Heart Of Darkness - Shadows Rising

Chapter 1 - The Adventure Begins

Yet another beautiful morning right outside my window. Alessa seemed to be feeling much better when we parted ways last night, though she wasn't outside today so I left my room. That didn't last very long since I'd forgotten to get changed so I immediately rushed back inside, got changed, and then left again, wearing a purple dress that I didn't even realise I had before now. I managed to avoid running into anyone this time and made it into the kitchen where I made my own breakfast despite the servants insisting that I shouldn't have to do it myself. After breakfast, which I'd kept fairly small to avoid stuffing myself before practicing with a blade, I began wandering towards the throne room, hoping my parents were awake.

Luck was definitely on my side today, both of them were already up and sat in their respective thrones, not that they got to do much else; the castle's servants were even more insistent that they don't do simple things than they were with me.

"Sir Theretus is waiting for you in the training room," my mother told me, knowing exactly why I was there.

"Thanks." I smiled before rushing off.

My arrival at the training room was announced by a loud thud as I ran face first into the door. I heard a chuckle coming from Theretus immediately after the impact and I couldn't help but laugh a little bit as I opened the door.

"Honestly, Princess," he said, "One day that eagerness will be the death of you."

"Never stopped me before." I grinned.

"I'm well aware of that. Anyway, today's session will be a little different."

"How come?" I asked curiously.

He pulled back a large board holding a map. I'd always known there was a not-so hidden room behind there, but I wasn't expecting this. Behind it was my mother's old equipment; her armour sat on a mannequin while the shield was hanging on the wall behind it and her sword stuck through a table.

"She's ok with this?" I asked, knowing how protective she was of me.

"It was her idea."

I couldn't hide my disbelief and immediately dashed in. He released the board so that the roof was shut, allowing me to change into the armour in peace. Once I was ready, I looked in a mirror that was on the left wall. I must admit, I really liked the armour and it actually suited me.

The helmet had a T-shaped opening around my eyes, nose, and mouth but covered the rest of my head entirely, with the exception of my hair coming down over my shoulders. Speaking of shoulders, the pauldrons covered both my shoulders and upper arms while still allowing for high mobility; they were fairly narrow and rounded. Meanwhile, both of my forearms and hands were covered by a metal gauntlet each, both of the gauntlets were lined with small, but fairly sharp, blades that could be used if the wearer was disarmed, though it made getting them on a bit of a pain. The cuirass was a perfect fit and reached down to my waist. I also liked the griffin painted onto the back. There were gaps by my arms to allow for mobility but this weakness was covered by the suit of chainmail that went under the metal plates. My upper legs were protected by a skirt of interlocking metal plates attached to the leather belt that held the sheathe for my mother's sword while metal greaves stretched from my feet up to my calves. The shield was circular in shape and was roughly 45cm in diameter. The rim was steel while the majority of the front of the shield was made of wood, though I don't have a clue what it was, with a griffin's head painted in the centre. The armour was mostly silver in colour with a black trim around the pauldrons, helmet, cuirass, and greaves. It was also covered in dents and scratches from battle.