The Callindra Chronicles Book One - First Quest by Benjamin Fisher-Merritt Page A

the chance to
draw his sword.
    He rapidly retreated, whirling Sakar in a
defensive arc and deflecting multiple blows that would have sliced
him in half. In spite of the frantic appearance of his blocks, he
made sure to bring the thicker back edge of his blade in contact
with the exact same part of his opponent’s scimitar. When the
onslaught was over, he took two more steps back and shook his
head.
    “ It is customary to issue a
challenge before attacking. I like to know who I am fighting and
why.”
    “ I am Sain and you are The
Master of the North Wind.” He spun his scimitar in an ornate
pattern, the tassel that hung from the pommel whirling in
counterpart to the blade. “This is Kha’darn and today we shall take
that title from you.”
    “ The challenge is accepted,
until one of us is dead, whether it be man or weapon. Sakar severs
the life of man or blade with equal contempt.”
    Sain hesitated for a moment as if the idea of
risking his sword had not occurred to him. In that moment, Glarian
lashed out with all the force he could muster, striking his
opponent’s sword at the precise spot he had already weakened. The
scimitar Kha’darn exploded into fragments of steel.
    Without so much as admitting defeat, Sain
fled into the trees. Glarian picked up the discarded sword hilt and
brought it inside the house with him. Entering through the lean-to
he hung it next to the first clay token of challenge. The first
trophy of many.
    He opened the spigot over the bath, gravity
filling the large copper tub that sat next to the fire. The fire
was low, but Callindra had split enough wood to get it going again.
In a few minutes the water was hot and he was soaking comfortably
in it when he heard Callindra return. It looked as though she had
bathed in the cold water of the stream instead of waiting for a hot
bath.
    She paused in the doorway to her bedroom,
“Master, I’m sorry. I know I’m weak but I will get stronger. I will
become worthy of your training.”
    “ I know you will Disciple. I
won’t allow you to fail.” He said, unable to keep the approval from
his voice. He saw the smile on her face as she turned and knew she
understood. He would not allow her to fail.
     
     

Chapter 7
     
    Glarian led the way downstream to a grove of
oak trees that stood evenly spaced about a meadow. The trees were
huge, their limbs spreading to cover several spans. Callindra could
hear the stream still, but knew it was a little way off. She set
the cloth wrapped bundle that contained her lunch and water skin in
the shade next to one of the trees.
    “ So what is the training
today?” She asked, hoping for more sparring. Glarian had been
testing her skills lately with what he called the direct method.
Even though she had bruises and cuts covering her arms and legs
from the last couple of days, it was exhilarating.
    “ I have completed my
assessment of your strengths and weaknesses and have designed this
training course for you. It will strengthen your arms and shoulders
while at the same time improving your blade control.” He gestured
to logs lashed to the tree trunks, many with wedges of wood behind
them, holding them at odd angles.
    “ You must cut through these
logs using this axe.” He handed her an axe with a strangely shaped
handle, “Your methods are your own but with one stipulation. The
bark of the tree underneath must be untouched. Come find me when
you have finished.”
    He walked back upstream, leaving Callindra to
survey the work ahead of her. The sun was barely above the horizon
but it was already hot. She stripped to her chest wrap and attacked
the first log with vigor.
    Cutting through the first part of the log was
no problem, despite the shock of the axe impacting the solidness of
the wood. She ran into trouble when the log was nearly cut through.
It was so difficult to ensure the last cut did not carry through
into the trunk of the tree that it took more time to sever the last
inch than it had the first ten.
    The