Dread Mage

Sonder exhaled sharply.

The day after their ‘invitation’ to remain in the city, her training had already started.

For the time being, they were living in an inn.

Vell had expressed his thoughts to her about his consideration and the possibility of buying a house in the city for their stay, though he was uncertain about the decision.

He had spent the entirety of the previous day fulfilling the king's requests and the tasks of those who rang the bell. In the meantime, Sonder was in the company of Languor, who served her tea and snacks and let her stay the night, filling the hours with old tales and city history.

Today though Inure made his way to their room at the inn—the source of his information was unclear to Sonder, but she assumed it must have been relatively straightforward—in the morning with a pair of swords in hand.

The swords bore the marks of age but remained sturdy. They were more than adequate to teach a novice the basic essentials.

Subsequently, they made their way to the training grounds used by soldiers and guards.

There, training dummies were available, useful for practicing sword swings, spear thrusts, or as targets for those seeking to hone their bow and crossbow skills.

Sonder speculated that due to their construction from wood and bags of straw, they would not fare well against magic, likely catching fire quickly.

Perhaps non-fire elemental magic like water, earth, or air might be an option.

She had intended to study the topic in a book, but her new tutor's early summons had abruptly interrupted her plans.

As Inure drew one sword and passed it to her before setting her loose on the dummies, she asked, “Wouldn't it be better to train with wooden swords?”

Although Inure grasped her reasoning, he did not concur with the notion of practicing with weapons that were not viable in real combat.

“Why? You will never battle with toys.”

Then she was quiet because she thought that he was right.

She had merely considered the idea because in the tales told by the men and boys in her village, a hero's journey to mastery in swordsmanship always began with training using wooden weapons, or no weapons at all, until they were somehow 'worthy' or ‘ready’ for a real blade.

Unlike Hrygo, who typically observed or sometimes left Sonder to her own devices during training, Inure was exceedingly attentive.

Frequently, he'd intervene while she was holding the sword or attempting the strikes he had demonstrated beforehand, either to rectify her technique or to express dissatisfaction with her approach.

She repeated the same overhead strike countless times until Inure deemed her execution satisfactory.

However, that approval came only after many hours.

“When can I learn something else?” Sonder asked, her arms and shoulder slowly getting sore from the exertion.

“Answer this, Sonder, who would you fear more: a man who has practiced ten thousand strikes once or one who has practiced a single strike ten thousand times?”