Memoirs of A Second Life

Steel Your Heart

The following day, Azlan brought me to the house's backyard where we used to go up against each other. The wooden swords were still firmly planted on the ground, as if they were King Arthur's legendary Excalibur, protruding from a stone.

It made no sense at first why we just kept them there when we stopped training in the art of the sword, but now that I'm seeing it two years later, I now understood that Azlan wanted to preserve those precious memories with me. Azlan had never been good at expressing his emotions. Most of the time, he would just awkwardly scratch the back of his head whenever he was feeling embarrassed of himself. On other times, he would laugh it off and tell me to shake my anger off whenever I'm annoyed at him.

But even so, he was a great father to me. And a great example of a man at that.

Today, Azlan had three swords with him. Two were on either side of his waists, and the other, he was holding onto. He sat on the boulder we always used to sit on, cleaning the blade with a piece of clean linen cloth. Despite the scabbard's relatively weathered appearance, the sword, itself, remained particularly well taken care of.

I watched him clean the blade, silently waiting for him to speak. I wasn't sure why he brought me here, but it looked like we were going to have a match.

Once Azlan had finished cleaning the sword, he tossed it to me, hilt-first. I was able to catch it easily, for it didn't feel heavy in my hands. The sword felt right in my hands, and somehow, I had a sense of familiarity with it. There were engravings of runic letters along the blade, and at the center of the pommel shaped like a lion's head, the lion had a black gem for an eye.

I then looked at Azlan, watching his every move. I was not surprised to see him unsheathe the two swords at his side. Those looked common compared to the sword he had given to me, but they were by no means terrible. Finally, he said to me, "That sword has been in the Van Astrea's household for four generations. Prove to me that you are worthy of it, and I will pass it onto you."

With the bewilderment of a child, I looked at my father, and readied myself for what was to come. We were indeed going to have a duel. "En garde, Father!"

I could tell from the way Azlan was moving today that he was no longer holding back like he used to. The way he swung those two blades around was hypnotic. For most people, wielding two swords was a herculean task, but watching Azlan do it made it seem so easy.

Through the help of magic, I was able to keep up with my father's movements. The bodily enhancement magic I learned to control yesterday was enough to keep me alive against Azlan. His calculated strikes and lunges could've killed me by now if it weren't for the fact that my senses were boosted by my magic.

Despite the fact that Azlan hadn't landed a hit on me, it did not faze him. He just timed his attacks better and increased the frequency of his swings. For a moment, I could barely keep up with him. Azlan truly is a beast with the sword!

I was able to parry some of the attacks, but it each time I did, it sent me flying away.

"You can't keep defending yourself, Altair! You're not going to win by just doing that," Azlan remarked.

"But this is a real sword, Father! I can't bring myself to use it against you," I countered.

"Do you think a warrior on the battlefield will show you the mercy I'm showing you right now? Hell no! If you hesitate for even a second out there, you're going to get yourself killed. Arm yourself, boy! Your hands are not the only ones that need to be armed, Altair. Your heart does, too!"

I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but I do imagine that it was a creed Azlan had been living by for all of his life, and it had kept him alive throughout all these years.

And so, I shook off my hesitation and began to attack Azlan. The sound of our clashing steel resounded throughout the garden, and by now, some of the servants were watching us, Lianna among them. Even Farina and Esfir were silently observing our duel, but none dared to interfere. It seemed that they were either too scared to stop us, or they respected the fact that this duel was between men; not just father and son.

I mustered every strength I had in my body to pierce through Azlan's defenses, but his masterful control of the blade was something I could not even dream of surpassing at my current state. Truthfully, I had been to enamored by magic that I had focused on it more than the use of arms. Perhaps it was my ineptitude to stick to the art that had led me to fail against this fight, but I knew I did my best.

And before I knew it, I managed to deflect one of Azlan's swords away, but at the same time, he put me on the ground, pointing a sword at me. Azlan then withdrew his sword and put it back to its scabbard. Then, he reached his hand out to me, which I took to help me stand up.

Lowering my gaze, I said to him, "I'm sorry I failed you, Father."

Azlan began to break into laughter. "Failed me? Nonsense, son! You did splendidly."

At this time, Esfir approached us and handed us both a cup of cold water to ease our tension. "Altair, your father is one of the finest swordsmen in the land. The Paladin, himself, recognizes Azlan's skill. You being able to keep up with him means that you'll become an even better fighter in the future!"

I looked at them with disbelief, and asked, "So does that mean..."

Azlan handed me the scabbard of the lion-head sword he had given me. "Lionheart is yours, Altair. Take it with you on your journey to the capital."

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on. Journey to the capital? What do you mean?"

Esfir rolled up a newspaper and slapped the back of Azlan's head. "You didn't tell him? You imbecile!"

Then, Esfir crouched down to look me in the eye. "Son, your father has found you a job. You're going to be Prince Marius' new mentor. You'll teach him the ways of the sword and magic. King Zeldris has requested your father to be the prince's instructor, but you're going in his stead."

I was caught off-guard by all these information that I spaced out. Truthfully, it was an exciting opportunity to be able to go to the capital. That was where the Arcane academy was located, and being there meant I was a step closer to my goal. Moreover, if I was getting a job, it meant that I would be earning money. Money that I could use to pay for Farina's tuition.

While Esfir was telling me of what will happen from now on, I suddenly talked over them, "Is there any way I can take Farina with me?"

Suddenly, Master Teo approached me and put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm afraid not, Altair. King Zeldris will not permit any deviations to his requests." Then, she turned to Azlan and said, "Your father probably risked his life to convince the king to give you that job instead. Any more and you'd risk seeing Azlan hanging from the gallows with his limbs being torn apart one by one."

Azlan's face twitched. "You paint quite a picture, Teo."

This time, he crouched beside me and embraced me. "Son, I'm afraid Farina can't come with you, but whenever we drop by the capital, I'll be sure to take her with us to visit you."

I saw Farina staring at me from a distance with tears falling from her eyes. Somehow, I knew that she knew I was going away for a while, but she kept it from me because it was for my own good.

I reached my hand out to her, but Farina just ran away and Lianna followed after her. Clearly, she was upset.

Azlan's words during our fight suddenly dawned on me. He was right. I also need to steel my heart.

Thus, I willed myself not to run after Farina, for I knew it would just make it harder for me to leave. And while we were having a heartfelt goodbye, a carriage ride arrived just outside of our house. Master Teo approached it and entered the carriage. Inside the coach was a long-haired woman with pointy ears, similar to Lianna's. She glanced at me with a tinge of disdain in her gaze, and then she averted her gaze immediately.

"Go, Altair. They're waiting for you," Esfir said to me, embracing me for one last time. "Know that I will always be praying to Artemis for your safety, my love."

"Thank you, Mother. As will I," I replied.

Azlan scratched the back of his head and half-embraced me. "I'm proud of you, son. Good luck on your journey!"

And so, I entered the coach. Soon, I felt the tense atmosphere inside. Neither Master Teo, nor the long-haired woman uttered a word. I wanted to delve into conversation, but based on their expressions, neither of them wanted to speak right now.

Suddenly, the woman said to me, "This is Azlan and Esfir's boy?"

Teofila nodded silently.

The long-haired woman scoffed. "I expected more. But I guess he'll do. Prince Marius just might listen to someone as willful as he is."

At this time, I finally gathered the courage to speak to the woman. "My name is Altair Van Astrea, my lady. Would you do me the honor of knowing your name?"

"Spare me the pleasantries, boy. I'm not some highborn for you to please. Your only job is to tutor Prince Marius," the woman replied.

Teofila shook her head with disdain. "Oh, that's enough, Aerin! You're scaring him already."

Suddenly, the long-haired woman broke into laughter. "You're right! Any second longer and I would've given myself away," she said, reaching her hand out to me. "Aerin Lundgren, at your service. How do you do?"

Awkwardly, I shook her hand and said, "I'm... good?"

"Oh, come now! Don't be so tense," Aerin said gleefully. "I was only yanking your chain! Don't be such a party pooper."

I laughed awkwardly at her remark, uncertain of how to feel. It seemed that I was in for quite a coach ride.

I wonder how this Prince Marius would be?