Chapter 17

My father's condition didn't get any better or worse, but the situation that I was in made me angry. My father had fought on the front lines for years and I doubt the people he saved even remember his name. For all the years he worked as an adventurer protecting people, now that he was the one who needed help, no one was there beside him. Only me and mother. It seemed like humans didn't bother rewarding those who did good deeds in their lives. This thought made me angry only driving my focus more. My goal now was to pass the Avrion Knight examination and today was that day. The village was more uplifting than usual due to the knight's coming from Avrion Academy . It was a very rare occasion that only happened once a year, they treated the event as if it was a festival. Decorations where out on the streets and women were dressed in their best clothing hoping to catch the eye of one of the knights. I was waiting in the village square. There were a lot of people out today with their kids, swinging their swords practising for the upcoming event, hoping that their child would succeed. I happened to spot Gary on his own but still no sign of Amy. Suddenly loud cheers could be heard coming from the south direction of the village. "They're here," I said smiling. Three men had entered the town. Each man was riding their own horse, with their huge muscular bodies, waving at the folk as they passed by. On each horse, a blanket down the side displaying the crest of Avrion Academy, followed by a carriage also baring the crest. These three men were the ones who were going to decide my fate. I could feel my fingers tingling with excitement. The knights climbed off their horse and walked towards the wooden stand in the middle of the village, which was often used for announcements. The three of them were a bit of a mismatch, to say the least. In the middle stood the tallest of the three. A man with black hair, chiselled face and body, with a warm-hearted smile. He reminded me of my father. Next to him on the left was a fat round man short with a beard that reached his waist. Holding an axe across his chest as if it was a lover of his. Finally the last man on the right. Curly blonde hair and blue eyes. Some might mistake him for a girl if you were only to look at his face. His armour also stood out compared to the rest. Although all of them had impressive pieces of gear with them, his armour had a shine to it. Most people would have to sell their land and children to afford equipment like that. The man in the middle came towards the front and started his speech. "I am Knight Winford of Avrion academy, I have come here today with my fellow Knights Bernardo, and fellow Knight Delbert." He shouted in a calm voice. The two Knights bowed to the crowd as their names were mentioned, a few of the girls screamed when Knight Delbert was mentioned. The man in the centre continued to talk. "We are here today to test if any of you young children have what it takes, to become a knight and bare our Crest proudly."

The man unsheathed his sword and placed it into the ground below him. "May the test begin" The crowd of people cheered in response. Quickly a group of people came out from the carriage behind them, each holding wooden planks in their hand. They went straight to work and started to make a platform in the middle of the village square. Thirty minutes later and the platform had finished being made. In the middle of the platform sat a doll that I recognized well. It was the same type of doll that my father had given me to practice. Knight Bernardo came to the centre of the stage still carrying the axe in his hand. "The rules are simple, you must defeat the doll in combat, the use of magic is prohibited, but you may use any weapon of your choice." He shouted. "Is there anyone who would like to have the first try?" he said with a faint smile on his face. A lot of kids had put there hand up, thinking that the task was simply too easy. What could a doll do? If I hadn't fought the doll before I would have probably done the same. The first contestant came to the stage, a young boy who had an athletic build for his age, he was holding a standard sword which could be brought from any local blacksmith. Bernardo went to the back of the doll and simply said "level 1" The doll was surrounded by a purple light as it was activating. The boy rushed in straight away as soon as the test began, swinging with a good strike towards the doll's body. The boys' parents stood in the crowd smiling, already thinking that the boy had passed. The next moments their Jaws had dropped to the floor. The doll quickly moved its shield to block the strike. In response, it hit the boy across the face with its wooden sword. Blood flung from the boy's mouth as his body hit the floor. The rowdy crowd had gone silent. The instructors had been taking turns to asses the candidates. Each one ending in failure after failure at this point no one would pass the assessment. I moved closer to the platform as it was nearing my turn. I could hear knight Winfred and Knight Delbert talking to each other. My senses and focus had improved after taking the crystal it was as if the two had been talking next to me. "I told you coming to this village was a waste of time," Delbert complained. "We must preform our duty as the elders have asked" Winfred replied. "A knight should be noble, not some filthy commoner from a dead beat village" Winfred sighed "The land is in trouble, and we must find the boy in the prophecy, we have gathered four already, but who knows if the boy is among them," "You believe in such crazy things," Delbert said with his hand in his face as another contender failed. Winfred remained silent at the question. As the two of them were having their conversation a surprising thing had happened. A contestant had finally passed the test. I looked up at the boy who's hand was being held in the air by Barnardo, it was a face that I knew well. Gary had been the first person to pass the test.