Brandon

Brandon, 14th prince of the Sandersorian kingdom, soon to be ‘empire' sat through the lesson on history and legend with the patience of a saint. A lesson he had heard many a time before as a child but it was being given again for the sake of his new 'peers', he wondered about that.

Why has father insisted the whelps of his personal guard receive a noble education? Half the topics we usually discuss are about controlling the people, tricking people, how the previous kings did it all, politics and history these commoners will never directly influence yet here they are sitting in the same yard as me. He sighs as he makes eye contact with one of these new so-called 'peers'.

The man is probably already 20 years old to Brandon's 16. Too old to be sitting in this lesson where they are taught myths and legends as if it were fact. At least they are all literate, a fact that surprised him initially.

At first, the new students started coming in piece-meals of ones and twos over the course of a week. The tutors got frustrated with repeating themselves so often for new students and just started political discussions, discussions on the life of a scholar, a soldier, a mundane, an Awakened, a mage and other different types of citizens in the kingdom.

Now those were interesting topics. These tales of faeries and serpents that can circle half the world are just too much.

"Prince Brandon, are we boring you?" The expensive private tutor asks. Expensive to the commoner at least.

"No Magister Forester, I am just bereft from all my siblings and cousins leaving your lessons because the king allowed his soldier's sons among us." The is suddenly a silence in the room as opposed to the slight murmur that has been a constant background noise.

"Why do you think the king wants the sons of his personal guard to receive royal education Prince Brandon?" The magister asks casually as he moves around the courtyard.

The lessons are conducted in a courtyard of sculptures, with glass walls to let in light and old inactive fountains scattered around haphazardly, there is enough space for the 43 students to sit on stone benches or loiter against a sculpture as Magister Forest walks around the place looking at each of them in turn. He walks whilst talking, his strangely compelling voice somehow reaching every corner of the venue, even the foyer just outside the glass.

"I imagine it is a way of rewarding his royal guards or trying to promote loyalty. Perhaps he simply finds it useful to have a dog that barks eloquently."

I'm the last holdout of the noble children still attending these lessons, the rest have found private tutors so the stench of dung on the boots of these commoners doesn't offend them, at least I think it's on the boots. I hope it's on the boots.

"Mhmmm..." the magister seems to consider my answer as one of the other commoners snorts and continues to fiddle with his three little-connected rings. They find entertainment in the strangest things, and do they realize I just insulted them or are they too dunce for even that?

The murmurs returns in the background. Though I may not have a close personal relationship with the king and he may have 28 other children among 9 wives and 2 concubines, he is still my father and I have no fear of offending these... peasants and this peacock of a magister. He seems to read my logic and smiles, I don't like that smile.

"Well if that's all you can see you are fortunate to have parents that have such foresight that your lack is compensated for. Ok, new topic, what do you know about the Awakened? Anyone?" The magister asks as he moves around the venue. My boredom is momentarily forgotten as an interesting topic is finally being discussed. A topic shrouded in too many stories, legends, 'histories' to be all true. "Ahhh... yes Dustin. What can you tell us about Awakening?"

Dustin clears his throat, his father is an Awakened Warrior who is the personal guard of Princess Aphrodite. He has been training with his father, brothers, sisters and cousins since he was 6 years old it is said. Say what you will about their intelligence but their martial training is without par in the whole of Sandersoria.

"To Awaken is to open your meridians and flood them with mana," he begins slowly, gauging the magister's reaction for any mistake he might be making. The excitement is threatening to burst out of Magister Forest, he is practically bouncing up and down like a child as he indicates for the young man to continue.

I am horrified by the undignified behaviour of the magister, the fact that a common soldier's son knows things I don't in topics I find interesting yet find myself genuinely intrigued as I lean forward to catch every word.

"When opened the meridians allow mana to infuse them and better convert ether to mana..."

"What happens then?" Someone else asks to encourage, one of the dung smelling faceless soldier's sons finally asking a pertinent question.

"Then the body becomes stronger. The bones harder to break, the skin more healthy and elastic, old age is reversed some. That's what I know."

"Excellent, excellent!" Magister Forest says clapping.

That's it, that's all you're going to say you dug infested peasant? Everyone knows that much. The only thing I didn't know was about the meridians, or whatever he called them.

"Now I will tell all of you a few secrets." The magister whispers conspicuously yet somehow we all hear him, scattered as we are around the courtyard.

"They don't teach you how to become a mage or a wizard or a body strengthened warrior because it's all done in different ways," he looks around at the windows and doors dramatically, drawing us in as we subconsciously become paranoid yet hungry for this secret. Surely it's a big secret since even I a prince am unaware of these mysteries.

"There are three main ways to use the awakened mana and power that courses through a newly Awakened. One can use mana to look outwards and affect the world around themselves, inward and temper their body, or both inwards into one's self and outwards at the world and affect both body and world simultaneously.'' He looks around from person to person as we digest his little titbit, the way he's behaving has even me thinking seriously on this information.

"The one that focuses that power outwards will become a mage, the one that focuses that power inwards takes the first steps into body cultivation..." we all strain our ears to hear even though his voice somehow carries. "Even that choice isn't that simple a thing. You see each Awakened instinctively knows that their power is finite and so they have to specialize. Imagine being given a drop of divine nectar and told to divide it throughout the body on improving only a few things, where would you begin, what would you leave out?''

Again the dramatic silence to let us nibble of his titbits of information. If I had access to mana I'd probably focus it on my mind, become a Psion that can think himself through anything and move shit with my mind. Though there is a lot lacking in me physically so maybe a drop into my body just so I'm not a complete paper tiger when it comes to a physical confrontation. Mhmm, okay, maybe this isn't such a simple choice now that I think about it. I mean being smart is great and everything but I've seen the guards spar and the things they can do are outright insane, then there are the mages and all their supernatural advantages...

"Some body awakened divide their Awakening mana between their blood and bones, others the heart and lungs, some even try to disperse it evenly throughout the body. So you see, even having chosen to invest all that mana in the body for instance there are myriads of options all leading down a different path of specialization. What do you think happens when people disperse it through the body as evenly as possible mhmm?" The magister asks after a moment of short silence as his students absorb the information. Information that isn't really secret, what's kept a secret is the specialization of each Awakened House.

"The Awakened will be strong overall, but his bones won't be as strong as an Awakened that paid special attention to their bones." Someone says.

"That's right." Magister Forest jumps onto that idea.

"Specialization. And that is the secret each individual hoards, their specialization. For if an opponent or a rival knows what part of your body you chose to temper with mana, they can better counter you. Certain Houses have passed down their specific combinations of tempering for generations from father or mother to daughter and son. Powerful Matriarchs or Patriarchs guiding their descendents down a very specific path to better retain their specialization and improve on it until some of it is locked into their bloodline naturally as an inheritance. Those families then become unrivalled in certain fields. Like the Alvalon House with the mind-sword and House Nkosi with the air-spear combat proficiency.''

''But generally speaking people either focus outward to become a mage or inward to become a warrior,'' he says with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

"But the Alvalon's have proven that there is a middle ground. Where once people who tried to do both inward and outward investing were never as good at either as they could've been had they chose a path and then narrowed it further by choosing a field. Now other Houses and scholars are theorizing on what combinations could result in the perfect balance." What Forester is saying makes sense to me, and things are starting to add up as well. Like how mother tried to learn the 'Sandersonian's ways of magic' as she called it.

Mother is a princess by virtue of being married to the king and not by any royal birth. She is from the conquered people of the Highlands and is one of the highly coveted redheads assumed to have fae blood in their ancestry.

A lot of men consider her an unmatched beauty true, with her fair skin, long legs, freckled nose and striking red hair but I don't really see all the appeal in it. Maybe because there is some red in my hair as well. I am more interested in the fiery beauties of my half sisters Axolile, Xolani and Masixole though whose mother Princess Ntombi is royalty from the dark skinned Induku people. The small tribe of people where conquered most peacefully in comparison to the history of the kingdom's expansion as a result very few Nduku are soul marked slaves in Sandersoria.

"I see I have given you a lot to think about. You are dismissed for the day," Forester says, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture.

Brandon leaves quickly as the others congregate in groups of friends and acquaintances. He is annoyed as he leaves the door, even these commoners have friends and yet he has none. He walks through the palace gardens towards where he suspects the triplets to be. All the while thinking of today's lesson.

He reaches the girl's part of the royal apartments and is stopped by the guards. Neither speaks, they just cross their spears into his path as always. Two half-naked, lean black men in nothing but skirts and bracers with shields strapped on their backs. They don't even have shoes most of the year and only wear sandals in Winter.

He waits as he usually does, not wanting to go to his own rooms as he is usually bullied by his other siblings who think less of him because their mothers are from a noble lineage, not some 'tree loving naked dancing Highland Savage'. He taps his foot patiently while he waits before remembering himself and taking on a royal stature again, proud and noble. Then he decides better of it and just leans against a stone pillar annoyed at himself.

Brandon has never even seen a Savage, everyone knows they are a Barbarian tribe. Or at least they would if they still attended Magister Feasts lessons on the anthropology of the kingdom and the lands surrounding us.

An aide eventually arrives, also Nduku to escourt him into the female royal apartments. This one in a singlet at least, though his chest is naked and a belt knife is on his waist, a big one. Brandon hears the sound of giggles before he turns the corner, it seems the sisters have other visitors today.

"Ladies," Brandon says in way of greeting ignoring his cousins as he eyes his golden-skinned triplet half-siblings, his three cousins drinking wine and laughing like old friends he wasn't prepared for. A jealous knot forming in his stomach as he thought this was his time with the three gorgeous women.

"Ahh, Brandon don't pout we are all family here. You know Igrus, Cassius and Thanos yes?" Xolani says in her usual tactless way.

These three their mother only survive the insults and scheming of the royal court because they couldn't give a damn, because they have no ear for politics whatsoever, which is why I'm usually so comfortable around them. Now though, I've lost face 'cause my lovely cousin says I'm pouting in the presence of 'rivals' and if I accept the insult I lose even more face but I know she meant nothing by it. I probably was pouting at that.

"Sit cousin, we have just been getting reacquainted with our beautiful reclusive cousins today."

Cassius says smoothly. An arrogant handsome ass that he is. While I'm still skinny with big feet and hands. And a big head if you believe the talk. I sit though, saved from making a social mistake or proving how 'backwards' mother and I are.

The drinks are passed and after a few, we are all laughing and enjoying ourselves. Even me, who knew.

"Come lets spar," Axolile says after a joke about the prowess of the different peoples of the kingdom.

"Come now cousin, it is known that the Induku are unrivalled in the martial arts of the spear, it would be bullying."

"Oh come now cousin Igrus, we all get to spend time in the tender care of Weapon's Master Adonias. All children of royal lineage have rudimentary skill with martial weapons." Masixole says with that beautiful seductive smile plastering her face.

I must admit, I'm drunk enough to put on a display, Master Adonias even says I'm getting better and the triplets have been showing me spear forms for years now. I could probably trounce my pampered royal cousins.

"I could have a go," I say quickly, flushed from the wine and the thought of how good I will look winning gracefully and shaming my cousins in front of the girls. Oh, how they will look up to me then!

"Yes, yes," Xolani says with a clap as she takes my hand and leads us to the training grounds.

The rest follow, I notice their guards for the first time. I don't know how I missed the only other white people here beside me and my cousins. Axi and Masi walk at the back speaking their strange indecipherable indigenous language. Sometimes I envy them their heritage, I've never even been to the Highlands and all mother says in Celtic is curse or sing, the singing is quite beautiful though.

We make it to the training yard in the middle of these 'women's' apartments in a section that isn't specifically for the Induku princesses. Any of the princesses that live in this side of the palace may use them and I see Aphrodite and one of her guards going at each other with what I assume are blunted weapons.

Sparks fly from their weapons as sword and shield collide in fast sweeps that make swishing sounds as the blades cut through the air.

Aphrodite is the first daughter of King Magnus and as such a great prize for marriage. It is said the king was pressured into arranging a match for her by the other nobles with House Dragon.

She cut off both his hands, his tongue and some stories include his cock in the royal court in a duel then declared that she chooses her own men. That was 40 years ago and the beauty is still unmarried but has a harem of eunuchs that service her needs. All the princesses married to the king have such Eunuchs. men whose cocks still work but whose balls have been made useless somehow.

I've never dared to ask Uncle Adrian, mother's eunuch, but I suspect the balls are cut off altogether. No point taking chances when the royal lineage is on the line.

The guard pushes forward with her round shield on her left arm while also using the shield to disguise the fact that her sword is stabbing in an uppercut towards my sibling.

I almost shout a warning when somehow the sword is kicked aside using a dull black greave that results in more sparks flying as a ringing sound like a tolling bell is heard from the impact and abruptly stops as soon as her foot touches the ground again. The shield bash is somehow stopped simultaneously with Aphrodite balancing on the one leg.

The guard presses the attack with a quick one two, one two combinations with her short sword swinging in and sweeping out with her backstroke, a move I recognise from Master Adonias' class but done so flawlessly that it almost looks like her own unique choreographed dance. Aphro uses her shield to deflect the strikes as she retreats a step at a time only to spin left and push forward while swinging blind. She is suddenly behind her opponent who ducked down as the sword swept above her cutting the feathers on her helmet clean with only the sound of displaced air to mark the swords passage. they swerve to face each other at the same time with incredible speed.

The guard with her sword forward, Aphro with her shield forward. their weapons collide but the guard is still crouched meaning Aphro has more power and body weight behind her strike, but apparently, the guard has a better centre of gravity as her leg shoots forward and kicks Aphro's back foot from under her.

"Noo!" I cry out as the guard's reverse swing collides into Aphrodite's side in a dull thump like an axe hitting thick wood. Their weapons aren't blunted.