Lunchroom Brawl

As I awoke in my cot, my first thought was that the previous night was simply a dream. This was before I could feel the sudden throbbing of my broken nose and saw the blood stains on my clothes. My next stop was obviously the clinic. The cleric set my nose, but not before asking numerous questions about how I broke my nose. I had convinced her I broke it by running into a wall. After my time at the clinic, I made my way to the canteen for breakfast.

On the way, I ran into my half-orc friend, Durzub.

'Damn, Farrin, fall off your horse?' Durzub chuckled.

"Haha, very funny. I had a run-in with a mugger while shopping. You should see the other

guy." I say as I crack a sly smile.

I continued toward the canteen, chatting with Durzub as we walked. 'Finally, we are in our last year of the academy, Farrin, y'know it's still not too late to commit to becoming a knight?'

"It's been my dream to become a ranger since I was a child. I can't think of anything I'd rather do. Plus, Corpus is much more qualified as a knight than I am. Our mother instilled those traits in him through countless hours of training," I said dejectedly.

'While Corpus might have all the brawn… well, not all of it,' Durzub chuckled and scratched the back of his neck, glancing at me as we strolled along. 'Anyway, what I mean to say is, the way you fight, your technique, the way you handle a blade, it's all so astonishing. And I feel like that's all going to waste with you joining the King's Rangers.' 

As Durzub and I finally came upon the canteen's entryway, I heard a loud crack and a high-pitched shrill. I quickly rushed to the source of the noise, only to see Corpus holding a broken broom handle surrounded by five human nobles. The group was comprised of children from the kingdom's most elite families. These children included Sebastian Coha, reigning from the Coha family, the wealthiest of the group. The Coha family was the spearhead of the Kingdom's National Trade Authority. Remeir Coha, the family's figurehead, managed to take his no-name company and turn it into the premier trade force in the entirety of the kingdom, the epitome of the self-made man. The second would be the Ellis Doyle, whose family ran the most widely used newspaper. They're rumoured to have spy networks throughout the entire kingdom in order to get the latest news at all times before anyone else.

I'm not quite sure how they have made their fortune by just selling newspapers, but I doubt it is entirely within the law. The third would be Mathew Morden. The Mordens have served on the king's court, spanning generations upon generations. It is said that the first Morden, Chadwick Morden, was a highly decorated general who fought in the Drawven-Human War, slaughtering countless Dwarves and earning his spot on the king's council; however, the war was so long ago that the records tend to get a little faulty and are often tampered with.

Finally, the fourth and fifth spots were occupied by the Jido twins, Cyrus and Bahar. Count Xerxes Jido is notorious for ruling over his territory with an iron thumb, taking an exorbitant amount of taxes from his citizens in order to fuel his elaborate debauchery-filled parties. In this world, the weight of your coin purse means everything and social standing plays a vital role in how comfortable one will be in life.

From the group, Sebastian piped up, 'Now, now boys, it doesn't take all of us to teach this half-elf trash a lesson.' Sebastian then drew his sword from the scabbard at his hip, 'After all, a friendly duel is simply a one versus one match.' Sebastian then readied his swords in front of himself. 'This is the last chance I'll give you to back out, trash,' Sebastian says with a pompous smirk.

'Simply return my sword and take back what you said about my family, and I can go about my way, Sebastian,' Corpus exclaimed with fierce determination.

In the next moment, Sebastian lunged at Corpus in an attempt to pierce him with the tip of his rapier. In response, Corpus moved slightly to the side, the blade narrowly missing him.

'Sebastian, we don't have to do this.'

'Shut up and fight!' Screamed Sebastian, attempting another attack.

As I watched on, I could see the sweat beads drip down Sebastian's forehead as he realised he was being outclassed. 

"Sebastian, I'm getting tired of this."

Corpus continued dodging Sebastian's wild strikes with little to no effort. As Sebastian let out a clumsy downward cut, Corpus once more stepped to the side; however, this time, he initiated his own strike by bringing the broken mop handle down on the back of Sebastian's neck, laying him out flat. The cheering from the crowded canteen came to an abrupt halt as everyone realised what just happened. Where there was once a cacophony of cheers now stood a silent mob of jaw-dropped faces.

For you see, while our mother may have some fame for her exploits, our family still held no limelight. From the congregation's perspective, one of the top-scoring students in the school just got toyed with as if he were a child. Soon enough, professors and disciplinarians rushed to the scene, and the canteen was cleared out. I quickly made the decision to grab Corpus, as well as our mother's sword, and escaped before anyone who mattered figured out what was going on. Fortunately, we heard nothing from the academy; on the other hand, that was only the beginning of our run-ins with Sebastian and his gang of ruffians.