Beware the Black Spear

  It breathes your blood as it cleaves in a flood

  Beware the Black Spear

  It longs for death, yours it won’t regret

  Beware the Black Spear

  A face it yearns, many fires it burns

  Beware the Black Spear…

  -   A Poem that stemmed from a warning told as a story to scare children…a warning that once carried meaning…

  We reappeared in the room with the tan bouncy floors.

  “We will be training here every day for quite some time. Your foundation needs work. A lot of work. I will not stop you from working on the techniques I passed to you, but after witnessing you fight for a bit, I believe it is best you refrain from doing so until your foundations have been rebuilt.

  “Martial Arts built on weak foundations will never see the true peak. Do you understand?”

  “I do.”

  “Good then let’s begin. To some a weapon is a tool, while to others it’s far more than that. Infernals fall in the latter. In our hands a spear comes to life, and it lives through us. It is through us that the will of the spear is able to live and express itself in the world. And it is likewise through the spear that we are able to express our wills on the world around us.

  “It is a part of us, and we are a part of it. This connection is sacred and never to be treated as anything less. Do you understand?”

  “I do.”

  “Good. Now I believe you understand the core principles of using a spear, but your movements do not fully match that. It’s almost as if you’ve only been using a spear for a couple months.”

  “I have. I only began using it in the Tutorial.”

  “I see…what did you use before?”

  “Nothing? I was a student before all of this. And no one fought with melee weapons anymore.”

  “I see. Then that makes things a bit different. You don’t need correction, you need to learn from the very beginning. No need to waste any more time. Thrust.”

  I didn’t linger on her words and immediately thrusted out as best as I could.

  “Hold your form.”

  I did as told and remained in a thrusting position.

  “The thrust can be considered the core ability of using a spear. A simple thrust. In the hands of the strong such a thing could destroy mountains, while in the hands of the weak it is a simple attack to be easily dodged.

  “The core of a proper thrust is not just about the strength of your arm, it is about connecting every part of your body to deliver one fluid movement that results in an unwavering strike.

  “Your current thrust is far from that. You are simply using as much strength as you can and striking forward. Every thrust you make should always be the same. Swift, powerful, straight, and unwavering. The power of your strike doesn’t just come from your upper body, it comes from your core and lower body as well. All of them need to be in alignment every single time you perform a thrust.

  “Firstly, the grip on the spear is too strong. That is wasted energy. Loosen the grip on your spear, without losing control, secondly, correct your stance and posture. No matter the position you find yourself in, never lose control of your posture, it is imperative to remain in perfect tandem with your spear.

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  “Thirdly, the point at which you strike. Your aim should always be true. Don’t just aim to hit a target for the sake of hitting a target. You aim for a point. A singular point. Aim for a point, maintain proper posture while working towards delivering consistently swift, powerful, straight, and unwavering thrusts.

  “You will remain in this position until I give the signal ‘Zhakir’, which means to thrust in the Olden Tongue. After each thrust, remain in that position.”

  Honestly, part of me was already dreading this training. It didn’t sound particularly hard, but it would definitely be rather boring. I was already starting to miss the daily fights with Jrino. At least that was exciting.

  Though despite me saying that…Jrino said from the very beginning he would not teach me spear arts, and I’ve witnessed firsthand the difference between his thrusts and mine. Not to mention the ability I saw Frian display in the forest. I had problems to fix and holes to fill, and I believe this type of training will help significantly with that.

  So, I did exactly as told.

  For roughly two hours I did nothing but hold my form and thrust when told to. It was more mentally draining than it was physically and while I knew I likely made progress today, but according to Elder Zal who continuously corrected every single movement I did, I was still a long way off.

  That’s alright.

  As always, I will persist.

  “I will come for you tomorrow morning. I know you likely have many questions, but we will be spending a lot of time together, and thus many opportunities to learn and grow as a Patriarch. For now, is there anything you are more eager to learn.”

  I didn’t hesitate for one second to ask my question. It’s something that’s been on my mind since it first happened.

  “I somehow learned a word I had never heard or seen before, and when I said it, I felt stronger than ever while also feeling the presence something or someone. What is that?”

  “I see. You can already speak to and hear from the Eternal Flame. It is not something to be fearful of, as it is your right as a Patriarch to be able to converse with the Eternal Flame. This is one thing you will have learn without much input from me or anyone else for that matter. I am not a Matriarch. The Eternal Flame will only ever communicate to Infernals of your station. My only advice is to be wary of speaking certain words without sufficient power or understanding. Don’t worry, you will learn and understand with time. It’s time to go back, you have others waiting for you.”

  She didn’t give me time to respond and before I knew it, I was back in my office as if I never left. Well, that’s if you ignored the sweat that clung to my body. I will need another shower.

  I left my office and of course both Frian and Lirian were standing stoically in position.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  I took another couple minutes to freshen up before making my way downstairs, before leaving in search of Richard.

  There were a lot more people walking around now and a few questions to random strangers I was eventually able to locate Richard who happened to be in the market area. He was with a few people.

  “Everything alright Raizen?”

  “Yep, just training.”

  “Training…I see. Well, this is Victor and the people who will be working for him. We were just picking his shop location and finalizing the agreement with us. Victor, this is Raizen, the City Lord. Everything goes through him.”

  Victor was a burly man. He was bald but had a thick ginger beard. He had the whole butcher look, down pat. Of course, his voice was gruff as well to round it all off.

  “It is nice to meet you Raizen, I appreciate you helping me out with setting up my own butcher shop.”

  His words didn’t match the movement of his mouth, so I guess he isn’t speaking English. Anyway, he seemed decent enough, and the three other people he had with him who were to be his workers also introduced themselves and they seemed fine too.

  After the introductions were over, and the building was inspected, Richard handed over two sheets for him to sign and once that was completed, I had them spread out.

  “Here’s your first order Victor.”

  The bodies of all the beasts both myself and Frian killed in the forest appeared on the floor of the shop. They were still in the same condition as when they were first put into the ring. Apparently, this state freeze functionality was only present in good quality portable storage devices. Frian explained this to me.

  “What the…what are these monsters?”

  “They are some of the new things that roam our planet but more specifically, they roam the forest nearest to us. I expect you will be working with them more often in the future. Especially the Great Rabbit. “

  “The Great Rabbit?”

  I then proceeded to explain all the names of the creatures I brought back. I’m sure they’ll catch on.

  “That’s everything. Do your best, then send someone to the City Lord Mansion whenever you’re done. We’ll discuss payment at that time.”

  After sorting things out there I went on another walk with Richard as we walked towards the training ground and went over the details of the butcher’s deal again.

  To sum it all up, we put 45 Silver Coins as an initial investment. It would cover cold storage, tools, salary for his employees, and a few early commissions for people to hunt for him. Since the adventures guild is being worked on, and a shell version will be launched in the coming weeks, he soon be placing commissions in which is good.

  Money needs to flow from customer to business to business to customer for a City like this to thrive.

  All in all, I think we were on the right path.