Dual Wielding

Six Years Ago

Wyn was a good reader, at least that’s what all the adults told him. Apparently, he was way ahead of where a normal ten-year-old should be. His mother said he must be blessed by the spirits, but that seemed a bit superstitious, he figured it was probably just because he read a lot. Even before the incident in the forest, Wyn had enjoyed stories more than most of the children in his class, but ever since, he’d been almost obsessed with reading about other places in the world. The Grass Sea, the Burning Isles, the Tower of Heaven… Each was fascinating to him, yet entirely foreign. Varying descriptions from different books swirled in his mind like drops of different colored paints: at first distinct, before mixing together to form entirely new colors.

Becoming a knight, traveling to Taravast, it was all honestly secondary to him, the more he read about the rest of the world, the more he needed to see it. He wanted to experience everything it had to offer, and if he could do it while helping people, then it was even better.

After two years of training and growing, Wyn and Corrin had finally begun to see the fruits of their labor. Corrin had never been an easy target and tended to pick fights rather than get picked on, but after a while, Wyn had stopped being messed with entirely. His bullying had diminished once he’d become friends with Corrin to begin with, because they knew that if Corrin was around, he’d fight back on Wyn’s behalf, but now it had vanished almost entirely. Corrin and Wyn had reached a point where the rest of the boys their age weren’t able to fight them anymore without losing, and the older children had matured to the point where they couldn’t be bothered to do so.

Wyn took a sip of his tea, recoiling back as it burned his tongue.

His father laughed from across the table, “Careful Wyn, it’s hot. Try not to get too engrossed in that book.”

Twilight had fallen over Straetum, leaving the dining room of their family home lit only by the dim glow of candlelight, with a lantern on Wyn’s side of the table so that he could read. His mother was sleeping herself after a long day of raising the baby—Wyn’s two-year-old brother—leaving only Wyn and his father sitting at the old wooden table, enjoying some tea along with left-over bread from the day’s work.

“Hey dad, do you think it’s true that you can’t even see the top of the Tower of Heaven? They say it's even higher than the clouds,” Wyn asked, pointing out a passage from his book.

“Well, a shorty like you definitely can’t,” His father said, “But maybe somebody really tall could see the peak.”

Wyn thought about that, tall people probably could see higher right? But not that much higher. “Dad, that doesn’t make any sense.”

His father smiled, “Well you’ll just have to go see it when you’re taller. Only six years now, how’s your training going with Corrin?”

“It’s going good! I can run all the way to the lake now and it's not even that hard. The other day I saw a huge water spirit there! It was like this big!” Wyn stretched his arms out to indicate the size, extending them almost all the way.

“It’s going well, Wyn,” he said warmly, “But that’s amazing, you don’t usually see ones that big. They’re really rare. I’m sure you’ll see things far more amazing when you leave though. This world is even bigger than those books make it seem. However… brave warriors like yourself need their sleep to grow stronger, and it’s getting quite late.”

Wyn frowned as his father ruffled his hair, but reluctantly agreed to go to bed. It had been a long day of training, so he was tired too. As he walked down the hallway though, Wyn looked back towards his father. “Hey, Dad?”

“Yes Wyn?” he asked patiently.

“When I go to Taravast… I might be gone for a while, cause I have to go to school there right? But when I finish, and I’m a knight, I’ll still come back and visit you guys. I’ll have to be here when Elry turns sixteen too… so I won’t be gone forever.”

Wyn’s father smiled paternally, “I know you won’t Wyn. And don’t worry, when you do come back, I’ll bake you a cake to celebrate, a big chocolate cake with lots of icing.”

***

“Please elder? Just teach me a few things, that's all I’m asking. All the other guards are too busy to help me.”

An older man looked away from Wyn, taking a long swig from his bottle. The alcohol had long since worked its way into his system, and he was well and truly drunk. He liked to sit on the edge of the fountain in town while he drank, and Wyn had seen him fall in once or twice before while trying to stand up.

“And what makes you think I’m not? I’m a guard too ya know?” He seemed somewhat angry, but it was hard to tell with how slurred his speech was. The man was large in stature, with an unkempt beard and speckled brown hair.

“You’re not too busy—” Wyn insisted, “I see you here drinking every day for hours. Couldn’t you just spare a couple minutes to give me some pointers?”

The man’s eyes clouded over a bit, “Whadda you know about it kid? Scram on out of here, I’ve got no interest in teaching a brat like you. I’ve already heard all about your friend pestering the other guards to let him fight them every day, and I won’t let you do the same thing to me!”

Wyn bowed, “I’m sorry for bothering you! I’ll be back tomorrow!”

The man sighed, clearly growing tired of the routine. This was day three of Wyn’s efforts to get the man to teach him, and each conversation had lasted longer than the previous one. Wyn figured that if they wanted to get stronger, watching the guards might not be enough, so he’d taken it upon himself to find them a mentor. After a few “recon missions”, he’d determined that this man was the best candidate. In that he was perhaps the only candidate. Corrin seemed convinced that if he just challenged the other guards to spar every day, eventually they’d say yes. But so far, he hadn’t had any luck as far as Wyn knew.

“What’s your name, boy?” The man asked, his voice so tired.

“It’s Wyn, I’m–”

“The baker’s kid, yeah I think I remember ya. Why do you want to learn to fight? Aren’t ya just going to take over the family business?”

“No,” Wyn drew himself up, “I’m going to Taravast, and I’m going to become a knight!”

The man snorted, “A knight? A little runt like you? Better chance of finding a fire spirit in a lake. How about this, you’ve got that finely made sword at your hip. Why don’t you try to land a hit on me?”

The man stood up, legs wobbling from the intoxication as he stood before Wyn, who hesitantly drew his own wooden sword.

The man grunted, “C’mon boy. Aren’t you supposed to be a knight? Hit me!”

Wyn charged, yelling a war cry as he swung down at the man.

“Too slow,” the man stepped to the side, sticking out a foot. Wyn tripped over it and fell to the ground, clumsily rolling back to his feet and trying again. He swung back and forth but the man seemed to dodge the blows effortlessly.

“Well, you know how to get back up at least,” he said while stepping away from another blow. Then he stepped inside the next swing, striking Wyn on the wrist, freeing the sword from his hand. Wyn hit him like he was a stone wall and was knocked to the ground.

“Huh, it seems I win,” The man declared dismissively. “You stepped too close on that last attack, that’s why I could get inside your range like that. Now don’t bother me again unless you’ve got money for me. Maybe once you can actually land a hit, I’ll consider teaching you.” He turned and walked off, swaying a little.

Wyn sat there stunned for a moment, before scrambling to his feet. He bowed to the back of the elder. “Thank you for the lesson, sir!”

***

For the next few weeks, Wyn went back to the man, whose name he’d learned was Elder Terris, several times. He was burning through his allowance to get additional “lessons”, but it was worth it in his mind. Thanks to the few pointers he’d received from the drunk, he actually did begin to see some improvement.

It was just after receiving some of these pointers Wyn found himself lying on the ground in pain, staring up a faint lavender spirit circling in the air above him. He’d lasted maybe two moves longer this time, and he was pretty sure Elder Terris still wasn’t even trying. Even if the drunk could barely stand, apparently Wyn wasn’t nearly strong enough to challenge him.

He noticed several kids from his class walking by and waved at them, but they just sneered back. They’d probably gotten beat up by Corrin after saying something they shouldn’t have again. Since everyone knew they were best friends, they tended to treat Wyn the same way. Well, except the adults. The adults hated Corrin and loved Wyn, but that was just because Corrin was rude, and Wyn couldn’t blame them for that.

He rolled over in the dirt to face Elder Terris again.

“Excuse me mister, I heard that you were a secondary tomb guard? What does that mean? Don’t you just guard the city?”

“I heard that tone brat,” Elder Terris grunted. He sighed deeply and sat forward on the bench before speaking again, “I’m sure you’ve heard of the Founder’s Tomb out in the mountains. Spirits know how many kids your age try to sneak in every year. Well, there are usually two people whose job is to watch over the place. They’ll go in each day and defeat the monsters, so they don’t get out.”

He leaned back, taking a drink as he paused. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something, but finally continued after catching a glimpse of Wyn’s enraptured expression.

“Well, in case something happens to those guards, if they get injured, or sick, two town guards are taught about the dungeon as well, so they can take over if they have to.”

“And you’re one of those backups? Who’s the other one?”

“Just some mousy fellow named Irym. I’m not sure why or how he ended up a guardsman, but you’d probably get along better with him than you do with me ya brat. He’s the quiet type, but I guess he can fight alright.” He reached down and flicked Wyn on the head. “You sure you don’t wanna just become a guard? It's great, this town is so peaceful you basically get paid to sit around all day.”

“That sounds really boring, and I'm going to become a knight, remember? Besides, I’d be lonely if Corrin left to go without me.”

For once, Elder Terris actually smiled, “It’s a good thing to be able to say that about your friends Wyn. Don’t ever take them for granted, if you do, you’ll come to regret it.”

Wyn nodded, “I understand. I promise I’ll never take my friends for granted. Now can I have another lesson?”

“Nope, I’m done. Leave me alone.”

Try as he might, Wyn wasn’t able to milk another lesson out of the man, it seemed like he wouldn’t have any luck today. He’d have to try again the next day.

A little while later it was time for him to meet up with Corrin. They were going to the lake to swim with the water spirits as part of their training. They met at the orphanage and made their way across town, joking the whole way.

They, along with the rest of Straetum, were blissfully unaware of the shifting beneath their feet. And unprepared for the hell that awaited them a day later.