"Well," Em said when I arrived at the campfire in the evening. It was a cloudy night, "How did it go?"
"I love archery", I said. I felt myself glowing with excitement, even though I was exhausted after the whole day of training. It had been hard work, "I first sucked at it, but then I found the right bow, and I just... Wow. And I'm good at it. I didn't actually ever hit the bull's eye, but every time, with that bow, it was really, really close. So close that it doesn't matter. Other than I can't say I would've hit the target exactly where I wanted to."
"That is amazing", said Em, "I take it you're a better fighter from a long distance than from close by?"
"Definitely", I answered. I sat down on the log next to the fire. The house elf handed me some food, smiling shyly, and I gratefully accepted it.
"I think we can use your archery skills to our advantage", Azer said, "I don't think Folius won't expect an archer to be the one to defeat him. He doesn't ever have to even see you. We just have to figure out how to get you in a shooting range from him."
"We can attack, create a distraction", said the centaur, who's name I had learned to be Celer, "On a clear field, under the stars. They will help us. She just has to learn to shoot the right target far away among dozens of similar things, in the dark."
"In.." I almost choked on my food. I coughed it up and continued "In the dark a single target among dozens of similar? When exactly do you want me to be ready for that?"
"The sooner the better", Azer answered.
"Well, I'm pretty sure it will take a very long time for me to learn skills like that", I said, "Why do you want to attack in the dark anyway?"
"The stars", Celer said, "The stars are out in the night. Up and awake. They can guide us. But if they're asleep, they cannot."
"What makes you think the stars will help us?" Azer asked, "I think they have better things to do than help tiny creatures on the face of a tiny planet to kill..."
"I need to kill him?" I asked, baffled, but I was ignored. I didn't want to kill anyone. I couldn't kill anyone. Why were they expecting this of me?
"...another tiny creature simply because the they don't like him? How would that be a concern for the stars in any way?"
"The stars are alive?" I asked, still shocked of the whole killing thing. This timeI was heard.
"Of course", Em said, "Are they not alive in your world?"
"Well, they're big balls of fire and stuff fusing together to create energy", I said, hearing the hesitation in my voice.
"That's..." Azer said, "That's one of the most absurd things I have ever heard. The stars are the mothers of the world. In the beginning of time, they created everything. They created the creatures, and gave them language so that they could speak and work together to make the world they created for them a good place to live for themselves and everyone who comes after."
"Folius is their concern", Celer said, "Because he is not doing what they wish all creatures in the world to do. He is not creating a good world. He is turning all that used to be good into scary and foul. He is not good, the stars must see it."
"You know what", I said, "Why don't you stay here and plan your plans, and I will go sleep, because I am exhausted from all the training today. And I assume I need to have the energy to keep training tomorrow."
"Yes, that is good", said Azer, "Go, and rest, and learn more tomorrow."
I got up and walked to the tent with Hizi. I got out of the sweaty training clothes and put on a light layer of clean(er) ones. By the time my head touched the pillow I was already asleep.
I woke up in the morning and failed to get up. Everything hurt. Literally everything. And I found some bruises I didn't know I had. Finally, after a good way of trying, I got my muscles working enough and figured out how to ignore the pain to get up, dressed and out of the tent.
And then I went to train the whole day all over again.
_______________________________________________________________
Sorry this one's a little shorter than the ones before have been. I have stuff to talk about, too. I'll write a longer one again on... Sunday? Sunday.
First, about your last bit of the story.
As a capoeirista anytime anyone who doesn't actually do capoeira says anything about it, I need to clarify what it actually is. It is not a dance. It is nothing like a dance. Or choreographed fighting. If it was choreographed (or a dance), I wouldn't have half a dozen huge bruises right now from getting my ass kicked on Monday.
Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art developed by African slaves who got too fed up with being slaves. It was illegal for a really long time, because obviously the slave owners didn't like their slaves running off every night to practise fighting. I heard a story once from our mestre, that back when he was a kid and in Brazil, their academy (I might misremember the story, but the point stands) was in a not-so-friendly-neighborhood, but it didn't matter, because no one in their right mind would go fight capoeiristas. Except other capoeiristas, but that was the exact place they had learned everything they know, so they had nothing but respect for the place and the people there.
The reason people mistake it as a dance, is because it involves music. There is music (I have never heard an actual answer to why there is music, this is only how I've understood it) in capoeira, because, well, it's origins are in African-Brazilian culture. How do you not have some rhythmic with that combination? Also, back when capoeira was illegal, it was super handy to be able to change your capoeira practise into dancing in a half a second if the police happened to show up. Yes, there is a dance that is kinda like capoeira, called makulele (not sure of the spelling, Portuguese is a weird language), with the same rhythms and the same setting as a roda di capoeira (roda=circle).
So there you go. A very brief history of capoeira. Don't ever call it a dance.
I will probably talk more about capoeira in the end of January, because we have a batizado then and I'm getting the second belt.
Oh, and another thing that might actually interest you and I'm not sure you've heard. The equal marriage rights -bill is finally being handed over to the parliament today. It gathered 166851 names, in the end. Now we just have to wait and see first how long the parliament will take to go through it and then, some time in the spring, if they will actually let it pass. I've understood it's not all that certain it will, because Timo Soini has decided that everyone in their party has to vote against it no matter what they think. All the other parties are just telling their people that this is one of those issues in which everyone should vote as they feel right. But Perus Suomalaiset is a big enough a party that if they really all vote against, it will be difficult to make the bill pass.
I'll keep you updated on this. Unless you actually hear about anything going on in Finland from somewhere else.
Sorry all this other stuff was so long.
Your topic for tomorrow: Gingerbread
Keep writing! We're half way there!
Now I need to go stand behind a table for three hours hoping that someone what's their gifts wrapped.
~matu
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