The night’s chill still lingered in the air as the morning sun climbed over the mesa into a cloudless blue sky. Gideon, Surelin, and the rest of the caravan gathered in front of the three graves that had been dug at the foot of the mesa. Kara stood between the crowd and the graves.

“Coleymar. Musgrave. Zane. All three were good people. They didn’t deserve to die. We’ll spare one minute of silence now, to pray for them.”

She bowed her head, and most of the other caravanners bowed theirs as well. Surelin raised her hands in front of her, pressing her palms together.

The minute passed, and Kara raised her head. “Okay. Mount up, everyone.”

The caravanners turned away from the graves and headed for the wagons. A handful of them lingered for a little while longer before leaving.

Gideon and Surelin climbed into the rear wagon, and took their seats after setting the gate in position. They were both quiet as they looked out at the mesa to the south. The wagons ahead of them began to roll out, and their own wagon lurched into motion a few seconds later.

Surelin’s gaze settled on the graves as the wagon rolled past them. “That was the shortest funeral I’ve ever seen. Why did she say so little?”

Suddenly, the wagon’s rear gate unlatched and opened, surprising them both. Kara hauled herself up, holding two metal tins in her free hand. “Ask her yourself,” Gideon said.

Kara sat down next to Surelin with a heavy sigh. “Hey, kids. I brought breakfast.”

They thanked her as she opened the tins and passed out food. Breakfast was hardtack biscuits and salt pork.

Surelin nibbled at her biscuit, then turned to Kara. “Can I ask you something?”

Kara nodded as she took a bite of pork.

“Why was the funeral so…brief?”

A sigh exploded from Kara as she rested her head back against the wagon’s canvas. “Because we’re not out of danger. There’s way more than just that one group of Lakies out here. They’re pretty much everywhere. I’ve heard they’ve been spotted as far inland as Levidia.”

“They’re in Forelia now, too.” Gideon added.

Kara gave him a weary nod. “At the end, we’ll all gather in Loso to toast to our dead. It’s custom to do it that way. I just hope we don’t lose anyone else.”

“I see… ” Surelin said slowly. “What were- um. Why did the Lake Men attack us? What did they want?”

“Isn’t that the question. Although, I think those Lakies in particular just wanted our food.”

“If they don’t speak our language, then they must be Easterners…?”

Kara shook her head. “They don’t have the look. The only thing anyone really knows about them is that they came from the Sorrow Sea.” She looked over at Gideon. “They started showing up, what, around three or four years ago?”

He nodded.

Kara nodded back. “Yeah. They roam the roads and highways outside of the cities, raiding caravans and stealing anything they can get their hands on. It’s said that they came here because Kali was angered by their godlessness, so she sent hurricanes and earthquakes to destroy their lands, somewhere across the sea.”

Surelin looked between the two of them. “But why are they called Lake Men if they’re from the Sorrow Sea? Wouldn’t Sea Men be more accurate?”

Kara shot Gideon an amused look. “Uh…yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Gideon smirked. “Yeah, we should call them the Sea Men. I think that name suits them.”

Surelin gave Kara a confused look. Kara smiled as she leaned over to whisper in her ear. Surelin listened intently for a few moments, then scoffed and looked back at Gideon.

“You’re such a child. Honestly.”

Gideon and Kara laughed. Surelin rolled her eyes, and took another bite of her biscuit.

When their laughter died down, Kara looked over at Gideon with a smile. “You came through for us last night. Thanks.”

He gave her a light shrug.

“I wanted to ask if you two wouldn’t mind helping us out with a few things here and there, since we’re down three sets of hands. Just simple tasks, like moving shit around or helping us hitch the oxen.”

Gideon nodded. “That’ll be good strength training for Surelin.”

Kara looked down at Surelin's sword. “Oh, yeah. I saw you were wearing that thing now. Is he teaching you?”

Surelin glanced at Gideon. “Yes, he is.”

“Hmm,” Kara smiled. “Well, I guess you’ll need a proper belt. I’ll loan you one of mine.”

Surelin thanked her graciously, and the three of them continued their breakfast together, chatting casually about the food and the other trips Kara had taken. Once they finished, Kara gathered up the empty tins and hopped off the wagon.

Alone once more, Gideon and Surelin watched in silence as the mesas to the south gradually receded into the distance. The caravan trundled along the highway, winding through the sand dunes just like it had wound through the mesas the day before. They seemed to almost sink into the sand as the caravan gained distance on them, and the gloomy atmosphere that had descended after the night’s violence disappeared along with them. The yellow sand dunes shone brightly under the sun as it gained its typical mid-morning strength, introducing a stifling heat to replace the chill.

After some time passed, and the sight of endless sand dunes became tedious, Gideon looked over at Surelin. “Let’s talk training.”

She turned to face him and returned his gaze attentively.

“It’s gonna be too hot to do anything during the day while we’re in the desert. So we’ll sleep through the day, and do your training at night.”

Excitement began to grow on her face. “What exactly is the training going to be like?”

“I’ve been thinking about that. I’m gonna to train you exactly how I got trained. You’ll exercise until I tell you to stop, then we’ll do some sparring, and then more exercise. That’s the basic pattern. We’ll do that every single night until we reach Loso.”

She absorbed his statement. “Exercise…I see. I’m not, um…”

“Very physically fit? I know. Trust me, after a few months of this you will be.” He leaned forward. “When the caravan stops tonight, we’re going to help them with whatever they need. Right after that is when we’ll begin. Until then, you need to get as much sleep as you possibly can. And drink tons of water.”

She gave him a firm nod, then reached out for her ruck and pulled her bedroll off of it.

Gideon watched her as she got ready for bed. She doesn’t have a single clue how hard this is going to be for her. I know, because I didn’t either.

Surelin’s training did not get off to a great start. The caravan stopped at dusk, and Kara assigned Gideon and Surelin to the rear wagon, supporting Wallace and another caravanner as they unhitched the oxen from their yokes. It was a two person operation for each yoke: one person lifted up the yoke, while the other person untied the oxen and led them away. At Gideon’s direction, Surelin moved to lift one of the yokes on her own as Wallace waited. She set the yoke on her shoulder and tried to lift it, gritting her teeth as she strained against it. Despite the serious effort she seemed to be putting into it, she could not lift it high enough to free the oxen.

Gideon handled his yoke very quickly, then looked on as Surelin continued to strain against hers, face turning red from exertion as she gave it her all. Wallace looked on as well, looking flustered as she tried and failed again and again. After giving her some more time to give it her best shot, Gideon stepped in behind her and lifted the yoke up. Wallace quickly untied the oxen and led them to where all the others had already been bedded down.

She looked deeply frustrated, but said nothing. Afterwards, Kara assigned her to bring bags of feed to the oxen, which was a much less physically demanding task. Surelin seemed to understand that she’d been given an easy duty, and had a sour expression on her face as she worked.

Sentry duty was settled quickly. Since Gideon and Surelin would be up most of the night, he volunteered them to take the entire night’s watch. Kara accepted his offer with no hesitation, and the other caravanners all had big smiles on their faces after learning they’d be getting a full night’s sleep.

Night fell as the caravanners finished up their remaining chores. While they settled down in the wagons for sleep, Gideon and Surelin prepared for the long night to come. Together they gathered from their wagon the objects they’d need for her training: two lanterns, two water flasks, gloves, and two dull broadswords Gideon had looted from the Lake Men. He’d spent most of the day using a stone to dull the blades while Surelin slept.

The stars gleamed brilliantly overhead as Gideon led Surelin north along the highway, away from the caravan. Loose sand was not a great material to exercise on for what Gideon had in mind, so they remained on the highway, where the ground was much firmer.

They set down all their gear in a pile directly onto the highway, then placed the lanterns down where they’d provide ample illumination. The landscape around them was pitch black, which gave the lit up area of the highway an oddly isolated feeling, as if the light provided by the lanterns was the only light in the entire world.

With the lanterns in position, they were ready to begin. Gideon noticed some nervousness in Surelin’s expression as he pulled on his gloves.

“Alright. We’re always going to start off and end with stretches. Get your gloves on.”

She complied, and he began to guide her through the stretches.

“You do different kinds of stretches for warming up and for cooling down. I’ll demonstrate them first, then you’ll do it.”

They started off by doing high-knee walks, then quickly moved on to rear lunges, windmills, and finished with jumping jacks. Surelin’s movement was exactly as unathletic as Gideon expected it to be, but even though he stopped her often to correct her, she never complained. Sweat was pouring down her face by the time they’d finished.

Afterwards, Surelin stood with her hands on her hips, panting. “That was just the warm up?”

“Yep. Now, do what I do.”

He got down on his hands and feet, and pushed his body off the ground into a pushup position. Surelin followed him to the ground awkwardly, trying to copy him.

“Look at me. See how my back is straight? Straighten out your back.”

She tried, but it was obvious that just holding herself up was difficult.

“We’re gonna do ten pushups. If you break form and do a bad pushup, it won’t count towards the total. Understand?”

She nodded quickly.

“You aren’t allowed to get up from that position until you reach ten.”

At that, her eyes widened with alarm. He brought his chest down until it just barely touched the ground, then pushed himself back up.

“There, that’s what a proper push up looks like. Now try it.”

Straining, she lowered herself halfway to the ground very slowly, then just as slowly brought herself back up.

“You didn’t touch the ground. Try again.”

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she attempted it once again. The result was about the same.

“Nope. Again.”

This time her arms shook as she lowered herself. She grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut as she pushed herself back up, her whole body shaking.

Well, that settles it. She’s not strong enough to do even one.

Gideon settled his knees on the ground, keeping his chest inclined at the same angle. “Alright, put your knees on the ground just like me. Do your ten like this.”

He demonstrated for her. It was an easier position to do pushups in, but she wouldn’t get as much out of it.

Surelin successfully did a pushup in the new position. “Oh, I can do it this way!”

“Yeah, because it’s easier. Go on, do your ten.”

She complied eagerly. Once finished, she sat back up, wincing. “It still hurts my arms.”

“The pain means you’re getting stronger. Now do thirty more.”

Gideon did thirty normal pushups much faster than Surelin did her easier thirty. Sweat poured off of her face, forming splotchy dark stains in the sand below her head as she pushed herself up and down.

Once finished, she sat up on her knees, panting heavily. Gideon flipped himself over onto his back, lifting his head and legs into the air.

“It’s not time to rest, yet. Butterfly kicks, let’s go.”

For the next hour, he led her through a series of strenuous exercises. After butterfly kicks came leg tucks, then core twists, heel lifts, lunges, then back to pushups. He refused to let her rest, pushing her through the exercises relentlessly.

When she was done with her last pushup, Gideon stood up and pulled her to her feet. She bent over at the waist, gasping loudly.

“Don’t bend over like that. It’s bad for you. Walk around if you need to catch your breath.”

In the lantern’s light, he could see that her blouse was almost entirely soaked with sweat. Gideon had worked up a sweat as well, but not nearly to her level. She looked unsteady as she walked around between the lanterns, sucking in air.

He’d never seen strength training from the perspective of the trainer before. As he watched her walk around, he realized that he felt a great deal of sympathy for her.

It’s hard to watch someone push themselves way beyond their limits.

He resolved then and there to never express that sympathy. If he ever did, she would lose focus, and expect him to always give her the easy way out. To turn her into the best warrior she could possibly be, he would have to be an unmerciful taskmaster.

“Alright. Come over here, we’re gonna go on a run.”

She shook her head wearily. “...Can I have some water?”

“Nope. If you drink a ton of water before a run, you’ll cramp up. You can drink afterwards.”

“...Can I take off the sword, at least?”

“Fuck no! I told you to wear it at all times. If I ever want you to take it off, I’ll tell you. Now get over here.”

Chastened, she trotted up next to him. Together they walked away from the lanterns, following the highway north. “Let’s go,” he said sharply. “Run as fast as you can. Stay on the highway.”

Surelin practically threw herself into the run, and Gideon immediately wondered if he’d been too harsh with her. He ran alongside her as they bounded into the darkness, the dunes around them and the highway beneath their feet illuminated only by starlight. The moon was a silver sliver on the horizon ahead of them as they ran.

Her fastest pace was equivalent to a brisk jog for him. He corrected her form often as they ran, demanding that she fully pump her arms and lighten her stride. Her speed declined quickly, and by the time they’d run a little less than a mile she’d been reduced to a faltering jog.

Gideon saw what was coming, and wasn't surprised when she suddenly stopped and keeled over. She braced her hands against the sand, then vomited several times.

When it was over, she sat back up and looked at him miserably, sweat streaming down her face as she wiped her mouth.

“It’s alright,” he said. “I barfed on my first run, too.”

She sat in the sand in silence for a little while longer, then surprised Gideon by getting back to her feet. He stood and watched as she started to jog again. Her movement was slow and fatigued, but she kept going.

A smile spread across Gideon’s face as he watched her jog away from him.

I was right about her.

He ran to catch up.

In total they ran about two miles: one mile up, and another mile back. Surelin was utterly exhausted when they returned to the lanterns, and with Gideon’s permission she sat down and drank deeply from her water flask.

He walked over to where they’d left their gear and picked up the broadswords. Surelin’s eyes widened as he approached her with them.

“Take a ten minute break,” he said as he handed her one. “Then we’ll start sparring.”

She looked down at the sword in her lap, then back up at him. “You want me to spar…? I don’t think I can even stand up.”

“I’m pretty sure I warned you that this would be hard.”

Her protest died in her throat. She hung her head, and nodded with a quiet sigh.

The ten minute break passed in complete silence. Surelin sat very still, as if she were trying to retain as much energy as possible. She seemed drained when she got back to her feet.

They walked over and stood between the lanterns, swords drawn. “Are we going to practice with real swords?” Surelin asked warily.

“These blades are dulled. They’re barely more dangerous than butter knives. Now, try attacking me. Go on. I won’t fight back.”

The hesitation she’d been exhibiting disappeared as she stepped towards him, replaced by determination. Gideon stood still and watched her closely as she approached. Her movements were slightly twitchy and exaggerated, especially when she raised her sword. He understood implicitly that the nervousness in her movements wasn't from fear or even exhaustion: it was adrenaline from using a sword against someone for the first time.

Wasn’t I the exact same way?

Gideon watched her feet movement, and stepped out of the way well before her first swing reached him. It was poorly aimed, and slow. She tried again, and got the same result.

“Do you see what I’m doing?” He asked as he easily stepped out of the way once again.

She frowned angrily. “Of course I don’t!”

“All I’m doing is watching your feet. A person’s feet will tell you what they intend to do.”

He saw her eyes dart down to his feet. She lunged at him again, but this time she tried to predict his retreat.

Her sword came much closer to connecting as he dodged out of the way. “That’s better,” Gideon said.

An excited smile spread across her face as she attacked again. Gideon dodged, then stepped into the giant opening she left, pointing his sword at her face. She froze up, staring at the blade as he held it inches from her nose.

“This is the nature of sword fighting. You have to keep track of every little thing the bad guy is doing. Winning fights is about minimizing your mistakes while staying in the right position to exploit theirs. If you focus on only one thing the bad guy is doing, you’re sure to get killed.”

Gideon lowered his sword and took a few steps back. “That wasn’t fair!” Surelin complained. “You said you wouldn’t fight back!”

“So? I lied. You better get used to people trying to deceive you in a fight, because they’ll try anything to keep breathing. And by the time we’re done, so will you.”

Gideon drilled her on basic sword fighting theory for hours, familiarizing her with the basics of attack and defense. Sparring was not quite as physically demanding as going on a run, but it was still a heavy workout. By the time he decided to end it for the night, Surelin was beyond the point of exhaustion. She flopped down on the highway, drinking greedily from her water flask.

He walked up and stood over her with his hands on his hips. “Why are you sitting down? We aren’t done yet.”

She looked up at him wearily.

“This is the last thing before you can go get some rest. Come on.”

Gideon grabbed one of the lanterns and walked off the highway, heading for one of the large sand dunes nearby. Surelin slowly pushed herself back to her feet, and followed him.

He set the lantern down at the foot of the dune, then turned to her. “To finish off, we’re gonna bear crawl up this dune. Watch how I do it.”

Her eyes widened as he got down onto his hands and feet, then vigorously crawled all the way up to the top of the sand dune. After reaching the top, he jumped back up to his feet and called down to her.

“What are you waiting for?”

Surelin had a resigned look on her face as she got down in the same position. The dune was steep, and the loose sand made the crawl much harder. She moved up it at a snail's pace, panting heavily.

It took her nearly ten minutes to reach the top. Once she made it, she flopped over onto her back by his feet, sand clinging in clumps to her face and hair as her chest heaved.

Gideon gave her a brief, sarcastic clap. “Congratulations, you finally made it. Now run back down and do it again.”

She stared up at him, clearly hoping he’d been joking. The serious look on his face made it equally clear that he had not.

After catching her breath, she sat up and hauled herself to her feet. She stumbled and fell as she attempted to run back down the dune, rolling to a stop by the lantern.

He watched her closely as she lifted her head to look up at him. The initial shock from the constant, intense exercise had worn off by now, and her entire face drooped with extreme exhaustion as she stared at him. But in her tired eyes, Gideon saw fierce determination.

With a grunt, Surelin lifted herself up onto her hands and knees, and crawled. She grimaced with every arm and leg motion that pulled her closer to the top, her hair, face, and clothing matted with sand, but she refused to give up.

Gideon was quite impressed as he watched her crawl up the dune. She could have given up at any point during the night, but each time he’d demanded her to go past her limits, she had risen to the challenge. In a way, her first day of training had been more difficult than his own. There had been no sand dunes around to crawl up where he’d been trained, for one. And as a boy, he’d grown up in a place where strenuous physical activity had been routinely expected of him. Surelin didn't have that advantage.

Extreme stress always brought out a person’s true colors, and Gideon felt like he had seen Surelin’s throughout the night.

She’s really got it. The heart of a warrior.

Surelin pulled herself up to the top of the sand dune with a strained grunt, then collapsed onto her side, resting her head in the sand. Gideon crouched down and studied her face as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying desperately to catch her breath. Streaks of sweat ran through the matted sand on her cheek like little roads, more evidence of her effort.

He grinned at her. “You did it.”

She couldn’t muster a reply.

“Flip over on your back. We’ll do the cool down stretches, now.”

It took some additional prodding to get her to do it. The cool down stretches were not difficult, but they were necessary. Not stretching after a heavy workout often led to injuries, especially for someone out of shape like Surelin.

She fell asleep as they laid on their backs atop the sand dune, right in the middle of stretching her legs. He thought about waking her, but decided she’d done enough. Dawn was still several hours off, and as he bent down to pick her up he realized he’d have to stay awake for sentry duty, all on his own.

Gideon carried her down the sand dune’s steep face. She was surprisingly light, even with her sword strapped to her belt. He brought her to the rear of their wagon, then woke her and set her down.

“Hop up there. Good job today.”

She pulled herself up weakly into the wagon.

“Hey, one down. A hundred and twenty more to go!”

He chuckled as she collapsed onto her bedroll, and fell back into sleep instantly.

The stars overhead seemed to be shining a little brighter as Gideon returned to the top of the sand dune, lantern in hand. Surelin’s determination had rubbed off on him, and he felt energized as he contemplated the next night's training. When dawn arrived a few hours later, he watched the sun crest the horizon over the dunes, feeling content to let it rise, for once.