The sun was already up by the time I reached the carriage. Father was already there, waiting, accompanied by his entrouge of knight. Seeing him there I hurriedly moved towards the carriage.
"Good Morning, Father." I greeted. "I hope you haven't been waiting for too long."
"Don't worry about it. Father waved his hand. "I was actually chatting with Sir Xandor here."
He pointed towards a young man in his twenties standing behind him. He was dressed in silver armor, with long, wavy, brown hair flowing over his shoulder and a large sword at his side. One look at the guy, and you would be reminded of the most generic portrait of a knight.
"Greeting, Sir Xandor," I spoke.
Seeing me talking to him, Sir Xandor approached me and got down on one knee. He took out his sword from his side and presented it to me with both hands.
"My lord, allow me, Xandor Stryx, son of Sylas Stryx, to pledge my life to your service. By my sword and my honor, from today, your will shall be my command until my final breath."
Stryx? As in Nyssa Stryx? Was this guy related to my mother? No, wait, did he just pledge his sword to me?
Confused, I looked at my father in hopes of getting answers.
"Uhm." Father, noticing my questioning gaze, began to explain. "From today on, Sir Xandor will serve you as your personal knight. After all, once you awaken your core today, you will be required to visit the Pit daily. Sir Xandor will act as your escort as well as your mentor."
Oh, now that I think about it. Both Myria and Faelan had gotten their own Knights as well after they awakened their cores, both with the surnames Stryx.
I was thinking about these things when. "Uhm, Son." Father lightly coughed, pulling me out of my thoughts. Oh, that's right. Xandor was still kneeling in front of me.
"Raise your head, Sir Xandor," I spoke. "I, Orion Valthor, accept your service. Stand steadfast, and one day, you shall sit beside me on my seat in the heavens."
Listening to my vow, Xandor raised his figure and once again bowed in my direction.
"Alright then, let's make haste and depart immediately," Father spoke and stepped inside the carriage. I followed behind him as well. Xandor, on the other hand, stayed behind and mounted on his horse, along with the rest of the knights.
"So, what do you think about him?" Father asked as soon as I sat on my seat.
"I am not sure. He seems too much of a straight arrow, like a mother. She didn't pick him up to pick an eye on him, did she?"
Father let out a small chuckle. "No, it's nothing like that. Although I would refrain from doing something intense in front of him."
"You are saying he would tattle to mother? What about all that pledging his life to me?"
Father let out a small smile. "He might serve you, son, but that doesn't mean he would hide things from the crown for you. Not with the current state of things, at least."
"What are you saying?" I narrowed my eyebrows.
The carriage began moving, and Father stopped speaking. Instead, he simply looked at me.
"You are a smart child, Orion, way smarter for your age. How about this? Let me give you an assignment. I don't care how long it takes and what you have to do. Ensure that Xandor lies to your mother and me on your behalf."
Hearing this, my eyes widened slightly, and a small smile appeared on my lips. "But lying to the crown is a great crime, Father, worthy of death."
Father smiled as well. "Then you better make sure I don't find out." Saying so, he turned around and began gazing out of the window.
I also turned my head to the window and began gazing outside. Father's words were clear: I had to make Xandor loyal, not to the crown but to myself.
Did I have a plan for how to do it? Not right now, but I was sure I would figure something out.
I'll need to get to know him first.
The carriage sped past the streets, eventually making its way towards the mountains. Soon a giant familiar figure began to come into picture.
Further ahead in the distance, up on a cliff, laid the giant skeleton with an equally giant sword protruding out of his chest.
After several years, I had also figured out the secret behind the skeleton. Or atleast found out what everyone else did.
No one exactly knew who the skeleton or that sword belonged to, or how it had come here. All they knew was that the skeleton had existed for a long time, even before the founding of the kingdom.
Still, even if the people didn't knew where the skeleton had come from, didn't mean that there weren't guesses. For one the equally large sword protruding out of the figure's chest made it evident enough that the thing hadn't died of natural causes.
"It's magnificent, isn't it?" Father spoke, seeing me staring at the skeleton.
"It's scary," I answered before looking away.
The carriage soon halted, and I stepped out, finding ourselves in front of a wide building made of marbled stone. The building, or 'The Pit' as it was more commonly called was an ancient structure built by our Valthorian ancestors as sorts of arena. The place itself was built like a colosseum, with a large arena surrounded by thousands of seats.
It was only after Father came to rule that he transformed the place into a training ground for the younger generation. Faelan, Myria, and now I were given strict instructions to use this place and this place only for a training ground.