Light Sandre felt sore. He had been sparring and working out every waking moment for a couple weeks now and while he had improved in both areas he hardly cared. It was the reason he was doing it that mattered. He had trusted again and after confessing his greatest pain, his greatest fear. It was repeated not an hour later. The bruising of a lathe strike, the soreness of a work out, was all a cover to hide what was inside. He was a mass of bruises from sparring this morning but it was enough to feel good again.

 

He spotted Elyan and grabbed a couple weighted iron rods he had had made. They were made from a heavy and all but useless iron and one end was like a handle for a hand and half sword... why they called it that he didnt know, you could clearly put two hands on the handle. The handle immediately came out and turned into a thick iron bar. It was much heavier than the sword it mimics. Walking up to Elyan he clapped a hand on the young man's shoulder much like he did the day they met. "Hey Elyan. I am going to the river to work out a bit. Care to join me?" Ibram was nearby and looking at him. Sandre had worked out with Ibram once as well... he survived. Sandre looked at Ibram. "Im not going to hurt him... Im not... I didnt hurt you!"

 

When he looked back at Elyan he was all smiles.

Elyan was walking across the grounds, he had just finished a afternoon lesson, and did not have any required training for the next several hours. He was in the middle of considering whether he should go to the barracks to find a sparring partner, or ask one of the groups that were training around the grounds to join them. Then he saw Sandre approaching from the other side of the yard, carrying to sparring lathes that looked like they were made of iron. Sandre gave a friendly slap to the back of Elyan’s shoulder.

 

"Hey Elyan. I am going to the river to work out a bit. Care to join me?" Then he turned towards one of the other trainees, yelling with a strange sterness. "Im not going to hurt him... Im not... I didnt hurt you!" He turned back towards Elyan, smiling at him.

 

Elyan could not help but smile himself, he knew that this was not going to be an ordinary workout. It was obvious that Sandre was up to something, and if he thought Elyan was dull enough to not realize it, then maybe he gave Sandre too much credit. Either way it must be a test of sorts, Elyan thought it an honor to be worthy of Sandre’s test. He was determined to prove himself to the elder trainee. “Sure,” he said trying to hide the excitement from his voice. “I had been looking for a training partner.”

Sandre nodded and handed Elyan one of the rods. You can have that. It didnt cost me anything since the iron was useless for anything else. Its made to act like a bastard sword so regardless of what you choose you keep using that you can resort to a bastard sword in a tight spot. Sandre approached one of the racks for a suitable set of leg weights, attaching them just above the knees and nodded for Elyan to do the same. They walked to the edge of the yards and then Sandre explained "Sprint to the river with me. I am going to teach you some Shienaran exercises to build power and speed."

 

A leg weighted sprint is never fun. (But good when you need to have fast legs in battle.) When they reached the river... which by this time seemed a blessing... Sandre only kicked off his boots before diving in. He looked back at Elyan. "Dive in Elyan... get your body used to shock... in case someday you take a wound and start to bleed too much or you are in too much pain. Could be the difference between life and death for you."

Sandre nodded and handed Elyan one of the rods. “You can have that. It didnt cost me anything since the iron was useless for anything else. Its made to act like a bastard sword so regardless of what you choose you keep using that you can resort to a bastard sword in a tight spot.” Sandre said approaching one of the racks, selecting a set of leg weights and attached them to his legs. He gestured to Elyan for him to do the same. Elayn had an awkward time of putting them on, having only used them once before. With some help from Sandre he got them on, then followed Sandre to the edge of the yards.

"Sprint to the river with me. I am going to teach you some Shienaran exercises to build power and speed."

 

The distance to the river was just over two miles. It was not a long run for Elyan, his life had sometimes depended on his speed over distance. He kept up with Sandre for a mile, after which the weights on his legs caused the muscles to start to burn, he pushed himself harder and kept the distance between Sandre and him constant, even decreasing the distance arriving at the river a few paces behind Sandre.

 

"Dive in Elyan... get your body used to shock... in case someday you take a wound and start to bleed too much or you are in too much pain. Could be the difference between life and death for you."

 

Elyan removed his boots as Sandre had done, but stood at the edge of the river, looking at Sandre, he was filled with disappointment, the workout had barely started and he already couldn’t continue. “Um..” he said slowly. “I… I can’t swim.”

Sandre wasnt too concerned that Elyan couldnt swim. The last few months all he had been doing was teaching other trainees what they needed to know to make it in the yards. "Thats fine then Elyan. It gives us more time then if I tell the instructors you were being taught to swim. Might want to take the weights off though." Sandre did the same since it seems they would be out here a little longer. "I wont let you drown Elyan... I promise. You still need to dive right in. Combat is the same way. You are usually scared before it starts but once you are in... Hold your breath. Dont close your eyes, you will need to get use to that."

 

Sandre measured about where Elyan would fall. "When you get in kick your feet as though you are walking fast and cup your hands and move them as though you are climbing a ladder. When you break the surface of the water keep kicking but wave your arms just a few inches under the water as though flapping your arms like a bird. I will help you if you have trouble."

 

He motioned towards the water. (Conquer your fears Elyan.)

"Thats fine then Elyan. It gives us more time then if I tell the instructors you were being taught to swim. Might want to take the weights off though." He took off the weights and dropped them on the shore, Sandre threw his out of the water. "I wont let you drown Elyan... I promise. You still need to dive right in. Combat is the same way. You are usually scared before it starts but once you are in... Hold your breath. Dont close your eyes, you will need to get use to that."

Elyan was thinking that that this may end badly, when sander continued. "When you get in kick your feet as though you are walking fast and cup your hands and move them as though you are climbing a ladder. When you break the surface of the water keep kicking but wave your arms just a few inches under the water as though flapping your arms like a bird. I will help you if you have trouble."

 

Elyan studied Sandre for a second, the man was asking for Elyan to trust him, which was not something that came easily for Sandre. He shrugged, today was as good as any to learn how to swim. He tried to summon up his courage, mumbling under his breath, “Dark One hates a coward” and hopped off the side of the shore, landing feet first into the water.

 

He sank like a rock, spending a few moments gazing out into the blue emptiness before coming into contact with the sandy bottom. He looked up at seeing the sun glaring through the surface of the water, almost blinding him. He almost paniced, but controlled his fear and tried to remember what Sandre had told him. He was in another situation that threatened him, he just had to find a way to survive. Pushing his feet of the bottom and pulling the water with his hands, he began to rise up through the water. He started to kick his feet, and a few moments later breached the surface of the water, he had time to take a deep breath before sinking back below the water. Remembering to kick he rose above the surface again, and struggled to above this time, he saw Sandre swimming towards him. Elyan spit water out of his mouth, trying to speak in between strokes, “Well…. That was… an experience.”

Sandre laughed. "Your a natural friend. No need to worry." He first made sure Elyan could tread water. He was putting more effort into it than he needed. "Relax Elyan... you dont need to move that fast." Teaching him a few strokes and a back float Sandre figured it was time to train. He would test Elyan on it later. He moved to a shall part of the river that came to their necks and retrieved the rods. "Ok. Even strokes back and forth against the current. As fast as you can. With a weighted rod moving against the current you keep doing this and a real sword will feel light."

 

It was rather relaxing if you concentrated on the sound of the river rather than the strenuous work on your arms. It worked muscles most people never worked. Before they froze he got out and did some push ups but told Elyan a different way to do them. "Push up with a burst of speed. That way when you swing your weapon your muscles will be trained to burst with speed as well. This also builds strength to swing harder. It takes a couple years before this will start to make a difference but it will set you apart."

Sandre laughed. "Your a natural friend. No need to worry."

 

"Relax Elyan... you dont need to move that fast." He tried to relax his stroke, which caused him to sink in the water again. It took him a moment to get the right balance in order to stay above the water without using too much effort. Sandre taught Elyan a few strokes, which he was not exceptionally good at, but was able to make forward progress through the water. After a short time Sandre led Elyan to a area where they could stand on the bottom and still keep their heads above the water.  Moving to the side of the river and picking up the iron lathes. "Ok. Even strokes back and forth against the current. As fast as you can. With a weighted rod moving against the current you keep doing this and a real sword will feel light."

 

Elyan followed Sandre’s example cutting through the water again and again. The weight of the iron and the current of the water made the swings difficult. It wasn’t long before his arm muscles started to burn, but he ignored them. They burn soon subsided, and his arms grew numb. He lost track of the time they worked, hypnotized by the rhythm of the strokes. The chill of the river was starting to creep into his bones when Sandre led him out of the water.

 

They did some push-ups to warm up, Sandre telling him to push up fast, then lower himself to the ground slower.

 

"Push up with a burst of speed. That way when you swing your weapon your muscles will be trained to burst with speed as well. This also builds strength to swing harder. It takes a couple years before this will start to make a difference but it will set you apart."

 

His arms still burned from the river, but he clenched his jaw trying to ignore the pain. Forcing himself to keep going, as long as Sandre was working, he would too. When Sandre finally stopped, he stood stretching his arms across his chest and above his head, releasing the tension that had accumulated in his arms. Then stood waiting for what was coming next.

 

"These next two will hurt. If you want to quit let me know. He said with a grin. Elyan was trying to keep up which he admired. He didnt admire how sore he would be in the morning working muscles that were untouched with the yards mandatory exercises.

 

He strapped the weights back on and stepped back into the river. He began to run in place in chest deep water raising his knees as fast he could could. "This will help you command a burst of speed in your legs... for a movement advantage. It will improve your running as well but thats not why we do it. In a couple years... much like the push up difference, this will set you apart." As a challenge he kept up a longer cycle than he normally would have. Elyan never stopped. When it seemed he was about to Sandre stopped first.

 

"This one may be a waste of time... you may never need what this will give you. Its to train you to be able to move quickly over rough terrain. It will work your stomach quite a bit at first. You have to get past that to get anything out of it."  Sandre stepped out of the water and knelt to a squat then quickly jumped as high as he could, landed and went down to a squat with the momentum. The weights made it harder. As Elyan joined him he explained further. "With properly trained legs and some balance training you will be able to go over boulders or other obstacles, run up walls, or jump wall to wall in an alley way to reach a roof. Useful when you need to escape, move quickly over rough terrain or pursue someone with this same training."

 

OOC By the way, all of these are based on actual training. The Push ups were used by Bruce Lee who as you know could punch faster than a man could blink and commanded tremendous power. Those push ups are why he could do that. The jumping is part of something called Urban Jumping. You can find it on youtube. The swinging the iron rods in the water was used by the samurai as part of their training. The legs ups in the water are also part of Bruce Lees system for speed and power in the legs though he would just run in a burst for two seconds and stop, then start again. In this case... I just say its from Shienar who chase fades and rely on speed and power against massive Trollocs.

"These next two will hurt. If you want to quit let me know.

 

Sandre told him with a grin. Elyan almost laughed, Sandre must not understand. Elyan couldn’t stop, having to prove to everyone that he some beggar on the streets of Tar Valon. Elyan had to continue even if it killed him.

 

He followed Sandre’s example of putting back on the leg weights, and followed him back in the water. If he had to swim with these on his legs, then it might just kill him. Still, he continued out into the water, determined to show his worth.

 

"This will help you command a burst of speed in your legs... for a movement advantage. It will improve your running as well but thats not why we do it. In a couple years... much like the push up difference, this will set you apart."

 

Sandre kept going even after the pain in Elyan’s legs screamed at him to stop. His muscles hurt and the effort made him want to yell at the sky. He didn’t and forced his legs to keep moving, using the pain as fuel to keep moving. He could see Sandre was straining from the effort, and refused to be the first to stop. When Elyan thought he was about to pass out from the exertion, Sandre stopped.

 

"This one may be a waste of time... you may never need what this will give you. Its to train you to be able to move quickly over rough terrain. It will work your stomach quite a bit at first. You have to get past that to get anything out of it."

 

Explained Sandre as he walked back on to dry land, Elyan following behind him. Dropping into a crouch, Sandre jumped as high as he could with an explosion from his legs. He repeated the maneuver, and Elyan joined him in the exercise.

 

"With properly trained legs and some balance training you will be able to go over boulders or other obstacles, run up walls, or jump wall to wall in an alley way to reach a roof. Useful when you need to escape, move quickly over rough terrain or pursue someone with this same training."

 

This exercise seemed easier to Elyan, using leg muscles that he had worked before. His muscles were still burning in minutes, the pain was more bearable, but he was still glad when Sandre stopped the endless jumping. Trying to loosen his legs by shaking them, he then continued with a little stretching grabbing his ankle and pulling his leg behind him. A couple small jumps and he felt ready for whatever Sandre had in store next.

 

"One more then we will head back. Lets see what you remembered of the front stroke. We will swim against the current. The farther up we go the stronger the current will get. I wont let you down but you have to be smart enough to know your limits."

 

As they removed the leg weights and began the swim Sandre stayed beside Elyan the whole time. Just in case... Water was still hitting his face and he wondered if Elyan would panic. He would be fine though.

 

"You can do it Elyan."

"One more then we will head back. Lets see what you remembered of the front stroke. We will swim against the current. The farther up we go the stronger the current will get. I wont let you down but you have to be smart enough to know your limits."

 

Elyan looked back towards the river, not excited about entering the current again. He turned back towards Sandre, who was already removing his leg weights. Elyan shrugged and started to remove his weights as well. Then he followed Sandre into the water, starting to swim as the water reached above their necks.

 

He could see Sandre swimming beside him in between strokes. The first few breaths were rushed, bringing water into his lungs that left him coughing, he would come up for a bit, trying to clear out the water. Eventually he got into a rhythm, breathing every other stroke, twisting his body in the water to get the full benefit from each stroke. He picked up speed, heading further into the river. At halfway to the middle of the river, Elyan came to a standstill, unable to move forward, while the water was not pushing him back.

 

"You can do it Elyan."

 

He heard Sandre say when he came up for breath. He increased the speed of his strokes, muscles in his arms and legs beginning to ache. Spraying water as his hands impacted the surface, he crept upstream slowly moving further out into the river. He reached his limit, not able to speed up his arms any faster, the resistance of the water slowing his hands. He held that position stationary in the river, counting every stroke. He held the pace for as long as his body would allow, hours it seemed though he had lost track of time. He headed back towards the shore, slowing his speed as the current slowed. Walking into the shallows, he bent over with his hands on knees breathing heavily. Standing, he looked at Sandre exhaling deeply. Saying in between gasps of breath,

 

“Wow…. Really makes…. you feel alive…. Doesn’t it.”

Sandre followed Elyan out of the river. He laughed at his comment about feeling alive. "That it does. It can become an addicting feeling though you wont believe me tomorrow." Another trainee survived, and learned a few things.

 

"Until you get comfortable in the water bring a friend who is a strong swimmer to work out with you. Also I will let your squad leader know you are not going to be able to move tomorrow so he can let your instructors know. If you keep this up Elyan, in addition to the Tower work outs which go very well with these. You will have no trouble with the physical aspect of the yards."

 

The walk back was mostly to stretch limbs that would be too sore tomorrow. The more they do now the less they would have to feel. Upon reaching the yards Sandre gave Elyan a slight bow. "Thank you for the work out friend." he said, then turned and walked away.

 

OOC there is room for one more post if you want but here is as good a place as any to end it

Sandre laughed at his comment, as they pulled their boots back on for the walk back. "That it does. It can become an addicting feeling though you wont believe me tomorrow."

 

Elyan chuckled, “No, I don’t believe I will, but sore muscles are an old acquaintance of mine.”

 

They started the walk back to stretch the limbs, Elyan wrung his shirt out, before throwing it over his shoulder. He walked on in silence, listening to Sandre as he gave Elyan some advice on the workout.

 

"Until you get comfortable in the water bring a friend who is a strong swimmer to work out with you. Also I will let your squad leader know you are not going to be able to move tomorrow so he can let your instructors know. If you keep this up Elyan, in addition to the Tower work outs which go very well with these. You will have no trouble with the physical aspect of the yards."

 

Elyan thought on his comments, not really having any friends, especially none that were strong swimmers, he thought he might have to try it alone. Maybe Sandre might go with him again some time.

 

They arrived at Tar Valon, still a bit damp from the swim, but more or less in good spirits. Sandre turned and gave him a small bow, "Thank you for the work out friend."

 

“My pleasure, maybe we could do it again sometime,” Elyan smiled returning the bow. Sandre turned and walked the other way.

 

Elyan walked back to his barracks thinking on what Sandre had said, were they really friends. He could not remember what it was like having a friend, he turned and watch Sandre walking across the yards. Maybe they were friends, he thought, they certainly were not enemies. He turned, continuing back towards the barracks, a small smile forming on his lips.