Memoirs of A Second Life

Zeldris' Request

That same day, I was tasked to test Marius' skill with the blade. Many people were curious of my capabilities, considering I was the child of two famous adventurers. One was a decorated soldier dubbed "The Lionheart", and the other was known throughout the land as the "White Witch".

It frightened me that I could never live up to these unbelievably high expectations. Azlan's legacy in the king's army, and Esfir's prowess in the arcane arts were every other child's dream, but it was a nightmare for me, their son. Marius led me back to the royal training hall where he and his brothers train in the combat arts. Surprisingly, Zeldris was there, too, along with Marius' brothers, Gaius the eldest son, and Marcus the second son.

The eldest looked like he was in his late twenties or early thirties, the second son, looked like he was in his early twenties. Both young men looked capable, impressive, and they looked a lot like their father.

Marius was the splitting image of Gaius, only younger. His chiseled jaw, golden hair, and confident gaze was befitting of his title as the wayward prince of Liberio. For a thirteen year old boy, he was surprisingly tall, probably around 5'7'' or 170 cm. I, on the other hand, was only 5'2'' or 160 cm. It was a vast difference in height and body mass.

Normally, in the world I used to live in, this glaring difference would be enough to ascertain Marius' win. However, I was blessed with Azlan's superhuman athleticism, and from the age of five, he had trained me in two different fighting forms, Eskrima, and the Saint of Sword's Dance of Blades. Perhaps Marius had been given a similar, or maybe even more meticulous fighting form, considering his royal upbringing, but I wasn't going to let my student get the better of me.

I stood in the middle of the training hall, a few feet away from Marius. He was holding a blunt metal sword as if wielding a rapier, and I preferred the used of metal tonfas. It was fortunate that they had one in the training hall. Truthfully, it had been a while since I used these in a duel, but it never failed me to land a solid hit on Azlan. If I could overcome Azlan's defenses with these things, then Marius would not be a problem either.

There were over ten witnesses to this duel, all of whom were important people in their own right. The only ones I personally knew were Master Teo and Aerin, and I could see in their eyes that they were rooting for me, Aerin even more so. It was as if she was raring to see Marius lose.

And so, I readied myself for our duel. I looked at Marius from across the room and carefully examined his facial expression, searching for an answer to what kind of move he would make. Despite my focused mind, my heart was racing as the tension rose inside the room. Perhaps the fact that there were many important people here was getting to my nerves.

Unable to wait any longer, Marius dove forward. Within a few seconds, he had closed the gap between us, and made a perfect spinning s***h at me. Fortunately, I was able to parry his sword with both tonfas, but the impact sent me sliding backwards.

I did not want Marius to dictate the flow of this battle, so I summoned all my courage and took the fight to him. The advantage of using tonfas meant that my strikes would be as fast as my fists. They acted as extensions of my limbs, and they protected my arms just as much as an armguard would.

With swift punches and sharp kicks, I was putting pressure on Marius. However, I knew it was not enough. I was surprised at how acrobatic and agile he was, considering he wasn't this fast when we fought last night. It had became clear to me that he was definitely holding back at the time.

I took a deep breath, and darted backwards to create a distance between us. And because I stopped attacking, Marius was surprised. Right now, it was clear that he was wondering why I did not take advantage of my momentum, but I gathered he had something under his sleeve, so I decided to be more cautious in this fight.

Azlan told me that there existed a technique that Eskrima fighters of olden times called the "Heaven Six". His father passed it down to him, and he did the same for me. The Heaven Six was a technique that covered both defense and offense equally, and a tonfa was the perfect weapon to apply it to.

The technique required swift upward and downward strikes, consecutively and continuously repeated until the enemy gets disarmed. As soon as I closed the gap between me and Marius, I performed the Heaven Six. At first, he was able to keep up with my strikes, but the longer it went on, the less he was able to adapt because I was attacking faster and faster.

And pretty soon, Marius was disarmed. The moment his sword flew away, he broke into laughter and started clapping. "You got the better of me."

The audience also applauded, and when I swept my eyes across the crowd, I noticed a faint smile on King Zeldris' face, and I felt proud to see how impressed he was of me. Marius approached me and put a hand on my shoulder. "I concede, Master Altair. From today on, you are officially my instructor. I'm looking forward to be in your care!"

After our duel, I was summoned by King Zeldris, but not the in throne room anymore. This time, his steward, a hale old man named Gunther led me to what seemed like a study of sorts. There were numerous books present in the room, and perhaps it was even bigger than a library at a formal college.

Gunther left the room as soon as Zeldris approached, and he bowed to the king before leaving.

"You are indeed Azlan's son, Altair," Zeldris remarked.

"Thank you, your highness. I'd like to think that I could live up to my father's name, but at present, I am no more impressive than your lesser knights," I replied.

Suddenly, he broke into a hearty laughter. "You really are overly formal, aren't you boy? Relax, it's just you and me here. I summoned you here because I wanted to show you my study. Teofila says you're also a capable mage and a very promising student at that."

"You flatter me, your highness."

Perhaps to him, I am still a mere child. But the way he's talking to me makes it seem as though he considers me an adult already.

As we walked on to the higher floor of the study, Zeldris grabbed a book from one of the shelves. It was a green hardcover book, imprinted with gold letters. Its title was "Arcane: the art of magic", written by Zeldris Liberio. Based on the name of the author, I gathered that it was King Zeldris' ancestor.

He then handed me the book and said, "Take it, Altair. You might learn a thing or two. But make sure to return it to me once you're done reading the book."

I was hesitant at first, but I decided to accept it, albeit with trembling hands. "Thank you, your highness. I will make sure to take good care of this book." After a brief pause, I asked, "May I be candid with you, your majesty?"

Zeldris gestured at me with a nod. "Feel free to speak your mind."

"Why did you summon here? I do imagine that it's more than this book. And considering you've spoken to Master Teo about me and the fact that you've lent me this book, I gather that you already know I want to study in the Arcane academy."

Based on the look on his face, I could tell that he was amused.

"You truly are an astute individual as Teofila said," Zeldris remarked. "Talking to you feels as if I'm not speaking to a boy, but a man, and a capable one at that."

He then led me to an inner part of the study where comfy regal armchairs were placed around a tea table. There were aromatic biscuits on the table, and a pot of fragrant tea as well as two small teacups. Zeldris invited me to sit down and I obliged. I wouldn't want to be the person who refused the king's kind gesture. It seemed that he had had this prepared before I came here.

"Marius is a willful child, Altair. He would often go around the city, patrolling it along with Lancelot and Beatrix, declaring that they were the emissaries of the king's justice. This is in part my fault, and his brothers'. He must be feeling pressured to live up to my legacy, and the achievements of Gaius and Marcus. Even their sister, Elizabeth is a celebrated student in Arcane academy. Perhaps that is the reason for his waywardness," Zeldris explained, pausing to look at my reaction and pouring us both a cup of tea.

"I may have a vague idea of what you want me to do, your highness, but I'd like to hear the rest of what you have to say," I responded, taking a sip of my tea.

Zeldris smiled and leaned back on his chair. He clasped his hands together and placed them on his lap. "There is a reason I accepted you to be Marius' mentor instead of Azlan. Your father raved on and on of how wise you are beyond your years, and that you are an even better adult than he was."

"I agree," I bantered, making Zeldris laugh at my comment.

"I have reason enough to believe that you'll be able to help my Marius become a man of his own. What he needs isn't a mentor or another retainer. He needs a rival, and a friend that will push him to become a better person."

Zeldris looked at me again, with a sharper gaze this time. Seeing that I was unfazed, nor pressured by his statement, he continued, "I'll be sending Marius off to see the rest of Liberio. He needs to go on an adventure of his own, so that he can mature."

"Wait, does that mean you want me to..."

"Indeed, Altair. You'll be joining him on his trip across Liberio. Beatrix has offered to join you on the journey. Lancelot, on the other hand, will be remaining in the capital for he has other duties to attend to. I cannot afford to lose both Beatrix and Lancelot at the same time," Zeldris answered.

A silence ensued between us, and it seemed that he was waiting for me to give him a positive answer.

I got off my seat, genuflected on the ground and bowed my head to Zeldris. "Your will be done, your highness!"

"Spoken like a true knight already, Altair," he replied. "You'll make an even finer knight than your father."