Flashback A time to reflect

[Alexis Aryeh]

Spring, 1, 499


Alexis found himself sitting on his bare bed within his new home. So much had happened in the past few weeks he just lost track of it all as he looked at his hands that laid within his lap.

The death of his parents, the joining of the Shinya, the learning of fighting and putting in work to become a better person and the new life just seemed like a dream to him. Maybe even a nightmare as his pale green eyes looked about his new home. The room laid bare of any items besides a small plant that showed no life. He was told it had flower seeds and it was up to him to keep the plant alive and tend to it while he adjusted to his new life.

He was told it had common seeds from around the area and he would be tasked to grow the plant. He was not sure if it really was a task he had to perform or just something to help keep him on some type of schedule to help with the changes in his life. He just did not know what to do with it but he figured learning by trial and error would be best right now as he thought back to the past few weeks as they were turning more into a lucid dream in his mind.

His parents had passed away. That alone cut deep inside his heart. Yet how did he really feel about it all? He was not sure as his head turned to a chest at the end of his bed. Inside that chest held his belongings that he took with him. One of which was a shortbow with his name carved into it as a gift from last year. He never really used it as he just never found time to learn it with his parents. Guess he would have to learn it one day or forever to collect dust.

Laying against the chest was a blade that was held by a dark leather sheath. When he came he was asked what he thought a good weapon would be and for reasons unknown to him he had picked something called a falchion with the single edge blade going towards a slight curve near the endpoint with the other side dull. He never really knew why but he liked the design of it and liked the idea of using the dull side if he could keep someone alive in a fight yet he was told quickly that a real fight would not end like a children's story.

At last the young boy moved off the bed and grabbed the sword. Slowly pulling it free from the sheath that it came with and kept forgetting how heavy it felt in his thin arms. This sword was made for an adult but he was told he would grow into it. He could go with other weapons of choice if he wanted but was told that either way he would learn combat due to the world was not a friendly place and he had to be better if he was to keep it safe from harm.

His arms struggled as he used both hands to lift and swing the blade in his room. From right to left movement in the air but he could only do it a couple of times before placing it on the bed. He felt weak but was the weakness just in his lack of real strength or did the past take its own toll on his body that he was not aware of? He was not sure as he looked towards the ground.

He had to get better.

That was all that mattered to him. He held that thought in his mind as he took a seat on the ground. One of the things he was taught already was to focus on his own mind and focus on meditation first and foremost. He had to be in control in the end and this he found helped him stay on task whatever that task would be.

He still felt it was hard to really do this as he closed his eyes and slowly breathed in. He could have easily gone outside or to the others and did this in a group setting but right now he wanted to be alone. Alone with his thoughts and away from people right now.

Alexis thought back on his first lesson weeks ago on doing this. He was told to think of his thoughts as a river and let the thoughts come and go without forcing them. Just become one with the river and watch the thoughts fade past.

Was much easier said than done he thought as he moved his hands in his hand. His left thumb nail rubbing along the back of his right thumb as he focused on his breathing. Making effort to breathe slowly in and out and try to keep a steady pace up on that.

How did he feel about this place? Becoming a Shinya? He really did not give it much thought but so far he wanted to become one but why? What was the real reason? Deep down he was not sure but he wanted to make sure no one would live in fear for that fear could come from outside the city or inside.

That thought came and passed as he reflected on that in the river of thoughts as he became just a small pebble in his mind watching things go by. He was just a child he knew but it felt like his life has been turned upside down and he had to grow up quickly if he wanted to make it work.

His fear was failing and just becoming an outcast. If he could not perform the task that was called for as a Shinya he would have to leave this city and that meant death to him. He would not let that happen as he let out a slow deep breath that he found himself holding in.

Relax. He thought as he breathed back in slowly in his nose and out of his mouth. He would not fail. Could not. No matter what.

[Alexis Aryeh]

The problem with sitting on the ground and trying to clear your thoughts was that it was not easy. At least not easy when you are starting out as Alexis only had so long to really learn how to do this he found himself breaking out of any type of headway at the smallest of things.

Such as that his legs were going to sleep on him. The fact that he could hear others outside his thin sliding wall door. The fact his stomach was giving protest about wanting food. So many things just kept breaking him in and out of working on resolving this inner peace he heard so much about.

In the end he just could not win as he stood up and found that was a mistake. Pain shot through his legs as the blood rushed back to them as he moved and laid down on his bed. This is what he got for not learning to sit correctly on the ground. Posture was everything in life in the end.

A loud sigh left his lips as he regain the great power to stand on his own two legs. One challenge done he thought as he put his feet together and bent forward touching his toes. Stretching may help his cause and loosen up his stiff body from that sitting or so he thought. He really did not have much basis to go off that idea but he did see a few people perform daily stretches so it could not hurt to be more limber.

Up and down he went as he stood back up and moved back down touching his toes. He recalled that they also had their feet more apart and used different arms to touch their feet so he moved his own feet apart a bit more and used his right hand to touch his left foot and back up and down with his left hand touching his right foot.

He could not tell if he was doing it right but he felt a bit better with this back but would ask or watch further to understand and get better at it. But that would be for another time as he thought about what he had to do now.

If he broke down what he knew and learned in the past few weeks he now understood a bit about Meditation, Projection, Unarmed combat and using the Falchion as a weapon.

He was still learning all of them really and could not call himself really good with any of it in the end. His thoughts broke easy when he did work on meditating upon the simplest of things but maybe that was a way to reflecting on something else.

Projection was a magic that he learned that dealt with the astral body. At most right now however he could only move a few light items around and not for very long.

Unarmed combat was almost the same. He was learning to move out of the way and learning to throw a good punch. He thought he knew how to throw a punch before when he fought other kids his age just to kill time but he was wrong. He learned to throw a punch you could not picture yourself hitting the target but thinking you had to hit the target a few feet behind along with keeping your arm in more of a position compared to before. Also the same went with kicks but he was still learning that and would take more time to learn really in depth.

The last one was using the sword he had picked which was the Falchion as a weapon. While it was still heavy and slow in his hands he has learned at least how to block somewhat and swing but still very slowly in the movements.

In the end he was a different person now but he had to get better. Stronger and faster. One way or another he had to get better and he knew they could help him.

What he would do would to find his sponsor Zhivka. While she did not spend much time teaching him by books or theory by talking she did teach him by doing. It was either get good or get hurt with her but so far he found it worked for him.

He grabbed his sword and made his way out in search for her. He would get better by doing and not just wasting time away daydreaming about it.

[Alexis Aryeh]

It did not take him long to find her. Really if you kept searching you would find anyone in the maze of the area one way or another but that was not the point that he had to worry about as he found her sitting on the ground in the training area with her eyes shut and her hook sword in her lap.

Alexis just took to the ground in front of her. His head bowing towards her before he spoke softly. He was still getting use to bowing and really having someone he could really go to for help.

“H-hello Zhivka. I was hoping you could help me with where I stand and how I can help get better.”

Alexis said with a small nervous tremble in his voice when he addressed her. It would take time but he was sure it would pass or at least one would hope.

“What do you mean Alexis?”

She was one of few words in the end as she kept her eyes closed and focused on whatever she was doing while others around were sparring and training in different manners.

“I have spent time learning but I want to get better. I want to become stronger.”

“You are young. However, I agree you do need to find a path and walk it. So I will help you but understand that you have a few options you can still choose from. Either learn with my way and learn quickly which will not be fair or easy or learn with your peers at a slower but easier pace. I will not judge you either way.”

Alexis was not sure how to reply to that. He has spent time in group training and with his peers but he also has worked with her. She was far more hands-on and not much anything else. Where one could learn theory from a book and slowly work on it she was much rather learn by doing type of person.

“Teach me to become better.”

Is all he could say sealing the agreement one way or another in the end.

“You are young and small. However with this you can use to help you while you learn and grow into your body. I know that you need to use both hands to swing your sword and with that you are still learning however for right now we will work on your hand to hand style of fighting. After the next rest we will go over your combat with your blade but we will address that. We will work until you have had enough.”

She said as she stood and with that he knew he would as well. She was eight years older than him but she was almost a fully grown adult in his eyes where he was just a child. His blade was placed on the ground next to hers and they moved apart a few feet facing each other.

“Alexis you should focus on avoiding and deflecting right now. If you see an opening you should try but stick to guarding. Once you understand more of how to keep yourself safe you will learn in time how to fight back. Otherwise if you can’t defend yourself in the real world you will die before long.”

He just had to nod his head as she came at him. She did not tell him how to guard as he would have to learn on his own with that but trial by fire was not just a saying in a book with her he had found.

Her left fist came towards him but he managed to take a step back and avoid it. His right fist moved at her ribs but was blocked off with her hand grabbing onto his wrist and before he knew it he found himself on the ground gasping for air as she planted a kick to his side knocking him down.

“Don’t try to force an attack. Get up and again.”

No rest for the wicked it would seem as he slowly stood up holding his side. Pain shooting in his body but this is what he wanted in the end. To learn the fast hard way and he would pay for it later he was sure.

His feet moved apart and hands moved in front. He may be young but was tired of being weak. She was right if this was a real fight he would die outside. He had to get better and if it meant a few bruises so be it.

She came again at him without giving him much time to think as she threw another punch this time coming from his right fist. Alexis ducked out of the way using his small frame to aid however this time she spun around landing a punch on his upper back with his fist before jumping back as he stumbled forward.

He turned and faced her again. He would not give up yet as she came towards him. Her right fist coming once more but this time Alexis moved towards her dropping towards the ground as he did on one knee while throwing his own punch at her stomach. With what felt like sheer luck he avoided her punch while connecting with her but unlike her punches his just lacked the same force of power it would seem as she sent a knee to his chin before he could get out of the way.

Small amounts of blood came out of his mouth as she took a few steps back as he caught his breath but this time she did not come towards him.

“Three to one. Not bad. Not a bad idea to use your frame to your aid but remember that legs are a thing. If you lack the power behind a real punch you need to be on the lookout for a counter-attack like a knee to your face. Right now we are done with this but you need to get better Alexis if you want to survive and grow. Take a break and clean up. I recommend that you join the others when they work out. Running and bodybuilding of sorts may help you but we will pick up later today with other things.”

She said as she took her sword from the ground while tossing him a small cloth. He took it and pressed it on his lip to stop the bleeding but it would not last. Pain was a good teacher it would seem as she walked away leaving him to reflect.