[https://i.imgur.com/MBYremg.png]
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“From time immemorial the Blood Status had existed within the Regalian Peerage. But the gift was not only within the Regalian Nobility, but it was also once spread across the Trifecta, most prevalent in the Rhaodian Aristocracy before the religion of Thy Mother came to existence. The Marcian Upper-Class were also granted to have the Blood Status, but sparsely, not as prominent as the Regalian Kingdom, but there. It was told that the Blood Status was the machination of the Triumvirate, the ruling council of the Triumvirate Empire that was dated back three millennia ago.”
-----Lesson Notes from Tutor Tonselwift.
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Reanna pivoted, twisting her left foot on the padded dirt, altering her footwork into a thrusting stance within an instance, she thrust. Jayce, Reanna’s current sword instructor, and their Recrest Household guard, neatly avoids her thrust by stepping to the side. He then countered with a side slash, aiming for her leather greaves.
Reanna lent back to avoid the blunted edge. As she exited from the swing, the tip of Jayce’s rapier lightly taps her cloth and leather layered stomach.
“Point! Lady Reanna.” Jayce said out loud.
“Call me Reanna!”
Reanna aggrieved at the point, and the title, she shouldered her roiling rage by quickly using the angle in which Jayce has swung his rapier, to spring her rapier into his exposed side. Jayce flicks back his rapier to slap the center of Reanna’s blunted rapier out from its intended target. Reanna knowing that this action would occur, lax her grip to overforce Jayce parried slap into an opening which Reanna took. She closed the gap with her upper body and use her left shoulder to shoulder Jayce’s open chest.
Pushing him and her into the padded dirt with a thump. Her on top of Jayce, she lightly taps the pommel onto his throat to call point. “Point.” Reanna smugly said. Jayce surprised face was her only reply.
“Uhmm,” Jayce staring up Reanna’s torso than up to her flush face. “Lady Reanna?”
Reanna's face went crimson red, finally comprehending their odd position, with her sitting atop Jayce’s stomach. She furiously blushes rouge through her freckles. Quickly she stood up off her friend and hastily step few paces away with her back turned to him.
“I beg pardon Jayce, I didn't mean to let it get out of hand.” She rushes to say.
Jayce palming the dirt to get himself off onto his feet, dusted himself. He nodded to her turned form. “It’s fine, my Lady.” Jayce pants. Reanna thought if Jayce had used a dueling buckler--he would have had the chance to block her tackle; but fortunately for her, he submitted his fate to another draw.
Reanna calming her sensual thoughts about her friend and dueling partner Jayce turned to face him with a nervous smile. Jayce was grinning down at her from a few paces back, rubbing his neck where she bruised him with her pommel. “Sorry…” Reanna said, her hand instinctively on her long red strands of hair at the side of her, pulling. Reanna’s eyes directed themselves down towards Jayce leather boots, not ready to meet his dark-blue eyes. Reanna was nervous and bashful at that moment, and she loathed looking like a delicate lady in front of him. Jayce took a swab dripping with water to clear the sweat glistening on his furrows. It was apparent to Reanna, that Jayce was a handsome young man, and her friend, but it did not stop her from pining for him. ‘Curse my pubescent angst,’ She grunted--kicking small dirt hill into the dust of the padded dueling grounds.
“Are you ready again?” Jayce inquired.
Taking a deep and nervous sigh, Reanna pushes back her pubescent thoughts, out from the forefront of her mind, into the sequestered hidden hopes of heart. Preparing herself, she drew up her rapier and took a ready half-side stance. Her right shoulder was at the front with her rapier and her left foot extended at the back; the primary dueling form to most duellist in the twenty-seventh century.
Jayce saluted her, then did a similar half-side stance--mirroring her.
“Set!”
Reanna familiar with Jayce’s solid and practical dueling style gave her an idea. Not yet ready to clash steel, she steps back a pace--not engaging. Jayce concern, step forward but readied himself for a counter. No counter Reanna was apparent. No other choice, Jayce swang the first strike. The blade was neatly avoided by Reanna’s practiced parry.
Reanna spun to the side then neatly avoiding the following slashes from Jayce. Jayce annoyed with Reanna’s passive approach to the duel, he then continued his precision thrusts and swings to spark a counter from her.
After a one-quarter candle, Reanna performed her tactic. Reanna altered her half-side dueling stance into a Marcian Vetralle Scorpion Stance. Unlike the average dueller stance, with the blade at the front, ready to parry and strike at a moment’s notice, the Vetralle Scorpion stance had the sword at the back and the left foot ahead of the right which was pivoted to the side. This stance left her opened for any frontal assault, as intended. The crutch with Vetralle Scorpion stance was that it wasn’t viable in closed spaces, fortunately for her, they were dueling at the estate’s open garden, with a padded dueling circle at the center.
With this stance, Reanna could continue her passive approach to the duel. The stance would allow her to primary see and dodge any of the opponent's assault, then countering at any time with the final step, the stingtail. The stingtail was the final maneuver of the Vetralle Scorpion stance, a double thrust for each step forward.
Jayce cautious at the change in stance, paused considering. They both circle one another, Jayce sprang his rapier for a thrust randomly trying to provoke Reanna to counter with a maneuver. Reanna feigns a trip to provoke Jayce into committing. He committed with a swing of steel. She neatly avoids the swing by ducking. Expecting a counter from her, Jayce jumps away from her expected right double thrust but unbeknownst to him, was that Reanna swapped the handle to her left hand. At the moment when Jayce avoided her right, she sprung the stingtail into his guts, double-tapping onto leather garb with the blunted point.
“Point match!” Reanna said smugly. Jayce, surprised at the display took a few moments to absorb his defeat. It was a feat, Reanna had practiced alone for several months. When she first started learning to duel, her first instructor, a Braavosi from the Marcian City State of Constinapli discovered her natural ambidextrous ability. The ability to hold the rapier on both hands gave a duellist a surprising advantage against their counterparts. Having such a rare talent, her Braavosi instructor, advised her to practice the same stance with both hands, forcing her center to be flexible whenever she swapped her weapon. With that in mind, and the plethora of sword instructors, her father’s money could buy--from the Dancing Masters of Vetralle to the Rhaodian Squires of Rhaodia and Braavos of the Archipelago; Reanna was considered a natural duellist.
“Congratulation, Lady Reanna. You are too refined for my simple skills.” Jayce slump. When Reanna first met Jayce, he was a cocky young boy, retainer to one of her father’s household retainers. But after years of military training and service to her father, she grew fond of the young man. He was her best friend. Now she was older, and her feelings towards Jayce, who was currently rinsing his handsome face, made her heartbeat inordinately fast.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
The display of Jayce wet before her encouraged her freckled cheeks to redden. Turning away when he turned to face him.
“Being ambidextrous helps it…” She excused. “My moves will get predictable in time.” Reanna downplayed. “If you had a sword-breaker or a buckler, my natural advantage would have been nullified.” She said, still blushing, turned away, and pulling her red locks.
The plethora of excuses she made, made Jayce frown. “My Lady, you don’t need to excuse yourself for being the better duelist for the betterment of my pride.” Jayce catching on continued. “Being exceptional on anything adds to your personage. My Lady.”
Reanna’s blush more furiously than before, like a paper sheltered candlelight, ready to burst into flames. Pulling her autumn red locks, straining her follicles; she stayed silent to Jayce’s praises.
“If you had a stiletto-like one of those Braavosi of Marcia, you’d be able to match any of the Sword Masters of Regalia,” Jayce said. Reanna having experienced being tutored by a Sword Master of Regalia concurred to Jayce’s statement. But stilettos were not considered fashionable in Regalia at the moment. Throughout Marcia or the Archipelago, countries were being a duellist was considered a lifestyle; the stiletto was an essential crossing gear when dueling.
Reanna was staring down at Jayce’s leather boots, avoiding his eyes, so she would not blush again. “Shall we go again?” She asked. Jayce was two years older than her, but it did not stop her from seeking attention from him from a very young age, but now, especially now, it felt like blissful torture to her pubescent thoughts.
Jayce, sighing at Reanna’s eagerness like a duel was a lovely stroll at the gardens--said. “If you insist, Lady Reanna.”
“For the thousandth of times, call me Reanna!”
Reanna sprung, flicking her rapier into a duelist stance. She hurled herself at the unprepared Jayce, with a huge snarling grin plastered on her face. Reanna’s face suddenly distorted into abject horror as she trips against a small mound of dirt, constituting her to hurl into the padded ground. Jayce noticing rushes towards her to catch her fall. They both fall onto the ground with a thump, with her on top and him below.
Jayce, hands on her waist, gently lift her from their tangled form. Reanna was blushing furiously, and he could see it now. The skin contact didn’t help her either. Within that moment, between utter embarrassment and angst, a building desire was shared between the two.
“Reanna Recrest of Registrar!”
They both turned to the sophisticated womanly voice.
“What is the name of Regis, are you doing!”
The affronted voice voiced out.
Reanna dreading, broke contact with Jayce, by hastily standing up and rushing away from Jayce who was also hastily stand up.
“It was an accident mother,” Reanna said.
Her mother, standing ten paces away from them, stood there flustered at the display before her. Rihanna of Regmont, the Baroness of Registrar was irately staring at the two of them.
“Fighting again? How barbaric. I keep telling your father, that It’s unladylike to practice to fight. How many times--”
“It’s not barbaric, mother.” Reanna crossed, crossed her arms.
“Well, however you see it, it’s barbaric, suitable only for the brutes of the world.” Her mother stated.
“Well, Uhm!” Reanna continued with her crossed arms. Her mother, staring at the two of them, had small smirk creeping up at the side of her mouth.
“I hope that was the only thing you were doing.” Her mother said to her with an underlying message underneath the words.
Reanna’s face, pale before, now blushing furiously red again. “NO! Nothing of the sort! Mother!”
“I beg your pardon, Lady Baroness, and you Lady Reanna, for any actions I have caused.” Jayce stiffly apologizes, a nervous tremor in his voice. He steps back from Reanna, a huge distance in point of fact to Reanna. Her sadden at the notice. The utter embarrassment she had earlier, now altered into a pout against her mother.
“Ahem.” Her mother interrupted. “Come on darling. We need to get your brother. It is near the afternoon, and supper is upon us.” She continued.
Her mother came up to Reanna and swirling her arm underneath her armpit to lock both their arms together. Holding onto her, her mother began to drag her off the padded dirt of the dueling grounds away from her friend Jayce. Reanna looking back, saw Jayce, stiffly standing, staring back at her with melancholy silence.
As they continued their walk among one of the many hallways of the Recrest Estate, Reanna could not hold the tension of her shoulders any longer. Her mother’s motherly yet civil demeanor was frustrating Reanna.
“Why did you have to embarrass me so?” Reanna burst.
“Embarrass you so? How so?”
“Uhm…Nevermind!” Reanna grouchily grouch.
“Oh please dear, you were embarrassing yourself.”
“No, I did not. I had everything under my management.”
“You mean, under Ser Jayce, muscular arms.” Her mother saucily taunts.
“Oh--mother!” Reanna groaned.
“Oh--dear!” Her mother sarcastically retorts.
“It’s fine to have a few dalliances, now and then, but nothing to that extreme again.”
“Mother, it was not like that. I tripped.”
“Oh dear, I know you have been pining for that boy, for some time now.”
“I’m not pining for him.”
“He is a member of the Recrafts. Who are loyal retainers to our family.”
“So…?”
“Ser Jayce is of common stock and not viable for a proper marriage. Trust your mother on this one, you don't want to end up like Uncle Rakon.”
Outrage in where this conversation was heading, Reanna removed herself away from her mother’s arm. Ignoring her words, she pressed on opening the parlor room where her brother Regulus was currently at. Her brother Regulus was currently lying upon the Marcian silk carpet, patterned with intricate woven pictograms, telling the story of the Flame of Marcia. At the center of the carpet, was a silhouette of the priestess, as the beacon of the religious depiction. Regulus had a jumble of metal soldier figurines on top of the carpet, haphazardly positioned onto an ongoing battlefield.
Her brother began making cannon noises and a cicada of rifle shots with his lips. Reanna ignoring the battle before she went to the pitcher of water on the porcelain table of the parlor to pour herself a glass, whilst her mother entered the room. Taking a huge gulp of fresh water, she sat down onto the comfy leather chair near her brother.
Her mother, aghast with her behavior, pouted her lips towards her than turned towards her brother with a loving smile. As such, as is, her mother attacked her younger brother with hugs and kisses, interrupting his imaginative battle. Reanna could see Regulus was annoyed at the interruption, but soldier through it for the chance of continuing his mock battle before him. Brother was smart like that, she thought, instead of arguing with mother, he just lets the inevitable come to the past.
Reanna taking a deep sighed, laid her head at the back of the leather edge, looking up at the wooden ceiling before her. Thinking of red blood patterns of the Marcia carpet, her Blood Status began to slowly display.
{User: Default}
{Class Rank: Soldier}
{Strength: 13}{Constitution: 14}{Dexterity: 15}{Intelligence: 14}{Perception: 14}
Reanna's face suddenly turned from boredom into utter excitement. She had finally done it, after months of swapping her stances and adapting with both her hands with the blade, she finally had done it. Increased her Dexterity by one. Months of practice finally gave her practical results. It took ages if not a lifetime to increase her stats, sure...Physical attributes like Constitution, Dexterity, and Strength are easier to increase, but having done so felt amazing.
Like all Regalian Nobles, her family was blessed with the gift of the Blood Status, once your stat had increased, it will stay like that until your death. Her face brightens at the thought, of being constantly as fast as she was today during dueling bouts. A few more years, she’d hope to have at least all her physical attributes at fifteen.
“Supper will be soon.” Her mother said, holding onto her fidgeting brother.
Excited to tell her father the news, she could not wait any longer and stood up from the leather couch. Smiling, Reanna told her mother and brother.