The Swordmaster's Apprentice

Chapter One

First Draft~ Unedited.

oOo

The young boy that the old hermit had been so dedicated to keeping a watchful eye over, had become no less than a man; standing at a height of six foot four, arms bulging from vigorous work in the local forge, and ruggedly handsome features; His hazel eyes reflected the fire of the forge, sweat dripping down his forehead and his shaggy auburn hair a mess.

His uncle had been killed in a freak raid that had ended with half of the town on fire, conspiracists had claimed it had been the dragons of Kialin, angered by the sins of the settlers ancestors.

But all that had been swept under the rug, hidden by the council, so much that some- some, had started to believe that maybe an inkling of the claims held truth. Maybe the Kialinian range was home to dragons. Maybe they had raided the settlement. Maybe- just maybe, he was considering trying to find them.

He had never felt normal, almost as though he was the black sheep in a herd of pure bread white Dall's- a type of domesticated sheep that had always inhabited the mountainsides towering above the village. A constant desire to help those around him, he just didn't fit in, most boys were chasing girls through the streets, flirting and courting them to ensure their futures were bright and hopeful. Not Richard. Girls who passed him would smile and find themselves staring at the ground, blushing when he would smile obliviously back at them; unconscious to the fact that they were flirting.

"What are ye doin laddie?" The gruff voice of the blacksmith carried over the constant hammering of steel, a thick, broad accent that put the deep voice of the Kialinian folks to shame.

"Working the steel..." He motioned to the machine that he had built overnight- a sleepless one at that; its large frame built up by gears and cogs, all working in tandem to force a large metal hammer into a constant motion; allowing the young Smith to complete blades at a much faster rate. "I built it last night, works pretty well too."

"Jesus laddie didnea sleep?"

"A wink" Richard flashed his mentor a quick smile, though his eyelids drooped low; the mention of even the word sleep sending his brain into shutdown. He had been in a trance working through the night to get his new invention ready; working hard so that he could show his mentor and friend the machine that would increase their profits by so much.

"Havenea told ya not to work so hard! Sleepless nights mean mistakes..." The old man- down a leg and a hand, slowly traced his remaining hand across the brilliant craftsmanship that lay before him; his mind picturing how much easier things would be from now on. "but, by the god's laddie, sometimes I think ye may be the answer to meh prayers!"

Pulling the blade from the quench Richard wiped the excess oil off of its edges, receiving a satisfactory nod from Angus, Angus Stewart, a man who had allowed the small lithe child to apprentice under him; that child had begun to grow and to the dismay of all the tradesman on the island became the strongest, most intelligent and strong-willed young man of his generation. He flicked the blade in a sharp curve smashing it against the dummy next to him, used for testing the strength of blades.

"Not even a scratch!" He motioned to Angus, "Once it's sharpened it'll fetch a decent price!" With the mentioning of it, Richard sat at the grinding stone, slowly and skillfully working the edges of the blade, until they were so sharp that they could slice the skin off of a finger from a simple brush against it. After three long hours of constant work, grinding. Testing. Grinding, and more testing he finally sat up, satisfied with his work.

Angus noticing his apprentice had finished with the grinder, levered himself up and positioned himself in the doorway watching the boy drag the blade against a piece of rough leather, that hadn't once been cut by a blade forged by himself. Yet, this blade sliced through it like a knife through butter.