The Soul And The Sword

Chapter 2

It is several years later now and Ruther is now 18 years old.
"Morning Son," calls Harold as he enters Ruther's room.
"Morning dad," replies Ruther as he rubs his eyes.
"Well today's the big day my boy." "What do you mean by 'today is the big day?"
"What I mean is it is time to sign up for the service."
"That's today?"
"Yes son. Now get dressed. You have a big day ahead of you."
Harold leaves the room and shuts the door behind him. Ruther gets dressed while both excited and sad at the same time.

They take a wagon over to the enlistment area. There are recruits training everywhere with bows, sword, shields, and a large variety of other weapons.
"Name please," says a man in armor at a small table.
"Ruther," says Ruther before his father can speak.
"What type of class are you wishing to become in the service," says the man at the table.
"A knight," says Harold.
The man stops writing and looks up at Ruther.
"Well... I guess he could become one, but it is difficult to obtain that position. You've got a long road ahead of you kid."
The man points at a line at the bottom of the paper on the table.
"Sign here."
Ruther signs the paper as well as his father on the line below.
"Now then. Let's get started. This will be the last time you ever see your father possibly, so I suggest you say your goodbyes before we go."
Ruther then hugs his father before going off with the man. A tear streams down from his father's face as he walks away.

The man at the gate brings him to a flat area of dirt that has a wooden fence around it. He then waves for another man who doesn't have any armor on to come over.
"Now then. This is James. He will be instructing you on your basic melee combat."
James then walks over to Ruther and shakes his hand and says,"As he told you my name is James and I will be teaching you basic combat. Now this style of combat is very important because it is what you will always need no matter who you fight. So, lets teach you some basic moves."
James does an overhead swing at Ruther as Ruther parries it with his sword.
"Ah. I see you have been taught some before you came here. Let us see how much you know"
James goes at him as he swings right, but Ruther blocks it with his shield. Ruther then jabs forward while James's jumps back and barely dodges his attack. He then tries to bash Ruther, but Ruther quickly steps to the side. James strikes left at Ruther, but his attack is blocked by Ruther's shield. Ruther then does a right downward swing at James and nearly hits him. James then jabs forward again, but Ruther reacts quickly and hits near the hilt of his sword, catching him off guard and disarming him. Ruther then aims his sword right at his neck.
"Wow. I am impressed," says another man who is standing at the fence. "Who are you," asks Ruther.
"The name is Carlos... You seem like a good fighter. I think we are going to get along quite nicely."
Ruther stares in awe at his armor, shining in the sun from head to toe. "What's the matter boy? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Sorry sir I just have never seen a fully armored knight in real life. I have only seen paintings and heard stories."
"Well you're going to see alot of that in the field. It looks cool, but it is heavy. Saves our lives though... James, I'll take him from here."
"But... He was assigned to me," replies James.
"I don't care, I want him. I'll talk to the Captain later."
Carlos waves Ruther over as Ruther walks towards him. Carlos then puts his arm around him and says, "I took you for a reason. I am always one to try and take the most talented of recruits. Trust me, it was a high honor to please me like that. I think I'm going to like you. What is your name?"
"Ruther sir... My name is Ruther." The two walk of towards Carlos's tent.