Mark Of The Dragon

Chapter 1-A New Beginning

"Come now Arthur, surely that's not all you've got." said Titus, with an over confident grin, and a wooden sword in hand. Titus and I were about the same complexion; but I was a tad darker than him, we both shared dark hair which could be compared to the night sky, and light amber eyes that glistened in the sun. Titus is one of the King of Pyrus's Royal Guard, well he was, that is until he got tired of the useless bloodshed, at least that's what he told me. Besides that, he doesn't really talk about his past all that much. But that aside, it goes without saying that he's an excellent fighter, and an even better cook, but aside from all of that he's my adopted father, but I just call him Titus, it saves time. Of course, no one could ever replace my real father, but he managed to fill the void by treating me as if I was his own flesh and blood.

"Of course not, am just getting started" I said, knowing that I was bluffing, and that I had reached my limit. However, I wasnt going to let that stop me, I was determined to prove to him that I could at least land a blow on him, before I called it quits. So, I grabbed my wooden sword and lunged towards him, knowing he would easily be able to defend against that, so I faked him, and slid to the left. But as expected he kept up, while still holding his ground. So, I tried my luck and dashed towards him head on, our swords met, colliding many time in that moment. Left, right, up, down, I swung my sword in every direction, while searching for an opening so I could land a blow, but to no avail. I thought to myself, how did he get so strong, and that I could never beat him, I figured that Titus picked up on that moment of wavered confidence, because in that instance, I was pushed back by about ten feet.

"Don't, ever lose focus in the middle of a battle, it will lead to your demise. Focus your energy on the battle and not your faults, do that and you'll always find a way to defeat your opponent."

He was right, I did lose focus and let my faults get the better of me, but regardless, I knew there was no way I could defeat Titus, so, in a desperate attempt I threw my sword towards him and lunged behind it, hoping that he would block it and I could follow through with a punch, but instead, he caught it, with ease I might add, and shot me with that signature smug grin of his.

"My turn" said Titus, and with that he dashed past me mid-lunge, and poked me in my back with my own sword, which clearly meant, I had lost. I had asked Titus to train me in the art of the sword, at least this way I could learn to defend myself, and anyone that I ever saw being mistreated, especially for no reason. We would usually begin training in the afternoon and end at dusk. I hated losing to Titus, it reminded me of how weak I was, even though I knew he was way stronger than me, it was still annoying, especially since our win to loss ratio was three-hundred to zero, him having the greater number of course.

"Ya did good today kid, you're catch on faster than I had anticipated. However, you continue to lose you're focus in the middle of a fight, focusing only on your opponent's strengths, instead of their weaknesses. Fix that and you'll surpass me soon enough." Said Titus with a smile.

I returned the smile, letting him know that he lightened my mood, but I was still upset over my three-hundredth loss. But there was something else troubling me, I felt as if I was forgetting something important, but I just couldn't put my sword on it.

"Arthur!!!, why have you not eaten your lunch as yet. You'll never grow big and strong if you keep skipping out on your meals."

Said my adopted mother ever so angrily, Which was not true, I just never ate on time is all, but there was no way going to argue with her, because if there's one thing Titus taught me, is to never argue with a women, and that if you do, be prepared to lose. Her name was Adina, and she was a great archer, and when I say great, I mean she could shoot a pig from over four-hundred feet away. On top of that, she was an even better cook than Titus, beating him every time he ever challenged her, with me as the judge of course. But overall she was one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, and we've traveled all over the land of Aeros, so that's saying something. With a fare, light complexion, long soft hair, and beautiful gray eyes it's no wonder Titus fell for her. But, aside from all that, she's always nagging, and over protective of me, she even resented the idea of Titus teaching me how to fight, which is why we practice using wooden swords instead of metal, not that it was a bad call. Even so, it still doesn't change the fact that I love her, almost as much as my real mother, but although my real parents are gone, that still doesn't change the fact that they will always be in my heart.