IronGuard

TIME LAPSE

After the attack on their farm, Marcus was sent to Perion City the country's capital and also where the IronGuard's Order is stationed. Marcus found out that the demons invaded the country with a massive army though mostly made of minions and mercenaries.

In mere days the countryside burned and towns and cities fell, thousands of refugees fled to the capital to seek protection. The IronGuard dispatched a force of three thousand Knights and Captains along with ten thousand Perion soldiers to stop the demons' advance and they succeeded but incurred heavy losses, the IronGuard lost over two thousand of their own forces and it seemed that the demons had acquired a new skill in the art of war.

With a decisive victory the IronGuard and the king of Perion restored order but the demons had conquered near half of the country and they still had a large force under their command, not to mention the demon fanatics who waited years for their old masters to return.

Perion City is what stands between the demons' victory and utter defeat and beside it is the IronGuard, the demon slayers of old. But with such losses the IronGuard are outnumbered so Captain Gildas suggested that they start training the locals and who inspired him to ask this is no one else but Marcus.

At first the council did not like his proposal because it is a rule in the IronGuard's code, the IronGuard must be trained and raised from childhood to adulthood in the home of the IronGuard. But it seems that their situation is dire and with limited IronGuard left in the country, the council approved but only children can be chosen for the trials and must stop any family contact until they are fully sworn IronGuard.

News of this reached Marcus' ears and he immediately signed up and the one who was picked to instruct him is Captain Gildas while Elos will take his oath and become a pledged member of the IronGuard.

After a year of conditioning, Marcus and the other children took the trials for them to be accepted as IronGuard recruits. Only a quarter of them passed including Marcus who impressed the council during his trials.

Captain Gildas and a few other Knights took the role of mentors, each mentor had at least fifty children to instruct for the next five years until the recruits are expected to be ready to take their oaths. Marcus and his companions had one thing in common, they were all orphans, well except for one special case. One of the girls in the group named Liana was not an orphan, she's actually the daughter of a noble family but they disowned her until she becomes an IronGuard, most of them don't like her because she acts too high and selfish, always bragging about her nobility and wealth.

Captain Gildas took them to the mountains north of Perion City to train for the next five years. Marcus met Dello, an orphan boy from Krill village, Dello was the only one to escape when the demons came. Marcus and Dello became close friends and the two of them were known as the best in their group.

Their training under Captain Gildas was hard and dangerous, every lesson they were pushed to the breaking point and many of them almost died during training. Marcus eased through them which in turn earned him the respect and admiration of his companions.

When the fourth year of their training came, they were all given the famous armor of the IronGuard, a heavy steel plate armor with a longsword. But with this came a message, instructing that all mentors and their recruits to return to the capital immediately.

Captain Gildas marched them back to the capital with no sleep for days with their armor on, saying that it is a special training for building strength but they all knew that captain Gildas just didn't want to be late.

When they reached the city, they saw other mentors and their recruits were already there, hundreds of recruits wearing their armor sit idle in IronGuard Hall.

For hours they waited until it was announced that their would be a choosing for the IronGuard captains that will train side by side with their mentors.

There were ten mentor groups in the hall when they started calling the names that means there could be ten training captains but everyone was shocked when they called at least two to five members from each group.

The council arrives and group after group they called the chosen and when the group of Captain Gildas is about to be called the stop and the council starts talking to one another and everyone starts patting the backs of Marcus and Dello but then the council calls the name of Liana, the hall falls quiet especially Gildas' group. Many stare at Liana angrily because she was in no way better than Marcus or Dello. Some of the recruits were about to complain but then Lord Harold himself of the IronGuard takes a small paper from his pocket and announces loudly to the entire hall Marcus Silver, first Talon!

First Talon? they all questioned, Dello suddenly remembers that it's a special title given to those ready to become IronGuard but not just a normal knight but a title given to those who reached beyond the normal strengths of recruits, they only have to wait for the final trials and if they pass they could even become a council member in just a few years.

Everyone was awestruck, even captain Gildas was silenced. Elos couldn't achieve the title of First Talon

Lord Harold and the council left the hall without giving any other instructions and when the hall doors closed everyone erupted in cheers for Marcus, mentors and recruits from other groups rushed to meet him, some even started calling him the hope of Perion.

Liana and the other noble children didn't like him, they even start to detest the council's decision. Letting a low born become a First Talon before one born of nobility, it is disgusting for them although a few of them finds this chance to get an advantage.

The cheering stops when they all hear the warning bells from the city, it could mean only one thing. The city is under attack.

Marcus has been training for four years and now has a chance to prove himself in battle against the vile demons but even with his new title and all this expectations from others he refuses to be blinded from his real goal. Rescue his sister and avenge his parents.