Chosen: A Warriors Trial Fit for a Thief

Chapter 7

Hood returns his sword to his scabbard and offers me his uninjured arm. I take it reluctantly and he drags me to my feet. There's cheering from the crowd — apparently they liked what they had seen. I walk over to find my other sword that scattered away in the dust. I use a torn off rag from my ruined shirt to wipe the dust and dirt off of it and then return it to its scabbard. I turn to see Hood flip my other sword from the handle and then catch the flat of the blade and offer it to me. I take it without making eye contact with him and rub it clean with my shirt rag before sliding it into the scabbard.

 "Thanks", I mutter to him but he doesn't reply. He turns to the crowd who have lowered to dull mutters to each other. The man from before — the one that took over Hood when the yellow crystal wouldn't work — returned standing a fair distance away from me and with a booming voice so that the crowd could hear he addresses me.

"Do my eyes deceive me, Dante of the original Chosen? Is your gift from the Gods and Goddesses attached to your forearm?" the man asks.

I stare at him in confusion, hold my right arm out to the side and will the blade to extend. I shrug my shoulders at him, "Yeah, I guess it is. Why do you look so surprised?"

He gives me a curious look, "There's never been a Chosen, original or born to have received a gift from the Gods that is attached to their body. We Chosen treasure our gifts closely to us so that they are never stolen but you, with your blade, it will never part you and you will always have a weapon to fight with."

Nods of agreement come from the crowd. I catch a person stand in the crowd and I turn my head to look at him. He's a tall and big man, muscled with long brown hair messy on his head. Strapped to his back is a great sword, as tall as he is and at his waist he has a smaller longsword. It seems everyone has some type of sword strapped to their waist or hip.

"My name is Glorror the strong. I can train you to be stronger and make any opponent fear your strength", he says.

Another person stands, this one a hooded lady with two daggers at her waist and a short sword, "My name is Naomi the brave. You were fast and quick when facing Hood. I can hone your speed and agility so that you can strike down enemy after enemy within seconds."

"Fast and quick against Hood?" a reply comes from another area of the crowd. "He was a coward that ran in the face of danger!" I look around to see the long black haired boy that hates me — Jasper.

"Shut it, you brat! You do not see the potential that I do in Dante", Naomi replies.

"Enough!" Hood yells at Jasper before he can reply.

I'm surprised that the crowd takes little notice of the situation between the two and continue on as if it didn't happen. Others stand and announce themselves and what they can teach me, but I take little notice of it.

Then I see Tommy stand from his spot next to the twins. He doesn't announce his name, just says, "Screw the formalities! I'll be your mentor Dante. I'm younger than any of these guys and recently finished my training so I can relate to you more than these old farts. I'm also the youngest guard captain to be named so I must be doing something right to achieve such a high roll at a young age." He beams at me. "You know you want someone as awesome as me to train you!"

I wait a few moments and no one else stands. Hood is about to speak to me when I hear a man clear his throat loudly. "I am not eligible to take you as my own apprentice, Dante", I turn to a man with long brown hair and a thick beard. He sits in a large chair, leaning forward, elbows on his knees and chin resting on his hands, a curious expression on his face. He looks as if he is studying me. "But I offer up my finest warrior of the king's guard to mentor you. He is one of the greatest warriors among us." A man in gold armour on the kings right stands. My eyes go wide for a moment. The king wished he could take me as an apprentice! I'm shocked and now one of the best Chosen warriors is wanting to train me. It's an offer I don't believe I can refuse.