In the morning, Verd was awakened not by the usual commotion—no loud voices, no persistent knocking at the door. He was awakened by Arktia. And the way she did it was, to put it mildly, unusual.
A sphere of water formed at the tips of her fingers, and a cold stream hit Verd directly in the face—him, who for the first time in a long while had been having a pleasant dream. Startled by the unexpected icy torrent, he leapt up with a wild cry.
-What's going on?! - he blurted out, shaking his head, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep.
Looking to the side, he saw Arktia standing right over him.
-Arktia?.. - he said quietly.
-Get up. We're going to do a little training.
She casually tossed an iron sword beside him. It clanged dully against the stones.
'Training? Right now?'
The sun had not yet fully risen; a grey pre-dawn twilight surrounded them. But even in this haze, Verd could make out the retreating silhouette of his teacher.
'Looks like she's not joking.'
Still fighting off drowsiness, he carefully picked up the sword and trudged after the girl.
After some time, they stood in a small rocky area. Verd sat down on a boulder and stared at his reflection in the blade of the sword. Seeing his own black hair falling onto his shoulders, he couldn't quite believe it was really him. After all, he'd never had the chance to find out what he looked like from the outside.
'I thought I'd have a more handsome face...'
He raised his head and looked at Arktia. She was standing right next to a cliff, touching it with her fingertips, as if trying to read something hidden within the stone. Throughout this entire time, she hadn't once opened her eyes or even glanced at the rock itself.
'What is she even doing there?'
Finally, running her fingers over the rough surface one last time, she turned to Verd.
-Get up.
Verd obeyed without hesitation. The hilt lay cold in his palm; he gripped it, feeling the weight and balance of the weapon.
-Now show me your stance.
And here, all of Verd's knowledge ran out. No matter how many warriors he had seen, each of them used something different—something that set them apart from the others. So when it came to the stance, Verd simply didn't know how to position himself properly.
-I don't know how. - he admitted after a brief pause.
Arktia sighed slightly.
-Fine. Try to remember.
She stepped close. Verd froze. Her closeness still felt unnatural, but not threatening. If she had really wanted to kill him, she could have done it at any moment.
-Position your feet - she said, and jabbed the toe of her boot against his left ankle.
Verd obediently moved his foot.
-Now your knees - she continued.
Her palms rested on his thighs, just above his knees, and pressed down gently but inexorably, forcing him to bend.
-Not all the way. Just a little. Do you feel the tension? It should feel like you're ready to jump.
Everything happened exactly as she said. The muscles at the back of his thighs tightened sharply, and his body involuntarily hunched forward.
-Now your back - her hands slid along his sides and touched his lower back. Her fingers pressed against his vertebrae. - Stand straight. Don't slouch. Don't puff out your chest. Just imagine yourself as a straight line and stretch the crown of your head upward.
She circled around him, adjusted the position of his shoulders, pulling one back and the other down. Then her fingers wrapped around his right hand, the one holding the sword.
-Remember. Your grip is one of the most important things. - her voice sounded right by his ear. He could feel her breath on his neck. - You're holding it too high. Lower your palm so that your pinky almost touches the guard.
She adjusted the position of his fingers one by one. Her touches were quick, precise, without any unnecessary warmth—like a blacksmith working with red-hot metal.
Finally, she stood in front of him, assessing the result. However, instead of a confident warrior, what stood before her was a trembling child barely able to hold a sword.
'I'm definitely going to fall apart now...' - Verd thought.
-Ahem... try to breathe - she added, wiping her hand with a handkerchief as if she had touched something repulsive. - Not with your chest, but with your stomach. That's the center. That's where the power comes from; everything else is just leverage.
She rubbed her fingers with such intensity, as if dirt that couldn't be washed off had remained on them. Verd noticed that she wasn't even looking at him at that moment. Her gaze was fixed on her own palm, and on her face was an expression of mild disgust. Only when she was sure her skin was clean did she allow herself to raise her eyes.
'Am I really that filthy?'
Verd barely managed a couple of breaths to keep from collapsing. Arktia placed her palm—through the handkerchief—on his stomach, just below his navel.
-Right here.
'Does she really have to touch me in places like that?'
Verd tried to breathe. At first, erratically. Her hand was soft and cold even through the fabric of his shirt and the handkerchief.
'Honestly, I thought it would be easier.'
Just last night, upon hearing that he would be trained, Verd had been delighted. Finally, he had a chance to become stronger and no longer fear monsters. In his fantasies, fueled by his experience with the ice bird, he had already pictured himself swinging a sword masterfully from the very first session. But reality turned out to be harsh.
When Verd more or less got the hang of breathing, Arktia immediately gave him a task: hold that stance for five minutes. It seemed trivial. In practice, it proved much harder.
He managed the first minute somehow, but by the second, his entire body was begging for mercy.
'That's it... I can't take any more.'
Just as his body began to tilt to the side, a small stone whistled past his face, leaving a phantom scratch on his cheek.
Arktia sat opposite him, legs crossed, and never took her eyes off him for a second.
-Don't move. - her voice came immediately.
Combined with the flying stone, her words sounded so cold and threatening that Verd suddenly found a second wind. He stood steady, not even thinking about trembling.
'Is it too late to leave?..'
In the final seconds, his whole body was drenched in sweat, and the sword began to slowly tilt to the side.
'When will these five minutes be over?!'
-Time.
As if on command, Verd collapsed to the ground in relief, dropping the sword from his weakened hands.
-Finally... - he groaned.
In those few minutes, the sun had already risen, and under its scorching rays, after the grueling ordeal, Verd could think of only one thing.
-I'm so thirsty...
In that same instant, a powerful stream of water crashed down on him. Arktia, without warning, repeated the same trick she had used to wake him.
Verd wanted to protest, but looking into her eyes, he didn't dare open his mouth.
-If you don't know how to fly, then the ground beneath your feet should be the last thing you lose in battle - she said, almost to herself. - Rest for a minute. Then we'll continue.
Exactly a minute later, Arktia silently approached from behind and lifted Verd to his feet with one hand.
-We're going to spar.
'Spar? Isn't it a bit early for the first lesson?'
Arktia walked a few meters and picked up a stick as thick as a finger from the ground. Extending it in front of her, she ran two fingers along it—and it became as sharp as a real blade.
-Attack. Just use what you know.
Seeing what had become of an ordinary branch, Verd stood frozen in place.
'Wait... that's definitely a stick. Why is it so sharp?'
Several seconds passed with nothing happening. Arktia exhaled and tilted her head to the side.
'What is she doing?'
In a fraction of a second—before Verd could even blink—she was behind him and gave him a light kick from behind.
-Stop hesitating. - she said calmly. - This little twig won't even hurt you. Watch.
With these words, Arktia carelessly swung to the side. According to her assurance, the weapon wasn't even supposed to damage Verd's already fragile body. However, the stones standing in that direction were split in two by a strike that didn't even touch them.
-Oops... - the girl whispered.
-Oops?! There'll be nothing left of me if I come at you!
***
After the grueling training session, Verd, barely dragging his feet, returned to his soft mattress. However, just as he was about to lie down on it, it suddenly vanished, and he crashed face-first onto the stones with a thud.
-You haven't earned the right to lie on it yet. - Arktia's voice sounded.
-But you gave it to me yesterday! Why don't I deserve it today?!
-Because yesterday we'd only just met. Think of it as a trial period. - Glancing at Verd's dissatisfied face, a slight smile flickered across the girl's lips. - If you want to sleep on those soft things, you'll have to do something for it.
-Something? What is it?
Perhaps at that moment Verd didn't know yet. But later he would understand that this question would become one of those mistakes he would remember forever.
-From now on, every day you will strike until your hand goes numb. And when you forget what this blade looks like and feel only its weight and trajectory—only then can you stop. But not before.
Verd froze in shock, processing what he'd heard. While he stood there, Arktia had already gone far ahead.
-Let's go already! - she called over his shoulder.
'...' - Verd raised his gaze to the bright sun. - I want to return to the island...'