Me:yeah yeah i know its been ages well so what, its not like i meant to take long, but writers block kept me from finishing this thing, okay? Anyway heres the next chapter.
Chapter 15
"Croix, are you certain that this boy is qualified to be a member of the Holy Guard?" a teal haired woman asked the swordmaster. "Yes, Sigrun honey, I am quite certain that he is more than qualified for it, besides didn't you say that the Holy Guard was a little short-handed as of late?" Croix asked the now named Sigrun. "I think we should at least test him, If what Captain Croix says is true then his apprentice would be a valuable asset to the Holy Guard, general." another woman told her commanding officer. "Very well Tanith, Croix, I'll give you one week to prepare your apprentice. In the meantime we have other pressing matters to attend to, such as thieves in the Grann Desert." Sigrun explained. "Thieves huh? Sigrun be honest, they're not thieves, thieves steal from just about anyone and kill them in the process to make sure they don't talk. These guys you're trying to deal with have never stolen a single object from anyone since they started stirring up trouble a few years ago." Croix lectured the Holy Guard leader. With that said Sigrun and Tanith left Croix's home to attend to their business while Croix himself decided to get to work on Shadow's training.
Speaking of Shadow, the entire time his teacher was talking to his fiance, he was sleeping soundly in a nice, comfy bed. A few hours later Shadow awoke to the sound of pots clashing overhead. "Wake up Shadow we've got training to do." Croix said passing his apprentice's gear over to him. "Why so early sensei?" Shadow asked groggily. "Because my boy, we're preparing you for a test to see if you're worthy of being in the Holy Guard." Croix said continuing to give Shadow his gear. "With all due respect sensei, I don't think I'm ready to be in the Holy Guard." Shadow said wondering why he was being tested in the first place. "Ah but that is where you're wrong my young apprentice, you are more than ready for this test." Croix reassured. "If that's the case sensei then why are you training me anyway?" Shadow asked giving his teacher a quizzical look. "Shadow you have one week before the test and I will not allow you to laze about when you could spend that time training plus you need to understand just what you're up against." Croiz explained. "I'm sorry sensei it's just that I'm not used to waking up so early and I'm trying to figure out why you want me to prepare I mean just what is this test anyway?" Shadow apologized.
Shadow was now regretting what he asked because as soon as he saw the look in his teachers eyes he knew that whatever the test was it was sure to be dangerous. "Well since you asked I'll tell you, this test involves one-on-one combat with an actual member of the Holy Guard, most likely an officer in your case." Croix said smirking. Shadow gulped, he wasn't expecting to fight an officer, his mind was abuzz with many possible opponents including the commanding officer and Croix's fiance, Sigrun. "s-s-Sensei, what are the chances of me having to fight your fiance?" Shadow asked nervously. "In your case the chances are high but not too high, you'll probably fight Commander Tanith, Sigrun's second in command, or lower." Croix answered honestly. Shadow breathed a sigh of relief, if it's Tanith who's his opponent then he might just pass, Sigrun on the other hand was a different story, the boy thought that there was no way in hell he'd pass fighting her not after the demonstration he bore witness too a few weeks back.
Flashback
In the center of a Begnion training field was a large crowd of soldiers and civilians. Apparently someone let loose some information that the leader of the Holy Guard was going to demonstrate a small portion of her power to some soldiers who thought they were better than her. Shadow and Croix approached the general in question to introduce Shadow to her before the match. "Sigrun honey, this is my apprentcie Shadow. Shadow this is my fiance and leader of the Holy Guard, Sigrun." Croix introduced the two to each other. "A pleasure to meet you Shadow I hear from my husband-to-be that you're a very promising swordsman." Sigrun said. "Likewise I'm sure general, to be honest I'm a little ambarassed, my sword style is self taught and therefore contains various flaws that anyone could see and utilize to their advantage so I'm hoping Croix-sensei can help me in that regard." Shadow explained.
Minutes after the intorduction Sigrun was seen near the center of the human ring that was the battlefield with two warriors facing her. Sigrun was dressed in her traditional Holy Guard attire which consisted of silver armor over a white shirt and light blue pants. Her weapon of choice was a iron lance which was odd considering she was at a disadvantage against two axe-wielding warriors. Although Shadow wasn't paying attention to Sigrun's opponents mocking he could already tell that they were all talk. "Five thousand gold says Sigrun wipes the field with them." Croix said confidently. "You would expect anything less from your bride-to-be Croix?" Tanith asked. to be honest with herself the Holy Guard's second in command knew better than to ask since Croix was well known to being faithful to those he cares about, now wouldn't be any different. "Now Tanith, you should know better than to ask me such things, I mean really what kind of husband wouldn't stand behind their wife in such things?" Croix asked with a smirk.
All Shadow did was blink and the match was over. Croix and Tanith snickered at the position Sigrun's opponents were in, though who wouldn't after seeing the two in what appeared to be the 69 position at the end of the match with their weapons completely shattered. "And that ladies and gentlemen is why you never fuck around with my fiance." Croix stated with amusement. "Croix, hunny you really should watch your language especially around the children." Sigrun scolded. Shadow honestly didn't care about his teacher's language so much. The one thing he did care about was facing Sigrun down in one-on-one combat, knowing that he would probably be dead in seconds. It didn't help Shadow's concern when said woman fought her two opponents with an iron lance, one of the two weakest brands made when it was on the verge of breaking itself.
End Flashback
Shadow shuddered at the memory while in the back of his mind the goddess he keeps sealed away was laughing uncontrollably. 'Ami please stop laughing it isn't funny.' Shadow thought. 'yes it is you were brave enough to tell Ike not to hold back in that sparring match but one demonstration from your teacher's wife-to-be and you start cowaring it's hilarious.' said goddess exclaimed. Ignoring Ami to avoid a verbal confrontation, Shadow paid close attention to what his teacher's explanation of his training. "The first thing we're going to work on is your stance, while it is decent it could also stand to use a little more polishing so to speak, after which we'll go into striking speed and strength, you with me so far?" Croix asked. Shadow nodded a yes and his teacher continued right up until the man said "chakra building exercises" that peaked the boys curiosity. "Sensei what do you mean by 'chakra building exercises' what is chakra anyway?" Shadow voiced his curiosity. "Well to put it simply chakra is the energy used in various techniques and spells." Croix explained. "Now then we should start your training immediately that way you can get somewhat of an edge over your opponent, despite popular belief, the Holy Guard tend to spy on potential recruits to try and locate any and all weaknesses in their fighting styles which is why we'll be going to a secluded area to train." Croix continued to say.
The secluded location Croix spoke of was in the northeastern area of the Serenes Forest. A large clearing surrounded by dozens of trees and in the center of the clearing were what appeared to be training posts that have some minor damage done to them. As Shadow continued to examine the training ground he heard his teacher say "I rarely ever use this place for anything other than training and meditation and even in training I didn't do too much damage considering an incident that took place 20 years ago." Shadow had already heard from Sephiran about the Serenes massacre so to not have a hint of shock written on his face was pretty normal in Croix's eyes. "Anyway this is where we will be training for the next week, now then get into your stance and show me what you got." Croix ordered.
Me: Well how do you like this one, good, bad, or do you not care as long as its up and not discontinued?