“You are doing an excellent job Relina!” Eliza yelled out the undercover name of her good friend Talia, as she watched her exchanging blows with Annette, another young knight cadet. Eliza was now a knight combat instructor although she had become a knight herself only a short six months ago. She watched as Talia, the auburn-haired, green-eyed girl, stood in front of her, dueling within the circle that she, Zelus and her best friend Alec had trained in not long ago.
Not long ago, Talia and the others had faced a grave ordeal at the Aneiran Grand Cathedral, a catastrophic event from which they nearly had not returned. Talia’s wounds from those events that took place six months ago had healed well, though the sadness remained in her eyes as one terrible pain had been replaced with another.
When Talia was a young girl, she had been found to possess the gift of Aneira’s sight, an extremely rare and powerful gift that granted her visions of the future from time to time. It was once recorded in a false prophecy by the Fallen, an Aneiran nymph named Nemesis, that one gifted with Aneiran sight must be sacrificed on the eve of Daemon’s greatest strength. Her death would bring about the rebirth of Aneira so her power could revive the land. This, however, they discovered nearly too late, was a clever lie crafted by Nemesis in service to her dark master Daemon, the god of destruction.
It was their dear friend Alec while training to become a paladin, who discovered the deception. It was he who rallied together a band of knights in order to save the divine priestess. He had learned that Nemesis had once before tried to enact her trap against the fabled Lady Seraphina, former ruler of the land to the east, Highmooria. Seraphina had seen through Nemesis’ trap all but too late and was drawn into a battle to the death against the Daemon knight Abaddon. It was during this fate-filled battle, however, that Seraphina used her power as a divine to seal away Abaddon’s power within the lunar eclipse.
Arriving at the cathedral, Alec and his allies infiltrated the stronghold with the help of Alec’s instructor who was also Eliza’s uncle, Marec. Together, they were able to rise to the top of the spire where they bore witness to the commencement of a dark ritual. Alec and Marec were forced to face off against the Daemon knight Belias, who revealed that once the ritual was complete, Alec’s body was to become the new vessel for the evil lord. It was also revealed that it had been Belias who had attacked Alec’s home of Highmooria and had murdered his sister, Rayne.
Marec and Alec rallied together and fought against Belias and his forces as Nemesis began to slowly kill off Talia. It was during this battle that Marec lost his life in an attempt to prevent Talia from being sacrificed; Nemesis’ goal all along was to unleash the divine’s power in order to bring Abaddon’s soul back into Valoria. In his final moments, Alec cleverly cast the rune of Martyr, an ancient and powerful rune once lost to the ravages of time. With it, he put a stop to the dark ritual, and in a moment of surprise, defeated Belias.
Nemesis now attempted to kill Alec. Once Alec was dead, she would be able to renew her assault on the priestess. As Alec could feel his life fading, Abaddon spoke. His soul, having passed through the void, was now free to begin the resurrection. Abaddon chose to use Belias as his vessel since now they required Alec’s death in order to finish draining Talia of power. With a simple word, Abaddon destroyed the Daemon knight and began his resurrection, when the rest of Alec’s team arrived. Eliza, who had climbed the eastern wall with her allies, Dominic and Nilus were the first ones on the scene followed shortly by their comrade Zelus, who survived the explosion of the watchtower where he had held off the Forsaken. Eliza had never come to learn the secrets of Zelus’ miraculous survival and whenever she asked, he grew cold and reluctant to share the details.
Eliza looked around to her newest wave of cadets. Annette, who Talia was currently facing off against, was a young noble of Valascaa and member of Nilus’ group of recruits. Eliza’s recruits stood off to the side of the ring watching. There was Colette, a young blonde haired, green-eyed woman. She was once a street urchin and orphan refugee of Highmooria until Alec, having proven the might of the Highmoorians, made it possible for more Highmoorians to join the knights’ college.
Among the rest of her recruits was a short, brown haired, round faced boy named Giles, another Valascaan noble. He was born into the Artellan family, which was among several of the lesser-known noble families. Both of his parents had been explorers of sorts and had spent a great deal of their lives trying to learn the secrets of the ancient races of the Exodon. Giles was a bit shy and preferred to spend his time in quiet study within the Valascaan library, which proved how much he resembled his parents.
Thomas was a dark haired, dark skinned boy, who hailed from Dormeera, another land far across the ocean. He was an exceptionally tall and kind knight who, Eliza had been told, came from a long line of mystic swordsmen.
The mystic swordsmen were a proud and noble sect of warriors whose power was similar to that of the Highmoorian paladins. They channel energy through their weapons, though their abilities are reserved toward offensive applications as far as Eliza was aware. The Dormeerans worshipped the Lord of the Desert, Promethian, one of Aneira’s supposed sibling gods as those of the knight’s college had recently been informed. In fact, many things had been revealed to them over the past few months, definitely proving that the council had been profiting and reveling in the forced ignorance of their populace.
Eliza turned back towards her final cadet, Rowan. He was a young strong man with dark hair and tan skin. His complexion was not as dark as Thomas’ was though still darker than the average man or woman Eliza had known. Eliza knew Rowan from before when she, Zelus and Alec were still cadets. Rowan had long been a friend to Alec though Eliza knew little of him. She knew even less in regards to Rowan’s whereabouts before he arrived in Valascaa, just a fortnight past, though what little he had told her made it clear to her that he had arrived from another distant land though not Dormeera as was her initial assumption. He, the same as Thomas, yet showed no signs of having any special powers, though they had both proven themselves as more than capable combatants.
Eliza looked back towards Talia, whom to everyone else knew as Relina Kaldur, Eliza’s cousin, daughter of war hero Marec Kaldur. When they returned to Valascaa from the Grand Shrine, fearing that others might identify her name as that of the divine, they realized that it would be imperative for Talia to assume a covert name. The name she chose was Relina, the name of her mother and previous cover while accompanying Marec. Talia had done well as a cadet. She was strong, driven and her will was undeniable. With Eliza’s help, she had rapidly risen to the top of her class and was now one of the best cadets in the entire academy.
Eliza watched as Talia, her personal student, battled in the ring alongside the rest of team Kaldur against team Calnus led by Nilus Calnus.
His team consisted of Annette, Andre, another dark haired, dark skinned boy from Dormeera who had revealed himself as another amateur mystic swordsman. Again, Eliza felt herself intrigued by the unique ability though, as was the case with Thomas, she had been given little opportunity to sit and learn more about him, let alone his gifts.
Mariah, a warrior of average height with long brown hair and sandy colored eyes, hailed from a Valascaan noble family that had once held ties in Highmooria. She had known Alec in the past, before the collapse of Highmooria but, to what extent, Eliza did not know. Eliza had not been given the opportunity to speak with her beyond simple pleasantries, but she wished that she would soon develop a comradeship as she watched the young woman fight with an intensity that she and her mother could admire. Mariah moved with grace, as a viper through the grass, silent and deadly, her movements swift and fluid. She defeated her opponents through her superior finesse and grace, strength serving her little in her victories.
Nathan Cardeel, who was tall with broad shoulders and muscular arms that even made Eliza stare, was a fellow Valascaan noble and young celebrity. He had gorgeous hazel eyes, hair black as night and a smug smile that left behind a flock of women who were devastated by his absence. His family was well known throughout Valascaana and was extraordinarily prosperous thanks to their dealings in the trade of precious gems throughout the country. Eliza had found him to be quite arrogant and on many occasions had been tempted to knock him unconscious due to his many inappropriate; overly theatrical attempts to woe her. It was these same actions, she had concluded, that was the source of Zelus’ deep loathing for him. Naturally, Nathan had been placed on team Calnus as neither Eliza nor Zelus could tolerate him. Fortunately, Mariah did not seem to mind being trapped in close quarters combat with him.
There was Jeriah Calnus, naturally placed on team Calnus. He was the third of seven children in the Calnus family, Dominic being the oldest followed by Nilus, Jeriah, Seera, Trina…; she could not remember the rest. Jeriah, although an exceptional knight on his own, did not shine on the battlefield as his brothers did. His talents remained with his extreme mental acuity and ability to form masterful strategies with only a moment’s notice. He also, had grown accustomed to spending a large portion of his time within the library where he studied various subjects. He did have an awful tendency to babble on even when no one else knew of what he spoke of.
Eliza had become all too familiar with the babble, as he had cornered her one day, revealing to her that once the Calnus clan had helped Sidonis build Highmooria and Valascaana. He told her that they were among the first settlers of the newly formed countries, and that his people had laid the very foundation on which the castle rested. He was boastful and claimed that only his family knew of the castle’s innermost secrets. Eliza had asked him if he himself knew of those secrets to which he nervously replied, “They would not be secrets if I just blurted them out whenever someone asked for them,” a clear sign that the secrets had long since been lost.
Eliza now watched as her team battled team Calnus. Nilus was on the opposite side of the training ring. He stood within a small box behind a podium, playing war general. Eliza watched as Nilus scribbled fiercely on his podium and wondered what sort of tactic he had been planning. Eliza looked down to her own sheet and admired the doodle of the bunnies she had carefully drawn. Eliza looked back to her team to assess any measurable flaws in their style.
Talia was showing significant improvement over where she had started. Eliza remembered the attack on the church in Remora when they were aiding Talia on her pilgrimage. They had been attacked by the temple knights from the Grand Cathedral by order of high priestess Angelica. During the attack, Talia was forced to stand up and defend her fellow divine, Tear, from danger. It had been in this moment that they had discovered Talia’s true naiveté and helplessness, as she was easily disarmed.
During their travels, Alec had attempted to prepare Talia for combat with a sword, and after the loss of their friend, Eliza had taken it upon herself to continue the instruction. Now, she watched on in awe at the magnificently graceful creature Talia had become, blending a perfect cross of Eliza and Alec’s respective styles. When Talia had first started, she could barely hold the sword; now, she moved as if every step were a part of some brilliantly choreographed waltz.
Talia lashed out at Annette as her teammates formed around her, defending her while attacking their own opponents. She watched as Rowan fought Nathan, and she instantly was reminded again of Alec. It was no wonder that they were friends. Rowan was just as savage on the field as Alec, and then, even maybe more so. She laughed as Rowan parried a blow from Nathan and, spinning on a heel, violently swung his shield across his body pummeling Nathan and knocking the larger man onto his backside. She wondered to herself what kind of training Rowan had undergone, but its merits were unquestionable. She had seen Rowan single handedly dismantle an entire team on his own. Now, they worked to see how his team playing skills were. Nathan quickly scuttled to his feet and fell back in line with his teammates as Jeriah and Mariah laid out some bow fire.
“Shields up!” Eliza yelled as her team all attempted to respond. She shook her head as her two archers, Colette and Giles, attempted to dodge the arrows. Colette narrowly dodged the barrage and hid behind Rowan whilst Giles took a hammer arrow straight into the forehead and lay on the ground inert. Eliza’s face pained as she watched and shook her head.
“That boy is always getting knocked unconscious.” She muttered to herself as the fighting continued. She looked up at her team and their strengths. Thomas and Rowan made for a strong defense and, though Rowan could stand to work on his team working skills, he was an excellent fighter. Thomas was a sentinel, through and through, though his blows at times lacked the confidence that seemed over abundant with the majority of the Dormeerans. Talia was the only one on her team whom she could say bore any real world combat experience and had her identity not been a secret. Eliza would simply order her to unleash her powers as a divine. With that off from the table, she would have to focus on Talia’s speed and dexterity.
She thought to the rest of her team and though Giles had many strengths of his own, they were rather useless while he slept on the floor. Colette, was an excellent archer though seemed so driven to prove herself Alec’s equal that she tended to act rashly and not as a team player. As Eliza looked back to her team, she noticed such a moment as Colette ran out from behind Rowan and began to rapidly fire off one arrow after another as she charged towards the enemy.
“Charge!” Rowan cried and Eliza watched as three out of the four conscious members of her team plowed into Team Calnus’ defensive line, while Thomas looked to Eliza for the command.
“Help them!” Eliza cried at Thomas. The lumbering Dormeeran did as he was told and with his massive shield smashed into Andre as Rowan slammed into Nathan. Their tactical five versus five duel quickly turned to a four on five and then finally, into an all-out brawl as Rowan, Colette and Talia savagely went after their opponents while Thomas tried to help, though he seemed more interested in watching the sidelines. Again, Eliza beat herself in the head as she watched her team.
“Thomas, if you are not going to fight then at least drag Giles out of the ring before somebody steps on him!” Thomas smiled and, nodding his head, walked over to Giles. Eliza roared with frustration and watched as the other three members became animalistic and dismantled Team Calnus. Colette was on Mariah’s back, fighting as fiercely as her tiny body could allow, punching Mariah repeatedly in the head. Rowan was fighting one on one with Nathan as he attempted to repel Jeriah’s arrows. Talia, however, was engaged with Andre, a man more than twice her size, while deflecting both Jeriah’s occasional arrow and Annette who was desperately trying to land a blow without gouging Andre in the process.
“Hey everyone, we are supposed to be sparring not attending a bar fight.” Eliza had given up at this juncture and attempted to break up the fighting.
“You realize that we are supposed to be training, right? You know, big gathering of the nations and everything?” She looked to the opposite side of the ring and saw that Nilus was having little success with his own team. Instead, they both watched as the brawl continued. Talia was still combating Andre and Annette. Rowan, with two quick and skillful slashes, defeated Jeriah who was attempting to fetch more arrows for his quiver. Jeriah sat out of the ring next to Mariah who had blood running down the side of her head. Her match with Colette having ended with a draw. Colette sat on the opposite side next to Thomas, whom had been shot in the back while attempting to rouse the still unconscious Giles. It was now Rowan and Talia, versus Andre, Annette and Nathan.
The three members of Team Calnus formed up and placed their shields together, forming a protective wall. Talia and Rowan stood side by side. Rowan flipped his sword and shield behind his back, trading them for his twin sickles. Eliza leaned forward gripping the edge of her podium as the fight looked as though it were finally about to start. Rowan led the attack, pulling down Nathan’s shield with a downward slash from one sickle and then reaching for his sword with the other. Talia rushed in and, pounding into Andre, who stood next to Nathan, kicked and slashed at him. Nathan backed away and the shield wall revolved slightly as he tried to recover from the strike.
Andre pressed forward with his shield as Annette jabbed outward with her sword. Talia allowed the blade to slide off her shield but was unable to return the attack as the defensive formation shifted again. Eliza watched cautiously as the three no doubt were partaking in one of Jeriah’s brilliant maneuvers. Each time the person in the middle would lunge forward, one side would become slightly exposed. Then, the other side would strike out, still protected by the shield of the one beside them.
Talia and Rowan backed off slightly as they looked for a way to counter this defense. Team Calnus pressed forward as Eliza’s remaining two fighters moved backwards, gradually.
“You are running out of room to run.” Nilus laughed as his team’s victory was becoming more and more probable. As they continued to step backwards, Rowan and Talia turned their attention to Eliza. Eliza snapped to, remembering that she was supposed to be leading them. She thought for a moment, sifting through her tactical notes when she came across the doodle of her bunnies.
“Take up tactical assault two, four, three!” Talia and Rowan looked to one another as they tried to recall what in the name of Aneira that meant. Eliza, with no way of revealing more information without alerting Team Calnus, simply held up her picture of the bunnies and smiled her cheesiest grin. She scrunched her face as Talia and Rowan returned her aid with a laugh, but seemed to gather the message. Rowan switched back to his shield and Talia stood in front of him.
As Team Calnus edged in ever more closely, Talia buckled her knees and jumped as high as she could. Rowan slid beneath her and, in one rapid, fluent motion, caught her on his shield and, placing his knees beneath her, launched Talia into the air. Talia’s light frame propelled over the tops of her adversaries as she positioned her shield to knock away the jabs. With her own blade, she slapped Andre on the back of the head. Talia landed beautifully and caught two blades atop the blade of her own sword as Andre, holding his newly formed knot, walked out of the ring, head down in shame.
Talia pressed her attackers back and began to take full advantage of the flanking maneuver she and Rowan had just created. She lashed out at Annette as Nathan was forced to quickly spin to protect his partners back from Rowan.
“Back to back! Raise your shields, synchronize your movements and aid one another!” Nilus called out to his cadets, though, from Eliza’s vantage point, the fighting was long over. Rowan fought with the savage intensity that she had only seen Alec bring to the field. He fought well with Talia, helping her to lower Annette’s guard. Rowan lashed out at Nathan fiercely, who defended himself as if fearing for his life. A rapid three-slash combination of moves from Rowan ended with an unprecedented sidespin where Rowan released his shield as if it were some sort of boomerang. Nathan barely glazed the shield to the side as Rowan’s sickle came forth and caught his shield.
“Nathan what are you doing?” Nilus tried to warn his cadet as Rowan’s shield flew to its real target and struck Annette hard in the back, knocking her forward. Talia having read Rowan’s attack perfectly, gently slapped Annette on the ribs then jumped, spinning off the taller woman’s back and planting a heavy kick to the side of Nathan’s head as he tried to strike at her.
“I yield.” Nathan called as he lay on his back, both hands in the air. Talia and Rowan smiled at one another and lowered their blades from in front of Nathan. They turned to face Eliza and held their weapons high into the air. Colette and Thomas marched onto the field, Thomas carrying Giles in his arms as if he were a sleeping babe. Nilus and Eliza both walked towards the center of the ring as the two teams filled the arena.
“I must apologize for mine attack, Sir Nathan.” Talia said as she helped him to his feet. “Might I offer amends by healing your wounds?” She held out her hands to reveal the legitimacy of her offer. Eliza shook her head at the typical response from Talia. What she was not expecting was Nathan reaching out, enveloping her hands into his, and pulling her close.
“To have been defeated by such a beautiful maiden was worth the wounds. Should it serve to lighten your heart, might I offer you satisfaction through a kiss?” Nathan began to pucker his lips as the helpless Talia blushed deep maroon.
“She is spoken for!” Eliza yelled as she slapped Nathan on the backside of his head, snapping him back to reality. Talia, released from Nathan’s grasp ran behind Eliza and held her shoulders for cover. Nathan, rubbing the back of his head, turned to face Eliza and began performing his best smolder.
Before he could say anything, they were interrupted. “Hey Eliza, how have you been? I have not had the exquisite pleasure of your company lately.” Eliza stared into the gorgeous man’s eyes while behind her, Mariah was swooning with adoration.
“She is spoken for as well! Knights fall in!” Everyone, including Eliza and Nilus fell into formation. Eliza and Nilus stood in front, with their respective teams standing behind them. Eliza faced forward as her gaze filled with the one man who truly made her heart glow. Zelus stood before her, tall, broad and handsome, his blonde hair blowing in the wind, his blue eyes staring into her.
“I bore witness to your little display, just a moment ago from up there.” Zelus pointed toward the castle balcony. “And do you know who I was up there with, watching your horribly disgraceful debacle? I will give you a hint, the knights’ commander and the Imperial council and do you know what they are doing right now? They are up there wondering why, why in the name of Aneira, have we allowed such poor excuses for cadets into our ranks. They are blaming myself and the Lion for your actions, telling us that we have gone too soft on you.” He paced back in forth in front of them and, though Eliza did not care for the tone in his voice, she knew full well that his promotion since their return had become quite strenuous as of late due to the raised expectations from the council.
Zelus scratched his head as he searched for the new wave of haranguing words to unleash upon them. Zelus was not the type to speak down to others, but it was now expected that he reign in order to discipline those who opposed the rules of training. Finally, after some serious contemplation, he lifted his eyes back to meet theirs.
“The council has ordered me to consider either reassigning you or to simply eliminate some of you from your teams and use the remaining members to comprise my own team. I do not wish to do this. Each of you has chosen to enter the knights’ college of your own volition. We have members from other lands, who have chosen, out of diplomacy, to study among us while some of our own have been selected to train amongst our friends, the Dormeerans.”
Eliza knew that Thomas was one such Dormeeran who had elected to train with the Valorian knights but she could not help but wonder who might be eliminated from their teams. Eliza watched as Zelus continued to pace back and forth for a moment.
“The Lion and I have convinced the council that, should they allow you one more opportunity, you shall prove yourself worthy as Valorian knights. They have given all of us until the coming games to prepare. The day before the games, each of you shall be reevaluated and the council, not the Lion nor myself, but the council shall determine whether you may participate in the games or not. I do hope that I needn’t remind you of the importance of placing in the games.” Each and every one of the cadets, including Eliza and Nilus, confirmed in unison that they did. Zelus smiled weakly as he looked back to his cadets.
“Good. I wish you all a good afternoon and expect each and every one of you back here early tomorrow morning. I have agreed, on the council’s behest to monitor your training personally until your evaluations. Knights…dismissed!” Everyone broke apart and began to drag away their sore bodies as Talia stealthily crept past Nathan and offered to treat Mariah’s wounds, who gladly accepted. Eliza followed Zelus back towards the noble quarter where, after increasing speed to a slow jog, she caught up to him and grabbed his hand.
“Is there something I can do to help?” Eliza asked Zelus as he turned to face her. She could tell that Zelus had not been sleeping. The wear and tear from his new position was becoming ever more evident.
“I am alright Eliza. There is just so much to do right now with the Dormeerans and the Tartarians coming. There is the matter of the council wanting to be involved in every particular detail and then blaming your father and I for everything that does not fit into their perfect picture. I understand that political relations between the Valorians and the other nations are on edge, even while things are less than stable here. This only adds to the issue of the council wanting to make a strong show of force in the games in order to prove to the other nations that we are not weakened. They wanted me to disband the two teams just now.” Eliza began to rub Zelus’ back as she guided him across the noble’s quarter towards his home.
“I will speak with my team and get them back on track. Would that make things easier for you?” Zelus nodded slightly as he turned his head towards the labyrinth of trials. Eliza turned her head in the same direction and remembered their lost friend, who was still recovering from his untimely death.
“When he wakes, things will get easier.” Eliza spoke. Zelus smiled and shook his head.
“Nothing is ever easier, when Alec is involved. The first thing that will come up is how is it that the council’s beloved martyr has risen and is walking about. There will be a new batch of lies woven to maintain order and public approval, whilst saving face with the other nations. Once that has been settled, then Alec’s part begins. You and I both know that he will never accept this illusion that the council has concocted.” Eliza thought to herself for a moment. Zelus was right.
Once they returned from the Grand Shrine, they had been forced to conceal Alec’s survival for his own sake. The council, with some persuading, had finally decided to back their decision to attack the shrine, though they had claimed that Marec and Alec were both killed in battle while serving their beloved council. The people had not even questioned the fact that Marec was not bound by, nor served the council’s rule. Now, only those that were directly involved that day knew the truth and many that participated in the battle still believed that they fought for the council all along.
Those that knew the truth had lived these last six months with the lie that Alec had died a war hero to the council’s cause and that there was no evil plot within the Grand Shrine even though the Forsaken had infiltrated its walls and executed many within. They had been forced to pretend that high priestess, Angelica, had not been involved and was instead, a victim of the event. They had also been forced to conceal Talia’s true identity. Now, their dear friend Alec, who had willingly sacrificed everything for what he believed in, lay helpless while the future he fought for was reduced to a lie.
Eliza turned her attention back to Zelus.
“I think that you have overlooked another small problem?”
Zelus turned his head to her, face filled with horror as if he could not bear the thought of another issue.
“What is that?”
“Have you thought about what Alec’s going to say when he finds out that the council is building a monument to his homage as being their most prized citizen?”
Zelus’ eyes grew wide as he turned his head toward the castle courtyard where rumors suggested that the hero Alec, “Valascaana’s favorite son,” was to have a memorial erected in his honor on behalf of the Imperial council of Valascaana. Zelus laughed at the thought.
“Yeah…he’s going to be furious.”
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