Bear

Matthis stood over the training ring, watching his men go through their regiments, preparing for the guest teacher that was to arrive momentarily. Matthis had hand selected their guest for two reasons: firstly because he was an utter powerhouse and an unstoppable force in the field of battle, and secondly because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that his men would not accept them as a teacher. There were deep seated roots of racism running rampant throughout his kingdom - personally, he had grown up as an adventurer of sorts, always going to the places he wasn't supposed to, and making lots of friends that he shouldn't have because of it. It had given him a different view of the world than many of those around him.

He could hear the gates opening in the distance, and knew that his guest had arrived. Clearly the men training had heard it as well, though their regular instructor cracked the whip to keep them moving. They should have been well disciplined and past being distracted by an expected sound in the distance - clearly they still had much to learn. Which only made this morning's lesson all the more important.

As their guest instructor came into sight, even the head instructor could not remain focused. A bipedal bear had entered their ranks - lean and large for a bear made him enormous and ripped for a human. He was dressed in heavy battle armor - the likes these men could only dream of lifting, much less wearing - with one hand dressed in a clawed gauntlet, and the other wielding a battle axe that could easily fell a hundred year old oak in a single powerful swing. Matthis could see the look of incredulity on their faces, unwilling to accept that a bear was to be their instructor.

The head instructor glanced to where Matthis was watching over, and the king nodded his head and gestured for him to continue. Though he could not hear it, Matthis could practically see the head instructor's anger as he introduced their guest. But the bear stood stoic, unshaken by his pupils anger. Matthis did not have to hear his invitation for them to step forward and strike at him if they did not believe he had any place before them. Matthis had instructed him to say as such. And every man advanced upon him, and in under five minutes, their guest had stricken them all down.

Matthis smiled as their guest began his actual lecture.The men were instructed, in their bruised and battered states, to stand tall and strong and move forward with even more difficult and complicated drills than they were accustomed to running. More specialized. More focused. Drills that would make them stronger, faster, more focused. Though Matthis had no doubt that they were unaware of just how much of an effect those drills would have.

But he did. He wondered what his men would think if they knew their king was already a graduate of this guest's teachings.