Epics of Noche 1, Anchor

EON CH 89 - ACT 12, DATE NIGHT

STUDYING THE SWORD

1774, NOVEMBER 12th SATURDAY 12:00pm.

Thirty feet above the ground didn't seem so bad, until the ground spun as Noche struggled to maintain her balance on the top of a bamboo pole. The point was no bigger than a golf ball and it was a loooong fall to the bottom. It didn't help that the drop wouldn't kill her – only hurt like a bitch.

Dozens of these bamboo poles surrounded her, it was an entire field. A gust of wind almost threw her off balance; the weights on her wrists, ankles, and torso didn't help. In total she had three hundred pounds of training equipment on. She regained her footing as the air whistled behind her.

"Arrows!" She thought.

Noche spun and raised a silver sword. She deflected the first arrow, broke the second, and turned to block two at the same time. The fifth hit her in the side of the head – air was knocked from her lungs when she hit the ground. Fire filled her chest, she couldn't draw breath, the instinctual panic of suffocation set in.

"Its temporary – I can still breath!" She thought. "I can't stop now. I need to get stronger! I can never lose again."

Like a dam breaking, air rushed into her torso – Noche barely had one gulp of it down before she shouted "AGAIN!"

Only a few feet away, Rust winced from the impact ofNoche's fall. It made a poorly executed belly flop look comfortable. From hisside Medusa whistled.

"And she's been doing this for... How long?"

Rust shook his head and watched Noche stand up. His lower eyelids stayed raised as he frowned.

"It'sh been two weeksh, Madam Preshident."

"I can not believe how hard that girl is training," Medusa paused. "Is she climbing that pole with one arm?!"

Rust nodded, "She shwore to me that she would only ushe one limb each time she fell off."

Dreg nodded, the faintest trace of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Thish lassh hash gone borderline inshane," Rust shook his head. "Training? More like torture! Harrumph! And I thought I wash extreme in MY youth... How can hanyone push themselvesh sho far?"

"She's putting her health at risk," Medusa mumbled.

"I told her that! I told her that many times!" Rust threw both of his arms up into the air. "The young lassh hash MONSTEROUSH willpower... Honeshtly, I'm getting worried. I'm thinking of shtopping theshe training shesshions."

"I'm impressed," Dreg muttered.

Medusa and Rust's heads shook – they snapped their wide eyes to Dreg, stared for a moment, and turned to each other.

"Dreg ish impresshed?" Rust whispered.

"Dreg is impressed!" Medusa hushed.

Then both turned to him; the vein on his forehead throbbed.

"It's not that rare," He scowled.

A smile cracked out on Medusa's face as Rust's left eye twitched. Meanwhile, arrows flew at Noche from all directions.

"Focus Noche. Focus you weakling!" She shouted. "Focus you blonde bitch!"

An arrow hit her in the back, Noche toppled forward, she bent her knees and flipped. Somersaulting through the air she swung the sword down – it sliced into a bamboo shoot. Slowing her fall, she grabbed the shoot, bent it forward, and catapulted herself back onto the field of spikes.