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January 21, 1561
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It was the first snow of the year. Snow in the north was extremely unpredictable, for it would sometimes snow for weeks while other times it would snow only for a single day.
A group of 10 men could be seen traversing with horses on a laid stone bricked road. It was clear they were in a hurry for their horses were panting extremely heavily signaling that they'd been on the road nonstop for a while now. All but one man had extreme worry expressed on their face as they looked at their exhausted horses. Not being able to hold it any longer, one soldier went up to the leader and said, "Sir, the horses can't go any longer. We must stop and rest or else they might collapse" shouted a man from the group towards the person at the front.
"I know that James. I can tell but we must push on. We don't have much time."
"Milord! We must stop and take the risk that it won't snow for longer than a day."
Looking down at his companion, Robert realized that the soldier was right. They had to rest or else their horses would collapse and then they would be in bigger trouble.
"Sigh, very well James. WE STOP IN 30 MINUTES." Shouted Robert, signaling to the rest of the group. The group hearing his command couldn't help but sigh in relief for getting stuck without a horse would be a death sentence for all of them except Robert. After a nerve-racking 20 minutes of horses galloping, they finally stopped. Almost immediately after stopping, the horses collapsed, unable to even walk no more.
"Perfect Timing Milord," said James, smiling at the luck of none of them getting into an accident.
"So it seems. BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR ANY CAVES. EVERYONE REGROUP IN 20." Robert shouted.
"AYE MILORD."
The group quickly dispersed, searching for any type of shelter they could use to avoid the snow for as time went on, it slowly began to increase. Robert and James stayed to watch over their luggage and horses.
"Milord, if I may?"
"Go ahead."
Taking a deep breath, James said, "Milord, please do not fret about the Amry camp. Even if those dirty barbiains dare attack a small village, they wouldn't dare attack a 5,000-stong men camp."
"I already know that James. However, I feel as if something is wrong. My instinct has yet to fail me. We must reach the camp as soon as possible."
"But Mi-"
"There will be no buts, this isn't a request but an order James." Robert interrupted sternly.
"Gulp, Very well. As you command Milord." James replied.
They sat there in silence for around 15 minutes before they heard a voice calling out to them.
"Over here, Ml'lord." said one of the soldiers, signaling to him and James that he had found a cave to hide.
"Very nice, now let's wait for the rest of the group," Robert said. Shorty after waiting another 5 minutes, all 8 men were back at the gathering spot ready to depart. The soldier who claimed to have found the cave, lead them to it. Arriving at the location, they saw a 15 feet entrance leading further underground.
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"Have you checked the whole cave?" Asked Robert the soldier.
"I'm afraid not Milord, for I immediately returned once spotting the entrance."
"Alright. Let's go set camp. I will take the first watch. James will follow up."
"Aye Milord." All 9 men replied before quickly setting up a small camp inside the cave. The horses were lead inside as well for the snow had pilled up, amounting to 4 inches with no sign of stopping.
Waking up in the morning, Robert quickly woke up everyone asleep and told them to get ready.
"We leave in 15 minutes. I want everyone ready in 10."
Allowing everyone to pack up, Robert looked around for James, spotting him near the horses, brushing several of them as they calmly ate some stored hay. Walking up to James, Robert asked," How are the horses?."
"Milord, they are as fine as they can be after such a journey. Don't worry about them Milord, they are the best horses in the whole Duchy!"
"Good, I don't plan on making another stop. My gut feeling is getting worse the longer we wait."
"Aye Milord, I understand."
"Call me when everyone is ready," Robert said as he began to walk further down into the cave.
"Where are you going, Milord?"
"I must cultivate."
"I see, Very well."
Walking for a minute or two, Robert decided to sit and begin to mediate right there for the time was of the essence. After feeling uneasy for several days now, he had decided to stock up on extra qi even though it would make him feel bloated throughout his whole body, an extremely uncomfortable feeling. However, Robert was willing to push through, as he trusted his gut feeling the most for it have never failed him through his years of combat during the war in his younger days.
'There will be trouble' he thought as he slowly began to meditate. 'I must, no, will be ready.' After what had seemed like a couple of seconds to Robert, he was interrupted by James who was calling out for him.
"Milord, we're ready to depart."
"I hear ya. I'm coming." Robert answered, opening his eyes. The uncomfortableness was there, reminding him of times he didn't want to be reminded of.
'Alright, let's go' he thought, eyes showing extreme fierceness that haven't been there for over a decade.
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January 22, 1561
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Waking up, Henry couldn't help but notice how colorful his room was. It was as if everything had more color in it. Immiedailty after that thought, he begin to smile, not being able to put down his smile even after several minutes of rolling around in bed. How could he? He was able to seal off 2 of his sense in just a single day. Just thinking of that brought him immense joy.
'This ain't that hard' he thought to himself, already imagining himself as an omnipotent being. Thrusting his hands and making whoosh sounds, he began to fall into his usual daydreams
To add to his excitement, his mother's surprised expression and praises were like an extra cherry on the top. It kept replaying in his mind. Just like any child, he too wished to receive his parent's praise.
'Being praised is nice' he thought. 'I'll cultivate even more to get more praises!' Just as began getting up, he heard a knock on the door.
"Young master Henry, are you awake?" asked Amy, coming to perform her usual duty.
"Yes I am and I'm hungry. Is breakfast ready?"
"Yes, it is young master Henry. The Baroness also instructed me to inform you to dress up properly, for there will be a guest as well."
"Oh? A guest? Do you know who it is?"
"I'm afraid, not young master Henry."
"Okay" Henry replied, still cheekily smiling. Quickly getting dressed up with the help of Amy, he walked over to the dining room, with Amy behind him. Opening the door, Henry saw his mother with a frown on her face. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she looked to be pondering over something. Across from her sitting were 2 men.
One Henry immediately recognized for it was Sir Stuart. The other one was someone new to Henry. The first thing Henry noticed was that there was a huge scar stretching from his forehead to the bottom of his lips. On the other hand, the stranger wasn't as eccentric as Sir Stuart in his style of clothes. He wore a normal black tank top with black shorts, matching his hair and single eye color. That's right, an eye for he had an eye patch for his left eye. Overall he looked like a usual war veteran found all across the castle but what made him different was his expression. It was one of indifference; as if nothing could surprise him.
"Ah, Henry. What are you doing there standing, come here quick and introduce yourself to our guests," Mary stated, showing some sternness.
Waling over, Henry said, "Hello Mother, Sir Stuart and ....?" bowing in respect.
"...You may call me Crow." the stranger replied, observing Henry's every move.
"I see, hello Crow," Henry replied not paying any attention to his unusual response. Instead, he was more curious about what was going on.
"Mother, may I ask what is going on?"
"Ah, that's right. Henry, Crow here will be teaching you cultivation stuff. He will be teaching you every day from now on."
"EH?"