi watches him for a few seconds, before turning to me. "Aren't you going to pick one?" She asks.

I bite my lip, "I don't know much about swords, how am I supposed to know? I've never used one, let alone fought with one, which I assume we will be training to fight with whatever we choose." I shrug.

"For now, just pick one. You can get a feel for it, and if you don't like it, you can always pick a different one."

"Alright." I step forwards, before walking down along the wall. Len's stopped multiple times, examining blades, before putting them down again. "What're you looking for?" I ask, looking for something to look for in a blade, anything.

"Whatever feels right, I guess." Len says, throwing a smile my way, putting another blade back in it's respective spot on the wall. I frown, walking by. The farther down the wall I go, the more strange the blades get. I go from regular swords to a few that look more like torture devices, and then get to the throw-able ones.

"Knives?" Says Kendi, I frown, going back.

"No, I don't think so. I've never had very good aim with rage weapons." I say, headed away from the throwing knives and disk. I stop a little ways down, a different color catching my eye. Unlike the swords all around it, the staff was a dull brown, completely dismissable. I must have walked past it earlier. I lift it off the wall, liking the lightness of the wood, rather than the heavy weight of a iron or steel sword. I do an experimental swing, liking the way it feels in my grip.

"Interesting choice." Says a voice from behind me, and I jump, whirling around. Behind me is an older man, his eyes crinkled in laughter at my surprise. His beard is long and gray, trailing on the floor around and behind him, and he leans on his staff slightly, but not enough to really need it.