006 Soft

Character: Shadow Blade

Enre stood in line watching as his uncle walked past them. There were five other young elites in line with him as they listened to the speech. Enre had great respect for his uncle. He had been a great warrior all his life until his wife had died. He'd been a Filed Master and had only retired because he had said he could no longer pass on his genes and wanted to train the future instead. There were scars from combat on his skin and he stood with a pride born from victory in combat.

"You must be strong, unbreakable in your will. You will be guided by your honor, by the traditions of our people. Our traditions reward the strong and destroy those who are too soft to do what must be done. Life is never easy on our people, and it will not be easy on you. I will not be easy on you. You will get hurt and if you are a true warrior you will be able to push through it." Enre's uncle stopped and turned toward them. He eyed one of the soldiers and then turned away moving over to a set of wooden rods that were lined against the wall. "Take one and find an opponent."

Enre moved over to the wall and took one of the rods. He looked around and spotted who he wanted to be his opponent. "Ahwu, do you want to be my opponent?" He moved over to the single female elite in his training group. It was very rare for a female to be allowed to be a soldier, but after having beaten up most of the other elites in the keep Ahwu had earned the right.

"You mean do I want to be the one to kick your butt." Ahwu gripped her rod and moved a bit away from him. "It would be my pleasure to kick your back side across the courtyard."

Enre knew she was only partially teasing him but that she wouldn't go easy. Ahwu was one of Enre's closest friends, but she was serious about her combat. They stood at the ready and Enre waited for her to strike first. Ahwu was always aggressive so he knew she would fight back. She charged forward and Enre focused on defense, looking for a chance. The problem was that Ahwu didn't leave openings. Instead she attacked with great strength and knocked his rod to the side. She swung and the wood smacked Enre in the head.

Enre fell to the ground and shook his head, trying to clear his vision which was a bit blurry. He shook his head and flinched a bit as he notice his uncle standing nearby. "Enre, you must never leave an opening. A warrior that only defends can never defeat his enemy. You must strike at your foe, not block." Enre's uncle shook his head and moved over to another pair.

Ahwu moved over and held out her hand, helping Enre stand up. "A warrior that only attacks will die quickly in battle. You did fine, I'm just better than you are." Enre growled a bit. She'd been being nice, but even when she was being nice she insulted him.

Enre moved back to his place and prepared for their match. Ahwu move forward and Enre went on the defense. He was watching her movements carefully and he saw it, an opening. Enre struck out, knocking away her rod away and landing a blow to her neck. She fell to the ground and Enre stood over her, relaxing a bit.

"Much better, Enre. When you are strong your enemy will fall before you." His uncle nodded, showing his approval before he moved over to rebuke the failure of another of the trainee elites.

Enre moved over to Ahwu and held out his hand to help her up. "Shows how much attention he is paying." He pulled her up and she gave him a confused look. "You never leave an opening. I don't need your help, you know that?"

"Odd, because I could have sworn you could. Besides, I'm not the one that needs to appear to be a good warrior to have mating rights." Ahwu shook her head and took a stance again. "Now this time for real. I swear I shall be on the defense, now show me your attack."

Enre charged at her, striking with all of his strength. They continued like this, eventually starting to trade back and forward between offense and defense in the same match, finding ways to force an opponent onto the defensive.

Practice had ended long ago and now darkness was falling on their world. The sun was dipping below the horizon and Enre sat on the hill, legs bent so that he wouldn't be uncomfortable. He watched as the light slowly ebbed away.

"I think, Enre, that with some work you will be a good and proper soldier. You must be for our future." Enre looked to Ahwu, not sure what had brought on the words. She looked to him and there was a sort of sad look on her face. "When you look at me Enre, what do you see?"

Enre tilted his head to the side, deciding what to say. "I see Ahwu, my friend as long as I remember. The warrior who is helping me become strong. Why?"

Ahwu's hands moved up and Enre felt them rest on the sides of his head. There was a determination in her eyes as she spoke to him. "Then you must become strong. You and I see the world the same. We look at the structures and we see pretty buildings but not the work of gods. You are a smart elite, Enre, you see what tradition at times blinds us to." She leaned forward so that her head touched his. "You must pass this on to the next generation. You must become a great warrior so that there is no way they can deny you marriage, continuing your blood, continue a line of smarter warriors who are not blind followers."

Enre moved his hands up to hers, removing them from his head but holding onto them. "I swear to you, Ahwu, that I shall be a great warrior."