The intricately carved oak quarterstaff whipped through the air and landed with a resounding "thwack!" A pulsing throb began to emerge on the outer thigh of his right leg as Kainen looked down at where the large bruise was beginning to form. Reina remained posed across from him with perfect fighting form as if her stick were a knight’s sword. Her triumphant grin spread like a wildfire across her freckled face, having to look up to meet his gaze.
“Ow,” Kainen gave a small whimper, probably more loudly than he should have; seemingly on cue, Reina’s stick sailed toward his other leg this time, barely having enough time to block her blow he frantically shouted, “Give me a moment Rei! You nearly took my leg off!”
“Come on, Kainen, don’t be a wimp! You know the trials are going to start next week. I need all the practice I can get.” Seeing the exhausted look on his face made her sigh, “Okay fine. You have five minutes and then we keep going, alright? Father said I have to be home by nightfall so we don’t have much time left today.”
They both sat down in the tall grass, their eyes drifting to the sights of their small town of Aldonwood. The sun shone warmly over the crest of the Zachran Mountains that peeked over the horizon in the distance. The soft, reddish-gold glow granted the view a fantastical feeling. The two tired youths enjoyed the setting sun together as they always did after an arduous sparring session. The light illuminated both Kainen and Reina, outlining their features in a beautiful mask of sunlight. Kainen's dark and slender body was muscular due to years of physical training with Reina and his father. He wore simple but expensive clothes that marked him as nobility. His dark messy hair soaked with his sweat stuck to the sides of his face as beads of that same sweat dripped down past his soft brown eyes.
He looked over for a moment at Reina, her eyes closed as she basked in the warm glow; her muscular form outlined by the light in a way that shows her as a trained fighter. Her smooth pale skin was vibrant and her shoulder length dirty-blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail showing off the streaks of red hair from her mother's side that sent the golden light scattering down on her face with a warmer red tint. Normally somewhat hidden by her hair were her slightly pointed ears that gave away her half-elven heritage. Her mother is a high elf that left the continent of Elsera, home to the vast majority of elves, a few decades prior to explore and further her business traveling the various foreign lands to sell her potions and salves to those who knew nothing of how to craft them. Her eyes opened as she felt his gaze on her for too long and he saw the familiar glint of the copper colored flecks in her bright blue eyes shimmering like tiny coins against the sun. She stood up then, brushing off her simple cloth tunic trying to brush away the grass stains from the rare occasion that Kainen managed to knock her down.
"Enjoying the view?" She teased with a wicked smile as his face filled with heat and he rushed back to his feet.
"No I was just-," He paused then, realizing that she was teasing him and mockingly laughed, "Ha. Ha. Very funny Rei. Now shall we finish up here so you aren't late getting home?" Without waiting for an answer, he readied himself for the inevitable flurry of attacks she would rain down on him if he were unprepared. She didn't say another word as her head lowered and she held her weapon with the ease and intent that is normally reserved for seasoned warriors. They both smiled a knowing smile and then they moved swiftly to meet one another, training weapons clashing.
The sun was starting to set now as the pair walked back down the hillside path toward the town below. The earthy glow of the lanterns left a green shimmer that covered the town. Visitors to Aldonwood always found it strange and surprising to see green lanterns, but the townsfolk were always proud and happy to explain the use and reason behind it; a few generations ago an old wizard that lived here had explained his research to the town that green light helps to prevent bugs from swarming around the lanterns. For the town at that time, swarms of insects were a common problem that plagued the lives of even the nobility in their manors. Ever since then the town had elected to use green glass on their lanterns to test the wizard's theory, and soon enough found it to be correct.
Kainen turned to Reina as they came to a crossroads, one path leading to the town center and another leading to the part of town raised above the rest for the noble manors and more "important" townsfolk, "This is us. I'll see you tomorrow, Rei." He spoke without a hint of doubt, and a simple, knowing smile flickered across his face. They always saw each other. In fact, they had seen each other nearly every day since they were children. He had plenty of other people vying for his attention, especially the village girls, but they were only really interested in his family. Reina was the only one who treated him like any other person; She always treated everybody the same, and somehow she always seemed to get away with it. Kainen hated being a Lighthold; everything about the Lighthold family shouted nobility and wealth- except for Kainen. He is the ideal of mediocrity in his father's eyes. Kainen much preferred to sleep and read under the cool shade of the gnarled oak trees scattered around the village outskirts, but his father insists on weapon and leadership training so he is "Prepared to take the Lord's Mantle" when he comes of age.
"Fine, Kai, don't even consider inviting me for dinner. I don't mind," she quipped sarcastically as she prepared to leave, knowing it would fluster him. She always teased him this way, and she loved watching him try to defend himself or excuse any of the teasing she sent his way. It's not like she had any real interest in him, he was far too lazy and had no real ambition or goals. Also, they had been best friends as long as she can remember and she had no intentions of that changing. She looked down the muddy path that wound downhill toward her family's cottage with contentment and a bit of longing. Kainen had everything her family had ever dreamed of and more, yet he was ever so willing to throw it all away to read books and ignore his responsibilities. She had always been a bit envious and bothered by his lackadaisical attitude, but she decided a long time ago that it's just the way he is and she wouldn't be able to change that; why would she try to change him anyway, especially with how she refused to let anyone change how she was? She waved that thought away as she saw Kainen looking at her. The two smiled as they said their final goodbye for the night. Kainen waved at her as they headed down their separate trails, both heading to a home that they didn't wholly appreciate.
#Lighthold Manor; Kainen
The house guards saw the familiar figure of Kainen approach and saluted with their right fists to their chest in respect to one of their lords approaching. He waved awkwardly in response, never feeling entirely comfortable being saluted to in the first place, though his father insisted he "get used to it." The guards opened the door for him and stepped aside to allow entrance to the lordling. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the bright light of the interior of the home, magically lit with no apparent source due to the magic of his father's line. The Lighthold name isn't just for show; the noble bloodline had always been blessed with one child in each generation that possessed the ability to create and control light. His father is a Master light mage and was most known for blinding his enemies while striking them down with his blade. Sometimes their magic could only do simple things such as lighting a room or house, but every few generations a child would be born with golden eyes and would have the talent to shape light into solid forms, a power normally reserved for Grandmaster ranked mages. Kainen's great-grandfather, Ciran Lighthold, was like this, he was the one responsible for the respect and noble position of the Lighthold family in the first place. The way his family told it, Ciran was a great war hero that had saved countless lives and ended twice as many during the war with the dragonkin of the Zachran Mountains. There has since been a tentative peace between the two nations due to the great losses on both sides that has so far held. Due to the actions of Ciran Lighthold during the heaviest part of the conflict, the Lighthold family had been granted a seat of nobility with a small territory and named the Noble House of Lighthold so long as they continued to serve their country and defend its people.
He shook away these thoughts and remembered that he was standing in the entrance hall, still covered in dirt, sweat, and grass stains. Looking through the large hallway that leads to the various rooms of the house, a dark metallic shape caught his eye, hidden in one of the potted plants. Walking over to inspect it, he curiously leaned over and picked it up. Spinning it in his hands, he guessed it was some kind of medallion or amulet. The strange necklace was made with a black metal from the slender chain to the centerpiece that originally caught his eye. Resting in the center of the amulet was a dark violet gemstone cut in a strange swirling fashion that sloped inward toward the center of it like a whirlpool. He found himself staring into the swirling gem as footsteps echoed toward him from the central meeting room at the end of the hallway, accompanied by the tight and authoritative voice of his father, Lord Lyric Lighthold, and another voice he didn’t recognize. Quickly he pocketed the amulet and stepped off to the side of the hallway just as his father and the stranger came into view. As they both saw Kainen, the conversation halted and they continued to hurriedly walk toward the exit. His father was a tall, broad man with hardened brown eyes flecked with gold, dark skin, and short, very well-kept, dark hair. His clothes were white with gold regalia and filigree. He wore a series of golden, gem-adorned jewelry to showcase the family’s success and wealth. A sword that lacked that same overly-decorated appearance of the rest of his outfit hung at his waist; the marks and blemishes on the weapon made it clear that it has seen heavy use and has been well maintained through years of use and repairs. Lord Lyric looked down at his son, standing over a head taller than him still, and kept walking as he escorted the stranger out. As the stranger passed, Kainen attempted to get a good look at him. The stranger walked by and glanced toward Kainen- wait, was that a snout? He peered more closely as he noticed the stranger in more detail. Wearing dark grey hooded robes, the stranger walked slightly hunched over. The hood failed to hide a reptilian snout and dark smoky quartz colored scales that lead to the piercing yellow eyes of this dragonkin that was as tall as his father, even while hunched over. The yellow eyes darted straight at Kainen, locking onto him like a snake assessing its prey. Kainen instinctually took a step back as his father took notice and stepped faster to block them from seeing one another. “Its strange,” Kainen thought, “I’ve never seen father so secretive before. I wonder what one of them is doing here?” He listened from a distance when his father probably thought that he was out of earshot and overheard the tail end of a near-whispered conversation
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“Tell them I will consider it, but no sooner than one week will you hear my answer. Now get off of my land, lizard,” Lord Lyric snarled at him, holding a hand on the hilt of his sword and the light around the doorway seeming heavier and brighter than before. The dragonkin looked at him in disgust, but seemed reluctant to argue and snarled back,
“My people must have your decision by then end of this moon. Should gem not be returned to us, war will linger on your horizon. Viz al vazik,” turning on his heel and walking away, the dragonkin stood slightly taller as he kept his back to the Lighthold manor.
Kainen was taken aback; though his father showed no sign of hearing it, the dragonkin spoke of war. What gem were they talking about, and why would my father know anything about it? These questions kept spinning in Kainen’s head until he was brought back to reality as he caught the later half of whatever latest scolding his father was giving him,
“-dropping on my conversations, I will have you barred from your free-roam sparring sessions and attend to them henceforth myself. Am I clear, child?” He didn’t hear the first half, but he had learned long ago that the answer was always,
“Yes, Lord Lighthold. I won’t repeat the mistake again.” His father refused to be addressed by him as dad, father, or Reka-forbid, by his given name. Lord Lyric Lighthold insisted on formality, especially from his first-born, though Kainen knew in secret that his younger sister still called him “daddy” and was never truly scolded for it. She was always the favorite, ever since it was shown that Kainen had no sign of the family gift of light. His younger sister, Anthea, showed promise with their mother’s magic at least- the magic of fire shaping. Lady Kyanna Lighthold, was originally from the Rhogin Nation, a wealthy nation of merchants and traders whose nobles are gifted with the magic of flame, air and sand, which gives them large control over the desert regions of the continent of Vormden where both our nations are located. Kainen’s mother was from the Ignarin noble house in Rhogin, and they found she had been blessed with the power of fire along with a twin having the same gift. Typically only one per generation is born with magic, but in this rare case the Ignarin house decided to make use of the ‘extra’ flame bearer. Bartering with the Lighthold family and other families in the country of Vormcrest, where the Lighthold family originated, they finally came to an alliance agreement; the Lighthold heir, Kainen’s father, would marry Kyanna Ignarin in exchange for an alliance pact between both nations. If one nation was attacked or went to war with another nation, the other nation would support them in any way they could. Since then the alliance has held with no wars having taken root, but the whisperings from that dragonkin have Kainen unsettled and his thoughts drifting to that old agreement, as well as what might happen if it is called upon. Again, his thoughts drifting left him standing in front of his father like a fool, who seemed to be waiting on him to respond to yet another question that he had missed while pondering his thoughts.
“Well? Did you best that commoner girl? I’m starting to think it might be worthwhile to have you spar with the children in town as well, maybe they’d be a more fair match for you,” his father sneered while looking down at him in disdain.
“That’s unfair father, you know how skilled she is! Her father was a knight and she-” he was cut off by a strange cold sensation in his left pocket right before his father looked like he was about to scold him once more for talking back to him. His father seemed to nod at Kainen’s stopping himself in approval and said solemnly,
“Maybe there is hope for you yet, however it seems unlikely at this point,” he seemed to look distant for a moment and then looked back to Kainen, “Go to the dining hall, the servants will prepare your meal. Then you will attend to your prescribed reading on tactics and warfare leadership. I expect the book to be finished by the week’s end and no later.”
“Yes fath- Lord Lighthold. I will finish it by then,” Kainen bowed his head in respect and then swiftly walked toward his room and sent word to the servants to have the food delivered directly to his chambers. He set down to start reading but his thoughts instead went back to the strange sensation he had felt before and he pulled out the amulet again. Stating at it for a while, he pondered the overheard conversation from earlier before his food finally arrived. His food was wonderful as always, but his appetite was lacking after his encounter with his father. Finishing half of his meal, he put the rest on the table by the door for the servants to take away when they checked back in, and he picked up the tactics and warfare leadership tome his father demanded he read at least once per year. This week was going to be a long and boring one.
#Wrynn Cottage; Reina
“Ma! Pa! I’m home!” a joyful Reina shouted as she flung open the door of the cottage. She grinned and ran up to her father who was sitting in the common space where they cooked food, ate, enjoyed family time, and talked about their days. His tired face was lit with a large smile as he heard her coming and he wrapped her up in a hug so tight that his back popped from the effort.
“Oohh that was a loud one!” he said as he chuckled, “And how is my favorite lass in the land this fine night?” She smiled more and then a mischievous look fell upon her face as she stood up and got into a victory pose and touted,
“I won! Again, Because I… am the best!” She then twirled her quarterstaff around, which promptly her mother noticed from the corner where she sat messing around with various herbs and chemicals.
“Not inside the house dear, you might break something!” her mother called out with only mild concern, having said the same thing before countless times, “If you’re going to play with that thing, just step outside, Rei.” A slightly ashamed Reina leaned the quarterstaff against the wall by the door and squeaked, “Sorry ma, I forgot.” Though they both knew better than that, Reina had a memory as sharp as her mother and the rest of the elves that she had come from. Her father looked over and whispered,
“I knew ye’ would win, Rei. That Lighthold boy doesn’t stand a chance against my little warrior!”
“He’s not half bad, pa! He’s gotten better since I’ve been training with him. Still hardly ever downs me though,” her father smiled again at that and then looked like he suddenly remembered something,
“Oh that reminds me, sweetheart! The tryouts for the Aldonwood Ironhawks are coming up soon. I know ye’ve been wanting to join the town guard for the longest time like yer dad. This year’s yer sixteenth, which means ye’ can try to-” he stopped then grinned, “Heh, no try about it, ye’ will join them if they’ve got any sense about them these days!”
An excited smile spread across her face and her mother just shook her head while smiling softly from the other side of the room,
“You mean it pa? I can sign up? I know you both need the help around the house during the day, are you sure?” Nobody in the world could stop her from wanting to sign up, and her parents knew she had wanted to become a soldier like her dad since she could walk and talk. They had always joked about how the first thing she did when she started walking was pick up a stick and hold it like she had seen her dad holding his sword; then promptly after, she had proceeded to break a glass bottle her mother had sitting a little too close to the edge of her workbench.
“Of course you can, dear! You can do anything that you set your mind to, with enough effort,” her mother spoke softly but confidently as she walked over. Her mother was a slender elven woman with long straight red hair that went down to the middle of her back. She had bright and gentle blue eyes like pools of spring water, and looked ever so serene as she smiled toward her family. Reina then looked back to her father, still vibrating with excitement as he nodded in approval as well. Of course she cared what her mother thought, but her father’s approval was all she really needed. The older stocky man in front of her was aged and worn from years of farmwork and before that, years of soldier duty for the Ironhawk guard. Years ago, he had taken severe injuries in defense of the town and retired from the guard with a hefty bonus due to his valiant actions. His rugged, dirty-blonde hair was short and scruffy looking, but his pale blue eyes showed a fierceness and kindness in them that he always seemed to keep, regardless of how hard things got. Reina looked once more between the both of them, and unable to hold in her excitement any longer, immediately leaped up and shouted,
“I’m going for a run! I’ll be back soon okay?” and before they could protest she bounded out of the door, taking her quarterstaff with her almost as an afterthought.