The First Spar.
Silver looked at the bookshelf in the corner of his room. 'My parents gifted them to me on instructions on fencing..how insulting. My father could never find a way to put his foot in the door of the Fencing guild so now he presses me to do so while he collects his pitiful swords.' Silver sighed in annoyance and left the dust to collect on the books.
A knock tapped his door and Silver's mother walked in. "Good morning honey, your father wants to talk to you. I'll get your breakfast ready downstairs when your done."
"Thanks mom."
Silver left his room and traveled down the hall where his father spent most of his time. He knocked loudly at the door, to show his displeasure. "Coming in!"
"Then get in here!" The rough voice yelled back.
Silver walked into the room with the walls racked with swords of different styles and lengths and saw his father polishing one of his favorite of his collection, a customized foil that he never let anyone get near.
"Close the door." Silver's father ordered.
Silver closed the door and then turned his attention to his father.
"I wanted to become a famous fencer as a colt, around your age, but I never could because I was denied entrance to the fencing guild in Trottingham because of my meager skill at the time."
Silver closed his eyes to stop his father from noticing their rolling. 'The same old story..'
"And now, I want you to become a fencer, one that can rival the masters."
"You want me to what..?"
"You will take on my dream of becoming a master swordsman."
"What! I can't even hold a sword right!"
His father put away the foil in a glass case that was suspended on the wall. The father then walked over to another section and picked up two shinai and threw one at Silver's hooves.
"Pick it up."
Silver picked up the shinai.
His Father stood up on his back hooves and held the shinai with both of his front hooves and entered a stance. "Copy my movements."
Silver tried his best to follow his father's example.
His father widened the distance between his back hooves and pulled the shinai over his head pointing downwards at the ground.
Silver copied the stance and his father walked over to him.
His father pushed Silver's arms straighter and helped widen his stance. His father moved in front of Silver. "Defend yourself!" and entered his stance.
"What?!" Silver tried to protest but his father came at him in a flurry of strikes.
"Keep your physical strength up!"
Silver tried to keep the shinai steady and matching his fathers blows.
"Don't match my blows! Go against them!" His father swung at Silver's head.
Silver blocked it horizontally, one hoof on the hilt and one hoof on the shinai.
"Good." His father said as he backed away. "Now copy this stance." His father switched into a more inclosed stance and moved the shinai in a straight verticle line from his hip to his shoulder.
Silver did so, his heart was racing, and the adrenaline started to flowing.
"Now, attack me."
Silver didn't hesitate, he became in a frenzied state and started slashing widly at his father.
His father blocked every strike with ease. "Your too slow!"
Silver tried to stab his father, angry from the insult.
His father hit Silver's shinai downwards and pushed him in the chest with his hilt, sending him reeling backwards.
Silver's vision started whiting out.
Silver's vision returned shortly afterwards and found himself panting, his father on the ground in front of him.
His father had a bruise and the back of his head, but he was smiling.
"Dad?"
"I knew you had a swordsman inside of you."
"How did you get on the ground?"
His father propped himself up and sat on the ground, looking at his son in confusion. "You just beat me. What are you talking about?"
"You shoved me in the chest and I fell backwards."
"Yeah, then you got up and hit me in the back of my head."
"How did I get behind you?"
"I don't know, your the one that did it!" His father stood up and put his hoof around Silver. "I'm proud of you son, just a few weeks of training and I bet you could beat anyone in Trottingham!
Silver looked at his shinai, the hilt was smashed. "Really?"
"Not so pessimistic towards being a swordsman now are you?"
Silver couldn't lie, he felt the rush and enjoyment of the spar. "No sir."
"Thatta boy! Lets get downstairs before your mother gets mad, you know how she hates cooking and then having nobody eat." His father rubbed his hoof in Silver's hair and they left the room and headed downstairs.