OoO( 9 )OoO
The guild was quiet as the two walked the soundless corridors, causing echos of armored and padded footsteps to echo off the walls. Lyle walked heavily towards the armory as the boy followed him, eager to begin his lessons. The warrior stepped inside the massive room, every inch of the wall covered in weapons of all kinds. Swords, daggers, spears, bows, maces, chains, whips, knives, gauntlets, axes, hammers, and many other kinds of weapons completely covered the stone wall behind them.
Michael stared, awestruck at the sight of the weapons. "Your first lesson of being a hero..." he said as he walked over next to the wall and stood. "You must have a weapon." he said.
"Which do I pick?" asked the young boy, excited about having his own weapon.
"You don't." said the warrior. Michael looked at him confusedly. "You do not choose which weapon you wield. It chooses you." he said. Looking at the wall, he scanned them all, letting his eyes wash over the sea of blades. Looking them over, he came to stare at one weapon in particular. Reaching up, he lifted a spear from the wall and hefted it.
Lyle smiled. "How does it feel?" he asked him.
"It's heavy...I won't be able to swing it very well..." said the boy as he held it. "But it feels like I've held it before. Like I was meant to." he said.
"Good, that's just what we are looking for." said the warrior. "But for now, you will be using this." he said, then took the spear, setting it on the wall and handing him a thinner, much lighter wooden spear. "You will use this until you get used to using the weapon, then we can start training with the real thing. Alright?" he asked.
The boy nodded, staring at the wooden one. "This is worn down a lot. Has someone used it before?" he asked.
"Yes...a very close friend of mine used that when she lived here. We both trained from about your age." he said.
Michael looked at him, then back at the spear. "This was Whisper's, right?"
Lyle, taken by surprise, looked shocked. "How did you know?" he asked.
"I heard about the Arena. I have wanted to be a hero since I could walk. So any stories about heroes that came through the taverns I listened to closely." he said. Lyle nodded understanding. Michael then smiled. "You were actually my favorite hero when I was younger." he said.
Lyle smirked. "Is that right? Well, don't think I'll take it light on you because you have good taste." he said sarcastically. "Now, lets start your training. Come out to the melee circle with me." he said. Nodding, he followed the warrior, grasping the wooden spear firmly in his hands.
OoOoO
Outside the sun shone bright over the battle circle. Michael stood holding the spear in two hands while another apprentice holding a wooden sword stood across from him. The white haired warrior thought for a moment, then smirked. Now he just needed Thunder over his shoulder yelling at the boy and the scene would be set. It was as if time was replaying itself.
"Remember, he has a little more experience with a sword than you have with your weapon, so don't worry if you lose." said Lyle. Suddenly, the guildmaster walked up and stood next to Lyle with a smile.
"Using positive reinforcement I see." said the older man.
Lyle nodded. "I think I'll leave Thunder's teaching method for when I fight Jack. Who knows, I might hurt his feelings." he said, causing the guildmaster to chuckle out loud. "He was a good teacher though. However, I prefer to do things the way I learned." he said, remembering the care that Elizabeth had put into teaching him alchemy, and how Alex taught him to use a bow. "I haven't had much experience with a spear, but I'm sure he will take to it like Whisper did."
Nodding, the older man smiled. "Indeed. She was a fine warrior. The two of you together were near unstoppable. I fear that any hero in the guild at that time would have lost if you two had double teamed them." he said.
Michael started the match by thrusting forward. The young apprentice smacked the wooden spear aside with his wooden blade, then swung at him in a parry. A shocked look covered the faces of everyone watching when Michael bent backwards at an insane angle, keeping himself propped up by one hand. The sword missed, and the boy flipped back onto his feet.
Lyle smiled in awe at the sight. "It seems Thunder gave him some encouragement after all." he said. Michael swung his spear at the boy, who blocked, but took a blow to the arm due to the force of the attack. Backing up, the boy started to strafe and stare at the young warrior, looking for an opening. He found one when Michael went to attack him, and he ducked under the spear thrust then struck out, jabbing the tip of the sword into the boys stomach.
Groaning from the blow, Michael held the sore spot on his stomach as Lyle called him over. "Sorry...I didn't expect him to attack from so low..." he said. Lyle smiled and set his hand on the boys head.
"No worries. You did your best, which is a lot better than I thought it would be." he said. "Did Thunder teach you that?"
Michael nodded. "Some of it yes. He taught me a little self defense and martial arts, but only enough to defend myself from the other kids and my brother. He said that he wouldn't teach me more because my father wouldn't allow me to be a hero." he said. "The rest I taught myself...or tried to anyway."
"You did very good. Better than I did when I first started." he said, making the boy look up at him. "Cummon, now that I know your strengths, lets start working on your weaknesses."
"My weaknesses?" asked the boy.
"Yes. You can never get rid of weakness. But a man can make himself infinitely more powerful by knowing what his weakness is." said the warrior as he walked with the boy away from the ring. Ahead, he saw his friend, the mage walking towards him. "And when you find others weaknesses..." he said smirked and cracking his knuckles. "Always use them to your advantage..." he finished. Michael looked up at him, taking the knowledge in, when suddenly the two came face to face and attacked each other.
The boy stood staring at the two as they broke out and were surrounded again by fans and gamblers yelling and passing gold. He smiled as he saw the smiles on the two guys faces as they beat each other senseless. "I guess that's what real brothers do." he said smiling to himself and watched in interest.
OoOoO
"Wow...I think I got rusty while you were gone." said Van as he stretched his aching arm. Lyle flexed lightly, proud of finally beating the mage in a wrestling match. "Don't get cocky. It was a one time thing." Said the mage, smirking at Lyle's proud demeanor.
"Right then. You let me know when you are ready for a rematch." Said the warrior.
"Don't I always." Asked his friend. Turning to the boy, he smiled and held out his hand. "Hey, I'm…"
"Van, the Chaos." Said Michael excitedly.
"Chaos? That's what they are calling me?" he asked amused.
"They said its because every time you fight, you use magic that people haven't seen before. You were even said to have helped create the ability to stop time with will power."
Van stared at him dumbly for a moment, then looked at Lyle. "Where do they come up with this?" he asked, then shook the boys hand. "You can just call me Van. I'm the headmaster and alchemy teacher here at the guild. I take it you will be one of my new students?" he asked.
"I'm afraid not…" said Lyle. Van looked up at him questioningly. "I will be training him myself. Not as a part of the guild." He said.
"Why is that?" asked the mage.
Lyle looked at Van for a moment, then turned to Michael. "Hey, are you hungry?" he asked. The boy nodded. "Go through that door and talk to the guy across the counter. Tell him that I sent you." He said and the boy nodded and ran off. Turning back to Van, he sat down. "When I rescued him back in Witchwood, we were talking and I saw something in him. I can't really tell what it was, but I know I saw something familiar in the way he spoke to me."
"But you realize that not being trained by the guild means that he is not held to the code of honor accustomed to the guild, and that he cannot graduate and receive the guild seal." Asked the warrior.
Lyle nodded. "I stopped using the guild seal after what happened to Alex. Look how I turned out." Said Lyle. Van nodded in acknowledgment. "Besides, I want to teach him in an environment where there is no competition. I don't want him to feel inferior or superior to others he grows up around. I know that I had that problem when I first graduated. I showed a lot of attitude and disregard for those around me. All that mattered was the next quest." He said.
Van smiled. "That's true, but a little competition is healthy, don't you think?" he asked shoving the warrior.
Lyle laughed, knowing that Van was talking about their constant guild grudge matches. "Well, know that I will only be training him alone. He will still be a member of the community here. I would just like to try this one myself. After all, I've never really put any effort into anyone except myself. Maybe its time that I start thinking about someone else." He said.
Van stared at the warrior stupidly before reaching forward and punching him in the face. Lyle yelled angrily and glared at him. "What the hell did you do that for!?" he shouted.
"I was making sure this wasn't a dream…" said the mage.
"You are supposed to hit yourself to find out it's a dream!" yelled the warrior.
"I think our hero finally grew a heart." Said Van, smirking at Lyle. Lyle was about to jump on the mage and make him suffer in round two, but thought the better of it and just smiked.
"I guess you are right." He said shrugging.
"Speaking of hearts, the ship to Snowspire will be ready in a few days. We of course couldn't manage to get a barge or merchant ship to take us there. Everyone is scared to death of the mist there for some reason and won't even talk about the place. So I had to gather some gold together and buy a ship." He said rather irritated.
"Ouch…how much are you out?" asked Lyle.
"Doesn't matter. We needed something to get to the island, and now we do. It will be finished and loaded in about two days. We are all meeting in Hook Coast at that time."
Lyle nodded. "I'll be there." He said, then stared up at the sky.