It is the next day, and I am in light clothing in the courtyard. Mom and me had woken up, and she had immediately dragged me out here for the first day of my training.

  She had given me a training sabre. She said that it was similar enough to what I would be using, that it would cross over well enough. As we stood there, she began to speak.

  "It had been a while, so I will start from the beginning. Fighting with a sword is an incredibly complex art. Depending on a multitude of factors, you will have to change at a moment's notice or you will be cut, stabbed, or worse." She began.

  "To add on, Fighting in the nude, or in armor will change your tactics so dramatically, that it means we have our work cut out for us. First, we will train in bare scale bladework, and after an acceptable level of competency, we will transition into armored sword Fighting. Now, take a stance."

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  I attempted to follow her instructions, but she just shakes her head. "You move like a brick, and your stance it's too stiff. Like this." She says, moving her body around.

  "Observe. This keeps you loose, able to lunge, fall back, circle, and more. Try to strike at me." She orders.

  I circle her cautiously, and then jab at her lower body. She moves back, her torso unmoving. She pushes my sword back, and away, cutting with the back of her blade.

  I slap her blade away, and she uses the momentum from my slap to whip her blade into my stomach. We pause, and she moves back.

  "Congratulations, you have been disemboweled." She says. "I see that we will have to start at the basics again. I suppose it has been a decade... No matter. You had decent instincts, and i can work with that." She said.

  "Now, again. Follow my lead, and watch my body move. Each move, each twitch, each breath you take, is important. Now, move."