Immortal || ONC 2021-COMPLETE

Chapter 13

Marcus nervously made his way to the middle with the instructor after he called him up. His friends cheered him on, others just watched him with sympathy and pity.

"Marcus, is it? I've heard a lot about you." Phillip said, eyeing Marcus as if he was a large steak about to be devoured. "So you think you have skills, do you?" he asked.

"Um, you called me up here," Marcus said quietly, trying not to shake visibly.

"Funny kid," Phillip said, passing Marcus a sword.

Marcus felt it in his hand. It was heavier than the one he used during the trials. He readied his stance, mentally preparing himself for what was sure to be a tough fight. In the back of his mind, he knew there was no expectation for him to do well, but he couldn't help but want to.

Phillip attacked first, a strike with blinding speed that Marcus almost couldn't block. He was fast and powerful. If Marcus hadn't been training to use the sword the past month, the fight would've already been over. Phillip went after him again and again, barely giving Marcus a chance to think. It seemed like he wanted to show off his own skills and finish the fight quickly.

Marcus grunted under the strain of Phillip's sword. He already had many fairly deep cuts from Phillip, and he had yet to land a single blow. A moment passed, where Marcus thought about where he was and what he was doing. Marcus would never have imagined getting the chance to do something like this. Although he had dreamt of going on incredible adventures as a child, he never thought it would actually happen. And yet, here he was, in a sparring session with one of the toughest instructors at the knight's academy.

Sweat and blood dripped down his forehead. It was itchy, his muscles were sore, his lungs strained, and he was aware that if he got any more cut up, he would bleed too much.

Marcus smiled.

Marcus's sudden confidence threw Phillip off. He clearly didn't like seeing such a look on a novice trainee. He sneered and went in for another heavy strike. Marcus blocked it, suddenly full of electric energy. He pushed Phillip away and then went in for his own onslaught of attacks. It wasn't perfect, but he put what he had learned to use. He was surprised to see how naturally the moves came to him.

I guess they make us do those drills for a reason. He thought as he parried another attack.

The fight went on a lot longer than Phillip had planned. He was getting annoyed. Marcus was sure Phillip could still win the match, but not while he was holding back. An instructor couldn't very well kill a trainee.

"No need to hold back!" Marcus huffed.

He immediately regretted it. Phillip's face contorted into an ugly, angry grimace. He raised his sword above his head and went in for what would surely be a killing blow. Marcus froze, eyes wide. There was no way he could block or dodge an attack like that. He stared, waiting for the end.

It didn't come. In a flash, Phillip's sword met the cold steel of someone else's blade. In between Phillip and Marcus stood Sloan, arms straining with the weight of Phillip's blow.

"Phillip, what the hell are you doing?" Sloan yelled.

At that moment, Phillip stepped back, realizing what had just happened.

"That would've killed him! I could barely hold you back!" Sloan was infuriated. "You're job is to teach these kids! Not get annoyed and try to kill them!"

"I-I'm..." Phillip didn't know what to say. He stood there shocked. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." His hands trembled, now realizing the gravity of the mistake he just made.

Another instructor called out to the rest of the students. "Everyone, go back to your dorms. Classes are cancelled for the rest of the day!" This is normally something they would celebrate. Instead, they quietly shuffled off, feeling disturbed at the display they just witnessed.

A couple of school employees escorted Phillip away while a medic came to check on Marcus. Some of the instructors discussed the situation in hushed tones. Marcus sat down, exhausted. The medic looked frustrated as he looked Marcus over.

Sloan came over when he noticed Marcus looking at him. "How's he doing?" he asked the medic.

"He has a lot of pretty deep wounds, he's losing a lot of blood. We should get him to the infirmary. There's only so much I can do here." The medic replied.

Marcus frowned, "I'm fine. It's nothing." He looked at the cut the medic was bandaging. Every time he tried to staunch the flow, the blood seeped through the bandage. "I guess he hit me harder than I thought. I didn't notice; it doesn't really hurt." Marcus shrugged.

Sloan nodded, "It will. Can you walk? The infirmary isn't far."

Sometime later, Marcus found himself back in the same hospital bed he'd been in just weeks before. He had almost passed out by the time they got him to the bed. A few of his cuts had to be stitched up, but most of them were shallow enough. He asked Sloan what would happen to Phillip.

"We may be instructors, and you may be trainees, but trainees turn into knights. Knights that we go into battle with that are under our command or that become our commanders. Our oath is more than to the king, it's to each other. An instructor can't lash out like that against a future knight." Sloan said. He paused to think a moment before continuing. "He'll be reprimanded, but he's too talented a knight to have anything serious thrown at him."

Marcus was actually relieved to hear this. He felt partly responsible. He had taunted him after all. A battle-worn knight who had seen many battles, he should've known better.

As Marcus lay in bed, alone, he thought about what Sloan said. It was the first time that he had really thought about what it meant to be a knight. Fighting, killing, and all for the king and the kingdom. He had no problem laying his life on the line for the kingdom and its people, but he had doubts about the king.

Marcus winced. Sloan was right. Now he felt the pain.