Everyone had settled down and the Ceremony finally began.
Two men walked to the front of the podium, and performed a sequence of movements using Aeris, filling the entire hall with a type of wind that carries the voice of whoever was speaking on the podium.
After they left, Xilohe stepped up.
"Good evening everyone, I am Xilohe, Family of Aevorah, the first daughter of the Supreme Commander, Mar'Gareth. As you all know my father is supposed to be the one to host this event but he is currently not present, so I have to step up in his place."
The crowd remained silent.
Xilohe continued. "Tonight is the night where we officially welcome you all into the Tarrion Academy. You have made the difficult choice of choosing to leave you comfortable lives to contribute to the safety and protection of our lovely Nation. And the protection of other nations."
Everyone clapped and cheered, and soon after it died down.
Xilohe continued.
"Since the fall of The Great Kingdom of Ardor, Terraka has stepped up to be the sole protector of our continent. We contribute to the protection of all nations, fighting against whatever the Dark Forest spits out, and also dangers besides the Dark Forest."
She smiled. "Once again, welcome to the Tarrion Academy. What's after this will be the event where you choose the type of weapon you spend half your life with, and after that is the Tournament which determines your Vanguard."
She took a step back.
"That's all I have to say for tonight. Enjoy the food and drinks and also feel free to meet up with the Captains here for any questions you might have. Have fun."
Everyone clapped as Xilohe left the stage. The students resumed dining, some went to meet up with the captains, while other danced to the music being played.
I scanned around for Eimira and saw her surrounded by students. She looked like she needed help. The rumours about her relationship with me must have gotten her a bit more popularity.
She turned to me.
"Help." She mouthed.
I shook my head, smiling. "Enjoy, hehe."
Someone tapped me.
"Yo, Zandren, let's go meet up with some of our classmates. You know, to connect and chill." Zahir said.
I shrugged. "I'm fine. I'm not really good with people."
"C'mon, it's not that hard." He added.
"Yeah Zandren, you need more friends besides us." Wryo pitched in.
"Are you calling me a loner?" I frowned.
Wryo chuckled nervously. "No, not at all..."
"Yes, yes at all." Zahir folded his arms.
I lowered my head. "Ouch."
I heard someone approaching.
"Hello there."
A female voice called out.
I turned to check.
Aurelle. The second captain, the one from the supposed richest family of the three nations.
"I smell trouble." I thought.
"Hi." I replied nervously.
She turned to Zahir and Wryo. "Mind if I borrow him for a bit?"
"Y-yes." Wryo replied nervously.
Zahir chuckled. "He's all yours Captain Aurelle."
They left without even looking back.
"Damn. I do need more friends." I whispered.
"S-So how can I be of help to you Captain?" I asked, anxious.
She smiled. "Drop the formalities. Feel free to call me Aurelle."
She had a bold presence. A tall frame, and a little bit broad at the shoulder. But despite that, she still retained her feminine look.
"Okay, Aurelle."
"What's your name?" She asked.
"My name's Zandren." I replied quick.
"What Family are you from?"
"Oh, uh. I don't have one..." I said, figuring it'd be better to tell the truth than to lie.
"So you must be Eimira's new pet." Her expression changed.
"Gotta admit..." She scanned me from head to toe. "She does have... taste."
"What?" I blinked.
She folded her arms. "I like you. How much for you to leave that expedition wretch."
"Sorry. You aren't my type." I smirked.
Her eyes twitched. "W-what did you say?"
"I said, you weren't my type, so can I please enjoy the rest of my evening?" I tried to leave, but she trapped my legs with vines.
She got angry. "You fucking peasant. Do you know who I am?"
"No he doesn't." Eimira appeared, visibly angry. "Release him before I cause a scene, and you know I will.
"You little..." She grunted. "He's going to be mine."
Aurelle released her grips on me and the vines withered away. She scoffed and took her leave, not without flashing me a sort of seductive smile.
"What was that?" I asked, traumatised.
Eimira moved closer, dusting my clothes, ignoring the fact that we were in an open space filled with people.
"Eimira... People are watching..." I tried to move away.
She came even closer to me. "So? They already know, don't they?"
"I know but, I still don't like the fact that I have this many people staring at me at the same time." I explained.
Her eyes met with mine. "My place is close... Wanna come?"
"I don't have a choice, do I?" I smiled.
"Yes, you don't, hehe." She grabbed my hand. "Let's go."
****
On the stage where the Captains and vice captains stayed. Yunok and Aurelle conversed.
"So, did he accept?" Yunok asked.
"He rejected me on the spot. Saying I'm not his type." Aurelle whined. "Aren't I hot enough? Plus I'm the second captain, from the richest family in all of Caramien."
"Most men would die to even be in the same space with me." She added.
"I still don't get what Mira sees in that nameless bastard." Yunok scoffed.
"I mean, he's more handsome than you, and..." She looked at Yunok closely. "He's a bit more built physically than you."
"Fuck off."
Aurelle laughed. "I'm quite intrigued by him. He's the first to ever reject me without any hesitation."
"The bastards crossing the line. I won't let him hold on to my Mira. She's mine." Yunok whispered.
****
We reached Eimira's place. A mansion with a scale left me momentarily speechless.
"You live here?" I asked.
She smiled. "Along with my big sis, Xilo, Mother and sometimes Father."
As we walked through the quiet hallways, she admitted in a low voice how strange it felt to bring home someone beside her usual circle of friends, how unfamiliar and personal it was, and yet... exciting.
I kept my gaze on her, unsure whether to say something or just let her speak.
At last we entered a vast space at the back, it was her family's private training ground.
The scent of leather and polished wood filled the air. At the end of the room was an Armor stand which held a large golden Armour, most likely belonging to Mar'gareth.
I stared at it. "It can't be…"
Eimira nodded. "Yes it is."
"The Armour Sir Mar'gareth had on during the fall of Ardor." I whispered.
It still had dents and scratches from back then. It felt magnificent seeing the Armor in person.
Eimira stopped in front of me. She turned.
"Here." She said, her voice almost a soft whisper. "... is where I test myself."
"Wow! This place is huge."
Her face lit up. "Ah yes, since your weapon's selection event is close, why not pick one now?"
"What do you mean?" I blinked.
"The weapon selection is for those who don't have a weapon to match their fighting style. So they get to experiment with many other weapons provided by the Academy. But it doesn't apply to those who already have theirs." Eimira explained.
"Okay?"
"What if you do your weapons selection here, with me being your tester." Eimira giggled, pointing at a closed door on the left wall of the training room.
We walked over to the door, and she stepped forward and opened it.
"Wait here, let me bring them out." She said.
She walked into the dark room and came out shortly after, pulling a long weapon shelf, which had various types of weapon on it. She was struggling to pull them so I went over to help. Eimira told me there were two shelves, so we brought the other shelf.
I stepped back. "That's a lot of weapons. Who even uses this much?"
The weapon shelves had a lot of different weapons which required different fighting styles to use them. From Greatswords to chain weapons and staff. It was all there.
"My father loves to be versatile. Always wants to be ready to defend with whatever weapon he has with him."
She grabbed a longsword. "And guess what?"
"What?"
She infused the longsword with her blessings, which made the orbs on the handle glow. "They all resonate with a type of Blessing."
She slashed forward, unleashing a combination of Aeris and Aqualis attack.
"Try it." She handed the longsword to me.
The orbs died out the moment it left her hands.
My head hung. "Aww..."
Eimira burst out, laughing uncontrollably. "Oh my, I wasn't expecting that sound from you."
Eimira's laugh went on for a while before finally calming down. She then walked up to me. "So, how does the sword feel? Do you feel some type of connection with it?"
I examined the sword. "What am I supposed to feel exactly?"
"Everyone has a specific weapon that fits them. They connect with it at first touch."she explained.
She unsheathed her sword. "Maybe after a couple swings, you'd feel the connection."
"Eh, What? Wai-"
Eimira charged forward without warning.
I held the sword in front of me, managing to block her first attack.
"See? You just needed that push." She infused her weapon with Aqualis and slashed at me.
"Wait— I don't thi—"
I swung wildly, breaking off the slashes. I got hit a few times but the attacks kept coming in.
"Eimira... Wait.." I tried to get her to stop but to no avail.
"You said that you'd protect me. " She continued her attacks. "How can you protect me when I am pushing you back?"
I grunted, as I blocked less attacks getting it nearly all the time. My clothes were already torn.
The clothes she gave me as a gift.
"How can I know that I can trust you?" Her attacks became more violent, she wasn't even holding back anymore.
"Eimira..."
"Enough waiting. Do something." She raised her sword horizontally in front of her. She added Aeris to the infusion and charged at me in a straight dash with her sword's tip aimed at me.
I dropped the long sword I was holding, and took a fight stance. Taking a deep breath, I waited for her to get close before striking.
"Now!"
In a quick motion, I slipped to the left, away from her line of attack. And with the back of my right hand, I slapped the sword out of her hand before palming her in the shoulder and ultimately tackling her to the ground.
I was now on top of her.
My lips touched hers.
"I told you to wait, love." I brushed her hair off her face.
Her eyes were teary. She tried to hide it by turning her face away but I turned her face back to me.
"What's wrong? Tell me." I asked, seeing how worried she looked.
She sniffled. "You said you'd protect me but you get hurt anytime something has to do with me. I just get too worried."
I took a long, good look at her eyes. It felt like I had seen this same look before.
"Stop staring, dumbass." She covered her face with her arm.
I pulled them aside and leaned closer, kissing her forehead. "I'm sorry for making you worry so much."
She turned her face slightly. "Hmph! If you are sorry. Kiss me."
I chuckled, and leaned in for a kiss.
"My oh my, my daughter's finally getting some action. Hehe."
"Mom!!??"
Eimira's face flushed red.
She panicked, knocking me airborne with Aeris. I struck the ceiling before crashing back down onto the floor. But this time she managed to cushion my fall.
"Is this the young man you've been mentioning?" She asked.
Eimira's mom approached me.
She smiled. "Hello there, what's my son-in-law's name?"
"Mom, please stop." Eimira blushed after hearing her mom call me, son-in-law.
I answered. "I'm Zandren. Zandren uhh..."
She laughed. "Don't worry about that, Ei already told me about what happened to you."
Now facing Eimira.
"You! You bring a man home and the first thing you do is to beat him up?"
Eimira knelt in front of her. "I-I'm sorry..."
"You and Xilohe, the same thing. I blame Mar. Always having them fight, barely ever letting them be women." She said, as she smacked Eimira playfully.
They both laughed.
Eimira's mother introduced herself to me as Yor.
A woman in her sixties, still looking fairly young and strong. She had very distinctive brown braided hair, beautified with colourful beads. Her entire demeanour was kindness. No wonder Eimira took her in as her mother rather than a step-mother.
She invited me in for dinner. Despite telling her I had eaten at the ceremony, she insisted.
Eimira pulled me closer.
"She's not gonna let you go bro. Just accept it." She whispered.
I eventually gave in and was fed far more than I could possibly eat. Somehow, every bite tasted like love.
"Ah yes, Ei. Aurivelle already went to bed before you came back. She said to tell you that she has finished designing her weapon and you should check it out." Eimira's mom said, while clearing the plates on the table.
"Oh, ok. I'll check it out." Eimira fell silent for a bit then suddenly spoke. "Hey, mom, when I was testing Zandren earlier, I felt something different about him when he dropped the long sword I gave him."
She placed the plates down. "Oh oh. And what was that?"
"I felt his confidence level and threat level increase in that short instance." Eimira answered.
"So that's how you both ended up in that embarrassing position." She chuckled.
Eimira's face flushed. "Come on mom, focus."
She laughed. "Sorry, sorry."
"What weapon do you think is best for him?" Eimira asked.
"Hmm."
She turned to me.
"Zandren, when you think about fighting as a whole, how do you imagine yourself?"
"Uhh..."
"Thinking back to the times I've fought, I've only ever used my hands because they felt more natural to me than using a weapon." I thought.
"Tearing them to shreds?" I answered Yor's question.
"Hmm, I see." She replied. "One moment."
She left the dining room, and returned shortly with a long medium sized rectangular box. She placed it on the table and wiped the dust off.
"This used to belong to a friend of my husband who passed away." She said, "Mar had always wanted to use them, but due to his large frame, they didn't fit him."
She opened the box, and in it was a gauntlet.
It had dark metal plates that formed a segmented shell over the forearm and hand. The surface looked forged, rather than polished. Ruby inlays reinforced the joints, knuckles and wrist, locking each segment together.
Black fur and feathered plating ran along the outer arm, rising into jagged crests near the elbow. Curved claws extended from the fingers, sharp and predatory, made for tearing rather than fencing. The palm and knuckles were thick, built to strike head-on.
Leathered straps with metal buckles cinch the gauntlet to the arm, and they also provided a little bit of defence to the wielder.
"It's beautiful." I muttered.
"Try it on." Yor smiled as she slid the box to me.
I grabbed one of the gauntlets. It was really heavy, didn't expect them to be, and the fact Yor carried them effortlessly at her age.
Yor spoke, as I put on the gauntlets.
"My husband's friend was the last king of Ardor, Aethon. These gauntlets were his first weapon during his golden age. He passed it on to Mar as a symbol of their friendship's humble beginnings." She chuckled. "I remember Mar also gave Aethon his first weapon, a large double-headed battle axe."
The gauntlets locked in place the moment they entered my arm.
Yor clapped. "Perfect fit. How does it feel?"
I clenched my firsts and unclenched them. "It feels... really good and smooth."
I threw a punch.
The impact split the air, a short shockwave bursting from my fist.
"Great. Let's go test it out..." Eimira suggested, visibly excited.
"Bet." I replied with the same energy.
She grabbed my arm and rushed me out.
"Take it easy, don't hurt my son-in-law." Yor said, with a satisfied smile on her face.
Yor sighed.
"Eimira… You finally found happiness. I'm proud of you."