The Red Glaive
X
Once Caius had joined the group their routine changed a little. Now Reimar always called her ‘kid’ as Caius had done, and Caius became ‘boy’. Early every morning and every evening before dinner father and son would spar with Caius winning a few rounds now and again but Reimar winning most. Aeria pretended not to watch what they were doing with a careful eye.
Caius was very charming indeed. It might’ve been that it was just his personality, or that Reimar had told him so, but Caius watched over Aeria like an older brother. He spoke of his childhood growing up on the road with Reimar, traveling from city to city. His mother had died during childbirth and had been Reimar’s sole responsibility. Reimar was retired after his birth but still handled recruiting and other small affairs. Most of his life, however, Reimar left Caius in at temples while he went off to handle business.
The Red Glaive was the only future Caius had ever envisioned and Reimar gladly began training him since childhood. Aeria could tell by the strong arm muscles that had been toned by the weight of the sword. Caius was confident that on Recruitment Day he would be first chosen. “Stay by me and I’ll make sure you get chosen too,” he had said. If only it were that simple.
Having Caius around also helped Aeria reinforce her glamour by telling more and more lies about Ariel. She was a fisherman’s second son who worked under Count Delmar on Grigos Lake. That way if anyone were to ask of her home she could describe the tall trees of Cypress Grove without raising suspicion. Ariel was joining the Red Glaive because any holdings his father might have would go to his older brother the first born.
Caius seemed convinced and even Reimar seemed at least a little impressed at how thorough Aeria’s story had been.
One day when Reimar had gone to purchase supplies for their supper that Caius turned to Aeria and said, “Will you be my sparring partner?” They had stopped at another outpost a few ways from the scar, this one had a wooden fence around it to add further protection, but it was one of the smaller outposts without a market. Reimar had traveled to a nearby town and wasn’t expected back for a few hours.
Aeria agreed enthusiastically. She doubted Reimar would allow her to practice if he was around, but she jumped on the opportunity.
Caius handed her a wooden sword that was much heavier than it looked. Aeria swung it in front her to get a feeling for the weight. Defiantly heavier than a broom, but only slightly more than the toy swords she used with Ney’s boys.
“You know how to fight right?” Caius asked taking a stance in front of her.
“Yes.” Aeria affirmed holding tightly to the training sword. She had made it a point to go to Ney’s house when he had brought in a knight from Duowell to teach his boys. Walther, of course, had excelled but his youngest brother, Videl Ney, struggled. His older brothers teased him quite a bit over it. Aeria had offered to help him train in secret so that he could get better, but she used the the opportunity to soak up whatever he was learning. He did improve and by the time the knight left he was able to defeat all except his two oldest brothers.
That had been nearly three years ago and Videl grew hesitant when Aeria asked him to spar with her after that. Chivalry and all that. But fighting with a wannabe knight was completely different than sparring with someone trained by Glaive. It was frightening and exciting all the same.
Aeria raised her sword not sure what to expect. Caius brought up his own and stepped forward. Aeria stepped back but stopped herself. She couldn’t run from this, she had to learn. With a single swoop, Caius brought down his sword on Aeria who raised her sword to catch it. When the wood made contact with each other, she felt the force of his blow reverberate in her bones. She nearly dropped the sword then and there but somehow managed to keep it in her hand.
Aeria stepped back too avoid the burnt of Caius’ next hit. The tips of their swords connected briefly before Caius swung again, stepping forward, and this time Aeria barely had enough time to bring up her own sword. The powerful hit of his sword against hers made flung her arm out of the way leaving her wide open. Caius stepped into her and wrapped his arm around her neck and brought under his arm so that her head was pressed against his body in a head lock.
Face red, Aeria struggled against his grip but it was like struggling against solid rock. The tip of his wooden sword stopped just inches from her face. “And you’re dead.” he said making Aeria pause. She lost but it had happened so quick.
“Let go of me!” Aeria said her hands pushing against him making Caius laugh. “I want to go again!” Aeria said stubbornly when he released her and Caius took up his stance again, his emerald eyes dancing with the thrill of the fight. She had no hope of beating him now but she wanted to be a challenge to him someday.
They went at it for hours that first day only stopping when Reimar showed up and reprimanded Caius for going too hard on the ‘kid’. Aeria frowned, but was secretly glad because despite being able to barely keep up Aeria was left ragged while Caius had barely broken a sweat. She had to get better.
So every morning after that Caius sparred with his father and every evening Reimar put Aeria up against Caius. Their matches hardly lasted longer than a couple minutes before Caius defeated her. Reimar would watch with an amused look on his face and if it seemed like Aeria was getting a hang of Caius’ moments he’d tell him to not hold back and Caius would swiftly put her back into place. Reimar was trying to break her, she was sure, make her quit before they even reached the crown city. But she could take the punishment. So every evening, no matter how sore she still was, Aeria picked up her training sword with blistered hands and asked for more.
One day, as sun began to set in the horizon and a still sore Aeria drifted in and out of sleep atop Fable, Caius approached her on his own chestnut palfrey and said, “We’re so close to the scar.” he said looking down the Night Road. “Have you ever seen it Ariel?”
She knew very little of life outside of Cypress Grove, even less from the world outside of Durus. She knew though, that the young Sparrow who Aget married had his lands near the Scar. As much as she wanted to visit Aget, she wasn’t sure where exactly Baron Sparrow’s land were. More than anything, she didn’t want to get her in trouble, if Dorian Stone was looking for her he would no doubt check with all her sisters. She didn’t want Aget to lie for her.
“I never traveled outside of Cypress Grove.” Aeria finally said.
“I’ve only passed through it once, and let me tell you, it’s you’ll never forget.” Caius said. “Hey Reimar!” he called the old man who rode ahead a few meters atop his black horse. “How far till we get to the North Edge?”
Reimar glanced around looking for travel markings Aeria didn’t recognize. “About two miles now.”
“I’ll race you there Ariel.” Caius said with a smile. Aeria had too look away.
“You really think Big Red can beat Fable?” Aeria teased. “I mean, I called him Fable for a reason; his speed is legendary!”
“No way your silly rouncey stands a chance against Big Red!” Caius said patting his nimble footed horse affectionately. The horse patted his feet, seemingly expecting to run. “Loser, that’ll you by the way, buys drinks once we get to the crown city.”
“Once you loose I’ll want a favor.” Aeria said.
“What kind of favor?” Caius said eyeing her suspiciously.
“I don’t know yet,” Aeria said honestly, but having someone as big as Caius owe her something was good to have in a pinch, “just a favor when I decide when is the most opportune moment to completely and utterly humiliate you.”
Caius laughed. “You’ll keep wanting then because there’s no way Big Red will lose!”
“You have yourself a match!” Aeria said confident in Fable, he had yet to let her down.
They lined up next to each other, Reimar sighed and moved out of the way. Big Red was taller than Fable, with a longer gait, but Fable was sturdy and could run for miles without stop.
Caius leaned down onto Big Red, his hands wrapping around his mane. A steady determination slowly growing on Caius’ face. He hated to lose. It was that fierce resolve that burned in his eyes that Aeria had grown to admire and the that made her face hot.
“On my mark,” Caius said next to Aeria and she looked down at the road. Suddenly it was hard to focus. “Go!”
Caius flew with impossible speed atop Big Red with Aeria close behind him.
Caius was very charming indeed. It might’ve been that it was just his personality, or that Reimar had told him so, but Caius watched over Aeria like an older brother. He spoke of his childhood growing up on the road with Reimar, traveling from city to city. His mother had died during childbirth and had been Reimar’s sole responsibility. Reimar was retired after his birth but still handled recruiting and other small affairs. Most of his life, however, Reimar left Caius in at temples while he went off to handle business.
The Red Glaive was the only future Caius had ever envisioned and Reimar gladly began training him since childhood. Aeria could tell by the strong arm muscles that had been toned by the weight of the sword. Caius was confident that on Recruitment Day he would be first chosen. “Stay by me and I’ll make sure you get chosen too,” he had said. If only it were that simple.
Having Caius around also helped Aeria reinforce her glamour by telling more and more lies about Ariel. She was a fisherman’s second son who worked under Count Delmar on Grigos Lake. That way if anyone were to ask of her home she could describe the tall trees of Cypress Grove without raising suspicion. Ariel was joining the Red Glaive because any holdings his father might have would go to his older brother the first born.
Caius seemed convinced and even Reimar seemed at least a little impressed at how thorough Aeria’s story had been.
One day when Reimar had gone to purchase supplies for their supper that Caius turned to Aeria and said, “Will you be my sparring partner?” They had stopped at another outpost a few ways from the scar, this one had a wooden fence around it to add further protection, but it was one of the smaller outposts without a market. Reimar had traveled to a nearby town and wasn’t expected back for a few hours.
Aeria agreed enthusiastically. She doubted Reimar would allow her to practice if he was around, but she jumped on the opportunity.
Caius handed her a wooden sword that was much heavier than it looked. Aeria swung it in front her to get a feeling for the weight. Defiantly heavier than a broom, but only slightly more than the toy swords she used with Ney’s boys.
“You know how to fight right?” Caius asked taking a stance in front of her.
“Yes.” Aeria affirmed holding tightly to the training sword. She had made it a point to go to Ney’s house when he had brought in a knight from Duowell to teach his boys. Walther, of course, had excelled but his youngest brother, Videl Ney, struggled. His older brothers teased him quite a bit over it. Aeria had offered to help him train in secret so that he could get better, but she used the the opportunity to soak up whatever he was learning. He did improve and by the time the knight left he was able to defeat all except his two oldest brothers.
That had been nearly three years ago and Videl grew hesitant when Aeria asked him to spar with her after that. Chivalry and all that. But fighting with a wannabe knight was completely different than sparring with someone trained by Glaive. It was frightening and exciting all the same.
Aeria raised her sword not sure what to expect. Caius brought up his own and stepped forward. Aeria stepped back but stopped herself. She couldn’t run from this, she had to learn. With a single swoop, Caius brought down his sword on Aeria who raised her sword to catch it. When the wood made contact with each other, she felt the force of his blow reverberate in her bones. She nearly dropped the sword then and there but somehow managed to keep it in her hand.
Aeria stepped back too avoid the burnt of Caius’ next hit. The tips of their swords connected briefly before Caius swung again, stepping forward, and this time Aeria barely had enough time to bring up her own sword. The powerful hit of his sword against hers made flung her arm out of the way leaving her wide open. Caius stepped into her and wrapped his arm around her neck and brought under his arm so that her head was pressed against his body in a head lock.
Face red, Aeria struggled against his grip but it was like struggling against solid rock. The tip of his wooden sword stopped just inches from her face. “And you’re dead.” he said making Aeria pause. She lost but it had happened so quick.
“Let go of me!” Aeria said her hands pushing against him making Caius laugh. “I want to go again!” Aeria said stubbornly when he released her and Caius took up his stance again, his emerald eyes dancing with the thrill of the fight. She had no hope of beating him now but she wanted to be a challenge to him someday.
They went at it for hours that first day only stopping when Reimar showed up and reprimanded Caius for going too hard on the ‘kid’. Aeria frowned, but was secretly glad because despite being able to barely keep up Aeria was left ragged while Caius had barely broken a sweat. She had to get better.
So every morning after that Caius sparred with his father and every evening Reimar put Aeria up against Caius. Their matches hardly lasted longer than a couple minutes before Caius defeated her. Reimar would watch with an amused look on his face and if it seemed like Aeria was getting a hang of Caius’ moments he’d tell him to not hold back and Caius would swiftly put her back into place. Reimar was trying to break her, she was sure, make her quit before they even reached the crown city. But she could take the punishment. So every evening, no matter how sore she still was, Aeria picked up her training sword with blistered hands and asked for more.
One day, as sun began to set in the horizon and a still sore Aeria drifted in and out of sleep atop Fable, Caius approached her on his own chestnut palfrey and said, “We’re so close to the scar.” he said looking down the Night Road. “Have you ever seen it Ariel?”
She knew very little of life outside of Cypress Grove, even less from the world outside of Durus. She knew though, that the young Sparrow who Aget married had his lands near the Scar. As much as she wanted to visit Aget, she wasn’t sure where exactly Baron Sparrow’s land were. More than anything, she didn’t want to get her in trouble, if Dorian Stone was looking for her he would no doubt check with all her sisters. She didn’t want Aget to lie for her.
“I never traveled outside of Cypress Grove.” Aeria finally said.
“I’ve only passed through it once, and let me tell you, it’s you’ll never forget.” Caius said. “Hey Reimar!” he called the old man who rode ahead a few meters atop his black horse. “How far till we get to the North Edge?”
Reimar glanced around looking for travel markings Aeria didn’t recognize. “About two miles now.”
“I’ll race you there Ariel.” Caius said with a smile. Aeria had too look away.
“You really think Big Red can beat Fable?” Aeria teased. “I mean, I called him Fable for a reason; his speed is legendary!”
“No way your silly rouncey stands a chance against Big Red!” Caius said patting his nimble footed horse affectionately. The horse patted his feet, seemingly expecting to run. “Loser, that’ll you by the way, buys drinks once we get to the crown city.”
“Once you loose I’ll want a favor.” Aeria said.
“What kind of favor?” Caius said eyeing her suspiciously.
“I don’t know yet,” Aeria said honestly, but having someone as big as Caius owe her something was good to have in a pinch, “just a favor when I decide when is the most opportune moment to completely and utterly humiliate you.”
Caius laughed. “You’ll keep wanting then because there’s no way Big Red will lose!”
“You have yourself a match!” Aeria said confident in Fable, he had yet to let her down.
They lined up next to each other, Reimar sighed and moved out of the way. Big Red was taller than Fable, with a longer gait, but Fable was sturdy and could run for miles without stop.
Caius leaned down onto Big Red, his hands wrapping around his mane. A steady determination slowly growing on Caius’ face. He hated to lose. It was that fierce resolve that burned in his eyes that Aeria had grown to admire and the that made her face hot.
“On my mark,” Caius said next to Aeria and she looked down at the road. Suddenly it was hard to focus. “Go!”
Caius flew with impossible speed atop Big Red with Aeria close behind him.
♠ ♠ ♠