I slowly walked along the grass field looking upon the lady ahead of me. Her brown eyes screamed that she was human and not a drop of Solrein blood within her. With white skin tanned to the color of a warm beach, She stood nearly 6 feet tall. Perhaps a inch or two below that. Which gave her a few inches of height over me. Yet her long chestnut hair was what I showed that she was still a lady even if she had a massive. sword to her hip sheathed. Her hair was pushed and tied up behind her into a messy hair bun.
Now if you wonder why I could tell she was not a Solrein. It's always within the eyes. A Solrein's eyes were never plain colors. Our eyes were always on the scale of truly colorful. From the ruby red of my eyes, to my brother and sisters Diamond blue. Sometimes neon colors even like Neon pink or orange were common to see. A Solreins eyes almost glowed like a cats in the dark is one way to see the difference. It's because of the Spellblood in eyes that flows through our veins as well which changes the color.
"Glad to see you could arrive at least on time. I would have preferred it to be early." She said as both her hands rested on a longsword at her hip. The pommel of the handle being a solid ball of metal that looked better to use as a club then the swords blade.
"I am never late my Lady. I just despise showing early." I said as I noticed this human had not called me by my title. If she did that to my father she would have been hung to try and act with such impunity. And yet still I must try to remind myself that I am better then some human. I must keep dignity as all Solrein should.
Furthermore she wore dark grey pants with a large dark blue overcoat. And yet the shine of a pendant on the front of her overcoat caught my attention. The two golden swords crossed over a roaring lion. The symbol of the emperors Rangers. The Rangers served the Emperors knights as professional mercenaries. For every Knight of the emperor there was 42 rangers. The question came out before I could close the lips of my mouth however.
"How did you receive such a pendant?" I knew what a bad idea it was to ask such a thing. And yet it was so normal a question. Yet tone and timing changes normal to anything of kindness to our right rude.
"What? Didn't think a human could serve a Knight of the emperor? I am a Ranger and I earned it. Even though I am on this empty world that rains more then a there is ocean to see. You are kucjy my knight has respect for your father or I would not be here" She said as she slowly drew her long sword. 45 inch of heavy steel. The kind that would slash me in half like a twig. Shined and cleaned like it was new. Yet one look from how she held it and you would know she used it enough times that it should be stained from war and battle.
"I meant no disrespect Madame. Simply that I would not guess any humans could become a Knights Ranger." I said I as began to raise my own sword, I was not even sure why. It only felt right. Like a breath into the lungs after being under water too long. "So how do you wish to begin?"
I quickly dodged as a massive thing of metal came for my face. Stumbling over both my feet to the right and back to avoid the sword. That feeling I had from my sword now gone. That sense of a freeing breath gone as if pushed back underwater. I was so stunned I managed to dodge that I forgot to even swing back. The knees of my pants now wet from the grass as I stood there in shock that she would swing at me without warning.
"What was that for!" I struggled to hold back my annoyance at her as she swung again for my chest. Her sword was more like a bloody damn cleaver with how she was using it. And yet that feeling came. I drop down into a roll below the blade and then I felt panic, I felt that freeing feeling vanish yet again as I began scrambling back up on my hands and knees.
"I'll give you this kid! You you got the instincts of a cat!" She began taking a step forward throwing her whole swords length out at me. The blade shined like a kings polished crown. Like judgement that did not wait for words of those below it.
I raised my sword barley in time as the two solid metals collided. The force shot through me like a war horse. making my own sword within my hand shake around. If she was a Solrein my whole arm would have shattered. Yet she was not a Solrein. Just stupid human.
"You got weak arms though." She said as a matter of fact. As she took a step back I released a breath and dropped my sword. Holding my right shoulder with my left hand as if that alone would fix the slight aching pain.
"You could have killed me you know." I muttered unhappily knowing a normal human woman was beating me. That a human woman could kill me. Was I scared? Or angry? Which I could not know. Many do not know because to mask both so much we forget what they truly feel like. A Solrein of the highest of blood and yet here I was.
"I know. However your father said it was fine if you were injured." She smiled a little. Just enough of a smile to show she was enjoying this. Beating someone of a race, that at their core was supposed to be superior to hers.
"Then you couldn't at least introduce yourself before trying to kill me?" I said as I stopped holding my shoulder. The muscles and tissue within already pretty much done healing thanks to my spellblood.
"Sorry, I did not realize I was good enough to have my name known. The name's Venula Zen. And for the record I did not try to kill you. If I had tried then I wouldn't have held back. So you pass the first test. not dying." She swung her sword back into it's scabbard at her hip as if she done it a thousand times over.
"So glad I passed." I glared at her before quickly looking away trying to avoid the fact she swung that sword like a small stick. "So how do you even lift that thing."
"My long sword? Oh my arms have steel plated bones. Wonderful what a little surgery can do along with some added gears to replace the muscles." She grinned as for the first time I noticed her arms were not even flesh. They were just atom tissues. Replicated the look of tissue but gave a slight metal shine to it. Able to heal itself within seconds and tough as tungsten the metal. That alone helped at least lessen the blow to my pride. After all she was part machine.
From there on for the rest of the day, I was forced to stand there holding my sword to block attacks. And her amazing reasoning? I needed to get used to the sudden shock, and strain a blow did. Yet I had my sword, the roman gladius, knocked from my hands more times then I had fingers to counter. And when I wasn't block the blows she was making me swing my sword in the same way over and over again. the same sideway swing nearly five hundred times. Or so I think. I lost count after one hundred and fifty seven Until at last as the sun set across the wet gras hills below the ocean, was I at last given rest.
My brother and sister had seen the whole thing. Needless to say a Ranger of the Kings Knights or not did not matter. Word had spread I had lost a sword fight to a lady. And that same lady was my new sword instructor for who knew how long. And that night at dinner was silent with unspoken voices and emotions,
Sitting within the same dining hall of which we ate breakfast that same morning. The light now instead of the large window where that morning sunlight poured in. Now showed a starry night sky that reflected in the dark blue waters below us and out into the endless distance. The ceiling at high above of which held chandeliers of diamond and glass. Now reflected lightbulbs that sat within it like dozens of fireflies stuck within jars of diamonds casting a rainbow of color upon the walls and flooring.
As we sat at the large ornate dark walnut table the maids slowly filed in placing our trays down. As always. Mother would dine alone within her room. Not to join us yet again. Starring at the rainbow of colors from the chandeliers above. Bright pinks and oranges, And green like fresh grass. All of many colors our eyes could see covered and swayed slowly around us on the walls and table.
For dinner we ate stake, with a gravy drizzled upon it. The neat cooked to a perfect medium rare, And the juice and gravy of the meat mixed their flavors. And each time I moved the knife within my fingers to cut it my arms flared up in pain. How much damage had that so could training really done to my arm? Yet I grimaced through it. I was a Solrein and by the names of all the gods of the Warlocks within their sacred halls of prayers and machine I will not let myself be beaten again.
But I saw the way my brother and sister looked at me. How my father seemed undisturbed at what happened this afternoon. Maybe it was already too late. Second son to inherit nothing more then a backwash town, I'm sure. I would be forever as I ever and shall always remain. The stain of my family. These thoughts did not end. For they were true to my heart and soul into the emptiness that felt like a void within that simply consumed all my life.