Private Tales The Pointy End

[Talus]

Fort Kel - Colette

Talus was unsure if he liked life in the military or not. It was different than it had been at the Academy, different than it had been with Fenrith.

Parts of it were pleasant enough. He had gotten some officers quarters, his own bed, a closet, even a lavatory. Better than any accommodation he had been offered anywhere else. Yet there was a different side to it, one that he'd never quite encountered before in his entire life; interaction with regular citizens.

He'd encountered Anirian Guardsmen before of course, he'd even lead them into battle. Yet now he was coming to know them as more than simple faceless canon fodder to be sent into battle. He was starting to see them as actual people. The Proctors at the Academy would likely have been concerned, but General Ilyana had encouraged it.

She'd told him that the men and women serving beneath his command needed to trust him, and building that trust would mean getting to know them as individuals.

So in an effort to do just that Talus had opened himself up for some time for the regular soldiers station with him at Fort Kel.

To his surprise, only one had taken him up on the offer so far, and that was why he was no waiting in the middle of the training square leaning on a sheathed sword as he waited for her.

 

[Colette]

There was no real reason to deny it. Everyone in the Northern Guard, or at least those within her platoon, had agreed on it. Colette received teasing surrounding it, mostly due to her beet-red expression when it was brought up. It had become just a simple fact of everyday guardsman life.

Colette was horrifically bad with a blade.

In fact, had her talents in other areas not been noticed during basic training it was probable that she would’ve been assigned to some auxiliary non-combative service. And ultimately, it really shouldn’t have bothered her. Not everyone could be good at everything, her skills with a bow made up for her lack of talent with a blade, and she only intended on serving the legally mandated year in the Anirian Guard.

The problem was the straw haired girl never settled for ‘average’ in anything. Whether it was brewing a cup of tea, recitation of Anirian history, or learning how to swing a damn sword. She wanted to excel.

So, when it was announced that the Major was offering aid to any soldier within the Northern Guard she jumped at the opportunity. Mind you, this was in opposition to many of her comrades who warned her, ‘dreadlords be bad news Cole, would be careful,’ or, ‘yer gunna waste yer free time trainin’ instead ‘o relaxin?’ The latter point was just laziness, something Colette couldn’t accept, the former point however held some merit. Everything she had learned of dreadlords indicated that Talus, while seeming nice enough, knew of about two hundred ways to kill her. And it was likely he reveled in death.

But, he was supposedly a masterful swordsman. So who better to serve as a mentor? She could already imagine the fruits of today’s session. After being trained by a dreadlord she’d probably be better than anyone else at camp. On their next encounter with Savannah barbarians they’d probably choose her to engage in single combat with the tribal leader. She’d move like a blur, disarm the scoundrel, and in heroic fashion place her blade to his throat and spare his life.

Just like the heroes from her childhood novels.

Snapping awake from her daydream she stumbled into the training area. She was a moment or two late, which was embarrassing enough, but being lost in thought meant she’d forgotten to bring her own sword. Luckily, there seemed to be a few here for her to borrow.

”Um, Major Talus! Sir!”, the doe eyed soldier snapped to attention and issued a salute. ”Thank you for agreeing to teach me, I really need to improve my form and... oh, right! Apologies for being a bit late, it’s just a big camp and I was turned around so. I am ready now, and I truly appreciate you taking this opportunity. Really, thank you!”

 

[Talus]

Talus quietly questioned this whole exercise as one of the smallest Guardsmen he had ever seen slowly stumbled her way into the training area then quickly began to apologize for being late. A frown touched his features.

What the Guards terms for punishment?

Briefly his mind flashed back to the Academy. The punishment for being late there had been an hour in the box, trapped in a tiny space with the sun beating down for days and days. Lips thinned, and he realized he would not be emulating that technique.

Mostly because he did not want to. "Don't make it a habit."

Talus said flatly, shaking his head as he wandered over to the edge of the arena and picked up a stick.

For a few seconds he tested it, bending it one way, then the other until he seemed satisfied. Once he was he raised his scabbard and tossed his sword over to Colette.

"Show me what you got." Talus said, keeping the stick for himself.

 

[Colette]

Talus' frown translated his disappointment perfectly. A shade of crimson marked the top of her cheeks and before she could issue further apologies the major simply issued a remark that she not allow such a travesty to occur again.

Colette exhaled in relief, she hadn't been punished for anything within the guard yet and she was glad to avoid any sort of punishment once again. There was the time she had to clean the chamber pots but she got to stay indoors all day so it wasn't all bad.

Then, he threw his blade over to the blonde girl, wielding only a stick in defense.

"Sir? You only have a stick and," his face translated that he was serious. She slid the metal saber out of the scabbard. It was heavier than her own shortsword but she had no real trouble raising the thing up. Clumsily, and possibly funny for any observers, she swung the sword in the general direction of the dreadlord so hard that it caused her to spin a half circle in the process.

 

[Talus]

Talus watched Colette swing the sword, almost turning herself around with the momentum of the blade.

He waited for her to right herself, then continued. "That blade is made with Dwarven Steel, forged in the spine. It's heavier than most of our swords, but never needs to be sharpened."

At least not in their life time. Talus had received it as a gift when he'd traveled to the Dwarven hold of Kerak'Al'Kal. He and his friend Finn had spent near two weeks there, steeped in a culture that neither of them had ever understood.

"Get a single scratch on me with it, and I'll let you keep it." Slowly he took a step back, raising the stick in his hand. "Come on, show me what you got."

He encouraged, trying not to put her down.

They had to start somewhere.

 

[Colette]

Keep it? It was an expertly crafted blade and given his description quite valuable. She doubted her father would approve of a dwarven weapon in lieu of a fine Anirian blade but Colette thought it sounded exotic.

A nod towards the major shook her fine golden hair, which she had tied back just before arriving. She was not a good swordsman but it seemed inconceivable that a man, even a dreadlord, would prove victorious when armed with nothing more than a stick.

The soldier nearly issued a joke at Talus regarding the insanity he was suggesting. She stopped herself when she remembered he was her superior officer and probably wouldn’t approve.

“Be careful, don’t want to hurt him,” she thought to herself just before pushing off the back of her heel and exploded towards her tutor. For all her faults the innocent faced guardswoman was fast, if not a bit uncoordinated.

Colette lowered her shoulders and tried to bring her body downwards until she got close. Then she shifted left and aimed the heavy sword towards Talus’ leg. She merely wanted to graze it. It’d reflect poorly on her if she sent the major into a hospital tent.

The actual swing of the sword was sluggish. This weapon truly was heavier than what she was used to.

 

[Talus]

Talus had always prided himself on speed.

At the Academy he had never been the strongest nor the biggest. He'd never relied much on trying to overwhelm an opponent with blow after blow, but instead wore them down over a period of the entire fight.

Of course, part of that strategy meant that you couldn't let the opponent hit you either.

So when Colette went in for a strike the swing of his own sword found itself too short. By the time Collete positioned herself close enough and swung the blade Talus had already taken a swift step back, moving slightly to the right before stepping forward again.

Without any hesitation on his part he then swung with the Stick.

A second later Colette would feel a sharp smack on the back of her hand holding his blade.

 

[Colette]

It happened quickly. Quicker than she could even process.

Colette was faster than most of the other guardsman, there was no doubt about it. But she learned how foolish she was to think that she could outpace a dreadlord. He seemed to vanish before her eyes until her brain registered he'd simply moved back and shifted right.

"Ow!" she exclaimed as the stick he held struck the back of her hand, causing Talus' blade to hit the dirt. She shook her hand vigorously in pain as she glared at him, "what was that for? You didn't tell me you were going to strike me! That really hurt you know and," in an instance she shut her mouth. For a brief second her anger got the better of her and she had forgotten that Talus outranked her. Outranked her by quite a lot in fact.

She bent over and picked the sword up off the ground. Whipping it in the air once to purge the blade of any dirt clinging to it. Her vision caught back up towards the taller dreadlord.

Her posture shifted as she held the blade with both hands by her hip. "Go again? I didn't realize you were so quick," she questioned. Before she had been worried about injuring the dreadlord but now she wanted to strike him for a bit of payback.

That and just to prove to herself that she could.

 

[Talus]

"Back in the academy they used to beat us for talking like that." Talus mused to himself with a slight frown, shaking his head as if dismissing some bad memories from the back of his head.

As Colette right herself Talus shifted.

"First." He said, almost not even acknowledging his own thought. "I'll actually teach you something."

With three steps he moved towards her, using his left foot to kick her foot forcing it to shift slightly. "Swordwork is all about the feet."

He told her with a completely straight faced.

"You can tell quite a bit of your opponents next move by their feet." Talus nudged her foot one more time. "Stance is how you place yourself and the positions you can move to from where you start."

The Dreadlord moved back to his own starting position. "Now try."

 

[Colette]

Once more Colette was shown leniency she did not deserve. Though his comments of the academy were concerning. The gesture he made, the way he shook his head at the thought. Throughout all the tales of dreadlords she’d never given much thought as to how they were made. Just the simple truth of, ‘they exist.’

All this talk of stance and foot positions reminded her of dance lessons as a girl.

Best not to mention that to the major. Once he finished positioning her feet she nodded, held firm, and clenched her jaw. This time would be different than the first, she’d show him. Holding her feet precisely in place she waited for Talus to move back from her. The instant the words, “Now try,” escaped from his mouth Colette erupted towards him.

Keeping her feet spaced in much the same way they had started in she moved towards the dreadlord teacher and feinted her feet towards the right before she thrusted at Talus’ left leg. Aiming for the meaty part of his thigh, she was still concerned of causing actual damage to him.

 

[Talus]

The feint was a good idea, but again Talus was too fast.

This time though he didn’t have time to lash out back at her and smack her hand. All he could do was whack the flat of the sword so that instead of swinging into the flesh of his thigh, the blade swept too low it’s tip dragged through the dirt.

Metal scraped through sand, and the Dreadlord quickly raised his foot and placed it on the blade as it came to a rest.

”Better.” Talus complemented.

That was how the day continued on. For the next two hours Talus instructed Colette on new forms, footwork, and half a dozen other ways that she could improve herself. By the time the sun was starting to dip towards the Horizon, Talus called for a halt.

Sweat now beaded on his brow, and the stick he had picked up at the beginning of the day was done for.

”Not bad.” Not perfect, but not bad. ”I think it’s time for a rest.”

(Skipped up a bit as I dont think we have to write up sword forms for the next 10 posts )

 

[Colette]

Colette's chest heaved up and down as she panted rapidly. For two straight hours he lectured her on forms and everything that she was doing wrong with a blade. It never felt like she was being judged but the fact that she never even got close to landing a blow dropped her confidence down a peg or two. At least the dreadlord looked tired, he was sweating almost as bad as Colette was. Proof that, despite the rumors of the other guardsman, he was in fact human.

Then he called for a rest though not before rating her efforts as 'not bad.' Infuriating. She'd given it her all for two hours, every limb was going to be sore in the morning, and her hands and arms were covered in bruises from that damn stick of his.

Through heavy breaths the junior guardswoman stated simply, "rest would be nice. You're an intensive tutor y'know?"

With a relieving exhale the straw haired girl collapsed near the fencing of the training square and rested her back against one of the posts. Shutting her eyes slightly as she forced more air into her lungs.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how does it work for you?" she questioned the major as she re-opened her eyelids. Clarifying she added, "I just mean, how long does your conscription last?"

Many of the Anirian Guard, even up in the north, were here to fulfill their required one year of service. Colette was no exception to this but she couldn't help but wonder how long Talus was in it for. Truth be told she wasn't even aware the guard had dreadlords before she met Talus.

 

[Talus]

"Life." Talus answered simply, no sign of any resentment in his tone.

Once upon a time he had believed that Dreadlords served as a duty, that their lives had to be sacrificed so that others could ive peaceful and calm lives. Now he knew differently, now he knew that he was just another type of slave.

Still, voicing those concerns would swiftly lead to his execution, and thus instead of being honest Talus spun the truth.

"I was brought to the Academy at four years old." He explained. "Trained every day, learned whatever was to offer."

A shrug rolled over his shoulders. "And I'll keep doing the same until I die on the battlefield."

 

[Colette]

Life? Dying on the battlefield? Surely he must've wanted more out of his life than that. Even dreadlords were still human. She could tell, he was still sweating. She assumed he would still bleed if she had ever gotten close to hitting him with that blade.

Pushing a bit of her damp blonde hair away from her face she replied, "four years old? Must've been hard. Still, it shows that you learned whatever they taught you well. Never seen anyone move like that before." Colette wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that he never had a childhood. Everyone in Vel Anir knew that children with magical talents were given up to become dreadlords. It was a great honor in Anirian society. But she had never considered, and she figured most Anirians hadn't, what exactly that meant. Hard to argue with the results but there was still something... off about it all.

She pushed herself up off the ground back onto her feet so she could come back to eye level with the major. For a second she considered dropping the subject entirely but that wasn't here.

Curiousity getting the better of her she questioned, "is that what you want?" The straw haired woman wasn't a lawyer but she couldn't imagine Anirian law would permit that a lawful citizen didn't have the right to choice how they spent their life. Vel Anir was the land of progress for all of humanity. The one place where humans were supposed to be free from the oppression that other races would put them through. Didn't make much sense if they oppressed their own kind.

"Forgive me if such a question is inappropriate, just making conversation," she'd forgotten, again, that the Anirian Guard had strict regimens, ranks, and formalities.

 

[Talus]

Talus chewed his lip for a moment.

How much did he share? Ilyana had said to befriend the soldiers, to bond with them and ensure that they saw him as more than a weapon. The very concept had seemed foreign to him, but here he was now. Talking to Colette like a peer.

The Proctors would have been disgusted with him. "I don't know."

He decided to answer honestly.

"I've never known any other life." He was not so lucky as some. "I do not remember my family, I have few friends, and even If I were allowed to leave..."

A shrug ran over his shoulders. "Killing is the only thing I'm good at."

 

[Colette]

You don’t know what you want?” she questioned without much thought.

Poor soul, it was obvious from how he spoke that he was being forthright. The only talent he was aware he had was killing but was killing something he enjoyed? Surely the Anirian Guard would, at some point, allow him to retire. If he wished it. Otherwise he was essentially a slave and Colette refused to believe Vel Anir would subjugate a loyal human to slavery.

“What do you do for fun?” she asked. It’d be simpler to start small. She was confident he didn’t spend every waking moment training. Right?

Perhaps it would loosen his tongue if she shared her goals, “for example, I enjoy baking and sharing coffee or tea. After my service term is ended I want to open a cafe. A place to call my own. I don’t expect I’ll be very good at it at first but it’s something I’ll enjoy.” She smiled at her superior and finished, “that’s part of the journey. Learning a bit more, improving over time, throwing yourself into a passion.”

Was any of this getting through to the man? Or was she simply wasting both of their time?

 

[Talus]

He frowned for a brief moment, not entirely sure what kind of answer to give her.

"I like..." What did he like?

Talus had never actually considered that there was something he was supposed to be doing for fun. The idea didn't really seem to have ever entered his mind. There had always been a mission, always been something to learn, always been something more to do.

Expectation had weighed heavily on him throughout his entire life. So much so that it was difficult to say that he had ever gotten enjoyment out of anything at all.

He'd spent time with Hal, Sierra...of course Alloi, but that wasn't...a frown touched his lips. It would be obvious to Colette that her question had stumped him somewhat. "....Training?"

Being good with the sword had always been a point of pride for him. That was the same thing, right?

 

[Colette]

Training? This was his passion and desire in life?

”Training can be rewarding,” she confessed to the major, ”but it’s still tied to all of this.” Colette spun her hand around, gesturing to the rest of the camp whilst her lips formed a crooked shape.

What had begun as curiosity was beginning to teeter towards concern. Were dreadlords entire lives focused so much on death that they had never really experienced anything else?

Feigning a smile Colette offered,”you should try something else. Something unrelated to all of this. Anything that you want to do.” She attempted to lock eyes Talus, she wanted to make sure he understood even if it made him uncomfortable. ”One idea could be painting or perhaps you could try gardening. Maybe you’d want to experiment with cooking.”

She realized she was doing far too much talking at this point but the major seemed completely lost. He seemed worse at being normal than she was with a blade.

”What if you keep helping me with my sword training and I help you find something non-life threatening that you can enjoy?” Probably not the most fair exchange. Colette was not equipped in fixing what appeared to be deep psychological issues in the way Talus was equipped to mentor in the finer points of bladecraft. But, well, she doubted that anyone else at the camp would bother caring that the scary dreadlord was a well-rounded human being.

 

[Talus]

Talus blinked.

He had absolutely no idea how to answer her. The offer was kind, but he had absolutely no clue what he could even do for fun. What did that concept even entail for someone like him?

Gardening? Painting?

When would he have time for something like that, hell, when would he have the space?

Talus had never in his life spent a single minute trying to learn something that wouldn't make him a better soldier. That had been the way of his life, that was what he had been made more. The Proctor's had turned him into a killing machine, that was all he was ever supposed to be.

Yet he had defied them once, why not do so again.

An odd look grew on the young Dreadlords face, a mixture of confusion and consternation as he looked towards Colette. Finally, after what must have seemed like an eternity of silence Talus answered. "I'll uh...give it some thought."

The slow half acceptance was all that he could offer.

He'd never thought about doing something just for fun, never even considered it was an option. Finding something to actually enjoy doing seemed more daunting than fighting an Elven Riftwalker.

 

[Colette]

Some thought was all that he could muster. After spending an uncomfortable period of silence, during which Colette fidgeted anticipating she'd be scolded or mocked, all he could do was offer a lukewarm consideration of doing anything at all unrelated to combat. Was that errant thought the first one that didn't involve killing in his entire life?

Whatever.

If he wished to spend the rest of his life being feared by his comrades and dying in a shallow grave on some muddied battlefield who was she to stop him. But, it was only fair that he understood exactly where this trajectory would lead.

"Ok, that's fair. But," she leaned back onto the fence post, trying to communicate a feeling of calm, "if you want the other soldiers to be more open with you then you've got to be able to relate to them. They'll follow your orders, as will I, but they're not going to respect you or die for you if they don't even see you as human."

Perhaps her words were too harsh. To insinuate that Talus wasn't human. Wasn't normal. But she was really doing him a favor, she was certain of it. The Anirian Guard had each others backs, they wouldn't leave a comrade behind, but to many in the guard the dreadlord that had joined them wasn't really one of them. He was just this ominous force who sometimes ordered them into combat. They would always follow orders but would they put their lives on the line to save him? Would Colette? She wasn't sure.

Clearing her throat and softening her cheeks she said in softer voice this time, "sorry, I know you're human. I just mean... how many other guards took you up on your offer for one-to-one training? Most of them are scared of you and I'd like to see that change. I'm sure you would too." She paused briefly, brushed a tuft of yellow hair behind one ear and continued, "I don't know what being a dreadlord is like, what it entailed, and you don't need to share. In fact, we can just drop the whole thing right now if you wish." Colette stared off to one side, feeling a sense of uncomfort at this point. She was on the verge of babbling now.

"You shouldn't just be content with killing and serving. That's all."

 

[Talus]

"You're right." The words were hard to say, hard to admit to himself, but he knew that it was true.

She was right.

He shouldn't be content with simply being a killing machine, he shouldn't just be happy with acting as an executioner. Was that not why he had joined the guard? Why he'd tried to step away from the Game of Houses?

Change.

That was what he'd told himself when he'd sworn that oath. That was what he'd said to the Five Generals. He had wanted something different for himself, for others. Who was he to deny this girl an answer? "Alright."

He said softly, lancing down at his own sword.

"I'll pick up..." His head shook. "Something."

That was what he had to do to be more...human. To be what no other Dreadlord could. Talus had the opportunity, and he needed to take advantage of it.

 

[Colette]

From time-to-time people had a nasty habit of just agreeing with Colette to shut her up. Going along with whatever she suggested out of annoyance but with no real intention of fulfilling the verbal obligation. She could tell this wasn’t the case with Talus. He meant what he said about trying to find something else.

A hobby. A passion. Something for himself.

The satisfied girl’s face lit up in excitement. There were few times she’d been able to make a positive change in someone else’s life and this certainly felt like one of them.

”Thats great!” she exclaimed with a smile. ”I won’t pry, you should do this for you. But if you need suggestions or help along the way, well, just let me know.”

As the Major moved towards his blade the youthful guardswoman said, ”is that enough training for today? I still need to improve, so if it’s not much trouble I’d like to do this again.”

 

[Talus]

He paused for a moment. "We're done for today."

One could only push the body so far before you started to see diminishing returns. That was a fact that the Proctors had stressed. Of course at the Academy once you were done physically training you started on other things, but he wouldn't subject Colette to that.

There was no reason to.

"We can meetup again tomorrow." He glanced at her. "Though I suspect you'll not want to."

As for himself?

He had some thinking to do. A hobby did not come easily, especially for someone like him. Perhaps he'd have to visit the library.

 

[Colette]

Colette seemed to be relieved that it was quitting time. She was almost certain her muscles would be sore in the morning. It wasn't really surprising that dreadlord training sessions would be more strenuous than standard guard training.

"Of course I want to. Tomorrow will work perfectly," she replied. Talus had probably read her fatigue accurately but if nothing else Colette was determined. Especially when it involved self improvement.

She'd grown tired of some of the mocking for her poor close quarters skills. Not to mention her tendency to shy away from any sort of sword combat when they'd gone out on tasks before. This training was going to change all of that, she was certain of it.

The girl grinned and insisted, "just let me know the time and I'll be here."

 

[Talus]

"Right." He told Colette. "Same time."

Talus said, then simply gave a wave and walked off.

He wasn't entirely sure where he was walking to, but he was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice he'd left his sword behind on the training ground. What Colette had told him, coupled with everything else over the last few months had struck him hard.

Without even really thinking Talus disappeared off the training ground, his body turning that odd translucent blue as he stepped out of reality.

The night was spent mostly in thought and research. For a part of it he went to the library, for another he simply went to the square. For hours he watched people simply going about their day, some playing cards, others seemingly running around for no reason at all.

At the appointed hour of the next day Talus found himself walking towards the training yard, the sun slowly reaching it's appointed hour.