Just the name of my next class makes me want to break out in hives. It makes the whole hunter part of all of this seem so real and undeniable.
Weapons Training 101.
Not just swords or guns but all kinds of weapons. The mentors and masters here really do want all of the students to learn how to become hunters. Honestly, I’m terrified by the idea of having to fight an evil paranormal creature.
Logan isn’t in this class with me, so he must have it at another time during the day because I have to assume that every first year has to take this course.
The class is inside the barracks, in a large, open room filled with a wide array of weapons on the walls, some dummies carved to bits, a strange-looking device with a sandbag on one arm and a target on the other with a post in the center that probably housed a pulley system or maybe just a wheel mechanism to get the arms to rotate.
A few of the other students are eyeing and even touching the weapons, but I’m not about to. None of those are blunted, and we would have to start with blunted weapons, right? Or better yet, wooden ones.
A minute after the class is supposed to start, the mentor hasn’t arrived yet. Without warning, a window flies open, and a majestic woman dressed entirely in armor and with black wings zooms through and lands just in front of the window. Even her heeled boots look like armor, her shoulder plates jutting so high up they’re level with her chin. All gold and black, her armor is astonishing, and there’s no doubting what she is. She must be a valkyrie.
“Well met,” she says in a slightly accented voice. “I am Vanhylde, your master for weaponry. You will soon discover that there are no mentors when it comes to weapons, only masters, and that is for good reason. Only masters survive the battles to come, and you are all meant to be survivors.”
Her wings fold onto themselves against her back. Her long blond hair, partially in braids, hardly bounce as she stalks about the room, her steps light, her heeled boots hardly making a sound on the wooden floor.
"Some of you may be wondering why we even bother to teach you how to use a sword, a spear, bows and arrows, your knuckles… Yes, you will learn martial arts. Your entire body and mind will become a weapon before you leave this academy. But why all of the training? There are some out there, a few witches in particular, who can hinder or suppress another's magic. If you were to rely solely on your powers, you would die a horrible death at his or her hands. But if you have a blade on you or even if you do not, you would not be out of the fight just yet. Some magical beings are venomous or even poisonous. A single bite or touch can render a magical user without their powers. There are more ways to fight than merely through shifting into an animal, through one's voice, through magic."
Voice? I follow the valkyrie's gaze to a student who is beautiful. Her dress shimmers like the sea, and I figure she has to be a siren or something similar.
“Once you return to your dorms tonight, you will find you have additional attire. For this class, you must wear pants and a shirt. All clothing must be tight and easily mobile. It will not be until next year or even your third year that you will be given armor. Most opt to only wear armor for training, but the armor is yours to keep, and you are welcome to use it during your missions.”
Her sharp features do nothing to lessen her beauty, but she remains the strongest, fiercest woman I have ever seen. Everything about her radiates raw power and might.
"For the first semester, this class is females only, but that will not always be the case," Master Vanhylde says, starting to pace. "We have discovered that some of the younger students prefer to remain separated until they have gained some skills. I, personally, do not appreciate this rule. Females are typically smaller than their assailants, whether in size or stature and sheer muscles."
“Not you,” a female says from the back.
“Ah, fair enough.” But Master Vanhylde does not smile. “But we are talking about the lot of you, not me. Yes, I can tackle and fend off any and all men here at this academy with or without a weapon, with or without using my wings. However, there are other magical races that are just as strong if not even more powerful than valkyries, as difficult as that may be to believe.”
My mind races. What could be stronger? Perhaps a minotaur. A troll. Ogre. Maybe others. The thought of going up against a witch is scary enough, but to go up against a troll or an evil valkyrie… I shudder.
“I do not mean to alarm you,” the master continues, “but women, while not inferior, do have limitations when it comes to physical strength.”
“What about testosterone injections?” someone asks.
"Yes, some women choose to inject themselves with testosterone or steroids to gain more bulk than a woman's body ever could naturally, but I advise against that. Complications can arise in even a human female's body with the introduction of such substances, and when magic is also involved… sometimes, those complications can be dangerous or even fatal. There is a room down the hall that is filled with free weights, Olympic bars, plates, all kinds of machines if you wish to work out and put on muscle. I advise you to take advantage. When we start to use some of the weapons, you will quickly wish you had greater muscle endurance. Between the riding and flying and this course, your body will take a heavy beating. Do not dare skip any meals, and do not stay up too late at night either. Be kind to your body. There has not been a good grim reaper in nearly a thousand years. As for necromancy, well, that is thankfully a rare talent as those who can raise the dead do not always properly retrieve the soul, and sometimes, they are more apt to raising zombies than returning one to their full life as it had been before their unfortunate death."
“Grim reapers?” I mutter.
The girl next to me nods. “They’re supposed to guide the dead to the next plane, but they can sometimes reunite the soul with the body. Boom! Back to life again.”
"And since there haven't been grim reapers?"
“Oh, there have been grim reapers. They just have a natural affinity toward evil, just like demons. Every once in a while, there will be a good grim reaper and a good demon, but don’t count on it.”
“So I take it there aren’t any demons enrolled here.”
The girl shrugs. “I wouldn’t know.”
The valkyrie crosses over to one of the walls, plucks a dual-bladed spear from its hooks, and proceeds to twists and spin and thrust and block and fight an imaginary foe in a breathtaking display of power. She doesn’t fight. She dances and glides, turning a battle into a work of art. My jaw drops as she whirls around and nearly shoves the tip of the spear into a girl. Before that student can recover, the master is already nearly impaling another and another and then me.
I can’t say what possesses me, but I knock the tip aside.
The master draws the spear close to her body, holding it upright. One tip hovers an inch above the floor. "Are you comfortable with weapons?"
“Not unless you count a knife to cut my dinner,” I say.
A few of the girls around me laugh.
“You never carry a weapon on your person?” the master asks.
“Actually…” I sheepishly remove a key from my boot. The dress doesn’t have pockets, so I had no other place to stuff it. My embarrassment stems from the fact that I have a key that unlocks nothing since I don’t have a car, but no one needs to know that.
“Right now, tonight, say a man were to see you walking around with that key in your hand, and he demands it. What would you do?”
I don't hesitate. "Toss it away from me, closer to him, and run away as fast as I can."
More laughter but I’m dead serious.
“Why would you do that?”
“I’m not ready to fight a man, not with my fists or a weapon or my magic.”
The master’s lips quiver as if she wishes to smile but does not. “That is the correct answer. One of the most important lessons you will quickly learn in this course is that you must know yourself and your limits. If you can recognize your own strengths and weaknesses, you will be far more prepared, and that is the first step toward victory.”
Master Vanhylde turns around, her back to me, and then she pivots about and throws the spear at me, not the point but the shaft, and I bend down and manage to snatch it out of the air before it clatters to the ground. Wincing, I stand.
“What ails you?” she asks suspiciously.
Again, my embarrassment grows. “I, ah, fell off a dragon and landed on my back before this class.”
The master sighs and points to the girl beside me. I hand her the spear as the master selects another girl and gives her an identical spear from the wall.
"Go on now," the master urges. "Fight but slowly. I want you more or less to work on counters and parries more than landing blows, but do not purposely miss your target either. Do not worry about exerting a lot of power and force behind the attacks. That will come in due time."
The two circle around, more feigning attempts than actually trying hard, and the master snaps at them, correcting form, having them stand shoulder-distance apart, knees bent, chin tucked in.
Soon, the master pairs up more girls to mock battle each other. There’s an odd number, so I end up being the one left out. For a while, I watch the other battles, trying to see what they were doing correctly and listening whenever the master had to correct someone, which was often. Eventually, I grow bored, and I remove a dagger from the wall. My finger touches the tip, and I hiss in pain. A prick of red appears on my finger.
“A dagger is only intended for close-quarter combat,” the master says, coming up behind me.
“Or for a sneak attack.”
"True enough, but you should possess the skills to not have to rely on treachery to achieve your goal."
“We are training to fight evil paranormal creatures and beings. We can certainly expect treachery from them,” I point out.
“Precisely and yet, if we wish to remain on the side of light and good, then we cannot allow ourselves to resort to the duplicity of those who are evil.”
She holds out her hand, and I turn over the dagger.
“Do make sure not to fall tomorrow, and perhaps see about getting a healing potion for your back before tomorrow’s class. You will be expected to fully participate in the next class.”
“Yes, of course, Master Vanhylde.”
The master nods to me and walks away, and I breathe easier. At least I didn’t make a fool of myself during this class, but all in all, so far, everything has been a disaster. Lunch is next, though, so hopefully, I can be spared any kind of humiliation.
If I’m lucky.
Not that an orphan can ever dare to believe in luck.