THE MASTER'S SWING - DAY 211: Freewrite

_{img source}

Discipline doesn't come easy, my life has been a never-ending gruel of my mind, body, and soul. My strive to become the best martial artist in my province is more than just an obsession, It is my life's purpose. I never kill or draw the last blood but the sight of my foes crumbling before me with defeated pride makes me feel more than a woman, even more than a man, It makes me feel invisible. I've gone far and wide to challenge the best masters and my appetite for domination keeps on growing.

Today, I pack my bags and follow on my same old path of hunger and thirst for dominion. I've heard rumours about a swordsman in the far east, they say he's got the arm-swing of a knight from heaven, never lost in battle, I heard he once broke a sword in half, heavy pounds of pure steel broke in half in one swing but those could just be made up stories, everyone is always looking for a hero and a fantasy.

I follow the path to the east of the province, It's a weeks journey through the mountains, It's a normal ritual for me to swear an oath of silence throughout my journey until I meet my challenge, only when the mind is silent can one focus on the task at hand, also, a sword master always has a target on the back, so many young warriors want to have a taste of victory at my own expense. It's better to keep silence both in speech and in mind, I listen for the troubled sounds, the scent in the breeze and the shaking in the bushes.

I follow the stories and whispers of the legendary swordsman down the hills into a vast valley with wild and lush yellow corn fields, the winds were favorable in this sunny afternoon as the golden reflection from the ripe yellow silk of the leaves fills up the atmosphere. I feel the same old rush I've felt so many times in my countless duels, a quick boil of my nerves followed by a deep breath of calm and resolve. I grip my sword, squeezing it as I walk towards his dwelling.

I see a fairly old man step out of the dwelling like he had been waiting for me, his is sword staying sharply by his side, gripping it just as mine. I studied his features, height, weight, and stance. I try to gauge his weak points even before he drew his sword, we had walked fairly close to each other and we shared a gaze of respect and honor. I had not spoken a single word for a week now, it's like I was saving my voice for this moment, I wanted to sound as intimidating as possible.

"Draw out your sword, Old man," I uttered with every ounce of confidence in my whole body.

He stares at me for a moment as he adjusted his stance, He lets out a forceful grunt while gripping his sword, his stance swiftly changed as he drew his feet in a circular motion. I noticed his hands grab the sword as he released it from the sheath in the fastest motion I'd ever seen, I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't paying serious attention to his moves, I also observed that the sword made no noise as it left the sheath.

"That must be the quietest and balanced sword," I thought to myself as I suddenly heard the hissing sounds of the sheath seconds later, "That can't be right" I whispered, how can the sounds come seconds after the action. I immediately became extremely cautious and suspicious of my own senses, with my sword drawn out, I changed to a more intimidating stance.

My eyes caught his swift motion again as he swung his sword in one motion with no noise gliding through the air, once again I heard it minute-seconds later, the ringing sounds of vibrating steel hitting my eardrums, then it dawned on me as my eyes expanded, I realized that he was moving his sword faster than sound. I had never seen such mastery of swordsmanship in my whole life of dueling.

I look into his eyes determined to find a weakness of character but I only found a reflection of myself afraid and about to enter a lost battle, I took a huge deep breath as I thrust my sword into the soil. I swiftly bowed my head as I uttered.

"Please, teach me, master, I want to learn"

The Freewrite prompts is organized by @mariannewest, The freewrite prompt for today is "Swing". If you are interested in freewriting you can check out her blog for the daily prompts. thanks for reading :-)