Chapter 3

Zander looked out over the sparring ring. The once familiar training area, a place head been to literal hundreds of times, was now adorned with seats on all sides, fresh chalk had been laid over the stone perimeter and fresh sand had been added to the ring, the whole thing tilled and worked flat. Zander realized he had let his eyes rest in one spot for too long and continued on to the preparation area. Despite his intense first year he was still a six year old child, novelty and curiosity would, at times get the better of him. Even as he moved on he was somewhat distracted by the leather cuirass, bracers, pauldrons and faulds strapped tightly to his body. He’d practiced with them but not often, he still couldn’t get used to the way the uncomfortably rubbed at times.

He arrived in the preparation area, around Zander were racks of various wooden training weapons, all set and weight to feel as close to the real thing as possible. It was the prerogative of the royal guard that each of them has some familiarity with all weapons used by the military. As such, each royal guard was given the option to bear whatever arms they felt most proficient in. That was the nature of the arming ceremony. Zander would be tested while using his preferred weapon. All of his training would be put to the test to ensure that he could meet the minimum standard required to protect his charge, to protect Vesti.

In the corner of the area stood Marcus who would be his sparring partner today. “I am sure you are already aware of what weapon you will choose today.” Marcus spoke. “But never be hasty, there have been many before you who will pick a weapon simply to counter whatever their sparring partner wields in an attempt to guarantee success. This method is flawed because even if you do succeed that weapon may not be the best choice for most of your duties. Additionally, picking for the occasion is a good way to ensure that you are not as proficient as you should be. Do not worry about passing today there will be many opportunities in the future. Bring only your best to the arena.”

Marcus was a member of the guard who would frequently act as a helpful but hard mentor. Zander let Marcus’ words sink in. He had thought about using a single-handed short sword like his father had. Perhaps this was hasty. Zander had used the basic forms of all of these weapons. He’d felt attachment to the sword but perhaps that was only because it was so familiar. The short sword of course had its advantages, it was good within confined spaces, had excellent versatility and had a double edge allowing for slashes on the back stroke.

Noticing Zander lost in thought Marcus added, “Our weapon chooses us just as much as we choose it. You may find it today or perhaps another time, there are few who find their weapon partner at their first arming festival, I did not find mine until my sixth. However, if you listen for its call, when you can truly feel it there singing its song, you will find it.” These words seemed to resonate within Zander’s young mind, some inexplicable excitement that would bubble up from time to time. ‘The weapon will choose me?’ The question posited itself into his mind but somehow, he already knew the answer to the question. It was not the individual weapon that would call but rather its form. Zander had learned of the Goddess and her many aspects from his studies. One of those aspects was Groth, The Aspect of Arms. All weapons forged for the purpose are tied to him. It somehow made sense to Zander that each form of weapon would have some small touch of the aspect within them. Zander, on pure instinct, let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, practicing the Moment of Oneness, the meditation and mindfulness activity that he’d been taught.

Zander focused on his breathing, heartbeat, muscles, and balance. He slowly began to shift his focus outwards, the smells, noises and sensations immediately around him slowing moving out. To his surprise, Zander could hear something. It wasn’t exactly a sound, he half heard half felt some form of vibrations plucking at the air gently. It was the call from all the weapons. Silent songs called to him from all around, but there was one that stood out. Its beat was strange, five notes that shifted one after another in an unending rhythm. Zander followed it in a trance, everything else had faded away there was only him and the song. His child mind could not comprehend any of this but somehow it worked. As he moved even the other songs seem to deaden until only the one remained. Zander opened his eyes and knew his choice. Zander picked up the spear that stood before him.

A spear is a fantastic martial weapon. It has been the basis of military forces for millennium. It has superior reach and is easy to learn. Finally, in the hands of the skilled, it can be used to terrible effect and even thrown as a last resort. This particular spear had sat on a rack amongst its brethren. It had a head carved to an elongated diamond shape. The head was about a foot long. This particular one did not had any sort of cross guard so it would have limited effect against a cavalry charge, its shaft was of medium length so it would not work well for that purpose anyway. The shaft was a little of five feet long and thick enough that Zander’s hands struggled to get around its girth.

Marcus eyed Zander curiously. Certainly, the six year old child attempting to wield a spear of this size looked comical to him. But it was not amusement that Zander saw on his face. It was the hard expression he wore when critiquing footwork and technique. Then Marcus nodded some conclusion made within his mind.

As the royal family and their retainers moved into the seating to observe the duels Zander felt excited. He entered the ring to face Marcus, who would also be his opponent today. Marcus brandished his weapon partner, well a wooden facsimile of it anyway. A katar, a long blade extending from a handgrip not unlike brass knuckles. He would attack with fluid punches but his range would be limited.

The gong’s guttural sound resonated, and Marcus made the first move. Zander moved the blade of his spear in a short arc to intercept. Against combatants of roughly equal skill Zander would have a significant advantage with his reach. This was not the case however. Marcus stepped to the outside of Zander’s initial jab as Zander moved to correct, he found that Marcus’ movement had been a feint. Marcus moved around the spear tip and was inside Zander’s guard. As Marcus’ armed hand moved back for the strike Zander reacted quickly. He threw the tip of the spear straight up holding the spear upright in front of his body. As Marcus’ thrust came Zander threw his body to the right and the shaft of the spear to the left. Zander parried the blow, sudden movement had heavily taxed his short limbs and the force behind the blow itself was great. Zander was thrown backwards. His heart raced, his muscles ached and some strange feeling danced itself across the back of his neck. Zander reacted, he used the momentum of the throw to once again give him distance digging his feet in as he landed. Marcus however, was not letting up and moved to pursue. Zander dug the base of the spear into the ground again and with a flick of his wrists threw sand into Marcus’ direction, simultaneously realigning the spear with its target. Zander pushed off putting all his weight into a charge.

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Zander felt resistance but it wasn’t from Marcus’ body. Marcus had spun away from the sand and used his free hand to grab the shaft of the spear. Zander had made a mistake and it was too late. Marcus pulled hard and fast throwing Zander off balance and directly towards Marcus. In the next moment Zanders rib became familiar with the sensation of Marcus’ wooden katar impacting his armor. Zander lay upon the ground wheezing as he struggled to recover the breath that had been driven from his lungs. The blow had been far harder than anything he’d felt in training up until now. Zander had lost and before he could come to terms with the, a notification pressed itself into his vision as he lay pitifully sputtering on the ground.

Battle Notifications

Type: Underdog Duel

Difficulty: Very Hard

Attributes:

Significant effort

Survived

Keen instincts

Reward: 100 xp

Urgent Notification

You have reached level 1

You have been assigned the class: Warrior (Tier 1)

You have unlocked new abilities

You have free attribute points available

As Zander struggled to read the notifications golden light enveloped his body and spread outwards in a ring eventually washing over the crowd. A moment later the light was gone, and Zander’s ears met the sounds of cheering. Before Zander could even begin to make sense of what had just occurred Hassin, his father, ran up to him pulling him from the ground and embracing him. “Well done, my son”, he said with admiration, his body shaking. “You mother smiles at you from above.” Zander was not sure what was happening, but he was happy because everyone else around him was happy and smiling.

Zander was in a daze and by the time he came down from it his father had moved both of them off into a small room in the palace. “Zander”, Hassin began to speak, “Do you know what you have done?” Zander’s mind was still a bit hazy.

“I levelled up?” Zander guessed.

“That’s right Zander, you levelled up.” Hassin began to explain. “Do you remember from your studies? If you gain experience from the Goddess You will become leveled.” The lessons filter back to Zander now by placing yourself in peril, by pushing yourself outside your normal limits, by performing actions that effect hundreds of people, and, finally, as rewards from system quests a person could gain experience from the Goddess. The first experience anyone got would take them to level one and they would gain one of the tier 1 classess. “My son, most of the people in this world are unlevelled, their level is zero. The Goddess does not recognize just any feats worthy of experience. More than half will go their whole lives without earning any.” Hassin had continued.

As his father spoke Zander opened up his character screen and glanced over the changes. In addition to the changes to his level and class he now had two new abilities.

New Ability: Skill at Arms - Spear

Class Ability

Type: Passive, Aptitude, Growth

Effect: You now have understanding of spear fighting. You have an innate understanding of where your spearhead is at any point in time.

Growth – This ability will adapt to class changes to higher tiers.

Restrictions: None

New Ability: Second Wind

Class Ability

Type: Active, Defensive, Growth

Effect: You may activate this ability to shrug off the damage of next physical attack to hit you within 6 seconds. This will not affect critical hits. You will still feel pain.

Growth – This ability will adapt to class changes to higher tiers.

Restrictions: Cooldown – 6 hours

Zander also noted that he had six free attribute points available before he closed his menu.

“You see, my son”, Hassin continued to speak noticing that Zander’s attention was back in the moment. “This means that not only were you fighting with your all but that your opponent was not doing you the disservice of going easy on you. Indeed, Marcus was the right choice for your sparring partner. He has helped your growth immensely; you would do well to properly thank him later. The crowd was delighted that you have achieved a level at such a young age. You are the youngest of the guard prospects to have done so in many years. I had not done so until I was on my eighth summer. There will be much talk in the town, you have brought a great honor upon yourself Zander.”

Zander thought over these things and over the next few hours he had to greet many people and prepare for a feast that night to celebrate. Zander made sure to properly show his appreciation to Marcus and noted the smile that cracked at the corners of the older man’s mouth, the hardness of his eyes softening just slightly. He’d trusted that Zander would be able to handle that level of attack. Zander’s training had paid off but this was also only the beginning of his training. He knew he had a very, very long road ahead to be able to win his first spar at an arming ceremony.