Brave Souls. (Book One.)

Warrior Training Begins.

Early morning came with a slight drizzle, creating a sombre dark dusk and the initiates accursed the unseemly weather as they stood at the center of the training grounds bare chested.

Head Scribe Kondobia wore a mean haggard look as he paced at the front quietly his hands firmly behind his back. Three equally mean looking deputies stood quietly behind him.

Looking at their devious half smiles Johari had the queer feeling that he was not going to enjoy what was coming next at all.

"There is nothing more pathetic, nothing that irks me more than the very sight of a shallow, boisterous boy holding a man's weapon." The Head Scribes tone was a mere whisper, a whisper that commanded complete silence and attention from the young initiates.

"Before you get to touch any weapons here, before you start to timidly swing around my steel and make me sick to my stomach. You will need to deeply understand what it means to fight." As he talked the seasoned warrior walked past the eager ranks of new faces studying their eyes.

He closed in on one initiate who was finding it hard to contain his mischievous smile and proud defiant eyes.

"Come forth initiate. To the front. Help me demonstrate."

The young braggish brute from Mariani well known for his awful bullying tendencies stepped up feeling pleased at his luck. Such a chance to impress the head scribe and establish his dominance among the rest of peers was simply heaven sent. He was not going to waste it.

Deputy Mote, step forward."

One of the mean looking deputies promptly stepped forward and faced the upbeat initiate. His sinister half smile fully blossomed before it disappeared replaced by a calm stoic expression that betrayed zero emotions.

"Young initiate , before you is a threat to your beloved village. Your orders are to neutralize him with immediate effect."

The eager youth nodded firmly then with a mad roar he dashed forward at the still stoic figure, his fists swinging wildly at his opponent's face. Deputy Mote's movements were fluid and direct. He stepped forward slightly at the approaching brute at the last second parrying both fists with ease and wham! his elbow delivered a gut wrenching hit.

It was as if he had been hit with a stone wall. The initiates chest constricted as he reeled back in shock and pain. The deputy move again. His arm uncoiled like a vicious adder landing a terrible fist of quiet rage at the now sorry looking initiates face.

He was flung into the air like a helpless twig landing down an awkward heap into the dust. He did not move again. A wave of utter surprise and deathly silence engulfed the entire ranks of initiate warriors.

"From this very moment, you shall do well to forget these useless and misconceived notions that you picked up from your shallow and petty village squabbles!" Head Scribe Kondobia roared as he pointed down at the sorry heap that was one their supposed fierce fighters.

" As I said before, you need to deeply understand what it means to fight. What the nature of a struggle between two or more conflicting forces is."

"Listen up. When to conflicting forces of nature clash be it beasts or us humans there are four key elements at work. Strength. Speed. Skill. And the most crucial one of all, the state of mind. There is also instinct but on this, I shall touch on it much later."

"Now each and every individual has within him different degrees of these four key elements. Fortunately all these can be honed and perfected."

"For our pitiful version of a demonstration," he gestured at the now dust covered initiate on the ground who was giving out faint snoring sound, knocked out right into an early siesta.

"This unfortunate hoodlum was thoroughly outmatched in all the essential areas I just mentioned."

"To win any fight whatsoever, you must first sufficiently build your strength, work to increase your body speed to match your thought process, impeccably hone your skill set and most of attain a calm state of mind as you engage your opponent."

"Once such a level is achieved then the true fight begins where you use your most effective combination of elements of strength, speed, skill to best your foe and he also does the same."

"So above all it goes without saying the importance of a calm state of mind. Its only with this that one is able to understand the mind of your opponent, determine his favoured elements, work against his weaknesses. This is how a fight is won."

"Or else , this shall be your outcome. Every time." He finalized standing next to the pitiful snoring initiate who had now come to symbolize hopelessness and utter defeat.

The profound silence that followed as the initiates reflected deeply upon his teachings seemed to please the head scribe.

"Alright, deputy Mote. Kindly escort our esteemed sleeping warrior to the medical yard to reflect on his folly."

Sweeping another glance at the rest of the initiates.

"They all look like fat calves, deputy Nandwa, deputy Tikulu. Whip them up into shape. Abandon the usual starting methods, use extreme measures from the get go."

"Its alarmingly clear we have a lot of work ahead of us." He sighed to himself feeling a slight headache slowly creep up between his brows.

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