The sun had just appeared on the horizon. Francis woke up scared, thanks to a nightmare, he was used to it, they were more than frequent, almost every night he dreamed of his father putting the glove on his arm and going to his last mission, the mission he would never again would come back. Then he got up with difficulty and realized that his gauntlet had hurt his hand again. As he stretched, he realized that Henry was still in a deep sleep, looking at the place where his master had gone to bed the night before, he realized that he was no longer there and suddenly began to smell a strong smoke. despite having a little cold, his nose was still perfect, taking the dagger from his waist, he started walking towards the exit, from where the sound of the branches burning with fire came, and the smoke spread more intensely, he leaned up on the back wall of the door, to try to hear something suspicious, without hearing anything decided to leave. When he left, he found the old master with three fish almost burnt in the fire. When he realized there was no danger, he put the knife that was still in his fist, and said in a weak voice, and with a dry throat "good morning" the little man turned and gave the boy a toothless smile. He took one of the fish and made a gesture, handing it to the boy, and pointed to a fallen tree stump "sit down, dawn is the best time to fish for the fattest and most succulent, and as I couldn't sleep, I decided to fish some of those salmon in the nearby river. It looked like you were having a terrible nightmare ... you had a look of panic on your face. "
The boy smiling without enthusiasm replied "it was my father, I dream about the day he left the house almost twelve years ago ..." the old man was sweating for some reason, and was making faces, he seemed to be in pain, with a weak voice and twitched like a groan, he said, "Edward Esttemort, the last blue dragon. You should use your family's flag, you would be recognized even by the king, your father, just as your grandfather was a great warrior who contributed immensely to this kingdom "Francis, embarrassed replied" I can't, I'm not the oldest , in my house there is this rule, only the oldest son has the right to use the surname and coat of arms of the house. If I used the symbol of the blue dragon, it would be considered a crime against a royal house, or the forgery of an heir ... And the penalty for these crimes is very severe "the old man then said" you know the law well, don't you ? "Francis then replied," My mom made me study the papers Dad left behind, so I understand a lot. "The old man started to laugh and said:" then you are a 'human file' !!! Then the two started laughing together, but the old man's laughter started to become an intense cough when he stopped coughing and took his hand out of his mouth, his hand was completely covered in blood. The boy, startled, asked "are you all right master?" his expression had totally changed, his face was now that of a serious and worried man, he raised his hand and said "wake up Henry, I have something important to say" Francis ran over to where Henry slept and woke him with a start, desperate, said "get up, the master is not well" Henry got up quickly and followed Francis, when they arrived the old man was sitting on the wood looking at the fire, then, without even looking at them, said "this is my last day of life" and continued "my body can't take the weight of the years anymore, forgive me for having to leave you so early, I still had a lot to teach "with a pale face, I looked at Francis" start get ready, wear it your best clothes, today I'm going to call them knights "Henry, who had tears in his eyes, said" are you sure? You look so good ... "the old man's face was pure hatred" don't lie to me! last thing you will say to your master, i have been terrible for weeks, and none of you cared about me ! I am training riders, because there is no other way! Now enough, get ready ".
The two boys left in silence and went to get dressed, Francis rummaged through his bag for better clothes. but in his mind, his thoughts were a mess, so he thought out loud "finally arrived. The day we were waiting for is being a little different than we imagined ". Henry then replied, without enthusiasm:" I wanted to win this title on merit, to win with my willpower ".
The silence hung for a few minutes, the two did not know what else to say, what could they do at that moment besides following what their master had ordered? Henry then raised his sword and said to his friend "if it has to be this way, it will be, we must be content that he will not leave us without forming knights, that was our greatest wish so far, and now it will become real". Francis looked seriously at his friend, gave a forced smile, raised his head and said: "ok help me to attach this chain mail" Henry smiled at his friend and said excitedly "this is how you talk!".
It was late when the old man shouted outside in a weak voice "all ready?" the cough came right after the phrase "I don't have all day" the two then went out to meet the master, who already had the sword in his hand, the sword shone, thanks to the many and varied hours that Henry and Francis spent polishing and polishing , the two knelt, which did not help much, as the old man was very short, and the two young men were over six feet tall, the little man raised his sword a little shakily, and placed it over Henry's shoulder and the ceremony began, the hoarse voice that came from the back of his throat that sounded like a shaky moan "Henry, may your brown eyes guide you on this journey that you will begin today, that the evils of money will never corrupt your loyalty and your honor, that you fight for just reasons and never to be betrayed by revenge "the old man passes the sword on the top of Henry's head still shaking" you are blessed with the best vision and the best precision I saw in my life, you have the characteristics of a archer. "The old man passes the sword to Henry's right shoulder", by the name of knight given to me by Master Taillor, better known also as Lead Hammer, I am Gustav, the white Crow, I call him the Arrow of Light. " the old man takes the sword out of its scabbard and goes in front of Francis, while Henry gets up and bows before his master.
Francis was nervous, his neck was burning like never before, his eyes were watering constantly, sweat was running down his face and mouth leaving a slightly salty taste on his palate, he was in a very unpleasant moment, even though the weather was very cold. he was sweating in that thick, warm armor, so the old man finally started his baptism, gently placing the sword on his left shoulder and saying in a hoarse, weak voice, "Francis, your blue eyes guide you on this journey that will begin today that the evils of money cannot corrupt your loyalty and honor, fight for just reasons and never be corrupted by revenge "the old man passes the sword on top of Francis' head, holding on to not let go of the sword, forcing himself to stand, his thin arms were not strong enough, the old man continued "you are blessed with an overwhelming will, your persistence is impressive and your way of fighting is incredible, you use your condition to make the heaviest attacks that I have seen in my life, you still have the perfect characteristics for a warrior "the old man fights the sword over Francis' right shoulder, resting it lightly on his shoulder" with the name of the Knight given to me by the master and Taillor, known as Lead Hammer, I'm Gustav the White Crow, I call it Thunderclaw, for the gauntlet he never stops using. "The tired old man sits on the log that was right next to him, his heavy eyes looked at the ground, he stuck his sword in its sheath and placed it on the leaves, the wind blew cold, while he carried those autumn leaves from side to side, the old man finally put his arms in his lap, the moss and mud on the floor soiled his slippers, while his gaze remained motionless looking at the same place.
Francis gets up restlessly, bows to his master and then gathers all his strength to say: "My master, Henry and I have decided that we are going to that tournament that we heard about yesterday, but for that, we will need your approval my sir, we will win and we will be royal knights "the two stood waiting for his answer, but unfortunately the answer never came, the body was already lifeless, the little man had died right there, with his eyes open to the ground, a nobleman knight had just passed away.
Francis kneels beside the body and closes the small and old man's still open eyes, taking him to his lap and saying "dig the grave, I will organize other things" Henry looks at his friend says "the master had no family, right ? As I know him, he never spoke of family, his stories revolved only around the master ", Francisco turned and said seriously to his friend:" We were his family ".