An early morning breeze blew over the grounds, the rust of leaves all that was heard. All eyes were on the man on the stage as he silently observed the crowd before him. The feeling he gave made it seem like he was a superior existence, someone so far out of reach we would never equal him, and from a particular perspective, it was true. He wore a tattered green tunic exposing his arms; it had definitely seen better days. A black fur short cape rested on his shoulders, beige pants and leather boots accompanied by leg wrappings that kept the cold out and provided protection.

He was someone who had weathered the tests of time and triumphed. Various battle scars marred his arms, and though weary and wrinkled, his face still had vigour and purpose. A scar ran through his right eyebrow over his right eye. How he survived with just a scar and not losing sight in that eye, I do not know. A messy grey beard and moustache grew into the hair on his head, balding around the sides. Looking at this man, I could only conclude that he was definitely a veteran warrior with vast experience, which could greatly help me if I got into his good graces.

The calm was broken when his gruff voice reverberated across the area, almost like it were being amplified, “WELCOME, YOUNGINS!!! AM SURE YER ALL EXCITED ABOUT STARTING TRAININ, BUT A’VE GOT SOME TOUGH NEWS FOR YE!!! THIS HERE TRAININ ISNT FUN AND GAMES!!! A PLACE WHERE YE AND YER FRENS COME TO HAVE A GOOD TIME!!! I PROMISE YE, BY THE END OF THE WEEK, LESS THAN HALF OF YE WILL REMAIN!!!”

As the words came out of his mouth, the excited expressions on the children’s faces gradually faded, and a low murmur spread through the group. Seeing that the crowd was no longer paying attention to him, a snort echoed through the area as he stamped his foot down, causing a tremor in the immediate area, which swiftly silenced the crowd.

“SILENCE!!! THIS IS NOT A GAME!!! OUR VERY LIVES DEPEND ON HOW STRONG OUR WARRIORS ARE!!! THE DRAUGR THAT BESIEGE US FROM THE DEPTHS HOLD NO MERCY!!! AND NEITHER WILL I!!! YE WILL TRAIN TILL YER LEGS GIVE OUT, YER ARMS BECOME LIMP, AND YE SWEAT BLOOD!!! IF YE SURVIVE TILL THE END!!! CONGRATULATIONS, YE’VE PASSED BASIC TRAININ AND TAKEN THE FIRST STEP TO BECOME A WARRIOR!!!” he bellowed.

Most of the kids were stunned by his speech. I could almost see their fantasies of becoming warriors and heroes shattering before their very eyes. The parents took it better, as expected. They probably knew just what was required of a warrior. “Parents, if ye could please leave. No permanent harm will be done ta the youngins,” he asked, tone calm, nothing like the booming echo it had just been. The man had a friendly smile as he uttered those words, but to the kids, it looked like the smile of a monster while the parents felt like they were feeding their children to one. They reluctantly left while waving goodbye and wishing their children all the best.

“ALRIGHT BRATS!!! AS THIS IS YA FIRST DAY, WE’RE GONNA GO OVER THE BASICS SO I CAN GET A FEEL OF WHERE Y’ALL ARE!!! FIRSTLY, TO EARTHBEND YE NEEDS A STRONG BODY, SO FOR YE FIRST EXERCISE!!! YE WILL RUN LAPS WITH YE WEE LITTLE LEGS TILL I TELL YE TO STOP!!! IF ANY OF YE DARE STOP, BE READY FOR A STONE RIGHT TO THE NOGGIN!!!” Though a few started moving, most of the kids were frozen in place, still trying to contemplate the situation. I ignored everyone else and started to run. This area had markings that divided them into equal rectangular zones, so I ran along the borderline of the section we were all in.

I could hear the shouts of the trainer in the background as the distance between us grew. Unlike the others who had just had their fantasies trampled, I never had any delusions of grandeur regarding our training. However, it was understandable. From my brief observations, they were between eight to ten years old. A varied mix between boys and girls, though the boys did make up a majority. Still naïve and innocent as all children were, well, they were about to get a taste of the real world today. That moment everyone’s life when the scales fall from your eyes, and you see the world for what it truly is. Harsh, cruel, and oh so beautiful in its chaos.

Stones dug into my feet, causing waves of pain to sporadically travel through my legs. They were numb by this point, the air I breathed feeding the inferno scalding my lungs, causing more discomfort than relief. It was an excruciating experience only made worse due to me needing to constantly manoeuvre around the limp bodies of kids that had fallen along the path.

By the time we were told to stop, about one-third of the kids had collapsed somewhere along the run. I was panting while resting my hand on my knees, desperately trying to fight the nausea that was welling up from within. The instructor had made us run for such a long time that even I, who had trained rigorously for the past two years, was at my limit. However, I wasn’t an exception. About a fifth of the children were able to complete the exercise.

Looking at the kids who were better off than the rest, I deduced why it was so, ‘These kids must either be from warrior families or have a naturally strong constitution. I will have to watch out for them and make sure I don’t fall behind.' After taking some time to catch our breath and recover, the instructor called us over.

“Alright, youngins, most of ye managed to finish the warmup. For yer first day, it was acceptable, but don’t be happy they will only get harder as time goes on. For those of ye that couldn’t finish the warmup, if there’s no improvement in the next five days yer rejected from trainin,” he spat while eyeing those guilty. Some of them were already in tears, sniffling silently, but the man paid them no mind like they didn’t exist. He then told us to form lines of ten children each, our group ending up with five lines.

With a pull of his hand, he elevated himself once again to ensure we all had a view of him before he started explaining our next exercise, “THE NEXT MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT EARTHBENDING IS YER STANCE!!! YE MUST BE FIRM AND STABLE LIKE THE EARTH IF YE WANT TO BE ABLE TO MOVE IT!!! WE LEARNT THIS FROM THE GREAT MOLEBEASTS!!! NOW FOLLOW WHAT I DO!!!”

He tucked his arms in, spread his legs apart and lowered himself till his thighs were parallel with the ground. His body didn’t shake or shift one bit, and one could almost mistake him for a statue. It was a perfect horse stance. I shut my eyes and sank down into the posture, getting myself comfortable. Groans of pain could be heard coming from those beside me. This wasn’t easy to do for beginners, after all.

“THIS IS CALLED THE HORSE STANCE!!! IT’S THE BASIC STANCE WE USE TO EARTHBEND!!! NOW NOBODY MOVE!!! WE WILL HOLD THIS STANCE FOR THIRTY BREATHS OF TIME!!!” he instructed. My muscles were clenched while using the breathing technique uncle Fjǫrn taught me. I inhaled air through my mouth and nose before gradually releasing it, keeping my breaths shallow. Taking deep breaths would only get more challenging as time went on while holding a stance. This way, however, I could breathe without difficulty. It allowed one to last longer in a stance, which increased the effectiveness of the exercise.

At ten breaths, many groans and silent weeping could be heard. Most of these kids had not trained a day in their lives. I did not know whether this was due to their parents’ ignorance or being too soft on their children. I assumed most of them had non-bender parents as there was no other explanation. After all, it was rare for there to be mixed marriages between non-benders and benders. This would reduce the chance of their children developing the ability to earthbend, lowering a war houses’ future prospects. Not only would they have fewer descendants with the potential to become warriors, but they would also lose the chance to form connections through marriage with other war houses.

They were very young; it made me wonder why children were being put through such harsh training. Just what kind of threat did the draugr pose to cause such extreme measures to be taken? ‘I’ll have to ask teacher Fróði the next time I see him. The mystery around this place gradually reveals itself, and I will strip it away piece by piece till it is laid bare before my eyes,’ I decided. My time had not solely gone to training in the physical; I had learnt many things from teacher Fróði, expanding my knowledge and understanding of the world around me.

The trainer’s shout broke me from my thoughts, “THAT’S ENOUGH!!! YER NEW TA THIS, SO YE GET A PASS FOR THIS TRAVESTY!!! ALMOST ALL OF YE CAN’T EVEN DO A HORSE STANCE!!! LET ALONE HOLD IT FOR A BRIEF AMOUNT OF TIME!!! I SAW A FEW A YE CUD DO IT THOUGH DON’T LET THAT GET TA YA!!! A’VE SEEN MANY THAT GOT LAZY THINKING THEY WERE AHEAD OF THEIR GROUP ONLY TA GET LEFT BEHIND!!!” massaging my cramping muscles while listening, the first thing I truly learnt about this tormented man was that he liked to shout a lot.

After another period of respite, he gathered us around for our next exercise. “Alright ya whippersnappers. Our last exercise is gonna involve earthbending. See this here, rock,” he motioned towards a chest-high rock a few feet away, “Y’all are gonna get into a nice line, and take turns trying ta move it. It don’t matter how ye do it. I just want the rock moved. Oh right, and you only have once chance, so make sure ye put yer all into it,” he commanded while smiling evilly. I swear he enjoys seeing the suffering of these kids.

There were around fifty kids in the group, and I did not want to spend a second longer than I needed waiting in line. I used my larger body to shove my way through the group, eliciting gasps of pain and complaints about ‘cutting ahead’ until I was third in line. Of course, I knew that doing this would earn the ire of many children and needlessly antagonize already cranky kids but did I care?

No. Why would I care what these kids thought of me? Did I need to have a good relationship with them or give them face? Again, no. All I saw them as were fellow competitors, those I needed to distinguish myself from to draw the attention of the Illugis. However, if this morning’s confrontation was anything to go by, it seemed that I already had their attention. ‘Damn gorilla hands,’ I silently cursed.

A little girl with blonde hair headed the long line, her clothes tattered and muddied. She was likely pushed to the front to test the rock if her timid posture was any indication, the first sacrifice of sorts. She shakily stood there before throwing the most pitiful excuse for a punch I had ever seen; it barely even hit the rock. The trainer only let out a tired sigh while rubbing his forehead, and I very much felt like doing the same. Fortunately for her, that was all he did, as she weakly limped to the side and plopped down on the ground.

The next candidate was a boy. He was one of the rare few who was better off after the first two exercises than the others. I paid close attention to him to see if he displayed some technique that may help me. He let out a scream before sprinting towards the rock and fly kicking it… ‘What. An. Idiot,’ I sighed as those that had seen his display sniggered discreetly. He whimpered while holding onto his ankle, too occupied to notice the death glare the trainer was giving him. This one definitely came from a non-bender family, no basic training whatsoever, only blessed with a robust physique.

It was my turn next, so I calmly strode forward while observing the rock. It was roughly spherical, with irregular ridges creeping over its surface, distorting it slightly. Closing my eyes, I placed a hand on the stony grey surface and let the cold sensation flow through me. I was trying to understand it, become one with it in hopes of coming to some epiphany. Moving something this large was something I didn’t know how to do.

I tried many times to persuade uncle Fjǫrnir to teach me more advanced earthbending techniques. Still, he was adamant about only teaching me the basics, even after displaying the ability to earthbending. He only taught me how to shatter small rocks for self-defence purposes. Something about following traditions and that I would understand one day.

Thanks to that, I had no idea how to move this rock. Of course, I observed how warriors moved rock over the years, but I couldn’t replicate what they did. Their techniques consisted of encasing the stone with their chi as they made contact with it, which then exerted a force and moved the rock as they wished.

With the paltry amount of chi a child my age had combined with barely acceptable earthbending talent, I was in a real conundrum. We were children attending our very first training lesson, surely the trainer knew the task he asked of us was impossible unless someone had unbelievable talent. Going along with this train of thought, I concluded that he didn’t actually care if we moved the rock or not but rather if we had the understanding to practice what he had taught us during the lesson.

‘A strong body. A stable stance. Become one with the earth,’ repeating those words, an idea sprouted and took hold. Filled with determination, opening my eyes, I had come to a conclusion and had a direction to proceed now.

Instead of facing the rock, I turned my body sideways. This way, when I performed the horse stance, the power it generated could be channelled smoothly towards the rock. I dug my feet into the ground, the hard surface scraping against my soles. Inhaling deeply before releasing it in a slow, long exhale, I regulated my breathing as my muscles tensed in anticipation. At the same time, my chi was poised, like a predator about to pounce upon its prey.

Standing straight while tucking my hand in and taking one final deep breath, my eyes focused on the spot my fist would impact. I exhaled with force while setting into the horse stance, now used to produce power instead of training the body. I stepped into the movement simultaneously, throwing my fist forward. Time slowed down at this moment as my clenched hand, heading straight and true towards its target.

*PAK*

The horse stance is a basic Asian martial arts stance that is not only used for training muscles but is also integrated into combat forms. It strengthens the legs and back and is used to practice punches while providing a wide, stable stance used in martial arts like Hung Gar, which earthbending was based on in Avatar.