"When the first city falls, the rest of the empire will not be far behind."
Kyríchos - Elven King
After the emperor's death at the hands of 5 mysterious elves, the power and control of the empire passed to the Empress. Until her eldest son reached adulthood, this caused doubts among the nobles and lords about the empire's situation. The other two human empires, which had feared the power of the Megnum Empire for years, now saw this as an opportunity to conspire against it.
Two years passed; the empress had managed to keep the empire united, despite the doubts generated by her rule. Initially, Gramorg would remain neutral, but thanks to Leonor's influence on her father, Lord Fender, the city of Gramorg announced its full support for the empress, calming the storm for the moment.
In the end, her eldest son, Prince David, reached adulthood and prepared for his coronation. It seemed like a bright future awaited the empire despite everything.
But they didn't count on the Bucullatus, accompanied by the army of the Poski Empire, marching with the intention of dissolving the empire and taking its territory as their own, or at least that's what the mages had promised. To do this, they would have to eliminate its most powerful city without it even being able to respond: Gramorg. This pleased the interests of the Bucullatus, who sought the deaths of Lord Fender and Draco Marcos.
Lodtrack was training with Draco as usual, engaging in a fiercely contested combat using wooden weapons. Jill and other apprentices watched the fight, attentive to their every move.
"Do you think Lodtrack will finally manage to defeat him?" Virtof asked. This was a dark-skinned and quite burly man. Next to him was Chub, a short and slightly chubby youth, who raised an eyebrow at Virtof's question.
"Don't ask stupid questions," Silo scolded him, a half-blood elf, tall and very thin, sitting next to Jill. "Lodtrack, in these ten years of training, has never come close to knocking down Sir Draco."
"How pessimistic you are, beanpole," Virtof replied. Silo ignored how he called him and continued to pay attention to the combat. Lodtrack was starting to tire and lose ground against Draco, "although maybe you're right," Virfot snorted.
Jill looked at Lodtrack, noticed a smile forming on his face, and said:
"I think you shouldn't underestimate Lodtrack." Everyone looked at her strangely "since the emperor died, he has trained like crazy to live up to expectations. He won't fall so easily."
"You only say that because they're dating," Chub teased. Virtof and Silo chuckled.
"I-it's not like that," Jill blushed slightly and looked back at the battle.
Lodtrack regained the lost advantage, unleashing a series of rapid slashes with the wooden sword until he managed to hit Draco's wrist, causing him to drop his lance. The apprentices gasped. Lodtrack thrust for the opening he created, confident he would win the fight, but Draco blocked his attack with the shield in the blink of an eye. He quickly redirected Lodtrack's sword and struck him forcefully in the solar plexus, causing him to fall to the ground, giving Draco enough time to pick up his sword and place the tip at Lodtrack's throat.
"What were you saying about not underestimating him?" Silo joked. Virtof and Chub tried to hold back their laughter with all their might.
"Damn! I almost had him," Lodtrack complained, exhausted. He looked at Draco, who wasn't even sweating or panting "at least pretend it was hard, old man," he said irritably. Draco gave Lodtrack a smile, irritating him even more.
"Very well! I hope you were paying attention. What were Lodtrack's mistakes?" Draco asked his apprentices.
"Well... his defense still has blind spots," Jill observed.
"His thrust lacks power and decisiveness," Silo added, "and he's too slow."
"Want to test my speed?" Lodtrack challenged him.
"Silence!" Draco shouted. "Chub? Anything to add?"
"No, they've already said what I had in mind," Chub grumbled. Draco nodded and turned his gaze to Virtof.
"If he hadn't thought he had won before time, maybe it would have turned out differently," he replied. Draco smiled pleased. Lodtrack lowered his head.
"Exactly... although everyone has a point, he could have won the fight if he hadn't assumed it was over. He could have tried to knock me down and gain the advantage, but he chose to attack me carelessly," he looked at Lodtrack, "you are very strong and skilled, but your unwarranted extreme confidence is what always causes you to end up on the ground... isn't that how you almost got killed after fighting some simple assassins?"
Lodtrack gritted his teeth and nodded. He knew that flaw in his personality well, but he always ended up falling anyway. Jill smiled condescendingly at him, and the others avoided making eye contact.
"Well, but everyone has their weaknesses and strengths; my job is to push your strengths to their limit and reduce your weaknesses to a minimum," he helped Lodtrack up and told him to sit down, "Silo, you're next. I hope that speed you boast about lives up to expectations." Silo swallowed hard and approached.
Draco continued conducting the same combat simulation with everyone, something he did every month to gauge his apprentices' strength and identify areas to focus their training. Afterward, he asked the apprentices about the weak points to test their analytical skills for anticipating battles. Once the practices were over, he concluded the training.
"Rest well, for tomorrow I'll make your lives a living hell and push you to your limits until your muscles scream, and I'll do it every day for the rest of the year until you become the best warriors in the entire empire," declared Draco with a malicious smile.
The apprentices felt a chill run down their spines and withdrew.
They descended from the training field to the castle's dining hall, where a couple of knights were drinking, and the cook served dishes on a long table. Lodtrack sat in front of one of the dishes and began to eat casually; the other apprentices followed suit, hungry after practicing all day.
"Eat well," said a drunken knight. "You need to regain energy... after those pathetic displays." The knight and his friends burst into laughter.
Silo got up from the table, angry, walked toward the knights, who mocked him. Jill stood up and took Silo by the arm. "Let it go; they're not worth it." Silo glared at Jill, causing tension in the air that stifled the knights' laughter. It seemed they had realized their mistake in bothering the most unstable of the apprentices and trembled in silence. Jill assumed a fighting stance, but a voice interrupted them.
"You two, stop right there," said Lodtrack, irritated. "Let the others enjoy their meal." Lodtrack gestured around with his hands; a few more people had entered the dining hall and seemed frightened. "See? Silo, you're supposed to be an elite warrior; act like one and don't let a few drunks disturb you so easily." Silo swallowed hard and finally sat back down. Jill followed suit and smiled at Lodtrack, who continued eating.
The drunkards left shortly after. Lodtrack ordered another dish and kept talking with Virtof. Among the apprentices, he had spent the most time with Draco. Like the others, he was taken into the castle as a child when Draco noticed his potential and had been training him ever since. He was 5 years old at the time, and 16 years had passed since then. At that moment, he was older than everyone there by almost a year. Lodtrack enjoyed talking with him about anything: training, women, or alcoholic beverages.
Jill brought a round of beers to the table, and the apprentices began to drink, all except Silo, who had his arms crossed on the table, saying nothing as usual. "Why don't you drink?" Lodtrack asked, smiling.
"I won't touch such an ordinary drink as this cheap beer," explained Silo. Lodtrack looked at him confused. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing... I just wonder... if this beer seems ordinary to you, what drink is suitable for your 'exquisite' palate, elf?" Lodtrack was letting himself be carried away by the drink and didn't think much before speaking.
"You're unbearable. You're just a street human who was lucky enough to end up here and not in some kind of brothel. This place is too much for you, dirty street rat." Lodtrack glared at Silo. The apprentices were alarmed, placing their hands on their weapons.
"Look who's talking, a half-elf. If Draco hadn't found you before they sold you to a farm to be exploited or something..." Silo drew his sword, and Lodtrack mimicked his gesture.
"I don't understand, why does Sir Draco hold you in such esteem if you're just an idiot with delusions of grandeur?"
"Look who's talking... maybe because I'm not a jerk who despises others."
"Hey, enough!" Chub shouted. Lodtrack regained control and sheathed his sword.
"Sorry, I think the alcohol is getting to me," Lodtrack said with his head down. Silo looked at him annoyed and left the place. Lodtrack sighed. "He's not a bad guy... just doesn't know how to talk to people, and I just provoke him."
"Relax," said Virtof. "Let him calm down; they'll sort out their issues later."
"You're right," Lodtrack took a pause and looked at the beer mug. "Well! The party isn't over; I'll treat for the second round!" The people cheered with an enthusiastic shout.