Sidestep to the left, avoid the overhead swing. foward towards the heart, blocked. Take a half-step backwards, weight on the backfoot, wait for him to take the bait. He took it,approaching with a to the neck. Wait, wait, now! Duck under the approaching longsword and fully extend outwards, weight on the front foot, and finish off with a textbook riposte.

The sound of wood clattering and the ragged panting of the green haired teenage boy was the aftermath of the duel. The dropped wooden sword on the dirt painted a clear picture of the loser, as he laid collapsed within the complex.

" Guess you're just too quick now, Nikola, your are almost unseeable. I guess I'm not a match anymore"

Matthew said, catching the flask of water a black-haired teenager threw at him. It was midday, the hottest part of the day, and as usual, they had their mock duel with wooden swords and leather armour.

" It was still a hard fought battle, back then, if you had feinted your , and instead chose to sidestep, I would be off guard completely.

Laying down his wooden sword, really just a stick vaguely shaped like one, he took back the flask and drank deeply, before corking it and putting it back in his satchel.

" Still, that skill was what saved me back then, come work for me Nikola, I'll guarantee you alifetime of fame, money and women!"

" You're just the second son of a baron, and its not like you have any discernable skills other than the bow, why would I bother following you?"

"Why you!"

A friendly scuffle soon ensured, with Matthew winning due to his slightly slimmer and more slippery nature. The Midday chime rung out, and after collecting their belongings, they set out on their different paths, Matthew to the private school, and Nikola back to the orphanage to work the fields.

The two story house surrounded by high walls served as the Tiembrid House for Lost Children. An orphanage run by the Aurlux Government, it housed many children abandoned by their parents or orphaned as a result of the ongoing war. Those under the age of 13 would be sent to the government run school, while those above would be sent to work the fields around the orphanage. That day, however, all of the children were sent for day of lessons in the near military complex, a stark reminder that the Aurlux Empire was still at war.

Upon reaching the gates however, things did not seem to be routine anymore. A group of 5 men in full armor, plate and chain mail no less, with ornate longswords that never saw battle strapped to their hips, stood in front the orphanage. Some were also standing out in the fields surrounding the building, arrows nocked in longbows and quivers full of more. All of this guarded a exquisite carriage, wrought in iron plating, pulled by a pair of sleek looking horses. Walking closer, one of the man, presumably the captain, put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and called out to the black haired youth.

" You there, state your name." 

" Nikola Tiembrid, I am an orphan of the Tiembrid House for Lost Children, may I help you?"

The man checked a sheet of paper, and gave a assertive grunt. " Pack your belongings, you havebeen ordered to see Duke Kilron. We leave immediately"

Kilron. That's a name he haven't heard in a long time. Nor did he wish to hear. 

Nodding his head, he walked past the captain and up the stairs into the room, and shoved a chair underneath the doorknob.

", was I discovered, no one should know I was here." 

Heartbeat accelerating, breath running ragged with the thought of a trap drawing ever closer, he fumbled for the loose floorboard underneath his bed. It was a 2 person room, but Viktor was out, probably plying the streets for money. He couldn't trouble Matron Marie more than he had, so how should he escape without raising an alarm? The men stationed out in the fields were not looking out for enemies, they were used to prevent people from escaping. His hands grasped 2 long objects, cloaked in dust and smelling like mildew. But the oilskin was tough, it wouldn't break so easily. Removing the oilskin and fastening the 2 objects, each to each side of my hip by a leather belt, he kept the oilskin into a satchel.

"Hey you, kid, hurry it up, or I'll knock the door down""In a minute, Sir, just another minute."

Tossing the coin pouch hidden in the floor into his satchel, with consisted of a pitiful amount of copper coins, he quietly put on the chain mail shirt over my armor. But it betrayed him. The clinking of chain mail would not be missed by a trained soldier, and he promptly kicked in the door.

" Stop, I said stop!"

Heart pumping adrenaline, Nikola jumped through the window, having put on his mail in time. Landing in a pile of hay situated below the window (really just wooden slats over an opening) he climbed out swiftly, and ran towards the entrance. Walls were too high to climb over, so a lucky break for the main entrance the only card left to play.

"The brat's running towards the entrance, nab 'im!"

Alerted, the guards near the entrance pulled out their swords. It was a impractical, to say the least, with ceremonial longswords too bulky and too ornate to be properly used in battle, as well as armor too heavy to move properly in. Knowing he couldn't walk, or rather run, away from this confrontation, he unsheathed it.

Painful memories of that day welled up, but suppressing emotions was the key to a good soldier.

From his left hip, he pulled out a rapier, which dark blade seemed to absorb light, it was around a 105 Celch long, close to a man's belly button if stood blade down, with an ornate basket hilt seemingly made out of crisscrossing gold wires, wrapping around a supple leather grip made for one handed usage. It had a pointed counterweight with a ruby embedded within it, and it had gold engraving running from the tip of the blade to the end of its cross guards.

The blade seem to sing as it was unsheathed, almost as if it was joyous at being free at last. . It's sheath was no less impressive. 

Wood, polished to a degree where it made one question how it remained in such a state after being stowed for so long, with metallic caps on both end of the sheath. It has several metallic attachments onto it with unknown purpose, but the presence of the rapier grabbed the attention of the soldiers first.

A strike to his wrist, meant to disarm him so the others can subdue the threat. Parry it, let the force flow over you as you duck underneath it. Reach in for a shove. Their overly detailed, and thus heavy plate armor would be their downfall. One threat down, the others are on high alert and circling him though, orders were probably to capture him, but losing an arm or a leg wouldn't hurt too much. As if to confirm this, the next man stepped in to cleave his outstretched left hand, but he the spot and blocked the overhead swing with the rapier nestled firmly on his back.

Take the momentum from the strike, step forward.

They are too relaxed, was it because it was a brat they were facing? They ought to known something was up when he pulled out the rapier that no orphan would be able to afford. Copying the now struggling on the ground soldier #1, he disarmed another in the same fashion; a strike to the wrist, followed by a hilt smash into soldier #2 helmet. 2 down. 

#3 and #4 stepped in. #3 held a tower shield, bearing a crest, and anchored himself. # 4 them rushed Nikola, sword outstretched for a .

"Hah, what a pain."

Muttering under his breath, Nikola easily sidestepped him, and tripped his right foot with his own, smashing his helmet with the pointed counterweight of the rapier, sending him crashing into #3's shield. Huh, he might have sworn saw that crest on the shield before. #5 was last, the plume on top of his helmet signifying he was the captain Nikola spoke to earlier.

" Pah, you're a skilled boy aren't you. Alright, don't interfere in this , he's mine alone."

It seemed his words carried weight, as the surrounding men in light armor, drawn by the fighting, released the tension in their bowstrings, though arrows were still nocked.