Chapter 12
Belia 1.3
The hall was full of roaming nobles coming and going around the tables picking food for their plates. The maids ran around the hall with trey fill with glasses of wine serving the guest and nobles around the room. At the back ends of the hall on top the small stage, the longest table was surrounded with Nobles Lords toasting and putting up conversation with her Lord father and his majesty the king. The young nobles of the households of Valleyfall were mainly there to marvel at the beauty of Cassandra Kylong, the royal princess of the Seven Kingdoms.
Belia was actually sitting with them not to long ago but stood up because she couldn't stand the fake smile of the nobles. She also couldn't help but feel disgusted at the attitude of the sons of theses household as they didn't hide the saliva slipping from their mouths as they stare at the princess.
She stood at the back beside the fireplace, leaning against the wall. The big black Dire Wolf that was bigger than a bull was sleeping calmly in the middle of all this noise. A maid pass in front of her with a trey, she reached out and took a glass of Heartily Smile's Wine and calmly stood back while drinking slowly.
"My lady, why so lonely here in the back?" A voice that she didn't recognize spoke to her from the side. She looked at the male who spoke to her and found a young man in his early twenties standing there with a soft smile on his face. He wore a robe with a Knight's Armor underneath. His dark hair was glossy with oil and pull to the back. He look refined and elegant.
"I just got tired of sitting so I wanted to stand up and stretch my legs." The young knight chuckle at her and said, "just like me. I needed a walk and I hope this lady here can show me around." Belia thought for a moment and nodded. They both walk around and reach a table filled with different sorts of meat. A maid stood behind the table and greet them with a smile.
"You northern do love to eat a lot. Back in the south we don't have so many varieties of Beast's Meat." He pointed at one piece of smoked meat and the maid served on a plate for him. "We are surrounded by creatures of nature all day, everyday. Of course we would have different ideas of how to cook different meats." She ask for a bowl and the maid serve her some juicy meatballs with a red spicy sauce on top.
The young man said, "I haven't introduce myself. I am Johan of house Hervender a Knight in training." General Beévarn son? The Smiling Knight. She now understood why they call him as such. His smile was as if painted there with his sparkling white teeth showing in between his thing lips.
Belia gave a slight bow, grabbing the hem of her dress and slightly bending her knees, she made a courtesy greeting of a young lady of a high noble household. "Belia Ashcold, is a pleasure to meet Ser Johan. Tales of your feats have reach our ears this far north." Johan of House Hervender is a young up coming Knight from the capital. He is a genius swordsman and is praised by his outstanding performance on the Six Forts of the south.
She couldn't deny that he was truly one of the true geniuses of the Seven Kingdoms. "Lady Belia is such a surprise to me too, to have met such a beautiful woman in the northern lands like yourself. If I be honest, I heard mentions of you but not because of you, but because of your older brother name Lanier, right." Belia eyebrows were thin like her mother but long like the men of the north. In a sense it brought her an air of intimidation when her eyebrows rose.
Johan continue with his soft smile and said, "I came here of behest of my Lord father. I heard that him and your father were somewhat of old rivals in the past and that my father lost to yours numerous of times. He told me to come here and challenge the eldest of you siblings for a duel to demonstrate who's stronger." He end up scratching the back of his ear when an awkward smile curled up at the corner of his lips.
Belia eyes were now filled with interest for her father old rival. She wanted to ask more of that but there was a more important information that she wishes to know more about. "How did you train to become a knight?" Since little she has heard about knights from old tales that nanny Marilee read her when she was a child.
Knights was a branch of Cultivation that was lost hundreds of years ago, it goes back to dates of the Kings of Winter and Lords of Summers thousands of years ago and it was the main Cultivation system that humans use in those ages to combat against the Beasts of Nature. After, they disappeared as if they were exterminated in the blink of an eye. No one knows what truly happen but it was an Art of Training sought after by Martial Clans and Immortal Schools alike. It was only on the War of Change that they came back and appear, this was the trump card that his majesty the King use to win the throne.
The tales went far back to when the Frost Giants descended from the Lands of Always Winter. These were humans who have the capacity to form and hold a Force Weapon inside their Aperture. Not all Martial Cultivators could actually form nor hold such creations inside their bodies. As such, with the passing of years, less knights were born in the human race and slowly disappeared from the records of mankind.
"I don't know how to explain it myself without demonstrating it. If I could put it into words, would be to Coagulate your own Soul. You touch the top of your abdomen like this and Will it and your weapon that you have been Gestating inside would follow your Will." With a hand over the center of his body Belia could see a faint glow been illuminated from there. The light wasn't piercing nor glamorous, if one didn't know what to look at they wouldn't be able to pick up the glow at the time.
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"Can you show it to me?" Belia eyes were now sparkling in interested as what it would look like, "heehe, not here of course. Maybe outside, alright?" Belia also let a soft chuckle at her childish impatient.
"Little sister what are you doing standing in front of the Beast Meat table." At that moment she heard Stan voice at the side and turned around and saw him with Lanier making their way to her. Johan also stare at the two siblings and his, all smiling face was replaced with a serious, calm look.
"Sorry, I just got daze at the ability of Ser Johan." At this time the brothers look at Johan and Lanier said, "you are a Knight?" Lanier ask because he knows that most Knights are older men in their thirties and forties. The young ones that are in training can only call themselves as Squire. Going through the process of understanding of a True Knight Cultivation process and learning as they spend more time together with True Knights.
"Johan of House Hervender, is a pleasure to meet you lord Lanier and lord Stan." Johan put a fist on his chest and bow slightly at the two. Stan and Lanier also bow with a fist on their chest and greet Johan Hervender.
"Lord Lanier my father has told me about your capabilities down in the south. He said that he once saw you saving a town from a flood in the River Lands. He told me that you had Inborn Strength and that you created a wall in front of the town made out of huge boulders weighing tons in pounds. I couldn't possibly do that and we even are close in age. I didn't think I would have seen another powerful youth from outside the capital, so my father urged me to have a friendly spar with you if we ever travel north. And now that am here how could I miss this great chance, I hope that you could give me the honor." Johan finally let a cocky smile spread out. He was extremely confident in himself. A Knight's Abilities may not overpower a Martial Warrior but the advantages that they have is more numerous than that of Martial Warriors that only use the Force to amplified their physical prowess and deployment of their Battle skills, something that knights also can do.
"Don't even bother, you would lose nine times out of ten." At that moment a voice was heard behind Belia and Johan who were already in front of the beast meat table. This voice wasn't from the maid that was supposed to be the only one behind them. Johan turn back and saw a youth with long, starless black hair giving his back to them. He was picking up different type of beast meat and was calmly ordering the maid to slice them into thin slices.
He had a long loaf of bread open up on his plate as he calmly put the slices of meat on his bread. Johan eyebrows furrow as he didn't feel anyone behind them, only the maid that had a smile on her face. The youth turned around to look at the group with a big sandwich made out of all types of meat inside, there were also cheese with small tomatoes and lettuce.
With one hand holding the big sandwich that was overly fat with smoked meat and was actually overflowing to the side with oily sauce spilling out, he balance the plate with his other hand to catch anything else from falling. Johan took a deep breath as he realized that the youth in front of him was blind but something from deep inside of him was telling him that the eyes behind that piece of spotless white cloth was actually looking straight at him. And that, cause an uncomfortable feeling from the depths of his heart with a prickling sensation all over his skin.
He only felt like this when he started his Knight's Training. When he was just opening the Aura Nodes around his body. Every time he was in front of his father, he felt this suffocated feeling, it was as if he was underwater and needed to hold his breath, if not he would drown. But that time the 'water' was the overflowing Energy from his father's body. Now that he has grown stronger, obviously still not at his father level, he now didn't feel that suffocating feeling like when he was a kid. Now he got this same feeling from a youth younger than him, would that means that his power level is way higher than that of his father?
He banned those thoughts as he didn't dare to believed. "And from whose house is this little brother from?" Johan took out his practical smile as he knows that his prior expression was unsightly for his Knight's name.
Belia chime in and grab Cyrus wrist to take a bite out of his sandwich, after taking a bite she cover her mouth and said with a stuffed mouth, "Good, but it would have been better with fry chips potatoes inside, no?" Cyrus shrugged at her and nodded, accepting Belia opinion. That's how she liked, the multi-meat sandwich. It was Belia who taught him to eat it like that as normal people wouldn't be able to handle the chaotic elements of different Beasts meat at the same time. She at most can hold a mouthful of it and her whole body would feel stuff like a rag cloth full of sand. After finishing chewing and swallowing she look at Johan and said, "This is our little brother, Cyrus." Johan eyes widened and he didn't dare to believe it. Cyrus didn't look anything like a man from the north. What defines the men of the north was not only their robust and big physique but their square jaw lines and big foreheads. Cyrus jawline was sharp and refined, elegant like a boy from royalty.
"He is an orphan, so father brought him up in the castle with us when he was very little. So we adopted him into our household as such. He is the little brother of us the Ashcold children." Johan nodded at Stan explanation and thought that made sense.
"Cyrus, right...why did you say that I wouldn't be a match against lord Lanier? You have never watched me battle nor known the extent of my abilities." Cyrus mouth was full of food but he still talk without an ounce of nobility in him. "Simple, for me to defeat Lanier I only need to hit him once but for you, I could defeat you with my mere Aura. Can you feel the hair stand on the back of your neck? Can you feel your heart beat right out of your chest? Can you feel your bone shake like there’s something within? Can’t you feel the blood pumping inside of your skin? Can you feel it?” That garner an wide eyed Johan. His mouth was left open and he wanted to say something but didn’t know how to start.
Seeing his expression, Belia was momentarily shock. She always knew that Cyrus was ridiculously strong. Since the moment that she meet him, it was like meeting a Devil Incarnate. There was nothing normal about him. Sometimes she even wonder if the blood running through his veins is actually humane. She always suspected that he was beyond the Aura of Reality but there’s nothing to prove her suspicion. Not even her father is at that level and the only recorded human in the last couple of decades that is confirmed to be in that level is the King himself. “Isn't that the best answer for you, the only thing is that you don't want to believe it, right?" He still minded his own business and finish that long loaf of bread and went back to the table to get more.
Belia at the side shook her head at Cyrus bluntness. He has always been like that, he spoke his mind off and didn't care who was in front. He was always living in his own world, detach from everyone but at the same time curious about the surrounding. He would poke his nose were it doesn't belong to and would seek to entertain himself if the time calls for it.
She look at Johan who was left with an open mouth at the side and she didn't know what to say to him. She saw anger flash through his eyes and she couldn't help but speak now, "why not have a spar you two. Ser Johan if you don't believe Cyrus, you could just see the results yourself. It would also help me see the ability of a Knight as you have told me." Ser Johan was angry at first but he masked all well with that smiling face.
"What do you say big Lan?" She ask her eldest, he shrugged his shoulders and said. "Mind as well, I needed a stretch after all that eating this morning." Belia clap her hand and became expectant for this spar. She wanted to know how a Knight's Weapon look like and see if she has an opportunity to train in that occupation. She looked back but didn't find Cyrus, looking around the hall she saw his black blur passing left and right to every table. No matter if there was fruit or salad, meat or roasted chicken, wine or beverages. He didn't miss a single table, only the long table on the stage was the one he didn't approach.
What Belia found weird while looking at Cyrus was that no one in the hall took notice of him. Only the maids that were serving food in the tables responded to his presence. "Well let's go out. Why wait here, let's go." Lanier was pump up at the thought of battling a Knight and was the first one to cross the hall, Ser Johan was right behind him and only her and Stan were standing at the same spot. They both looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time while following the two outside the hall.