“Give me the sword.” Doco said. Uncle and nephew stood in the guard training grounds. A more recent addition to the village. It was built during Doco’s reign on the town defenses. If it wasn’t for his constant drilling, the guardsmen now would be nothing more than a town watch. He didn’t ask, but ordered the relocation of three families to make room for proper barracks and grounds. Out of respect for the current guard captain, he had asked to use it. In which, they were happy to lend.

Kenan held out the sword, and gave it without any hesitation. Doco inwardly gave a sigh of relief. The kid had already spent two-weeks with the blade. He had no clue how long it took for the blade to corrupt a person. What he did know, was some of the symptoms. One such was possessiveness.

Then using telekinesis, he dug the blade into the middle of the grounds. “For now, your training will not go beyond these grounds. First and foremost. This sword is yours. The only time you are to be separated from it is during this training, or when I say so. You will not put it in your belt, you will carry it and it’s sheath. If you are seated it’s on your lap, sleeping, it’s under your pillow. Understood.” Kennan quickly followed with a yes sir. “Good. Now you will wear this.” Doco pulled out a vambrace. It was made of metal, with deep intricate runes placed into it. There was a large yellow gem that had a dial attached to it. With the numbers 1 to 100 carved onto it. “All day, every day. You are not permitted to take it off. Period. Not when sleeping, eating, or relaxing. Is that understood.” Again there was a quick affirmative. Doco then gave the thing to Kenan. “Infuse your mana with it, do not touch the dial.”

Kenan obeyed. He put the large chunk of metal on. Then sent mana around and into it, forcing a connection. Once he did so, he felt it tighten around his arm, not to the point of canceling blood flow, but it wouldn’t be coming off anytime soon.

“Good. Now before I make you run until I puke.” Kenan gulped. “Let me give you your training itinerary. At the crack of dawn, We will train your body. Then, once dismissed, you will be free until noon. Then we will train for you to fight. Lastly, in the afternoon, when the sun starts to set, you will be training your magic. Keep in mind, I will not help you learn your magic or what you can do with it. However, if you cannot do the simple exercises I put out in front of you. I will be forced to make you physically train until I get sleepy. Is that understood?” Kenan once again gave an affirmative. “One last thing, you will not be permitted to unsheathe that blade without my consent. If you do, I will take disciplinary actions. Actions that will make your mana deprivation look like a walk in a park. Now, three laps. Get going!”

Kenan took off. This was going to be the first physical thing he had to do since his body was recuperating. While to his inner eye everything looked good, he still carried his doubts. However, when he felt his muscles stretch, but not tear. The feelings of them tightening and springing forward, he was quite sure he was back to health.

He quickly finished the laps. He stood in front of Doco again. The kid was panting and sweating, but not much. It wasn’t that terribly difficult for him.

“Three more laps. Before you run, change that 1 to a 2.” Doco said.

Eager to find out what the thing does, and delve deeper into the workout, he did so without a second thought. Regret immediately. It felt as if everything became twice as heavy. His muscles already screamed and his lungs yelled for more oxygen. Each step was hell.

[You know. I thought if I was to ever become a drill instructor, I would feel mercy for my victims. Yet I feel this unbridled joy!] Doco thought. He smiled. “Listen while you run, or whatever you call that. That thing on your wrist is pretty handy. For every pound on your body it adds another. That's only if you're on two that is. If you so choose to go three, then it is two pounds for every actual pound. So on, and so forth. It puts the pressure on your muscles, bones, and your veins only. So you don’t have to worry about your eyes and brain going smoosh. Or your blood being trapped at your legs. So I can freely train you without you being in danger.” Doco chucked.

To Kenan though, it sounded like the evil cackle of a lich.

***

No longer did Kenan stay at the healers room, instead, something that was ten times more practical, he slept at the barracks with the guards. At his introduction they became wary of the boy. Most of them practiced magic. They felt and saw the blades corrupted energy. Coupled with his eyes, there was a greater level of distrust. Even those that didn’t possess greater magical capabilities were cautious around him.

However, their uneasiness turned into empathy and respect. When they saw Kenan get up to train in the morning, drag himself to eat, and diligently study magic. They knew the kid’s will was strong enough to wield such a blade. They had to do their rounds with Doco’s training years ago. At that time they were already grown, didn’t have a magical item to bog them down, and Doco’s focus was spread to a group. Kenan had Doco's personal attention. Still, the kid had yet to gain their trust. So they kept their distance.

Kenan felt like he was dying. It was hard to focus with the constant pressure. Multiple times he was tempted to use the extra mana in his system. Logic took hold instead of impulse. Sure it would be a temporary fix, but afterward he would have to deal with mana deprivation and the increased weight.

Noon came.

“Hello! You seem to be late!” Kenan stood in front of Doco. Barely standing. “Well that can always be helped with some running, but first, blade.” Doco held out an expecting hand, Kenan handed it to him freely. “Grab this and this.” He gave the kid two sticks, while obtuse and not detailed, they were roughly the size and shape of a sword. “You are to hold these in both hands. Do. Not. Drop. Them. Go!” Kenan ran for twenty minutes. He didn’t know what was worse, the screaming of his legs or the aching of his hands.

After he was done running, he once again was in front of his ever tyrannical uncle. “Drop those.” Kenan did and then resisted the urge to rub his hands. “Good now grab this, be careful.” Kenan was immediately worried. Not because Doco was handing him a blade that was nearly identical to his own, it was merely a different color, and blunted. What worried him was that it was being handed to him telekinetically.

Kenan nearly dropped it. [By the dragon's fire this thing is heavy] He cursed in his head.

“Now we will wait here, until you can hold that up in a stance for at least 10 minutes.”

Kenan gulped.