Chapter Five: Training
Tranith Argan: Book 1
After Bren, a High Man from Tranith Argan, visited Felanar and his family, the young boy could hardly believe he was to be trained regularly. The initial excitement led to a restless night culminating in a nightmare that awakens Felanar.
He looked around the dark bedroom he shared with his siblings. Alak and Kara were sleeping soundly and it was still dark outside. He heard something move in the other room and he cautiously crept out of his bed and opened the bedroom door. His eyes could make out a shape moving toward the door and he realized it was Bren.
Felanar noticed through the window that it wasn’t completely dark outside for the sky was lightening in the pre-dawn hour. Pack in hand, Bren opened the front door and quietly stepped outside. Felanar crept over to the window and saw Bren in the growing light prepare his horse, mount him, and trot quietly away. As the sound of the hoofs faded in the night air, he could just make out that Bren turned, not straight north toward the Old Highway, but east into the heart of the Heatherwood. Soon the horse and rider disappeared between the trees and all was quiet. Felanar went back to bed and fell asleep.
Eleven days later Bren returned. It was dusk and the family was eating supper when they heard him knock. This time Bren was dressed in a green hunting outfit and boots, but he conveyed the same casual feeling. Felanar ran over to greet him as Bren looked down and smiled. He also nodded toward Alak and winked at Kara, who blushed.
He joined them at their meal and spent the evening telling them about the outpost that was his temporary home. The kings had long ago established the Tranith cities along a network from Khrea to Arenar. The Royal Highway connected them all through the Guardian Mountains of Khrea from Tranith Heron down through Tranith Toar and then sweeping across the vast Plain of Talenar toward Delendor and Tranith Argan.
With the kings at their peak, their power ensured the safety of all travelers along the Royal Highway. With the death of the kings, however, the power to enforce safety diminished and the distances involved were too vast. It was 200 leagues between Tranith Toar and Delendor alone. Organized bandits took advantage of the lax security and threatened travelers along the road. For a time saarks (and even worse) dared to enter the Eastern lands.
To cope with the situation, royal outposts were established along the line of the Royal Highway, and the marauder threat was lessened. At the height of the Regency, three outposts were set up along the west face of the Lofty Mountains, protecting those who traveled the Old Highway. It was at the southernmost such outpost where Bren was to live for a time.
The Regency was not at its height anymore, and the Lofty Mountain outposts were mostly in disarray now. The southernmost one was still manned, but once you passed it heading north you were on your own until you got near Brinham. For most people it was still safe to travel the Old Highway but many hesitated now and most agreed that after dark it was no fit place for honest men.
In the morning training began. Bren and Felanar started off toward the forest, with Alak following quickly behind. Kara looked up at Sera with imploring eyes and Sera called out, “May Kara join you, Bren?”
Bren turned back and said with a smile and a sweeping gesture with his arms, “Yes, of course she may. Come along Kara, the woods are waiting!”
Kara ran up beside Felanar and put her hand in his and together they walked into the nearby woods, Alak carrying three bows their father had pulled from the shed. These were bows that Chafrar and Sera had used when they were younger. Bren also carried bows, one long and slender and the other shorter but newer. When they reached a clearing in the woods they stopped and Bren dropped his pack. He presented the new, small bow to Felanar, who took it with hesitation while saying, “I have a bow to use.”
“I know you do, Felanar,” Bren responded, looking down at the boy. “But if you are going to learn how to shoot properly you must start with a proper bow. Are your bows of elven origin?”
“No,” said Alak, “Huti made them. He lives in the village and has made bows for years – and his father before him.”
“I have no doubt Huti is a skilled artisan, Alak, but he is not an elf or else I’ve been misinformed about the inhabitants of your village! Felanar is to learn with this bow, for an elven master made it. The Llaráin Findára have a skill at this that is unsurpassed.”
Felanar looked at the bow in his hand with some wonder. He had never touched anything elven before. The bow was made of a light tan wood, one that he could not identify. It was very light – almost without weight – yet it seemed to have great strength when he pulled back the string.
Bren found a decaying tree stump and set up a target on top of it. He came back and showed Felanar how to hold the bow and how to stand, Alak and Kara imitating what they saw.
The first few shots attempts were off the mark. Bren kept giving Felanar slight adjustments to make and soon his shots were improving, though Alak and Kara still had many problems. Finally, after Felanar actually hit the target close to the center and Alak had yet to hit it at all, Alak complained.
Bren turned to him and said, “Do not take it personally, Alak, for it is the bow that makes the difference until one becomes very skilled. Did I not say a Findára bow is the one to use?”
Alak looked at him quizzically. Bren continued, “The wood the elves use is of a special type, from the awlip tree. A bow made from it will suit the archer who uses it. It will mold itself to his hands and arms, compensating for mistakes made. It is very important that no one use this bow after Felanar gets it just right. If anyone else uses it, it will begin to form a new shape and will cause Felanar trouble.”
Alak’s face reddened at this last part, for he had indeed been thinking that he would switch bows with Felanar so that he could try an elven bow. He looked back guiltily at Bren, and Bren gave him a reassuring smile, though his eyes clearly told Alak he was serious.
They spent the morning practicing archery and then enjoyed a lunch from Bren’s pack. In the afternoon Bren began to show Felanar how to travel through the woods in silence. Throughout the afternoon the children tried to imitate Bren’s steps as he made his way around twigs and leaves. They enjoyed the challenge, thought it was clear still had much to learn.
Back home again, as afternoon faded, they talked about their new skills with their parents. Alak boasted less, for it was beginning to dawn on him that he might not be impressing Bren as much as he had wished.
That night by the fire Bren complimented the children, and told Felanar that Ravesfel would have been proud of his first day of training. Felanar beamed at this news and looked down at his new bow. He didn’t want to put it down.
Before retiring for bed Bren said he would return the following week and continue to work on archery skills. In the meantime, he wanted Felanar to practice what he had learned as often as he was able. Bren looked over at the parents and could see no objection. Soon they were all asleep, with Felanar sleeping more soundly than he had done in several weeks. Once again, when dawn came Bren was off and by the time the family stirred he was well on his way through the woods.
The following week the pattern continued. All three children wanted to show Bren how skilled they had become from practicing, and Felanar showed the most improvement. Bren showed them new techniques for archery in the morning, and in the afternoon he trained them on how to survive in the wilderness. Living by the woods, they were familiar with which roots and plants were edible and nutritious, but Bren knew more than they had even heard of and had much to teach them.
As winter’s grip softened and spring’s tender shoots emerged, Bren’s training evolved. Each session became a mix of skills. Hunting techniques melded with archery precision. Knife handling complementing tracking expertise. Alak usually accompanied them, but as time went his interest waned for he never could surpass Felanar at anything and this bothered him. What began as eager participation transformed into a quiet, simmering resentment. Watching Felanar consistently excel became an exercise in frustration, his own capabilities perpetually overshadowed.
Kara did not have that problem, and clearly loved accompanying her brother. She was serious about serving the Regent someday and applied herself to the training. Unexpected talent emerged in Kara. Bren, initially focused solely on Felanar’s training, found himself taken by her natural aptitude. Subtle encouragements — a nod her, a carefully chosen word there — began to transform her approach. Kara, ever observant, seized those moments. Each small praise became fuel for her determination, her efforts intensifying with a precision that belied her young age.
Midway through the sultry summer, and unexpected conversation unfolded. Bren, drawing Chafrar and Sera aside after the training session, spoke in hushed, serious tones. Afterward he called Felanar over and said to him, “We will not train next week, Felanar, but the following week I will be back and this time Ravesfel will accompany me.”
“Ravesfel!” exclaimed Felanar. “Is he coming to see how much I’ve learned?”
Bren smiled and responded, “Actually he knows of your progress for I’ve sent word to him. He is pleased by what he has heard and he wants to take you to Elaria.”
“Elaria!” cried Felanar as he looked up in wonder. “Are we really going to see the elves?”
“Yes, Felanar, we are going to visit the Findára. Ravesfel thinks you should meet them to learn their ways. I’ve already spoken with your parents and they have granted permission for you to be away for a few weeks.”
“Can I come too?” asked Kara.
Bren’s voice softened, a mixture of apology and firmness. “This journey,” he said, eyes meeting Kara’s, “is Felanar’s alone.”
Disappointment etched the faces of Alak and Kara, with Kara feeling the sting most acutely. She and Felanar had long talked about meeting elves, and now he was going to do it without her!
Felanar also felt disappointed that Kara would not be with him when he finally met elves, but his disappointment was tempered by the excitement – and trepidation – of what was to come. A few weeks with Ravesfel! He hadn’t seen the old man in almost a year, since that conversation they had had that led to the training. Would he be pleased with his progress? Would he bring a halt to his training if he hadn’t done as well as he should have?
When Bren departed the next morning, he left behind a house full of excited persons. The next two weeks were going to be an anxious time for Felanar. He was going to meet elves!