"I can't believe the year is already almost over," Stephen said out loud, as his class was wrapping up. "Only a matter of time until we're second years"
With Stephen's father returning as Head Director and the training club back in session, Stephen had a lot of things to look forward to for his second year. More time to train with his current friends, being able to make new friends and more memories.
And perhaps, maybe finally get a girlfriend, Stephen thought, smirking to himself.
"What's so funny, Windblade?," his teacher asked, glaring in his direction. "Care to share with the rest of the class?"
"Nothing ma'am," Stephen quickly quieted down.
But still… there's something weighing on my mind, Stephen thought, as his teacher finished up what will probably be her last lesson of the year. I need to talk to Allen about this.
Stephen had met up with Allen after class as fast as he could, as this matter was rather important, and could affect their futures greatly if he was right. However, Allen informed Stephen he had a rather important meeting with Stephen's father, and promised to meet up with him afterwards.
Well, I suppose it can wait, Stephen had thought, as Allen had a meeting with Stephen's father. And besides, he won't have anything else for the rest of the day, leaving us plenty of time for discussion.
Stephen let Allen know where to meet up before Allen finally left to go have his meeting. With nothing else to do in the meantime, Stephen decided to head over to the meeting location, and get his thoughts in order.
Standing in the hallway near the auditorium, Stephen stood in front of what was called "The Wall of the Accomplished", a section of the academy awarding and congratulating past achievements made by students of the academy. Academic achievements, previous tournament winners, previous student council members, and even small contributions made towards the academy's development. Just about everything important was listed on the wall, and much history could be learned from it alone.
Just why didn't I catch this section of the academy sooner?, Stephen thought, as his eyes glossed over the wall.
His eyes finally landed on one particular section he was the most interested in - a section purely dedicated to Christina Windblade, Stephen's late aunt and his father's eldest sibling.
By far the strongest and greatest student the academy has ever had, her accomplishments were stretched wide across the wall, highlighting her numerous achievements. She had made history when she won the magical knights tournament three years in a row, naming her the "Prodigy of the Academy", and that was only the beginning of her story.
She of course later on became a magical knight for several years, before finally succeeding her father and becoming the next head of the Windblade family. Inheriting "the Spear of Air" one of the three great elemental weapons, she ascended to become what was known at the time as the Council of Magic's leader, and helped keep order all throughout England.
Of course, all of that changed upon her supposed suicide, Stephen recalled. Upon her death, my uncle inherited the weapon, and became leader of what's now known as the Triumvirate.
But what caught Stephen's eye the most about her section on the wall was a minor detail about her. During her time here at the academy, she wielded the Windblade's family sword, Windrus, making her stand out even further aside from her already strong magical capabilities. The sword had apparently allowed her to defeat mages much easier, allowing her to take full advantage of close combat where most mages had the most trouble with.
Stephen has heard about this apparent "Windrus" sword before. According to Windblade family history, it had been in the family for years, passed down generation after generation as a family heirloom. Rarely was it ever used as an actual weapon, and had remained a decorative piece until Christina Windblade broke that streak.
But the problem is, the sword has been apparently missing for some time, Stephen recalled a minor detail. They've kept relatively quiet about it, so only Windblades would know about it.
Looking back up at the wall, there was something about Christina that reminded Stephen of Allen of all people. Subtracting the magical prowess she had, the similarities between two were astonishingly there. Allen also uses a sword for close combat, and he did win the tournament as a first year, similar to Christina.
Well Allen has yet to win the next two years of course, Stephen thought. We've yet to start year two.
Christina had won the tournament all three years she attended the academy. And Allen had already won his first year with great promise to his growth. What if Allen won the next two years as well?
` Well, I surely won't let that happen, Stephen shook his head as he grinned. I still want to beat him fair and square and win once.
But, could there somehow be a connection towards Christina Windblade and Allen Fleming they were not aware of?
There was always something not quite right about Allen's past. The fact was, Stephen's own father had decided to train Allen at a younger age. Subtracting the fact that his father was kind in nature, Stephen could not just imagine a powerful mage like his father deciding to train a random kid in the middle of nowhere.
Allen also wields a sword that can cut through magic of all things, which is rarely heard of. And he had also got that sword from none other than Stephen's father!
Allen somehow always manages to catch the attention of others one way or another. He had even caught the attention of Mr. Garet, who had called Allen an "outlier", due to his strange and unique abilities and nature. He had even compared her to none other than Christina Windblade herself, which is part of the reason that brings Stephen to the wall of the accomplished.
Something about all of these details simply doesn't add up, Stephen thought, trying to put the pieces together. All of these strange details about Allen that didn't make sense from the beginning. But what's the connection if there is one?
But before Stephen could think about it further, he suddenly noticed a group of people rushing down the hallway, and they appeared to be heading towards the main offices.
Getting a closer look as they approached his position in the hallway, Stephen noticed the group was led by none other than Edmund, a Triumvirate official and the same man who had been acting on orders to take his father into custody before. And behind him were four magical knights, high ranking ones at that. Just what are they doing here, and what do they want?
They're not after my father again, are they?, Stephen thought, getting worried. Best to check things out… just in case.
Tailing behind them at just enough distance that they wouldn't notice, Stephen followed them towards the main offices of the academy. As Stephen suspected, they entered William's office without warning, closing the door behind them.
Stephen got as close to the door as he could, in an attempt to eavesdrop on the conversation at hand. He can hear his father and Edmund talking within. But what are they talking about? And what do they want?
Putting his ear up to the door, he heard his father directly asking Edmund what he wanted, after they had a somewhat interesting greeting. Stephen heard a rustling of paper, probably some sort of document he guessed. But what he heard next was something he was completely unexpecting.
"Allen Fleming is suspected of high treason, stealing the Windblade family sword, Windrus. Therefore, he shall be taken into custody, and an official investigation and trial shall be held"
No wait, what?, Stephen thought, his eyes widening. Allen stealing a sword, and the Windblade family sword of all things? There's no way that he-
Several things started to click in his head as he continued to listen in on the conversation for any additional details he could gather. Allen sounded like he wanted to resist, but decided not to after Stephen's father said something.
A bit more of rustling was heard when it sounded like they attempted to take Allen's sword away from him as a precaution and for evidence, but it sounded like no one could hold it. In the end they had Allen hold on to the sword, and were going to keep an eye on him.
Wait, that's right!, Stephen thought. If I remember correctly, only Allen could presumably use the sword. And if that's the case…
As Stephen was putting his thoughts together, he realized they were already about to leave the room, forcing Stephen to quickly step back to get out of the way.
The four magical knights walked out, surrounding Allen. Edmund was the last to leave, shutting the door behind him, and remaining behind the magical knights leading him out.
For a moment, Stephen managed to make eye contact with Allen. The look on Allen's face was a mixture of fear and disbelief, and for good reason. A small look of surprise showed up on his face when he made eye contact with Stephen and realized he was there, but then was forced to continue moving by the magical knights surrounding him.
And it was then, in that moment, everything finally became clear to Stephen. The answers had always been there, right under everyone's noses. They had all chosen to ignore it, simply taking things as they were. But if they had all noticed before all of this happened, maybe things would have turned out differently.
The reason that William decided to train Allen and gave him his current sword, the reason Allen has that sword in the first place and once being his mothers, the reason only Allen can presumably use his sword, and how he seemingly seems to stand out.
Assuming Allen's sword is actually the sword that they're looking for, Windrus, the Windblade's family sword, that could only mean one thing.
Allen's real mother is Christina Windblade, and that would make him my cousin!, Stephen thought, as his eyes widened in realization. If that's true, everything finally begins to fit together!
But even so, that still didn't change the fact that Allen was being taken away under charges of apparently stealing said sword. What was going to happen to him was unknown. But, that wouldn't stop Stephen from attempting to get answers!
Once the magical knights were far enough away, Stephen rushed into his father's office, ready to demand answers from him. But awaited him was his father only giving off a look of frustration and regret. Will he be able to convince his father to do something about this?