Kindness, patience, and practice were the three things I needed to hone my skills with a glaive. At least that was what Mallor had told me. That was when he woke me at the crack of dawn. Since then we had eaten, made several hours� travel north between the Druadan Forest and Cair Andros, and finally stopping when we approached the spot where the river Entwash emptied into the Anduin. Mallor had said we�d be safe north, and that the best way for us to get there would be to follow the Entwash all the way up until we could cross it at the ford of Entwade.
So, trusting his judgment, I now found myself with glaive in hand at our new camp along the River Entwash. The weapon felt good in my hands, and I had this longing to use it, only thing was that I didn�t know how. Mallor was trying to remedy that by teaching me positions of defense and the art of weaponry, but I was nervous about the two foot long blade on the end of my staff to do much of anything.
�Mallor, I do not think this is a good idea. I am going to hurt us both!� I exclaimed.
�You shall do no such thing. Now come, lift it up above your head like so,� he instructed as he helped me position my arms up so I was holding the glaive parallel to the ground above my head. �This is a high blocking position. If an enemy were to attempt to strike down at you, you would do take this stance. You do the same at the waist, which is a mid block.�
�So, in an attempt at defending myself, all I really need to do is position the weapon to take the blow instead of myself?� I asked.
He smiled and clapped his hands together. �Exactly what you need to do! Shall I teach you offensive moves and positions?� he queried.
�If you feel like teaching me,� I said simply. I wasn�t really anxious to accidentally kill the poor guy with my clumsiness.
�I am certain you must think of the glaive like a spear or staff, with which you may either run the enemy through with a thrust, or clout them with the staff end. If you so choose, you may do both with a glaive, but the wonder of this weapon lies with the curvature of the blade. It permits one to cut and slice, from a distance,� he told me, pointing to the blade. �That is not terribly difficult to manage; the trouble is in adjusting your arms to acquire the strength needed to wield the weapon.�
I nodded. Mallor took the glaive from my hands and stepped away from me. When he was directly across from me, but several feel back, I saw him plant his feet firmly in the ground, concentrating his gaze on me, and then with a mighty push of his arms, thrust the glaive in his hands forward until it was nearly inches away from my neck. I stared at the tip of the blade and he moved it, handing the weapon back to me.
�I want you to do this until the sun is directly above that oak tree,� he said, pointing to a massive tree. The sun was nowhere near that tree. I was going to be doing this for hours. �You will be sore and temperamental by the time you finish, but practice will do you good.�
�What if I do not want to practice for so long?� I said, trying to sound belligerent, though I was just curious.
�Then do not practice for so long. I was told to teach you, and I have as best I can, but if you truly do not wish to make use of that weapon, my words, or my time, than so be it. It shall be you who pays the price ere we run into trouble, not I,� he said. He was right on that; I can�t and won�t survive in this world if I don�t. So, I did.
After about a third of an hour into it my arms were aching unbearably, but the sun was far from being halfway to the top of the old oak tree, and I knew that if I stopped I would have accomplished nothing. I would need more than just brute strength to make it in Middle-earth. I needed mental and physical powers of endurance.
�What are you doing?� I asked Mallor, who was behind me and outside my field of vision. I was trying to think of things to keep my mind off the fact that my arms felt like they were on fire and were about to fall off. I thought talking might help.
�I am thinking of our route of travel,� he responded. �Do not speak so. You need to concentrate on your weapon. Lift it up your arms and weapon. You shall not vanquish your enemy my maiming the dirt between his two feet. In a thrust you ideally aim for the chest, and sometimes you might settle for the neck or stomach. Keep on at it.�
The pain in my arms grew worse so I decided to keep myself going by picturing all the people I wanted to kill right now at the tip of my glaive. First I saw Mardil Voronw�, who, after several well placed thrusts aimed for his imaginary neck, lost his head. Then I envisioned the Nazg�l, and I impaled all nine of them. Then, the faceless and nameless body of the mangy wretch who brought me here in the first place came before me. By the time I had imaginarily killed everyone whom I had ever disliked, the sun was over the oak tree. I tossed my glaive on the grass away from me and fell in a bunch on the grass. I couldn�t feel my arms anymore.
With a great effort I rolled my head to look at Mallor, who was sitting near the horses. He chuckled at me.
�You are a sadistic little man, I tell you,� I said.
�You did well!�
�I did that for hours!� I exclaimed.
�It was slightly over two. You make it sound like you did it all day!� he said.
�If felt like all day,� I retorted.
�Well, I assure you it was not,� Mallor replied.
�Tell that to my arms,� I said, looking at the blue sky and the clouds. �Did you decide where we�re headed?�
�I think our best route would be to make way for Laurelind�renan,� he said. �A place also known as Lothl�rien to many. I have heard tales of wise creatures fairer then the race of men that live there. Perhaps they will reveal the reason behind your appearance in these lands.�
I thought about that for a moment. He was taking me to see the elves and I had to laugh at that for a moment because it was so terribly clich�. If anyone in this place could tell me what I needed to know, I had no doubt that the Lady Galadriel and the Lord Celeborn would have some kind of idea. They knew everything. I fell asleep, sprawled out on the grass, dreaming of how wonderful it�d be for me to finally solve this mystery.
I was going to see the wisest of the First Born.
The whole time I�d be completely and utterly without the use of my arms.
