Grunthor sat on the ground, watching as the men who remained under his command trained. Many had left, others had broken under the pressure, and now there were about five or six young men still with him. Normally he led by example but today he simply sat and watched. When anyone would get slow or start to relax, he would throw his axe at him. Grunthor's aim never missed, every axe he threw landing right next the the man, just enough to scare him. He would then retrieve the axe and go back to sit down, watching the man train with renewed vigor. Sweat reflected light as the muscles of the men rippled. They had grown strong, fit, and fast and, dispite the difficult training they had indured and the insults Grunthor had thrown their way, He knew the men trusted him and that he, in turn, trusted his men. The sun hung high over the training field and he decided it was time for the men to go on a long hike. "All right men! I want you to run to Kellen and back." The men grumbled. But sir, we've been training non-stop since dawn yesterday. You're going to kill us. "And so will the enemy if you're not stronger! He won't care if you're tired or not now get moving! The faster you run the faster you can get back home and sleep!" Grunthor smiled and watched as the men ran away. He knew they could do it, even if they didn't think they could.

Seele watched the yound men run off and sighed, then walked towards the academy of arms. He had trained here many times, although not recently. Not since before he had... no, it did no good to think of that. He simply walked through the gate. He saw the man who had been training them and nodded, the black hat hiding his eyes in shadow. He went up to a practice dummy and began to rain blows on it, faster than the eye could see, each hitting a weak spot in human anatomy that would immediately cripple or kill a human. Seele looked at the man again.

"It will do no good." He stopped beating on the dummy, which was starting to look out of shape by now from the blows, and faced the trainer. "I watched. None of them are good enough. They will all die." A scythe appeared in his hand and he whirled the blade behing him, without looking at the dummy. Within seconds it was on the ground in several different pieces. Straw floated lightly through the air. "Why do you still train them? None have the skill needed in this world. Not wiht people like me around." The scythe once again into the black cloak, a small grin on his face. "In combat, they would die within seconds. So Why?"

“Because there are very few people such as yourself in the world.”
The voice was feminine which obviously made the speaker a woman. Solaris stepped out into the arena; her maroon flecked gold eyes studying Seele with a mixture of curiosity and caution. A moment past while she studied them but then her attention switched over to Grunthor.
“Aw, why’d you have to send away the recruits?” A lopsided grin had crossed the young-looking woman’s face as she spoke. “I was hoping to scare them like I did some of the others.”
Fleet-footed as always, she scurried across the terra to the trainer, her long hair flowing out behind her like a black banner; a stark contrast against her long-sleeved white shirt and brown pants, the pant-legs tucked into her brown boots.
“Who are you anyways?” She’d stopped beside Grunthor and turned back to face the other man, acting like she'd only just remembered him. “You seem too cocky,” she added as an after thought though why she spoke it aloud wasn’t visible.

Grunthor smiled at the young woman. "Lo Sol." He turned back to the man, still smiling. Though this man had shone great skill he was still overly cocky. This irritated Grunthor, having seen many a good man die at the hands of another and never thinking it a waste to train any who wished to improve. "You don't seem to understand basic human nature if you believe there is truly no point in their training. Humans, like other races, strive always to survive and become better. People as individuals can make sacrifices but the whole race has to have the will to survive to escape exstinction. If they gave up just because they saw some pompous arse like you slice a dummy with a scythe, I'm arfraid I would lose all respect for my men. My suggestion to you sir, is to just get over yourself." He turned back to Solaris, ignoring the man for he had truly disgusted Grunthor. "I told them to run to Kellen and back. You can go and scare the stragglers back here after nightfall, ok?"

"Then I apologize for the question. Human nature is not natural to me; our species may look similar, but nothing is the same below the surface." Seele shook his head. "Where I came from, the elves discouraged fighting. Our army was at most five men. In war time as well. It was quite difficult to get into, aseven though it was seen as a blasphemous job hundreds would try out for a slot. Each of the five had the skill to destroy a hundred lesser soldiers in minutes. Raised among such standards, it is hard for me to not criticize." He shrugged. "Of course, does it make a difference in the end..." He shrugged and pulled out another dummy, setting it up on the same stand. "My name is Seele, lady. And this 'pompous arse' is just training here at the moment." He went silent and looked over the dummy slowly, but out of the corner of his eye he watched the two trainers, a calculating gaze hidden beneath the brim of his hat.

Unaware that it might look odd, Solaris’s head tilted back a bit and she inhaled deeply, searching for the man’s scent. It took a few moments but then she found it and she looked back to him.
“You’re an elf?” For a moment she’d looked surprised but then her habit of liking most everyone kicked in and she presented him with a warm, friendly grin.
“It’s nice to meet you Seele, I’m Solaris.. And this is my friend Grunthor,” she added, poking the trainer in the side with her foot.
“You’re really good with the scythe! How long have you been training with it? Was it your first weapon? Mine was a bow but that’s rather understandable, me being an archer.” She’d started to ramble on as she was wont to do. “Have you ever us-” She suddenly stopped, clapping a hand to her mouth as though to prevent the flow of words.

“Ach, you’re training.. Sorry, didn’t mean to distract or bother you,” she said as a sheepish smile spread it self over her face, replacing the grin.

Grunthor laughed. He accepted the mans apology and had easily gotten over his innitial remark. Sol was spinning off question after question. "Yer going to drive Seele crazy with all yer questioning Sol. Give the man a rest." He clapped his friends lightly on the shoulder and nodded his head slightly towards Seele. "We don't mean to bother you. We'll let you get back to yer trainin' if ye like." He took a step back, removing his hand from Solaris' shoulder and turned around to walk away. He didn't know if this man would continue to train or attemp to strike up conversation or what but Grunthor didn't want to be interfering with any of the elf's plans. Perhaps later they may fight but he wasn't sure. He would wait to see what the day would bring.

Seele nodded to the lady. ''I am indeed an elf." He pulled back some of his light blue hair to reveal the slightly pointed ears of his race. "And I do not mind talking while I train. You remind me of someone from long-" He shook his head quickly, cutting himself off, then took the scythe back out. He spun the part the blade was attached to around until it came off, then set the sharp blue-silver metal down beside him on the ground carefully. He now had a staff around a meter in length. "I, like all the trainees for our army, started out first on the bow, as is fitting of our race. I also was trained in the sword and stave..." He whirled the staff around in one hand, then slammed it against the dummies side three times in rapid succession. He slammed the end of the shaft in the ground and used it as leverage for a snap kick to the head of the straw dummy, talking at a regular pace through the entire movement. "The scythe is seen as an unholy weapon to my people. After my banishment, I acquired one and taught myself to use it. I have been using it for a century now..." The foot that had kicked the dummy landed just enough to propel Seele into a jump over it. His feet landed on either side of the dummy's neck, and he twisted his feet sharply. The neck twisted into a shape no living one could and the head fell limply to the chest of the dummy. Seele backflipped off the shoulders and landed with the stave in a medium gaurd position, then lowered it. "Although I only carry a scythe with me, I try tyo train with the other weapons so I do not get rusty." He spun the staff and looked at Solaris with a small grin. "And what of you, Lady Solaris? Is the bow your only weapon?"

She’d been about to follow Grunthor but her curiosity got the better of her and she stayed, then Seele spoke again. Her head tilted to the side as she listened and then, when he’d finished speaking, she asked a question or three of her own.
“Not to sound nosey or anything but why were you Banished? And who taught you all your fighting moves? Or did you learn all of it on your own?” She’d moved a few steps closer as she spoke but still not close enough to get in his way. She stood a short distance away from him now, her hands tucked into her pockets and she rocking back and forth on her heels out of slight boredom.

“No need to call me Lady... And nah, I use a few other things though not much. My longbow, a pair of fighting knives and a few throwing daggers. That’s about it. Grunthor here uses a variety though he seems to be favoring his axe right now and my brother Vulpes, he prefers a short sword.. Not that it really matters, you’ve never met Vulpes. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him in awhile.”

"I was taught at first in training for the army I spoke of earlier..." He kept his face carefully blank, the stave whirling as he used it to hit the joints of the dummy. "But I taught myself how to use the scythe. No one I have met who wields a scythe has the same style as me. It is a hard weapon to master; your heigth can change how you wield it significantly." He threw the staff back and pulled back his left hand, the fingers curling into a fist. "And as to why I was banished..." He slammed the fist into the dummy relentlessly, a rain of blows that pounded it into a unidentifiable shape. "I was banished for the practice of dark magic in a country where only the light was allowed to dwell." The gold eyes looked at Solaris. "But where the light is brighter... the shadows are that much darker as well."

He grabbed the shaft of the staff and looked at Solaris, twirling it absentmindedly. "If you wish, I could teach you how to use a staff-like weapon. Once you can use this..." He stopped the meter long black shaft in both hands. "You can use any weapon like it. A glaive, a spear, a lance... they are all the same in princible. What do you say?"

Solaris watched his actions, thinking as she listened to what he said, nodding every now and then. He was a very good and obviously experienced fighter, she noted as she studied his attacks. And he could use a variety of weapons, including his fists.

His offer caused her face to brighten and she looked to him with a grin, “You sure?” It only took her a moment or two to move to his side, already eager and nodding. “If you don’t mind, I’d be glad to learn!”

OOC- the shortness… --;

((It's fine. I don't care how short your posts are. ^_^ This one will be pretty short as well))

Seele smiled and dropped the staff. It rolled on the ground to lightly tap against her feet. "First... I want to see how well you are naturally. Try to hit me." He lept back, hands folded behind his back. they now stood around ten feet apart. "And no holding back. Try to hit me as hard as you can." The golden eyes watched her calmly. A small smile curled the edge of his mouth. He stood lightly on the balls of his feet. although he looked relaxed, he could spring to any side almost faster than the eye could see.

OOC- oy, I’m a mite bit confused. You want me to have her attack you with the staff, right?

IC: Solaris bent down and picked up the staff, eyeing it as she did so and then straightening. She was supposed to hit him? She’d probably end up hitting herself before she got him.
She took a moment to balance her wait then gripped the staff in what she hoped was the right way. A look of doubt had spread across her face but nonetheless, she did as she was told. She lunged forward to close the distance between them then, whipping the staff around with the intent of hitting his left side.

((That's exactly what you're supposed to do. Sorry for being confusing))

Seele danced under the staff, crouched almost double to the ground. He skipped around Solaris, feet skimming the ground only lightly, until he was behind her. He stepped forward and put his arm over hers, adjusting her hands slightly. He moved them so that each was about a quarter of the length around the staff. He then moved her feet slightly more apart, centering her weight. "Hold it like that, and let your hands slide down only when you attack. That will give more force to the blow. Also, watch out for your fingers; it;s quite easy for an enemy to brak them." He skipped back around her, folding his arms behind his back again, until he faced her. Try to keep your weight centered liek that as well. If not, you'll telegraph your moves to who you're fighting. Unless you keep perfect blaance, you show your moves in the movements of your hips." He gestured again. "Now try. As soon as you hit me we'll work on exact strikes and defenses; for now this is basics."