Limits

A few more days passed, and I finally managed to master all the stances and styles. Aran was satisfied with my progress, and said "We will now continue the basics. Today, I will show you different ways of attacking, as well as defending". Aran then took out his sword, and assumed the Attacking Stance. He used the Neutral Hold, and lifted his sword up, then slashed downwards. He then returned to the Neutral Hold, and slashed to the side. Each time he carried out an attack, he would return to the Neutral Hold. After his demonstration, he said "This should not be difficult for you at all, since you mastered the stances, and styles. I will add that the blade's edge, should be positioned exactly in the direction you are cutting towards. Even slight deviation will require more strength from you to cut through something. So although it may seem like simple slashes, there is a technique involved. Before I let you practice that, I will show you a few other basic attacks".

I nodded my head, while Aran continued to the next style. This time, he assumed the Side Hold. He slashed his sword upwards but at an angle, then returned to the same Side Hold. The next slash, he did to the side, and again returned to the Side Hold. With that demonstration taken care of, Aran said "With the Side Hold, you can slash upwards at an angle, but you can also cover your sides. Now I will show you the Rear Hold".

Aran assumed the Rear Hold, and slashed upwards but in a straight line. He then slashed to the sides, and horizontally. He even showed me how to attack the rear, using that style. When Aran was done, he said "These are the basic attacks that you can carry out, with the use of the basic styles. When you get used to them, I will show you more advanced styles, where you have to move your body around, modify stances, as well as styles in the middle of attacking or defending. For now, practice them using one hand, and both hands". I nodded my head, and practiced the attacks.

What Aran said was true. I could easily slash my sword in any of the ways, that he showed. But it was harder to perfectly match the direction of my blade's edge, to the direction of my slash. I was close, but always a bit off. This meant, it wasn't that easy. Nothing couldn't be accomplished with practice though. That's what I planned to do, practice.

My training progressed nicely, so I decided to visit my field. I found that some of the herbs, were having a hard time. After a longer examination, I figured that it was due to the sun. The North didn't possess any sun, and the temperature was always the same. Here, the temperature varied, and the herbs didn't receive enough water for such circumstances. I modified the water delivery system, and everything returned to normal again. 'Good thing I checked, otherwise all that work might've been wasted. The Arran Grass is pretty much already there, and I will be able to harvest a good chunk of it soon. The Blood Yarn, Earth Grabbing Sprouts, Night Safis and Ghost Flax are sprouting as well. I should be able to harvest them in about a month's time' I thought.

Ghost Flax and Night Safis would be available sooner, but I was mostly concerned about the other two. With my field tended to, I returned to my training. After a few days, Kara came over to the training area, and looked for me. She said "Father is very grateful for the books that you provided to him. These are the books, he is returning them". I smiled, and said "He could keep them for longer. I already memorized them anyway". She replied "It's fine, he noted everything he wanted, so he returned the books. He would like to meet with you, if you have time".

I said "Sure, I've been training too much again. Let's go, I will see him now". Kara nodded, and we went back to her house. As we walked, she smiled and said "To think that Wintersteeds would produce such a genius. Not only are you talented medician, you are also strong, just like your uncle. Which woman wouldn't want such a husband". I smiled, and replied "I've been through some stuff, and I got lucky a few times. There are many strong people out there. From what I heard, the Royalty is very strong".

She nodded, and said "Yes. They have access to loads of resources. Not only that, their medicians are much better than we can be. They have a lot more knowledge, and don't really share it to outsiders. I sometimes envy those medicians, if only we had such knowledge, imagine what we could achieve". I smiled, and said "It might not be the case". She looked at me, and asked "What do you mean?". I smiled, and said "You will find out in the future".

She nodded slightly, and didn't comment anymore. We soon arrived at the house, where Olav was already waiting for us. When he saw me, he exclaimed "Nex! I'm very thankful for the knowledge you passed onto me. When I get accustomed to those new techniques, I will be better able to help people out". I shook my hand, and said "Don't mention it. Do you have any treatment techniques, that are better and not mentioned in the books?".

He replied "No, not really. The book about bones was exceptionally good. I can recall, that I already encountered one of the conditions described in this book. Unfortunately at that time, I didn't know how to cure it. This knowledge is worth a lot… can I pass that knowledge to my daughter as well?".

Kara looked at me with hope in her eyes. I didn't really have a problem with that, and it seemed that Kara really liked the profession. I nodded my head, and said "Go ahead, or rather, I will just borrow these books to her. She can study them, instead of learning from you". Although Kara tried not to show her excitement, I could see her hand tremble, when she received the books. 'She could have just read them without my permission… How would I know anyway' I thought.

I then continued "You can pass the recipe for Healing Essence to her as well. After all, she will be the next village doctor I assume?". Olav nodded, and said "Yes, she has passion towards that profession". I nodded, and said "Teach her well then". Olav replied "I will", and then I bid farewell to both of them.