The bedroom of Glaed's apartment sat in disarray. There were clothes strewn across the floor and every surface was riddled with souvenirs and knick-knacks meant for his family. Sparring swords and knives riddled the domicile in such clutter that it would have been difficult for a stranger to navigate. The bedspread sat in a disheveled clump on the floor and his bed was covered in digital books and comics. This wasn't happenstance or the fact that he was in a hurry. Nope. He had always been this way. As his mother had once stated, You're messy, disorganized and irresponsible! And of all days, he had overslept. Today was his seventeenth birthday and he was now old enough to be chosen to become a knight. Ever since he became a squire, six of the Firebrand Knights had retired and one lost their life in a scuffle close to the Aélian border. So a series of proving competitions were set up to find their replacements. For the past two years, Glaed trained for this moment and now he was rushing around, fumbling to get his training armor around his exhausted body. His training regimen had been intense the last few nights and now he was paying the price.

Two years prior, he had left the safety of his home in Darensville to follow in his father's footsteps as a squire of the Firebrand Knights. During a parade in his father's honor at his home town, some children were playing nearby, without a care in the world. They hadn't noticed that one of the knights inadvertently tripped and fell backwards. If it had not been for Glaed's quick reflexes, his little sister, Elmyra Balaston and one of her friends, would have been crushed. And so, because of his bravery, the leader of the Firebrand Knights, Behr Wulfgard, praised him and recommended he train as a squire. Since that day, his new home was in Saesha, the capital of Hulluven within the Unified Kingdom of Aelia.

"Master Glaed," a condescending voice spoke all around him, "You're late for..."

"I know, I know! You don't have to remind me again!"

If his artificial intelligence system, Optix, had eyes, they would have been rolling. It had woken the squire with what sounded like a raid siren after he missed his first two wake-up calls. Optix was now very amused by the events that followed. The scrambling and falling out of bed were the best part. He even snapped a photo of the look on his face, for more laughs later.

Every new Firebrand Knight initiate was assigned a personal AI system as a personal assistant to help with certain tasks. Glaed knew that each AI had it's own personality traits, but why did the one assigned to him have to be such a dick?

Finally, he pulled on his raincoat and walked towards the door, mindful that there had been a torrential downpour for the past seven days. "Isn't Aelia such a wonderful country?" He asked rhetorically as the automatic door slid open. Normally, he would have laughed at his own joke but because of his spiteful AI, he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed and was pressed for time. In truth, he loved Aelia and he was proud to have a chance to protect it.

As he stepped out the door, the AI sang. "Your helmet."

Glaed stopped and glared at the ceiling, fully aware that Optix could see him. He sulked back for his helm and stomped back out the door. From the dwelling, he could hear Optix trying to be encouraging, as it was in his programming. "Break your legs, Master Glaed!"

Glaed now rolled his eyes and dreaded putting in his helmet. He donned the headgear and Optix's grating voice chimed again. "I wasn't sure you would allow me to join you, Master Glaed."

"I'm not. Optix, silent mode." Glaed chuckled.

The AI harrumphed, but obliged, and Glaed set off at a sprint. He looked down at his digital implant and saw that he was only running late by twenty minutes. Not that bad. He scanned the area to find a faster route to the training hall. The squire apartments were in the lower part of Saesha and he had a three-minute elevator ride to the surface, where the capital buildings were located, as well as the Firebrand Knights main office and training grounds. The other squires would have already made their way to the surface and set up for the proving ceremony.

It would have been nice if Berwick or Feran had woken me up. He thought of the two friends that lived in his building as he dodged an incoming speeder-bike. "Out of the road!" The man's voice was amusingly affected by the doppler effect as he sped by, which made Glaed chuckle. Saesha's underbelly was swarming with Aelians coming and going, so navigating was proving difficult. As he ran by, Glaed peered into the pet store he loved to browse. He saw many falynx kittens, large feline-beasts with long tufts of fur on their ears. He longed to be able to afford a fluffy little pet, but he refocused, knowing that he didn't have time to daydream.

Saesha was built over a large crevice in the planet's upper crust, caused by ancient earthquakes. So, naturally, the leaders of the city saw an opportunity to build downward once the city became too vast up on the surface. With the Midogough Mountains to the west and the Saeshan river that spanned from west to south, the only option they had was to build both north and, much later, beneath the ground.

The undercity was split into two large expanses of apartments and storefronts that mirrored one another. Both sides were connected by a series of long, reinforced steel and aelium, an element that emitted a powerful energy field which had been discovered deep within Aélia's mines to the west, powered energy bridges both on the surface and below for easy travel between both sides of the city.

Finally, he made it to the east side elevator. The lift had only just departed, so he was forced to wait another few minutes. As he waited, he stopped to look at himself in the lift window. He wanted to make sure he didn't still look asleep.

He stared at his reflection in the window and took notice of his Aelian features. His face was angular with moderately high cheekbones. His ears came to a mild point and his eyes were a piercing shade of blue. His short, ruffled, brown hair waved in the wind and he noticed some rheum stuck in his left eye.

As Glaed Balaston stood there rubbing away a night's rest, a girl a little shorter than he walked up and stood beside him.

"Hello, does this lift take very long to come back down? I'm in a bit of a hurry." The girl's words fell on deaf ears as Glaed turned and stood, gawking.

She wore ornate clothing and had short, bouncy, brown hair. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of purple and, to Glaed, she looked like just like an angel.

She snapped her fingers. "Ael to the random guy in front of the elevator. Can you help me or not?"

Glaed pulled himself together to answer the girl's question. "Uh... Yeah. The elevator usually takes three to four minutes to descend." She nodded her head in acknowledgment and looked up at the elevator shaft. After a while, the lift became visible once again and she turned to Glaed to ask another question.

"This does go up to the capital district, right? I'm sort of late for the proving exam at the Firebrand Knight office. And my father would not be happy with me if I missed it."

"Oh!" He exclaimed, "That's where I'm headed right now. It's definitely this one. I've been there thousands of times." He was very proud when he spoke. "I've been training there for two years. But I've never seen you there. Are you new?

"Uh... Yeah. Kind of. I've been training since I was seven. Today is my seventeenth birthday so I can finally participate."

Before he could open his mouth, the lift doors opened and people came flooding out. She waved as a way to say thank you and climbed through the plethora of people into the elevator. He hadn't noticed the other Aelians who had gathered and were waiting to get into the lift around them. As a result, he had been separated from the girl. Hoping to catch another glimpse of her, he scoured the elevator, to no avail. The lift was just too massive.

The trip went by without incident and Glaed came out into the city. With the girl no longer in sight, he looked up at the tall buildings, the tallest of which was the capital building where the governor lived. And also, where the King of Aelia would stay while he visited. The royal suite was at the very top, where he spied the Aelian flag on the building, which meant that the king would be on business in Saesha soon. Wonder if I can catch a glimpse, he thought. The metal of the skyscrapers shone brightly as he walked toward the Firebrand building, which was quite a bit smaller but was a very vibrant shade of orange and white, the colors of the Firebrand Knights. The city on the surface was more alive than the undercity had been. Tons of business people and workers sped from one side of the city to the other on their mechanical motor vehicles.

At last, he arrived at the Firebrand gates and found them open. Behr was standing outside with his arms crossed. He was a hefty man with a mane of red hair and a long beard. His ears were slightly less pointed than Glaed's and his shear size was enough to intimidate anyone who met him.

"Heya, Captain-" Behr held up his hand with his eyes shut.

"Glaed, you are late. I'm very disappointed. What would your father think?"

"I understand, sir. But my AI-"

Behr shook his head and stared coldly at him. "What have I told you about your excuses?" Glaed could tell Behr was very upset. "Take responsibility for your own actions!"

Glaed hung his head and acknowledged his mentor. He opened his mouth and then stopped. "Yes, sir." Behr cleared his throat and began. "That being said, I know that you were up late training, Glaed. And that does make me proud, and I'm sure your father would have been as well. So get in there and show me I did not make a mistake choosing you as a squire."

Glaed looked up at him, thankful that he did not get discharged, and grinned. "It will not happen again, sir!"

"Let's hope not." He turned to go inside and Glaed followed close behind.

Inside the enclosed compound, new recruits stood in ranks in front of the podium where Indago Raiwé stood, presumably explaining his experience during his proving tournament, which had only been a few weeks prior. Indago was a recent addition to the knights, and he would be given his armor at this year's knighting ceremony, along with anyone else chosen today.

All around, younger students ran laps, practiced swordplay, and participated in other physical activities. Glaed had so many memories of this place. The first of which happened fourteen years ago, when his father brought him and his younger brother, Brayder, to visit where he trained some fifty years prior. His father, Glanduil Balaston, served as the Firebrand Knight's captain until the day he was killed by the Sangréalan emperor, Runivan Sangrey. Following a knight's burial, his father was succeeded by his long-time friend, and Glaed's mentor, Behr.

It had only been five years since his father left this world, but he never stopped trying to make him proud. Following Glanduil's death, his mother, Kelphine, retired from her position working in the capital to move her family back to Darensville, where she had first met her husband. His mother was a strong woman, but his father's death left her an emotional wreck, so a change of pace had been good for their family.

As they passed the podium, Glaed noticed that Indago, who was known to be somewhat of a jokester, was telling a joke about an extra-aestrial, a being from another planet. Glaed couldn't help but laugh.

"Indago, you better not be filling their heads with nonsense again!" Behr shouted through all the noise.

Indago jumped and immediately saluted. "Of course not, sir! I would never." He gave a sly wink towards all the squires, who laughed again.

"Uh-huh. Back to it, then." Behr whistled around a chortle. Indago saluted again and turned back to the squires. "Now, have you ever heard the tale of the giant balsnatch?" Glaed walked out of earshot before he could hear about that interesting story. All he could do was wonder what on Ael a balsnatch was.

Glaed continued to follow Behr through the double doors on the far end of the compound out into the outside training arena where the proving tournament would be held. There stood the final three contenders. Several tournaments had already played out in the months prior and this was the last before the Aelian knighting ceremony. The first two contenders were Glaed's friends that he entered into squire-hood with, Berwick Soto and Faren Duranal. The third person was the girl from the elevator, and in this light, he could see that her hair was actually a deep shade of burgundy. Suddenly it donned on him. Her eyes are purple! That's a sign of nobility. Who is she? His thoughts were racing.

Behr motioned towards the bench where the other three were waiting and Glaed found his way to an empty seat so they could begin. As he sat down, the other two boys snickered and said, "I was hoping you wouldn't show, Glaed. I didn't want to hear you cry when you lose." He shot them a rude gesture and turned to listen. They had been friends and joked around ever since they had met a little over two years ago, so this was not out of the ordinary.

What Behr had to say when he was at the podium was a bit boring in Glaed's mind. His speech drowned out the silence as he surreptitiously spied the mystery girl. The thought that she was someone super important crossed his mind just as a guest speaker came up to the podium. King Grigory Agrior of Aelia stood intimidatingly on stage, but Glaed was so lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't noticed the others stand and salute. From behind he heard a cough and someone jabbed him in the spine with what felt like an elbow. He turned to see Mythanor Evindol, the current second-in-command, with a sour look on his face as he pointed at the stage. He was too serious and it really rubbed Glaed the wrong way. Mythanor was only five years older than Glaed, but he always acted so self-righteous.

Taken aback, he looked up at the podium and immediately bowed his head and ushered many pardons. King Grigory chuckled and spoke directly to Glaed. "It's quite alright, son." A sliver of recognition came across his face. "You're Glanduil's oldest, correct?"

Head still bowed, Glaed muttered, "Yes, your majesty."

"He was an excellent knight and hero. But he was also my friend." The king placed his hand of his chest. "His absence has left a hole in this kingdom." Glaed nodded, holding back tears and saluted. "Thank you, sire."

The King nodded and took a step back, motioning to Behr. "Well, then. I believe that is all, Sir Wulfgard. You may continue."

Behr bowed to his liege and started. "Now, today's proving will be held as a small tournament, as there are only four of you. The winner of the first two sparring matches will move onto the last round." Berwick looked over at Glaed and pantomimed cutting his throat. Glaed laughed with silent sarcasm and turned away to listen to the match-ups.

"First up, we're going to have Lady Antha-lyn Agrior versus Faren Durandal." Behr motioned to the combatants. "Please step into the arena and prepare for battle."

Glaed's jaw dropped to the floor. "The Lady Antha-lyn Agrior? As in, Princess Antha-lyn Agrior?" He was in shock. Antha turned to face him and said, "Why, do you have a problem with that?"

Behr ignored Glaed's question as his booming voice echoed, "That's enough chatter! To battle!"

Faren looked just as shaken at the sound of her name. He slowly rose from his seat and Glaed could tell what he was feeling. He seemed like he wasn't sure if he should run away or give up. After a minute, he chose the latter. "I-I I'm not gonna fight the princess." He spoke through shaking words.

"Oh come on, kid!" The princess exclaimed. "I didn't come here for a handout."

Faren turned to her, bowed, and kindly excused himself to the sidelines. Behr's booming voice echoed once again, "Lady Antha-lyn Agrior wins by forfeit!"

She slumped in her seat and put her face in her hands. Glaed saw her and a puzzled look appeared on his face. He empathize with the princess because for the longest time, the knights judged him based solely on his father's legacy. Glanduil served more than fifty years in the Firebrand Knight and that gave them the highest of expectations.

"Glaed Balaston and Berwick Soto," the hefty man sounded, "You're up next."

Glaed remembered his AIS, Optix's, encouraging words to him. He definitely did not want to break his legs, so he decided to give it his all. "I'm not gonna go easy on you, Berwick." He smirked at the other squire.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Glaed." Berwick smirked back.

Behr went over the rules with them both as they walked into the arena. "You must both choose a sparring weapon that has been designed with a physical limiter within, so it will not kill or seriously injured. Once that is done, you may begin at your discretion."

Glaed watched as Berwick chose the bright-green energy sword, so he matched his opponent. This was gonna be one heck of a sword fight, he thought. They stood apart from each other and took their stances. Berwick, who was a proficient fencer, took that pose while Glaed chose a more outlandish stance with his left arm held in the vanguard position and his sword over his head. It was the stance his father often used while wielding his large sword.

Glaed held out his finger and motioned to bring it on.

Berwick side-stepped over to him in his fencer's stance and jabbed. Glaed jumped back and spunq around the other with finesse. He took a swing at Berwick which he casually dodged. This is only getting started, Glaed thought as Berwick lifted his blade over his head. Before he could attack again, however, Glaed ducked and went for his abdomen. Berwick jumped back and deflected the incoming weapon. He then counter-attacked, clipping Glaed in his right shoulder. "Tch, that hurt, man." Glaed felt his frustration rising.

Berwick chuckled and mocked Glaed's original taunt by holding out his hand. "Well, come do something about it."

After a couple more fluid jabs and dodges, Glaed ran at Berwick with a little more force and they locked swords.

"Fancy a dance, Mr. Soto?" Glaed joked.

"On the contrary, Sir Balaston. Berwick parried Glaed's attack and riposted. Glaed moved in time to dodge it, but just barely. A clever move, Glaed thought. But I have an even more clever move of my own.

Glaed dropped his sword in front of him and spread his legs. With this move, he could end it. The ulitimate counterattack. He had to wait Berwick out; he couldn't be the first to make a move. To pull this off, patience needed to be his ally.

After a minute, Berwick chimed. "What's the matter, Glaed? Are you scared?" Glaed knew he was just trying to bait him, so he stood his ground. He closed his eyes and smirked. Patience.

Antha watched intently as the two parried and their swords sparked as they clashed. Now, Glaed was just standing still. What's he planning? She thought. She reflected back on their first encounter and she hoped that he would not forfeit like that other lowlife. Just then, the one called Berwick lunged forward and Glaed, who had donned a satisfied grin, parried the blade out of his hand. Berwick scrambled back and fell to the ground. Glaed picked up the dropped blade and held both weapons to Berwick's chest.

"Better luck next year, Berry boy." He was beaming with pride. He looked up at the pale sky and smiled. I hope that made you proud, Papa.

Berwick stood up and bowed. "Man, I didn't see that coming at all." He chuckled as he clasped Glaed's arm and excused himself to the sidelines to see the next battle. He didn't want to miss the fight between his friend and the princess of Aelia.

"Lady Antha-lyn Agrior," Behr started, "Please step into the arena with Glaed and choose your weapon."

Antha acknowledged and walked toward the ring. She stopped abruptly and turned to Behr. "If I may ask, captain, could you please not call me Lady?" He looked puzzled. "I'm not a knight yet. Please just call me Antha."

"Of course, Lady- er... Antha. Please take your position."

"Thank you, sir."

As she entered the arena, she glared at Glaed, expecting him to pull out of the fight. She strolled over to the weapons and stood there, trying to decide. She wanted this immensely and she would stop at nothing to prove herself. Antha, born Antha-lyn, was the middle of three daughters bore to Grigory and Emma-lyn Agrior. Her sister, Freya-lyn, was the oldest and crowned princess of Aelia. Her younger sister, Tena-lyn was involved in politics and just sat at a desk all day. But Antha wanted to do something more proactive. She wanted to protect the nation in which she was born. And this was the only way she felt she could be taken seriously. Women in Aélia were seen as fierce warriors within the Aélian knights, so she was willing to do almost anything to attain this. She didn't want this to just be handed to her.

She picked up the training gauntlets and equipped them. As she did this, Glaed walked over and picked up a pair as well. "Don't expect me to go easy on you either, just because you're the princess."

She smiled the biggest smile as she looked up at him and met his piercing blue eyes. "Thank you, Glaed." He wore a dopey grin as he held out a thumbs-up.

Glaed and Antha walked to their positions and put up their fists. From the sidelines, King Agrior sat on the edge of his seat. Of all his children, he was the proudest of his middle daughter. She had been so passionate about serving as a knight since the age of seven and he knew how much this meant to her. He felt that Glaed didn't know it yet, but he had just made a life long friend. He smiled at the thought.

And just as soon as the thought came into his mind, the two of them were off. They both swung their fists and dodged every strike. They seem to be of equal strength. He thought as Antha landed the first hit and Glaed stumbled back. He chuckled and complained. "Ow, that hurt."

"Plenty more where that came from!" Glaed could see the joy on Antha's face. She really wanted this too. He could feel it. He barreled at her and she had to think quick to dodge. His left fist grazed her right cheek and she stumbled and caught her balance. He came over to finish the fight, but she had other plans. She gave him a swift uppercut that sent him flying backwards. This girl means business, he thought as he fell. He stood back up but she was already on the attack. He kept moving back, trying to find an opening, finding nothing but bad luck. He felt like he was in the fight of his life and he spied a grin on her face. She's enjoying this. For some reason, that filled him with joy.

"How long have people not taken you seriously?" He asked abruptly. "Because right now, all I see is fire."

She stopped and looked up at the king. "The only person that has ever taken me seriously is my father..." She hesitated and looked up with a grin, "That is until I met you, of course."

He shook his head. "I know how it feels to ride on someone else's coattails." He continued, shrugging as he paced. "All I want to do is make my father proud. I know he's watching down from the stars, but I want to do this with my own strength."

A smile formed as she nodded and motioned to bring it on. Glaed obliged and threw a flurry of fists toward her head. She dodged them with ease and countered with her own punches. When Glaed blocked her, she dropped and swept his feet out from under him. When he fell to the ground, Antha went in for a ground attack, but before she could land it, he used his superior agility to flip backward and staggered back to his feet.

He was noticeably fatigued and breathed heavily. It was all down to this. He looked at her and she also huffed air hard. Blood dripped from her right cheek and he felt a sudden wave of guilt for making the princess bleed. He stopped and pointed at her face. "You're bleeding!"

She felt her face and looked at Glaed. "Don't tell me you want to stop now?" She started to say disappointed. "I thought you were taking me seriously. Let me bleed honorably."

He chuckled again. "Well, when you put it that way." He launched himself forward. It's time to show off my biggest strength, he thought to himself. His agility was second to none and he prided himself on it. The nights that led up to this were the most brutal he had endured, constantly putting himself through the rigorous routine his father created when he first trained as a knight.

Glaed ran so fast that his movements seemed to blur. It was as though she was fighting another person. He was faster and fiercer than before. She knew that she needed to step it up if she was to win this.

The king was all but biting his fingernails and Berwick whooped and hollered when Glaed unleashed his speed. He knew that this would be over soon. Behr and Mythanor stood up from the seats, very impressed. They had not seen this side of Glaed since the incident in Darensville. His training is paying off, Behr thought.

Antha had also been pushing herself. And for a lot longer than Glaed. She stopped abruptly, turned, and ran at the wall to the right of the arena. Glaed followed, but she vaulted up the wall and leaped back down behind him. He was quick enough to dodge the full force of the attack and land one of his own, but he had still been knocked back. His punch sent her back into the opposite side where she staggered up to her feet. They locked eyes and they knew this would decide everything.

They ran so fast and so hard at each other that dust filled the air. Their fists met in the middle and they pushed with all their might. Antha smirked at Glaed and Glaed back at Antha as the two sparring gauntlets began to spark and finally, burst, sending them both flying backwards, hard into the opposing walls.

Everyone was on their feet. The arena was quiet, filled with dust from the unexpected explosion. There was no movement and there was no way of knowing who still stood. As the dust settled, the small crowd noticed two lumps on the ground and neither moved. Behr held up his hand to stop the fight, but the king, noticing something Behr didn't, motioned for him to wait. After what felt like hours, Antha lifted herself onto her hands and began to stand up. Immediately following, Glaed did the same. Finally, they were both back on their feet and were stammering towards each other, ready for another round. Behr stood up from his seat and rushed to the arena. He placed himself between them and spoke. "We've seen enough, you two." He sounded relieved like this fight had taken a lot out of him just to watch. "I have decided that you, Antha..." He paused and looked at Glaed.

Glaed hung his head, ready for the bad news. He had worked so hard. "Congratulations, princess." He spoke solemnly. "You deserve this way more than I do."

Antha smiled and walked over to Glaed and put her arms around his neck. "Thank you, random guy in front of the elevator. But you deserve this too."

Behr spoke again. "You didn't let me finish." He said with a chortle. "You both performed outstanding. And with such sportsmanship and teamwork, as it were."

They gawked at the burly man, in shock at the words he spoke. "You will both be Firebrand Knights."