TRAINING IN THE YARD

"YOUR HIGHNESS," FLETCHER bowed deeply. He was a young elf with green skin and pointy ears.

Lord Hederick nodded in acknowledgment. "I need you to send some ravens to the north…"

Fletcher reached into the bag slung across his sunken chest and brought out a scroll which he placed on a small table. Then he dipped his quill into a bottle of ink and poised it on the scroll.

"Tell the Lords of the North that they should be prepared…" The king said and paused.

Fletcher stood overlooking the scroll as the quill scribbled what the king was saying. It was an enchanted quill that could relay and write exactly what was being said, Fletcher only had to read through and wet the quill when it got dry.

"Tell them that there is a great disturbance," Lord Hederick said. "And word from the grand druid says that it would start from the North." He paused again. Only the sound of the quill could be heard until Fletcher cleared his throat and said, "Um, my lord… may I speak?"

Lord Hederick nodded and Fletcher continued, "The Feys will not believe the words of a human druid, it would not matter if it was the grand druid's words"

Lord Hederick nodded. He knew Fletcher was right. Over the years, the Feys and druids had stopped fighting, but there was still animosity between the two species. Each both thought that they were closer to the source of life and nature than the other.

The Feys were an entirely different species with a very colonized kingdom that bordered the northwest of the capital, whereas the druids were a subspecies of humans that chose the lonely path of being a druid. They underwent many years of training to master the language of nature.

They were both strong in their own ways.

"Tell them…" Lord Hederick said. "Tell them that they should be prepared for anything, and they should also be on the watch out, and they have to report anything that seems out of the ordinary too."

"Is that all, sir?" Fletcher asked. Lord hederick nodded.

Fletcher muttered a spell under his breath and touched the scroll. The scroll floated a few inches from the surface of the table, suddenly it separated into 4 different scrolls with the letter. It was for each of the 4 kingdoms in the North.

"Make sure you protect the birds with a shielding spell. I would not want them to be intercepted." The king said before waving Fletcher away.

After Fletcher left the hall, Lord Hederick sat on his throne and rubbed his beard.

An apocalypse? He wondered.

He hoped the four kingdoms of the north would respect his letter. They were different kingdoms with different leaders, that was the point of the capital. The capital brought all 9 kingdoms of the continent together. 4 kingdoms in the north, 2 in the west, 1 in the south, and 1 in the east.

The capital sat in the middle of them all and was the mediator between the kingdoms.

His mind drifted to the future of the continent. Ansalon had always survived through hard times like the Great Rebellion or the Iron Wars, but none of those carried a threat like what the grand druid had said was coming.

He still could not put out the words of the grand druid saying that Anakin was the future from his head. He stood up from his throne and walked to the window. Anakin and Ser Arlen were training in the middle of the palace grounds.

Lord Hederick stood at the window, watching Anakin weakly try to block Arlen's strike. He sighed in disappointment.

"He will learn," A soft voice said.

He turned to see his wife standing behind him. "I know he will," He said. "After all, he is my blood. It's just…" He sighed again without completing the sentence.

Queen Eleana walked forward and hugged him from behind. "Don't worry about it. He won't have to carry the continent on his shoulders, that's what Daryth is here for."

Lord Hederick sighed deeply. He did not tell his wife what the grand druid said about Anakin, he did not know how to break it to her.

"You worry too much, husband," Queen Eleana muttered. "And look, you have a cut behind your ear," She reached up, gently grazed the thin cut with her fingers, and watched as the cut healed and disappeared.

~ ~ ~

"SWORD'S UP!" SER Arlen called.

Anakin gripped the sword tightly with both hands and braced his feet in the sand, prepared for Arlen's attack which came on a few seconds after the call.

They were training with wooden swords but they were still almost too heavy for Anakin's weak wrists.

After blocking one hit, the second sent the sword away from Anakin's hand, and a kick sent Anakin sprawling on the floor.

Ser Arlen propped his sword on the floor and stood over Anakin. "You should not hold a sword with your two hands, my prince," He said. "What if you have to hold a shield?" He held out a hand to help Anakin up.

Anakin scoffed and slapped the hand away as he stood up. "That stick is too heavy," He muttered.

"That is the normal weight of a sword, prince," Ser Arlen said, tossing the wooden sword at Anakin.

He caught the sword and almost tumbled under the weight. "You're lucky you have Life in you," Anakin muttered as he watched Arlen easily wave his stick around with one hand.

The commander chuckled. "I don't have life…" He said. "Not the way many other people do," He pulled up a wooden shield from a rack.

"I'm not using that," Anakin muttered, struggling to hold the wooden sword with one hand.

"This is the next level of your training," Arlen said.

"I haven't even passed the current one," Anakin muttered. "What did you mean by you don't have life the way normal people do?" He asked as he and Arlen circled the sparring ground.

"I can't wield life like mages do," Arlen said. "But it flows in my veins. My grandfather was a giant. That makes me quarter giant." He lunged at Anakin who deftly dropped his sword and rolled underneath through Arlen's legs. He whipped out the small dagger from behind the commander's thighs and held it pressed behind his leg, near the femoral artery.

Ser Arlen froze and slowly looked down. He saw Anakin's position and dropped his sword and shield. "I yield. You win."

Anakin laughed and stood up. He handed the dagger back to Arlen who still looked shocked. "Lessons are over." As he stuck the dagger back in its sheath, he looked at Anakin and asked, "Where did you learn that?" He asked.

Anakin simply shrugged and walked away. It was the deeply engraved warrior memory of Kamizoel that had surfaced slightly. But Anakin knew that he would not need a sword or dagger to protect himself, all he needed was a teacher.

He did not head back to his room, instead, he wandered out of the palace and into the capital square. The roads were busy as usual and nobody paid him any second look. He did not dress as royalty, so everyone he passed thought that he was just another random child and he enjoyed the anonymity.

He walked to the commercial district of the capital, he was taking in the scene before him. He noted the way each person used life to suit their everyday chores.

An alchemist sold the best glassware and gold ornament. She forged the elements using life. A plant druid carefully nurtured the plants in his flower shop. They blossomed and produced sweeter fruits than normal.

Anakin walked on, careful not to bump into anybody. He had overheard his father say something about an apocalypse but he couldn't see anything like that. The people seemed happy and satisfied.

He was prepared to turn back and head to the palace when a hooded figure caught his attention. It was the way the person moved that caught Anakin's attention. The person's movements were fluid like water as he slipped through the crowd without hitting or brushing past anyone, he moved like a ghost.

Anakin watched as the person walked past a fruit shop, made a subtle sign with his fingers and a cherry left the tray of the trader and flew into the man's half-hidden hand. Anakin also noted a shimmer of light appeared on the man's fingertips and he immediately remembered that it was the way Life looked like when he wielded it from his surroundings. He gasped and realized that he may have just found his tutor. He started going after the man, whose movements were very smooth.

Anakin barged and pushed his way through people as he tried to catch up with the man.

The man turned into an alleyway.

"Hey mister, wait up!" Anakin called.

The man looked back sharply. His eyes were bright green, they focused on Anakin for a split second and then he turned and ran down the alley with unnatural speed.

"I'm not letting you go!" Anakin said under his breath before running after the man.