“Upon this field, I won’t accept weakness; Nor will I accept surrender. You will train harder than you’ve ever trained in your life. If you fall you WILL stand back up. If you bleed you WILL continue fighting. I don’t expect perfection from you right now. You’re both young, weak, and very ignorant of the ways of the combat. But by the time I’m finished with you, you will breathe perfection. You will exude the aura of a proper warrior, and you will put these lessons I teach you to good use.”

Jelroy paced back and forth in front of the two boys who stood with their arms at their sides, eyes forward. Jelroy had been waiting for them when they arrived at the guard’s barracks. His speed had left them in shock and awe. He had given them more than enough of a head start to beat him there. Yet, when Cypher staggered onto the field he was already there berating Eiden.

Somehow Jelroy had seen Eiden push Cypher down, and the man was not pleased about it at all. Perhaps he had been watching the entire time, perhaps he had seen it in passing. Whatever the case was, he was all over Eiden about his rash and cruel behavior.

“He is your sparring partner! Through him, you will become stronger!” Jelroy had said. “He will sacrifice his sweat and blood to better YOU! How dare you disrespect him in such a manner. Had I known what a petulant little shit you were, I would never have agreed to train you. However, my word is my bond, and so, train you I shall! But know this young master; You too will shed blood, sweat, and tears to better that boy as well!”

“From today onward you boys are two sides of the same coin,” Jelroy continued, taking notice of Cypher as he arrived. “One will not, and cannot grow stronger without the other…” Jelroy had continued his beratement of Eiden for another few moments before he turned to Cypher and welcomed him to the field properly. It was then that he instructed the boys to stand at the ready, and thus, he began his speech about what he expected of them.

After he was done speaking, Jelroy walked over to a weapons rack and explained the function of each of the weapons available.

“The sword is a fierce weapon. Throughout all of history, men have lived and died by the blade. It can rend opponents in half, carve a future for those willing to use it for just causes, and protect those whom you hold dear. Swords are close range and require you to be near enough to your opponent to deal damage. Without the skill to use this weapon, you’d be no different from a beggar holding a sharpened stick.”

“This on the other hand,” said Jelroy as he reached for a bow on the rack. “This is a ranged weapon. With it, you can use a sharp eye, your cunning, and well-honed dexterity to attack your foes from afar, instilling confusion, panic, and discord amongst them if you play your cards right. However, sometimes archers find themselves on the frontlines of battle. What is one to do with a bow when the opponent is two or three meters away? Do you simply retreat and find a more advantageous position to fire from? That depends on the situation! This too is a lesson I will teach you, and so...”

It was clear that Eiden was bored already by this lecture. What Jelroy was saying was more than evident about each of the weapons he thoroughly explained. Still, Cypher listened intently. Even if it was obvious information, Cypher wanted to know as much as he possibly could about each of these items. He couldn’t possibly know when a scrap of knowledge would come in handy one day down the line.

“However, your weapon of choice is much more than what it appears to be on the surface. Every weapon you’ll be learning to use under my guidance is a symbol, one that tells your opponent all about your fighting style. Beyond that, they also serve as a representation of how you take care of yourself and others.”

“A warrior who fails to keep their weapon in good condition reveals several very important things about themselves without even realizing it! If you keep your weapon in poor condition it could fail you at a crucial moment! It is a rare thing that a dull and rusty blade kills an opponent in the heat of battle! Furthermore, it shows that you do not care for yourself! Who in their right mind would hire a beggar to protect their livelihood? Who would…”

Jelroy once again carried on for several more hours. There was a lot of information that was new and exciting to Cypher and he listened intently, all while maintaining a perfect posture. He wanted to do his best and, more than that, he wanted to look his best as well. It hadn’t taken long for Cypher to foster deep feelings of respect for Jelroy.

After all, it wasn’t often that someone defended him against Eiden and his cruel treatment. How could the young boy not find the proper respect for someone who seemed to view him as a person rather than just another servant? Admittedly though, some of what Jelroy had to say was boring, and the man seemed to ramble on and on. Despite this, Cypher continued to give him his full attention all the same. Eiden on the other hand sat and pulled blades of grass from the ground before tossing them aside.

Jelroy would glance in his direction from time to time and frown, his tone of voice wavering ever so slightly, but he continued on all the same. Eiden didn’t seem to notice, however, and after a while, Jelroy finally stopped speaking and returned the weapons to the rack. The man leaned against the rack and let out a heavy sigh before walking over to Eiden, who was absentmindedly pulling another handful of grass out of the ground.

Jelroy squatted down, grabbed a handful of Eiden’s hair, and stared the young heir in the eyes with an annoyed expression. Jelroy squinted and spat before saying, “It would seem to me that you’re more concerned with the grass than the things I have to say. How about instead of training you, I focus all my attention on this servant boy and see if he can take your place at the academy? Clearly, he’s more invested in this than you are.”

Eiden let out a shocked gasp and flashed a glare of anger toward Cypher before replying, “I-it’s not that I’m not interested! It’s just that… that I know all of this already! M-my tutors have gone over everything you mentioned and more already! I was just waiting for you to get to the good stuff!”

Jelroy stood up, releasing Eiden’s hair from his grip, and crossed his arms. He could only stare down at the heir with contempt as he contemplated what to say next. “The good stuff eh? Beh… You don’t seem to understand that it isn’t about whether or not you’ve heard it already. It isn’t about getting to the good stuff. It’s about showing the proper level of respect to your teacher and the patience to endure situations you find distasteful. Do you think I’m coming into this with no idea of what you’ve learned? I know more about you than you might think, young master.”

“Patience is almost as important as any weapon. If you lack it, then noble or not, you’ll fail as a warrior. I expect you to work on this in the coming years young Eiden. I may have given my word that I’d train you, but if you continue to show such disregard for the things I have to say then I’ll not waste another second on you. I’ll leave this place, train this boy, and he WILL take your place at the Academy. You will not be warned again. Am I understood?”

Jelroy stood over Eiden as a few seconds ticked by. The expressions flashing across Eiden’s face were enough to fill Cypher with petty glee and he cherished seeing the young heir struggle to accept the authority of another. Cypher could tell that Eiden was carefully weighing the options in his mind and determining whether or not his pride or his desire to attend the academy was greater.

In the end, Eiden stood up and bowed to Jelroy. With that, the man started anew with his speech from the very beginning and this time, Eiden paid full attention…

By the time Jelroy finished, the sun had long since set and crickets could be heard all around them. Jelroy dismissed them, instructing that they return before sunrise, and without a word vanished before they could say anything else. Eiden said nothing as he clenched his fists and turned to glare at Cypher.

A moment of silence passed between the two boys, and then Eiden abruptly turned and walked back to the manor. Cypher hurried back to his room, a smile finally breaking out across his face now that he was alone. He wanted to laugh and gloat about how Eiden was finally getting put in his place, but thought better of it and kept his glee a secret within his heart.

As happy as seeing such a thing made him, he was more concerned with what lay ahead. His training was important to him and he wouldn’t allow himself to do anything that might jeopardize that. It was only after a warm meal brought to him by Molly and a hot bath that he finally realized how tired and sore he was.

He had only been standing there listening, but he had stood almost perfectly still for an entire day. Despite being used to doing chores all day and exerting himself until he was ready to pass out, standing there for so long taking in all that information seemed like a whole different beast. His body was stiff but still full of energy, yet his mind was worn out and exhausted, something that was completely new to him.

It wasn’t long before he found himself amongst the cloudy visions of his dreams, but even that didn’t seem to last very long. Molly was soon waking him up and hurrying him out the door for the next day’s lessons with Jelroy.