The day of reckoning, as one might say.
Preceding the rise of the dawn, Kyero stood in a small room before four individuals all dressed in two layers of armor; one leather, one steel. The leather armor was a deep brown with tones of gray around the shoulders and elbows. Clearly a sign of wear and tear. Over the heart and midsection were thicker layers of the material, obviously for extra stopping power. The leather was cut out around the armpit for flexibility, with a long collar around the neck reaching all the way up to just below the jawline. Not likely to be comfortable, but very practical. The stitch was tight and well crafted, nary a seam out of place. But it was the steel portions of the armor which distinguished them from one another.
To the far left stood General Sol, retired blacksmith in his mid-50âs, nearly seven feet tall with a large, well-built frame and an aged, near permanent frown etched across his face. His black steel chest and shoulder protectors sported a gold trim, connected via a series of black leather straps. At the center of his chest armor was the Veilbrand Sun, a special interpretation of the sunâs rise over the horizon originally painted by a woman named Helena Gould over four hundred years ago.
The Veilbrand Sun was one of Veilbrandâs most famous art pieces, as it symbolized Veilbrandâs rise to military dominance following the conclusion of its war for independence from Creâ Est the year before its creation.
Connected to his chest armor was a matching tasset, black with gold trim around the edge of each layer. A pair of black greaves with red painted over the curved, spiked toes... Or was it paint at all? At his hip was a large sword, the blade alone being near four feet long with an impressive mold of the sun across the guard. And to finish the ensemble, an impressively ornate helm beneath his right arm bearing the Veilbrand Sun across the back. On the visor of said helm gleamed a pair of golden eyes amidst a black hand print, signifying the darkness of adversity and the golden eyes of Lemnia piercing the darkness to lead her Children into the light.
All things considered, this was not a man Kyero would wish to cross blades with if he didnât have to.
Center left was General Comet, former seamstress and school teacher, and the one responsible for the basic design blueprint of the leather armor they (and the rest of their forces) all wore. She stood five foot six with short, straight black hair, a somewhat stocky build for her height, and a no-nonsense glower with a pair of gleaming amber eyes aimed right at Kyeroâs bandanna. Even with the bandanna and his eyes closed, he could sense her stare piercing through him.
Though a relative stranger to the world of combat before the Revolution began, her work ethic and gifted of hand-eye coordination saw her become a fierce combatant and protector when it mattered most. She was the only one not wearing steel armor. Instead, she donned a gray leather set with a streaking blue-white comet across her chest, the tail of which trailed off around her left shoulder and the body just below her right breast.
Center right stood General Luna, a former combat instructor from Triveila who moved to Veilbrand to realize his dream of opening a meditation house shortly before Egruus took power. Standing just shy of six feet in height with a lean build, donning gray armor with white highlights and the crescent moon painted across the chest plate of his armor, he may not have been the most imposing figure anyone had ever seen physically. But certainly it was clear he wasnât to be underestimated.
Being a foreigner, he bore a Triveilan accent and their signature sun kissed skin tone. His hair was cut very short, and was dark brown with occasional hints of gray around the side burns. With an angular jaw and eyes, along with larger cheek bones, he stood out from the crowd a little more than he was comfortable with. He spoke the common tongue well, but occasionally struggled with finding the right words, particularly when it came to adjectives.
And finally, the most intimidating of the lot, standing far right, was General Star. Bearing an eight-pointed star on his chest plate amidst a sea of the deepest blue possible before black, he stood six foot six with a powerfully built frame, a rigid, squared off jaw, short cropped dark blonde hair, piercing sky blue eyes, and a natural scowl that would frighten any child unfortunate enough to look upon him. Even his own.
Hailing from the heart of Veilbrand, General Star was well recognized as a former tradesman whoâd seen all five nations and learned much of their various cultures. His experience in negotiation had served the Maiden well many a time, and gained the Revolution numerous trade allies and partners to work with despite Egruusâ fiercest attempts to sabotage the trade system while maintaining his own connections.
These were the Four Generals of the Revolution, and it was in collaboration with these individuals that Kyero was now tasked with training the Revolutionâs forces.
âI dounât like it. You mean to train our delicate fources with such... Such... Brutality?â General Luna demanded.
âWith all due respect, General Luna. Thereâs nothing brutal about this method. I prefer the word âmeticulous.ââ
âIt doesnât matter what you call it, Kyero. Your methods are too forceful for our people. Please try to come up with something better.â
âMay I ask why you think the method to be harsh, General Comet?â
âRepetition builds habit. And habits become second nature after a while. Thereâs no arguing that. But expecting them to repeat the same action for thirty minutes without rest is unreasonable.â
âI must agree with General Sol. Even if itâs a simple action, variety is necessary to maintain and facilitate an interest in learning which stimulates a desire for further exploration of the subject. As well, itâs hard to trust an instructor who thinks you need that much time devoted to a single action.â
âI believe Iâm starting to understand your point, General Star. You think that theyâll see this method as my way of saying theyâre not ready to progress? Correct?â
âCorrect.â
âOur forces may be meager in number and bred of common blood. But theyâre not so incompetent as to need that much time devoted to a single action.â
âI see... Very well.â
âYou defeated uone of Illiasterâs men, no? Your skills are excellent, but have you ever taught befoure?â
âAdmittedly, only once.â
âThen why would you request, let alone agree to taking charge of teaching so many all at once?â
âBecause even if my methods are a bit unrefined, I believe I have much to offer the Revolutionâs forces in the ways of combat.â
âThat would seem to me a dangerous assumption. No matter how skilled you are, if youâve never taught before, how can you expect to yield the best results to people whoâve already been instructed in another manner? Clashing teaching methods donât often go over well with students, you know. Trust me. I know better than most.â
âI understand your concern, General Star. General Luna. You were a long-time combat instructor. Where would you suggest I start?â
âUwell first, you must gain an undourstanding of their present skills. Gauge what they knou and what they donât knou. Then you can figure out where they need the moust work.â
âUnderstood. Then Iâll start there.â
âHow do you plan to do that, if I may ask? I mean, you-... Well.â
âI canât see. Yes. You neednât mince words with me, General Comet.â
âWell, still. If you are unable to watch them, how will you gauge their current strengths and weaknesses?â
Kyero smiled.
âMy ears are better than most.â
General Sol arched an eyebrow.
âNow youâve caught my attention... Very well. I look forward to seeing how you figure this out.â
âWeâll be present to help out if you need us.â
âThank you, General Star. I may do that. But for the most part, please refrain from interfering otherwise.â
âOf course. I wouldnât want to miss the show.â
âGeneral Sol, please.â
âThat was a good uone.â
General Comet sighed while the others smiled and waited for the hour to strike. And strike it did. Within the next ten minutes, Kyero was out in the training courtyard with the first wave of Revolution troops lined up in ten rows of five in front of him, and the four Generals in back observing quietly.
âStance!â Kyero shouted.
All the troops took the same position. Feet shoulder width apart, body bladed about forty-five degrees, both hands up to protect the face, knees bent about fifteen degrees. The four Generals looked to one another questioningly, eager to see what Kyero would do to gauge their skills.
âHalf-step forward, and punch with the lead hand. On my signal........ Punch!â
All fifty men and women lifted their front feet, pushed with the back foot, and half-stepped forward throwing a lead jab with a yell. Kyeroâs ears subtly twitched in response to the motion, and his head slid slightly to the left.
âFirst row, fifth in line. Step forward.â
The troops looked at one another for a second, and the two in the middle of the row both stepped forward. Kyero pointed to the one on his right.
âYou may step back.â His finger slid to the one on the left. âWhatâs your name?â
âOh, uh, Goulden, sir!â
âGoulden. Please demonstrate the technique again, on my mark... Punch!â
Goulden did his half-step lead jab with a yell, and then went motionless as Kyero told him to freeze once his punch was extended. Kyero approached him slowly, leaning on the walking stick until he reached Goulden. Kyero placed an open palm up and gently pressed against his fist.
âResist me.â
Kyero started pushing, and Goulden resisted as best he could. He grunted as he tried to push back against Kyero, but the difference in strength became obvious as Goulden started leaning back slightly before Kyero relaxed and stopped pushing.
âFace your left, and repeat the action... Punch!â
Goulden did as ordered, repeating the punch and freezing on extension as Kyero told him to do so.
âCan everyone see his position?â
âYES, SIR!â Came the reply.
âCan anyone tell me where his fault is?â
Heads turned and murmurs erupted. Even the Generals seemed confused as to where Kyero could possibly find a fault in the manâs technique.
âDonât overthink this, everyone. Just look at him. Whereâs the fault?â
More head turns, more murmurs.
âExcuse me, Kyero. But please remember these are-â
General Comet was silenced by Kyero raising his hand.
âWhere is his center of gravity?â
Eyes looked him up and down, and finally someone spoke up.
âIn the middle?â He asked.
âOf what?â
âOh... Him?â
âSpecifically, where?â
The four Generals began growing impatient.
âUm... I donât know. His chest?â
âClose. Itâs just below the belly button, at around hip level. Now, observe something important here.â
Kyero put his open palm against Gouldenâs fist and pushed hard, forcing him to lean back despite his efforts to resist. Holding him in that leaning position, Kyero asked, âWhere is his center of gravity now? In front of or behind his front foot?â
Eyes trailed down, and a collected understanding seemed to be brought on as the Generals too took in deep breaths.
Kyero relaxed on his pressure.
âLean forward a bit.â
Goulden did so.
âA little more.â
Again, he did as instructed.
âGood. Now, resist.â
Kyero began pushing hard against him, and Goulden found it much easier to resist Kyero to the point where he barely moved at all. However, Kyero was slowly beginning to overpower him.
âBend your front knee a bit more.â
A quick adjustment, and Goulden suddenly found the resistance even easier. Kyero couldnât move him, and thus relaxed his pressure and gave Goulden a pat on the shoulder, asking him to return to his position.
âYour center of gravity is of utmost importance to your technique. The further back your center of gravity is from your front leg, the easier it is to push you off balance. Now, everyone take your stance!â
A unified shuffling of feet.
âHalf-step jab and hold the punch out like Goulden did, on my mark... Punch!â
A unified shuffle and yell of effort, and all held their punches.
âI want every other row, starting with row two, to relax and turn to the individual immediately to your right. Test their punch by pushing back against it. The one punching should resist as best they can. If you can push your partner off balance, help them make the adjustment. If you require assistance, call for myself or one of the four Generals. Go!â
The Generals looked to one another in surprise, but a few smiles were shared as they watched the men and woman all take to Kyeroâs instruction. Every other row turned to the right and helped their partner adjust their punches and position until they couldnât push each other over anymore. And then, it was time to return the favor. All in all, it took around five minutes for both sides to complete the exercise.
âTimeâs up! Return to your positions!â Kyero called.
Everyone did so.
âNow, stance!â
Stances taken.
âHalf-step reverse punch and hold, on my mark... Punch!â
A shuffle and a yell, with Kyero listening intently.
âSecond row, second from the far right. Stand before me.â
The individual approached, stopping in front of Kyero.
âWhatâs your name?â
âA-Allenia, sir!â
âAllenia. Turn to your left, take your stance, and be prepared to throw the half-step reverse punch on my mark.â
She did as instructed.
âPunch!â
She slid forward and yelled with her punch, holding it still. Kyero walked in front of her and, just as with Goulden, pushed against her fist. In doing so, he managed to shove her arm and shoulder backwards until she nearly toppled over.
âCan anyone tell me why I was able to push her arm back?â
Head turns and murmurs, like before.
âIâll give you a hint. Her center of gravity is sound. Thereâs something else going on. Something to do with her upper body.â
He turned her once more to her left so she was facing everyone else.
âCan everyone see how her punching side shoulder is roughly aligned with her non-punching shoulder?â
Several affirmative murmurs echoed.
âWhen throwing a punch from the reverse hand, your shoulders should be-â he gently used his right hand to force her to move her punching shoulder forward until it was out in front of her opposing shoulder. â... Here, with the punching side forward ahead of the other. Something that helps with this-â He gent used his walking stick to tap her back foot until she turned it far enough to lift her heel off the ground. â... Is having your heel up to allow for maximum rotation from the hips on up to the shoulders. Allenia, hold that stance, please.â
âY-yes, sir!â
âIf you are unable to see, please move to an area where you can see, now.â
Shuffling of feet here and there and everywhere, until they came to a stop.
âCan everyone see her new ship to shoulder alignment, and how the punching side is out front?â
âYES, SIR!â
âExcellent. This is the ideal position for a reverse punch. Itâs a powerful finishing blow capable of knocking out or even killing your opponent if you know where youâre aiming.â
At the mention of killing their opponent, gasps and murmurs erupted like wildfire.
âSilence!â
Silence.
âYes. Itâs possible to kill someone with a simple punch. But that shouldnât be your primary concern right now. Look at her mechanics. Her raised heel, the position of her ankle, hips, shoulders, elbow, and wrist.â
Soft murmurs of understanding and recognition.
âIf everyone understands, return to your designated positions!â
Shuffling of feet, and silence.
âAllenia, you may return to your spot.â
âYes, sir!â
She dashed back in line as Kyero turned his head.
âGenerals, will you step forward, please?â
They did so.
âEveryone ready?... Stance!â
Stance taken.
âPunch and hold on my mark... Punch!â
Unified shuffling, yelling, and silence.
âGenerals, please assist me in checking their position and whether or not their mechanics are sound.â
Kyero and the Generals all went around testing everyoneâs mechanics. For the most part, everyone seemed to have it down. Only a few were still iffy and needed corrections. And when they were finished, they all gathered at the front, save Kyero, who had to take his time limping back to his spot. Once there, he faced everyone again.
âWell done. Letâs try that twice more as a group. Stance!â
Stance taken.
âPunch and hold on my mark... Punch!â
Shuffling, yelling, silence.
âEvery other row, check your partner, now.â
Everyone did so, and then returned the favor before returning to position.
âExcellent. Now, weâll use both in combination. Stance!â
Stance taken, followed by two punches in succession on a single half-step. Kyero had them repeat a few times more before he instructed them to check each other again. When all was said and done, and all necessary corrections made, Kyero had used up almost exactly thirty minutes of time. Be it coincidence or skill was up for debate. But it was impressive nonetheless.
âItâs time for some practical application. First line, line up in front of me. Second line, General Sol. Third line, General Luna. Fourth line, General Comet. Fifth line, General Star. Go!â
Shuffling and murmuring ensued before all fell to silence.
âGenerals. Do you all count ten in your lines?â
âYes.â Came their unified response.
âGood. Then if my atrocious math skills donât fail me, I have ten as well.â
A few scattered chuckles emerged before falling silent.
âMyself and the Generals will extend a hand, like so-â He held out his right hand, palm up and facing his line. âYour job is to strike it with both punches. If you miss a punch, you must do ten push-ups before returning to the line. Understood?â
âYES, SIR!â
âExcellent. Generals, keep an eye on their mechanics and take note of the most common mistakes, please. Begin!â
The drill began, and throughout Kyeroâs line he could feel the mechanics in each punch as they came through. Several were excellent. Several more, not so much. Simple faults such as not fully rotating the hips and shoulders, or allowing the wrist to bend on contact could be felt. As they were, he halted the individual responsible, asking for their name and saying a quick word to correct the mistake for next time. Before long, Kyero knew everyoneâs name in his line.
âStop!â
The drill came to an end.
âGenerals, what was the single most common mistake in your line?â He asked.
âThey let their back hands drop a lot.â
âOver routating and swinging the punch through too faur.â
âBack heel wasnât up.â
âNot turning the shoulders all the way.â
Kyero raised his chin.
âAnd in my line... It was turning their front foot out too far which let me push them back almost as easily as if their back foot hadnât rotated up onto the heel.â
Everyone looked around.
âI want every line to rotate one to the right. So General Solâs line, face me. My line, face General Star. Etc. Go!â
Done in fifteen seconds.
âNow, again!â
The drill and critique was completed in each line for each General and Kyero until the lines returned to their original hand target holder.
âGood. Weâll take a quick break for ten minutes. Get some water, and be prepared to run when you return. We need to work on your conditioning.â
As everyone broke for a water break, the four Generals gathered around Kyero.
âI have to admit, Kyero, you had me a little worried for a bit.â
âIndeed. I was under the impression that you would most certainly begin belittling them when they couldnât say what you saw wrong.â
âGood to know you seem to understand what ârestraintâ is.â
âPourhaps it would be prudent to challenge their footwork next? Focus on both uppeur and loweur body in equal measure, no?â
âYes, General Luna. Their footwork could still use some attention. Weâll touch on that after they finish their run.â
âHow far are they running?â
âHow wide is this courtyard?â
âAbout two hundred meters each way. A near perfect square. Why?â
âIâd like them to jog ten laps around the yard, hugging the walls as closely as possible.â
âThat seems... A little excessive.â
âWhy ten?â
âHow tired were your lines by the end?â
Everyone exchanged looks.
âMine too. They need more conditioning. So Iâm going to have them run now, while their bodies are still recovering from the fatigue of the last drill. This will help stimulate a second wind by the time theyâre finishing their third or fourth laps.â
âHou do you knou?â
âCall it âfaithâ.â
General Comet smiled, despite her initial disapproval.
âVery well. But if we see someone looking like theyâre going to collapse, weâll pull them from the run. Understood?â
âOf course. Collapsing is not the goal.â
All in agreement, the second phase of training was about to begin...