Chapter 5: How Heavy is the World on Your Shoulders

I flip the satin cloak's hood over my head. It's vermillion blue color seemingly matching the flags I notice adorned all over the palace. It wavers behind me in a majestic trail as the tapping of my boots against the palace carpet is deafened by the velvet. The morning sky looks even more fantastical through the tall windows along the palace walls. Though, even looking at it for too long puts me at unease. Marcia loved sunrises. On good days when we were younger she would wake me up early and take me to places where we could see all the colors in the sky.

I storm past the hall in a haste, I need to find the exit.

"Good tidings, Hero Darwin." A smooth voice stops me in my tracks. "You should be heading to your training, which is the opposite direction." It says coyly.

"Right- I don't know my way around here." I say with false confidence, pulling the hood off my head onto my shoulders as I turn around. It's easier to comply now and check everything else out later when I'm less suspicious.

"Joan. Head guard." The woman says, her figure muscular with curly red hair past her shoulders. Her steel armor glistens in the morning light and clatters when she moves. "I wouldn't be sneaking around these parts, well you would have known if you had your attendant with you." Joan pauses for moment before realizing something is off. "Where is your attendant?" Her gaze stiffens.

"She was tired from last night and slept in, I didn't want to wake her." I half lie.

"You guys just can't keep your hands off the girls." Joan scoffs in slight disapproval. I bite my tongue, she's got the wrong idea. "Just head down the hall behind me and you'll reach the courtyard." She notions behind her with a friendly gesture. I nod and give a slight wave before trudging past her rather embarrassed.

I make my way to the courtyard. It's a beautiful lush green and the grass is practically perfect. They can't have lawnmowers here if there's no electricity, so it must take someone a long time to cut it. I chuckle at the thought and continue forward to where it looks like a cleared area with equipment strewn all over the place. I walk over to a sword laying against a post. I grip its hilt in my hands. It's slightly heavy but manageable. I give it a swing and instantaneously a wide grin stretches over my face. Perhaps it's the satisfaction of wielding a real sword, any little boy would dream of this moment and it was happening to me. I can't help but let out a laugh as I clumsily swing the weapon a few times over. The weighted power through its strikes course through my body's momentum with each swing.

"Incredible." I breathe, placing the weapon back on the post.

"Pick it back up kid, we got work to do." a familiar gruff voice yells from across the field. It's Garth. I hesitantly pick the weapon back up and pace over to meet him.

"So I take it you're my teacher?"

Garth nods. "I always like to help the new guys out. You know, help them find things they like." He motions to the sword. "Looks like you found it already." He laughs from his gut. "If you ever want to leave this place you need to learn how to fight and how this realm works. You won't survive otherwise."

"I'd rather not get obliterated out there." I laugh along nervously. Garth up close is twice my size both in height and muscle. If this man truly is from the Viking ages like he claims, he's got a hell of a lot more experience in battle than I ever could.

"Most of the enemies out beyond here that aren't human-like are dumb as bricks but they can still be strong as ever so don't underestimate them." He says, pulling a gigantic hammer from the earth. He wields it over his head and gives it a spin before chucking it into a dummy made of hay halfway across the field. How do I compete with that? I watch Garth, utterly floored.

"Don't be overwhelmed kid, I got a thousand years experience on you." He grins. "You can achieve a lot of things when you have infinite time." He signs, hands on his hips as he scans the courtyard.

"How do I use this." I lift the sword.

"You'll find in Intercaeleus you have enhanced physical abilities. It's a trait of all heroes. When you get a real weapon tailored for you, the more you use it the more you'll bond with it making it easier to wield overtime. It's rumored if you reach a maximum bond the weapon feels like a part of your body."

"Normal weapons like this don't have this bond effect though?" I question, giving the sword a few more swings.

"Binding a weapon to you is quite expensive so no." Garth says, walking over to his hammer and pulling it off of the dummy which was now pummeled to shreds. "You might not have a bound weapon but you still have your abilities, come test them out." He waves me over.

He is right, I hadn't paid much attention to it but the pain from the truck and any marks had dissipated into faded scars since I arrived here. Even since then I haven't felt as many aches as I'm used to. I look over at Garth and pick up my heels. Running feels so light and effortless like when I was younger. I push myself off the soil and leap into the air twice as high as usual.

"Holy shit!" I cry, losing focus as I lose my flow and tumble towards the ground. Garth howls with laughter.

"Everyone does it, it takes some time to get the hang of landing." He assures me through wheezes. I push myself off the ground. My feet pick up the pace again, I urge myself to go faster. With a weightless leap I spring higher into the air like never before. The brief sensation of flight floods through me as I stare down at the courtyard below. I begin to fall once again, this time I'm in for an even worse landing. I brace for impact, trying to control my feet to hit the ground first. With a loud thud I hit the ground no so graciously.

"Almost had it there kid, you got some grit for going at it though. I don't even think I can jump that high!" He exclaims, leaning against the handle of his hammer. I sit up, wiping the dirt off my face. I must look quite juvenile but who here is really judging. I pick myself up and meet Garth at the other side.

"You should practice your sword skills daily if that's your weapon of choice, though Veronica will have to show you those because as you can see I'm no sword user." He pats his hammer like a dog and proceeds to sling it over his shoulder like it weighed nothing. The afternoon sun flashes in my eyes as I look to him.

"Just meet here, same time tomorrow. Veronica will be here." He says with a wave, walking off out of sight. I wipe the sweat off my brow with my cloak, man I must smell. If Marcia were here she would have complained. My heart drops at the thought, I begin to pace back towards the way I came out of the castle.

"Darwin Bright." A chill whispers into my ear, almost too close for comfort. I spin around on my heels to meet face with the voice. Nothing. I frown, utterly confused by the occurrence when just out of my view a small, aged wooden door appears to be lining the wall behind an overgrown sector of the courtyard. I grab the training sword and slip it under my cloak. Curiously, I perk up as I make my way across the courtyard towards it. The ivy and ferns have completely overtaken this corner of the yard. Their unruly, dry branches nip at my calves like the hands of drowning men. As the door comes closer into view, it is clear no one has used it in awhile. I gaze up at the weathered wood and pull the iron ring around the handle. It creaks open stiffly before coughing up a storm of dust and cold air. I find myself peering into utter darkness with a set of stone stairs leading downwards. What am I getting myself into?