Son of Edelia: A Rising Dawn

Chapter 16

"Ha, okay, sure, why not?" Adam sighed, scratching his head. First, tell me why you're asking me and not getting training from your house." Adam continued pulling him back up and brushing him off.

"Really?" Noah asked, his eyes wide sparkling in the candlelight.

"Given you answer the question, yes," Adam replied, stifling a laugh.

"Of course! Well, Father was a Baron of the north until he was killed in an ambush. Now, I don't have anyone capable of teaching me." He replied, his smile dropping as he mentioned his father.

Capable? Unlikely, the collateral houses or even a close relative are probably trying to invalidate his right to succeed as the Baron. The poor guy has no idea that they're doing it, either. Adam thought, shaking his head and feeling his heart ache Noah's story.

"So...Will you help me?" Noah asked, wringing his hands, his eyes shifting from Adam to his feet.

"Hm, I have a proposition. During the duel with the golem, you could manifest your aura, correct?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes! I could, but I couldn't land a blow because of how quick it was." Noah replied bashfully.

"Perfect! Rather than me teaching you one-sidedly, let's have an exchange. You help me meditate and manifest my aura, and I will teach you swordsmanship." Adam suggested, clapping his hands together excitedly.

"Yes, of course, I will certainly help you!" Noah answered, smiling brightly.

This is the best I can do for you. Suppose the others trying to usurp you found out you begged another Baron for help. In that case, you'd undoubtedly lose your right to succession. With this, I hope you have a chance to claim what is yours. Adam thought, striding to his door. "Well, I'll be seeing you soon, Noah," Adam said with a smile opening the door.

Adam smiled as he closed the door and settled into his bed, letting exhaustion wrap around him. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Training all these people will be tough, so I can skip meditating today. Adama thought, yawning languidly, letting himself drift into a deep, exhausted slumber.

Adam sat up in bed, feeling refreshed and ready to start his day. He looked around, confused, the world seemingly immaterial and foggy, a strange haze covering everything in his room. He opened the door to his room only to find himself in a vast golden sea—a roiling ankle-deep ocean of golden aura spread out before him.

This is a bizarre dream. Adam thought, mouth agape.

Adam walked forward, kneeling down, and ran his hand through the seething energy, feeling it suffuse his body with a strange vigor. As Adam stood back up, he noticed a peculiar man with bright blue-green eyes and a confident smile staring at him from about a foot away. He was enshrouded in the golden light swirling like a beautiful dance. Above and behind, like a shimmering halo, was a radiant sun glaring down like the eye of God. Adam covered his eyes, blocking the intense light and noticing the regalia the strange man was adorned with. With a silver crown set on his ashen-brown hair, a flowing white cape, and an elegant royal-blue dress uniform, he was an image of serenity and strength overflowing with nobility and elegance while being an intimidating figure still.

"You're making good progress. It seems that I made the right choice to entrust this fate to her." The man said, his words echoing faintly.

"Where are we? What are you? What is going on?" Adam asked frankly, the man's words setting him on edge, his heart racing at the stranger's appearance.

"You will be the herald of a new age. The right arm of change and the future of the continent. Within your veins is the blood of heroes, the will of a King, and the strength of ages." The man continued ignoring Adam's questions.

"Who is 'her,' and what are you talking about?" Adam asked, falling to his knees as a sudden pain thundered through his chest.

The roiling golden sea began to writhe, and the aura started to spark, rising and falling like a hurricane. Swirling whirlpools and massive tornadoes of concentrated aura began to fly about the sea, turning it into a violent maelstrom.

"My dear Edelia, my task has been completed; the time has come for me to see you once again," the man whispered, a single tear streaming down his face as his body faded.

The swirling storm of aura disappeared, leaving Adam floating in an empty void, his eyes feeling impossibly heavy, the pain in his chest gone in an instant, and sudden fatigue laying on him like a heavy blanket. Adam closed his eyes, falling back to sleep.

Adam sat up, his heart thundering in his chest, his body covered in a cold sweat, his hands trembling as he sat. Was that really just a dream? It felt so real; who was that guy, and what was he talking about? Adam thought, taking a calming breath and walking to the window.

Adam looked outside. The sun was beginning its slow rise, bathing the courtyard in a warm pink glow, warding off the early morning chill. Adam smiled as he crossed the courtyard, heading for the commoner's dorms. He booted in the door and began slamming his sword on the doors. He passed a smile plastered on his face as he remembered how his father had done the same when training him.

"Up and at 'em! Training starts right this instant; get into some workout clothes and meet me in the courtyard out front." Adam shouted as the groggy students began to open their doors.

Adam marched the students into the courtyard, ensuring everyone was present and even wrangling the few students who attempted to sneak back into the dorm for more sleep. He watched them, and anticipation and excitement began to creep into him as he stood before them.

"So, from what I observed, most of you lack essential stamina! That means that from now until the exam, we will meet every morning at dawn and run around the courtyard." Adam ordered, gesturing to the massive courtyard.

The students groaned and whined, begrudgingly pushing their bodies into a reluctant run. As the students ran, Adam prowled the crowd, swatting at students who fell behind or pulled ahead, urging them to remain in the group to set their pace so as not to tire themselves out too early.

If Father could see me now. I'm sure he would approve. Adam thought, a shiver creeping down his spine as he realized this was exactly how his father trained him.

After two hours of running, Adam gathered and arrayed the group before him. He handed out wooden swords he gathered from the training hall, grouping the students into groups of two.

"The time it would take to teach you proper sword techniques would require too much time. Instead, I'll teach you guys how to read an opponent, which, combined with a superior physique, will give you the edge against monsters and your average solider." Adam explained, standing out in front of them. Hopefully, this will be enough to get them through the exam, and then we might have time to train them in actual sword forms. Adam thought, picking up a wooden sword himself.

Adam arranged the first duel, watching as the students lunged and swung their swords with little to no finesse, banging away at each other as if they were some static training dummy. He sighed and had them repeat, stopping and pointing out the stances and movements that lead to attacks, focusing on the minute movements within the body that indicated a change in direction and stance. The learning was slow. The students, for the most part, were oblivious to the finer points of swordcraft. As such, he spent the early dawn hours coaching them individually. As the sun settled into the sky, casting a warming glow, Adam finished the training, ushering the students back to the dorms to get themselves cleaned up for a good breakfast.

This is going to be more challenging than I had imagined. Teaching people to be observant is more complicated than I thought...Maybe teaching them basic sword moves might be the way to go? Hmm, either way, the progress will be slow. I suppose all I can do is wait and see. Adam thought as he changed into his uniform. Maybe I could ask Noah for his opinion on the matter, as he might have some ideas on how to speed up the training. I'll ask him at breakfast. Adam thought, striding out into the courtyard and toward the cafeteria, a crowd of students funneling inside.