Chapter 1
Innocence
Sweat ran down his forehead as he tried to calm himself before the next attack came at him. His opponent stalled his next move giving him a moment to rest. How arrogant he thought, but he took advantage nonetheless catching his breath. Suddenly he jumped forward thinking he’ll catch his overconfident adversary by surprise lunging his sword toward his heart and going for a fatal stab. It gets deflected with ease and is followed up by a firm punch to the gut. His sword clatters to the floor as he drops to his knees in defeat coughing up a storm trying to get the wind back into himself.
“Get back to your feet prince, you’re Maxith, heir to the Opik Empire. Quite the title to have under your name for someone gasping for air on his knees.”
“Easy for you to say, Emerson, you have years of combat experience, I've only been training for 3 years,” Maxith said as a blonde girl with fair skin wearing a maid outfit handed him a towel. “Well, I must say three years under a master of the Serpent Sword technique is plenty of experience for you to perform this poorly. Your father won't be very proud if you aren't the strongest soldier in your division considering you’ll be the captain of it. What would that imply for his bloodline?” Emerson jabbed with a sly look.
Maxith finally stood up and looked around at the beautiful garden of flowers surrounding the stone-paved training pad they stood upon. A cool breeze ran through the courtyard of the massive plot of land. “Don’t worry, I’ll be ready when it’s time for battle, you know my family name isn’t something I take lightly,” Maxith said while proudly looking up at the castle he called home. "I think he's doing a good job!" the blonde girl chimed in with a cheery voice, "You guys train every day, besides he still has a whole year until then." Emerson shifted his gaze to the girl giving a mildly disappointed look, "Tyra, just because you two are friends that doesn't mean you should be easy on him. Friends should be capable of telling each other when they need improvement, not just give constant reassurance." Tyra made a pouty face out of good fun before Maxith added, "You know I get more than enough critique from you and Novius. A little counterbalance is needed here and there." Emerson was dismissive of this and grabbed a glass from the side table which Tyra quickly filled to the brim with a water vase. As he drank Tyra decided to ask for a favor, "By the way, may I leave a tad early?" She spoke with a timid tone of voice, "Today is my leisure activity and I need some extra time to change out of the new uniform."
While Emerson still gulped down his water Maxith asked, "My father issued new uniforms?"
"Yeah, it's a bit tight but I think it looks cuter than the last one!" Never having paid attention to their outfits Maxith personally couldn't tell a difference. Emerson finished his glass with a refreshed sigh and responded to Tyra's question, "Sure no problem, it's always a pleasure to have you assist us during training so don't think twice to ask in the future." Content with his response Tyra thanked Emerson and happily waved goodbye to Maxith before leaving. Now alone the pair continued to mock battle for quite some time before the lesson was finally over. Sweating and flush in the face from effort Maxith leaned on his knees to catch his breath. Emerson, whose breathing was hardly labored, said, "C'mon, no breaks. Weight lifting is next." Maxith straightened himself out and wiped his forehead dry with his towel, "Actually I was planning on going into town instead."
Gently leaning his sword against the side table Emerson sighed in frustration, “Running off to go see Novius again huh? Y’know he could probably teach you a thing or two about fighting, which is saying a lot considering his place in society compared to you,” he stated while shooting a disappointed glare at Maxith.
“Christ Emerson, he’s probably the only person besides you and Father who could beat me in battle in this whole city, why do you always have to be so harsh?”
"This city isn't who you'll be fighting on the battlefield, you need to be better than millions of soldiers from around the world. With that in mind, why don't you spar a bit with Novius and try to learn something." Clearly not intending to do anything of the sort Maxith replied, “Alright alright, C’ya.”
Running towards the top of the hill Maxith approached the large castle that towered above all else. Entering the massive structure he shot up the grand stairs and through the long hallways decorated with fine handcrafted furniture and expensive red carpet. The chandeliers overhead plated in gold gave the hallways a warm glow from the freshly lit candles. Finally, he burst into his room throwing his sword aside as he strips off his chainmail armor to change into more comfortable casual clothing. As the sword lands on the floor, the hilt on one side breaks clean off. “Oh well,” Maxith says as he continues getting dressed. Once ready he grabbed his damaged sword and bolted out of his room nearly slamming into a large figure who was waiting for him outside. Running into someone taller than Maxith was a rare occurrence considering his overwhelming height, standing at an astounding 6'8" he was usually the biggest in the room. His father on the other hand made Maxith feel small. This wasn't only because he was slightly bigger, but also because of his belittling demeanor.
"Shouldn't you be training with Emerson right now?" his father asked in a harsh tone. "Well, we finished our sparring," Maxith said evasively avoiding answering the question. Furrowing his brow and looking down at Maxith he replied, "Clearly Emerson is doing a poor job of raising you to be a man, perhaps I should have a word with him." Not wanting to drag Emerson into something that was his fault Maxith attempted to sway his father away from this decision and clumsily blurted out, "No it's not his fault!" Narrowing his eyes his father asked, "Oh so it's your fault?" Having backed himself into a corner Maxith had to think fast, "Actually uh... my sword broke. Here look." Showing his abused weapon his father could clearly see the damaged hilt, "If you wanted it replaced you could have sent a maid to do so, besides a damaged sword doesn't prevent you from weight lifting. Your childish antics show disrespect towards me, if you wish to continue doing so I'll gladly have you shipped to the eastern continent. Maybe there you will see how privileged you live here, child." Bringing in his shoulders Maxith shrunk away from his father's threat. Satisfied his point was made Maxith's father left without saying another word.
Glad he was now free of his father's judgmental gaze Maxith continued with his original goal and headed towards the front exit. After walking for 20 minutes Maxith reached a small building on the outskirts of town, it was made of old wood and needed a little renovation but was stable nonetheless. The inside was just as dull as the outside but was an effective space for what it was meant for. Most of the area was occupied with soft blue floor mats used for his normal classes. On the walls were some mirrors and some old decorative wallpaper light green in color. The rest of the space on the right side was saved for special classes/lessons. It was a square-shaped ring whose floor was solid stone providing stable footing meant for a real simulated battle. The defining trait of this "special" section was the dried blood all over the floor and walls. He looked over to see Novius teaching a group of varying ages close-quarters combat in the normal class area. Included among the class was Tyra, who Novius gently pushed off balance while saying, "Oops," in a joking manner. Tyra responded, "Stop iiiiit," playfully exaggerating her reaction. The slaves who worked at the castle where Maxith lived were only permitted one weekly leisure activity by the king, Tyra used hers to take part in Novius' classes to spend more time with him.
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Novius was only a year older than Maxith and Tyra who were currently nineteen, he was fairly good-looking, which explains how he and Tyra wound up dating. His medium-length blond hair was always swept back with a matte finish while a pair of ice-cold blue eyes lay beneath. You could tell by his gaze and his muscular build that he was a capable man. Respect was something Novius took seriously, he felt people should treat each other with such until they prove themselves unworthy of it. Despite this Novius still knew how to joke around and not take everything so seriously, being laid back was another one of his good features. After assisting a young teenager with his form Novius looked over and smiled noticing Maxith waiting by the door. He wrapped up his lesson and walked over to Maxith with Tyra by his side hugging his arm. “First time you’ve ever showed up on time, what’d you do, cut your training short?” Novius said jokingly as they clasped hands in greeting. “Me? Cut my training short? No! Never!” Said Maxith joking back.
They started out the door walking as a group along the run-down street. Looking at Maxith's waist Novius noticed his damaged sword, "Speaking of training, what the hell happened to your sword?"
“Ah, I was a bit careless while in a rush over here and broke it, but hey! It's no big deal it's just the hilt who cares,” Maxith exclaimed while unsheathing the sword and swinging it around in front of him. "You can't just leave it like that!" both Tyra and Novius exclaimed simultaneously. Maxith looked at them while raising his eyebrows making it obvious their speaking in tandem was weird, "It's just the hilt it's not a big deal, you guys are overreacting."
“Right it's just the hilt, it's not like the sword is completely unbalanced and unusable in battle now or anything,” Novius said in a sarcastic tone while jabbing Maxith in the side with his elbow. “Help me out here would ya?” Maxith said looking to Tyra for her reassurance. Not wanting to give illegitimate advice she replied, "To be fair he's right, you should know better Maxith."
"Ah, what!?" Maxith said surprised at her not backing him up.
"Your training to be a major leader in our military and even she knows more than you," Novius said while patting Tyra on the head. She then closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Maxith in a teasing manner then laughed.
“Yeah if I were you I’d think about replacing it before Emerson sees it and gives you more shit. Hey! There’s a new weapon store that opened up further into town, let's check it out, maybe you'll find a new sword there!”
“Yeah I guess, maybe I can buy something cooler than this one,” Added Maxith. Widening her eyes as if she just remembered something Tyra reached into her pockets looking like she forgot something. "What's wrong?" Novius asked casually. Concerned about blowing her cover she answered, "Oh, uhm... nothing." Tyra then leaned over to Maxith cupping her hands around his ear and whispered something to him. Without waiting for a reply she hugged Novius and said, "I need to head back to the castle for something. I'll find you two later!" and ran off. Confused Novius furrowed his brow looking to Maxith expecting him to share what she said. Not wanting to give away the secret Maxith scrunched up his face and waved his hand insinuating to forget about it. Brushing it off they continued to walk together alone. Striking up a new conversation Novius rested his hand on the hilt of his own weapon, "Listen, man, I know you aren't weak or whatever but you really should take your training more seriously, especially with your twentieth closing in. Once that happens you’ll become a captain, you have to be a strong capable leader to instill confidence in your subordinates.”
“Yeah yeah, I already got Emerson on my back about it I don't need to hear it from you too,” said Maxith while sighing.
"Ha yeah I bet, especially with that hard ass of a king breathing down his neck, aka your 'father'," Novius said supplying air quotes with his fingers.
As they continued down the street they eventually ended up in a busier more refined part of town. Here the street was actually paved and the buildings looked more elegant with their white plaster exterior with strong wood beams for support. They happened upon a small river that cut the section of town in half with a stone bridge to get across. The weapon shop they were looking for was next to the river and had a waterwheel on the side being pushed naturally by the flowing water. Once inside they looked around and started browsing the swords. The walls were filled with different types of swords and some uncommonly used weapons such as scythes and crescent blades. Scattered about were displays and barrels filled with blades and hilts of different kinds. Most were of normal quality but weren't something Maxith would purchase. “Hey check it out, what's a book doing in a weapon shop?” Pointed out Maxith. The book was on a pedestal against the wall amongst some of the various weapon displays. As they approached it and opened the book to a random page the shop owner walked up and asked “Looking for something specific Prince Maxith?” While giving a small bow of respect. “Actually what's with this book?” Asked Novius.
The shop owner gave Novius a dirty look and seemed reluctant to reply. “Well, this book lists different legendary weapons and their stories. That one is a pair of short swords called Ruinations Edge and is said to be cursed by a demon who inhabits the body of whoever uses them," he replied while holding Maxith's wondrous stare. “That sounds awesome!” Maxith said excitedly “Do you have them here?!”
“Hahaha, no Prince Maxith” the shop owner laughed “I don't carry such weapons as the ones in this book, I make all my weapons in-house. Besides those short swords were lost long ago in the Kadince region.”
“Well besides wanting to be possessed by a demon and getting himself killed, Maxith was actually looking for a new sword,” Novius said sarcastically. “Well I have some higher-class weapons in the back that would be more fitting for you Prince, if you’d care to take a look.”
Once in the back, the waterwheel from outside could be seen turning the bellows for the blast furnace used by the blacksmith to craft his weapons. The smith mentioned how he kept the expensive merchandise in the back specially for customers of higher class. Maxith was pleased with all the fancy swords and dramatic designs. His taste clearly lay more for the aesthetic than the effectiveness of the sword. He immediately was drawn to a sword with a black edge and a gold line down the middle, the hilt was also gold with red gemstones embedded at both ends. The handle was wrapped with a dark red rope for grip that accented the gemstones and blackness of the blade.
“Now THIS is the kind of sword I was looking for,” said Maxith “What do you think Novius?”
“Well I’d say it's pretty cool, but personally I’d go for a more effective sword, not something so fancy.”
“Ha, you’re just saying that 'cause you can’t afford it Novius, don’t hate on my superior style.”
“Har Har. At least now you can get your ass kicked while looking good,” Novius jutted back.
“How much for this one?” Maxith asked the shopkeeper. “Well, those are real rubies so 2,500 plats.”
“I’ll take it,” Maxith said swiftly.
“God damn,” Novius gasped “I guess when you're the Prince you really can afford anything on a whim.”
“Oh c'mon, you have your own dojo, I'm sure you make some serious plat,” Maxith said while paying the shop keep.
“Well considering you live in a castle and I basically live in a shack in the slum I’d say no, I probably can't afford that.” Returning to the fancy streets outside Maxith stopped and looked around, "So what do you want to do now? We can look at more fancy stuff if you want." Not interested in spending any more time in a part of town he's not very welcome in he decided, "Well I figured since you decided to skip out on your training today we should have a little spar and maybe you can learn something.”
“Sounds good to me, I’ll get to try out my badass new sword!” Maxith said excitedly now that he had a good reason to want to train, "Where do you want to do it this time?" Novius began walking back towards the outskirts of town with a specific place in mind, "Since Tyra will be looking for us let's do it at the field, I'm sure she'll think to check there." Unable to take his eyes off his brand-new weapon Maxith stared at it the whole way there all while maintaining idle chit-chat with Novius. Upon arriving Maxith looked up to see their usual open field the three would meet up at as kids. Short lime green grass filled the empty plain as a lonely oak tree stood off to the side with dark green leaves. A cool wind brushed by as the two readied themselves for their match. Unsheathing the beauty of a sword Maxith looked to Novius and said, "Alright I'm ready."
“Good! Let's see just how good that sword makes you look while I kick your ass!” Novius shouted while he pulled out his falchion and took an aggressive battle stance.
Maxith firmly planted his feet without taking his eyes off Novius, "Well see about that."
"Remember, whoever lands a major flesh wound or worse first wins!" Novius yelled confidently, smiling ear to ear with his hair blowing in the wind. Maxith took a defensive stance knowing what was about to come at him, unsure about how this fight will end.