(Ch 8)The Shadows of the First, Wielded by the next
Faith's fourth birthday by any races standards probably couldn't be considered a normal one. Only a few minutes ago he'd agreed to undergo training so to show off the pride and authority of his race, or in his way of saying it, to not be bullied.
Both his parents seemed to revert back to their normal calm and loving expressions after he'd immediately agreed to start his training. The reason they had been so intense wasn't really about the gathering nor the heir but what they meant to their son. Even with Eshir's borderline worship of praise she had to recognise that her son had a glaring problem. He was to kind.
It worried them because both his father and mother knew that kind, good people would be used and abused in this world, brought down as low as possible. They adored the fact that he was such a lovely child but it worried them a lot about his future. Demons weren't kind being by nature and dragons simply didn't care about others, so he'd have a tough time being accepted if he didn't change somewhat.
So far it didn't matter because whenever Faith would be overly polite to a servant or noble, hell even commoners that he had met at festivals, they'd simply thought he was a smart and conniving demon that was trying to manipulate them. Sapphire though was a huge wake up call for both Eshir and Alzeor as it had taken only 4 months for her see past normal demon nature and accept Faith as simply a kind and friendly child, albeit a bit shy. When they said he'd get eaten alive it didn't stop at the party they were to attend, it was going to continue his entire life.
The wave of relief they felt when Faith seemed to pick up on his one flaw and gain determination to rectify it was unfathomable, it had been far easier then they hoped.
"Alright then, the best time to start would be right away considering your lack of time and the task at hand. Luckily we have already summoned your teacher so we don't have to waste a second" - Eshir said joyfully
"Yes lets get to it then, the faster the better" - Alzeor added
They both led Faith to the royal training hall he'd previously visited as a child not even thinking in the slightest that their plan had backfired majorly. Faith just had far too much well… Faith in others. On the way his parents made sure to congratulate him on him turning four an praising him, promising to celebrate properly once he was done with training.
'I really need to shine here, or else I won't be able to live up to my parents'
He thought hyping himself up. His mother and father were so good to him, so he needed to make them proud and break their expectations to give back what they gave In full. The training room they arrived in was shaped like a rectangle, it had training dummies along the side that were also acted as golems for training partners.
They could react and defend so it was useful for testing out techniques. Off to the side were rows upon rows of weapons ranging from war hammers, to knives. Each one was standard issue for higher ranked demons, comprised of mythril and featuring a small blue mana crystal in the hilt. The biggest thing in the room was the circular arena in the middle. The entire room was made of a strengthen steel like metal with enchantments for faster recovery and greater mental focus.
It was quite a lot for Faith to take in but it was only natural for royalty like the exodus family. The entire room wasn't cleared out but instead was filled with different nobles and even royal family members under the exodus banner. They were all training and sparring fiercely as befit their status but immediately went down on one knee when Eshir and Alzeor entered, followed by Faith.
"Welcome Lady Eshir, prince Faith and Lord Alzeor" - they all shouted in unison, though some of the royals didn't really mean it.
Alzeor would have been a pissed if anyone had been addressed before him, but Eshir was their Queen and Faith was his son so he could only grunt and move on. Meanwhile.
'Fuck I didn't think I'd have to preform in front of a crowd, arhhh but if I ask for them to be kicked out I'd be a massive pain…. Guess I'll just grin and bare it'
Faith lamented, these people were working hard to strengthen themselves and Faith had no right to intrude on that.
"Yes, yes now you may all continue with what you were doing, My little Faith has simply come to learn is all" - Eshir stated, ushering them to go back to their business.
The crowd was a little stunned at her words however. Everyone here was aware that their prince was barely four years old and she'd just stated that he was going to start learning. What else could one learn in a training room apart from combat? But that couldn't have been it, he was only four years old today. They wanted to question it more but Eshir's annoyed gaze forced them to simply quietly nod their head at her words, who would be dumb enough to challenge her words in a training room of all places?
They simply went back to what they had Been doing, the royals of the group chuckling at the idea of what it would be like to watch the little runt fail, proving their blood superior. No one doubted Eshir as their rightful queen royals included but Faith was half dragon and from rumours seemed to be a bit of a softy inside the castle, so many didn't see him as the rightful heir to the throne, at least among the royals of exodus.
The same would have stood for dragons too, however being far more aware of magic the second they heard that he went through his trial at the age of two week and came out with a connection to not just darkness but shadows, they conceded that he had potential to rule them. They may have been conceded and arrogant, but not dumb. Dragons as a whole especially full blooded true dragons learned what could come from a normal deviant class dragon that was underestimated, now their prince was not only a deviant but of a sacred element at its highest form, connecting to it at such a young age.
Full blooded true dragons for the most part were happy with him being the future king while Dragon-kin and lesser dragons as well as other deviants were absolutely ecstatic. A half blooded dragon deviant had been accepted as the current crown prince, meaning that the dragon races society as a whole shifted more in the favour of the less pure of blood dragons. It meant that they were not outcasted anymore when born but rather given a chance to shine, as Faith had.
This was actually a huge step in the dragon race's culture as swallowing ones pride, especially on something like a bloodline, was not an easy thing for dragons to do. Alzeor had opened the lockhaving a child Eshir, While Faith had sent a tidal wave crashing through the doors when gaining his shadow magic. The door for lesser dragons to have a chance had been personally riped open by one of their own, making them worthip Faith like some kind of deity.
The contrast between Dragons and demons though was simply that one understood what Faith was capable of, well at least they thought they did, while the other was too ignorant of magic to see his potential properly. Faith was completely unaware of this as he was guided by his parents towards the only non demon in the room apart from him and his father. The man in question was a extremely handsome silver haired elf, although his hair showed hints of white giving away the age his face and body still seemed to hide.
'Huh I guess elves really are blessed by mana, though apparently they're jealous of dragons which is fair I guess. We really do bullshit our way through magic with ignoring the four laws and all that so I can kinda see why they'd have a grudge against us, especially a deviant like me'
Faith thought to himself staring at the man. His father informed him with pride of how amazing hea dragon he was, with his connection to mana and the world being through shadows the highest form of darkness magic, but Faith didn't really get a big ego over it. The shadows were simply a part of him and it wasn't anything special to him in the slightest, just a fun way to pass the time.
Alzeor stood beside Faith before shaking hands with the elf in question, Eshir didn't bother gazing with curiosity instead.
"little one allow me to introduce you to introduce you too dawn's blade, Ervis Drasil. He used to be the best swordsman in the elf kingdom, but now he's just a washed up royal grandpa" -Alzeor said with a chuckle
"'Used to be' My ASS, you think the pretentious little bastards running the kingdom now could even come close to me, hell I could beat em even now" - Ervis Drasil retorted with a smug grin
Faith wasn't really sure what too make of the man but he seemed friendly with his father so he must have been really powerful.His race of elf showed testament in Faiths opinion showed that he must've also been a good man to have befriended the races they were normally at odds with.
"Its a honour to meet you, Lord Drasil. I'm the current crown prince of both the dragon and demons races, Faith Exodus" - Faith introduced himself bowing his head with manner he thought were equal of the evaluation he had given the man
All around including the elf seemed a little stunned that the four year old had not only been so respectful of him, but even bowed his head in his own home. The only ones completely unfazed were Eshir and Alzeor, well they were a little proud that Faith clearly was able to tell the worth of the man in front of him. After all even Eshir had to concede that in terms of raw technique Ervis Drasil far out weighted herself.
"Well then it seems you've been raised right, although I doubt the shadows would serve a master unworthy of them. It's an equal honour to meet you oh Faith, prince of shadows, so you needn't be so overly polite. In fact I'd prefer if you were casual with me like your father, I've been there and done that with my time as a ruler" - the man said with a chuckle, taking quite a liking to the youth.
Ervis Drasil had been a king of elves long enough to notice even the slightest tinge of malice in someone's mana or expression, yet the youth had none. The rumour of him being a manipulating devil were clearly spread by the ignorant as the boy clearly contained nothing but genuine praise and sincerity, at least from what Ervis had seen so far. Eshir took this chance to enter herself in the conversation while remembering to denounce those who had snickered at her child in one way or another.
"Sweetie this man is here to teach you about the things we talked about earlier. I promise that he's both the best in the region with a sword as well as the most appropriate for the job" - Eshir said with a smile
Faith like always was enraptured by his mother glorious self, remembering to smile back and hug her.
"Thanks mother but I can tell this man is the perfect person for the job, after all I don't think I could doubt you for a second even if I wanted to" - Faith replied, Sending Eshir to cloud nine and earning a grunt of jealously from Alzeor.
'Thats right Alzeor, my little devil couldn't doubt me for a second. He clearly loves me far more then he ever could you, lizard. Though being second place for my darling is a blessing worthy of the heavens, so I don't doubt you can find peace in that'
'DAMN THAT WITCH!!! You think your better then me just because my little one doesn't doubt you don't you!?!? YES I CAN SEE IT IN YOUR DEVIL LIKE PURPLE EYES!!! Well don't keep your hopes up because I'm the one with connections to Ervis, you won the battle demon, BUT I WILL WIN THE WAR!!!'
Eshir and Alzeor thought in unison, their battle for Faiths affection growing fiercer by the day.
Ervis and Faith were both clearly witness to the death stares Eshir and Alzeor were giving each other but chose to ignore it.
"*cough* Ahem well they clearly your parents clearly seem…. Attached. To be honest I can't believe that Alzeor can have pride in anything other then himself, not to mention Eshir acting out of compassion. Its almost scary to think its sincere" - Ervis stated with a half serious expression
"Well…. I do my best, can't say I'm worthy of being their son though" - Faith replied with a wry chuckle, blushing in embarrassment
Ervis could already see himself training this boy to adulthood, he just seemed so…. Human. It was a strange thing to think of someone that wasn't even close to one but thats how Ervis truly felt. This boy didn't have to pride of a dragon let alone the wrath of a demon, he was just a normal child.
"Well then young Faith, lets get to it. The first step on your journey to mastery of combat is of corse your tool for it" - Ervis said leading Faith to the Weapon rack spanning at least 20 metres.
"Though you wont know at first, everyone has a weapon that calls to them, kinda like how dragons have a certain type of magic. This sabre wasn't the first I wielded, but when I touched this type of weapon for the first time it just felt… right. Like I'm sure your shadows feel to you, it just feels like your home, your purpose. - Ervis said turning to Faith as he tapped the sabre at his hip, sheathed in an elegant gold and ivory pattern.
Faith starred back at the wall, looking back from left to right. The weapon he picked would probably not be his only one, but it would be his first. He needed something simple, yet effective. Something that was friendly to beginners like himself, but could also reach the highest of levels. It had to feel at home to him, like his shadows. He scanned the wall from left to right for a few minutes before his eyes landed on something he couldn't tear them off.
"It needs to feel… right?" - he mumbled, while his shadows gathered around the weapons they seemed to have picked for him.
Faith had dubbed this strange feeling Shadow sense and right now it was screaming at him in one direction leading him towards 'that' hanging on the wall like any other weapon. His shadows kept putting the same words In his mind over and over again.
'This will bring you power, like the one before'
They kept repeating it over and over as he approached only getting louder and louder. His shadows started moving on their own, interesting Ervis and now Alzeor and Eshir who were watching from the side lines, also capturing the attention of those in the room. Faith wasn't using magic at all the shadows simply moved in order to help their master's decision. This is the weapon that 'one' had used before and the shadows knew of what it was capable but Their new master was different, he was stronger then that 'one', much stronger. If he used This what would he be able to achieve? How far would he go? The shadows trembled at the thought.
The weapon was slowly lowered into Faiths hands were it morphed his size to match its wielder. Faith simply held it still for a few seconds before giving it a swing, sending a blast of shadow subconsciously at the wall. He the simply gazed down at the thing in his hand then at the wall that although made of demonic steel was melting like snow where his strike had hit.
"So this is what they wanted me to use.. huh? Oh yes, you'll do nicely, nicely indeed" - he said forming a devious smile
Chilling all those present, including his parents, to the bone.
What was wielded by the first now fell into the hands of the next, as it was alway meant to be.