a home that had been waiting for centuries for their return. His history didn’t really bother her, even if she took those similarities away. Luykas was half-Elvasi and had moments when it was apparent in his distinct way of looking at situations and behavior. Even she had hang-ups with certain parts of Andinna culture because of her life in the Empire. All any of them could do was try to look past those hang-ups and embrace their new lives, some newer than others.
They went to their small clearing, and Mave started them off with simple stretching, wanting to instill that good habit into her nemari. It went by quickly, then she found wooden practice weapons, a variety of them kept in a shed in the clearing, letting him have his pick first. He chose the axe, and she picked up the spear.
“I’ve never seen you with anything but a sword,” he pointed out as she tested its weight in her hands.
“I prefer short swords. I’m unpracticed with everything else now,” she explained, looking down at the spear. “I could manage a long sword, but most of these weapons I only picked up during my tenure as the Champion in the Colosseum, and I was desperate. Once I became Champion, it was hard to disarm me, so I rarely touched anything else.”
“You would take a weapon from the dead to keep fighting,” he said softly, looking at her carefully.
“I would,” she confirmed. “And I stayed alive. That’s why I’m making you use each of these to get a feel for them. My biggest mistakes on the sands were caused by a lack of familiarity. I would lose my gladius and grab the closest thing I could, but wouldn’t know how to use it. Once, I grabbed a battle axe a lot like yours. I was still young and didn’t have the strength for it. Nearly met my end that day as I tried to use it, letting fear push me instead of thought.”
She realized how closely he was watching her. There was something intent, his eyes on the spear.
“Are you upset I picked up a spear?” she asked.
“It’s an Elvasi weapon, isn’t it?”
“Yes and no,” she answered with a shrug. “It’s a weapon and can be deadly in the hands of a warrior, soldier, or even a child. There are many Andinna who use it.” She had seen a lot of spears during the spring campaign. Nevyn had fifty warriors willing to use them, and from the air, the spear was vicious. They could swoop in and kill their enemy without getting too close, much like Andinna archers, who could fly in formation and rain arrows down on the enemy without being in danger. She looked at the spear in her hand, paying close attention to the details as she spun it in her hand.
“Now, this is an Elvasi style spear, but with only minor differences from our own. See the way they worked the tip? It goes in smoothly, but it’s hard to pull out without ripping up the flesh, and I bet it easily gets stuck in the body.” She ran her hand on the wooden tip that was carved exceptionally well. It would be deadly if it was steel.
“What about Andinna spears?” he asked, stepping closer, looking at what she was pointing out.
“We don’t use the serrated edges. Our spears are smooth, meant to go into flesh with ease and come out. Imagine an Andinna in the air whose weapon gets stuck in a body. It wouldn’t go well for our warrior. He or she would be vulnerable. So Andinna weapons are made sharp and smooth, so we can kill quickly and move onto the next enemy.”
“How do you know all this?” He looked at her eyes now, and she caught the respect there.
“Some of it I picked up without realizing in the pits. A lot of it, I’ve learned since leaving the Empire.” And most of it comes from the private lessons with Kristanya.
“I can’t believe I spent my entire life working in the fields while you learned all of this,” he said, sighing. “I feel like I wasted time. We’re practically the same age, and you’ve done so much more with your life and your time.”
“You didn’t have much of a choice. We were slaves, Emerian, and the circumstances of our lives were decided by others. You’re learning now, so that’s all that matters.”
“I could have tried harder,” he countered. “I could have tried to make