It was the day before maturity. Roren watched as the Irehilen boy disarmed Rasa. They both still had bronze swords. In fact, Roren himself still used a bronze sword. In their society, the sword defined your ranking. They started with wooden swords, to train their first movements, they were Beginner level children. The Apprentices such as Roren, Irehilen and Rasa used bronze swords.

Intermediate graduates had the right to use iron swords.

Masters had the honor of using steel swords.

The Grand Master of the swordsmen in his small town had the honor of using "nodryx metal", the best metal alloy in existence, very rare.

"Once again you have been defeated, Rasa" said Galus, who was training the apprentices today. He looked at them with his arms crossed, his muscles on display. Galus was an Intermediate, that meant he used an iron sword called Frenzy. Despite their symbolic importance, the "body" of the swords was not what really mattered, but rather their spirits. Each boy connected with the spirit of a sword and would remain connected to it until the day he died, even if the sword switched bodies between bronze, iron and steel. Roren's sword was called Frozen Fang, a cold spirit that inhabited his single-edged bronze sword, which was rare. Roren was also the oldest of the apprentices there. The dates in Bladevale were according to the seasons, this supposedly affected his fate and personality as well. There were people born in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Roren was born on the seventh day of winter, seventeen winters ago. Most apprentices there had between thirteen and fifteen stations. With twelve stations, usually a boy received his bronze sword. At thirteen, the apprentice had the right to participate in the Incursion, but few really felt prepared at this age. It was with fifteen that most tried. The Incursion was the passing test for boys to become men. They left Bladevale and were sent to survive through the Vale of Hazes, the Misty Mountains and the Dark Caves. All they were entitled to take were their sword, scabbard and girdle, and a linen or woolen loincloth. There, they had to kill and bring back the spoils of a non-human creature that was normally known as "Feyren", dangerous beings, who had powers that humans could not even conceive of. A boy was only considered a man after bringing Feyren's booty to the village, he then received his iron sword, received the blessings of the village's Patriarch and Matriarch; the blessings of the God Yruer, god of rivers and the Goddess of Ghenera, goddess of the soil; the blessings of the Grand Master of swordsmen and the God of Swords. The boy became stronger and more robust and could marry.

Rasa stood up angrily in the face of yet another defeat. He had numerous cuts on his body.

"Let me try just one more time!" but Galus denied:

"That's five consecutive defeats. One more and it's likely that Irehilen will kill you unintentionally. He's too good and you're too bad."

"Eclipse is too powerful! It's unfair!" In terms of information, Eclipse was the name of Irehilen's bronze sword. Rasa's sword, in turn, was called Wild Desire.

"You said the same thing about Roren's Frozen Fang."

"We're not even talking about Roren! Roren was already the best swordsman apprentice two seasons ago, now he's the best shot and Frozen Fang isn't even talking about, it's the best sword here."

It was true. Roren had been considered a great swordsman since he was thirteen seasons old, but he left it until he turned fifteen. Between fourteen and fifteen seasons of age, however, he had met Yuli, the girl he fell in love with. In their village, girls became women when they completed fifteen seasons and went through the ritual of the Goddess Ghenera. Yuli was only thirteen seasons when Roren was fifteen, she asked him to wait for her and he accepted. Therefore, Roren decided not to do the Incursion when he was fifteen stations old, even though he was the best in his class, even though all his friends had gone. For love. Now, with he was seventeen seasons, Yuli, at fifteen, had already gone through her ritual. She was officially a woman now. After the Incursion, he would also be a man.

In terms of information, Rasa was Roren's brother. They weren't blood brothers, but Roren's father, who had been a legendary swordsman, had died in combat, Rasa's father had been a father figure to him. Rasa often seemed to resent something in Roren and his father's relationship.

"Wild Desire isn't that good of a sword!" Rasa complained and Galus soon slapped him.

"Never complain about your sword! That's not a swordsman's act! Know how to use your sword and the spirit it has. You still have a long way to go before you try the Incursion. Okay, enough training for today."

Most of the apprentices from 15 stations talked about the Incursion. The 13-year-olds didn't intend to participate, but Irehilen thought about going, although Roren said it might be too early for him. They were in the river now, cleaning themselves, naked.

Irehilen was a young man with brown hair, his face could be considered handsome, although he was childish at his age of 13 seasons. He was a great apprentice swordsman, but he had the smallest weenie Roren or anyone there had ever seen and Rasa, who constantly lost in duels to him, used this fact to mock him. Rasa also didn't have something huge between his legs, in fact it was something quite modest, as he also only had 13 stations. Even the kids from 15 stations didn't have much of anything there either, and Roren, being the oldest there, was a little bigger than the others, also having something modest. The truth is that things would only change when they went through the ritual and managed to successfully carry out the Incursion. This way they would grow stronger, have muscles, grow hair and even, perhaps, hints of a beard. Until then, they would remain just boys. Galus watched the bath, monitoring them and waiting for the Ladies to appear there to help them. The Flowery Ladies were women who had already gone through their own rituals, they helped them clean and heal the injuries they acquired in training. The Sprout Maidens, that is, the girls who had not yet gone through the ritual and were not women yet, just observed and took note of it. There wasn't much sense of privacy for boys with bronze swords, it was embarrassing, but it was the way things were. When they arrived, the Sprout Maidens were just watching, most of them giggling. The younger Flowery Ladies had discreet little smiles, but the older ones had a more motherly air, both on the gentle and stern side of things. Yuli was now a Flowery Lady, although she was not yet married, she was, as the Matriarch said, "blooming and ready to have her honey harvested".

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Yuli was very beautiful, fair skin, wavy honey-colored hair and big hazel eyes. She had a delicate nose and well-shaped lips. the ladies learned everything about healing: herbs, ointments, plants, potions. With Yuli there, it was difficult for Roren to contain her desire. He had few wounds, no cuts, few abrasions, this demonstrated how good a swordsman he was, even though he took it easy on the younger ones. Still, she rubbed ointment over his body and it made his body shiver. Wearing that white linen tunic that exposed her thighs, she was almost irresistible. Few would even think about paying so much attention to the care of a specific lady or a specific apprentice, even so, having an erection there, during the care, would be strange, inelegant and embarrassing. Yuli was aware of what Roren was feeling and told him to contain himself, with a half smile on her face. Usually different ladies took care of a boy with a bronze sword, but as it was known to everyone in the village that Roren and Yuli liked each other and planned to get married, they let the girl take care of the young man personally. After finishing the care, Yuli whispered in her lover's ear:

"Behind the stone tree, near sunset. Meet me there."

And she left, along with the other ladies, while the apprentices went to get dressed under the watchful eyes of the trainer.

Galus was not actually a master, but he was on supervision today, as most of the masters were looking for Cenvingaent, a particularly dangerous Feyrer. Apparently it was Cenvigaent who had killed his father.

Galus gave the last instructions to those who would attempt the Incursion. They would have to appear tomorrow, at the pier next to the Ancestral Tree. Those who committed to going could not return for two days. After two days, if they didn't return, it would be considered a failure, even if they had killed a Feyren and had battle spoils. Obviously, it was very risky and their lives were at risk, so they had to think very carefully about whether they wanted to go. Whoever declined would have to wait for more rotations of complete stations, that is, those who had fifteen stations would have to wait until they completed seventeen. The seasons counted according to the day of birth, for example, Rasa was born in the autumn season, so he would have to wait two more complete autumns if he declined. In Roren's case, two winters. Roren had no intention of declining, however. He burned with desire for Yuli, he just needed to go through his rite of passage and then they could be together and be happy.

Roren found Yuli exactly where she said she would be. The two sat on a rock that was under the shade of a large tree.

"Ready for tomorrow?" She gave him a kiss, "of course you are, you're the best apprentice swordsman I know."

"Maybe a little nervous." Roren replied.

"Why? There's no need to worry, you're a great warrior, I've seen you training. It's our destiny, my love, we were made for each other, we are destined to be together forever."

Roren nodded in agreement and smiled.

"Want me to help you relax a little?" she asked seductively, moving closer to him, insinuatingly running her hand down her belly and moving towards the middle of his legs. Roren nodded. His member was already stiff. She untied the knot of his shorts and stuck his little member out. It wasn't big yet, but that would change when he received blessings upon successfully completing his rite of passage. "How cute! Already completely hard for me!" The unit of measurement there was pebbles, river pebbles. Most apprentices like him were around two pebbles in size when flaccid. Roren, when erect, could count that he was perhaps three pebbles in size. Yuli didn't seem to mind and held his dick with her fingertips, pulling his foreskin down, then she held him with her whole hand, which made the member almost completely disappear under her delicate hands. He let out a sigh of pleasure and it only took a few strokes for him to reach climax, which made her smile. His seed flew to the grasses. "The day is close when your seed will spurt inside me and we will have beautiful little children" Yuli whispered in his ear, which made him shiver.

That moment of intimacy made him more relaxed. Still he couldn't sleep at night. Roren was thinking anxiously about the big day, maybe he had postponed it too much? No. It was for Yuli. He had to make it. If he died or failed, she would have to marry someone else. He didn't want that. From beyond, he would swear. No, he was a good swordsman and his Frozen Fang was a great sword. Tomorrow would be the day. He would bring the spoils of a Feyren and be honored with his iron sword and the chance to marry the love of his life.

He would do that for Yuli, he couldn't fail. He would do it, he would fight. For love.