Perseverance

On a warm summer afternoon in the Kingdom of Leventis, in the captal city of Aurora.

Deep in the training grounds, a loosely held sword was being occasionally swung at a black haired youth.

The youth was in a haggard state, but he seemed to be persisting nonetheless.

Whack!

Kai was struck once more on his back by the relentless Knight, Sir Illinor.

"Again." Illinor said calmly as he strode about.

Kai, who was trembling on his knees, without an ounce of hesitation, struggled himself up and began striking the dummy with force once more.

Illinor did not think much of the village boy he promised to train, but for now, he seemed to be rather pleased with the mysteriously new found determination.

Yet, it wasn't enough.

Whack! "A single strike from a real sword and you're dead."

Whack! "There! You died again."

Whack! "You may not lack perseverance, but you do lack awareness. Focus boy!"

Whack! "Dead!"

Kai's expression was pained and sombre, he seemed overly exhausted, even his persistence to train was failing him. He felt like he won't be able to get up if he fell once more.

"Use your brain boy, there are many answers to the same predicament, possibly infinite, but the limitations to ascertain them lie within that puny head of yours. Now defend well, and I may consider giving you a break."

With a serious expression, Kai clenched his teeth. His swinging calmed ever so slightly. His stance was still rigid, but his feet were constantly moving, he seemed to avoid staying in the same position.

A very minuscule smile emerged on Illinor's face, he stepped forward and swung with his ever consistent loose grip.

Whoosh. A windy sensation was felt on Kai's side, he knew what it meant. But there was no time to rejoice, if there's one thing he understood through his training, always be prepared for the next strike.

Whoosh! Another miss.

'This one felt more aggressive.' Kai thought to himself as he continued to strike at the dummy. He immediately turned his stance and went to the other end to continue his striking.

His peripheral vision was constantly being observed. Suddenly a hazy line appeared in his eye line, Kai was on alert, and didn't hesitate to move out of the way.

However, what he thought was the next strike, was merely a faint, which stopped halfway. Illinor turned his waist, and supported an immediate follow up blow, with his back hand.

The impact struck Kai in his core.

He was sprawled about on the ground, with dirt plastered on his face, his face still held a hint of determination, but his body seemed to have lost the will to move.

Illinor had a displeased expression, "Tch. Better, yet not good enough, you must learn to anticipate my strikes, but also those strikes that aren't so."

The sun was setting on the horizon ever so slowly, after another lengthy and exhausting lesson, Kai made his way to the Keep where he met up with his father.

Today they had to make a trip to the market place, to stock up on the essentials. There were a few men working under Damien, who'd been ordered to assist in the matter by the Steward.

Kai dragged himself about, as the group exited the Keep along the long path of the market. There were not a lot of people around, it was a relatively calm day for the capital.

Damien had sent instructions to all the helpers with their own list of goods and supplies to acquire. He remained with Kai as they walked about the market.

They passed by many small inns, and merchant houses. The more well known merchant buildings were famous for dealing in supplementary goods for body refiners. All kinds of equipment and consumables, that could increase the strength and refining levels of individuals. Unfortunately, they cost a fortune and were in high demand, a luxury only few in the Kingdom could afford.

There were many merchant houses still operating. Some blacksmiths, farmers and craftsmen were closing up shop, they wanted to be back at the village before late night, for their goods made them a prime target for the bandits lurking along the way home.

Some lower vassals were frolicking around the market, they too had their own agendas to deal with. Most were either fullfiling orders of their lords, or were out and about to enjoy their limited status and wealth.

Damien and Kai hadn't spoken since their confrontation last night. Kai was nervous to bring up the topic, despite wanting to reconcile with his father.

"Son. These last few days have been rather difficult for me. Last night's argument wasn't meant to happen, your mother and I wanted to celebrate the beginning of your training. But perhaps, my hopes for you were too inconsiderate…"

"My family… our House, Grier, they've been doing well for themselves lately. My eldest brother… Anton, his performance in the recent war with Leon, have perked the interests of many nobles."

"Rumour also has it that Anton's second born son, Ian, has shown a tremendous talent for body refining. Taking into account the legislative contributions the House of Grier has made, Lord Ulysses is on the precipice of being awarded the title of a Major Lord."

Damien sighed as he stopped speaking, there was a complicated expression on his face. In all his resentment, he still felt an ounce of comfort knowing his family was prospering.

"Ian Grier… That young lad may be the favourite of Lord Ulysses, but he does not yet fully understand what that entails, he'll be thrown into those despicable Trials of Leventis at such a young age… It's a cruel fate, possibly as cruel as mine was. I hope… father and Anton will take it easy on the kid."

Kai paced silently besides his father. Upon hearing the Trials of Leventis being mentioned, his eyes lit up very subtly. Although he was interested in the matter, Kai was definitely not going to interrupt his father.

"This isn't known by many, but the Griers will soon be awarded a fief… um, a fief is an estate of land, it is awarded to lords depending on their recent contributions and promising future.

"This will lay the foundation to my father's dream, to become a Major Lord… It's not the same as being awarded a city, but this estate, if governed well, can soon become a new city in our Kingdom. Thus, making our house one of the major houses of the Leventis."

"This new estate will be awarded somewhere close to the outskirts of the capital… I-I moved here to be away from them. But there seems to be no escape, not only will my family move closer to our home, but most possibly many of them will be present at the Keep trying to gain favour with the higher nobles." Damien had a solemn expression as he spoke.

"Kai, I never intended to burden you with the same responsibilities my father held on me, I promised myself I would not be the same. Even when I requested Sir Illinor to take you under his tutelage, I merely excused it as a means for you to learn to protect yourself. But, I may have been lying to myself. Especially, since I found out the recent news regarding the Griers… I lost semblance of my fatherly duties. Perhaps, all I'm left with is a desire to see my son do better than me…"

Damien stopped walking and turned to his son.

"I'm sorry Kai… If you do not desire to train in swordsmanship, then I will never again force you to do so."

Kai stopped walking. He had been silently listening so far, but now it was his turn to speak.

It was a tempting prospect to accept his father's apology and quit the brutal training. But, he didn't feel the same way anymore, he looked up to his father, and now he wanted to make him proud as well.

Kai spoke firmly, "I don't need you to apologise, nor do I plan to stop my training. I can't promise much father, but I intend to try my best."

Kai kept on walking as he spoke, he turned to his father who'd stopped in place, but he continued to speak.

"I've had a change of heart, I don't always intend to be a burden on others… Perhaps strength is everything in this world. So, I want to become stronger. Not for power. But for the people in my life." Kai said with a smile.

Damien had a slight surprise etched on his face, but it only took him a moment to recover. His lips soon turned into a smile, which then transformed into a burst of laughter.

"Hahahahahaha, Kai you're but a child, I didn't expect you to be so grown up about this whole thing. But, don't worry too much, even if all else fails, you mother and I are always here for you." Damien rubbed Kai's head as he spoke.

Kai had a slightly embarrassed look on his face, especially thinking about what he had just said. Regardless, he was still smiling.

They both walked further into the market place and resumed their duties. The day went about as usual, and the father and son returned promptly back to the village.

Entering his room, an exhausted Kai, again flung himself on his bed, he felt his muscles sore up in areas he was recently struck. He wanted to apply ointments to better the pain, but couldn't muster the strength to bother.

'I better get used to this, possibly things are going to worsen as I progress, but I'll persist… Whatever it takes.'