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[Memory] A Light in the Dark
Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2022 9:06 am
by Laveriel
A Light in the Dark
Ailos - 22nd of Ash, Year 383 of the Age of Sundering
Despite her internal grumbling, the Siltori silently made her way through the dorms, her steps a whisper against the hard floor. Most of her fellow Aspirants would be asleep behind the thick wooden doors, recuperating after another hard day. Veriel could not give herself that luxury, not when she still hadn’t been inducted as a knight after almost an entire year. Those who had volunteered around the same time as her had all either been knighted or failed their initiation. They said if she was to be initiated right now, there would be no doubt that she would die.
A knight-sergeant had even told her to return to Auris instead of wasting all of their time. While it was something Veriel had thought of herself before, hearing someone else saying it hurt her pride. It hurt her pride enough that she had been waking up in the dark, like today, and made her way to the armory for the past three weeks just to prove to everyone that she did have what it took to become a Knight of the Dawnmartyr.
The Siltori knocked at the thick wooden door, pushing it inside without waiting for an answer. Knight Lade, an older member who had been chosen as a swordkeeper, would have been asleep. The loud painful creak of the door was the only thing that would wake him. The first night she came here, Veriel had knocked for a good half an hour before he woke up.
Sure enough, under the low light of the torches bolted to the wall, a figure groaned as he rose from his chair. The swordkeeper clicked his tongue in disdain as he slowly recognized her. “Aspirant d’Revrinti, while I admire your tenacity, do you know how much sleep I have lost just because you decide to train during these ungodly hours?” Despite his grumbling, the old man was already picking up the wooden katana she always used.
Veriel could only smile sheepishly as she accepted the sword. “I promise I won’t bother you tomorrow.” Perhaps she could jog around Ailos instead for tomorrow - endurance was another thing she needed to work on, after all. With a grunt, the white-haired man dismissed her and sunk back into his chair to sleep, snoring before she had even left the room.
The sharp winds whipped at her clothes as she reached the training grounds. It was a large grassy field that looked exponentially bigger with no one around. Knights in armor patrolled the white stone ramparts surrounding it. Stars still glinted in the night sky and the moon was shrouded by clouds, casting long shadows over her. No one would bother her at this hour, except for the occasional knights passing through. The first few nights they had questioned her presence, but by now most would simply let her be.
One side of the field was lined with stuffed straw dummies and she picked the one at the very edge. It looked slightly more worn than the rest - most likely due to the fact that it was the sole victim of her sword practices for days. Standing in front of it, Veriel raised her wooden sword and began striking. She had gotten better thanks to her night training - her swings faster and stronger. Her arms were also able to hold up a blade longer, but compared to the other Aspirants she still wasn’t good enough.
No matter how much time she spent with a sword in hand, Veriel still had a difficult time in one-on-one combat. The other Aspirants would often pick her as a sparring partner, knowing they would come out looking like the more formidable swordsman than her.
She liked to think that she had made the decision to join the Dawnmartyrs as one she had made after careful consideration. But it seemed like it might be a rash one. Veriel had let herself be blinded by her awe of the Order, daring to imagine herself being able to do as much good to the world as they did. To be part of such light and hope.
Was it wrong for her to want that?
With frustration fueling her, Veriel struck the dummy again and again and again.
Re: [Memory] A Light in the Dark
Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:30 am
by Laveriel
Veriel took the moment to stare into the night sky. The stars here were different than the ones back in Auris. Here they were more subdued, their light not as radiant. How she missed sitting on the marble railing of her balcony, watching the glimmering stars above and the twinkling lights of the city below.
“You shouldn’t be training alone.” The Siltori jumped to her feet at the sudden noise. She turned to see an unfamiliar silhouette, dark wings spread wide behind him. It took her mind a few seconds to recognize the Avialae strolling toward her. “It will simply ingrain your mistakes deeper.”
Knight Endrik Shiryo. She had seen him around perhaps two times at most. The first time during their first welcome feast in Ailos and when she watched him train Avialae Aspirants to fight during flight from the window of her dorms. He was a sight that one would be hard pressed to forget. The knight was an imposing enough figure with his athletic figure standing a head taller than her, but it was his piercing blue eyes that intimidated her the most. His wings were the color of thunderclouds, glints of silver peeking through as the feathers rippled along with the night wind.
Veriel shrugged, her eyes darting to the dummy beside her. “It’s better than not training at all.” Since she was already standing again now, she might as well start practicing again.
The man grinned, seemingly amused at her curt answer. He wasn’t the first knight to have taken interest in her nightly activity. He would probably ask her a few questions and then leave. “What is your name, aspirant?”
“Laveriel d’Revrinti.”
“Well Aspirant d’Revrinti, my name is Endrik Shiryo and I’m here to tell you that this is your lucky day. Your training partner will be someone who can hit back.” A sword materialized in his right hand as he spoke. It was a beautiful longsword with an elaborate hilt that almost looked like a broken ivory horn of some ancient creature.
Veriel blinked, her silvery eyes glowing brighter with her surprise. “What?”
His pact weapon slowly morphed, from metal to wood. “What I mean is I’ll help your train tonight. For a little while at least.”
The young elf raised an eyebrow, not hiding the skepticism in her voice. “Really? You have time to spare training a random aspirant in the dead of night?” She had heard the gossips about Endrik Shiryo, about how everyone hailed him as the golden boy of the Spellforged. A prodigal Summoner possessing the skills of someone beyond his years.
“My patrol shift hasn’t started yet, so I have some time and nothing better to do,” he said nonchalantly like he did this every day. He seemed to have read the unspoken question in her eyes and continued, “Also, I am very curious just what kind of aspirant could be so determined, that she would go out to train by herself every night in this cold. But if you are so against the idea, I suppose I could just leave you alone.” He raised his hands in surrender and started walking away.
“No, wait!” Veriel called, almost surging forward to stop him. She wasn’t foolish enough to turn away a willing teacher. He was smirking as he looked back, clearly already predicting that there was no way she would resist the offer. It is quite an infuriating sight. “I do want the help.”
Endrik gave her a brilliant grin. “A wise decision.” He raised his blade and gestured at her. “Let’s see what you got then.”
And so she did. Veriel swung her sword and the knight swiftly blocked it. While she had sparred with initiated knights before, fighting against Endrik was different. His movements possessed a grace that she hadn’t seen before. His swings were also faster and stronger - she could barely block them half of the time. However, Veriel could also tell that this was also him holding back, adjusting to her minimal skills.
Endrik also proved to be serious about training her. She could feel his eyes watching her closely and picking apart her weaknesses. He scolded her when she dropped her guard too soon. He corrected the angle of her swing so that it felt more natural. He knocked her down to prove that her stance was still unbalanced.
He smiled as he parried another one of her blows with ease. “Your technique isn’t terrible. You just haven’t settled into them yet.” As if to prove his point, with a twist of his sword he knocked her sword out of her hand. “But I can see you have the potential to become a very good warrior.”
The young woman cursed under her breath as she went to pick up the weapon. “You probably say that to everyone you train.”
Endrik gave her a look of mock horror. “Are you accusing me of whoring out compliments?”
“You seem like the type,” she said teasingly as she fell back into a stance, raising her sword up. Despite his striking figure, the ease of his smiles and the calm confidence gave her a taste of his personality. And she had seen him training other aspirants as an encouraging teacher. Endrik was probably the sort that was too nice to say anything harsh to his students.
“I don’t say things I don’t mean,” he replied. He thrust his sword suddenly, a move she barely dodged. “I promise that with a bit more personalized guidance, it will take you less than a season to become a knight.”
Veriel didn’t hesitate to snatch that opportunity. She blurted out the words before she could think too much and stop herself. “Then prove it. Train me for a season and let’s see if they’ll finally try initiating me. Perhaps it was forward of her to demand such a thing from a ranking officer, but the elf was desperate. The worst thing he could do was say no and even then at least she had tried something.
Endrik stopped his attacks as his eyes widened. He probably could not believe her audacity to ask him that, someone she just encountered barely two hours ago. His gaze on her intensified, scrutinizing her. Seconds passed and she still couldn’t quite the expression on his face.
She was sure he was going to say no.
He started shaking his head and a delightful laugh escaped him. “Alright. I’ll find you in a few days and we can set up a schedule.”
Veriel could not believe that it worked. She could not hide the excitement in her voice, her lips pulled into an unstoppable smile. “You’re not joking, right?” This could be the solution to her problem. If she could be trained personally by one of the knights, perhaps she would have a chance after all. “You’re not just messing with me?”
“I told you already. I don’t say things I don’t mean,” Endrik pointed out seriously as he ran his fingers through his snow-white hair. His sword dematerialized from his hand, leaving no trace of its existence. “I’ll see you on Wraedas.”
Re: [Memory] A Light in the Dark
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 6:33 am
by Hikami
A Light in the Dark
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- Great thread!
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