Talliria: The Homeland

Chapter 2: The Prince and his Protector

    "Wake up already, Valen. Your training is about to start." a deep, yet calm voice has woken up Valen from his deep slumber. It was the voice of Wulgar, his protector. The towering man stood near the bed and looked down at the sleeping prince. His sword was left out at the entrance of his room, while he prepared the prince's clothes for his training.

    "Can't we just cancel it, Wulgar? I really need more sleep..." He looked up at his protector with a sleepy face. His hair was all messy and those piercing, violet eyes looked like he only had a few hours of sleeping. His room was also a mess, books thrown everywhere, spell parchments scattered in every corner of the room, including his bed. He wasn't even wearing his bed clothes, a sign that he, indeed, stood up all night.

    "You've been staying awake the whole night again, haven't you, little bear?" Wulgar asked, a small chuckle escaping his mouth as he placed Valen's clothes on the edge of his bed. He began to pick up the books and parchments, placing them neatly on the desk. The nickname came from the simple fact that the prince was not thin at all, quite the contrary. He looked exactly like a little bear, ready to devour every single bit of food that was thrown at him.

    "No...? Maybe?" the prince replied, letting out an annoyed grumble. "I also told you not to call me that anymore, haven't i? I am already 18, Wulgar. You can't run around calling your future king a 'little bear'!" He got up from the bed and quickly changed into his training clothes: a pair of pants and a shirt, alongside a vest and some basic foot wear, all sewn by the most talented tailors on Talliria. The fabric pieces were joined together with silk, imbued with star powder, allowing the prince to have a better control over his magic, until he could easily channel it himself. He grabbed his sword from the wardrobe he stored it in and walked near Wulgar, giving the towering male a death glare. "Did I made myself clear about not calling me a 'little bear' anymore?"

    "Yes your majesty! I shall no longer call you a little bear" the older man tried his best to look as serious as possible, yet he failed miserably. He ended up laughing so loud that it echoed through the halls of the castle. His laugh was so contagious and funny that it made the prince laugh alongside him, holding onto his stomach.

    "O-oh god, Wulgar, please stop. Your laughter sounds exactly like two carcons mating." He placed a hand on Wulgar's right shoulder, squeezing it lightly. The carcons were a race of flying beasts, an odd combination between a monkey and a toucan, that when mating, they would let out this horrible, ear blowing screech, while also clapping their beaks together. Once the laughing crisis calmed down, they both wiped away tears of joy.

    "Alright now, Valen. Let's go to the training grounds. I promised your mother that the training will be completed till the lunch you have with the king from Baladaj." The tall male slowly lead the way, making sure he wasn't forgetting his satchel behind, like he always does. He got out of the prince's room, picking up his sword and heading towards the training courts. "I decided we will practice more of your swordsman skills, while also adding some magic in the equation. You must master both in case of combat. You can't always rely on just a single one of them" he explained, while the prince seemed to be very interested in his saying.

    "Are you also going to teach me THAT spell? The spell you promised to teach me a few months ago? I think I am ready for it!" The prince said, confidence being clearly heard in his tone. He looked at Wulgar with the most serious face he ever showed, clenching the handle of the sword. "Pleeeeease Wulgar!" and there goes all of that serious prince, who wasn't alive for more then 5 seconds.

    "Fine. I will teach you the spell today, but only if you behave from now on and pay more attention to your spellcasting. I don't want another house in flames like last time, not to mention that this spell is way more powerful then the fire blast I thought you last time." He gave the prince serious look, with a raises eyebrow. Immediately, the prince looked away, clearly embarrassed by what he have done.

    "I told you! There was something I slipped on when casting and the spell went in the wrong direction! It was not my fault!" He complained, yet he did so in a lower tone, almost whispering. He hated when small things would cause him to fail in his training, especially when it happens in Wulgar's training days. "I'm sorry about that. It won't happened again. I promise a one hundred percent focused Valen from now on!" Right after finishing his sentence, his foot stepped badly on the carpet that was covering the hallway floor, this causing him to stumble and almost fell face down, if Wulgar didn't caught him on time, letting out a small laughter.

    "So... No longer a little bear, you said?" His lips curled into a large grin,giving his student the famous 'I told you so' look. The prince's face turned as red as the carpet from the hallway, not wanting to admit that indeed, he was reckless and not very focused from time to time. He said nothing more after that, keeping the trip towards the training ground silent.