Chapter 8: Training

Aldren stood with his hands clasped behind his back, the sound of his leather boots clapping against the cobblestone was the only audible noise as he paced back and forth. A few hundred of Arendelle's guards stood before him at attention in the palace courtyard which he had requisitioned to train the guard, Gillian was in attendance as more of a witness than a trainee. He slowly evaluated them, some had been with the guard for some time while others had volunteered more recently. He looked for weakness and strength, most looked nervous while some showed hints of overconfidence. It made sense, not all had encountered or even knew of their enemy yet...they would though.

He walked down the line, eying each one, eventually stopping in front of the two that he had observed the day before. He looked between the two and addressed them, "What are your names?"

The brown haired one spoke first who he recognized as the guard that took his sword in the streets not far from the palace, "Arvid, Sir"

"Ah yes, you were the first to greet me when I arrived...and relieve me of my weapon." Arvid looked down in embarrassment but Aldren smiled, "But then you were only doing what a guard is supposed to." Arvid smiled back.

The tall red head replied with a heavy northern accent, "Baldrek...sir."

Aldren nodded, he decided to pick on Baldrek first, "You are quite large, even for an Arendellian...strong too I imagine. Let me see your sword."

Baldrek Hesitantly drew his blade handed it to him, Aldren weighted the blade in his hand and gave it a few swings, twirled it and tapped his shoulder with the tip, "This is a good sword."

Handing it back to him he turned and walked towards a wooden pole with a rope around it, he cut the rope and an armored naga shell dropped and hung next to him.

Dane's armor would be useful in the training and to help familiarize Arendelle's future warriors with the face of their enemy. Aldren looked to his student, "Now, strike down your enemy." he commanded.

Baldrek swallowed hard, he took his sword in both hands and walked up to the dummy. He took a hard swing and his blade connected with the chest of the armor. The air was filled with the deafening ring of metal and the wobbling of Baldrek's arms along with a chorus of laughter from his fellow guardsmen and light chuckle from Gillian, he hadn't even dented the shell.

Aldren narrowed his eyes at them, "Failing to fell your enemy here is amusing...on the battlefield it will be fatal."

Their faces became ashamed and the laughter died as quickly as it had begun. Frustrated, Baldrek straightened his hat and took several heavier swings, shouting loudly with each attack which did little but tire him out. He leaned over panting but still continued attempting to swing and Aldren walked up beside, leaning back as one of Baldrek's exhasusted strikes nearly came his way, "Alright, alright! That's enough." He held out his hand.

Baldrek sighed shamefully, relinquishing the sword and stepped back, Aldren stood before the dummy, and thrust it towards the gut of the armor. To all their great surprise the blade had slipped between the metal plates with ease, Baldrek scratched his head and Aldren patted his shoulder as he walked past him, "Let's begin." And from several other wooden poles, ropes were cut and other Naga suits of armor hung for them to line up in front of.

OoO

Aldren stood above his trainees on a wooden platform as each of them took turns using their weapons on the dummies. He spoke aloud in a disciplined tone which made him sound even more serious than normal, "Your enemy: he may be larger than you, he may be stronger than you and he may even be fiercer than you. His armor may resist your swords and his blade will most certainly cut through your uniform like parchment...though I suspect that is something that shall have to remedied later." He said more to himself. "He may mean to take you prisoner, to enslave you, to destroy you; your homes, your families, the very memory and history of your country if he can...You will not give him that opportunity. Your strength, speed and stamina are a great asset in combat but only if applied in the proper manner. You won't be able to out muscle all your enemies, no matter how big you are there will always be someone bigger than you. There are weak points at the base of the neck, the back of the knee, the under arm and the between the metal plates of the abdomen. These are where you want to focus your attacks, whether your weapon is a sword, spear, ax, hammer, arrow or your fists. Discipline, skill and a determined heart will be your greatest allies, along with the people standing right beside you."

OoO

Evening approached as the sun began to set and the guards continued through their drills, Aldren visited Gillian and brought up some plans for new armor. They stood over a workbench and Gillian wrote across a piece of parchment while Aldren spoke. "It needs to be sturdy but light, flexible leather and hardened, layered steel. And smooth plates to help blades and projectiles graze off. Their swords will need stronger guards and longer handles for two handed wielding and better balance."

Gillian jotted everything down, "You certainly know how to fill out a tall order, but if it helps keep the troops alive. So...Aldren, beyond a mercenary you are a blacksmith as well?" the old man leaned against the table with a knowing grin.

He was slightly unsettled by Gillian's attitude, "I dabble."

"Who taught you?"

"My father..."

"You know; I once knew a blacksmith with a name like yours-"

"Yes Hammerhel is known for its blacksmiths or at least it used to be... I'm sure you knew many."

"Of course." Gillian stated 'matter of factly.'

Aldren chose to ignore Gillian's probing and the old man spoke again, "So will you be continuing with their training?"

"No, have them run through the drills for another half hour then relieve them for the day."

Aldren took note that the older man despite being the technical leader of the guardsmen was surprisingly comfortable with obeying his orders, perhaps he simply recognized that despite Aldren's age he had more experience in warfare...or maybe...He looked upward and spotted queen Elsa watching on the balcony above the courtyard. Aldren turned to Gillian, "I have another matter to attend to-Oh and the hats, we must do away with those...forever." with that he turned and walked towards the palace.

Gillian looked over at the guardsmen training in their very silly...cumbersome hats. He smiled and chuckled, "It's about time."

OoO

Elsa stood with her hands leaning against the railing of the balcony and watched the guardsmen as they trained. She was more than pleased to see them progressing under Aldren's guidance, it was a step towards making the kingdom safer. She spotted Aldren as he bid farewell to Gillian and walked towards the palace, and a few minutes later he appeared beside her. "Your grace."

She looked at him and smiled, "Hello Aldren, I'm glad to see their training is making steady progress."

He nodded, "Smoother for some more than others, but progress is progress.

"And how are your two 'candidates' coming along."

Aldren scratched his chin, "They both have a natural ability to fight though Arvid is the more disciplined of the two, he follows orders well and has the drive and desire to excel. Baldrek is steadfast but a bit of a...barbarian, if I'm being honest...he doesn't seem to care much about his position in the ranks but he means to fight his country all the same. I have a feeling Arvid is the best choice for a second lieutenant."

Elsa nodded but with some uncertainty, she watched Arvid and Aldren was right about him...however, he was rigid, stiff even: firmly rooted in everything he had been taught already and focused greatly on improving himself, he clearly strove to advance through the ranks.

But when she looked to Baldrek she saw someone that was more flexible...he practiced with techniques that might be considered unorthodox but not impractical, using his momentum and weight with his attacks. He was also open to helping others with their own training, even something as simple as helping them off the ground after he put them there said a lot about his character.

She also recalled some wisdom that her mother had told her once when she was younger, 'The person who does not long for reward and praise is often times the one most deserving of it.' She wouldn't mention these thoughts to Aldren at present but she would keep them in mind when she made her decision...though truthfully, if she could, she would choose neither, the person standing next to her would be her first choice. But he had already said that he did not intend to stay in Arendelle...still...

"We will see once their training is complete." She stated.

"Very well then, let's say we have a glance at that book of yours."

She nodded and they both turned towards her desk inside, she handed him the thick magenta book and allowed him to sit at her desk while he looked it over and lending him her notebook to copy down his translations. She pulled up a separate chair beside him, he narrowed his eyes at the text, "I warn you, it's been some time since I've had to read or even soeak the Alfar tongue...it's not my first language for certain and this dialect is unique compared even to that...this will take some time."

She smiled, "I don't mind."

For the next few hours Aldren worked tirelessly to translate the entire section of the book that regarded The Witch King. Elsa anxiously watched him work, only leaving once or twice to get Aldren a cup of water, she had asked if he had wanted something stronger but he insisted that he did not partake. Eventually Aldren began murmuring aloud to himself, "The right hand of Malignus, harbinger of shadow and herald of storms. The ruin of Alfar and men'...very dramatic and merciless...I wonder who this 'Malignus' is? 'The once anointed king of all that was conquered in his name, he has watched from the shadows and awaits the day that he would lead an army to retake their' blah blah Blah..."

He sighed, "Well most of this is aggrandizing the 'Witch King of the Naga Ai' and I'm afraid that not much else is offered...at least in the way that I can translate at present...I-um, I think I'll stop here for now your grace." he rubbed his forehead in exhaustion."

Elsa leaned against her desk, "You've done more than I would have expected Aldren...I was just hoping there would be more than that. Another thing that doesn't add up is the age of the runes with the supposed age of this 'Witch King Amicus'."

"Perhaps 'Amicus' is a symbolic title passed on to a new leader with each generation or perhaps..."

"What?"

"Well whether you believe in it or not, some elves have been known to live for hundreds of years, thousands even, perhaps a similar standard applies to these naga."

She couldn't help but be amused at how he spoke of elves as if she knew exactly what he was talking about, she grinned, "You know...you still haven't told me anything about these 'Alfar'-or rather 'elves' of yours"

Aldren looked slightly embarrassed "Ah yes...well when I have an opportunity perhaps I can clarify...And I will attempt to decipher more of the book when I can; not everything in here pertains to the naga but there may be other useful information in Arendelle's other myths and fables, if you'll allow me to borrow it."

She nodded, "Of course."

He stood and picked up the book, something fell from the pages onto the desk, he picked up to examine it. It was a letter, the Arendelle royal seal of house Floran was imprinted on the front. He looked to Elsa, she stood as he handed it to her, she took it in her hands, her eyes widened and her breath cut short at the sight of the seal. Her fingers started to tremble slightly as she held it.

Aldren stepped forward, concern of his face, "Everything alright your grace...is it something important?"

She snapped herself out of the trance and looked up at him and smiled, "I-I doubt it, but... I'll look at it later." she opened the drawer of her desk and quickly put the letter inside.

She looked back to Aldren, "I... I imagine that you'll want to start my training soon?" She said, changing the subject.

He cocked his head and looked at her questioningly, "Yes...but I won't have you start in today, you seem to have a lot on your mind and I'm sure you have other matters to make good use of your time...And I could use some rest myself."

She nodded, "Of course...Thank you for your help today Aldren."

He nodded, turning to leave, "Get some rest tonight your majesty, you start at dawn."

"Goodnight."

He closed the door behind him and she was left in her office alone. She looked back down at her drawer and opened it, reaching out to the letter... she closed the drawer and put it out of her mind. Sighing she knew why she didn't want to think about it, she had some ideas of what the letter contained and it was likely written by her father's hand...in truth ...she had no idea what would be written...and that frightened her...