Lloyd huffed as much breath as possible before lifting his sword to deflect the attack. He parried the blunt blade heading for his shoulder with his left as he swung his sword in his right towards the midsection of his assailant. The dark-haired man parried with his fist, sending Lloyd's sword aside. Lloyd was left open, and the man heaved a heavy kick towards his gut. Lloyd avoided the kick in a last-second dodge but stumbled to the side. After a brief moment, he steadied his feet in the grassy field. The heaviness of a prolonged fight began to weigh on his muscles. He needed to end this quickly. Lloyd slashed forward with a flurry of strikes. The first few were side-stepped while the man sent the last two aside with a few fast flicks from his sword. His opponent only carried one sword, sometimes wielding it in a two-handed stance while at other times choosing to use it with a single hand. The man switched into the single-hand stance as Lloyd sent a quick jab with his right-hand sword into his opponent's midsection. The broad-shouldered man, yet again, swatted away the blade with his free palm, no blood drawn. The momentum of the parry carried Lloyd leftward, which exposed his rear flanks. A swift attack came before Lloyd could recover, and he felt the blunt impact connect with his back. He stumbled forward a few feet before regaining his balance. Not wanting to give in to the pain, Lloyd attempted to ignore it as he swiftly turned around. He saw that his opponent had dropped his weapon and now stood with his arms crossed.

"Lookin' a little slow today," Regal said between labored breaths.

Lloyd shook his head before sheathing his blades. "Yeah, not sure what is up. I just felt a step behind that whole fight," Lloyd said with equally strained breaths before sitting on the ground.

"Meh, we all have our off days. How does your back feel?" Regal asked as he sat down next to his brother.

Lloyd was too focused on his pride to truly notice how hard he got hit. "I can feel it, that's for sure," Lloyd said as he massaged his back. "Could have let up a little bit," Lloyd said with a smile.

"Nah, you wouldn't want that anyway."

Lloyd nodded in recognition. The Corrupted out there wouldn't let up when they fought, so there was no reason to train with anything else other than a hundred percent. Lloyd heard clapping from behind him toward the town's briar barrier. Lloyd slowly turned to see a massive man walking towards them.

His brother stood around six feet tall, and his broad shoulders made him a menace to pass in cramped corridors. That being said, the man approaching them now made Regal look small. He stood over six and a half feet tall, shoulders as broad as most doors were tall. His tanned skin, long blonde hair that dropped below his shoulders, and deep blue eyes made him both a terrifying figure and, at the same moment, one that you felt you could approach. He wore a chainmail shirt underneath a blue tabard containing two crossed red swords, the symbol of the King's Guard.

"Uncle Gareth!" Lloyd yelled before standing up and walking towards the behemoth man, immediately forgetting the pain in his back. "When did you get in?"

Stolen story; please report.

"Just about half an hour ago," Gareth replied as he outstretched his arms.

Gareth quickly pulled Lloyd into a hug and squeezed as hard as he could, the pain in his back rearing its head once again. Lloyd's arms barely made it around the man, and he found his hands on the massive sword on Gareth's back.

"Good to see you," Regal said before getting pulled into his own bear hug, although he fought back as best as he could with his own. The two stayed like that for a few moments before laughing and separating.

Gareth slapped Regal on the arm. "Damn, guys, you both are getting bigger every time I see you." He said.

Lloyd let a low-grown slip. "Really? You say that every time!" Lloyd said.

"It's true every time," Gareth responded.

Lloyd and Regal picked up their gear and returned to the town gates with Gareth. "I'm glad I didn't miss the Ascension. I wasn't sure I would make it in time." Gareth said.

"Why is that?" Regal asked as the gates to Breakwater were beginning to open.

"It's getting bad out there guys. The Citadel is holding just fine, but westward expeditions are becoming deadlier. We are losing guys and gals every week." Gareth said as he briefly looked at his two nephews. "Not to discourage you guys, just want you to be aware. I'm truly thrilled you are making the journey. We will end it quickly with you two and Cassius."

"You could just take us along; then we would be there faster." Lloyd teased.

"Doubtful, the weight of this guy alone would convert us to a snail's pace," Gareth said as he thumbed towards Regal, who returned the comment with a firm punch to Gareth's chainmail-covered arm. Neither of the men was seemingly worse for wear afterward.

"Honestly, though. The strain it would put on my powers to carry both of you would make the journey take about a year. You know that I wouldn't be allowed even if I wanted to. Hell, the way things are going, you guys will probably beat me to the kingdom."

Lloyd frowned even though he knew Gareth was right. To join the King's Guard, you had to prove your worth. That meant traveling to the Citadel unassisted by current members of the Guard. You then had to bring the head of one of your Corrupted kills. Gareth was gifted the ability of teleportation. According to him, the King tasked those who could teleport with information gathering in one of two ways. Gareth served the first role, which teleported around in the eastern territories. Their job was to make yearly rounds to see what potential recruits would attempt to join the Guard. They also doubled as information sources for the isolated towns. Breakwater was lucky that Gareth had these abilities and that the King let him travel home on his route through the kingdom. Gareth was the only one who left Breakwater since the Cataclysm. Breakwater never contained powerful Altered people because they were the farthest from the impact. It was a double-edged sword because the monsters they fought were never that strong either. Gareth was the only one able to because of a mix of his powers and battle prowess, until Regal and Cassius at least. Lloyd hoped.

"I've got to do some official Citadel business for a bit, but I'll catch up with you two during the ceremony," Gareth said before taking off towards the western side of town.

"Yeah, I'm going to pop in with a few people as well. Catch ya later man." Regal said as he extended a fist that was swiftly met by Lloyd's. "Also, you should get that checked out," Regal said as he pointed toward Lloyd's side.

Lloyd ran forward as he tried to kick his brother, but Regal dodged and ran down the road. Lloyd could catch him if he wanted but decided to let him live to see another day. Plus, he should get a quick heal from Lucas.