Danos walked towards the Warders Yard in the early glow of the morning. He munched the last of the sweet roll he had begged off of the kitchen maids and watched as the Drin'far'ji made their way to the first morning chore.
Smiling, he decided the free time from chores his new rank afforded him was a definite perk.
Still he knew the time was for personal studies, and he had
meant to practice with his sword and unarmed since returning from his Test.
Taking a practice blade, Danos allowed himself to flow through the forms, snapping each guard into place as he called out their name under his breath. As the routine warmed his muscles, Danos slipped into the Void, the calm centre deep within him much easier to achieve.
After walking for days on little food, and using the Ko'di to avoid the weakness constantly dwelling on the hunger would have caused, made assuming the Void in the comfort of the practice yard easy.
Danos could feel the smoothness the awareness granted his muscles, feel the way he wasted less movements between forms as he forgot the world around him. Faster he pushed himself through the forms, until even with the Ko'di his forms grew rough and jagged once more.
Dismissing the Void, he paused for a moment as his breath heaved and his body recovered from the strain. As he pulled a drink from the barrel beside the training area, Danos reflected on his forms.
I've come a long way from the apprentice who walked through those gates, thought Danos as he looked himself over. Long hours of training had taken muscles he'd come with and turned them into ropes under his skin. Always big, his bulk had leaned down, the soft flesh replaced by muscle, although he still bore more weight than his fellow smaller trainees.
Danos returned to the sands, and began doing his strikes and kicks at the wooden target dummy. As his body warmed up, he again began pushing himself harder and faster, trying in vain to match the speed of the other men he had sparred with.
Soon he stopped, paving the sands in dissatisfaction as he went over his spars with Dax Gaidin in his mind, his hands idly running along the laces of his new bracers.
Suddenly he stopped, looking down at the bracers, allowing himself to relive the fight in the thunder and lighting with the bear. It had been a close call, the bear powerful but young, too enraged to do much but try and claw Danos wildly.
Much like I'm doing when I try to ape the speed of those other men, light knows how they got so fast. But maybe there's a different approach, Danos thought to himself as he moved the practice dummy and fell into the ready stance.
As he punched again and again, working through the sequences and as he slipped into the Ko'di he allowed his body to flow, the muscles to respond with the power they stored.
In the Void, the approval of others mattered not, and after the trials of the Test, Danos had come to terms with his worth and his goals. Gone was the worry, and gone was the ideas that had held him back.
Rather than try for speed, he used his senses to control his body, keeping the movements close and tight with no wasted movements. When he had first arrived at the Grey Tower he had assumed power came from the swing of the arms, and he knew his form had been wide and full of waste.
Now with practice he knew that power came from the strike, the rolling of the hips into the punch. Like a spring, there's no sense pulling it too far, the thought floating in the void before Danos banished it from thought.
Danos didn't notice as his arms pulled closer, the rhythm of his strikes matching better and better, as he moved his feet to keep his reach in the sweet spot. Suddenly he swept a powerful jab into the practice dummy and couldn't believe when a sharp stab of pain struck through the void.
Looking down, he saw where he'd broken a finger, the knuckle swelling as the blood seeped out of the broken skin. The wooden dummy bore no signs of his attack, but he knew he was on the right track. And with that final thought, he headed to the Infirmary determined to practice again.
Several days later, Danos returned to the practice yard, his practice blade in hand. The Yellow Sister who had seen his hand had thought little of a Ji'alantin who punched wood till bones broke, and so she had refused him healing for two days.
The days spent with his hand immobilized reminded Danos to think ahead, and so he came this time to practice his sword.
Falling into the Ko'di he began his attack, practicing the simple forms and strikes he had learnt, letting the Void guide his movements and bodies. As he focused his attention and let the world fade into the darkness, he could again see the wide angles when shorter ones would get his attack there with less wasted force.
Muscles tightened at the right moment , keeping the curve of the blade in contact and using the strength Danos possessed. The movements were smooth and sharp where once he would have traded wild movements to build power.
Over and over he striked, the Ko'di allowing him to filter out every errant thought, every distraction until his form was as perfect as his training allowed.
Crack the sound of snapping wood brought Danos back to his practice and as he looked down, the practice blade was broken, a large crack having spread from where the tip had contacted the dummy in repeated, powerful blows.
Grinning fiercely, Danos tossed the practice blade to the side of the wicker basket, and grabbed a new fresh one.
Smiling, he decided the free time from chores his new rank afforded him was a definite perk.
Still he knew the time was for personal studies, and he had
meant to practice with his sword and unarmed since returning from his Test.
Taking a practice blade, Danos allowed himself to flow through the forms, snapping each guard into place as he called out their name under his breath. As the routine warmed his muscles, Danos slipped into the Void, the calm centre deep within him much easier to achieve.
After walking for days on little food, and using the Ko'di to avoid the weakness constantly dwelling on the hunger would have caused, made assuming the Void in the comfort of the practice yard easy.
Danos could feel the smoothness the awareness granted his muscles, feel the way he wasted less movements between forms as he forgot the world around him. Faster he pushed himself through the forms, until even with the Ko'di his forms grew rough and jagged once more.
Dismissing the Void, he paused for a moment as his breath heaved and his body recovered from the strain. As he pulled a drink from the barrel beside the training area, Danos reflected on his forms.
I've come a long way from the apprentice who walked through those gates, thought Danos as he looked himself over. Long hours of training had taken muscles he'd come with and turned them into ropes under his skin. Always big, his bulk had leaned down, the soft flesh replaced by muscle, although he still bore more weight than his fellow smaller trainees.
Danos returned to the sands, and began doing his strikes and kicks at the wooden target dummy. As his body warmed up, he again began pushing himself harder and faster, trying in vain to match the speed of the other men he had sparred with.
Soon he stopped, paving the sands in dissatisfaction as he went over his spars with Dax Gaidin in his mind, his hands idly running along the laces of his new bracers.
Suddenly he stopped, looking down at the bracers, allowing himself to relive the fight in the thunder and lighting with the bear. It had been a close call, the bear powerful but young, too enraged to do much but try and claw Danos wildly.
Much like I'm doing when I try to ape the speed of those other men, light knows how they got so fast. But maybe there's a different approach, Danos thought to himself as he moved the practice dummy and fell into the ready stance.
As he punched again and again, working through the sequences and as he slipped into the Ko'di he allowed his body to flow, the muscles to respond with the power they stored.
In the Void, the approval of others mattered not, and after the trials of the Test, Danos had come to terms with his worth and his goals. Gone was the worry, and gone was the ideas that had held him back.
Rather than try for speed, he used his senses to control his body, keeping the movements close and tight with no wasted movements. When he had first arrived at the Grey Tower he had assumed power came from the swing of the arms, and he knew his form had been wide and full of waste.
Now with practice he knew that power came from the strike, the rolling of the hips into the punch. Like a spring, there's no sense pulling it too far, the thought floating in the void before Danos banished it from thought.
Danos didn't notice as his arms pulled closer, the rhythm of his strikes matching better and better, as he moved his feet to keep his reach in the sweet spot. Suddenly he swept a powerful jab into the practice dummy and couldn't believe when a sharp stab of pain struck through the void.
Looking down, he saw where he'd broken a finger, the knuckle swelling as the blood seeped out of the broken skin. The wooden dummy bore no signs of his attack, but he knew he was on the right track. And with that final thought, he headed to the Infirmary determined to practice again.
Several days later, Danos returned to the practice yard, his practice blade in hand. The Yellow Sister who had seen his hand had thought little of a Ji'alantin who punched wood till bones broke, and so she had refused him healing for two days.
The days spent with his hand immobilized reminded Danos to think ahead, and so he came this time to practice his sword.
Falling into the Ko'di he began his attack, practicing the simple forms and strikes he had learnt, letting the Void guide his movements and bodies. As he focused his attention and let the world fade into the darkness, he could again see the wide angles when shorter ones would get his attack there with less wasted force.
Muscles tightened at the right moment , keeping the curve of the blade in contact and using the strength Danos possessed. The movements were smooth and sharp where once he would have traded wild movements to build power.
Over and over he striked, the Ko'di allowing him to filter out every errant thought, every distraction until his form was as perfect as his training allowed.
Crack the sound of snapping wood brought Danos back to his practice and as he looked down, the practice blade was broken, a large crack having spread from where the tip had contacted the dummy in repeated, powerful blows.
Grinning fiercely, Danos tossed the practice blade to the side of the wicker basket, and grabbed a new fresh one.
