Ethan Smith stood beside the pool, looking at his
grandson, Gregory. For a ten-year-old [bio], Gregory was very
tall and very big for his age. This did not surprise Ethan,
because the boy is part sea elf, part wereshark, part werewolf,
and part vampire. Being big ran in Ethan's family, because he
himself stands 8' tall and over 400 pounds of rawhide and
whalebone. Gregory is also very intelligent and rational for his
age- which means he is also very observant, calm, and quiet.
Gregory had spent much of his young life under the
waves, because his mother, Lady Dawn, is the ruler of Mamani
Town. Now that he is old enough for him to spend extended
periods of time out of the water, it was decided that he receive
combat training on the land. To that end, Dawn asked her father
to teach him. Her brother Shawn had already taught him much
about underwater personal combat, but he didn't have the time
to complete the training.
Ethan had Gregory run through an exercise set, so he
could judge how much Gregory already knew, and what needed
to be taught. When that was done, he decided to run a test.
"Greg, I want you to attack me. The objective is to
knock me off my feet to the ground. Okay?" he said.
"Yes, Grandfather."
Bradley was in the tannery, working with the hide of a
Jotunheim ox, when he heard a loud roar of pure pain echo from
outside. Setting the hide down, he went out to investigate.
Looking down slope, he saw his father and Gregory by
the pool. His father was down on the ground, curled up in a ball,
obviously in pain. He dashed from the tannery to his father's
side.
"What happened?" Bradley asked Greg as he tried to
get his father to relax.
"Grandfather challenged me to knock him down, and I
did." Greg said, in a matter-of-fact tone.
"How?" Brad asked as he prepared an analgesic spell.
"I kicked him."
"Oh. That's why he hurts so much." Brad said as he
cast the spell.
After a couple of minutes, Ethan managed to uncurl and
sit up on the grass. Looking at Greg, he said, "That was sneaky,
underhanded, low, and unfair. Who taught you that trick?"
"Shawn. He said that if you can end a fight fast, do so."
"He's right. I wasn't expecting that at all. Greg, you're
stronger than you look!"
"If you're all right, Grandfather, can we continue? I want
to learn new things."
"Of course, Greg." Ethan said, standing up.
They drilled for another two hours before Greg had to
re-enter the water to rest and eat. Ethan joined him, and was
surprised at the boy's capacity. Greg gorged like a shark on a
feeding frenzy, not stopping until his belly was bulging.
During his meal, Ethan's wife Melani arrived from town.
"Is this normal for him?" Ethan asked, pointing at Greg.
"For him, yes. He definitely has Dawn's appetite,
doesn't he?" she said.
"Dawn was never like that. She has table manners. Why
can't she teach him some?"
"Because his appetite is too much for him to control. At
least, he's staying in human form, not switching to shark. He's
more polite than you think, dearest."
"I just hope he doesn't burst himself eating like that."
Ethan said dubiously.
"He won't. He does this five times a day. He's going to
be bigger than Dawn when he matures, or so I'm told." Melani
said.
Over the next three weeks, Ethan taught Greg several
forms of unarmed combat. Greg is a 'quick study', only needing
to be shown a maneuver once to learn, then practice several
times to become proficient.
To help the boy grow, Ethan began giving him fruits
from a special orchard near the house, ones designed to help
children grow. After the first day, the trees responded by making
the fruits grow larger. Overnight, the fruits swelled from the size
of a tangerine to the size of a soccer ball. Greg enjoyed them,
consuming four of the large fruits three times a day. As a result,
after the second month, Greg had grown four inches taller and
gained 25 pounds. The exercise caused him to shed some of the
fat from his body, but he still retained a good amount,
preventing him from having a truly sculptured physique.
By Thanksgiving, Greg stood 5'9" tall, and tipped the
scales at 198 pounds, at a bio-age of 13. After four months of
training, he had learned enough to be a certified master of
several forms of unarmed combat. What surprised Ethan was
that Greg was able to score a takedown against him when he
was in battle form- a 15' tall, 1200 pound fighting machine.
His 'graduation exercise', held a week after
Thanksgiving, was to go three rounds with his great-uncle Chen.
They had never met, so Greg was slightly surprised to meet a
small, slim oriental man, not even as tall as he was.
"I am Master Ge. Your objective, young man, is to be
able to get past me, to this token, which I will hang from this
tree." the old man said in a whispery voice as he did so.
Greg started to do a surprise attack on the old man,
then held back. He was sure that would have been the wrong
thing to do. Chen looked at Greg and said, "Very wise of you,
young man. That was the first test. Now, for the second test. Get
past me."
Greg tried for over four hours to get past Chen, only
calling a halt when his body flagged. He could fight for a long
time underwater, but he has only limited endurance above water.
Chen helped Greg to his feet. "You show much
potential, young sea lord. Go rest and feed now, and consider
what you need to do. You have much honor and wisdom, if you
can learn to use it properly. We shall meet tomorrow night, and
every night until you graduate."
"As is needed, Master Ge." Greg managed to say as
Chen let him fall into the pool. Once there, Ethan tossed some
fruits in.
Turning to his uncle, Ethan asked, "What do you think
of him?"
"He fights with his body and brain. He must learn to
use his heart and soul when he fights. When he learns to utilize
them as much as the rest of him, then he will pass. This lesson,
he must learn himself. Do not help him."
"Yes, Uncle."
The next evening, Gregory fought Master Ge again, this
time for over five hours. Again, he failed to reach the token
hanging from the tree. After he had recovered from the fight,
Gregory went to the one person he could always talk to without
reservation- his first combat instructor, his father, Joshua White.
After describing the details of both nights of combat,
Gregory asked his father, "What can I do, Dad? I'm doing
everything correctly, but I'm not succeeding."
"Gregory, I know you are very smart and very precise.
That is your problem. You don't feel. When you fight for a goal,
you must commit yourself to the goal totally, body and soul.
Don't analyze everything to death, just do. Trust your instincts
and feelings. Analyze, but subconsciously. See, think, analyze,
do, in one action, without stops. Let yourself flow."
"Dad, I don't think I can do that."
"You are part shark, son. Don't deny that part of your
heritage. Think about that today, before your next test."
All that day, Gregory did little else other than think
about his instincts. He thought about his conversations with his
Uncle Shawn, his father, and his grandfather Carcharo about
being a shark. He shifted to shark form for a while and thought
about it that way, but, unlike the rest of his family, he retained
his full human intelligence and rationale while in shark form. He
reached several tentative conclusions for his next test.
That night, for almost two hours, Gregory tried his
experiments. None worked. Then, catching his breath, an
inspiration hit him. He attacked again, but in a more fluid style
than before. Again, Master Ge easily parried all of Gregory's
attacks.
Gregory stopped after this flurry, and in the space of
two seconds, reached his conclusion. He came out of his attack
stance and approached Master Ge.
"Master, I can attack you for the rest of our days, trying
to get past you. At this time, I am simply not skilled enough to
get past you in honorable combat. I need additional training to
get to such a level of skill. Do you know where I can find a
suitable instructor?" Greg said to the Master.
To Gregory's surprise, a smile appeared on Master Ge's
face. "That is what I have been waiting for you to realize. You
must always remember that no matter how good you are, there
will always be someone better. Cheat if you need to in order to
win, but honor demands that you do so as a last resort, not a
first.
"I noticed when you paused on your first attack on me.
That gave me hope that you could be worthy of training.
However, I am not to be the one who teaches you. Your Uncle
Shawn will have that duty."
"Master, you sound somewhat like my Grandmother
Raven. Did you teach her?"
"Sometimes. Other times, she taught me."
"I noticed that some of the moves you did, she does.
Just interested. What shall I do for you now, Master?"
"Take care of yourself, child. Learn, study, and above
all else, trust yourself." At that, the Master touched a pendant
around his neck, and he disappeared in a transport sparkle.
After the Master had departed, Greg turned to Ethan.
"Grandfather, will I ever pass his test?" he asked.
"You already did, Greg. Now, you have to pass Shawn's
test. Practice with him, your father, and me for another couple of
months before you ask for the test. You have a lot more growing
to do."
"I know. Mom says that I'm going to be taller than she
is."
"She's right. When you're fully grown and settled in,
then take the test. You'll do fine."
"Good. Is there any roast boar left? I'm hungry again!"
Ethan led his grandson toward the house. "Enough to
fill you up, kid." he said. He was wrong- it took the boar, five
fruits, and an extra-large Donati's pizza with everything to make
Greg stop eating. Ethan had to help him to the pool.