Takis

Throughout the past week, Lucian had been caught up on important events throughout this kingdom and others over the past year. The most important being the overthrowing of the rightful Toubian Emperor, the defection of a Toubian border state under the banner of Duke Ludger, and the sanctuary granted by Nalduri to the surviving Toubian heirs.

While these were the most important pieces of information to the group of men and women, they were not what Lucian found most interesting.

'The highest outsiders of Toubia and Nalduri clashed? That's what changed the colour of the sky and caused that spiritual shock?' His eyes practically glowed imagining it. 'Outsiders… are humans, right? Or something similar? But apparently one had a single eye and another had four wings. Can humans achieve that same level?'

It had been a few days since he learnt of that, but even still the thought of it was never far from his mind. Even now as he stood by the outside entrance to a grand hall in the Clarke Estate awaiting his first ever assignment from the crown.

A great amount of people had arrived at the estate over the past few days, some even escorted by hundreds of armed men and women. Unfortunately, aside from the guards that made camp around the estates property, the visitors had remained out of sight in the guest manors.

Every five or ten minutes, Instructor Diores would call one of the 8th generation into the great hall where they would receive their assignment. That said, it had been half an hour since the last person exited the hall and still no other had been called in.

Just as he began to wonder about the fact, Instructor Diores, who stood with the eighth generation outside, looked at him.

"Lucian Valaran. Follow me in."

With a nod to his friends who waited by his side, Lucian followed Diores as he opened the external entrance to the hall.

Within, roughly two dozen people could be found, most of which were guards of considerable strength and training. He noticed that every one of them had determined faces and hands on swords, some even having drawn their blades!

Waiting for him were Nicholas, Eudes Clarke, Instructor Piers, Helper Melia, and Mentor Fane who had taught him how to protect others.

Standing three steps ahead of every one of these central figures, was a young man of roughly 19 years of age. He had the black hair and pale skin of Demia, while his eyes were a mix of blue and green.

Lucian stood at attention after giving formal greetings.

It was Nicholas that spoke, his expression cold and demanding.

"Sir Lucian Valaran. Are you ready for your orders?"

"I am."

Nicholas paused, and then nodded.

"Good. Kill this young man."

Lucian's eyes widened slightly, but as the young man's did not, he calmed.

'I see.' he thought as his eyes took in the many tense guards in the hall, and his cultivation roared to life.

With a blur and the sound of ground breaking beneath him, Lucian was on the young man in an instant. Despite entering unarmed, his four hands held four weapons, and his body was shielded in dense armor as he threw himself forward. His opponent reacted calmly but swiftly, drawing his sabre from its sheath and making three smooth movements to deflect his four attacks, before countering.

Lucian did not start small to test and probe his opponent, instead employing everything from the first moment. Black, withering veins ran through his weapons, and golden flames erupted on occasion.

Catching his opponent off guard through a series of four-handed feints, Lucian parried the man's sabre with an arming sword in his left hand, and threw the mans arm out wide. Without stopping, he pulled his left shoulder back and lifted his right knee, flicking his foot out high before bringing it back down in an angled axe kick from the left.

His heel caught the man's jaw and knocked his head down and right as Lucian kept moving. He parried a swing of the sabre and used his many weapons to feint as he tried to sneak in a spinning back kick as he maneuvered his and the enemies weapons, but the man was ready for it and Lucian sustained a deep cut even through his plate armor and dense body, though it healed quickly.

The battle continued for longer than Lucian had thought it would, the man's excellent skill with a sabre backed by cultivation of roughly the same power as his own. But bit by bit, Lucian found himself being pushed back.

A cut down the chest, another down his left forearm.

'What is going on? There's something there, something I can't put a name to.'

The man had begun to employ qi techniques of both spiritual and material natures as his swordplay changed and morphed to resemble the shifting of seasons. A domain of winter would transition to spring and then summer, his blade forms changing with each season and his momentum building.

And yet, it was not his qi techniques that gave him an edge over Lucian.

There was something else there. The man just felt… stronger. Stronger and faster than Lucian would expect of his cultivation despite the man's incredible martial skill.

He was a qi cultivator, and yet he could match blows with Lucian. Sure, some qi cultivators remained physical, as he had a feeling Tess had decided to do, but that did not mean they had the physical might of an augmentor. It meant that they could step around that weakness with the strangeness and profundity of their techniques.

This man though… If he and Lucian punched each other's fists, Lucian did not think he would lose, but neither did he think the man's fist would break under his own.

As the battle reached its highest point, Eudes' voice echoed in the hall.

"That's enough."

'There it is.' he thought.

The young man jumped back immediately, breathing heavily for a few seconds before regaining his calm as Lucian did the same without the panting.

'He even recovers quickly.'

The young man who had exchanged blows with Lucian exhaled and smiled before sheathing his sabre.

"That was a good fight, Lucian. I hope you will forgive the ruse."

"Of course Your Highness." Lucian kneeled as he had been made to practice a thousand times.

The young man cocked a brow before shaking his head with a rueful smile. "A transparent ruse, it seems."

"I said it would be unnecessary." Eudes voice interrupted.

"Yes well, let's do this properly, shall we? I am Takis Savvas Demia, Third Prince of the Demia Kingdom."

The young man's voice echoed smoothly within the hall.

It was unusual for royalty to introduce themselves, and when silence reigned for a moment, Lucian was not sure what was to follow. That is until he looked up to the expectant eyes and smile of the third prince.

"Pardon, Your Highness. I am Lucian Moretti Valaran, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Though he said it smoothly, Lucian found the words stiff in his throat. He was never a fan of things like this.

"Lucian Valaran. You are skilled beyond your years." The man, not more than three years his senior nodded as he spoke.

"Sir Valaran, are you willing to serve me from this day forth?"

"I would be honored, Your Highness."

I would have you serve as my shadow, my shield, my sword, and my dagger, for many years to come. Will you accept this charge?"

"I will."

"Do you swear by blood and soul to fulfill this duty to the greatest extent of your ability?"

"I swear it."

Smiling, the third prince, Takis, finished:

"Then rise, Lucian Moretti Valaran, and from this day you will kneel for no man but myself and His Majesty, King Magnus IV."

Lucian rose to his feet, standing a hands width taller than the prince.

Takis discarded the overly formal tone, and spoke more personally now.

"We have plenty to discuss you and I, and a long road ahead of us. But for now, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Takis extended a hand, and Lucian shook it with a determined face and a nod as he met the eyes of his new liege.

"Alright Lucian, we can't take up this hall all day, so how about following me for a walk. I have a lot of questions for you, and I'm sure there is a lot you would like to know as well."

"Understood Your Highness."

"There's no need for that. So long as you are my shadow we will spend enough time together for that to get old very quickly. If you call me Takis, and I refrain from calling you Sir Valaran every time, I'm sure we'd both be grateful for the simplicity."

"Okay, Takis." He said with a nod. Royalty or not, Lucian felt far more comfortable calling him by a name than a title.

Takis smiled and nodded as he turned to face the others present.

"Captain Diores, Head Instructor Nicholas, Count Piers, I will bid you farewell for now. I hope to see you outside in the years to come."

"Hmm… Perhaps it is better you do not. If something happens to call us out of the estate it can't be anything the crown would wish for." Nicholas said.

"And yet it may be inevitable." He then turned to Eudes. "Master, we'll be going now. I will speak with you another time."

"Go well Takis."

Lucian was not surprised by the titles the instructors were called by. He knew that Instructor Diores had been Captain of the Royal Guards many decades ago, and that Nicholas had been Head Royal Instructor, responsible for overseeing the training of those guards and the royalty themselves.

That Piers was a Count was new, but not totally unexpected. Rather, it was Takis calling Eudes 'Master' that caught his attention. He was Eudes' disciple?

He had little time to ponder however, as he had some farewells to say.

"Melia, thank you for everything."

"Ah, leave it be. It was fun." She replied with a punch to his shoulder.

Turning to look at the Instructors, Lucian looked them each in the eyes and gave a nod to every one of them. He did not know if he would ever see them again once he left this place.

Fane stepped forward to stand by Prince Takis before Lucian could look at him, signalling that he was coming with them and goodbyes were not needed.

"Come, you will have time to spend with friends and company before we leave."

Takis turned to an exit separate from the external door Lucian had entered through, and the two walked out into a hallway with Mentor Fane and the many armed guards following them out.

They walked in silence for a while before takis spoke up. He had slowed his pace for a moment to have Lucian walk by his side as he spoke.

"I know there is plenty to talk about in regards to our arrangement, but i want to get a few key things out of the way first. What I said in the hall about bowing for none but myself and my father, take that to heart Lucian. As my shadow, you operate independently of the noble and military hierarchy, and act only under the orders of myself and the crown.

"A clucking of Archdukes can not order you to leave a room, nor can my brother. But by the same token, you will have to learn the unspoken boundaries. Though you exist outside the hierarchy and thus do not need to bow or kneel, a small bow of the head will keep you in the good graces of most.

"Even when refusing the order of said clucking of Archdukes, remaining respectful where suitable will only prove beneficial to you."

Lucian walked silently beside the prince, uttering only a rigid "Understood", earning a sidelong glance by Takis.

"Do not worry Lucian. I don't spend my days wasting away in a palace, nor would I waste your talent on petty guard duty. I will need to rely on you a lot in the future, but in return, you too may rely on me. We will be partners, you and I."

"I understand Your Maj– Takis. You were correct in that I have a lot to ask you, but if we are to be partners, there is one thing you must know above all else. I am a fighter, a cultivator, and an ambitious man. I do not care for titles or land, but I hold my cultivation as a matter of great importance. If you understand that, and respect it, then we will never have an issue."

Takis smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. Every word you speak is true for myself as well, but I do not believe we will never have an issue. Conflict is inevitable in most things, and that's fine. I would not have a puppet with no voice for my shadow."

With a slightly more relaxed atmosphere, Lucian pondered what the future would bring as he followed Third Prince Takis to a guest manor.