Conflict and Courage by Candy Rae Page B

was
waiting in the practice field with trepidation. He knew full well
why he had been summoned. He knew he was above average when riding
Lililya in battle, but afoot and compared with Wilhelm Dahlstrom he
was a rank amateur.
    After a
strenuous workout, when Ross lost his sword to the Weaponsmaster no
less than eight times, Wilhelm called a halt.
    “Good,” Wilhelm
said. “Good. You have a natural talent for this kind of work. With
practice you will be very good. Every morning before breakfast we
will meet here and I will give you a thorough workout. The cadets
will see nothing of this. When their formal practices begin you
will assist me, thus you will learn more and also how to teach.
Soon you will be ready to take classes on your own, to begin with,
the juniors then with those who are older.”
    “I’ll do my
best Weaponsmaster,” replied Ross, mopping his brow; the sweat
streaming down his face. He had thought himself fit, but the
hour-long bout with Wilhelm had proved otherwise. Wilhelm noticed
this. He, himself, had not even broken sweat, “and you must get
fitter. The Weaponsmaster and the Assistant Weaponsmaster never
show their exhaustion to the pupils. Calm, cool and collected is
what you must strive for. Your goal must be faster, fitter and
better than all your pupils.”
    Ross looked his
disbelief.
    “I think you
will do just fine,” said Wilhelm with a sudden smile that lighted
up his rather stern face. “Together we will make the Vada
invincible. Training and practice. I will teach you and you and
Lililya will teach Mislya and me how to fight cavalry style.”
    “I am your
Assistant?”
    “Have I not
said so? Now, let us begin,” Wilhelm announced and beckoned Mislya
and Lililya over, “we have three weeks before the timetable
commences. The cadets are arriving. Although there are more than
enough jobs in the stronghold to keep them busy I think it best
that they begin training as soon as we are ready. We will spend
this time getting your skills honed and those of the other training
officers. Now we will practice some more.”
    Ross sighed; it
was obvious that rest wasn’t on the Weaponsmaster’s agenda.
    At the end of
the most demanding lesson Ross had ever experienced, the two men
sat down to talk. Francis and Asya joined them and Jim and Larya
sauntered over.
    “We appreciate
your decision to come here,” began Ross, stretching his long legs
out on the turf, “if Francis here is right, the Vada will become
the mainstay of the north’s defences. Those of us who followed
Francis and Asya in the charge of the Lindars know what a near
thing it was and how close we came to annihilation.”
    “Goodness knows
I did my best,” said Francis, “but I’m not a professional.
Fistfights were what I was good at on the ship. The first time I
picked up a sword I admit I didn’t even know how to hold the
blessed thing. All I knew was that the sharp end was the dangerous
one.”
    Wilhelm
guffawed. He appreciated the joke. He remembered Francis from the
ship.
    “Asya and I
worked out what to do between us,” continued Francis.
    “You did well
for an amateur,” said Wilhelm, nodding his head. “Next time there
is a battle your vadeln-pairs will be trained properly. Even the
adults must practice and correct any bad habits. You will not lead
untried and partly trained troops into battle again, I swear
it.”
    “Next time?”
ventured Ross.
    “Next time,”
confirmed Francis. “Make no mistake about it. The Larg known as
Aoalvaldr will be back.”
    “Robert
Lutterell is keeping up his infantry training?”
    “He has
problems, already some colonists are becoming complacent and it’s
only been a few months.”
    “The rest of
the Council don’t see the need for a permanent force,” said Jim.
“They think part-time militia is enough, that there will be time to
get organised. Robert is standing by his guns though. I only hope
that when the time comes he will be ready.”
    “You don’t
think they