Chapter Three

Splintered pieces of wood exploded through the air with a massive crash as Stefan's sword literally destroyed the wooden dummy that Elincia's soldiers used for training. In one blow, he had cut it in half and sent its head rolling all the way across the floor until it came to a stop against the wall of the training room, looking rather forlorn. Stefan glanced around at the Royal Knights who were also practising, noting with a slight smirk that they were all out of breath and struggling to lift their heavy weapons after barely scratching the wooden figures they had been attacking for the past half hour. Only General Geoffrey had managed to cause any real damage to his 'opponent'.

The Swordmaster's gaze raked across the large room until he spotted the familiar green-haired, squinting knight. Oscar was obviously one of the more skilled fighters in the Crimean Army. Even though he usually fought on horseback, he seemed to have no problem with fighting on foot like he was doing now. His silver lance swung effortlessly through the air, slicing the head off the training dummy and sending it flying high into the air before smashing into the ground with the dull crack of splintering wood. Oscar smiled faintly with satisfaction and wandered off to retrieve the head before continuing his training with just as much skill and power as before.

I ought to consider challenging him to battle some day... Stefan thought, his smirk becoming more pronounced. He would make a worthy opponent.

He replaced his sword in the elegant red sheath at his side and, with a sigh, decided to call it a day. There was hardly any need for him to be practising anyway; he was already far more experienced than any of the soldiers here... except maybe Oscar. He glanced back at the green-haired knight, who had just destroyed another wooden training dummy with a few quick slashes of his silver lance, sending sharp pieces of wood flying flying in every direction. He flourished his lance in a pleased manner before starting over again.

Stefan turned away and found himself faced with a tall, red-haired Paladin who was obviously a member of the Royal Knights. He smirked, noticing that the Paladin's axe was already in his hand, as though he intended to fight the Swordmaster. 'Kieran, isn't it?' he said, having learned the names of the Royal Knights from Elincia earlier that day.

'Ah! How do you know my name?' the red-haired knight shouted, his grip on his axe handle tightening until he looked like he might break his own fingers. 'I have been watching you! Long have I searched for someone who will be my true rival, who will match my great skill in battle! From now on, that dastardly Oscar is no longer my enemy! I hereby challenge you to a duel, o noble warrior!'

'I believe your skill is not as great as you think, Sir Kieran,' Stefan replied almost lazily, not even bothering to draw his sword.

'You insult my abilities?' the knight cried, causing everyone else in the room to stop what they were doing and stare at him. 'I will show you how a true knight like myself fights!' He hefted his axe and swung it with enormous speed and power, the silver blade humming through the air like an arrow.

The next thing he knew, he was being thrown backwards into the wall and his axe had been knocked out of his hand by a strike so fast he hadn't even seen it coming. There was a metallic crash as Kieran's armour hit the wall, followed by a second crash as his axe spun through the air in an arc and sunk deeply into the floor next to his foot. He stared at it for several seconds before looking up in shock. Then he suddenly leapt to his feet, yanked his weapon out of the floor and shouted, 'I will be back! I will train harder until I have the skill to defeat you, rival!' Then he sheathed his axe and marched stiffly out of the room, banging the door shut behind him.

Stefan sheathed his sword before suddenly realising that everyone in the room was staring at him, even Geoffrey. He could tell they were impressed by the way he had defeated Kieran so easily. He decided it was probably best to leave before anyone starting questioning him on how he had done it. Just as he was reaching for the door handle, he sensed someone standing behind him and stiffened before turning around to see who it was.

It was Oscar. the green-haired knight was watching the Swordmaster through eyes that, at first glance, appeared to be closed completely. He was still holding his lance and was smiling faintly in a curious sort of way. 'We weren't properly introduced earlier,' he said, holding out a hand politely. 'I'm Oscar – but then again, you probably already know that.' Stefan took the knight's outstretched hand somewhat reluctantly and shook it. He wasn't really used to people walking up to him and politely introducing themselves.

'Well met, Oscar,' he said formally.

'Queen Elincia wants us to fight together if there's ever another battle at the castle,' the knight continued. 'Though I'm sure you don't need my help; you took care of Kieran easily enough back there. Not many of us can defeat him like that.'

Stefan chuckled softly. 'I would appreciate having someone watching my back, nevertheless. Battles are safer if you fight in groups, rather than alone. I'm sure the Royal Knights are familiar with that strategy.'

Oscar smiled again and nodded. 'I only joined the Army a few days ago, so I've been practising hard to bring my skill level up to match the other Knights.'

'You have great skill already. I can tell by watching you that you have a powerful style of fighting, but you still have much to learn.'

Oscar tilted his head a little to one side and said, 'Could I practise with you some time? I'm sure I could learn a lot from you.'

Stefan considered the question for several long moments. He had been watching Oscar training and he had to admit that the knight did have a lot of skill, but he was far from perfect. And Oscar probably could learn faster if Stefan taught him. However, the thought of spending possibly hours at a time in the company of another person was making him uneasy. He glanced up at Oscar's pleading expression and gave a long sigh.

'Very well. Come here at sunrise tomorrow morning and I will do my best to help you improve your battle skills. However, you must learn much of it by yourself if you truly wish to be a better warrior.'

Oscar nodded eagerly. 'I'll be here tomorrow morning, then.'

Haar's Wyvern flew towards the castle with slow, steady beats of his wings. The wind was beginning to pick up, making it hard for the creature to fly. There was also a strong smell of smoke in the air, for some reason. Haar yawned and patted the Wyvern's neck. 'Just a bit further, you overgrown lizard,' he said lazily. 'You'd better hurry up and get to the castle before this wind blows you out of the sky.'

The creature snorted uneasily and looked over its shoulder to glare at its Rider. 'Don't look at me like that. It's not my fault.' The Wyvern growled and looked up at the sky instead. Suddenly, its entire body stiffened and it stopped flapping its wings for a moment.

'Hey, watch it!' said Haar as they dropped a few feet. The Wyvern growled again as though it was trying to tell him something. The smell of smoke was becoming stronger by the moment, and the wind had also grown more powerful.

Just then, a massive black dragon swooped down on them out of nowhere, its eyes burning with rage and madness as it opened its jaws and released a great torrent of flame at the Wyvern and its Rider. The fire missed by inches as it skimmed past the Wyvern's tail, leaving a cloud of smoke in its wake. Without thinking, Haar drew his short axe and stood in the stirrups to fend off the monster, which was flying down and drawing in a deep breath for another blast of flame.

The black Wyvern let out a terrified screech as the full heat of the dragon's breath struck it, leaving long burns across its right wing. The screech echoed back to Crimea Castle, and Queen Elincia heard it and immediately, instinctively prepared for attack.