In Arthur's memories, the scenery had changed to a blue sky with occasional clouds. I felt the familiarity and sense or returning to my origin. I could not move, as I was not in control of this body. But I instinctively knew that this was the body of Arthur. He was crying and squirming like a baby.
A middle-aged woman appeared that was giving a loving smile towards me. She has experienced hardships as shown on her face. Right now, she was a little weak and sweat covered her face. A middle-aged man was nearby patting her shoulder. This must be right after birth. Arthur's body stopped crying and began to settle down before falling asleep, bringing me into darkness as well. I could only try to reel in everything so far.
Time slowly went by and I soon discovered Arthur's origin. He was born in the middle ages, in an unknown period. Growing up, he was the descendant of the knight known as his father. His father used to be a veteran soldier who had done good enough in his young days to receive knight training. His father was a kind and good man, and his territory became this village despite the king's persuasion. Becoming the chief of this village, he retired to doing farm-work despite being the lord and married a serf that he fell in love with.
However, he was born with an illness that plagued him every day, making him have a weak constitution that easily made him susceptible to diseases. It wasn't until he was given a pendant similar to mine by the father that his body miraculously began to improve. His constitution restored itself and his growth accelerated in all aspects thanks to the abundant food he harvested from farming.
Time slowly went on peacefully and it wasn't until he was six that he could talk. His father taught him the combined ways of the knight and ways of a soldier while working the farms. In his free time, he was taught literature and variety of things. With me watching in the back of his mind, I saw this everyday but I never felt bored watching such a life.
When Arthur turned to a teenager, he had finished all his fathers teachings about how to fight and properly survive in the wilderness. Although Arthur was a somewhat quiet kid, he was very lovable and enjoyed the village. No matter the seasons, he was still the same.
One day, Arthur who was chopping logs with logs, quickly came back to his senses. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he went to a bucket of water to clean his face. Looking into it, he could see the reflection of himself.
His appearance had no scars or blemishes, but was that of a commoner that has little fat on his face after years of heard work. Although he's not extremely buff, his body is very lean and tough, showing the results of sword practice, farming, and wood chopping. His black hair was relatively clean and was long enough to touch his ears, but it was ruffled up from lack of maintenance. It's thanks to a little river nearby that they can farm and he can clean himself a little.
Cleaning his tunic that was given to him, he passed through the fields of crops that would be ready in a few weeks for harvesting. At the end was a decent-sized wooden home that was still standing firm even after the years. It shows maintenance has been done to it a lot. Entering through the door, he was surprised to see both were sitting around the small table and staring at him seriously. His mother's eyes were red.
Although they've gotten older, their still the same parents. It was a miracle that they still hadn't died apparently since most die young. But seeing them serious, he knew it was an important matter.
"Father, mother is something wrong?" he asked as he sat by the table.
"Arthur, Dira Kingdom is losing against our enemy kingdom. King Gillet has issued a decree in desperate needs that any lords that have old enough males are required to send them off. Since I'm a retired knight, the king has granted you to be promoted to knight status. If you do well, he'll reward you with money and territory, " he said with his fists clenched. Tears ran down his mothers face and his heart shook.
"Please don't cry mother," he said running up to her and wiping her tears away.
Arthur had known this would happen sooner or later as the King would value a young person like him. Although he'd hate to leave, he realized he had no choice. So he wasn't that affected to the news than it would be normally.
"Don't worry mother and father, I promise to survive and make it back!" he said resolutely with his back standing straight, a quality experienced soldiers would have.
Although his father was grief-stricken, he heartily laughed seeing this as he got up.
"Good Arthur! You've never let me down and I'm proud to have such a good son! I'll let you use my armor from when I was serving," he said getting up and quickly going to his room.
"F-father I-," he stuttered, very surprised. He didn't think his father would give him his inherited armor.
"Quick Arthur! Come here and put it on. We can't let those soldiers waiting for too long," he said rummaging from a small closed. He pulled out an entire set of armor that still looked to be in good condition.
It was a full set of knight armor that was completely plated in metal that shined silver when light hit it's surface. Chain was in the joints to allow protection while also allowing range of movement. The helmet, sword, and shield was there.
"Back in the old days, I would always spend money to repair it when I had the chance. Till this day, I've polished my equipment and armor in hopes that it could stay as my family inheritance. But it seems like I'll have to give it up," he said with a sigh, trembling with the armor.
"Arthur, please repair this armor and the equipment whenever you have the chance. Treat it well and try to bring it back if Dira Kingdom wins. You're about the same size as me when I received this armor, so it should fit perfectly. Also, promise me to return home alive. I've already lost too many things in war, and I don't want to lose my only son. Me and my wife are getting too old to have another child," he said as he slowly took it apart with red eyes.
He was right. His age is already enough to be called lucky. His face is full of wrinkles and his body is already showing signs of deterioration from age. It's a miracle that he's survived this long.
"Father," Arthur said, with his eyes turning red. His hand was clenched and trembling.
His father saw that and sighed once more. Getting up, he hugged his son tightly. They both hugged each other for a few minutes before letting go. Setting their emotions down, the father successfully took apart the armor.
"I never thought that this would be used again, so I never taught you how to take it on and off. But I'll teach you here," he said as began talking about the different parts.
He slowly instructed Arthur on the different parts of the armor and demonstrated the order in which is should be put on. Arthur had quick memory and surprisingly managed to memorize it after a few repeats. Satisfied, the father slowly put it all on while making sure Arthur watched. Soon, Arthur was decked out and looked like a knight. The father couldn't help but feel nostalgia seeing it worn once more.
"Remember all the steps and ingrain them into your memory. Go converse with your mother now," he said as he put the helmet on Arthur's head. He put his treasured longsword into the scabbard which was now hanging from Arthur's side.
"Try to use shields when you can. Usually, knights only have swords as their main weapon," he said patting the back, which made a metallic clang.
With the armor on, Arthur's mobility wasn't restricted that much. It must be his strength because the armor didn't weight that much nor have much of an impact on his mobility. He walked back to where the table was to find his mother had her hands together and intertwines.
Arthur walked over and kneeled beside her with his head lowered. His mother opened her eyes and hugged his head while sobbing. Only after an unknown amount of time did she let go and clean her eyes.
"Be a good boy out there. Okay?" she softly whispered.
Arthur nodded his head seriously and tried to calm down his whirling emotions. His heart couldn't help but feel grief seeing that he'd have to leave this place.
"Alright, you should probably go. It's best not to keep the royal soldiers waiting," said the father who tried to force a smile.
"Yes father," he said heavily. Once again, he hugged them again for good measure before exiting the front door. It's time for Arthur to leave for the outside.