Emerging Panik

He never really did tell me the circumstances by which I became, legally, his son. I was only given a minor detail about why I was orphaned in the first place, which was that my biological parents were unfit to raise a child. Not long after the judgment on my birth parents was placed, and they disappeared forever, did I become a member of the Cerventen Royal Family. I was now a son of the great King Saru. He was an outstanding King and father. You could hardly even tell he was a King by the way he looked. He had a full grown head of dark brown hair slightyly curling down until it reached the end of his earlobes, and his eyes were as blue as the daytime sky as they twinkled with hope. He was regarded by many as the most handsome man in the Kingdom, and they didn't just say this because he was their King. As much as I'd love to have inherited his physical traits, it couldn't have happened. I looked nothing like my adopted father. I have slightly spiked short black hair, ears so tiny that they were almost nonexistant, and extremely muscular face and body features. My eyes were the biggest give away, however, they were of a color never seen in any human before. They were a bright silver, almost completely blending in with the white in my eyes.
What a perfect time it was to become His Majesty's child. Thanks to his remarkable leadership, King Saru led a doomed Cerventen into its position as the most respected and richest city on the entire massive continent of Borivye. Dead in the center of the entire land mass, Cerventen was a city bustling with good spirits and great loyalty. But it also acted as a protector over the entire continent. I don't think there was a single person alive who didn't respect and admire King Saru and everything he accomplished. Actually, scratch that last part. There was only a single person alive who didn't respect and admire King Saru and everything he accomplished.
Spread out across the continent were four prosperous citys other than Cerventen that were known as Vaneka, Metyal, Gertaswa, and Deistan. Thanks to Cerventen's status, there was no conflict between any of the civilizations on the continent during the small amount of time that King Saru's rule lasted, only an internal conflict within the walls of Cerventen itself. And at the center of that conflict layed me. A scared, unknowing, and loyal Prince of the great city. A Prince that nobody could ever learn the truth about.
In all of the darkness and mystery that surrounded every bit of myself I couldn't help but wonder about my origins. But I loved King Saru as if he was my father and I can't bring myself to believe that he would lie to me. I don't remember much about the beginning, but I do remember everything from the point that he realized I was special, up until this very moment.
I remember waking up from my queen sized bed, wrapped in the gold and white blankets that represented Cerventen's colors, and finding the maid standing at the doorway of my room. She looked... Rather distant. Completely odd considering how upbeat and communitive she has always been. As soon as I saw her I sat up and waited for her to tell me what she wanted, though after a full minute of silence, I realized she wasn't going to speak up.
"Is there something you wish to tell me?" I was both worried and suspicious at the same time. "Hello?"
She finally regrew her normal expression. "Yes! I'm sorry, Prince Panik, I seem to have drifted off. Your father has requested your presence immediately." She bowed to me and turned around, speaking again before turning the door handle. "His Majesty doesn't seem like himself today. I suggest being on your best behavior."
As she left the room I couldn't help but feel an emptyness in my gut. Suggest I be on my best behavior? Never in all of the years I've been living in the castle have I heard this phrase in conjuction with the King. I made sure not to keep him waiting and so I quickly threw on whatever piece of clothing I found first before exiting my room. I found myself increasingly distracted with my thoughts as I walked through the heavily guarded halls and up the stairway to the throne room. Usually I would just let myself in but not this time. I made sure to knock on the doors before I confronted my father.
As the doors opened I was greeted with a half smile from none other than my father. However, instead of the decorated robes of Cerventen's colors, he was wearing the same armor that the Generals of our army did. He held the door open for me as I walked in before closing it quietly behind me. He began walking towards the middle of the room.
"What's this about, Your Majesty?" I feared the response. Something was definitely odd about him today.
He grunted and looked up at the ceiling. There was no response, just dead silence as I waited for him to speak. It felt like forever even though it had only been about 15 seconds by the time he actually moved. I then noticed the empty sword holster on the right side of his waist. It was at that point I had noticed I didn't bring a weapon, and this made me very nervous. Why would I need to bring a weapon anyhow? I had never been in combat before nor have I been trained in it.
In the middle of these thoughts is when I suddenly saw King Saru spin agressivly towards me with his sword. I ducked underneath the swing and stepped to the side, but he immediately followed me with his swing. This next swing was so low that I was able to jump over it and then leap a small distance back away from him. He lunged towards me with his sword like a mad man. I was too distracted by the look in his eyes that by the time I realized he was coming after me, it was too late to avoid the blade. My instant reaction was to grab his sword with my hand and rip it from his before throwing it to the ground. However, in doing so, it became clear that I was completely unharmed. I just revealed the secret that I'd been hiding for as long as I can remember. King Saru stepped back upon losing his weapon.
"I knew there was something special about you, my son, I just couldn't think of any other way to reveal what it was. Your talent in battle are unnaturally impressive for someone who hasn't been trained." King Saru slowly walked towards his blade and picked it up before handing it to me. "With the right training you could be an extremely formidable soldier for Cerventen."
Had he not noticed the manner in which I disarmed him? Maybe I didn't give myself away afterall.
"Soldier? You want me to join the army? I'm only fifteen, father, I'm not of age to join yet." I replied.
The King's eyes widened and he put his hand on my shoulder. "Ah, yet! In three years you'd easily be able to join them." King Saru sat back down upon his leather throne before speaking of something that could potentially lead to giving my secrets away. "Until then I believe that training you for real combat could lead to remarkable skill."
After everything that King Saru had done for me I had no choice but to accept. If I was given a choice? I probably would have still accepted. My father was right and there was no doubting it. If I was trained properly and permitted to join Cerventen's army it would greatly increase our already immense strength. My muscular features, quick thinking, swift reactions, speed, energy, and brute strength all existed because of my mysterious origin, even though I had never worked out or trained a day in my life. I was both excited and petrified at the same time about this. It was at this point that I truly became afraid of myself. Up until this very moment I never had to worry about giving myself away because I was never placed in a situation that called for the exertion of my abilities. I had only ever practiced them in secret and I never tried to go beyond what I found myself capable of.
"I used to be a soldier as well, Panik." I heard King Saru say this from his throne as he interrupted my thoughts. "I can assure you, though, that I was definitely not a good one!"
Me and my father shared a laugh as I stood beside his throne. "Who will train me, father?" I asked him eagerly.
"Me and one other soldier." He responded.
As I was about to ask him who this other soldier was I heard the doors open loudly and saw an unfamiliar shadow begin to enter the room. A rather tall and lean man with long, dark purple hair slowly walked towards us. He had a lance and shield held on his back and a sword on each of his hips. He wore armor colored black and purple, Vaneka's official colors.
King Saru stood up from the throne and walked beside the soldier, putting his arm around him. "Jayx came here all the way from Vaneka for this, my son. I've told him all about you and he's as eager as I am to begin your training."
With an incredibly deep voice, Jayx spoke as he kneeled before me. "It is an honor to meet you, Prince Panik, and I look forward to the time we are going to be spending together."
My father gestured Jayx to get up. "Now now, Jayx, there's no need to be so formal. You'll have to get used to this, Panik, he is incredibly well mannered even to people who have known him for his entire life." King Saru sat back down upon his throne and got himself ready to tell his lengthy story.
"Your Majesty, is it really necessary to bore the boy with this tale?" Jayx asked my father.
"Of course it's necessary! No story is not worth hearing, Jayx, especially one as epic as ours!" My fathered turned towards me. "You do wish to hear about this?"
I nodded to him as I was actually incredibly excited to hear about my father's past. He started by telling me that he was originally not from Cerventen, but hailed from Vaneka where Jayx also lived. Him and Jayx were best friends for as long as he can remember, although they both had very different objectives in life. Jayx, like myself, was an incredibly gifted fighter and it was highly recognizeable even at his younger ages. His only goal in life was to fight for Vaneka's army as the most skilled fighter the world had ever seen. His reputation quickly spread around all of Borivye and, due to Jayx's leadership, Vaneka's army was regarded as the most powerful force on the continent. By the time he had turned twenty-two, Jayx became the leader of Vaneka's entire army while simultaniously becoming the king's personal bodyguard. Jayx led Vaneka to many victories, never losing a battle, and some say he is the sole reason that Vaneka took its place as a world power.
"You're pushing it on the compliments today, Your Majesty, I think you can change to yourself now." Jayx was noticeably embarrassed and blushing.
"Always so modest, my friend! But as you wish..." King Saru continued. He told me about how intelligent he had been ever since he was little and how the king of Vaneka always said he was destined for great things. My father and Jayx were best friends and they didn't want their friendship to break apart, so Jayx used his reputation to enlist my father into the army as a soldier. It wasn't long, though, until my father realized he wasn't cut out for battle and decided he would make his real dreams come true. My father and Jayx eventually parted ways as my father left Vaneka towards the turmoiled city of Cerventen in an attempt to use his intelligence and natural leadership abilities to pull Cerventen out of the pit of despair it had sunk into.
I couldn't believe my ears. "You mean to tell me that Cerventen was once in a dying state? I could never even imagine it. How did you pull it out of its downfall?"
"It became obvious after I managed to become one of the king's advisors, thanks to Vaneka's king and his recommendations. I noticed the reason that Cerventen was slowly spiraling into nothing was because the royal family lacked motivation. The king had absolutely no idea how to run a city and he had no intentions to learn. He however refused to step down from his position because he liked being the center of attention. I kid you not, son, that is exactly what he said. Horrible. I had to do something for Cerventen and its people, so I went to Jayx for help."
As my father explained this story to me I grew deeper and deeper into fascination. He said that after returning to Vaneka, he requested council with the King and was granted it. The king held Saru in very high regards not just because he was a great friend of Jayx's, but because the king knew of his potential. They devised a plan to invade Cerventen's castle and overthrow its leadership, as an attempt to grant Saru the throne. They knew that Saru could potentially lead Cerventen into prosperity and become an ally of Vaneka. After easily taking over Cerventen's castle and ending the careless king's life, the king of Vaneka along with Jayx crowned Saru as the new king of Cerventen, and assured the civilians that they were in the most capable and trustworthy hands they could dream of. Before departing back towards Vaneka, the king assured Saru and the rest of Cerventen that they will always be protecting them.
Before finishing his story, my father described to me in great detail all of the amazing things he had done for Cerventen that gradually led it to the state it is in. Not even the king of Vaneka expected King Saru to do as much as he did, even turning the tables and becoming Vaneka's protector. I had already respected my father to an extent I couldn't ever see expanding, but this story propelled my respect to an unconditional state. King Saru is my father, my hero and my idol. I couldn't ever ask for a better one.
My training started about a week after that day. We set up in a fenced off circular arena of dirt behind our army's barracks. I could tell right from my first sparring session that Jayx was uneasy about what he was seeing, and if Jayx was uneasy, then that was truly special. After everything that my father had told me about him, I felt like I could be natural around him and he would just see himself in me, but he didn't. I could see in his eyes that he wanted desperately to say something. After I effortlessly manhandled one of Cerventen's soldiers is when he finally spoke up.
"I expected a great display of power from you, Panik, but this..." Jayx rested his head on his left pointer finger before looking back up at me in extreme seriousness, "This isn't right."
My fake breaths of exhaustion overcame my next few words in my attempt at seeming human. "Well to be fair, I haven't been trained. Not even once." I dropped my sword and collapsed my body onto the ground with my face looking at the pale blue and cloudless sky. Then I saw Jayx's face looking down upon me.
"I meant it's unreal, sir, not natural. Do you understand?" Jayx asked this as I swallowed hard and nodded my head. He then continued while he walked slowly around me. "You just absolutely dominated a heavily trained soldier in three swings of your sword, Prince. I know that in the way your father spoke of me made it seem like I was this exact same way but that is far, far from the truth. I was fighting ever since I was four years old. You're fifteen and haven't fought a day in your life."
I wanted to just sit myself back up and tell him it was something like beginner's luck but he wasn't going to fall for that. Jayx is a very intelligent and proud warrior. A part of me felt like I was scaring him. Making him feel little compared to myself. It was eating away at his pride.
"I can see that we won't need to train you nearly as hard as we had anticipated. I'll see you in four days instead of two. You're dismissed, Prince." Jayx said this as he walked away from the small arena, his arms crossed behind his back. I was more terrified than ever before.
I had to do something to change his mindset when I was being trained. Fortunately, a couple days later the soldier I had fought with stepped up to Jayx and apologized to him. The soldier claimed that he wasn't ready and didn't expect a Prince to have fighting abilities like that. We set up a rematch on my second day of training, and this time I went very easy. Not only did I hold back a lot more, but I ended up letting the soldier defeat me. Everything was back to normal and I no longer found myself afraid.
For three straight years I trained with Jayx and my father, never once exposing myself. I fought as hard as I could without revealing inhuman abilities. Every time we trained, I would push my self just a little harder and then pretend that I was out of breath in order to safeguard my secret and show them that training is actually benefitting me, even though it wasn't at all. Not once did I ever have to think while I was in combat, it all came so naturally to me that it was as if my blade had a mind of its own. And yet, I was still too afraid of myself to ever bother privately practicing my power. I was hoping that eventually I would completely forget I had these powers and they would fade away from not being utilized.
My 18th birthday arrived in the blink of an eye. It was the day that everything changed and I feared my powers the most. I would love to tell you that I was just being paranoid and none of my fears came true, but then I would be lying. I'm here telling you my story because I want you know that I'm not your enemy. I am an ally of humanity and I want people to embrace my abilities and understand that I want nothing more than to help. I want to liberate you from this threat.
When I awoke that day was when it hit me. The future of my kingdom relied heavily on my shoulders and my emotions filled my heart so heavily that I felt like it dropped from its place in my chest. I knew there wasn't a single bad thing that could happen to Cerventen as long as I was its protector, but if I ever failed to protect it, there is no weight that could bury my guilt and shame into an unreachable state. I emerged from my room and walked down the hallway to a flock of servents, guards, and nobles all clapping for me and wishing me happy birthday. I wore a fake smile and thanked them all. My thanks was actually sincere, however, these people were my friends and family. But the only thing on my mind was what was to come and how I would handle it.