The Great Hall was as busy as ever. Nearly a third of the year were in attendance and they wasted no time getting started.
"We'll be splitting the group in three," said the young blonde woman holding a ranseur, a kind of long spear with two spiked prongs as its hilt. "A third of you will be doing polearms with me, a third of you will be doing sword drills with Master Garcia, and the final third will be practicing crushing weapons with Master Kaminski. This should give everyone the opportunity to try a few different weapons and find what feels right. You may already have a weapon you are proficient in. Good for you. Today, you'll have the opportunity to try something different. This should make your sparring sessions on Saturday a little more bearable. We do not have time before then to offer reems of pointers to each and every one of you, so I would advise to listen carefully and pay close attention. Oh, and a final word of advice: our class is lucky enough to have not one, but two healers on standby. Do not go to them for bumps and bruises, they are here to deal with serious injuries only. If it wouldn't scar, let it scab. Now, sort yourself into three groups."
The mass of bodies suddenly moved in various directions. Many just stayed in the group they were closest too, while others moved towards a weapon they were familiar with. It seemed that more people had gone to the sword master than the other two, so Master Garcia ended up sending five students to each of the others.
Lenny and Rose had stayed with the young woman with the ranseur. It turned out her name was Master Wood and she started the session, as expected, by utilising a couple of volunteers to distribute different types of spears, or so he thought. Not being proficient with their names or use, he couldn't exactly tell them apart, but the Master spent some time talking about the primary difference between the thrusting, slashing and throwing weapons that made up her specialty.
It turned out the weapon he had been given was called a glaive, and though it had a sharp tip which could be used for thrusts, what it really excelled at was slashing with its long, slightly curved blade. Although Master Wood made a point of throwing a javelin across the length of the hall into a training dummy, somewhat aggravating Master Garcia who was demonstrating nearby, she advised that no other throwing weapons had been handed out, for obvious reasons. Their session today would focus on the stances required for the two weapons, both of which Lenny found awkward, having never used either before.
Rose, on the other hand, was demonstrating some proficiency, especially with the slashing weapons, which bore a marked resemblance to the movements of the trusty quarterstaff she had been given by Mother Mercy. The only thing she found odd is their weight, or lack of it, when compared to the heavy quarterstaff she had grown so used to bashing her opponents with.
Lenny was just getting the hang of the more side on stance used by the spear, his shoulders burning from the rhythm of thrusts, when Master Wood had shouted: "Swap stations!"
Everyone dropped their weapons and started to move.
Lenny wondered what had caused a woman so young to be respected by the other masters, allowing them to dictate the session, but there was only one real currency in the spirited ranks, and that was strength.
"You," said Master Wood looking at him. "Get a move on. Chop chop."
Lenny quickly made his way the crushing weapons area with Master Kaminski. Sweat was dripping down his body and his vest was soaked through to the point it had become translucent. He was not only one suffering, after nearly one hour of drilling, the yellow and orange sashes looked pale and worn out. He looked around at the many green sashes in the room, the next largest group, and the difference in their fitness and weapon proficiency was immense. There was no doubt in his head that he was not currently on their level.
"Maybe I need to chuck a few more points into stamina, too?" Lenny thought to himself.