A box and a blade

So what does this box have to do with me learning the sword the young Zabu asked.

Zabu’s poked and prodded the blue rectangle from within. It’s prism of blue vibrating in waves at his touch before the vibration fell away into a small ripple.

Zabu retracted his finger .

“Wet . Yuck.”

“Hey Venki. What does this thing have to do with swords? “ Zabu said, turning to the man .

Venki ignored him , his eyes focused on some faraway object in the distance , his face scrunched in concentration.

“Box on . “

The box vibrated then with a

‘Shink! ‘

Then Switched colors. From transparent blue , the box turned green.

“Woah!“

Zabu jumped back in a hurry, his eyes wary at the change in color.

Then he saw something even stranger .

A double of himself stood where he just leapt from. It’s image a vibrant green and blue that shifted as a wave of energy rippled down its body.

Then all of a sudden it jumped back , he dodged out the way as it landed in his spot and then watched as it abrubtly stood up and mouthed some words at Venki who hadn’t moved this whole time.

Zabu blinked .

‘It’s a copy of me. ‘

“This my pupil is repeat . A function of my magic The Box. It’ll mimic everything you’ll do if left in its initial setting .

Box. Minor adjust level 1. “

The copy of zabu faded away as the green of the box grew lighter until it was only an opaque shade of itself.

“Now , “ Venki turned , seriousness painted on his face. Slowly the man drew his sword then threw two swings.

The first was perfect. A smooth arc that slashed through the air like the moons glided through the night sky.

“10 Won. Straight slash . “ Venki said as his slash finished .

Zabu’s eyebrow quirked at his new masters named blow.

Then after a brief pause the blade swung again .

This strike was an ugly one . It fell chopping and zigzagged on its way down. Any bits would remain safely on a persons body at the pathetic decent.

It left a crackled line of green.

“These are the adjustments that need to be made . “ The swordsman pointed his blade at the top of the slash.

A diagonal start to what should’ve been a straight slash.

“If this we’re to be fixed then it would leave no mark. “ Venki paused and looked over at his disciple .

“Do you understand how this will go young lord.” Venki said phrasing his question with a tilted head.

Zabu nodded quickly.

His thoughts had shifted from revenge , now the only thought on his mind at all was ,

‘Shhhiiiiinyyyy.’

The young lord of house Vedro wanted to make some cool lines in the air.

Venki nodded, satisfied by his pupils motivation.

“Alright.”

Then he pulled out a sword.

It was a small one. Not much larger than a grown man’s forearm . It’s blade lay unseen , trapped in a perfectly carved wooden scabbard.

Zabu took the sword between his fingers . Then after a small heft of its weight , gulped excitedly as he drew his blade.

Shhhhhhlllk.

The blade smoothly drew and with a small clack of wood was free. A smooth straight blade , with no twist or curves perfectly snug upon a handle of rough wood and rings of leather.

“It’s name is Shikam. For its blade of black. “

Zabu looked deeper at his blade. It’s smooth lines lapping like a ripple over its sliver base. The wave as dark as the night sky.

“This is a sword crafted with base metals and Spirit Stone. Dark spirit stone to be exact. It’s know mainly for its durability.”

Zabu felt a strong feeling in his chest at the blades striking image .

“Thank you Venki. “

Venki interjected, “Master Venki . “ if you will.

Zabu took both hands and swung his blade then , his eyes glowing with excitement as he looked over the detailed line left in the air, shimmering in green.

“Woaaahhh…

Thank you Master Venki!”

Then Zabu swung again.

Like a crack through glass , a crackled green edge pervaded the air. It’s shimmering line a mirror of mistakes.

Zabu looked the line over . It wasn’t straight. It kind of curved . And it was wide , much wider than his masters by far.

“Why’s mine bigger than yours. “Zabu asked.

“The width of the line is a indicator of speed. The slower the slash , the wider the line. “ Venki answered .

Zabu’s eyes gleamed as he focused on getting the line to be a little thinner .

He then swung many times .

His blade akwardly swooshing as he attempted to swing faster and faster.

Then he frowned . His blade was faster but now the line was more crooked . He couldn’t seem to keep it straight.

Then he scratched his head , alright, maybe he was swinging it wrong.

He picked and up and thought about how his master did it . He had moved like one flowing serpent , all his body moving together in the smallest movement.

Zabu didn’t think he could do that. Come to think of it. How was he swinging his sword. Zabu stopped and then thought his slash through as he did it.

He was bringing his body up and slamming it down.

Swoosh !

He liked it cuz it made a burst of air.

But it wasn’t right . He could feel it. His masters was more like , then he paused and remembered, it was more like a swing then it was a slam.

So he tried . He grabbed his sword . And focusing on pulling with one arm and swinging with another . Swish!

A new line of green appeared .

This one thinner less crackled at its edges and straight.

Zabu raised a fist to the heavens .

“Yesh. “ he said seriously.

Then he swung again.

He wasn’t too sure how many times. All he knew was the swinging of his sword over and over to make the line thinner .

His focus was stuck on the trace of the line in the air. Slowly his concentration began being absorbed into it , a floating feeling took over him , one he couldn’t fully describe until finally the width of the green got slightly smaller.

“Hah!”

Zabu panted heavily on the garden floor, his breath heavy as the cold grass tickled his skin on the cold summer night.

He blinked , when had it turned night?

The box disappeared then . Simply vanishing into thin air.

“That’s enough for today young Zabu .”

Venki then turned to leave.

“I will be back in three days. “

“What , that’s it?!” Zabu asked incredously .

“Yes , that is it. I want you to meditate on the feeling of your blade going just right, practice without the use of The Box , to get to the point where you can make a slash just as good as those with the box . If you do this ,

You shall one day be great. “

Zabu felt conflicted about the loss of his lines . But nodded his head .

He clenched his hands while his eyes gazed at the starry night sky, he kind of liked swinging his sword.

Then Venki paused , actually, I have homework for you.

Zabu’s face fell at that . He already had a tutor who came by and gave homework and he hated her.

“What you have just done today, was using your body to attain the perfect slash. To truly master the sword , you will also need to use your sword to attain the perfect body.

Swing your sword 400 times every day until we meet again. “

Then the man was gone . Turning and fading away into the starry night .

A sword master walking into the unknown.

Zabu frowned.

He hated homework.