The Clash of Land and Sea.

Chapter Sixteen, Part A

Shane paced in front of his latest training group. Training the warriors had been his first task but now he was left training the younger elves that had been deemed too young before the faithful night when Kirin became queen.

Kirin admitted that she hated training such young elves in the ways of battle but circumstances had changed and what she had once hated was now necessary. The upcoming battle was going to take everything they had to win. Knowing that, Kirin had asked Shane to begin training the younger elves in basic defense.

Shane was trying to do that very thing but was starting to realize this was not going to be as easy as he had thought. The kids, Shane knew that some were almost teenagers but only a few, were struggling to fight with the swords for very long without complaining about being tired.

"Come on you guys, faster. You need to take this serious. If you were in a real battle would you let your weapon drop to the ground after every swing?" Shane shouted over the cracking sound of the practice swords hitting together.

"Rider Shane we're tired, we have been practicing all morning! We need a break." One of the younger elves complained, others around him mumbling their agreement.

"Your right, and when you get tired fighting the enemy you should just ask them for a quick break, I am sure they will let you catch your breath." Shane shouted. If any of the elves thought that they were going to get a break their hope was quickly shattered.

Shane continued to pace throughout the ranks of the elves, stopping and correcting almost every group. He finally had to take a step back to clear his head and try to figure things out.

Rilora, how are things going with you? Shane asked. He knew that Rilora was helping train the green dragons in Draek's absence.

Great, they might have caught Draek but they have no hope of catching me. Rilora's voice was strong and sure.

Good, things are not going so great over here with the young elves. Shane was about to ask Rilora for help or ask if she had any ideas but she interrupted him.

Great, now because of you they caught me. I need to focus on this so stop interrupting me. Rilora's last words echoed in Shane's mind. Shane was used to Rilora's competitiveness and it never upset him, instead she motivated him.

For all her faults, Rilora was dedicated and wanted to win at everything. Her drive to win and to be the best drove Shane to meet the standards of his dragon. If she wanted to be the best dragon then he wanted to be the best rider.

"Enough take a break." Shane finally said. All the elves vocalized their appreciation and threw down their weapons. They cleared off the training field and made their way to the tree lines to take their break in shade. Just as Shane was about to walk away from the field he heard the familiar sound of a dragon landing.

Shane turned around to see the Shaylin land gracefully of the field. Even though he had been getting frustrated with how poorly training had been going, seeing his friend made his day a little better.

Shane made his way back onto the field as Cass gracefully slid down the side of Shaylin.

"What brings you here?" Shane asked as he got closer to Cass.

"To see how things were going with the young recruits." Cass said as she walked to Shane and looked around at all the exhausted elves that were coming back onto the field to see Shaylin.

"I would like to say good but to be honest I am having a harder time then I had planned with training." Shane said.

"I can see they all look exhausted." Cass said, trying to be helpful.

"I just don't think it's a good idea to use children in a fight." Shane said.

"No one wants to use them in a fight but we might not have a choice. If the metallic army gets past us they will try to push through these kids whether or not they are trained. They have the best chance to survive if they know how to fight if it comes to that." Cass looked around at the smaller children and could not help feeling bad for what they were having to do.

"You're right." Shane said.

"Are you having them train with these?" Cass asked as she picked up one of the fallen practice swords. Even in her hands the sword was too big.

"Well yes that's what all the other groups have been training with." Shane said as he took the blade from Cass. It was a thin steel blade that seemed like a toy to Shane compared to his copper broadsword.

"Yes but the other groups were adults who could wield these blades. These are kids they need to have daggers or something easier." Shane gave the practice sword a few swings, cutting down invisible enemies.

Shane was about to agree with Cass for the second time since she had landed when another idea struck him.

"Everyone come over here. Gather in, quickly." Shane shouted. All the elves lowered their heads as they made their way to Shane, thinking that they were about to start training again.

Shane picked the smallest elf he could find, a young girl who looked to be twelve.

"You." Shane pointed at the young girl. "Is today the first time you have ever used a sword?" Shane asked.

The girl did not speak but instead she nodded. Shane moved on to the next smallest child, and the next; each time getting the same answer as before.

"Has anyone ever used a dagger before, or even a short sword?" Shane shouted to all the elves. Again no one said that they had.

"How many of you have ever used a bow before?" Shane asked. Immediately all the elves raised their hands and lifted their gaze to meet Shane.

Shane pointed to the youngest elf again. "How good are you with a bow?" Shane asked.

"I have been hunting on my own for almost two years now." She answered shyly.

Shane turned to face Cass, who was already guessing at what Shane had discovered. "Instead of training them to fight with blades, something they have no experience with, why not let them use what they have been using for years?" Shane asked.

"I agree with you, and luckily we have more than enough bows and arrows." Cass smiled when she saw the expressions of the young elves all around her change into smiles. Cass climbed back onto Shaylin and began strapping herself in.

"Where are you going?" Shane asked as they all backed up to give Shaylin room to take off.

"To the armory, to get you bows and arrows of course." Cass signaled to Shaylin and within a heart beat they were flying back towards Out Post.

"So what do we do now Rider Shane?" The young girl asked.

"Now we clear this field and set up targets, it's time for archery practice." Shane said as the kids cheered around him, happy to be doing anything other than training with swords.