Chapter 11: (Ch 11)Hope's Respite
Kingdom of Drasil
Ervis was sitting in the royal garden of Drasil, watching his grandchildren spar each other. It was said to be the most beautiful of sights, yet every time he thought of that boys eyes, it simply lost its grace. The marble bench he sat on was often a place he'd come to ponder his problems as a ruler, but never had he been so stuck on something.
'What in gods name could have made him like that. It just doesn't make sense that child could have such cold emptiness inside him, but there was no mistaking it was there. Hehe maybe I'm just getting too old, this world is simply passing me by nowadays'
He thought, gazing towards the crown prince and princess of the elven kingdom. They were both 2 years older then Faith being twins but neither of them had lost that naive bliss that children were meant to have, so what could possibly be the difference between them and Faith. Ervis had agreed to watch over their spar only because he simply needed a break from real training, and he also wanted to make sure he wasn't mistaken about Faith.
Watching them for 2 hours straight he was sure that Faith was a exception to the rule now. Yet he still wanted to train him, now maybe even more. His two grandchildren were his blood, and they were both rather talented in everything they did. Sure they had big egos but they still had mighty potential, plus egos could be ironed out by a proper teacher.
It should have been easy now for Ervis too pick between his lovely, yet slightly egotistic grandchildren, and Faith.
'Still why do I always go for Faith. Sure my Grand children are talented, but I always get goosebumps every time I think about that little devils potential. Am I just attracted to the challenge. Like a dwarf smithing with Equinite, I would have to brave the dangers and forge into a proper warrior the boy. While I would constantly be walking an ever shifting tight rope, if I succeed in training him properly, I will have created my master piece as a teacher. But if I fail I'll simply be giving a wolf the keys to my home, inviting him in to slaughter all I hold dear'
Ervis was stuck. A part of him so badly wanted to train the boy, consequences be damned. But the more rational part of him shivered at the thought of him turning against the elves, no against the Light-dark Races as a whole. If that happened there was probably only one person who could stop him once he fully gained his potential, and even that was a maybe, banking on her gaining her's before he gained his.
It was just too much of a risk And yet Ervis was tempted all the same.
"Granpa Did you see me, did you see me, I beat a guard yesterday. At this rate I'll become the strongest thing on this planet, and lead the elves to glory" - spoke his granddaughter Ivory.
"NAH-UH I'll become the strongest And once I do I'll enslave all those damn demons and dragonsvampires and the rest of the miserable Dark-light filth" - his Grandson spoke to him, nothing but disgust and contempt in his eyes.
The races of Dark-light and Light-dark may have been at peace now, but they still despised each other violently. All the Races of Light-dark particularly were hoping to take Dark-light down a peg, and the Dark-light races were the same.
Well maybe except for a certain white haired demon, who just wanted everybody to get along, particularly with him. But that was by far a stark exception.
Ervis was brought out of his stupor by the his two grandchildren, his son had begged him to at least give them a lesson so maybe teaching them something wouldn't hurt. So Ervis stored their comments in the back of his mind and decided to give them a challenge.
"Okay, okay, You know how your mighty grandpa went over to the Demons land to teach them a lesson. Well there was this demon there who was younger then both of you and he was able to handle Grandpa training far better then I expected. So how about this little ones, prove to me you have what it takes and surpass him, yeah?" - he said with a smile filled with both love, and regret.
'These kids have no idea what they're getting into'
He inwardly chuckled, this little bit of fun would surely give them a reality check, albeit a very extreme one
"Yeah grandpa, those disgusting dirty demons can't compare to my brother, let alone me" - His granddaughter Ivory spouted, with pure undeserved confidence.
"Pssht please sister, you and I know both know that even demons 4 or five years older then us couldn't compare. How could a ant compare to a dragon after all" - Leon, his grandson added
On a side note although elves had quite a bit on jealously towards dragons, they still respected their wisdom and power, much like that of spirits.
"Well if your that confident then I guess whoever surpasses him first will get to be my disciple from now own" - Ervis added with his cheeky smile.
"REALLYY???!??!?" - his grandchildren shouted in unison
Ervis just patted them on the head before showing them the forms he'd shown Faith. Sure it was more for himself so he could see how other children could react in the same situation, but he meant what he said. If either of his children went at it straight for ten days he would make them his disciple instead of Faith.
They had so much confidence when they started and both Leon and Ivory lasted more then an hour before even flinching, but soon that changed. The first was Leon who was more weak willed then his sister asking what the point of the forms was, the second was ivory who was slowly but surely started to mess it up every now and then. These forms were after all created to be frustrating and to install disciple, so even with enhance focus eventually you would start to give, making mistake every now and then, slowly forgetting where you started with each form.
After two hours both of them were still going though they would frequently complain and make mistakes, leading down an endless cycle of their form getting worse and worse. After the 3 hour make Leon quit and in a tantrum when crying to his mother and father who arrived shortly.
Neither were mad as this was always the first thing Ervis would instill when teaching someone and 3 hours was quite a lot for a six year old child. Liroth, Ervis's son and the current ruler of the elves had only ever lasted for two and a half hours even when he was eight years old, so Liroth was confident in his sons chances of beating a demon, even if he was a halfblooded one.
Yet when he looked at his father's expression still staring at the now near breaking point Ivory, he felt like there was nothing but disappointment in his eyes. Like the world had lied to him or he'd made some massive overbearing mistake that he had to rectify at once.
And it was true.
While watching his granddaughter Ivory barely hold on after three hours and seeing his grandson storm off in a tantrum only to nag his mother and father here after two and a half hours, Ervis was filled with so much regret.
Now he was sure his previous ranting to Eshir and her guards had been nothing but a man caught in the bowls of fear, worried for his own grandchildren future more then the disciple who had done nothing other then what he instructed. Ervis realised only now while looking at his children obvious failure and their still confident expression that the two weren't even close to each other, not even remotely in the same league.
His grandchildren had insulted and slandered a person they'd never met, filled with confidence that they could surpass him without even finding out what they would need to do. While Faith had warmly welcomed his master, had chosen a forgotten blade on his first attempt, and then had listen too his master words too the point where he literally broke a high tier recovery rune formation before stopping.
'I was wrong, those eyes of his mean nothing if he doesn't go down the path I assumed he would. It seems Eshir was right and I was simply the fool in this case. I must apologise once I get the chance'
He thought to himself, admonishing his ignorant self that had simply assumed the kind kid would turn into the next calamity class being.
Ivory couldn't hack it after 4 hours and quit in rage. Although she was sure she'd beaten the disciple, Ivory still wanted to impress her grandfather, getting his praise was something even she desperately sought.
"So I can assume that Ivory will be getting lessons from you every other day, father. I know they are snobbish at times but my children's talent isn't something that can be ignored once seen, am I right?" - Liroth asked, proud that his daughter had far out classed even his expectations.
The entire family now knew about the bet, but only the king and queen knew who the demon was. Still even the Prince of shadows in their eyes was nothing but a child who simply got lucky with a rare element and powerful element and was pandered for it. Nothing like that could compare to the Ivory or even Leon who worked hard everyday to capitalise on their talent, though arrogant as always.
Yet Ervis simply smirked at his sons words, being reminded of the monster and feeling more then a little proud himself.
"Ivory sweetie, you only need to do one more thing for me if you want to beat that demon and become my disciple" - Ervis spoke the smirk, that others assumed was his pride in his family, stuck to his face
"Whatever you say grandpa" - Ivory replied with a smile, after all it was her dream to be trained by her grandpa, the legendary Dawn blade.
"Alright then dear, all you need to do is go back and do what you were before only this time…" - he stopped for a moment the smirk now containing a hint of resentment at the foolish little girl who thought she was so much better then his chosen disciple. Family or not mercy wasn't his style in cases like this
"Do it for ten days straight, then you'll at least match Faith exodus" - he said the last part coming out in a much more serious and dark tone then the rest.
The entire Elven royal family was stunned at these words, yet Ervis wasn't done yet.
The Air itself seemed to get heavier as the light almost yellowy silver type mana started to rise from Ervis's body.
"And if you can't, I want you to get on your knees and beg for Faiths forgiveness when you meet. Do that and I might not personally stripe you of your royal status" - Ervis spoke with complete conviction sending chills down even his son's spine.
To have his own family insult Faith wasn't something Ervis would ever stand for, not after he himself had fallen into the trap of prejudice.
Meanwhile.
*************
One week after Faith passed out, in the exodus castle.
Rumour regarding strength were a thing that spread rather fast in demon culture, born of hearsay or truth didn't matter to demons when concerning someones strength. It was a core part of the hierarchy so when finding out that someone was either weaker then they were meant to be, or far stronger rumours about it would spread like wildfire igniting the most important topic of conversation for demons
Which was of course, Strength.
Rumours this time though were a little different then normal. Normally it would consist of someonewho was important in the structure of demon society performing a feat they shouldn't have, or being beaten when they shouldn't have. Yet this piece of information was about someone practicing. More specifically it was about the crown prince practicing the ten forgotten forms of "Hope's Respite", know for their tedious and frustrating nature.
Yet he had practiced them through day and night for ten days straight, Only four years of age.
The feat itself would cause a stir in the demon society but adding in the age of the prince and the rumour spread even further then that, reaching almost all the races of Dark-light as well as the races of Light-dark too. Apparently a shady Elf had started the rumour in one of the two human kingdoms, sending them into pure turmoil.
What was even more scary was the thought that the boy had actually managed to progress the forms through this process.
Normally you could only make progress through someone actually showing you the next steps in weaving the forms together. Because of this the latter two thirds of the forms evolution was lost to time, only know by the long secluded queen of spirts Hope Loth.
It was said the the form was created when Hope had recently lost her first child who loved to dance more then anything. Not being able to bare the pain she practiced over and over again the one dance her daughter had loved more then any other. Hope practiced and practiced the dance never stopping and slowly but surely the rage, pain and suffering of her loss was morphed into the dance itself, changing it slowly but surely and healing Hopes broken heart.
Once she stopped Hope's pain, rage and sorrow all came back in full. Giving them form through the dance itself had eased her suffering but it didn't erase it. Hope couldn't bare the weight of her Childs death and resorted to the dance to heal it since It had worked before. It was said she danced for ten years straight slowly evolving her own respite until it one of the most beautiful dances that had ever existed.
It was the beauty that lied in a sad tragedy.
Hope had managed to get over her Childs death because of the dance, but that wasn't enough for her to honour her child in Hope's eyes. So she took the second most thing her child had adored, martial arts and fighting styles, and entwined all she knew about them into her dance. Slowly the forms began to become a web far to complicated for anyone other then Hope to understand, mixing different dances and fighting styles together until she found a perfect middle ground between all of them.
And thus "Hope's respite" was born, though all those that had learned it from hope could never understand more then a third of it. It was dubbed a forgotten art when Hope had delved into seclusion in the great spirt forest, making the legendary "Respite's Equinox" the final mastered version of "Hope's respite" nothing more then a pipe dream or a fairy tail.
But now prince Faith been able to follow in the path of Hope. He'd been able to trace the web and unravel it into the beautiful final dance it was meant to be.
This of course only added to the still sleeping boys legend, adding a new nick name to the soon to be list
"Faith, the boy who saw through respite"
Weekly Power Status
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