Her Dawning Empire: The Prophecy

Chapter 9

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Emut's longsword.

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"So, this is a longsword. I use this one, most of the time." Emut said holding the longsword out to me and I held it, inspecting it closely. Emut moved closer, touching the sword with a finger, his gaze on me.

"The part you hold is called a grip and the sharp part is called the blade. The part at the top here is called the point. It's joined by a cross-guard and rain-guard, that's the basics of it and all you need to know about the anatomy. The place where the sword rests in, on the belt, is called a scabbard, understand?" He explained and I looked to each part he pointed at, nodding as I processed his words. He took the sword from me before picking another. I remember it as the curved one that Emut and Demir were looking at the day before. He handed it to me and I inspected it.

"This is a khopesh. It's a really popular choice of weapon, that's why I'm showing it to you. Otherwise, I don't really think it would be to your liking." He explained and I looked at him curiously.

"And why not?" I challenged, holding to the handle tightly and Emut smiled, playing around with the longsword in his hands.

"It's commonly used for slashing through people; I just didn't think you would want it, but it's ok-" I interrupted him by handing over the weapon quickly and taking the longsword out of his hands. He laughed at this before clearing his throat and stepping back, his arms folded.

"Good, now show me how you would use it." He instructed, urging me to do something and I gulped nervously, the sword evidently wobbling around in my shaky hands. Still, when Emut continued to look at me expectantly, I cleared my throat before attempting to stab an imaginary person in front of me, the sword meekly slashing at the air. I heated up, looking at Emut, embarrassed, but he didn't laugh. Rather, he nodded at my actions before moving forward. I coughed awkwardly when he moved behind me, moving closer. I stilled when I felt his front pressed up against my back, his musky scent invading my senses. He raised his hands, encasing mine with his. I turned to look at him, but his sunlit eyes were on the sword and he moved our hands together, the sword making a slashing motion. An action that was much quicker and harsher than my own.

"Don't be scared to try. Widen your stance and hold your arms closer to your body." He explained, his words tickling my ear and I nodded, doing as he said. Emut moved his hand against my own before caressing my fingers.

"Your grip is too tight. You're in control, Hanna, not the sword." He said gently and I nodded yet again, loosening my grip. He put his hand back on the hilt over my own and repeated the slashing motion, this time much faster. Emut smiled before letting go and moving back.

"Now, try it without me." He instructed and I panicked slightly before nodding and moving into the stance he had showed. I pulled my arms closer to my body and loosened my grip on the hilt before performing a slashing motion. It most definitely wasn't as fast or as brutal as when Emut helped me, but it was so much better than my original try and I smiled wide, feeling proud of myself. Emut brushed his hair back before smiling.

"See, you're better already." He praised and I smiled at his words, glad to think I wasn't the only one who thought so. I jumped slightly on the spot, the sword flailing around.

"What next?"

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2 hours. It had been about two hours of Emut teaching me and, safe to say, he was a pretty good teacher . Of course, I wasn't a pro, not even close. But, I knew quite enough about the basics and I was very proud of myself of even having got that far.