User:Darkom/Fabula de Viro Part Two

The UESPWiki – Your source for The Elder Scrolls since 1995
Jump to: navigation, search

Fabula de Viro

By Darkom Nightblossom

Part Two


Resarcio

“This is the one who hurt himself in training?” The small, plump woman asked.

“Yup” Blentyn said “He was doing the rock exercise with Desideratus.”

“Desideratus? A bit high level for a Coepi, don’t you think?” Viro was sitting on a small stool in a large tent. Besides the 3 cots, a large table took up the center of the tent. It was covered with scrolls and charts of anatomy of several species, as well as manuscripts and potion bottles of different color and size. There was one other person, a man lying in a cot, in the room besides himself, Blentyn, and the woman he figured was Alumna. ‘Quite the odd old maid,’ Viro thought ‘With her grey hair up in a bun, and a tan apron, she looks almost like someone’s grandmother. It’s amazing the people that are in this guild.’

“So, Blentyn tells me you don’t know some of the most basic healing magic? Body, soul, and mind, that’s what you need to learn to heal, healing your body will fix bruises and contusions, your soul will restore stamina, and healing your mind will give you more magic.” Alumna said matter-of-factly.

“Alright, how?” Viro asked.

“I was getting to it; don’t interrupt me when I’m trying to help you!” The old woman scolded. ‘I had no idea such an old person could anger so easily!’ Viro thought.

“To heal your body, focus your magical energy into any areas where you have wounds, on the upper levels of the skin and tissue. Restoring stamina requires you to put magic into your heart, lungs, and muscles. And if you need to restore magic, just focus on your brain. Try it.”

“Alright.” Viro said, as he closed his eyes and focused his magic.

“Don’t close your eyes! You’ll never have time to do that in a fight!” Alumna snapped again.

“Sorry.” Viro mumbled, as he tried to re-focus his magic. He felt the energy coursing through his body, when suddenly a massive pain erupted in his chest. He looked towards the old woman, wondering if she’d done something, when he noticed his vision had gone red. He saw everything as if it were painted scarlet. ‘Just like in the cave!’ Viro thought, as he shouted a cry of agony.

“What?! What happened?!” Alumna shouted, as Viro fell off his stool to the earthen floor. He writhed in pain for another 30 seconds while Alumna tried to calm him down and treat him in every way she knew. She cast a spell of healing on him, but it only made the pain worse. Blentyn and Alumna shouted more, but Viro could not hear them. He fell into unconsciousness just as Alumna cast another spell on him.

Viro awoke in the same tent where he had fallen unconscious. Mwhyll was sitting next to him on a stool, reading a book. “What happened?” Viro asked groggily.

“Ah, you’re awake. Good, No one could figure out what was wrong with you, even Alumna was stumped when you stopped convulsing and she could check your vitals. Everything was working fine.”

“A pain. In my chest, I saw red. Just like the cave…”Viro mumbled, trying to remember what had happened.

“Cave? What cave?” Mwhyll asked, putting his book down.

“The trial of fear, I say red when I used magic. Just like in the tent...”

“Hmm, it seems to be connected to you using magic. But you had no problems summoning or disappearing in your training with me. I will go fetch Alumna, wait here, and don’t cast any spells.” Mwhyll said as he got up and left the tent.

“Heh-heh-heh.” A low voice chuckled from a corner of the tent. It came from a man lying on a cot, the same one Viro saw in the tent earlier.

“What’s so funny?” Viro asked, sitting up to get a better view of the man. He appeared to be a dark elf, very thin, but very muscular. Viro could not be sure while the man was lying down, but he also appeared of average height, and he had silver-grey hair, tied back in a knot. His torso was covered with fresh bandages, going all the way down his right arm. His lower body was covered by a tan blanket.

“You. You don’t sound like an injured person, you just sound crazy. That old woman is wasting her time taking care of you. If you can’t use magic, you should just be killed.”

“And what makes you think that, why are you here, listening to my conversations?” Viro asked, his anger barely concealed in his voice.

“Me? I lost the fight earlier today. Most people die, but I was lucky.”

“What happened to you, though?”

“Punctured lung, 2 broken ribs and my arm is useless. Lost a chunk from my left leg, too.” He said, lifting the blanket to reveal bandages on his leg.

“Wow, that looks bad, how long are you going to be in here?” Viro asked, suddenly feeling sympathy for the rude man.

“If that hag knows what she’s doing, only a few weeks. Name’s Bralos and you are Viro?”

“Yes. So you are a Coepi, too?”

“Yes,” Bralos said “But don’t compare me to you, I have been doing the same training you have, but for 2 months now. I am twenty times the man I once was.”

“I feel the same.” Viro said, looking off into space.

“So you must be popular, to have 4 people check up on you constantly. Even a tall Magister came to visit you.”

“Who? What did he look like?”

“You don’t know him? He was a high elf, always in a black robe, with satin blonde hair done up in a knot. Came in here a few times and talked with the Argonian and little black haired boy.”

“Wait, the same Magister who came when I first arrived?! What did he say to Mwhyll and Blentyn?” Viro asked excitedly.

“Nothing much. Just how you were doing, what happened to you; that boring stuff. I didn’t listen most of the time; I have more important things to do.”

“So, Bralos” Viro said, changing the subject “What happened in the fight? I didn’t get to see.”

“Of course not, We can’t watch equal ranks fight, that’s just-" Bralos was interrupted by a loud voice on the other side of the tent flap.

“What do you mean you don’t want me to see him now that he’s awake?! I wasted all that time coming in here just to ask him about it personally! You have no authority to stop me!” The Magister that Viro and Bralos were talking about just moments before strode in; wearing the same robe and dagger Viro first saw him in. He was quickly followed by Alumna and Mwhyll.

“Well, well, our little Coepi is awake, eh?” The elf’s smile was so bestial; Viro thought he would be afraid. But he wasn’t “The Argonian tells me you fainted because of pain from casting restoration magic. And that something similar happened in the cave of fear.”

“Yes, that is correct.” Viro said, hiding his apprehension.

“Don’t try to fool me, boy. Seeing your emotions could help us figure out what is going on. Explain to us again what happened.”

“Really now, he should rest before you start interrogating him.” Alumna said, in an almost motherly tone.

“You think this is interrogation? Have you even been to Stonewell?” The tall elf said in a mocking tone, turning to face the healer.

“Have you been through the trial of pride? Or the trial of respecting your elders?” The old woman said, placing her hands on her hips.

“Have you tried to respect your superiors? You have no authority to tell me how to behave.”

“I do in this tent, and I won’t have you stressing out my patients.”

“Initiate, follow me!” The elf snarled. Viro lay where he was for a moment, debating over what he should do. Fortunately, Alumna interrupted before he had to.

“Out, out! I won’t have you in here, and the Procter has already given me the authority over things regarding patients, so I can tell you to stop interrogating him!” Viro saw that Alumna seemed to care much more about her patients than ordinary people.

“Don’t think I’ll forget this, wench!” The elf said, as he left the tent with an aura brimming with violence. Viro felt sorry for the next person that talked to him.

“Don’t listen to him, dear. You don’t have to tell us what happened unless you want to.” Alumna said, smiling warmly. Viro was certain that Alumna was only kind to patients now.

“Thank you,” Viro said “But I would have told him what happened. I’m interested in what happened, too.”

“Well then, what did happen?”

“Hmm, well, when I tried to use healing magic to ease my wounds, my chest suddenly started to hurt. I saw everything as if it were painted red, and when you cast spells, it only got worse. However, when I summoned things during my training with Mwhyll, I was fine. Even using invisibility didn’t cause any problems, but when I used a night eye spell in the cave of fear, the same red happened, without the pain.” Viro said, his eyes gazing off in thought.

“You seem to have a problem with magic entering your body. The more it penetrates, the worse the effects. Magic that you cast that effects things outside your body don’t seem to cause problems, even if it alters the light immediately outside your body. I would say you have something wrong with your natural magical defenses. A magic disease, your body overreacts. Very dangerous, but I can’t think of a way to cure it.” Alumna explained.

“I know how to solve it.” Bralos said from his bed, staring at the ceiling of the tent.

“What?” Alumna asked.

“Indeed?” Mwhyll, who had been standing silently in the corner, said “What do you mean you know how to solve it?”

“I know what you need to do. And medicines and potions won’t work. It’s up to him and his body. He must build up immunity to the pain of it. If he simply has high sensitivity to magic, than he must try to dull that sense inside his body. However,” He stopped, suddenly summoning a dagger in his outstretched hand. Viro watched him do it, but before he summoned the dagger, Viro had sensed something, a red outline in his vision, right where the dagger appeared moments later. “You sensed that, didn’t you? You knew I was going to summon it, before I had.”

“What are you talking about?!” Alumna shouted “Viro can’t sense magic just because it hurts him to use it! He’s wrong, isn’t he?”

“No…” Viro whispered, awestruck “I saw a scarlet outline of a dagger, just for a moment. The dagger still seems to be glowing slightly.”

“Ha! See? This isn’t a curse, it’s a powerful gift. It’s a blessing from the heavens, a miracle in disguise.” Bralos shouted triumphantly.

“No, it’s impossible…” Alumna said, just as awestruck as Viro.

“Alright then, genius, what do we do about it? How do we dull his senses like you say, without taking that gift away?” Mwhyll asked, walking towards Particep’s bed.

“That’s obvious, have him cast a spell on himself every night, and also practice anticipating magic. We should consult an expert on magic about the dangers of dulling it, so we don’t get rid of his 6th sense.” Bralos, said, without even bothering to look at the party.

“That’s all fine and good, but Viro, what do you think about this?” Alumna asked, with the first concerned look he’d ever seen on her.

“Well, I suppose the training would be hard, but if it lets me see things like that,” he said, indicating Bralos summoned dagger “Then it might be worth it.”

“Indeed it would be.” Said a voice outside the tent, Alumna seemed to recognize it immediately.

“Lupus! I told you to leave, how long have you been listening?!” The tall elf Viro now knew was Lupus strode in, with a face that seemed to be a mixture of pleasure and anger.

“I decided it was imperative I listen, and it was, seeing the importance of this information. Don’t worry, I want this talent to blossom like everyone else, but I have the connections to get just the magic expert you need, without a lot of questions from high up.” Lupus said with a devilish grin.

Everyone in the room, save Viro and Bralos, looked at Lupus darkly, but they all arrived at the conclusion that they had no choice. “Fine,” Alumna said “But we’re not happy about it, and don’t tell a soul unless Viro says you can.”

“Sounds good,” Lupus said, his smile becoming wider “Now, Viro, would you mind accompanying me this time?”

Viro got out of his bed, but before he stood up completely, Alumna whispered in his ear “Don’t trust him, he won’t hurt you, but he is good with words. Don’t say anything you’ll regret.”

Viro gave a slight nod and stood up, and began walking towards the elf. Everyone else, save Bralos, who had fallen asleep, stood completely still, watching the two. Viro finally stood right in front of Lupus and stared him in his shiny brown eyes. Lupus looked back into Viro’s grey eyes and told him “You can trust me; I’m interested only in your well being, despite what the nurse says.”

“After you.” Viro said, motioning towards the tent entrance. Lupus’ smile disappeared for a moment, but it returned wider than ever as he turned and left the tent. Viro thanked everyone in the tent and told them he’d be back as he left the tent.

“That boy has promise.” Alumna said after Viro left.

“You wouldn’t believe the times he got in the training, he might have set a record.” Mwhyll said.

“Heh-heh-heh…” Bralos chuckled softly “I hope so; he could be a valuable asset to us. I’m sure he’ll be a high rank in no time…”

Viro and Lupus walked for some time under the lowering afternoon sun. They eventually left the main camp and arrived at a large clearing. “I want you to tell me when you think I’m casting magic.” Lupus said.

“What?” Viro asked, but it was too late, Lupus had already begun summoning something. “You’re summoning.” Viro quickly said.

“Excellent” Lupus smiled as a bow appeared in his hand. Viro now saw a red line, coming from Lupus palm and heading up towards the trees.

“You’re casting something towards the trees.”

“Right again.” He said, as a bolt of lightning left his hand. Viro now saw Lupus’ eyes turn red, as if covered by lenses.

“You’re using night eye?” Viro asked.

“Yes,” Lupus said “So, what do you see when I use magic?”

“It depends on the type of magic,” Viro explained “If it’s conjuring, I see an outline of the item. If it’s casting, I see the trajectory, and if it is a self magic, I see the part of you affected.”

“So, in theory, if I were to cast invisibility upon myself, you would see my outline?”

“It makes sense.” Viro said. The Magister disappeared, but Viro saw a red silhouette of the elf. “Sort of, you seem to be a red blob.”

“Excellent,” Lupus said, reappearing “so it is both predictable and passive, and it doesn’t seem to drain your magicka?”

“No.” Viro said.

“Good, it is a gift then, and not a power. It is not common to all wood elves, so it is not a racial power. What is your birth sign?” Lupus asked.

“I believe I was born under the sign of the serpent.” Viro said.

“So it is also not a power given by the stars. Who are your parents?”

“I do not know, I came here from Valenwood, I was banished.”

“Why?”

“For murder.” Viro said coldly, his eyes seemed to pause in memory.

“Of little consequence, your ability seems to not have a logical source. However, had you noticed any magic before the trial of fear?”

“I ran into little magic, I killed casters with bow or stealth before they used any magic, if I was struck, it was from behind, and it hurt, but not as much as it did in the tent. I never used night eye or restoration magic before I came here.”

“Then we have no knowledge about when this could have happened. That is troublesome.”

“Indeed.” Viro agreed.

“I believe this requires someone with expertise in this subject. Do not use any magic until I retrieve one, but continue your training.”

“Alright, I may tell the others?” Viro asked.

“Yes.” Lupus said, walking off away from the camp.

“When will you be back?” Viro asked.

“One month. Your training should be done by then.” Lupus said as he disappeared into the swampy woods “Await my return. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.” Viro said sullenly. Once he had left Viro began the long walk back to camp.

By the time Viro had returned, night had fallen. Viro realized this was the first time he had actually seen the camp in the darkness of night. It seemed to contain the perfect balance of firelight and mysterious darkness. He remembered how he had once been afraid of the dark, afraid he would be killed by an overzealous assassin that wanted to be listener. He took a deep breath and released it.

“Not anymore.” He whispered to the night.

Viro opened the flap to the medical tent slowly to reveal Desideratus, Alumna, Mwhyll, Blentyn, and even Bralos waiting with an air full of tension.

“What’d he say?” Blentyn asked anxiously.

“That he was to go get a specialist; he’ll be back in a month.”

“That’s it? What did he say about your…power?” Blentyn asked, shifting his eyes to the floor at the end of his question.

“Indeed, we are all curious.” Mwhyll said.

“Not me.” Bralos said lazily from his bed.

“Quiet, you aren’t a part of this.” Desideratus snapped.

“Actually,” Viro said “He’s a very large part of it. He’s the one that realized what it was, and what to do.”

“Oh…” Desideratus said. He and Blentyn were shocked that such a seemingly lazy man would do so much for anyone else.

“Don’t judge me like that.” Bralos said, as if he knew what they were thinking.

“Nonetheless, we still want to know what happened with Lupus.” Mwhyll said, changing topics.

“Well,” Viro paused “He told me that it was some unknown power; not a birth power, or a race power, not even a spell. He said it was some mysterious, passive yet predictable talent that I either gained during the trial of fear, or anywhere beforehand. I told him how I might not have ever seen an actual spell, but it was likely I had and forgot.”

“So we know almost nothing?” Alumna asked tentatively.

“Yes; Lupus said he would get me a specialist, that he’d be back in a month, and that I shouldn’t use any magic for now.”

“That is wise.” Mwhyll said “We shall continue your training, though?”

“Yes.”

“I believe it is time to stop the tests and begin the fixed schedule training.” Desideratus said, changing the subject once more “You shall now start conditioning for your mind and body, as well as quite a bit of practice to improve your skills.”

“You said it followed a schedule?” Viro asked.

“Yeah, it’s fun.” Blentyn snickered.

“Alright, what does it entail?” Viro asked.

“Well, it begins each day with thirty minutes of stretching and body resistant exercises, to warm and prepare your muscles. Then we shall go to the blacksmith, archery range, or horse track and train those, one hour of practice under the eye of the trainer there. Then you shall go to the sparring arena, where you shall fight opponents of any skill, except your own. After you win a fight, we shall go over the reflexes drill again, and then Desideratus will do a miniature version of the pain drill for fifteen minutes. Finally we will have a lesson on fighting strategy and logic, and then you will prepare for bed.” Mwhyll explained.

“What about meals?” Viro asked.

“You will eat between lessons.”

“Okay, will someone bring me from one area to the next, or…?” Viro let the question hang, awaiting an answer.

“I’ll take care of that.” Blentyn said eagerly.

“Sounds like it will be a long day.” Viro said glumly.

“Day?” Desideratus questioned, smiling “This goes on every day for a month.”

“I told you it was fun.” Blentyn chuckled.

After Viro and Desideratus left Mwhyll and Blentyn inside the tent with Alumna, they began the short walk back to Viro’s tent.

“So you’re sure you’re ready for the training?” Desideratus asked, with a worried look on his face.

“I think I will be,” Viro said “As long as everyone here is as friendly as you guys, I think I’ll be alright.”

“Oh, then you are in trouble. Lupus didn’t say I was soft on new recruits for nothing, everyone else here will drive you into the ground. They don’t know your history, your personality, or your disability. They’ll tear you to shreds for the next month.”

“What happens after that?” Viro asked, stopping in front of his tent.

“After that? You will start to go on missions, which can be anything from training exercises to espionage.”

“What about assassinations?” Viro asked confused.

“You do not begin those until the next sanctuary. I told you, we only deal with combat skills here. You must crawl before you can walk.”

“Ah,” Viro said, beginning to walk once more “I don’t know how to feel about that.”

“Be happy you can live a peaceful life for once. From what I heard, you have never known life without killing.”

“Yes,” Viro said, closing his eyes “I am no longer proud of my history as an assassin, even though I am working to become one once more.”

“Assassin is a simplified term for what we do. We are not killing for fame, money, religion, power, or any other useless reason.”

“Then why?” Viro asked, genuinely confused by Desideratus’ sentiment.

“Because,” He said “We do what we must to keep Tamriel a peaceful place, so that it may one day be able to go without us.”

“You work towards your own replacement?” Viro asked. Desideratus stopped in front of him, still facing away.

“Indeed, the organization is a martyr of sorts. We shall die so that our ideas may live on. The leader said this to us; we are all told this when we join. Those who believe it stay, and those who don’t are released. So,” He paused, seeming to wring his hands, but Viro could not see them. “After everything, what do you believe?” Desideratus asked, turning to him, with his large hands behind his back.

Viro stared deep into his eyes for a few moments, and then said confidently “I believe that I am ready to become a weapon of the leader’s philosophy. We shall be murderers, yes, but we shall do it for the betterment of society. We shall not kill to satisfy a cruel god, or a selfish dictator, we shall assassinate a few to allow all people to go on to advance society. And when free thinking is unrestricted and all is just, we shall finally end our crusade.”

“Well put,” Desideratus said, looking up to the midnight sky “Be careful not to let those words confuse you. Any cause so great is easily twisted by an unjust mind.”

“My beliefs are steadfast, and my new reason for life is one I can be proud of.” Viro stopped. ‘Proud of?’ He thought ‘Since when did pride return to him?’

“Your pride has returned, and you have passed the last, and most dangerous, test. Be careful not to let it go unchecked.”

“Yes sir.” Viro said sharply, but not unkindly. “What do you mean dangerous? I thought I would be released if I decided I did not like the leader’s ideas?”

“That was a lie. Anyone misjudged is immediately killed…” Desideratus said, bringing his hands in front of him and letting a silver dagger fall to the ground. “This was what I was ordered to do if you refused, but I am happy you did not.”

“As am I, friend, as am I.” Viro said as he entered his tent.

“Goodnight, friend.” Desideratus said, with a blatant grin on his face as he walked to the other side of camp.


Pandus

Viro woke as he had the day before, but this time he knew exactly what was happening that day. ‘Well, almost everything.’ He thought as he got out of bed and dressed himself with clothes he found in a chest under his bed. He also found a short blade and sheath inside, which he turned over in his hands many times before attaching it to his leather belt.

As he walked into the warm, humid air of the camp, he looked around to see all the people training like he had seen them his first day. He saw Blentyn running towards him and called out to him casually “Hello! Where are we headed?”

“Nowhere, yet,” He said “First is the stretching and some light exercise. Don’t tell me you forgot already, old man? Or did you not want to do them?”

“Compared to you I may be old.” Viro laughed.

Blentyn smiled, but only after a shadow passed over his face. “Ready?” He asked.

“Certainly, what comes first?”

“Stretch out your limbs and joints, then tell me when you want to begin the exercises.”

“Alright.” Viro said as he began stretching. He started with his knees, bending over to touch his toes. Then he moved on to his calves, then his hips, back, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and finished with his neck 5 minutes later. “Ready.” He said.

“Took you long enough, start off with 100 pushups, and then do 100 crunches. Tell me when you want to move on to pull-ups and I’ll show you a good tree to use.”

“100? Really, everyone does that?” Viro asked.

“Every day, including myself. I did mine before I came over, but I can do ‘em again with you, if you’d like.”

“No thank you.” Viro said, dropping to the ground to do his exercises. ‘This will be a long day.’ He thought as he passed twenty.

Twenty-five minutes later, he had finished the warm-up. He was out of breath and his limbs were noticeably shaking. “You people do this every day?” He asked between breaths.

“Of course; it gets easier eventually.” Blentyn said from the tree limb he was resting on. “Ready to go to the archery range?”

“I suppose, who is the teacher there?” Viro asked, swinging his arms to get blood to them.

“I am,” Blentyn smiled, indicating the bow and arrows strapped to his back “I’m the best archer in camp.”

“Impossible.” Viro said.

Blentyn’s face seemed to darken once more, but it was only for a moment. Viro was not sure he had even seen it. “Wanna bet? I say I can hit that squirrel over there.”

“Where?” Viro asked, looking amongst the tree branches.

“You can’t see him? I’d say he’s about 100 yards south of here, eating a nut in a tree about 30 feet off the ground.” Blentyn said, as he strung his bow and notched an arrow to it. Without even bothering to line up his aim, he loosed the arrow. Viro saw only a flash amongst the trees, and then heard a dull thump of something hitting the ground.

“Want to go get it?” Blentyn asked with a smile.

“No, I trust you.” Viro said, amazed. “So, where is the archery range?”

After their short walk to the archery range, Blentyn was explaining the basics of the bow to Viro. As Blentyn talked, Viro was examining the range. ‘It seems to be about fifty yards from here to the nearest target. Strange, how the whole of the range is surrounded by a dense wall of trees. Some even have targets painted on them, and the branches seem to be growing in an odd way, none go into the range itself.’ Besides the abnormal trees, the rest of the clearing was normal, a cleared dirt floor and several paths going in. Several other members were shooting arrows at the targets, some even shot at the trees. Viro could swear he saw an arrow come down from a tree towards one of the hay targets, but he dismissed it as a trick of the light.

“And that’s how you fire accurately from long distances.” Blentyn concluded, suddenly bringing Viro’s attention back to him. “Were you paying attention at all?” He asked.

“Um…Could you go over a few parts again?” Viro asked sheepishly.

“Ugh,” Blentyn groaned “Alright, but you must listen closely this time. Got it?” Viro nodded his head vigorously.

“Alright, the main points of archery are this: load, pull, aim, and shoot. Simple, right; well guess again, because this will be the most difficult skill for you to master. It takes time, patience, and more practice than you can get in one lifetime to be as good as the archers of the organization.” Blentyn explained “The load is the taking the arrow out of the quiver and placing the notch on the bowstring. It’s important to place it in the right spot on the string, or else your arrow won’t fly quite straight. Same goes for the pull, when you draw back with your index finger and thumb, cradle it with your middle finger and make sure it’s in the right place on the bow shaft, too. To aim, bring the arrow up to your shoulder and look straight down it to your target. Eventually aiming becomes so second nature, you hardly have to look, like I did with the squirrel. Finally, during the release, don’t forget to keep the arrow aligned, check your aim once more and shoot. If the arrow doesn’t hit the target where you aimed, it’s probably a problem with the release. Any questions?”

“No, not really.” Viro said, thinking of how often he had used the bow before. ‘I didn’t really need that talk, but I’m sure everyone has to hear it as part of the training.’

“Alright then, you try.” Blentyn said, handing Viro a common iron tipped bow and a quiver full of arrows. Viro took the bow, slung the quiver over his back, and pulled out an arrow. He fitted it to the string and took aim at the nearest target.

“Careful.” Blentyn said in a soft voice.

Viro said nothing, putting his fingers on the string to pull it back, but when he tried the string would not budge. It looked normal, but it seemed to have been stretched so much that it could not be pulled. “What’s wrong with this bow?” Viro asked.

“Nothing’s wrong with it, I used it just a little while ago, remember? It’s what we use for training.” Blentyn explained, smiling.

“How do you train with a bow you can’t pull the string?” Viro asked, frustrated.

“You learn how to pull a bow and aim while exerting great effort. It helps you be able to keep an arrow knocked for hours on end, and pull one back quickly and shoot with more force. Before you become accurate, you must become able to use a bow without any difficulties.” Blentyn explained, his smile replaced with a serious look. “If you can’t do it today, you will practice and try to do it every day until you can.”

“So it’s like leg weights?” Viro asked, slightly confused.

“Kinda, the principle is the same, feel free to try for the next hour.”

“Fine.” Viro said, angered that he would have to do something so seemingly pointless.

“It’s very important.” Blentyn said, seeing Viro’s darkened expression. Viro said nothing, trying to pull the string back once more, without success.

“Looks like we’ll be here awhile!” Blentyn laughed.

One hour later, Viro was still at the archery range, trying to shoot his first arrow since coming to the camp.

“Look, I think you moved the string that time!” Blentyn laughed from the tree he was resting in. Viro’s arms were shaking with the effort of moving the bow string; arrows littered the ground from where he had broken them trying to line one up. Eventually he had given up on using arrows and just tried to pull the string by any means possible. The effort had cut his palms and wrists in several places.

“Well, the hour’s up, so let’s head down to the blacksmith to get you a decent weapon.” Blentyn said, hopping down from the tree and walking up to Viro.

“I already have a weapon.” Viro said, indicating the short sword at his belt.

“Other guys are going to be using either long blades or fists. You sure you want to use that against a long blade?”

“Fine.” Viro said, dropping the training bow on the ground and walking back towards the main camp.

“Watch it, that’s my personal bow!” Blentyn said, picking it up and returning it to its position across his back.

“Sorry.” Viro mumbled.

“Whatever, let’s just go.” Blentyn said, walking away from the range and back towards the camp.

“Here we are.” Blentyn said, as he and Viro arrived at a large, open tent that was fully equipped for a blacksmith. Large wooden tables covered with an assorted supply of tools, weapons, and pitchers of what appeared to be ale were inside. Also inside the tent were a large smelting oven and several anvils of varying sizes. A large orc was bent over the oven, turning a piece of metal inside.

“Hello Durzak! I got another Coepi in need of a big weapon!” Blentyn called out.

“Huh?” The large orc was dressed in a large, brown apron with many tools hanging off a black cloth belt. He had a large face, with heavyset eyes, a wide nose, and lines that indicated he was always frowning; as he was now.

“Weapon, fine, hurry up and pick one, I’m busy.” He said in an annoyed tone as he turned back to the oven. Blentyn smiled “But it’s his first new weapon. He’s brand new.”

“What, why didn’t you tell me.” Durzak said with a large smile that didn’t quite fit his face. “You know,” he said as he walked past the tables and out towards Viro “A good weapon is like a good shoe. It’s gotta fit well, or else it’ll be uncomfortable and less effective.”

“Oka-“ Viro started to say as the orc put his arm behind Viro’s shoulders and led him towards a table lined with swords, axes, and maces.

“So what kinda man are ya’? Want somen’ with an edge, or do ya’ like to smash bones? Sword, axe, what’ll ya’ have?”

“Umm…” Viro thought for a moment but was quickly interrupted by the overeager orc. He heard Blentyn snicker from outside the tent.

“You look like you like swords, right? It’s probably the short sword that tipped me off, eh?” Durzak indicated the sword at Viro’s belt. “Let me measure ya” The blacksmith took a strip of measuring tape off his belt and brought it up to Viro’s right arm. “Three foot two, eh’, I got somen for ya. How’s the balance?” He lifted Viro’s arm and held it parallel to the ground. “Relax; I can’t do this right if you don’t let me hold your arm.” He shifted Viro’s arm up and down. “Mhm, just as I thought. Here,” He said handing Viro a steel long sword “Just under regulation length, with the tip a little heavier and the handle wider. Should be perfect, hand guard’s slightly larger, too. You don’t use a shield much, so parrying is important.”

Viro took the sword and held it aloft. He was amazed at how it felt ‘He’s right, this feels much better than a normal sword. How’d he do all that just from my arm?’

“Perfect fit, right?” Durzak chuckled as he watched Viro look at the sword with awe. “That should do. Let me know if you need anything done to it. I think I might need to taper the end a bit.”

“Uh, thanks.” Viro said.

“No, thank you,” Durzak said “It’s not every day I get to practice my measuring, let me know if it starts feeling different.”

“Aright.” Viro said, smiling at the large orc's unexpected kindness. He walked back to Blentyn once Durzak had given him a sheath to go with the new sword.

“Not what you expected, right? He gets excited when he hands someone their first sword. Oh, and that is your first, your life before here is over, isn’t it?” Blentyn asked, changing from a jovial attitude to a more sober one.

“Yeah, yeah it is.” Viro said, gazing at the sword.

“Alright, let’s head over to a sparring ring. You get your first real fight, are you ready?”

Before Viro could answer, Durzak called out to him “Oh yeah, what’s your name, initiate?”

“Viro, Viro Latro.” Viro said, smiling.

“Did you just make that up?” Blentyn asked as they walked away from the blacksmith.

“Yes.” Viro said, looking up towards the bright blue sky.