8
(Terraday, cont.)
Joton Shaze Academy
.
Jessten Sipper stood nervously before the instructor, Mathis Woodbury. Frey Rovlin stood at the third point of the triangle.
“Prepare to fight,” Mathis instructed Jessten.
She took up her prepared stance, trying to remember all the things Laisen had taught her last year.
“Go ahead, Frey, what’s the first thing she needs to correct?”
“Her stance,” the tall, dark young man said. “If your stance is not correct, then you will be off-balance which will cause you to lose a fight.”
“Very good. Demonstrate the proper stance.”
Frey stood his ground, showing how his legs were just the right distance apart. “Too narrow and you can be easily pushed over, too wide and you can’t move freely,” Frey said. “Your turn.”
Jessten copied his stance.
Mathis used the leya to push and pull her body into the right shape. “Stay there for a few minutes while I show you why this is so important.”
The instructor took a narrow stance and motioned to Frey to attack him. It didn’t take long to push the instructor off balance and into the foam pit. “No balance equals dead A’mara, okay?”
Jessten nodded.
Then, Mathis took a wide stance. Although he didn’t fall, he also couldn’t defend well. “No movement equals dead A’mara. Understand?”
“Understood,” Jessten replied.
“What’s the other thing she needs to know about her stance?” the instructor asked Frey.
“She needs to rest her weight on her off foot.”
“Exactly. Your off foot is likely to be behind you, but that’s where your weight needs to be. You need to be free to move your foot and shift your weight as needed. It will feel funny at first, but you will get used to it. Demonstrate it, Frey.”
He did.
Jessten did her best to copy his pattern of movement.
“You need to practice this every night without fail until it becomes second nature to you,”the instructor said. “What is your goal here, Jessten?”
“To win the tournament next week.”
Frey uttered a low whistle. “Gutsy, Jessten!”
Mathis was nodding his head, but emotion was indiscernible. “Tall order, but not impossible. You have natural talent and that goes a long ways. But you will have to be strong, not sloppy. I will give you another lesson today then.”
Jessten nodded again.
“Frey, did you have any comments about how she holds the shaze?” Mathis asked.
“She is too stiff. It makes her tire out too quickly, and makes it difficult to move fluidly.”
“Very good. Keep your shaze arm relaxed as much as you can – that will keep it freer, and will give you better results.”
Jessten nodded.
“Ready to try?” he asked.
“Of course,” Jessten replied.
Frey grinned as well.
“Begin,” the instructor said.
Jessten patiently waited for Frey to start. He finally gave her a leya push making her teeter slightly, giving him the initial advantage. She retaliated and fought back. She struck and defended confidently and furiously. Still, there were too many new things to remember. She made too many mistakes and her shaze went flying as she landed in the foam pit.
She accepted Frey’s hand and tug back up to the floor.
“Better than you did last time, but you still have much to learn if you want to win one of our tournaments,” Mathis advised.
“I will get there,” Jessten determined.
“I believe you,” Frey acknowledged.
Jessten put away her pads, strapped her own shaze back on and left, in search of a snack.
♥
Laisen Toban nodded with approval as he watched Jessten leave the Academy. He knew Mathis had noticed him, but at a single gesture, he had made his desire known – that he wished to observe without being seen by her. He was convinced Jessten had improved immensely since he trained her last. He wished he had been watching her sooner, but it was easier to observe here at the Academy where the balcony offered a birds-eye view above the normal level of observation.
He sighed to himself. Laisen had made a point to stand by what he’d said to her those months ago. It would be better for her to date a guy her own age. He didn’t have to like it.
Laisen had even followed up by trying not being around her, but it didn’t really work. She was there in his mind no matter what he did. Finally, he started asking questions of people he felt he could trust with his heart. According to them, Jessten hadn’t been seen with anyone other than Frey the other day, but she had seemed only friendly to the guy. Apparently, someone had even suggested she wasn’t interested in men at all.
Laisen knew better. After all, the first time they fought, he had felt her overwhelming desire to kiss him – tempered only by the fear of embarrassment. A desire he’d done his best to quell – in both of them. His decision to avoid her had been made about a week later when the feelings weren’t dying down of their own accord. He had been certain that separating the two of them would dissolve their emotional ties. Yet, it seemed he had been wrong.
He sighed again before going downstairs to talk to Mathis.
“Tell me about Jessten’s skills.”
“Of course, Laisen. Jessten has some bad habits, but these will be fairly easily remedied if she puts in the work at home,” the instructor said.
“I’m sorry for those. I haven’t worked with her since last autumn,” Laisen said, feeling slightly ashamed.
“Are you one of her A’mara instructors?” Mathis asked.
“I was…,”Laisen said.
“I’m not sure why you stopped teaching her. She’s an excellent student.”
“There were… complications,” Laisen replied uncomfortably, trying not to think of that last battle again.
“Oh. I understand,” Mathis said with a wink. “She must be almost of legal age. I know you A’mara can get around that too.”
“That’s not why I’ve held back. She doesn’t want to be saddled with someone so much older.”
“Do you want my opinion?” Mathis asked, looking at Laisen meaningfully. “I think what she wants is up to her. I hope you haven’t blown it – she’s a good student with a passionate soul. How long has she been learning shaze?”
“Since about Vestharya.”
“Only last year?! That’s amazing! No instructor should ever give up a student of that caliber!”
“Can you feel her emotions very well?” Laisen asked.
“Only a little,” Mathis replied. “I do know that there’s no one in here that gets her excited. Turn up for the next tournament, no more hiding. If she’s still interested in you, we’ll have you fight her.”
“Thank you. I will be here.” He turned to go.
“Laisen.”
“Yes?”
“I truly hope you haven’t blown it. Jessten is a lovely woman with a beautiful soul.”
“Yes, she is.”
Laisen left and returned to the Complex.
♥♥♥
If you have enjoyed this book, I would be grateful if you could put your thoughts as a review on [Goodreads](coming soon) for me.
Buy at: (coming soon to Books2Read, Scribl, LBRY and Lulu - paperback.)
Other Chapters of this set
Birth of the Neví - Chapter 1 on Whaleshares
Name of the Neví - Chapter 1
Mind of the Neví - Chapter 1
Game of the Neví - Chapter 1
Maps and Guides
- Kri'enden & Joton - 830 TCE (New/imprived map coming soon)
- Character Guide and Image Credits
- Calendar and Glossary - for Name of the Neví but these two parts are true throughout.
Writing and artwork copyright myself 2005-2019 – all rights reserved.
If you are interested in helping me publish these works, please contact me on Facebook or Discord, viking-ventures#2883.
Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
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