To Teach a Tiro

     Kaelan was moving through the ship, heading to the training room to meet his mentor. He had decided to get there a few minutes early, for it was always better to be early or prompt rather than late. Or, at least in his mind it was. He walked unhurriedly, avoiding people as he came upon them, and they, for the most part, took no notice of him.

     Upon reaching the room, he noted the emptiness of it before he glanced back to the table. She was sitting there, reading, and her snow drake was lying at the foot of the desk. Kaelan wondered briefly how long she had been waiting as he came to stand before the desk, eyeing the snow drake in a not overly concerned manner.

     He ran a hand through his green hair before he let it drop. Clearing his throat to get her attention he glanced at the book in her hands. It was on the Battle of Lepanto. Interesting. Was she strategizing? Using history to make notes of what could work in the future? Very interesting indeed.

     Kaelan glanced over at the snow drake as it snorted, before he returned his gaze to Larael. “There are no specific ‘best ways’ to defeat an enemy. Sheer strength can get one so far, but the same can be said of planning, stealth, and speed. One must be flexible and well-balanced in battle; anything is subject to change at any moment, but it is always good to have a strategy first. It is also good to know your own weaknesses, just as you should know, or at least learn of, your opponents.”

     She pushed three books towards him. Two, the ones on the battles of Agincourt and Crecy, were from the Hundred Years’ War, the other, the battle of Lepanto, and the one she had been reading earlier, was a naval war. Frankly, all three were good in his opinion, but Agincourt was slightly better. The king to whom the victory went made a wise decision using his longbow men to gain the advantage over the much larger army. It was also a bold move to put out his troops farther than he wanted to draw his opponents in. It could have been disastrous, but it wasn’t.

     Kaelan leaned forward and tapped on the cover of the book that was on the Battle of Agincourt. Sitting back, he watched her face for any signs of approval or disapproval, or anything at all.

     Was that approval? It sure sounded like it. Well, it was good to know he was starting off on her good side.

     Larael removed the other two books from the desktop and placed them into her bag. She then tapped on the book on Agincourt, saying, "What do you know of Agincourt, then? Tell me, and tell me what it can teach you about judgment."

     Kaelan’s lips twitched as her snow drake snorted once more, sending her hair in her face. She fixed it quickly and leaned back, waiting for him to reply.

     “October 25th, 1415; it was the English against the much larger French force on a narrow, recently plowed field. The English force was made up of mainly archers, the rest were footmen. The French were made up of heavily armoured men-at-arms and mounted knights. This worked against the French because it had rained the night before, making the ground muddy, and hindering the French as they fought.
    
     “It was the English, though, who started the battle. The king, King Henry, knew his men were tired and decided to take advantage of his situation. He told his men to advance and set up stakes as defense. The archers then let their arrows fly.

     “The French cavalry attacked, turning up the mud even more before they were forced back. The first line of the men-at-arms came next. They pushed back the English archers but the archers took up other weapons and retaliated. The second French line advanced as well, but they only made it worse. By pressing in from the rear, the French men-at-arms were forced to come together, unable to wield their weapons. The English took the advantage, killing or taking the rest prisoner, and thus winning the battle.”

     What can it teach about judgment?

     Kaelan thought for a moment. “Never underestimate your opponent, and don’t overestimate yourself. That is where your downfall begins.”

     "It is important to note, as well, that a properly timed cavalry charge would have decimated and likely routed the English forces, but due to confusion on the part of the French, they chose not to engage. Hesitation is not an ally on the battlefield."

     So know the most opportune time to attack and act on it. Of course. How did I overlook that? Well, I am still learning, and she has years of doing this on me.

     The pryfectus began to stroke the rather glum drake. It began to purr, or something close to it. Obviously the drake liked the attention Larael gave, and was unhappy when her attention was elsewhere. It reminded him slightly of a puppy.

     "So now that I've determined not only that you have something between your ears, but that you have something of relative value between them, I'd like you to tell me a little about yourself.'

     Kaelan would have been happy if she had stopped before the last part. Something about himself? He hated questions like these. He never knew what to say. It wasn’t like he had done anything impressive. He was just a quiet kid who liked strategy and stealth.

     He ran a hand through his green hair—which he’d have to re-dye sometime soon; the roots were starting to show—and shrugged. “My spirit animal is a leopard, which I tend to take after its quiet nature. Um… I’m good with distance weapons, specifically the longbow and throwing knives.”

      Oh man, why was this so awkward all of a sudden? Did she feel it too?

     “I like strategy, obviously,” he shrugged again.

     Yep, that drake was definitely like a puppy. A jealous, white, overly-large, flying puppy. Same thing, right? Sure.
    
     "Do you have experience with firearms?" The question caught him off-guard.

     Uh… What?
    
     She then proceeded to take out a silver handgun from under the table, placed it on the tabletop. Again… What?

     Kaelan shook his head. “No, not really.” As in no, he didn’t. Sure he wanted to be a sniper, and that meant actually handling a gun. Yeah, he had examined one or two, but he’d never fired one. He knew the gist, but again, he’d never had the experience of firing one. Knowing of and knowing how were two completely different things, and he wanted to know how, not just know of.

     Was she going to teach him? He hoped so. He really did.

     She stood. "We should fix that, then. As important as tactics are, application is equally important."

     Yes! She was going to teach him. Kaelan suppressed a smile, and nodded instead. Application was definitely important. He then watched as she glanced around the room, looking for something, probably a target.

     "I'll be right back." And before he could offer to help, she had sauntered out of the room, her drake following as it snorted at him. Kaelan quirked a brow at it as he watched it go. Yeah, it definitely seemed like the jealous type.

     Larael came back in dragging a dummy with her, the drake helping as well. “You know, I could have helped,” he said as she set it up.
She came back over and picked up the gun. "This isn't quite a typical firearm, since it projects your natural magical energy as a form of bullet... but it'll do. Watch out, it still kicks." She then let off a shot, the target rocking from the force. Handing it to him she said, "Focus your energy to fire, and do your best to hit the target. Don't worry if you miss, we have more than enough people to repair tiny holes. Do try not to miss, however.”

     Kaelan took the gun, feeling its weight. Bringing it up, he mimicked how she had held it and focused for a long moment, aiming just above the hole she had made. The gun went off, the rebound surprising him. The flash that accompanied it wasn’t bright like Larael’s; it was darker, definitely not blinding, and had a very light blue tint to it. Looking at the target, he saw that it was rocking, but he had hit it nowhere close to where he had been aiming. In fact, he’d barely hit what would have been someone’s right shoulder.