It seemed to fit. As the sun fell they set up camp next to a large rock that rose thirty or forty feet above them. They were able to set up camp beneath an overhang. They placed the tents close to the rock, giving them more cover from the elements and making the smoke from the fire track its way up the rock and fan out under the overhang. As soon as dinner was done, Arkin walked into camp with a bag that looked like it contained a spare tent. He started to pull out wooden staves which were finished and polished, the same kind that Legon and Kovos had learned to fight with.
He tossed two to Legon, who noticed that they were shorter than most swords but the same length as the fenrra, and handed one to Sasha and Kovos. Sasha looked a little confused, but the two men got up, understanding it was training time.
Arkin looked down at Keither. “I imagine that your ribs are bruised at the very least, so we won’t start training you for a little while. As for the rest of you,” he addressed the others, “Sasha, you will be working with Kovos, who is going to start teaching you how to fight with a sword. He’s a very good fighter and you will learn a lot from him. Legon, you’re with me. I need to start getting you used to fighting with the fenrra. We will use the wooded staves for a few nights until you get used to the length and fighting style. After that we will put guards on the real blades. Ok?” Everyone agreed, but Sasha was looking a little nervous.
* * * * *
Sasha walked to one end of camp with Kovos. She was feeling a little trepidation. Kovos was nice enough, but she’d never been in a fight before and she was hoping she would never need to. This must have shown on her face because Kovos smiled warmly.
“Don’t worry. We’re just going to go over the basics tonight. I think that Arkin just wants you to have a general understanding, and then he will have to teach you to use that fa… feloon?”
“Faloon,” she corrected.
“Yeah, that thing. It looks like a good weapon and a great idea, but basic broadsword technique will be good for you to know. Don’t worry, you’re not going to be good at it for a long time, so if you’re not a master by the end of the week, don’t lose sleep over it.”
“Ok, I won’t worry too much then.”
Kovos nodded and placed the stave on the ground and drew his real sword, holding it in the palm of his hand and presenting her with the handle. She wasn’t expecting the weight. Somehow, when he’d been using it with so much speed and accuracy, she thought it must have been very light, but it wasn’t.
“Ok, you need to learn what everything is so that way when we’re working you’ll know what the hell I’m talking about, ok?”
“Isn’t this the blade, the handle and the pommel?” she said, pointing at different parts of the sword.
“No, that’s not what it all is. You got parts right, but that’s not just a blade,” he said, a little exasperated.
“It’s a long piece of metal that cuts things. How is that not just a blade? Don’t get me wrong, it’s very pretty . . .” she said, a little confused. Kovos looked scandalized.
“Just a blade?” He stood looking at her, mouth gaping. How was she supposed to know what everything was called? It cuts stuff, right? That was a blade to her.
“Sorry, I didn’t know there was more to it than that.”
“And pretty?” he said.
Legon broke in, “But Kovos, it is pretty. I like the flames a lot.”
Arkin joined in. “You put flames on your sword?” He was starting to smile. Sasha knew the carpenter-spy or whatever was about to lose his composure. “Like the ones you put on the staves as a kid?” Arkin started to laugh hard at that.
“Oh yeah, laugh it up, real funny. I’m a trendsetter, just you wait. In a few years everyone will have swords with flames on them, and I will be rich and famous.” Arkin was on the ground, having a hard time breathing, and it was this more than anything else that made her start to laugh. It felt good. She put her hands on her knees and could feel her eyes water. She could see Legon pointing