Heirloc woke up. 'Why I had to remember that?' nine years had passed since the events that had led him to stay with the child. He still remembers running to the tower of the Grand Master to speak with Sidem about what had happened and the baby he had sworn to raise and protect. At first the Grand Master didn't like it very much.
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"You have got to be mad. You know very well that we do not accept children with less than ten years of age here. They just cannot learn anything with us. In all the years of this institution never was this rule broken" Sidem said with an angry tone. The Grand Master did not like to be awakened in the middle of his sleep to solve this problem, not one bit.
'It would have been much easier to talk to Travis about it. He was a great man and never would consider leaving the child in the open' thought the Master Initiator. Travis was the former Grand Master of the College of War, he had died in the previous winter due to a disease that tormented him for years. Unfortunately for Heirloc and the baby, Sidem the Master of Special Combat, had been chosen as his successor. The Pale Giant as he was called by the students in a tone of mockery in the hallways, away from his ears, after all the new Grand Master was relentless and ruthless in his punishment. He was a great administrator and because of that he was chosen among all the Masters of War to take over, but he did not have one bit of sensitivity and he was too attached to the rules.
"But my lord, I cannot leave him! I swore to his mother on her deathbed that I would raise and protect this child with my life. You know that there is no safer place in the world to him than here. And his mother gave me enough money to pay his tuition for the next 100 years" after hearing that the eyes of the Grand Master glinted, and this has not gone unnoticed by Heirloc. He knew that the College needed money for a reform in its walls, which no longer protected the interior of the ravage of the winter winds. Sidem did not care about other people, but he had always been very eager, and Heirloc was trying to exploit that. "If the kid cannot stay I'll be forced to go with him to keep my word and my honor" that would seal the deal.
"You do not need to leave Heirloc, the child can stay. I will not lose my Master Initiator with only two months left for the arrival of new students" Heirloc did not believe those words even for a second, he knew very well that Sidem only accepted the boy's stay to receive the money that would come with him. 'I do not care why as long as the child can stay here' he thought
"But you are responsible for him Heirloc. If anything happens to the boy only you will be held liable, do you understand?" the tall white man gave his final words on the subject.
"Yes sir. Thank you for your kindness" Heirloc left the room feeling good, things went better than expected.
The next morning all that was heard around the College was about the arrival of its newest inhabitant. And so, it was for many of the months that followed, everybody commented on all the details of how the Master Initiator had faced a troll in the failed attempt to save the life of a woman. And just after he had killed the beast he realized that the woman was carrying a baby. The only detail that no one had heard was the talisman. Heirloc thought it was better not to tell anyone. It would only generate speculation and bring the kind of unwanted attention to the child.
And what a beautiful baby, all commented. White skin, brunette, blue eyes, but not in a sparkling blue like his mother's, no, this child had the eyes of a very dark blue that seemed like an ocean without an end. Those who looked directly for a long time said with conviction that it was like he could see their soul. His face was very thin as if he was an offspring of the noble clans of the continent. But what astonished everyone who knew the child was his calm behavior and how unshakable he was. Once, Marta, one of the disciples of Heirloc dropped an immense vase next to the baby, one would imagine that the boy would be frightened by the noise, but no, he did not even blink.
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The years passed, and the baby grew, Cain had won the affinity of almost everyone in the College. All Masters except for the Grand Master visited him daily and watched he's growth with pride. He would spend his days watching Heirloc lessons and would soon start to learn the basics of the art of battle.
'Time really flew' Heirloc thought. Today was finally the day that the baby he had rescued would start his official training. After all he would stop wandering the College and start watching the lessons of the other Masters. Heirloc made sure to let the boy have fun the early years of his life, just giving him the basic lessons such as mathematics, reading and writing, in addition to the initial lessons in the art of battle. He taught Cain how to handle a weapon and how to move in combat. The boy was skilled, he quickly learned all the lessons the Master Initiator gave him and concluded them with accolades. Today the boy would be put to test, along with new students from all the major clans throughout the continent.
A screech sound meaning the door was opening echoed through the room, Heirloc turned to look, on the other side was Cain with a huge smile on his face. He knew how much the boy had waited for this day, the day he would finally begin the actual training he saw others practicing since he was born.
"C'mon Heirloc. I do not want to miss my first day fighting in Eriel's fields" Cain said. The training center for students took this name in honor of the first Grand Master. He had sacrificed himself facing a hundred trolls to protect his students during an excursion in the caves of the Winterdome mountain.
Heirloc looked at the boy, he had grown splendidly, all the woman on the institute said he would turn out to be beautiful when he was grown, and he was turning out exactly how they expected. His blue eyes still looked as deep as ever, and his white skin made an awesome contrast with his black hair that had the color of the night. His face was thin and hade a noble trait to it. Now he was no longer that easy going baby, the boy was always eager for new knowledge, which he assimilated very quickly. He would sometimes express his emotions, even though Heirloc could not remember ever seeing him shed a tear.
"Keep calm Cain it is still too early. The test will only begin in three hours. None of the teachers should be there. Do you remind how the test is going to happen today?" asked the man.
"First I meet all the Masters of War in Eriel's fields. There I will answer some questions, if I get them correct I will go to a more advanced level of the class, if I don't I will have to see everything from the basics" the memory of the boy still amazed Heirloc, as well as everything else in him. In just two months of lessons the boy already could read and write perfectly. He only had four years of age when that happened! The boy kept on talking "And in the afternoon when all students finish the questions they will participate in a tournament in Eriel's fields where they will face each other until only one remains. Him or her will be considered the champion and will be placed in the first place on the ranking of war among the beginners" the man seemed satisfied with the answer.
"Very well, go get ready. Don't forget to go to the Library to sign in and we will see each other in the evening" Heirloc said as he took the boy of his room and sent him to the test that would decide his life from now on.
Cain left Heirloc's room and went to the end of the hall. There he took the stairs and went downstairs to the living room. He could barely contain his excitement. All his memories were filled with the times he saw the students of the College training and studying, they seemed to have a lot of fun with it. All his life he waited for that day, that was the moment that he prepared and trained combat for. He even trained hidden from Heirloc, since the Master Initiator had prohibited him of training alone.
Cain left the house and ran into the city in which he had spent all his life. Although it could be considered a fortress, the College of War was a small village in size and number of inhabitants. The buildings inside the walls of the College were divided between the old ones that were built along with the College, these were more linear and had more accurate strokes, and the new buildings that were constructed along with the reform in the institution that began when the new Grand Master was elected, those tended to differentiate from each other, every single one having an original style.
While walking on the street Cain saw several familiar faces and many new ones. It was only natural since it was the day of testing the new students who came from all parts of the country to enroll in the College. He walked for a few minutes through the city, past the towers of the Master Geographer, the Master of Healing and the Master of Weapons, around each there was a small training camp where the Masters taught their respective art. Then he finally was in front of the library, where all written knowledge of the continent could be found as long as you knew where to look. But it was not for this reason that Cain was there today. On the day of the tests for beginners all the new students had to go in the library to sign up and be able to receive the number that would let them be in line for the knowledge tests.
As soon as he got there he recognized who was in the registration counter, Cain would not confuse that red hair and face full of freckles anywhere. It was Gundam, the library administrator. Cain knew him very well, after all he went to the library almost every day to study a little and expand his knowledge about the world. The old red-haired man had a special affection for the boy. He saw the boy grow and the several hours they spent together in that library, as he tried to answer the incessant questions about the world Cain had, made his affection for the boy to arise. Seeing the boy, the man opened a smile.
"Cain my boy, how are you?" said Gundam. The boy returned his smile.
"I'm fine Gundam, I came here today to make my application for the test, finally it is my turn" said the boy unable to hide the joy he was feeling.
"All right, I already left the first ticket for you. I know how much you were looking forward to today and this was the least I could do. But I'll need some personal information if you do not mind" said the man.
Not hearing a response from the boy, he understood that he could continue.
"Name?"
"Cain"
"Clan?"
"Finit"
"Age?"
"Ten years"
"We are finished here. Take your ticket and you can go to Eriel's fields" the man said.
"Thank you, Gundam" thus the boy said goodbye to the men and sped off towards the city center, where Eriel's fields where located. Along the way he met some acquaintances who saw him grow and everyone wished him good luck.
Reaching the place of the tests he heard the warning that within 15 minutes they would start to call the students in the order of their tickets. One of the boys who were nearby approached him and began to speak. He had the same height as Cain and was a little slimmer. His hair was blond, and he had green eyes, his face was rounded. Seeing him Cain could not help but remember a yellowish green canary that he had seen once, he struggled to hold the laughter.
"Hello, my name is Elion. I'm from the Fortred clan and you?" said the boy.
"I'm Cain, and I am from the Finit Clan" Cain answered.
"So, you are from that wandering Clan, the one who doesn't own any land?" the yellow headed boy asked with an intrigued look on his face.
"Not exactly, you see, I was adopted by one of the Clan members and grew here in the College" said Cain. Before Elion could say anything else the gateway to the testing area was opened. A man came out calling the ticket of number one.
"Well that's me, I got to go. We can talk more later" Cain said to his new acquaintance while he left.
"All right, until after the tests then. Good luck" said Elion.
"You too" And with that exchange of words Cain headed to the gate. On the other side of it were the Masters that would decide what he should study from now.
His whole life was about to change, and he had full knowledge of it.