And thus began the start of the worst part of the swordsmanship training Sharmin faced. The students were brought outside of the training hall, where the teachers had released previously caught puppy and juvenile Keltir, and tiny rabbit creatures known as Elpy to the courtyard. The teachers had tied armor upgrades, jewelry, potions and even money to the beasts, that the students were to collect after they slayed them. The teachers explained the rules, once they retrieved at least one piece of armor and two pieces of jewelry, they were to report back to the teacher, who would follow them out to the beach where the adult and elder Keltir were scattered to be evaluated to move to the next class. Sharmin gulped and approached an Elpy, which obliviously munched upon grass. It was wearing a copper necklace which made Sharmin giggle somewhere in the back of her mind. Ignoring the sounds of her classmates already eagerly beginning their assignment, Sharmin crouched in front of the Elpy and eyeballed him, who in turn eyeballed her back. She made a pained face and slowly reached out and poked the animal with her sword. It squeaked and hopped away from her to the edge of the courtyard, where it stared at her with large, frightened eyes. Sharmin found herself blinking back tears of guilt and she sighed. Pulling a carrot slice from her pocket that she'd stowed there from lunch for later, she held it out as far as she could towards the Elpy.
"Here, let's trade. You take the carrot; I'll take the necklace, ok?" Sharmin coaxed, waving the slice. The fear left the Elpy's eyes and it hopped a bit closer, its nose twitching as it tried to smell the carrot.
"Ooh hey, a necklace!" a teen named Gatz said, running the poor creature through right in front of Sharmin's eyes and plucking the necklace from it's neck. Sharmin stared at the Elpy as it twitched in front of her for a moment before her face twisted into a mournful expression and she burst into wailing tears. Her classmates and teachers all turned to stare at her, and Gatz gave her a bewildered look, unsure of what it was that he'd done.
That evening, Sharmin sat on the steps as the rest of her class was out on the beach, being evaluated for the next class level. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, and she rested her chin upon them. Her sword lay beside her, still gleaming and unbloodied. She had been unable to finish the lesson. She saw the hem of Cedric's yellow hakama pants as he knelt beside her.
"You know...wielding a sword means taking lives." Cedric said his voice neither gentle nor harsh. Sharmin watched as a mayfly, its wings still wet, landed on her arm. "Becoming a warrior of the blade means that you're not always going to be taking the lives of the ugly or evil. Sometimes you're going to have to guide even the most innocent of creatures to Gran Kain's embrace." he continued. He slapped his hand down upon the mayfly, Sharmin jumping at the impact. "The most merciful way is to do it quickly, before they know what's hit them. That way they leave without fear, without sorrow." He lifted his hand, the mayfly laying smooshed against Sharmin's red and stinging skin. "If you cannot grasp that, then maybe I was wrong about you after all." Cedric said seriously, standing. He made his way down the stairs towards the field, leaving Sharmin to stare at the dead insect with tear-filled eyes.
As the sun was setting into the western sea, Sharmin made her way to the beach, her classmates long since gone back to the Hall for dinner, and began practicing her sword moves. She heard Keltirs calling to each other around her, each yipping noise sounded to her as if they were mourning their dead family. She sliced at the air angrily. Why had she not realized how cruel of a thing learning the way of the sword was? How foolish she'd been.
"Your shoulders are drooping." came a voice from behind her. Sharmin jumped as an arm came around her and grasped her wrist, guiding her arm in proper form, the other holding her would-be shield arm at the elbow. She looked up, her eyes growing larger as she saw Leon's expressionless face watching her sword arm intently. Sharmin snapped back to looking forward and gulped, her heart pounding loud enough that she was sure he could hear it.
"Uh...th...thanks..." she said, trying to take over movement. Leon put his hands on the sides of her shoulders.
"Now you're too tense. Loosen up." he said gently.
"Ok." she said, shutting her eyes and relaxing.
"Now your shoulders are drooping again." Leon stated.
"Ok!" Sharmin exclaimed this time, scrunching her shoulders up. Leon's visible eye shut as he chuckled and stepped away from her. Sharmin blinked at him and lowered her sword, surprised, as she had never seen him show such an emotion before.
"I had trouble killing them at first too..." Leon said, standing at the edge of the ocean and looking out over it. He was barefoot, his boots discarded in the grass behind him. The wind was picking up, blowing dark clouds in from the west, blocking out the last of the sunset.
"The Elpys?" Sharmin asked when he didn't continue. He nodded.
"When I was younger, I had a soft spot for animals. I'll admit, it's rough at first, but at the same time, they take what we kill and use their meat for food and pelts for money. In the end we're just helping life go on, you know?" Leon said, turning to look at her. Thunder rumbled in the approaching clouds, and the wind whipped their hair around their faces. Sharmin looked down at the ground, gripping her sword. "Just keep telling yourself it's hunting so your family can live." Leon offered, stepping out of the water and back over to his boots. "In the end, who would you rather survive, yourself or the Elpy?"
"The Elpy." Sharmin said sullenly. Leon looked at her in surprise for a moment before laughing.
"You're a good person, Sharmin." he complimented, sitting in the grass to put his boots back on. Sharmin's eyes widened at this and her face turned bright pink. She turned away so he wouldn't see it. The blush faded as she noticed movement behind the darkened windows of the magic school. Curious, as everyone should long since have gone home, Sharmin wandered towards the building as Leon struggled with his shoes. As she entered the main hall of the Einhovant's, she heard a strangled noise come from one of the side rooms to the back. Her heart pounding, Sharmin gripped her sword tighter and hurried towards the sound.
Lightning illuminated the room as she entered, and a gruesome sight met her eyes. The headmaster of the school was pinned to the wall, a sword through his heart. Dark liquid pooled about his feet and soaked the richly decorated carpet. The brown-haired man from before stood at a once-locked set of bookshelves, paging through a book as if nothing were out of the ordinary. He turned as Sharmin drew in a silent breath in horror and dropped the book, grabbing his remaining sword from its sheath on his back and starting towards her. Sharmin fled from the room, slamming into the doorframe and stumbling away from it, pushing herself onward. She let out a frightened yelp as the man slid out of the room and dashed after her at a surprising speed. He grabbed her by the back of the neck and slammed her against the wall, one hand at her throat, the other on his sword, the tip of which was pressed against her stomach. Sharmin gasped as the blade pierced through her thick cotton shirt and slowly entered the skin of her abdomen. She dropped her own sword and gripped the blade of his, the sharp edge biting her palms, trying to keep it from going in farther. She winced and drew in a gasping breath, staring into the man's eyes, trying to plead with him. The childish curiosity she saw in them chilled her to the bone. He was taking pleasure in watching her writhe in pain, eager to watch her slowly die. It was like he was learning from it. Her arms shook from pain as he pressed the blade onward, blood dripping from her hands as she tried in vain still to stop it.
She drew in a loud gasp as the blade was withdrawn, the man jumping away as Leon swung a powerful blow at him. He stood in front of Sharmin, glaring at the man. Sharmin slid to the ground, her legs weak from fright.
"Feh, the over-achiever arrives." the man said, spitting. "You'll have to excuse me now; I'm at a slight disadvantage over your shield without my other sword. If you'll let me go get it, I'll be glad to continue this." he said, moving back towards the room. Leon darted forward and held his sword tip under the man's chin. "Or not..."
"Drop your sword." Leon said, holding his shield ready. The man licked the inside of his cheek for a moment, pondering this command.
"How about, no." he said, whipping his sword forward and discharging a burst of energy from it. Leon went flying across the hall and landed, sliding a bit before stopping against the wall. By the time he pulled himself to his feet, the man had darted out of the school and into the night. Leon let out a 'tch' before returning to Sharmin, who was holding her stomach. She lifted her head and stared at him with large eyes.
"It hurts..." she said, hyperventilating.
"It'll be the first of many, believe me." Leon said quietly, putting her arm around his neck and helping her to her feet. The wound, although bleeding quite a bit, was not deadly. Leon brought her to the church, where the head Bishop hurried about, setting up a bed to treat her on. A pretty light elf that Sharmin always had heard lived in the church for years, but never seen, kneeled by her side. She called, in Elven, for the power of her goddess Eva to assist her healing, and began her spell. Shock and blood loss setting in, the concerned faces of the Priests and Bishops, and the expressionless face of Leon swam about in her vision, before comforting unconsciousness settled over her.