Marked Souls

Only Roaches Don't Miss Their Heads!

Inside the courtyard, Kaleb cried out in glee as the beam of light dissipated from the skies. It had been two weeks since he had started the grueling training of the Iron Cloud's Shadow, and it had finally turned results in a full arm completion! Now looking at the materials left to him, he eyed the conglomerate blob of iron ore chunks with various finger marks in it. He had finally finished the first step in making his attunement weapon; just as he had read in his father's manual! The idea was to familiarize one's body with every property of iron and overcome them individually. Finally the real training could begin; forming iron and training the body with weights. First stage of training was making your body tough like iron, the second was increasing your agility to match that toughness. Kaleb spent two days forcing half the iron to purify and form into the correct equipment before encrusting his body with various shapes of iron weights. Leaving the other half of the iron ore for the weapon, he continued training with a similar schedule as last time in an effort to purify and strengthen his body further.

One month later, a new beam of light shot to the heavens. Alfred and Madelyn had watched the silenced courtyard's doors every day with worry as to what this child was doing. They wanted him to be their hope in the tournament, but felt conflicted since hearing those horrific screams. Being parents, the sound of a child in that much pain sent their instincts into a tizy with the desire to save him. They also worried because registration for the tournament had already started a week ago and the first day of preliminaries was tomorrow. The suns were well past their peak as a sudden boom came from the gate. The barrier was easily broken from the inside. Kaleb saw the couple as he strode out of the courtyard with arms spread wide and a bright smile on his face, "Lord Alfred! Lady Madelyn! I'm out! Where is the Tournament? I know it is soon."

The two looked at the boy who was no worse for wear, but what scared them was the atrocious heavy sword in his left hand! It was almost as wide as the boy's shoulders and at least half a head taller than Kaleb. It looked extremely rough with warps and pockets all over. The edge was jagged and uneven, but gleamed with a light that made one aware that it was still wickedly sharp. The pits and uncanny wrinkles in the body of the blade felt as if they held strange secrets. The shadows seemed to crawl in them, and a blue and black light faintly flitted across its surface occasionally. The duo snapped to and explained that they had to hurry before the tournament registration closed!

Rushing down the streets toward the center of town, a carriage bustled down the road. It forced a few unlucky people to either dive out of the way or get run over! It trundled into the square and stopped just in front of the premier hall of Eriton; the Goldflame Hall. Three figures quickly got out of the carriage and entered the hall. Everyone in the square was so caught up in the rush, no one knew who had barged into the square like this until they saw the family sigil on the carriage. Upon seeing this marking, many people wore bitter smiles as they passed by. They realized the current high lord must have found an eligible contestant at the last second.

Inside the building, the occupants were slightly shocked at the commotion outside. When the Lord and Lady walked in, the tension of the room rose instantly. There were currently four of the other family lords in the room gloating over the loss of power of the very person who burst through the door! The three new entrants walked calmly to the other side of the room where the official register sat behind a simple wooden table. Alfred spoke up, "One contestant for the Iyar household. Please go through the procedures."

Another voice interjected, "Ha! Looks like the youngster actually found a poor child to foist his burdens on! Hey, boy! What is he paying you to sacrifice yourself for his face? I could pay double!"

Alfred had been handed the paper by the official, who immediately broke into a cold sweat when hearing these provoking words between two of the powerhouses of the city. The other lords suppressed smiles and snickers hearing their compatriot yelling something so bold. Before Alfred could even get angry, Kaleb stepped toward the men and bowed gently before placing his hands behind his back. He spoke to them, "Respectful Patriarchs. I would like to know what you could offer me greater than what the current lord of the city can. He already promised me land, business, wealth, a wife from his daughters if i chose, and… other benefits." As he spoke this last part, the boy had turned slightly to steal a glance at Madelyn with a heated gleam in his eye and a lascivious smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. The lords were instantly silent as their faces grew dark. They looked to Alfred only to find his emotions smooth as an untouched lake as he continued to fill the registration. This angered the lords greatly. How could they not know the implications here? Lord Alfred was willing to let an upstart touch his wife if he won?! How many times had they vied for her attentions when she came to this city? If they knew the real reason behind Alfred's calm, they would have steamed at the collar. Alfred was indeed about to break into rage when hearing these words, but he was sent a mental message from his wife through the method she had recently obtained, to look at Kaleb more closely. What he saw were extremely sweaty palms and his fingers crossed behind his back like he was wishing for the best. This allowed Alfred to see this child was playing with his rivals to give him face.