Chapter 4 #2
“You mastered the two-step entrance to the vault. Today we expand that to four steps, which will carry you farther from the ground. As you vault higher and higher, remember that landing correctly is the ultimate test of your vault feat, especially as a bad landing can result in broken legs, or worse.” Uathach paused as the student warriors took in her words.
Her gaze went to her mother and her lips tilted up.
“As the Queen of Shadow is joining us again today, perhaps she will gift us with an example of a successfully landed vault before we go over the four-step approach you will be attempting.”
Scáthach’s brows raised, but she mirrored her daughter’s smile and dipped her head in acquiescence.
First, she went through several warm-up drills, taking notice of the students who were savvy enough to join her in limbering their muscles.
She was pleased to see Sentanta was one of them.
After her body felt warm, she tested several of the vaulting poles, choosing the one that had the best balance.
Holding the pole at her side, Scáthach jogged across the training field, careful to give herself plenty of room.
Though she could wield a sword with either hand, her right was most dominant.
Moving slowly and distinctly enough that the students could follow every step of the vault, she placed the pole next to her left side and reached up as high as she could on it with her left hand.
She grasped the pole and brought it down by her left hip, grasping it higher up with her right hand.
Holding the pole in that staggered grip, she sprinted toward the vaulting pit.
She planted the end of the pole in the X-marked spot and launched herself, stretching both legs up and above her head.
Scáthach sailed up, up, up, and then arched high, turned in the air, and came back to the ground, landing cat-like on her feet in the sand pit.
The watching warriors cheered but quieted quickly as Scáthach and Uathach divided the group. This time Uathach took the students through stretching, warming, and strengthening drills while Scáthach demonstrated the four-step vault entrance and took the warriors through it one at a time.
When it was Cuchulainn’s turn, Scáthach asked, “Have you ever attempted the vault feat?”
“No. I’d never even heard of it until yesterday when I watched the drills as I went back and forth from the smithy to your door,” he said.
“Then you are familiar with the two-step technique they practiced?”
He paused before answering but finally nodded. “I believe I am.” His smile was surprisingly boyish. “I spent a lot of time yesterday going back and forth.”
“Good. I’ll walk your first attempt with you to be sure your hand position and technique are correct.” She motioned to the pile of vaulting poles. “Choose one according to balance.”
Cuchulainn went to the pile and chose his pole, and then, with Scáthach at his side, he succeeded in the two-step drill on his first attempt. The other students cheered.
“Ready to try the four-step drill?” Scáthach asked.
“I am,” Cuchulainn said. With no hesitation, he correctly completed the more-advanced drill. The students cheered for him again.
Cuchulainn was the only student who successfully completed the four-step drill on their first try, though every time his turn came, he attacked the drill with the same solemnity, never making it obvious how easy it was for him.
Scáthach noted that. She also noted that as he waited for his turn, Cuchulainn cheered on the other students, clapping and shouting encouragement, and congratulating each warrior when she or he successfully completed the task.
It was approaching midday when every student had succeeded in the four-step vault. Scáthach and Uathach praised the group, and then the Queen of Shadow asked if there were any questions before they moved on to the underwater feat.
Cuchulainn stepped forward. “I have a question, but I do not wish to offend.”
“I have asked for questions. If you have one and it comes from a place of true curiosity and honesty, ask freely without worrying about offense,” Scáthach assured him.
He nodded and said, “We’ve trained for a vault feat. Next, we will train for an underwater feat. In all the time I’ve spent with Ulster warriors I’ve heard of neither, and I assume the two feats you’ve named are just two of many, correct?”
“Correct,” Scáthach said.
“Then my question is, why train in obscure and unusual feats? Why not focus on the sword or spear, bow or chariot? The normal feats that, once honed, will make us victorious on any battlefield?”
“An excellent question,” Scáthach said. “We do drill standard battle feats, but in battle, as in life, versatility often predicts or decides survival. So we will also train in unexpected feats to prepare you for unexpected circumstances. Sentanta, take your pole and show me your best vault.”
His brow furrowed. “Now?”
“Unless you’re too weary,” she said.
He grunted a nonanswer before picking up his pole and striding back from the sand pit to where Scáthach had begun her vault much earlier that morning.
He gripped his pole exactly as she had, bent, and sprinted to the pit.
His pole hit the X. His launch was as powerful as hers had been.
His legs stretched up, up, up, and his body twisted gracefully before he arched back to land on his feet, knees bent, exactly as Scáthach had.
The warriors erupted into cheers as Cuchulainn met Scáthach’s gaze. His eyes shined with surprised joy. “I did it!” he said.
Scáthach smiled. “You did. Now, tell me, how could you use the vault feat in battle?”
Cuchulainn’s eyes widened with understanding. “I could breach the walls of a castle or vault over a moat or spear-lined ditch.”
“Or tar set aflame to trap you,” said Fergal.
“Or you could vault over a stream that has become too swollen to cross safely,” offered another student.
Cuchulainn nodded enthusiastically. “Indeed.”
“Yes, exactly. Now take a break and get some water,” Scáthach said. She mouthed well done to Cuchulainn as the students and Uathach congratulated him, and then they all jogged to the water barrel to wash and drink.
“He’s a fast learner,” Tabiti said as she joined Scáthach on the practice field.
“He is,” she said.
“The other students seem to like him.”
“They do,” Scáthach agreed. “And for more reasons than his physical prowess. He cheers them on and he doesn’t bluster or brag about his abilities.”
“Not yet he doesn’t,” said Tabiti.
Scáthach turned to her friend. “Why don’t you like him?”
“It’s not that I dislike him. I don’t trust him because of the ease with which he moves through life,” Tabiti admitted, keeping her voice low.
“Neither you nor I can possibly know what his life has been like until now,” Scáthach said, surprised by the judgment in her friend’s voice.
“Of course we can. He’s a young man who, from the time he was a boy, has been the darling of Ulster.
He’s a man born into royalty. He’s beautiful and talented and beloved.
How difficult could his life have possibly been?
The way the bard tells it, Cuchulainn is charmed.
” Tabiti met Scáthach’s gaze steadily. “He’s never had to fight off a dozen men to keep from being raped.
He’s never had to outperform every man in his territory just so he would be accepted as a warrior. ”
“I hear you, and I don’t disagree. I also don’t wish to judge him before he has shown us who he truly is.” She rested a hand on Tabiti’s shoulder. “I would ask you to do the same.”
Tabiti sighed. “I know what you’re asking is the right thing to do, but it is difficult.” Her lips twisted into a sardonic smile. “As I may have mentioned before, it is much easier to live as my people do in Scythia—apart from men.”
Scáthach grinned. “You may have mentioned it a time or twenty.”
“So, you’re moving on to the underwater feat this afternoon?” Tabiti asked.
“Actually, we’re moving on to it now.”
“No midday meal first?” Tabiti frowned. She enjoyed aiding Scáthach and Uathach in teaching the underwater feat. It was her favorite of the feats.
Scáthach raised a brow. “Hungry?”
“Always,” Tabiti admitted. “But I’m thinking of the students, too. You know how much energy the drills for the underwater feat take. They’ll need food to recharge.” Before Scáthach could respond, Tabiti jerked her chin up toward the castle battlements.
Scáthach followed her gaze to see the distinct outline of a man holding a harp. “Has he been watching all morning?”
“Not all morning. He doesn’t rise that early.”
Scáthach sighed. “Had my mother not told me to say yes to the bard, I would have sent him on his way after last night.”
Tabiti lifted a shoulder. “Well, he’s going to make up ballads about the training whether he’s actually here or not. Maybe he’ll be more accurate now.”
Scáthach snorted. “Doubtful.”
Tabiti smiled. “Earlier I heard him rhyming words with ‘magnificent feat.’”
Scáthach laughed, and the full, joyous sound had the warriors turning their attention back to her.
Still grinning, she said, “Tabiti is going to have the kitchen pack meals for us. Uathach, please gather the reeds and wax. Students, each of you must also bring a blanket. We’re leaving the castle to train for the underwater feat as soon as our gear and provisions are loaded on the horses. ”
Uathach’s grin mirrored her mother’s. “To the Fairy Pools?”
“To the Fairy Pools,” Scáthach agreed.
* * *
The Fairy Pools were a hard hour’s ride from Dunscáith Castle, but the beauty of the ride and the perfection of the pools made the time it took to get there more than worth it.