Chapter 47
"Eyes closed!"
Once again, the wooden cane dug into Alistar’s side with a crisp smack. His legs were sore from sitting cross-legged for so long, his joints rigid as if frozen. Forcing his eyelids down, he let slip a whisper of protest. "But it’s been an hour..."
He braced himself just in time to receive another hit. Why did he have to go ahead and let slip that little statement? He should have known better by now.
"No talking!"
He grated his teeth, biting back another retort. How did things come to b—
"No thinking!"
Another strike caught the small of his back.
He was currently sitting at an outdoor area of the collegia, on the trimmed grasses just out front of a recent addition to the training complex’s residential area. He’d woken around sunrise and eaten by himself so that he could hurry to his first lesson with Sword Master Tramon. After asking around for a time, he’d found his way to Mr. Lawson’s quarters, a small but private edifice adjacent to main residential area with walls as white as the rest of the structures. Even though Alistar had only been early by an hour, the grumpy old man had almost turned him away, even when presented with the certificate of enrollment.
"Was that today?" Tramon had said, scratching at his scalp with a chewed-up fingernail. His beard was wild with a few weeks’ growth, grey like what remained of his fading hairline, and he smelled strongly of liquor. "I’ve changed my mind. Go and tell that scheming uncle of yours that he’s out of luck." When he’d gone to close the door, he’d nearly crushed Alistar’s foot.
"Have I finally gone senile, or are you blocking my doorway with your heel?"
Alistar had tried to reason with him, but the grizzled man had shoved him out of the way and slammed the door shut without another word. Slightly shocked and at a loss, Alistar had been reluctant to give up. He knocked endlessly, pestering Tramon in a test of patience for nearly half an hour before he finally got him to open the door again. When the man finally walked out into the sunlight, his aged body stocked with well-nurtured muscles, it was with a naked sword in hand. What an odd sight that had been, an old man in white robes that were stained with countless mysteries, brandishing an exquisite sword which reflected powerful rays of sunshine.