The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

understanding.
    “Now, let’s begin your new training.” With a flourish, Isidor produced his own staff. A solid piece of steel, it was shaped exactly like Tartum’s. It could easily have been its twin; however, Isidor’s staff was only dull grey metal and had no inlaid gold or fancy designs. It was in fact, quite ugly, an odd choice for someone as flamboyant as Isidor.
    None of this seemed to matter to Isidor. He went into a blur of movement, deftly maneuvering his staff in every direction at once, pausing only to strike out or change stance. Tartum couldn’t follow the movement, nor could he have duplicated any of it, if he’d wanted to. So, he stood there, transfixed by his master’s martial prowess with the staff.
    Coming to the end of his demonstration, Isidor landed in front of Tartum with his staff lightly held behind his back in one hand, the other mockingly held out towards Tartum, as Isidor bowed.
    “As you can see, Tartum, the staff can be quite lethal, if you know how to use it. In this way, it’s alot like magic. Hopefully, you’ll do better with the staff than you have with magic.” Seeing this incite Tartum’s anger, he smiled. “Let us begin.”

CHAPTER 3
    Tartum had been practicing all day. Bottom left, bottom right, left parry, right thrust, over head block, downward lunge, center, spin, repeat. Bottom left, bottom right, left parry, right thrust, over head block, downward lunge, center, spin, repeat. Bottom left, bottom right, left parry, right thrust, over head block, downward lunge, center, spin, repeat...
    The movements were hard, and Tartum hit himself across the face and legs more than the staff hit the ground when he dropped it. At each failure, Isidor would crack the back of his legs with his staff and order him to try again. Over and over, Tartum practiced the moves. Clumsy at first, but slowly, he was starting to feel like he was grasping the new skill. His arms were burning from the unaccustomed exertion, and the weight of the staff had sapped his strength. Only his will kept him going now, even though his body begged him to stop.
    Bottom left, bottom right, left parry, right thrust, over head block, downward lunge, center, spin, repeat. Bottom left, bottom right, left parry, right thrust, over head block, downward lunge, center, spin...OOPS! His staff went flying out of his hands, and Isidor’s staff came down on the back of his legs, driving him to the ground.
    “AGAIN! And this time less failure!” Isidor yelled at him, clearly irritated. Isidor hated being hard on his young friend but took pride in the fact that he hadn’t given up. This new found maturity he had gained from his father’s death was impressing Isidor profoundly. Tartum was finally starting to act like an adult, instead of a spoiled child. Isidor felt truly proud of him, but being proud didn’t mean he would go easy on him. The skills he was learning now would serve him for the rest of his life. In fact, there was the distinct possiblilty that the skills he was learning now would prolong his life! This was no time to go easy on him. Life and death training required great rewards and greater punishment.
    It seemed Tartum was finally understanding that. Each failure and punishment drove him to try harder, rather than give up or lay down his staff and quit. Bottom left, bottom right, left parry, right thrust, over head block, downward lunge, center, spin, repeat. Bottom left, bottom right, left parry, right thrust, over head block, downward lunge, center, spin, repeat. Bottom left, bottom right, left parry, right thrust, over head block, downward lunge, center, spin, repeat. “He’s getting it!” Isidor thought, “Not even a full day, and he’s getting it!”
    “FASTER!” he bellowed, “Go FASTER, you worm!”
    Tartum complied, moving his staff faster than before, creating a slight green blur around him. Bottom left, bottom right, left parry, right thrust, over head block, downward lunge, center, spin,