Cup of Blood

Chapter 7: Genesis of House Ascarlon

I already miss Dmitri, I felt like myself, the old, and real Light Talon when I met him here at House Blacksmith. I felt like I found a long-lost side of me when I stumbled upon this friend of mine. Well, he's already in Russia to attend to his project, and I do hope he and Anna meet, and I do hope that he updates me on Anna. If ever, tell her my apologies for my absence in sending letters to her; I had to focus on the training before I am able to send my letters stating how much I miss and love her. When I found Dmitri here, he took on a name of Exodus mainly because the English Royal Guard only accepts those with English parental lineage, or those whom are certified to be English. I had my own reasons for changing my name, and they are quite different than what Dmitri had for himself.

Winter had already ended, and it's starting to be Spring. The snowy mountains are starting to melt, slowly and beautifully exposing the ground beneath the snow-covered land forms. The trainees and I have been training ourselves ever since first day, and within just three months, we have excelled well. All of us, really. It's getting quite boring sometimes to do the same routines every day, but I know that if I give it my all, I can finish the training and be able to serve the Kingdom.

It's the first day of Spring, and I wake up to the peeping sun behind the still cloudy skies, as the hibernating animals start waking from their long and deep slumbers. The squirrels are already skittering out of the holes in the trunks of the trees they have burrowed in. The birds are starting to chirp from the oak and other large trees around the House. The foxes are already exiting their holes, and starting to hunt for prey. It's still, snowy and cloudy, yes, but it's getting quite warm. I exit the tent I have resided in and I saw a busy House. The trainees are already eating, drinking, and talking to one another. The Grand Duke and Earl Blacksmith are talking about some things, and it's quite serious basing it from their movements and expressions. Everyone is working. Some are already fixing and bringing the weaponry outside for this day's special event. Some are roasting large numbers of chicken and meat also for this day's special event. Some are practicing for this day's special event.

Today is the final examination of the trainees. We will be fit with legitimate armor of the Royal Guard, and for now, I have not yet seen the armor. They said it's made of fine metal and crafted by the nation's best blacksmiths. We will be given a random partner and we will spar until the judges have told us to stop, and by then they will spot-on decide the winner for the current match. Only one match per person, because we have been trained to only fight once, and treat it as our last if we are paired with an enemy, so we really should give it out best shots. The judges are the Count, the Grand Duke, and Earl Blacksmith. Abbyeteus, Hyphelion and Peter Paradoias will watch from a distance, holding their swords in case an outbreak occurs. I got the knowledge from Anthony Denwork, and as I look at one corner of the House, I definitely saw the three Paradoias brothers, in their proper positions.

I went to the food stalls, got a cup of coffee, some bread, and went about drinking and eating as I observed the busy area. They are already preparing the fighting arena in the middle of the larger area of the House. They are already putting these strings to serve as the battlefield, and the limiting area. The strings are just hardened cloth, and stretched and twisted to gather tension. I saw the Denwork brothers going about themselves, talking in one place near the food stalls. Blake saw me, and I gave a smile and a warm gesture of a good morning, and he returned the same. I continue observing the entire scenery as I sit near the food stalls, but quite far from the Denwork brothers. The day goes about quite slow, and the morning even slower. Nothing much will be done, for today marks the end of all our endeavors for three months. No more waking up at three in the morning to fix themselves and warm themselves up for the next session of training. No more sleeping exhausted from the intense training. No more injuries brought about by repetitive training, and moreover, no more free food from the Kingdom.