"The Hellhound" James Van Hellvrine, once a feared name and former Vice-Captain of the Sky Dragons. A young prodigy who reached the rank if Azure Scale by the age of 27, He was once a candidate of being the next right hand Dragon of that Patriarch 5 years ago, despite not being of Drachmere blood. However 3 years ago (30)one day when returning from a mission with 20 new Cadets, he was ambushed by enemy forces. By the time reinforcement arrived they found that he killed all the enemies, however he was never the same.
"Thank you, Sir James. For bringing me here."
"It was nothing, Young Master. You're lucky i went driving that day and found out about the secret cave when i did. Otherwise you would've been a goner."
Ignas took a small sigh and nodded his head in agreement to what James had said. That's when a idea came to mind.
"Sir James, I'm sure you know that the ones who sent those assassins after me was probably one of the Seven families. And I'm sure you know that they'll continue to send them."
"Yeah, what's your point?"
James said as he takes out a cigar from coat and lights it up.
Doc:
"Umm, Sir? You know you're in a the infirmary. You can't smoke in here"
James:
"Shut up."
Doc:(scared)
"Okay."
James looked back at Ignas and signed for him to continue.
"I was wondering....would you please teach me swordsmanship?"
James took a moment to process what he had just heard before speaking.
"Sorry kid, I'm retired...I stepped outta that life the moment i lost my right arm. Besides, you suddenly asking me to teach you swordsmanshipis out of the blue...if i didn't know any better, it sounds to me like you're saying you want to enter the Dragons Dan."
Just by the mention of the Dragons Dan was all it took for Sol to be thrown of balance.
"Dragons Dan? ...my son? ...you're joking, right?"
"Why you asking me? The young master is right infront of you, ask him yourself."
Sol turned her attention to Ignas, who took a moment to respond.
"His not wrong mom, I want....no, I need to go there. It's the only way I can fight the the other children without their families interference."
Sols over protective nature always slipped though. But, looking in his eyes she saw that his eyes resembled his father and she hated that ' cause those are eyes she can never say know to.
"Fine.....I'll allow it. But, if you're going there you're gonna need to prepare. We only have Six weeks before the Dragon Dan is opend. The other children already have years of experience of training...your gonna need to work a 1000 times more to catch up to them."
Ignas couldn't hold in his excitement as he hugged his mother.
"Thank you, mother."
He said as he turned his gaze to James
"Sir James, you heard her. So, you still don't wanna teach me?"
James took another puff of his cigar and spoke.
"I don't feel confident in sending a kid to his death. My answer is till a no....and if you're worried about the other kids or their family, the Patriarch is returning today. So, It's safe to say they'll behave for a while."
Without much words being Said, the turned and left the room.
"It's okay, honey. I'll see if I can get you a swordsmanship manual."
Said Lady Sol.
Later*
Ignas and his mother, Lady Sol accompanied by two Knights of the Drachmere family reached their house. A small estate known as the "Golden Rose" estate. It was a small Estate fitting that of a Baron, so it was highly looked down upon by the other 8 Noble Families of Drachmere. But, for Sol who was a commoner, it was all she could ever wish for.
"Welcome back, Lady Sol, Young Master."
Hens, the head butler said as Sol and Ignas walked through the front door. Bowing in respect wuth the other 5 servants present.
"Hens, do you still have those old swordsmanship manuals that Lord Aegon sent?"
Hens slowly raised his eyebrow and responded.
"They should still be in the basement...may I ask why you're asking for about them?"
"That's because I want to learn swordsmanship."
Ignas said as he inserted himself to the conversation.
Hens,who couldn't believe the words that had just left Ignas's mouth stood there shocked.
"Young master...are you perhaps still drunk off of the medicine they gave you at the hospital?"
Hens Said, his dignified composure momentarily shattered. Ignas on the other hand stood taller than Hens ever saw him before.
"I assure you, Hens. I've never seen more clearer."
He said as ge stepped forward.
"We all know that this was a assassination attempt , and that it won't stop until I'm officially dead. So, instead if seating by and waiting to die... I decided I want to fight. And to do thst, I'm gonna need every manual, training dummy, and every practice blade Father has ever sent to this house. Please gather them and place them in the courtyard practice ring immediately."
His mother watched as his son takes lead. She had a mixture of confusion and dawning hope.
"Ignas, i know i agreed to this, but are you sure about this? You've never shown any interest in the blade. And the Dragon's Dan opens in three months. You Won't possibly have enough time to learn all those manuals by then."
Said Lady Sol.
Ignas turned to his mother, his expression softly for her only. The words he spoke next were cold but absolute, bitter truth.
"Mother, they tried to kill me. They sent assassins to the forest where they know I go every now and then. I am alive only due to luck. And if I am to survive I need to start fighting back. Plus, what I like about the Dragons Dan is we'll have the right and left hand monitoring us for three years. There will be no outside interference from the other families. It's the only time that me and the other seven will be on equal playing field. I must not relay on luck."
He pointed around the walls of the Golden Rose estate.
"This house is mocked, mother. We don't have the lineage of any noble family. We lack wealth, and the military power of the main line....we are weak. But, I will change that, I will enter the Dragons Dan as the illegitimate son of Drachmere, but I will exit it as something not even Father can look past when he passes. So please, have faith in me, mother."
He met her gaze once more, this time with a fierce light burning in his eyes.
"I will be the strongest warrior, I will surpass father. And most importantly, I will protect you and everyone in this estate."
A fierce surge of pride welled up in Lady Sol, eclipsing her fear. She nodded once.
"I understand...Hens, do as Ignas commanded. Everything, immediately!"
Hens, seeing the unwavering seriousness of both mother and son, bowed deeply. The shock draining away away, replaced by the instinct of a servant.
"Yes, my Lady. I shall do so at once. Please give me an hour to prepare."
Meanwhile*
James who had earlier left Ignas and his mother was in a bar, lost on his thoughts.
(That kid, I was sure he awakend his Dragons blood. But the moment I stepped in that room and shoke his hand I couldn't sense it...so, who did he get healed?....wait, could his Excellency helped him out from the shadows?)
Just as he was drifting off, another man came in. His aura reeked of all the lives he had taken, his walk slow. He saw James amd decided to sit next to him.
"Well, well. If it isn't the 'Hell hound' himself. It's been a minute. How have you been, brother?"
James took his time to respond. He first finished his glass of whiskey and lit up another cigar.
James:
"Draker, what brings you to these parts of town? I thought the slums isn't a place fitting one of your structure."
Draker Hellvrine, the "Mad Drake". And the Current Vice-Captain of the Sky Dragons. The older brother of James as well as the Son of a Concubine. Their Father got Married to James's Mother first, but after 3 years of trying they couldn't have a child. That's when he took in Drakers Mother and Draker was born, two years later James was born as well. Although he is the oldest, and one of the most talented fighters in the Drachmere Monarchy, he still fell short compared to James.
While Draker is the first born son, he is a illegitimate child. This caused two factions to form in the household, those who believe Draker as the first born should be the successor, and those who believe that James as the pure blood noble son should rule. The two actions fights did come to an end after James lost his arm and Draker was appointed as the next in line to inherit his father's role.
Draker:
"Geez, shouldn't you be addressing the next family head with a bit more respect? Besides, can't a older brother stop by to check on his little brother?"
James:( stating to get pissed)
"Yeah, I'm not buying that bullshit. What do you want?"
Draker:
"Two things. Firstly, father says he will step down as the family head in three years once the new Intrim Patriarch is chosen, that means I will become the new head. The family is still divided, I need you to pledge your loyalty to me infront of everyone during the ceremony. This will create a picture of unity and everyone will have to accept that I'm in charge now."
James, still missed off blew some smoke out before he spoke.
"And the second one?"
Draker:
" 'He' heard that you saved Ignas the other day. He hopes this was a once off and you wont get involved with Ignas anymore."
James:(bored)
"Mhhm, you don't say?....well, I suggest you tell 'him' that instead of worrying about me, he should focus on the Dragons Dan."
James gets up and puts a Gold coin on the counter.
"Oh, one more thing. Those assassins you sent, I killed them. So I'm already involved. To think you trained such weak people."
James said as he left the bar. Draker got furious by those words and burst out his Prana, causing everyone in there to faint.
Back at the Golden Rose estate. Igans and Swarm were engaging in a conversation in Ignas's room
"So, all you're saying is I just have to read through these manuals and you transfer the data to my brain and muscle memory?"
[Yes.]
Ignas grabbed the the first swordsmanship manual. The Lindwym swordsmanship, a basic art that us thought to to all young soldiers of the Monarchy.
"Let's start with something small."
He said as he opens the manual.
[Good.]
Ignas got shocked at how fast his hands moved. And within seconds he had already read through the whole book.
"What the? Did I just read the whole book in seconds?"
[Yes. Now sending the memoried movements to the brain and muscles of the host. Please note you might experience a small amount of pain for the next 5 minutes as the data in sent.]
"Wait...wha-"
Before he could finish his statement the process had already began, causing jim to fall to his knees. All he could do was tighten his teeth and struggle.
(Swarm said I should endure this for five minutes? Damn it.)
5 minutes later.
Ignas gets to his feet. Exhuasted but he could feel a slight change in his body. A slight knock hits his door.
"Young master. I have prepared the training grounds as you instructed."
"*pant* yeah...I'll be out in a second."
Training Grounds.
Ignas slowly makes his way out of the house and goes to the training grounds. The exhaustion from the neural transfer was slowly fading. He picked up one of the wooden swords. It felt immediately right in his hand, neither too light nor too heavy. His grip was instinctively perfect.
[Status report: The Lindwym swordsmanship fundamental and theories have all been successfully added to the user's muscle memory. You can test this by proceedings to the foundational physical conditioning.]
(Physical conditioning? Or you mean the Iorn stance? Okay.)
Ignas settled his feet into the precise position, sinking his weight low, back straight, the wooden sword held steady at the middleguard. For something that was said to be a pain to learn, he instantly did it right.
One of the knights stationed to his house, a bored looking man snorted and leaned his back against a stone wall.
Jerek:
"Look at that, Kylen. The young master thinks he's gonna magically learn swordsmanship in three months."
The other knight, Kylen, a younger man offered a slight shrug.
Kylen:
"I hate to burst your bubble, but the young master is holding it well. Cleaner than most recurring on their first day."
Ignas heard their whispers, but he ignored them. He focused on the subtle instructions that where handed to him by Swarm.
[ Make sure to hold the posture. The goal is to sustain the stance until the surrounding muscle groups achieve maximum fatigue, this will allow the nanites to reinforce the exhausted tissues with enhanced structural integrity. This will require three hours for baseline enhancement.]
a while.
Jerek:
"Hey, Kylen. How long as the young master been in that stance?"
Kayen:
"For nearly three hours. I can't believe his been holding it like that on his first try....maybe his been training in secret?"
Jerek:
"No, that's his first time doing it. I've been in this house ever since he was born, this is the first time I'm seeing him practice."
Kaylen who was shocked by those words looked at the Ignas before he continued talking.
"Wait..if that's true, if he never held a sword before and he can pull the stance of so perfectly....wouldn't that mean his a-"
Jerek:
"A genius?....I hate to admit it, but maybe he is."
Jerek said as he moved closer to Ignas who had finally reached the three hour mark
"Young master, that was a great display of the Iorn Stance. I would like to be your sparing partner. Of coursei will not use any Prana, what do you say?"
[It's best to agree, you can test out the new techniques you acquired.]
"Okay, you're Jarak, correct? I'll take you on. I'll be in your care."
Jarak took out a wooden sword and placed his next to the other wooden ones.
"I Jarak Styles, Knight captain of the Golden Rose estate. A flight scale warrior, hereby challenge you, Young master Ignas Drachmere to a duel. Do you accept my challenge?"