Arriving at the yard for 10, I walked with my silent attendant towards my father, who was busy watching over his other children. The yard was about the same size as a football field, and running alongside the yard was the weapons hall, a simple structure made only to store the training weapons and for any indoor practice if needed. The yard was outlined with a cobblestone path, and the dirt floor wasn’t the softest place to land on during practice.

Father seemed to notice my presence and started making his way over, “I see that you’re early, son. I didn’t expect you to arrive until after 11 you must be raring to go.” with a grin plastered over his face, Father led me over to the weapons hall.

“You know when it was your siblings' turn, I had to send Gabrial to drag them out of bed but look at them now, so full of energy.” Looking at my siblings, I see them currently training with their attendants, both looking like they’ve had a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson. Swallowing my saliva, I put on a solid front before entering the training hall with father.

The hall had a simple design with an assortment of weapons on racks down the side, with some of the weapons being wooden and some of them being iron but blunt; it was obvious that they were just for training. Standing next to the rack, Father looked to me, “Do you know what type of weapons our family is taught to use?”

“No”

“Okay, well, I will not push you to use any specific weapons as I believe you will know your body best and find what suits you, but I will have you learn a variety of 4 weapons.”

“What do you mean, is it not better to just use one type of weapon and master it?”

Showing a smile, happy to hear that his son is properly thinking about training, he answers my question, “I will have you learn to wield a bow, daggers, sword, and staff or spear. Now as for why you would need to use such a variety, you will learn with your body when you reach 12 and enter the duke's army for real experience. But to put it simply, I want you to be able to act in every situation. Take a look at Rafael, for example, I know for a fact that he can use many different types of weapons because, as an adventurer, you have to be able to overcome any type of situation and act in many environments where you might not be able to use your preferred weapon.”

Listening to his speech, I look to my attendant, who just nods in response, unable to think of any flaws in fathers statement. I decided to just go with it. After all, hunting in a tight environment where you can’t use a sword or spear is possible, and some creatures are probably better fought at a distance. Caught up in something I heard earlier, I ask, “Did you just say when I turn 12, I’ll enter the army?”

With a straight face, Father says, “Yes, I thought you were told in your noble studies your brother is 11, coming 12, and will be joining the army for four years. You all will. You know of our contract with the duke, and sending you all into his army builds relationships and allows him to see the talent you all possess. After all, your brother is only 11 and is already a Qi teacher level 1” Looking proud, Father finishes his explanation leaving the silence to linger in the hall.

Caught in my thoughts, I feel lost. I am stuck between my current and previous life as Thomas, in which I’ve already done a four-year tour, thinking that maybe it was fate to serve again, maybe it’s just fate to be in the army. I’ve gotten good at suppressing myself and quickly calming myself, looking into the strangely sad eyes of my father in confusion.

Suppressing a sigh, Father forces a laugh to lighten the mood, “Hehe, no need to worry. You still have another seven years to go, and your father here will make sure you are well prepared, and you will also have Rafael there with you to protect you at all times. There shouldn’t be any danger at all.”

“Anyway, that's miles away, and starting today, you will learn basic martial arts from Rafael. He’ll be teaching you the Goupe Ghoere, a defensive style founded in our country. You might look down on it because everyone in the military knows it, but it is just a base from which to build your foundations.”

After saying his peace, Father left, and silence descended in the room. Looking at Rafael, I saw that he was currently lost in thought, but before too long, he seemed to have awoken and, with a change of posture, switched into a defensive position with his hands relaxed in front of him.

“Well, young master, shall we begin”

‘Well shit, it's going to be one of those training methods, isn’t it’ They were the only thoughts I had before the training from hell began.

Laying flat out in the training hall, I was aching all over after being beaten up for what felt like a day. I was well and truly exhausted, wondering how Father allowed such a thing. I strained my neck to look at my attacker, mind wandering into a future with this attendant and how bleak it might be.

“Well, you did better than expected” Paired with the unsympathetic look Rafael stood above me perfectly fine without any creases in his clothes, somehow looking a little bit smug at the same time.

Clearly sensing my mood, Rafael spoke up first, “Hey now, no need to be angry. I just wanted to gauge a bit of your natural ability, and I must say I’m impressed, your form wasn't bad for a beginner, and you didn’t go off balance. But what I’m most impressed about was your determination to win. You know most people don’t try as much as you when they know they can’t win. “

The smile on his face spoke wonders about how he was feeling, which only worsened my mood, as I couldn’t help but feel disappointed in myself for being unable to even hit him despite being in the army for years. No longer allowing my mood to worsen, I ask, “What time is it?”

“It’s only 12 o’clock, young master. We’ve been training for 2 hours, don’t worry; this is the end for today. I can’t push you too young.”

‘What a joy I get to laze around in my room for the rest of the day, unable to move from pain’ Without missing a beat, I go to stand up shaky from my sore muscles. I begin to wobble out of the training hall.

Watching over the field, I can see my siblings practice again. Alice is taking up dagger arts and is currently engaged in flexibility exercises with her attendant, while Noah seems to be doing weight training guided by his attendant, a mountain of a man looking like a contender for the world's strongest man.

“What do you think of their training methods?” Surprised by the sudden question from my father, who was going unnoticed, I look to the field again to buy some time before answering.

“Alice is currently studying dagger arts, so the increased flexibility will only help her range of motion and will allow her to be more unpredictable with the dagger while Noah increases his strength, which would help him wield the great sword.”

Happy with my analysis, I turned to my father with a grin only to be met with his empty stare, “What is the foundation of our family arts?”

Seeing my questioning look, he continued, “Balance, having skill in all areas, being a jack of all trades, so to speak. This is why these two will only remain their attendants for 3-5 months. Can you tell me why?”

“I can understand why you might not be happy with Noah's attendant. After all, the increase in muscle mass might not help his range of motion and could make it harder to learn different weapons. Still, Alice's attendant is only teaching her flexibility, which is a trade useful anywhere.”

“You’re not wrong there, but what Alice’s attendant is also teaching her is the mindset of a scout, not a warrior. That's where she went wrong. After all, your grandfather didn’t have the right mindset when he went into battle, and that's why he is where he is now.” with one last look towards Rafael, Father leaves, and I'm left wondering if that was some sort of warning for Rafael, alongside the backhanded comment about my grandfather I can’t help but think this might be more complicated than I thought.

Instead of overthinking what Father had just said, I decided to make my way to the study room. It was my area, more private than my bedroom, as Father only allowed me to use it since I was the only one out of his children who enjoyed reading. It was just a wasted room before that.

The room was kept tidy by me and was relatively spacious, able to fit a desk, two bookshelves, and enough room for a decent rug to be laid out. The rug itself was a custom black rug made with the family crest on a red half-moon.