Chapter 22: The Trial of Fire (1)
"Now, now, Young Master, you mustn't be in such a hurry. Look at yourself, you're an absolute mess! Do you think we'd allow you to leave this manor without any grace to your presence? That would be discourteous to the noble head and the public, have some decency, I beg!" Nathan quickly saw Samuel hurrying towards the door and made haste to ensure that he wouldn't turn out the same as last time when he'd allowed Samuel to leave the manor alone.
"I understand your concerns, Head Servant Nathan, but this is of utmost importance! Who cares about my noble impression on the public at a time like this; I'm going to be late if I'm kept any longer!" Samuel quickly brushed off Nathan, unaware of the calm tone of the servant.
Nathan slowly nodded "You must've woken up on the wrong side of the bed, Young Master, there is no need to be in a hurry, you've got a few hours until your tutelage from Sir Thornberry. Follow me, your escort is currently being prepared as we speak, and you mustn't look any worse than them lest the public despair over the lack of foresight from our noble heir. Although you may be young, you should learn the proper etiquette of a noble for when you eventually ascend upon your father's death or retirement." Nathan started walking, dragging Samuel by the slack of his shirt.
Hastily slapping Nathan's hand away from his shirt, he followed Nathan closely. The head servant's words left a deep impression on him as he remembered that being a noble came with power. Power came with many responsibilities which must be upheld to a high standard. Although he disdained being scolded, he had no rebuttal to defend his pride.
Upon reaching his room, he went behind closed curtains before a group of his servants picked out clothes for him. Although he saw a few pleasant outfits in his wardrobe, he had no hopes for anything which would be considered voguish.
Soon later, a silky pair of hands appeared through the curtains, presenting a pile of clothes. Through the constant chattering, he knew that this outfit had a lot of thought put into it.
Realising that he was idling away, he hastily snatched the pile of clothes from the hands. Seeing the hands disappear, he went and put on the clothes. Despite his negative prejudices from seeing his wardrobe, he smirked slightly as he realised that his negative prejudices were wrong. He hadn't foreseen that the outfit would be worse than his initial prejudice.
He wore a baggy burgundy hat that slid slightly off his head, looking like a deflated balloon. A tiny feather poked out of the tip of the hat which reminded him of the hats worn by many during the renaissance. The only difference he could see was that the hat had a scaly texture which tugged at his hair in unnatural ways. Accompanied by this, he wore a jade robe with the family crest stitched into the chest, directly where the heart was. The crest itself was made out of some sort of alloy which was surprisingly warm to the touch, spreading warmth throughout his body in pulses, seemingly syncing to his heartbeat. Although this was pleasant, he had to wear a cotton belt which closed the robe around his body.
Samuel shyly stumbled out of the curtains to see his head servant staring at him with awe. Before he could complain about the style of his clothing, the head servant offered a barrage of compliments, almost fawning over him.
"I understand that this must be very fashionable throughout the kingdom as of right now, but what's with the hat? Why must it be so scaly that it is painful to walk as it shifts from side to side annoyingly?" Samuel inquired as he hesitantly walked over to the door.
A flash of confusion was seen in Nathan's eyes before explaining. "This hat has been passed down throughout the generations, Young Master. The scaly texture you feel is from the fact that it is manufactured from the highest quality of Infernal Serpent skin, a menacing creature which invaded our mountain range centuries ago. Our environment is still damaged to this day from that invasive species and we don't know the cause of it till this day."
Understanding the significance of the hat, Samuel nodded in acknowledgement before addressing the other issue on his mind. "Earlier this morning, you spoke of an escort, am I correct? If so, what do you mean?" While he wasn't opposed to the thought of having a personal escort, he knew that he would attract many eyes and it would be difficult in looking like their superior with the difference in height, posture, and appearance.
Having known that he would ask this, Nathan quickly responded with an explanation he thought of overnight. "Young Master, you've experienced the most terrible things yesterday, there is no doubt about that. Due to that, your father has given us explicit orders to ensure that you are accompanied by four of the strongest guards we have recruited when you are going outside." He spurted out the explanation in one breath, leaving him gasping for air afterwards.
Satisfied with this explanation, Samuel decided that he couldn't waste another second in such trivial matters. He knew that the trials he would encounter were encroaching at a fast pace and he couldn't be late.
Accompanied by the head servant, Samuel patiently waited outside the manor for his escort to arrive. Soon enough, they saw the four guardsmen marching towards them, their faces wooden as if their faces were plastic masks. They took their positions smoothly, creating a box around Samuel, standing as still as the four Buddhist mountains.
---
Everything went smoothly as they marched into the village. Besides the odd glances, it seemed as if this was a common occurrence. However, there was a clear difference between the facial expressions which Samuel could split up into two groups: Fawning & Disdainful.
There were a lot of bystanders which increased their workload to impress the young noble and even those who went out of their way to sing praises. Unfortunately, there is a counteragent for everything as an equal amount of residents had scorning faces which looked at him with pure contempt. Luckily, there was nothing they could do with the impenetrable guards blocking all four sides.
Suddenly, a petite child barged through the crowds, causing many to curse in anger, and prostrated himself before the young heir. "Pl-Please, noble one, spare a few uris. My family is in dire need of healing, my mother has come down with a terrible ailment, we spent our money on identifying the illness and some experts claim that it may be the despicable Laughing Death! Although they were adamant about it being incurable, I'm willing to swear a heavenly oath that this can be cured!" The young boy hurriedly spoke, his face pale and his palms sweaty as he waited nervously for an answer.
The two guards at the front of the formation began to walk forward, brandishing their weapons, a chilly atmosphere beginning to form as a murderous intent burst from the two escorts. Before any blood could be shed, Samuel abruptly yelled for them to stop and threw them ten uris, guessing that the boy wanted to purchase the Potion of Upper Healing.
In the Five States, a single uris was the equivalent of one hundred yori and had the shape of a gold coin, a lion's head engraved into it. A single yori was equivalent to one hundred tangs and had the shape of a silver coin, a monkey's head engraved into it. A tang was the lowest form of currency and was made of copper with no engravements. The most supreme currency in the Five states was the Kara which was worth a thousand uris, a titanium coin with the engravement of a dragon's head. This coin was the symbol of true nobility and wealth.
Upon seeing the ten uris thrown onto the floor, the young boy snatched them with scrawny hands, scrambling to the nearest alleyway with a wide grin on his face.
Although this was a large expense out of the money he was granted from his monthly allowance, he felt no need to be stingy when it came to benefit others.
---
After receiving a few pointers from the locals, Samuel soon wandered into Yorn's manor. He knocked three times on the door, admiring the size of the residence and the overall aesthetic. Surprisingly, the house was approximately several times larger than the nearby residences. It truly stood out like a crane amongst chickens.
A few seconds later and the elder answered the door, a shocked expression appearing on his face. Calming down, he looked towards the young man the guards were escorting, audibly relieved.
"Here I was thinking that I had broken some law and that I'd be the next on the chopping block! Who would've guessed that my disciple would be a noble, and one of a high order as well! The Goldstache family, right? I could recognise that crest a mile away." Yorn Thornberry exclaimed in a jovial and almost fawning manner.
Samuel nodded before a flash of shock appeared on his face. "Disciple? What do you mean? Have you already decided to accept me?!" His tone grew ecstatic at the end, it turned out that his worrying had been for nothing!
Noticing his slip in words, Yorn Thornberry chuckled before nodding in affirmation. "Yes, yes, after a long night of thought I have decided to take you in as my disciple. You're cunning and ferocious, exactly what I wish for in my disciples. In the end, even potential is a fickle manner. Potential is simply decided by the amount of effort you put in and the abundance of resources you have at hand. Everyone has the same potential unless they decide to put their all into what they do and they have the resources required. When it comes to you, I can see that you are determined for me to be your teacher and, although I was going to say that I have enough resources for you, you may have tenfold my resources in your household alone." He spoke with unwavering confidence in Samuel's future. Although this shocked him, he quickly acknowledged the senior's words.
The look of joy on Samuel's face was quickly replaced by one of confusion. "Then what are we here for if not my trials? This seems like a wasted journey, am I wrong?" He asked this question hesitantly. He didn't want to bring up the trials lest he was forced to do them still despite him being a disciple. Yet, he knew he had to ask or else he'd just be standing there like a lost puppy.
However, it seemed like the elder didn't think of this as a look of contemplation filled his wrinkled face. "How about this: We'll start with a lesson to see how you handle basic training exercises. This should make the journey worthwhile, shouldn't it?" After seeing Samuel agree with this twist of events, he led him to a room found in the back of the house which exuded an intoxicating smell of smoke and ash.
As he slid open the doors to the room, a furious heat surrounded the group like a hot summer breeze. However, the heat quickly settled down as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
"The Trial of Fire!" Yorn Thornberry bellowed in an enthused manner, sounding almost like a presenter as he revealed the forging station in the centre of the vast spacious room.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Thomas_Carr
Thomas_Carr Long wait - Long chapter. (Wanted to try and finish off this segment in one chapter but decided to end it off at 2K words so you don't have to wait a week for the chapter.)
With many thanks,
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