Ch. 10: Training Day
Morning finally came, the warm sun shining along the land of Selius. Seth leaned against a marble wall. A piece of paper layed in front of him on the floor.
Commander Seth:
The apparent enemy has attacked the city of Rolburr, but have been routed. No serious casualties to report, however much of Rolburr is in ruin. I will send another update within the week.
Captain Gorr
The knight gazed out over the ruined city of Signa. His thoughts were centered around the disaster before him and the city of Rolburr. Two major cities. Both attacked within the same time period; it wasn't coincidence. Seth fiddled with the hilt of his sword as his eyes peeled away from the scenery outside to the bright room he was in. The marble flooring and walls shined due to the sunlight, causing him to squint a little. A single chair rested in the middle of the room. Tied to the chair, gagged and bound, was a short man in black armor. Seth had recently finished interrogating him, but gathered little information.
The enemy soldiers were calling themselves allies of the Desert Kingdom. They were ordered by the General to attack specific cities on certain days of the year. From what Seth could tell, the General had overthrown the King and took control of the mysterious kingdom. Father..be safe.. The knight closed his eyes and allowed a deep sigh to escape him. Although glad that the King wasn't behind this upcoming war, Seth knew the road ahead was going to be harsh. The head General of the Desert Kingdom; Samil. His infamous reputation had made him the image of death. Recently, however, with the arrival of the White Wolf and Jade Eagle of Rolburr, Samil's reputation was slipping. Still, Seth knew the General's ways. The man was extreme when it came to a fight. He'd sacrifice everything he held dear for one single victory. It's this incredible lust for a fight that gave the General the name that haunts the lands of Selius to this day; The Bloody General.
Seth couldn't worry about that man now though. He had a mission to carry out. But, at the moment, that mission was put on hold. So Seth leaned farther back against the cool marble wall and closed his eyes. His body relaxed while his mind wandered about inside his head. Images of lushes gardens and crystal clear waterfalls enveloped his sense. The knight could smell the dozens of plants and feel the crisp morning air brush against his skin. A girl was walking into a beautifully clear blue lake. Her skin was perfect, and rose red lips stretched into a smile. Her clothes dropped off her form as she slid into the water, motioning him in. He slowly followed in after her, their bodies embracing each other in their perfect world.
"Commander!" Seth snapped awake. He pushed himself off the floor, rubbing the back of his slightly stiff neck. His eyes focused on the hefty Captain standing in the doorway. "Sir. There's a message for you from Tellius." "Tellius?" He mimicked. "What the blazes do they want?" Moving over to the Captain, he grabbed the piece of parchment. His eyes narrowed and a sigh escaped him. "Ready the men. This battle isn't over yet."
XxXxXx
"You've got to be kidding me.." Brissa flopped down onto the ground, staring up at Tye. "You're going to teach me how to fight?" "Yep." "What about Aubrey?" "I don't know how to use a spear." The girl gave her friend a look of annoyance before standing back up. "You wanted to teach me didn't you?" "Eh. I thought it'd be fun." Brissa playfully shoved Tye back. "I could leave if you want." "No, no." She giggled a little and unsheathed her swords. "Teach me how to fight." "Ok." Tye drew his own weapon, and swung it at her. "Ah! Hey!" Brissa ducked and jumped back. "Are you nuts?" "This is how you'll learn to fight. Just try to block my attacks." Blinking, she sighed a bit and shook her head. "You are nuts.." The girl bit her bottom lip and raised her weapons. "Ok, let's go." Her friend nodded and swung his sword again at her. She loosely blocked it, almost loosing her grip on the sword. Tye attacked again, correcting her after each blow. "Move your feet faster! Grab onto the hilts tighter, you don't want to lose them. Don't look at your feet, look at me. There you go." She blocked another strike from him, and tried to counter back. But Tye easily grabbed her wrist and pushed her back. "Only counter when you have a clear opening." Tye spun his sword around in front of her, hacking away at the air around her. "Remember B. You have two swords, not one." Brissa took a deep breath and swung one of the blades towards Tye. He blocked it. The girl's second blade swooped up from beneath her. Tye grabbed a hold of her wrist once more, sidestepping past the oncoming attack. His hand tightened on her wrist and yanked her off balance. "Ow! Hey watch it Tye." The boy released his grip and gave her a smirk. "If I were an enemy soldier, I wouldn't have let go. You gotta think one step ahead of your opponent. Try to think up what will happen next." The girl tilted her head to the side as her mind pondered the advice. "Think what'll happen next..I think I got it.." "Good. Then try to knock me off my feet." Sheathing his sword, Tye cracked his knuckles and gave her another smirk. Brissa spun the twin blades around and swung for his body. Her thoughts focused on each attack, honing in on every aspect of the fight. This is so weird..It almost feels natural... Brissa's arms reacted on their own, moving about in an elegant dance almost. Her entire body enveloped itself into the battle. Her mind raised with excitement. She could feel each swing becoming more precise, more powerful. How am I doing this? "That's it. Don't loose that focus B." Tye rolled under an oncoming swing and hopped up onto a stack of barrels. The girl jabbed the bottom two, pulling them out from underneath her friend. Tye quickly flipped back onto the earth behind the falling barrels, kicking one of them away. "Smart move B." The swordsman unsheathed his blade once more and slid into a low stance. "Now I'm gonna have to go all out on you." Giving him an evil smile, Brissa, almost instinctively, slid into her own stance. "Don't get upset if I beat you, ok?"
XxXxXx
"FIRE!" "Ah! Hey watch it Kyrie!" "Huh?" Kyrie peeked over her shoulder to Alex. He had jumped out of the way of the fire ball that had exploded in the ground where he once stood. "You could've singed me." "Sorry." Kyrie shifted her gaze back to the target that settled into the ground several yards away. Large holes covered the area around it, and one of the nearby pillars had been blown away. "Are you sure this is the best way to learn magic?" "Nope." "Wha? Then why am I doing this?" Alex tugged the long bow off his torso and pulled an arrow out of the quiver at his side. "This is just teaching you how to aim. Magic can be used up close, or far away. You need to learn how to use it both ways." "Ohh. So it's like shooting an arrow?" "Yeah, kinda." Alex cocked the string back on his bow and shot the arrow at the target. A loud Thud echoed in the empty courtyard as the arrow hit the center of the bulls-eye. "How'd you learn to shoot so well?" "I practiced. You know, before we even came here, I already knew how to use a bow." "Really?" "Yeah. I took a couple lessons a few years back." Drawing back the string once more, Alex fired a second arrow into the target. "But how do you know if it's gonna hit?" "I dunno. I just feel it." "You feel it?" "Yep. I just fire and feel whether it's gonna hit or not." Kyrie blinked a few times, trying to wrap her mind around the idea. "Alex you aren't making any sense.." The bowman gave his friend a smile, pulling the bow back over his frame. "When have I ever made any sense?" "Good point."
XxXxXx
Aubrey sighed slightly in the large training room. "I didn't know this thing would be so hard to use." Gazing at the long spear in her arms, the girl gave herself a smirk. "But. It's such a beautiful weapon." Along the spear, different designs winded up it's frame. Near the blade was a ring of bright green emeralds. The spearhead itself was rather sharp, and the weight of the weapon was much more lighter than Aubrey would've guessed. "At least I know how to use you now." She jumped suddenly when the steel door creaked open. Her four friends all walked in, covered in water. Alex and Tye were shirtless, and Aubrey giggled at her boyfriend's annoyed look. "What happened to you guys?" Taking a seat next to her, Tye shook the water out of his hair and gave her a kiss. "Kyrie decided to try and do a new spell." Laughing, Alex took a seat across from the two. "I told you she could pull it off." "Yeah thanks for that Ky." Nudging her sister, Brissa took a seat next to Alex. Kyrie, meanwhile, tried as best she could to not burst out laughing. "Sorry guys. But it was really funny when you all flipped out." "You'd freak too if you saw a fifty foot wave trying to eat you." Alex mimicked his words by opening and closing his hands, making everyone roar with laughter. "So the first day of your training is done. How was it?"
Looking around, the girls each thought about their earlier practices. "It wasn't as bad as I thought." Nodding in agreement, Kyrie sat down on the opposite side of Alex and leafed through her tome. "It was a lot of fun too." "Ha! My training was anything but fun." Giving Brissa a cold look, Tye stared at her before wrapping his arm around Aubrey's shoulder. "What's that supposed to mean?" Giggling, Aubrey kissed his cheek. "Lets face it hun, you tend to get a little worked up when it comes to fighting." "No I don't." "Don't lie Tye!" Alex piped up, throwing his wet shirt onto his friend. Throwing it back, Tye gave the three across from him an evil smile. "I could be a lot worse if you want." Wide eyed, the two girls nervously shook their heads while Alex and Aubrey held back their laughter.
XxXxXx
The evening air felt oddly still in the fading light. Cassidy walked carelessly through the gardens, a dark shadow following behind her. "You know you don't have to act like that all the time." Turning around, the princess grabbed the figure's arm and tugged him along. "Tsk, what do you mean act like that?" "I mean the way you act like you're the worst thing alive." The figure stopped and turned his head. "I don't act like that.." Giggling, Cassidy tugged the bulky black hood off his head. "Hey!" "Quiet. I'm ordering you to loosen up a bit." Hazel eyes shot out from the dark silhouette and long brown hair flowed out. The hair was tied back in a ponytail, yet several of the bangs fell over Shawn's face. The lost friend looked tired, yet had a sense of determination about him. "If anyone sees me." "You're fine Shawn. You need to relax for a change." "..Sorry.." Giggling again, Cassidy took a seat on a marble bench close to the bushes of red roses. "Why haven't you shown yourself to your friends yet?" Eyeing the princess, Shawn cleared his throat. "I was going to..But then the little problem of an invasion popped up." "Oh, I see." "Although..I think Tye knows it's me.." "Hm? Really?" Shawn nodded his head, resting against a stone pillar. "They'll soon realize who I am. I guess you can say I'm messing around with them." The girl gave Shawn a warm smile, which quickly changed, along with her face, to a more curious look. "You know. You never told me what you did before we met." "I didn't?" "No. You always said 'Some other time.'" Shifting his gaze away from her, Shawn lowered his head. "..Maybe some other time." "No. I'm curious Shawn. What happened to make you like this?" The boy scratched the side of his head and examined the stone pathway. "..It's not very appealing.." "I don't care. I want to know." Heaving a sigh, Shawn's gaze returned to the princess.
"..Alright..As you already know; like the others, I'm not from here. I first came here about five months before I met you. At first, I thought I was in a dream. But I soon realized all this was real." Shawn's attention changed to the pink sky above him. He watched several birds fly over them, his mind winding back. "The first thing I did was learn how to fight. I found a town near Dragon's Lake, and a local blacksmith taught me how to fight. He taught me a lot of things..Come to think of it, he was more like an older brother than a random blacksmith.."
XxXxXx
"There you are Shawn!" "Sorry Ed. The fish must've been scared today." Shawn walked into the weapons shop, a bag slung over his shoulder. His knee high brown boots were soaked. Tucked into his boots, and also wet, were a pair of loose gray pants. A large black belt fit around his waist, and covered the lower portion of his sleeve-less red shirt. His brown hair was long and dangled around his head, most of his bangs falling over his face and covering his hazel eyes. "Well at least you got some." Standing behind a counter, Edward, the local blacksmith, studied Shawn. "Did you go into the lake to get them?" "Well my pole broke." Edward let out a loud laugh, followed by a small sigh. The blacksmith looked slightly older than Shawn. He had long jet-black hair that fell over his shoulders. A pair of brown pants were fitted loosely around his legs. His black boots looked worn down and scuffed up. A tight-fitting white shirt rested on Edward's frame, showing off his muscular build.
"You know Ed, if you keep wearing skin tight clothes, the girls might rape you." Laughing again, Edward walked over to Shawn and patted his shoulder. "Not if they get you first." The younger of the two took a deep breath and carefully sneaked over to a nearby window. Peering outside, Shawn caught glimpse of one of the village girls that loved to hang around the shop. "Yeah you're right. I need to be less handsome." The two stared at each other for several seconds before bursting out laughing. "You're a moron sometimes." Quieting down, the two walked to the back of the shop. Shawn dropped the bag of fish onto a wooden table positioned against the back wall. "So when do we eat?" "After you make your rounds. "Awwh, come on Ed. I'm starving." Eyeing his friend, Edward shook his head. "Nope. You know the rules. All the men get to play guard duty until dusk." "Well then why aren't you doing it?" "I have to run the shop." Sighing, Shawn slowly nodded. "Alright, alright. But when I get back those fish had better be ready to eat." Edward nodded towards the rucksack that lazily hung on the wall. "Don't forget that." Shawn pulled the bag off the wall and rummaged through it. He withdrew a long whip which he fastened to his belt. Placing the bag over his shoulder, Shawn waved goodbye and headed back out to the center of town.
The small city was nestled on the edge of Dragon's Lake. Legend says that one million years ago, before humans existed, dragons roamed about the world. They made their homes on the banks of this lake. The old books say that this was also where the dragons perished. No one knows how or why. So, the body of water became known as Dragon's Lake. Shawn walked through the town, waving to people and talking with several shop owners. Despite being here only a short time, he had been accepted into the townspeople's lives. As he approached the center of town, he lost his footing, almost falling. "What the?" Looking behind him, he spotted a girl bent over, trying to grab something. "Hey Carol what are you doing?" "Hm?" Standing up, the girl tilted her head. "I dropped something. Do you think you can help me find it?" "Um..Sure. What is it?" "It's a necklace my grandmother gave me before she died. I took it off to clean it and it fell somewhere around here." Shawn scratched his chin a bit, peering around the area. "Are you sure it's not in your pocket or something?" "Why on earth would I be looking for it if it was in my pocket?" "Well sorry. I was just asking.." Giggling, Carol bumped into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're so cute when you're clueless." His face turning red, Shawn shifted his gaze off to the side. "Hey, shouldn't you be getting home soon? It's getting late." Carol tilted his head back to face her and gave him a small frown. "What's wrong? Don't you like me?" His face turning a brighter red, Shawn nervously looked around. "Um..of course I do..But uh..I don't think this is such a good idea.." "And why's that?" "Well uh..." "Hey! What do you think you're doing to my daughter!" "Uh-oh!" Shawn pulled away from Carol and ran off down the street. "Hey you little punk, get back here!"
Shawn dove into a pile of hay, trying to catch his breathe. Geez..What's with that girl.. He waited a couple minutes before emerging from the straw. Brushing himself off, the boy made his way back to the center of town. The usual group was sitting about, waiting for their last member. "Hey there he is!" "What took you so long, huh Shawn?" "I bet he was with another girl. Ya can't seem to pick one can ya." "It's not like that!" The group roared with laughter, all of them spying the bright pink on Shawn's face. "Damn it you guys!" Quieting down, the group rounded up their items and headed for the outskirts of town. "Alright, tonight be on your guard. The local bandits have been sited not too far from here." Shawn had been paired with a younger boy named Darin. He was the usual troublemaker in the town, but was good with an axe.
"So which girl was it this time?" Shawn gave the youth a small glare. :I wasn't doing anything with her!" "Ah! But you were with a girl still!" Shawn shook his head and sighed. Regardless of what he'd say, they all joked about that. It didn't bother him that much though. But if he acted like it wasn't a big deal, they all might come to hate his cockiness. Plus, he really didn't like how every girl threw herself at him. "Hey, did you hear something?" "Huh?" Shawn quickly scanned the low lit area. The sun had just set behind the mountains, but there was still a bit of light out. It was bright enough to see at least. The two boys cautiously walked along the edge of the town, nervously studying everything that made a sudden noise. "There it is again!" "Calm down Darin. It's probably a rabbit." "That sounded awfully big for a rabbit." "..Good point. Ok, wait here. If I'm not back in five minutes come find me." "Right." Shawn unhooked the whip at his side and made his way into the dense patch of trees in front of him.
Man, it's a lot darker in here.. Shawn carefully walked through the small forest. The floor was littered with broken twigs and leaves, making his stealth useless. Suddenly, he froze. A low growl emitted around him, growing louder. Shawn snapped the whip out towards the bushes around him. He heard a sharp whimper, followed by the sound of a fleeing coyote. That stupid thing almost scared me half to death.. "What's wrong with you?" "Ah!" Shawn spun around, his whip lashing out to the voice coming from behind him. "Ow! Hey, watch it Shawn!" Laying on the ground in front of him, Edward rubbed his side and slowly pulled himself up. "Ed? What the hell are you doing here?" "I closed up early. Figured you'd freak out if I weren't here." "I'm fine, see?" "Oh really?" Edward laughed, rubbing his side again. "You call whipping your friend fine?" "Sorry about that.." The older of the two shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'd be scared too if I were in here by myself." "Heh.." Shawn shifted his attention back to his previous spot, eyeing the bushes closely. "What's up?" "Nothing..Just this weird feeling." Another rustling came from a larger set of bushes several feet off. The two boys reacted immediately and charged into the bushes.
They were met with a hard hit to the back of their heads. Both boys slumped onto the forest floor, losing consciousness. Before Shawn passed out though, he could make out a voice. "That's the last two. Round up the rest of the gang. Tonight, we're gonna have a real fun time in this here town."