The Sage of Einar

Following the presentation, the national anthem was heard, and a flag was raised on a flagpole.

At that moment, the stanzas of the hymn were sung with great pride. At the end, Aila started the competitions among the students.

The first competition would be crossbow shooting, due to their age, the crossbow they would use would be a light crossbow that used an advanced lever reloading system.

That way, the crossbow would be easily loaded for the children. It could also be a good time to show Einar and the craftsmen how it works or if there were any errors in the design.

This did not mean that the children would use a dangerous version of the crossbow that could cause any injury. On the contrary, the crossbows had already passed that stage with the test of brave slaves.

Who had been in charge of testing them during their early stages.

For the first test, a pair of contestants from the four teams advanced to the specially prepared shooting range.

When everyone was in position on specially prepared platforms so that everyone could use the crossbow without problems.

In front of them was a table where there were special crossbow bolts that had black ink on the wooden tip to mark where they struck.

Along with a pair of crossbows so that each pair of children could fire the crossbows.

Aila walked behind the children to indicate the running of the competition.

"Each team has a total of 20 crossbow bolts which they will have to used to shoot the wooden targets at three different distances.

A single team member will fire first and after using 10 bolts, the other member will fire the last 10 bolts.

At the end, the points they have achieved in total will be added, the team with the most points will win.

Remember that hitting the center of the targets will guarantee you a high score, if you hit the outside of the target the score will be lower.

The red team will start, then the blue team, the green team will continue and finally the Gray team will be the last to pass.

To show you how to use the crossbow, Eskol will show you how to load and use the crossbow correctly. "

After this, Eskol went to the guards wearing a soldier\'s uniform, although he preferred to use his armor. The uniform was comfortable and brought him prestige, unlike the uniform of the slaves.

His uniform had symbols sewn in gold on shoulder pads, Einar said indicated his rank and his distinction from normal soldiers.

Arriving in front of the children with a smile, he began to explain how to load and unload the crossbow, although they had never used a real crossbow.

The use was too simple, so in just 10 minutes all the children learned to use the crossbow, but as a final test they had the opportunity to shoot a bolt on their own.

Although everyone\'s shot missed, it gave them an idea of ​​how to shoot. That way everyone would be at the same disadvantage and in the end their victory would depend on their luck or learning ability.

When Eskol withdrew from the shooting range, Aila gave the order to start and the first child of the red team began to use his crossbow.

The boy who was just adjusting to the use of the crossbow used his knowledge with the bow to try to better aim the crossbow.

The first 5 shots missed miserably, but from the 6th, the crossbow bolts were able to hit the target.

At the end of his turn, the boy looked at his partner and gave her some advice on how to aim. This made Einar proud, who was watching from afar.

"Only Laura\'s team made a small explanation to their partner using their experience.

Laisa, I think you taught the children very well. "

Laisa blushed a bit as she leaned her head on Einar\'s shoulder "It\'s something that not many warriors do on the battlefield, especially berserkers who only think about killing.

Even I, who enjoy battle and slaughter, have listened to the experiences of my companions to learn about the enemy. "

Kassia, who was sitting comfortably on Einar\'s lap, looked at Laisa with some surprise.

"You are quite interesting Laisa, I never thought you could say something like that."

Laisa just laughed "I know you know many of my stories because of my father or why I was born to tell all of you, but many times I skip details.

You can\'t blame me, I do it because I enjoy telling good stories like the skalds. If I started telling details they would end up booing me. "

Einar gave Laisa a kiss on the forehead "With us you don\'t have to worry that we will boo you or make fun of your stories.

Each of us has our own stories and they deserve all the respect. "

Laisa just smiled and pointed to the field "They have already finished the first round, it seems that Laura\'s team won, it is assumed that in the next test she will compete against Gunnar."

Helmi nodded "It will be a difficult competition for both of them, as they are very active children but I am sure our daughter will win in the end."

The four of them had no doubts about that, as Laura was taking the competition very seriously.

In the obstacle course, Laura will be the first to participate in the obstacle course. In this competition, she would have to run as fast as she could while a special hourglass took her time.

At the end it would be the turn of her partner, who would have to do the same, in the end she will take the time of the two and compare herself with the other teams.

To do this, a scale would be used, less time would be less weight, so whoever did it faster would win.

When Aila finished giving the explanation, the obstacle course began. Laura, at that moment, began to run as fast as she could.

Remembering the training she had done with her mother Laisa and the advice of her father, she began to avoid obstacles in the sea sand.

When she reached a wooden wall that had a rope, she began to climb it, as she had trained many times. When she reached the top, she jumped to the other side instead of using the rope to go down.

She did it in a perfect way because, giving a swing and using her hand, she managed to distribute the energy of her fall so that she did not hurt himself.

Helmi, Kassia and Einar were somewhat surprised by Laura\'s bravery, while Laisa was screaming at the top of her lungs, congratulating her daughter for being so brave.

Laura, who was ignoring everyone, kept running and kept doing the best she could to reach the end of the obstacle course, where she gave a small blow to her partner\'s hand.

She was able to take a break while her partner went on her own course, although it took a little longer than Laura was sure they had won.

When it was Gunnar\'s turn, he took the same route as Laura, but unlike her, who was agile, he was a little more abrupt.

Because he made more intense movements than Laura\'s. Although they were less agile, they proved to work perfectly, until he reached the test of the wooden wall.

Where he went up without problems, but when he wanted to do the same as Laura, he only ended up falling on his back on the soft sand.

This left him lying down for a few seconds before he could get up and continue running.

Einar just looked at him with empathy. "That was a good blow to the back, fortunately I prepared enough sea sand so that he could not suffer a dangerous injury."

When Gunnar finished the race and it was his partner\'s turn, he lay down on the sand trying to catch his breath, as he was quite tired.

After a while all the teams finished and at the time of measuring the sand the red team ended up winning the competition, so Laura was happy and hugged her partner.

In the third competition, the surprise was that the Gray team won as Maela demonstrated her throwing ability far superior to that of her teammates.

Kassia was surprised as she recognized the girl "To think that the girl who confronted you who did not want to be a slave would end up proving that she can win a competition."

Einar looked at her with pride "For women like them I can rest assured that everything I build will last for many years, because those kinds of women are the ones who will not hesitate to fight.

To defend her home and family, that girl represents the future of our nation, perhaps if I give her a good education she can end up being a very important pillar in our future. "

In the fourth competition Dorete, Laura and Daven\'s little friend, demonstrated her superiority in math.

This made Einar form a smile on his face "That girl with a good education can become an excellent physicist or engineer. It all depends on what she wants to do in the future."

In the last test, the four teams were divided into two teams, the Red and Gray team against the Blue and Green team.

The competition was close, as everyone was pulling the rope to their respective places in an attempt to lead the other team to defeat.

Maela, the leader of the Gray team, looked at Laura "Laura, we must work together to achieve victory. If we can coordinate in just a few seconds, we can win."

Laura, who was gritting her teeth, nodded "Red and Gray Team, when I count to three we will all pull the rope.

1

two

3…"

At that moment, with all the children coordinated, the blue and green team ended up losing their balance and therefore lost the competition.

This gave a point to the red and gray teams who finished first and second while the green team finished third.

Leaving the blue team as the big losers of the competition.

On a winner\'s podium, Laura received a simple iron medal from Eskol, who congratulated her on her work and dedication as the leader of her team and group.