Boy with a Sword [Archive] - Literature Network Forums

Cyferz

03-21-2015, 09:04 PM

Boy with a Sword: Issue #1

“Wake up. It’s time.”

The words seemed to float across the abyss, an eternity away. “Isaac! Wake up!” But why? Isaac pushed the thought out of existence and plunged back into the safe darkness of sleep. “ISAAC!” a girl’s voice screamed from far, far away. Isaac woke slowly, with small regret that he must awake from his slumber, eyes opening as reality rushed back into consciousness. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light of a summer afternoon sun. Far above, green leaves swayed in the breeze framed by a clear blue sky. Warm light languorously spilled across Isaac’s body as he lazily stretched his arms and legs. The sounds of cicadas chirping came into awareness, as well as swords flashing from the practice fields nearby. “ISAAAC!” the female voice knocked him out of his reverie. Isaac sat up to see a girl standing over him, arms crossed, a look of consternation plastered on her face. He knew this girl.

Rachel. She was a pretty girl who he might have called beautiful had her auburn hair not been cropped short, barely reaching her temples. Even so, Rachel was quite a sight. Her skin tight beige training uniformed hugged her lithe frame in an appealing manner. Her arms were toned, built for speed and agility rather than strength. The short sword strapped casually to her waist completed the package. She stood with confidence, and wore the blade on her hip like it was an extension of her own body. It warmed his heart to see her. Isaac gave her his best smile. “Hey there, Rach.” he said, finishing with a yawn. “Isaac! You- you--....” Rachel stammered, her face getting red. “You stood me up again! We were supposed to practice together this afternoon! I was waiting for half an hour!” Isaac slowly stood up and dusted his uniform off. “I’m sorry, Rach. It was just so nice outside I fell asleep.” She picked up a nearby stick and poked him in the ribs. “Get up!” He got to his feet.

Isaac looked around, quickly taking in the view. The large city walls loomed in the distance, with fields of rolling grasslands extending to a hill with a wooded area; Isaac’s favourite place to nap. Beneath the hill on the grassland, were a few sparse buildings where small figures walked purposefully in the distance. The barracks and mess halls. Directly below the hill lay the practice fields, where young men and women trained hard to hone their craft. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, I’m starving. Let’s get something to eat?” said Isaac, shooting Rachel a grin. She gave him a sideways glance, “You know what? Maybe there won’t be a next time. This is the third time you’ve done this to me and- and so what if you’re the best in our year. I can find another sparring partner and-“ Isaac cut her off, pulling her into his arms with a hug. “Hey, stop that. I’m sorry. We’ll go now.” She looked at him incredulously. Isaac bent down to pick up his sheathed sword, strewn carelessly on the ground. “You really should take better care of that.” said Rachel. Isaac slung the sword over his shoulder and pointed down the hill, “Let’s go work up a sweat” he said, giving her a wink. They departed down the hill together.

----

Boy with a Sword: Issue #2

Isaac sat on a bench with his elbows on his knees, his chin resting on his right palm. He sat in a crowd, with multiple levels of benches encircling an area below. The stadium was small, and today it was packed, with all attention on the happenings below. Rachel stood, short sword in hand, in a sideways stance. Today she was being watched by the Academy’s superiors, who would decide if she is ready to progress to the next level of training. Rachel faced two opponents, each wielding two-handed long swords. One of them suddenly stepped forward and swung at her vertically. Rachel easily dodged with a half step sideways, and countered with her own flurry of quick slashes. Her attacker was forced to step back, on the defensive. Rachel scored a hit on his left thigh, drawing blood. She stepped forward as he continued to step back, and was about to continue her offensive until she was stopped short by a wide swing from the second swordsman. Rachel dodged with a back step, bouncing on the balls of her feet, and reengaged on second attacker with a quick series of jabs. The longswordsman was forced to parry and back off, regrouping with his injured comrade.

Good girl. Thought Isaac. Keep up the pressure, use speed to your advantage, and don’t let their superior numbers catch you off guard. Rachel disengaged from the fight to catch her breath, giving her two opponents a moment of reprieve. You can outlast them. Their swords are heavy, tire them out. Rachel’s face was a mask of concentration, but she had not yet broken a sweat. She held her sword before her like an extension of her arm, moving it fluidly in and out of forms. Offensive, defensive, offense again. Her two opponents were big men, able to wield their longswords with ease, but they were lumbering and slow. One was already bleeding and would tire fast. The blades in this match up were very real, but students of the Academy were obligated to know their own limits and tap out of the fight when they knew they were lost. Attempting to land a fatal blow was considered a crime. If you couldn’t control your blade and know your own limits, you were considered unfit to train at the Academy.

A fire suddenly burned in Rachel’s eyes and she ran towards her opponents, twirling her sword into a reverse grip. Get inside their range, where their long swords are useless. Cut them up from the inside. Isaac smiled as she did just that. The unwounded swordsman began to swing at her as she ran towards him, but she easily dodged the long blade, stepping inside its reach and brought her short sword up to slice his wrist. He yelled in pain and dropped his sword. Rachel finished him off with a spinning back kick, knocking him to the floor. The crowd cheered. Rachel had a grin on her face, as she turned to face the wounded swordsman. She pointed her sword at him and he dropped his in defeat. The crowd cheered louder, applauding Rachel as she bowed to her opponents. Peers moved down to the pitch to congratulate her as others began to leave the stadium. Isaac got up and jumped down the benches to get to the field below.

Rachel was being congratulated by an underclassman, “How did you know when to attack and when to dodge? Like- there’s two of them! How did you do that?” Rachel smiled, “Well it’s all about pressure and opportunity…” Isaac tuned out the conversation as he remembered when he had first met Rachel. First day at the Academy, a scared little girl who could barely stand the sight of blood, let alone participate in violence. He was so proud of her. “Isaac?” He blinked to find Rachel standing in front of him. The crowd had almost dispersed completely. “I did good right? I did great!” she exclaimed, her face was lit up with excitement. “You did… alright. Maybe you can stand a chance against me one day.” Isaac replied, giving her a sly smile. “You. Are an ***.” said Rachel, giving him a hard punch on the shoulder. She laughed, but the excitement on her face faded, and she gave him a look of disappointment. Rachel turned her back and walked towards the showers. Isaac sighed, “You did really well. I’m proud of you.” But she was too far to hear.