Chapter 38: 037 Gunpowder

The Captain spent about half an hour getting Donovan used to three of the many weapons found in the armory, a lance, an axe, and a sword.

Most of this was getting him to hold the weapons in the right spots and perform basic swings. The weapons were blunted, training replicas with a leather cap covering the sharper tips.

Safe though they may be, they were otherwise built as proper weapons of war, meaning they had metal bits. Needless to say, it hurt when Don's hand slipped on the lance's handle and the leather sheathed head clipped the Captain on the chin.

"Sorry about that."

"I'll be fine. I've sustained far worse." He said that, but he was rubbing an awful welt. "Which of those weapons do you feel most comfortable with."

"None of them really felt my speed."

"I can understand that given you have no experience with them. In that case, which of them feels most promising to you? Even if only on visual appearance, is there one you fancy? You would be surprised by the number of people who choose the axe because they think its flashy."

Donovan took a minute to think about it.

The axe was a bit too cumbersome for him. He was by no means a small man, but he wasn't really big enough to use it to the greatest effect, especially when it came to arm strength.

In a similar fashion, the lance felt a little to long for him to use effectively for the purposes of self defense. He could see himself holding the axe in some sort of holster on his back, but where would he keep the lance?

That only left the sword.

Truth be told he didn't like it much.

Maybe it was because he wasn't in top physical condition, but it felt unbalanced, like it wanted to fall out of his hands. It didn't have the longer handles the other two had to help him balance his grip, so his wrists strained when wielding it.

Still, it was his best bet. Small enough to carry sheathed at his hip, like a pistol, and vaguely representative of the batons occasionally used by his combat instructors.

"I think I'll have the best chance with the sword." He would still keep a concealed pistol on his person, once he actually got around to getting one. He didn't care if it was seen as distasteful for him to have, that was the only personal defense weapon he had confidence in.

"Interesting choice."

"Why is that?"

"It was not meant to deride you, its just that most people tend to favor either lance or axe. They are easier to use in comparison to the sword, and their larger sizes are seen as symbols of power."

"Really? Shouldn't the sword be easier to use because its smaller?"

"Size isn't the only factor. Probably the biggest reason most nobles choose the other weapons is their ease of use atop a mount. That isn't to say swords aren't used while mounted, but they lack the reach and power." He made a powerful stabbing motion with the lance. "They are more useful for duel oriented individuals and those not expecting to be on a battlefield but still wanting a method of self defense."

"Should I work with something different then?" If something else was more common, he thought it might be more beneficial to use that.

"No. You might have to work a bit harder to reach the level of proficiency you need to be at, but if you become an accomplished swordsmen you should be respected for having that skill. Besides, you don't have an army to stand in formation with so those other weapons won't have much use."

"I was thinking I would prefer something I could carry with me."

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"A respectable reason." The Captain retrieved a second sword from the wall. "Let's go over some of the basic forms and how you should block and swing."

- - - - - 

"Soooo, how'd it go?" They were back in the cafeteria, several hours had passed. Diana was looking at Donovan, slumped over the table. "Aren't you going to reprimand him for that?" She was referring to his posture.

"I will forgive it for the time being. He is no doubt exhausted from the training today."

Diana's training consisted of learning the ranks and statuses of highborn nobles and the appropriate etiquette governing her interactions with different classes. She got a hint that she would be learning more about 'feminine' social tendencies, such as tea parties and high fashion, at a later date.

Why the Scholar was knowledgeable in matters regarding to the opposite sex was a bit questionable to her, but for now she was more curious as to why Don was collapsed by his food. "What did you do?"

"Sword."

"...what?"

"I'm learning to use a sword."

"...why?"

"Cultural norms or some shit like that. Something tells me they haven't figured out gunpowder yet."

The Scholar picked up on something interesting. "What's gunpaohder?"

""Don't worry about it."" The response was practically synchronized. If they really didn't know what gunpowder was, then it was better to keep it that way.

Don elaborated. "It's an instrument of death that only brings evil if placed in the wrong hands."

"So it's a weapon?"

"Don't worry about it Scholar. If you don't know what it is at the moment, then it will only bring disaster and ruin when you eventually do. Just trust us on this one, okay?" Diana tried to bury the subject.

"What about it makes it so dangerous?" The Captain was interested in their military technology. From Donovan's comments during their training, they obviously didn't make use of weapons he was familiar with.

"To sum it up, it makes it possible to kill someone from far beyond the range of a bow with the twitch of a finger. DO NOT push us any further on this subject." Diana hoped that explanation would deter them from pursuing further. They seemed to be the type of people averse to indiscriminate slaughter.

"Is it a type of magic? But no that wouldn't make sense, you didn't have enough split to work with." The Scholar tried to attach it to something he knew about.

"The only thing magical about it is it's ability to create corpses. Stop pushing."

Don was fully aware of gunpowder's penchant for creating fertilizer out of the hopes and dreams of young men if utilized at an industrial scale. In contrast to Diana's desire to keep people from dying, Donovan wanted this trump card to be kept under wraps.

He had no reservations about using it to slaughter their enemies.

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