The Three Blessed Kings

Chapter 15: Winner take all

Three warm months had past,
And in that time,
I had honed my skills drastically.

During that time,
I had also turned eighteen,
And had grown to five'ten'.

I was still slim,
But my muscle growth,
Was still something I was proud of.

My tan skin still in tact,
With my dark brown hair,
And tired looking eyes.

To my delight,
Armes and the doctor both said,
I looked like a man.

I still had nine months to go,
Or so I thought,
Until one day training...

"Hey, lad!",
Armes said with his usual laughter,
"Let's take a quick break."

Every weekend,
For three straight months,
We would spar in Legin's same grove.

I had the whole place memorized.
Each tree and shrub,
Was calculated.

During that time,
I had also learned,
Why there were no fauna in there.

The grove was made by men,
And taken over,
As the guild's training ground.

As we sat in the field,
(The same one I beat him in),
Armes started...

"Y'know, lad,
We've been sparring 'ere a long time...
Three months today, right?"

He was right.
It had been exactly three months,
Since the first time we fought.

"And your record ain't bad, lad.
Twenty-two losses,
And at least ten wins."

After my third victory,
Armes actually started,
To try.

"Your progression's astounding.
So guess what?,
You'll be takin' that test soon."

After he said that,
There was no laughter.
He was being serious.

He had chosen the date:
One week from now,
And he said I was ready.

If he said I was,
I believed it too;
For he had taken the test.

I still didn't know what it was,
So I asked,
And he explained further.

He said it was three parts.
The first was "Weigh in",
Which was just a physical.

The second was "Written".
A very simple test,
But harshly graded.

It could be on anything;
From magic matchups,
To world history.

I wasn't scared though,
The doctor said I'd do well,
And that I was smart.

Which made me happy,
Because he was the one,
Who taught me how to write.

The final part was the hardest,
It was simply titled:
"Survival".

In it, Armes said,
They would drug you,
And you'd wake up during the test.

It could be an hour,
Or a whole day;
You just had to survive it.

It was different each year.
Armes said his,
Was for one day in the bog.

A poisonous swamp,
And for a whole day!?
I was nervous for that part.

You were allowed three weapons,
But when you woke up,
They might not be there.

The test had three proctors.
All chosen randomly,
With no connections.

Ren said he'd proctor sometimes,
But couldn't this year,
Due to my classes.

This allowed for no bias,
And kept the hero test,
Always equal.

After hearing all this,
I had my doubts.
But Armes believed in me...

"I'm ready",
I said straight into his eyes.
"That's my lad!", as we both laughed.

"Before we head back,
How about one more battle, lad?
Winner take all?"

This excited me.
We both started to prepare;
Getting our weapons.

Armes and his axe,
Versus me,
And my knife taken from the first day.

I grew fond of it,
And dedicated it,
As my weapon of choice.

I put my cloak on,
And disappeared into the grove,
Out of his sight.

This would be a quick battle.
I could tell.
Armes had his new found spell.

By covering himself in heat,
His speed and strength increased,
Immensely.

He called it "Steam Engine",
Named after this thing,
He saw in his travels.

He bulldozed through the trees,
Getting closer to me,
At amazing speeds.

I was in the canopy.
My plan was already set:
Now to execute.

He charged towards me,
But little did he know,
I was the one leading.

Each tree he knocked down,
Was calculated,
Until I stepped before him.

"Giving up so soon, laddie?",
He teased, still red.
But I already won.

Just one more tree;
The one directly behind me,
And I would beat him.

"Looks like I win, lad!",
He said swinging his axe,
Horizontal at me.

But I jumped over it,
And his axe dug through,
The tree's trunk behind me.

The dominos were in place.
It fell knocking over,
All other trees.

Until it circled,
And knocked over three,
That fell straight onto Armes.

He was squashed.
Obviously still alive,
But I had beaten the beast.

We had destroyed the grove,
But Armes said,
The guild has no use for it.

He was jolly as always,
Even after getting squashed,
He just laughed.

He said I was more than ready,
And shook my hand,
Almost breaking it.

"Let's carve something, lad.
Y'know,
Something to remember our time in here."

Taking a blade,
He engraved something,
Into the stump of the last tree.

He was giddy writing it,
But wouldn't let me see,
And led me out.

He walked me back home.
"This feels weird walking here, lad.
Most times you're asleep..."

I stopped him there,
His teasing embarrassed me,
So I sucker punched him.

He was unfazed.
He gave me a hearty laugh,
While rubbing my scalp.

"I won't see you,
Until after your test,
So best of luck there, laddie."

He was getting quiet,
"As soon as your test is over,
I'll be there."

And with that goodbye,
I didn't see that monster,
Until one whole week.

I went into the pub,
And waited for him to leave,
Before I did.

I snuck back out,
And under the moonlight,
I headed back for the grove.

Under the silver light,
Through all the knocked over trees,
There lied the stump.

Engraved was,
"Here lies the spot,
Where the student had outsmarted the master."