"Sharasan, Prince Hayate." Gilan said respectfully. Hayate waved it away
"There's no need for 'Prince' here." He said easily "In this place I am merely the Captain of the Guard. After all, I left that nonsense behind me when I took up my mask. Sharasan, friends. Are you enjoying your time in the emerald forest?"
"Sharasan, Captain. Thank you for allowing us to visit this place." Halt answered "Your homeland is beautiful."
"Sharasan." Horace and Will echoed uncertainly. The little Guard trainees crowded round him and he knelt at their level
"Are you practicing hard little ones?" Hayate asked. The children grinned
"Yeah!"
"I'm really strong now Captain."
"That's wonderful." Hayate said gently, standing up again. "I think you should head back to class now." They all nodded and sped off towards their teacher, who'd been watching quietly. Turning to the others, he gestured up to the Iberion princess and Erak "Shall we join them? I'm sure a tour is more interesting with more people."
"So, Captain Hayate?" Horace asked
"Yes?"
"How did you learn your techniques?" The warrior asked, remembering the previous evening. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Like any skill, with a lot of practice." They walked along a wooden platform, studying the older Guard members as they practiced. The array of different skill sets was incredible, from bow to atlatl, from sling to sword. Curiously, all members seemed to be of the same light build as Wolfpaw and Hayate. "I studied the human body for years and became accustomed to its weak points. It took years to create it as a pure fighting style of its own."
"Wasn't there anything else for you to be doing?' Horace pressed, imagining Castle Arulean. "I mean, you are a prince. Didn't you have courtly duties?"
"Not really." Hayate replied coolly "I am not heir, after all. Nor was I ever the favorite child. After Her Highness died, I was mainly left on my own."
"Your mother died?" The princess asked softly "That must have been hard, to be all alone."
"I missed her, but I was not alone. I had my friends." Hayate said firmly "Long before we founded the Guard we were together, misfits roaming the city."
"How did you create the Guard?" Halt asked
"My father wished me to lead a troop, to 'make me a man'. So I chose my ten closest allies, who nobody seemed to want or appreciate." Hayate shrugged "The army emphasized strength, and brute force had never been part of any of us. So we fought together, using what we knew and were good at. The rest simply fell into place as we went along."