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Lively, noisy, colourful, the city of Stornway had always been a place of bustling activity and prosperous trade. Its powerful fortifications and countless guards, sworn to protect its inhabitants, were the pride of the capital. Both city and country were ruled by King Schott and his wife Queen Genevieve with a strong but benevolent hand. Blessed by the Guardians, the royal couple had also given birth to a princess of rare beauty, Princess Simona. Her birth seemed to be a gift from the heavens, as her determined and sensitive temperament seemed to represent the identity of the kingdom so well.
Night and day, guards patrolled the city to ensure the safety of the inhabitants. In Stornway, as with most professions, one usually became a guard from father to son, but it was also possible to join out of a sense of duty. After completing their service or rounds, and if duty did not require them to do anything else, the guards returned home to see their wives and children.
Alas, mortal life being fragile, it sometimes happened that a guard received the life of his child in exchange for that of his beloved. Deprived of their mother and accompanied by a father who could not be present to care for such a dependent being, these children were entrusted to the castle's nannies during their first years. The guards, eager to offer their offspring the parental presence they needed and whose sense of duty did not end with the protection of the castle, then came to collect them at the end of the day. It was therefore common to see a few toddlers, children and teenagers wandering freely through the corridors of the castle, sometimes being chased by a breathless governess.
One of these children was called Alexandre. He was an outgoing and helpful boy with ordinary brown hair and eyes. He had never known his mother, Solène, but he had started visiting her at a very young age when his father took him to the cemetery. Lionel, for that was the name of the guard in question, was one of those men who were responsible and present in their child's life. His wife's death had grieved him greatly, but he had learned to cherish his son as the most precious gift she had ever given him. Despite the quality of the attention given by the castle's nannies, Lionel took to heart spending time with Alexandre and often took him with him on ordinary rounds, when all was peaceful. This tendency to have Alexandre accompany him was not only motivated by a desire to look after his child, but also by a fear of losing him if he were to wander away from him. The sudden and violent loss of his beloved had indeed left a great wound in Lionel, who feared for his son's safety. For this reason, he delayed teaching him to use a sword, despite the insistence of the man concerned who wished to imitate his father, and the encouragement of the other guards. He finally agreed, however, and Alexandre soon showed the extent of his fencing talent. Seeing his son develop the skills to defend himself reassured Lionel for a while, who happily took part in the training.
Anxiety returned, however, as the boy grew up and showed more and more desire to follow in his father's footsteps. Of course, the kingdom of Stornway enjoyed lasting peace, but becoming a guard meant facing the violence of the various evildoers who populated the region. Worse, sometimes they had to face the terrible monsters out there directly. He had also observed many times the ardour and the attraction of justice with which his son fought. Indeed, Alexandre had often found himself defending the weak, despite his own protection. Lionel's colleagues did not understand his concerns. All this only showed that the boy had all the qualities to
make an exceptional guard! Ah, if only they too had such an involved son to be so proud of, and not this unmotivated slacker they had to give a hard time to when they got home! Lionel really didn't understand how lucky he was! And he should stop worrying so much, the peace of Stornway showed that Cygnus and Tucano, their Guardians, were protecting them. Why shouldn't they protect this virtuous boy?
This last remark only pained Lionel more. The Celestrians had offered no such blessing to the mother of his son. How dare they imply that his beloved Solene was less deserving? How could they say such things when their own wife was still alive? No, it had nothing to do with any merit. Fate spared no one and no Guardian could influence it. A decade-old wound that he thought had healed suddenly resurfaced, and the grieving father dodged his son's requests for training to the point of forbidding him to wield a sword.
Alexandre therefore spent most of his pre-adolescence wandering around the town and castle in search of stimulation. Fortunately, he was an inquisitive and sociable boy who was quick to fraternise with others. His kindness and humour were appreciated by many people, especially his former nannies. So he often went to see the children of the castle who, like him, had found themselves without a mother to look after them, and without a caring father. He, who had had a father present for most of his life, also found himself destitute, now that the sorrow had returned to his father's heart. The boy therefore regularly went alone to visit his mother's grave, to whom he sometimes confided his questions and dreams.
He didn't know if she really heard him. He had always believed in the existence of the Guardians, as this was the case for the majority of the inhabitants. Did he have faith? It was hard to say, but the existence of magic and monsters made him think that people with wings and superpowers were still possible. So maybe his mother's spirit was out there somewhere. Sometimes he asked himself unusual questions, which often annoyed the adults, who were disturbed by such questioning of their convictions. He therefore often resigned himself to confiding these innocent questions to his mother.
- "If someone swaps the places of the statues of the two Guardians, will they be confused and not know who they are?"
- "Can you see the Celestrians in the mirrors? Would they run away if we replaced all the city walls with mirrors?"
- "How can they fly? It doesn't make sense to fly with a body like that. If they use magic to fly, then why do they have wings? Are Celestrians really just pigeons? Is that pigeon on the grave next door a Celestial? Tucano, is that you?"
- "How do they get dressed? Note, if they are pigeons, why would they dress up?"
Alexandre felt no pain when he asked himself such questions. He was well aware that everything that touched the divine would always escape him. Some things left him perplexed, but that was of little importance to him. So, he kept these questions to himself and to whoever wanted to hear them.
The boy was obliging, and docile, but not to the point of leaving out what was important to him. So, despite his father's prohibitions, he soon found a way to train with swords on the sly, often using his people skills to find some sympathetic accomplice. He continued to frequent the nannies and toddle back and forth between the kitchen and the servants' quarters, where he acquired practical and useful skills. These skills found favour with his father, who was reassured that his son was embarking on a career that would not put him at risk. However, in secret, Alexandre continued to train with a sword, hoping to prove to him one day that he was worthy of becoming as accomplished a guard as he was.
One day, however, a terrible earthquake shook the whole earth. Roof tiles fell, land slipped, and many people were injured in the beautiful city of Stornway. Fortunately, King Marthus reacted quickly, and the wounded were quickly taken care of by the priests and nuns of the city. The guards were dispatched to report on the damage and to help rebuild the city. Trusting his son now, Lionel agreed to let him accompany him on a few rounds, where he could help the inhabitants in need of assistance. Some time passed, and the course of life seemed to resume its quiet and peaceful course. Lionel returned to the castle and thought of the pleasant times he had spent in his son's presence. Alexandre seemed to have given up his fencing ideals, and his own father had neglected him in his grief. Lionel decided to take more interest in his interests, as he had done in the past. As he was making his rounds on the castle walls, he saw his son returning from one of the outer wings, out of breath. When he asked him about it that evening, the teenager was evasive and quickly changed the subject, arguing that he enjoyed the fresh air there. His father was puzzled but chose not to argue further; he knew that people of that age could quickly become defensive when it came to their privacy.
Several days later, however, he again noticed his son returning from that place, this time with a suspicious look on his face, as if he wanted to go unnoticed. The guard's suspicions grew, and he took advantage of a shift to enter the mysterious place. At first, he found nothing but a few branches and flowers scattered on the ground, until a flash of light revealed by a ray of sunlight caught his attention. He then headed in the direction of this mysterious object and thought his heart would stop beating when he identified it. There, hidden in the bushes, was a bronze sword, corresponding to the height and weight of his son. The father felt a terrible mixture of emotions: anger, disappointment, sadness, fear, but also guilt. The latter, incomprehensible and unbearable, upset him terribly and in anger, he grabbed the sword. He went to the well that was there and threw it down. A pang of shame surreptitiously passed through his heart, but he drove it away with rage. At that very moment, an alarm sounded, but he barely heard the cries of his comrades.
After finishing his training and being careful not to be spotted, Alexandre returned to the castle kitchens in search of some treats or company. He would soon have to tell his father the truth about his activities and show him once and for all that he could trust him. But as he had been talking to the kitchen boy for a while, a guard came into the room and ordered them all to take cover. An unknown black knight of unprecedented violence had just burst into the city and had already taken down a dozen guards. Without missing a beat, Alexandre rushed through the corridors towards the outer wing of the castle, where he had left what he needed. Once there, he desperately looked for his sword in the bushes, but could not find it. He thought of his father's suspicious look the other day and understood. No matter, he was not going to stand by while so many people risked their lives.
Alexandre grabbed a branch and picked it up off the ground and dashed through the corridors. Soon, he saw the silhouette of the mysterious knight, in the grip of a dozen guards. The teenager had never seen anything like it: the man, if you could call him that, was clad in terrifying black armour and rode a menacing horse, also sporting countless dark ornaments. He was fighting with inhuman vigour and seemed to be immune to any blow. Alexandre swallowed and hesitated, was he really a match for this monster? While the doubts flashed inside his skull, he was brought back to reality by a cry of pain coming from the battlefield. He looked up and saw his father on the ground, kneeling with the tip of the Karbon knight's spear pointing at him. His bones froze as he heard the knight's voice.
“You fought well. Nevertheless, I have come to free the Lady you are keeping prisoner. If you value your life, you will get out of my way!"
This voice seemed to come from the depths of the underworld. It sounded as if the man had returned directly from beyond the grave. The knight opened his visor and Lionel turned pale, petrified. Silently, he pleaded for the Guardians to come to his aid.
Located behind the stage, Alexandre could only hear the man's voice. He could not understand the gibberish he was talking about. A lady prisoner? A knight with a hollow voice who wants to save her? It made no sense. With horror, he saw the intruder reach out and point his arm at his father, who was still not moving. The boy dashed forward and parried the blow with exceptional prowess. This surprised the knight for a few seconds, but he quickly regained his senses. He attacked the staff held by the boy, which naturally broke under the blow. The teenager did not have time to see the impact as he was quickly thrown backwards by his father who took the blow instead. In doing so, Alexandre hit a wall and lost consciousness, but not before seeing his father collapse.
When he woke up, Alexandre was lying on a bed in the castle infirmary. His head and back hurt, but he seemed to have escaped with few injuries despite the direct confrontation he had had with the knight. This was not the case for most of the individuals occupying the nearby beds, most of whom were groaning in pain. As he recalled the events, he suddenly remembered seeing his father fall in front of him, taking the final blow in his place. His heart skipped a beat, and he nervously asked a nun standing there if she had seen him. The young nun gave him an apologetic look, which worried him to no end, and led him to another room where there were more beds. There he saw his father lying on the sheets. Alive, but terribly injured and unconscious. The knight's blow had therefore not been fatal. Alexandre felt immense relief, but also anger, something he rarely felt. Without him, his father would have died under the blows of the helmeted man. If he had not concealed his sword, he would not have been forced to arm himself with a common branch, broken at the slightest impact. His father had always wanted to protect him, and now both of them were injured because of this nonsense! The nurse there reassured him that his father had a good chance of recovering, but that it would take time. The knight had also left the castle with certain conditions for the king. Alexandre left the room, feeling that he needed some fresh air.
Once out of the castle, he headed towards the main square. There, in the middle of the crowd, he saw some of his father's colleagues spreading a poster on a board. This intrigued him and he waited for them to leave before reading it
"A mysterious knight in black armour is terrorising our town. Anyone brave enough to challenge him should come to the castle.
King Shott of Stornway"
The king had therefore decided not to submit to the knight's mysterious conditions. Alexandre suddenly thought of proposing himself, but he put the idea out of his mind. Alone, he could accomplish nothing, and no one here would be foolish enough to agree to accompany him. He also had no sword, so how could he hope to defend himself? Over the next few days, he tried several times to find it, but to no avail. When he finally managed to locate it, he was frustrated to find that its location was impossible to access in the current state of his injuries. So, he gave up for the moment and contented himself with trying to cheer up the spirits of the few people he would meet. That, at least, he knew he could do.
One day when he had just come out of the shop, he noticed that a person had stopped in front of the sign. She was a young girl of about his age, but she gave off a strange presence. Her clothes were also strange and reminded him of those accoutrements that some troubadours wore. However, unlike these, the girl had an inexpressive and serious look. She was also small in stature and looked so slight that Alexandre wondered why she seemed interested in the content of the poster. In fact, Alexandre thought she was cute as can be, especially with her pretty pink, medium-length hair. He, therefore, did not notice when she left in the direction of the castle, so absorbed was he in his dozens of usual questions. When he saw that she was no longer there, he deduced that she must have been looking for a place to perform, and returned to the castle.
He took some things to his father's bedside and went to the outer wing of the castle. Whether or not he could retrieve his sword, it was a place where he felt good and found solace. His father's condition seemed to be improving and his own wounds hardly hurt anymore. Perhaps it was necessary to let someone from outside look after the knight after all. Perhaps he could go to the newly reopened Adventurers' Haven Inn and try to see this mysterious troubadour again. So he sat down in the grass and closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he was startled. The pink-haired girl was standing in front of him, her clothes wet and a slightly annoyed look in her sky-blue eyes. In her hand was his bronze sword, which had previously been thrown into the well.
- "This sword is yours, isn't it?" said the girl placidly.
- "Hum…", Alexandre replied, surprised by this situation. "What are you doing here?" Without realizing it, he blushed slightly.
- "The people of this town seem to be in need of assistance. So, I offered myself to the king to solve this problem. As I was exploring the castle a bit, looking for information, I noticed this well and the strange light reflected in it. So, I crawled in and found this weapon and went back up. It's yours, isn't it?"
The strange girl had said these sentences in an incredibly natural way, without interruption, as if there was nothing strange about all this and that she had simply praised the weather. Alexandre felt strangely reassured to meet someone who answered all his questions so quickly. Most of the time, his questioning seemed to annoy the others, who then chose not to dwell on explanations.
Alexandre thought for a moment about asking her if she was aware of the risks, but he frowned. This girl's face was certainly cute and delicate, but it also bore an expression of confidence and calm. This girl didn't think she was up to it. She knew it.
- "As it stands, I don't know if I can defeat him," began the mysterious maid, "He's on horseback, which gives him a definite strategic advantage. Furthermore, his physical strength exceeds that of mortals by a very large margin, which leads me to believe that he is not entirely human. I have also heard rumours of a decaying skull under his visor, indicating that he is undead. This would be in line with these rumours, although it is not consistent with the reality of things, as the undead are supposed to be monsters with limited consciousness. Yet he seems to be on a mission of the utmost importance, which implies high cognitive skills. However, I've never heard of such a phenomenon, so I don't know what to expect. I'll probably have to get better equipment. This sword, it's yours, isn't it?"
Again, the strange troubadour had stated these explanations without interruption. She seemed to have thought of everything and evaluated all possible situations while using logical and factual reasoning. Impressed and amused, Alexandre finally reacted to the question that the young girl had asked him several times.
- "Sorry, yes, it's mine," he said, taking the sword in his hand, "but it wasn't me who put it there..., but my father... It's complicated..."
He was usually so talkative, but now he was having trouble getting the words out of his mouth. The girl seemed to understand, however, and nodded before getting up to leave.
- "Wait!" urged Alexandre, "if you're looking for equipment, I can help you find it. With a little luck, I can even get you a discount at the shops."
The girl nodded and gave him a smile that, though slight, was sweet and sincere. She held out her hand to help him, making him blush even more. Alexandre felt the good mood which usually inhabited him return little by little in him. He then introduced himself:
- "My name is Alexandre, but you can call me Alex. I've always lived in Stornway, so don't hesitate to ask me for advice if you want to visit the city!"
The girl seemed to appreciate the enthusiasm the boy was now showing. In a melodious voice she replied:
- "Nice to meet you, Alex. My name is Sayo, and I come from far away."