"GAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Melanie cried out as she slammed to the floor, her body feeling like every bone had been shattered at once. A healer ran over to her crippled body and began to mend her wounds. Behind her stood a heavily dressed warrior wielding a huge axe waiting for his next order.
Melanie had lost track of how much time had passed since she first entered the arena. After having learned about her posture it was all about to go out the window as the warrior relentlessly hurled himself towards her again and again, knocking her down to the floor in a broken mess. No matter how many times she tried to dodge his attacks it felt like a futile effort as he always got the best of her. She tried to fight back but he was just too fast and too strong and she was becoming too exhausted to continue.
The mentor could see her exhaustion and signalled to the warrior to take a timeout. He walked over to Melanie as she was receiving further healing and shook his head in dismay. "By th' Gods, lass, what in th' world was that?"
Melanie's eyes were barely able to focus on him as she gazed up at him. Her eyes were dry and red from having sobbed so many times and her body was shaken to the core in intense fear. "I...I tried, b..b..but...but..." Melanie stammered.
"Ya call that tryin'?!!!" the mentor bellowed in surprise. He laughed a belly laugh and then looked back down at her sternly. "Ya spent more time scurryin' around like a scared mouse, an' when ya did get beat up ya curled into a ball bawlin'. Had I known ya were like this I wouldn't 'ave taken ye on as a mentor. Yer no good as an adventurer, ya got no confidence in yerself an' no guts."
The mentor turned around and began to walk away. Melanie scrambled on her knees grabbing one of his legs with her hands. "No please, wait!" she cried desperately. "I can't give up, I have to do this! My friends are in grave danger and only I can help them!"
"If yer friends are in so much danger why don't ye find some other adventurer to save them? Ye don't 'ave what it takes t' save 'em yerself" the mentor said barely looking at her over his shoulder.
"Because nobody else can save them. I am all they have. Seriously. If I don't learn to become a warrior then they will die...not just them but so many others too. So many depend on me becoming their hero and they have nobody else to turn to. Please, I'm begging you, help me!"
Melanie gazed up at him with desperate eyes. The mentor stood motionless listening to her words. He was unconvinced she could ever become a warrior let alone a hero, but her desperate pleas began to move him a little. He let out a long sigh. "I s'pose yer do 'ave th' determination of an ox. E'en if I were t' refuse t' train ya, ya aint gonna give up even if it kills ya an' that'll be on me conscious" he said looking over his shoulder to her. He turned around to face her properly. "All right lass. I'll 'elp ya become a warrior. Ya proven ya got th' determination, but determination alone aint gonna make ya into a warrior."
Melanie bowed her head low still holding onto his leg. "Thank you, thank you!" she sobbed in gratitude.
"Hey, don't thank me yet, an' get yer hands off me leg an' stand up will ya?"
Melanie scrambled onto her feet and looked at him with a big smile behind her wet and muddy face.
"Egads, yer a mess" the mentor sighed as he watcher her wipe away her tears with her sleeves. "Ya don't seem t' know th' basics of combat, so tha's where we're gonna start" he said. "Ya got a lot t' learn an' until ya do I can't let yer team go delvin' into them caves until ya pass my approval. I hope yer team is fine wit' yer 'oldin' 'em back."
Melanie nodded quickly "I'm sure they'll understand" she replied.
"Very well..." the mentor smiled. He then motioned to the warrior who had been just chilling out behind them. Melanie's eyes opened wide in dismay as she saw him coming towards them and started to feel her bones shake and sickness stirring in her stomach. "Don't ya worry lass, he's not gonna beat yer down t' th' floor this time. He's gonna teach ya th' basics on how t' strike an' dodge."
The mentor walked away leaving Melanie with the warrior. The warrior removed his helmet revealing his face to Melanie. "It'll be far better if I can speak to you without this over my head" he said as he tossed the helmet aside. He then smiled gently at Melanie which made her feel a little comforted. "Let's take up positions. You stay where you are." The warrior took a few steps away and then took up position ready to initiate combat only this time he was now wielding what appeared to be a wooden training axe rather than the heavy metal axe he was using earlier. "Now, draw your weapon and stand as if you're readying to attack. I'm going to take a swing towards you and you need to try to dodge by swinging your back leg around you so that your body turns enough that my axe misses you, like this." The warrior demonstrated by swinging his right leg behind him, causing his body to turn.
Melanie tried to copy the warrior's moves but instead the weight of her body on one foot caused her to stumble and fall over. The warrior shook his head at her. "You need to stay light on your feet" he said. He started to bounce lightly on his feet. "Do this, it'll help you to loosen up and keep you on your toes" he said. Melanie stood back up and began to copy him. The bouncing on her feet not only helped her to become less tense but the sensation felt like she was dancing on a cloud. "Now, turn!" the warrior called out to her. Melanie swung her leg behind her at such a speed that she stumbled slightly and almost fell again. "Not bad!" the warrior called out to her. "Don't do it too aggressively or you'll lose balance. Again!" Melanie swung her leg around, this time with a bit more care, and turned her whole upper body to the side. "Excellent!" the warrior called out. "Let's keep this up. And, turn!" Melanie swung to her side once more. "All right! Now let's try it with me coming towards you. Don't let that distract you, just keep on doing what you've been practicing. Now, turn!"
The warrior took a few quick steps forward and lunged his axe towards Melanie. Melanie felt panic setting in and hesitated slightly, but quickly managed to dodge his attack. Her body swung to the side resulting in the warrior landing his axe to the ground at her side. "Great job! I did see you hesitate for a second though. You can't let fear and doubt take over or I might hit you next time" the warrior said.
"I'm sorry, I'll try harder" Melanie replied. She started to shake her body a little and began to lightly bounce on her feet. "ok, get ready!" the warrior called out to her. Melanie waited for him to call out, but without any warning the warrior lunged towards her. Melanie was surprised by his sudden advancement and quickly swung her body around. The warrior narrowly missed her again, his axe hitting the floor. He looked up at her with a grin.
"You...you didn't even warn me that time!" she gasped a little exhasperated.
"You still dodged it though, right?" the warrior said standing up.
"Yeah, but..." Melanie stopped for a moment and then smiled as she realised what she'd done. "I managed to dodge his attack without any warning or hesitation!" she thought proudly to herself.
The warrior nodded at her and backed away. "Let's keep at it. I want you to watch me carefully and to dodge without any hesitation. I'm not going to say when I'm going to attack so you'll need to be on your guard, okay?"
Melanie nodded back and readied herself. Her body wanted to tense up with the anticipation of his attacks but by gently bouncing on her feet it kept her body from freezing up and once again the warrior lunged forward with no warning. Melanie quickly stepped to the side as his axe came hurtling down and slammed into the ground by her side once more.
"Great job!" the warrior said uprighting himself and taking up position again. He readied himself and then looked into her eyes and winked at her. Melanie was a little startled by his wink and almost missed him coming at her again.
"What the heck was that about???" Melanie thought to herself as he uprighted himself with a light laugh. "Like I said, be on your guard. You never know what tricks your opponent will try to distract you."
Melanie let out a gentle sigh of relief. "Aww, he was just testing me!" she thought a little exhasperated at him trying to pull a dirty trick on her.
