The Blood of Honour

The Beginnings

*long chapter alert*

12 years ago...

"Godmother! I don't wanna go!"

Nema, daughter of the mighty Perisian Furwer, sister-in-law of Lord Rivera, king of the Rivera clan and Godmother to young Sera, daughter of Lord Rivera and Lady Amora, looked at the stubborn young girl gazing out of the gratings.

"It's war, my Love; it's nothing like what you've seen before. Go to your mother's chamber before it's too late. It's your father's order." She said, with a hard ring in her voice.

The ten year old turned, "Oh my dear Godmother, I can wield a spear, shoot a bayonet, what do I fear?"

The smirk of satisfaction on the hard little face surprised Nema, but just a little. She had known Sera since the day she was born and when she learnt the throw of a spear at seven, she knew that the future of this girl had been decided.

"Not death, my Love, but devastation." Said Godmother Nema, taking Sera's hand, "There's nothing you know of devastation, a spear through your heart will end your pain but one through your eye and you live devastated forever. Come."

Sera stepped down from the crevice. This war was only one to gain power, she knew, she had overheard Godmother Nema say so to Father.

"Godmother," she said, "When I learnt to fight, I learnt to fight for Rivera and, I promised, no matter what, to fight beside Father."

Nema didn't respond just then but walked Sera to the grand underground castle armoury.

"Your lessons aren't complete yet, child. The day you can wield every weapon in this grand hall is the day when you'll truly be a fighter and that day, it'll be I, who will direct you to the field."

That night, as gunpowder burst all around, spears flew through the air and swords slashed around, Sera sat in Lady Amora's hidden underground chamber and threw her little knife on the wooden door. Time and again she threw on target, at the exact spot she wanted the knife to go and finally with her eyes closed she aimed at Lady Amora's head. Her mother was sleeping and Sera knew that if her estimate would be perfect, the knife would hit the headboard of the bed, missing her mother by a hair's breadth and wake her up; one slightest mistake and her mother would be asleep forever. Steadying her hand, Sera took aim on estimation.

BANG!!

The door flew off its hinges, Sera knew her hand shook the moment the knife flew off, she couldn't look at the terrible scene and rushing into the chamber were two armed enemies.

"Take them hostages!!"One of them cried.

"Sera!!" the well-known voice cried out and the next five minutes went in a whirl.

The knife pulled out from the headboard by the unharmed Lady Amora, Sera grabbing at it and slashing at the two men, Amora firing a musket, hitting one man, Sera piercing the eye of the other, kicking at their heads with her metal boots and then the Rivera army entering and taking charge of the two intruders. The blood streaming everywhere, the men writhing on the floor-one of their eyes rolling out his head-had Sera swoon to the floor in a minute.

When Sera opened her eyes, her head felt hot and a feeling of nausea ran through her body. Her eyes hurt her and as she tried to lift her hand to her aching head her entire body thrilled in a searing pain. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think back to what had happened when she had begun to slash at the men. Some vague memories of a piercing pain down her neck came back to her, at the moment when her mother had fired the musket. She clenched her teeth as her entire body thrilled with pain, she was about to press her hand to her temples when she felt a coolness seeping in.

"Godmother?" she whispered.

Godmother Nema sat near her and put a wet cloth on her forehead.

"Child, you are a true fighter, but what you saw today was, in reality, nothing compared to the war your Father is fighting. See the effect it has had on your young heart. Learn to learn child, you can never run before you can walk or sing before you can talk. You have in you the makings of a great warrior but for that to be utilised to its full extent, you have to learn to nurture yourself. Now take this medicine and go to sleep. You are safe here." said Nema.

Young Sera's eyes were blurred from pain and fatigue and she let out a sigh as she drifted back to sleep.

A bullet through her left shoulder, a deadly high fever and extreme mental pressure from standing gory sights kept Sera bedridden for over a month. But when she finally recovered her nerves were unusually steady. Her bullet wound hadn't healed completely but Sera spent the entire day in the Armoury wielding swords, daggers and spears with her right hand. The war was still going on in fits and some nights they had sleep in the dungeon room with iron doors while on other days they could sleep in their own chambers. Godmother Nema took complete charge of Sera and guided her in her pursuit of mastering the art of armoury.

The ten year old little girl was unlike anyone else, her nerves were unusually steady when it came to picking on targets- be it with a sword or a bayonet. Nema herself had profound knowledge of warfare, but in Sera she found a real warrior.

When the war ended with Rivera winning over the five little clans and taking over the palace of Newcastle, Godmother Nema presented Sera before Lord Rivera as an apprentice. Though reluctant to take over his own daughter as a war apprentice he had finally agreed and Sera had joined the battery of apprentices. Young as she was, she was a quick learner and in the next three years she grew to be one of the battery's ablest swordswomen and shooter. It was during this period that she underwent rigorous endurance training. Her father himself took over the training of her and she improved in leaps and bounds.

Sera Rivera, eldest apprentice, fourteen years old, took over the training her younger cousins and her eyes glistened when she made them repeat the Rivera pledge after her and saw their hopeful, upturned faces...

*Long chapter haha*
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Peace
~R