The newest royal guard: Chapter 1 (standard:fantasy, 1535 words)
Author: Zephyr	Added: Aug 01 2001	Views/Reads: 3097/2238	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Jesyan of Ainlous learns to fit in with the royal guard, and has love troubles with Jacuri, an attendant to the queen. About the quiet before the storm of the traitor Atharks and the neighboring country of Kheld.

Jesyan's sore muscles were beginning to become accustomed to the
workouts, but his golden brown skin was still burnt from the day 
before.  It had been a tenday since he'd begun training with the royal 
guard.  His light blonde hair blew back and forth in the light wind as 
he thrusted and parried furiously, keeping up with his trainer. 

The dusty yard bordered by low walls and several older oaks had been the
guards' practice area for years.  The intimidating whitewalled palace 
off to one side provided shade in the afternoon, and a place to live 
for the gaurds.  The royal guard was large in number, as its members 
also provided help at times to outlying communities plagued by bandits, 
additional protection for visiting royalty, and reinforcements for the 
city guards at the debate dome and at other places in Ashinon that were 
often in dischord. 

The practice yard was full of the noise of blades that had been
especially enchanted to not draw blood.  Most of the combatants were 
older guards that were keeping their skills honed, and none of them 
wore their uniforms or other identifying livery.  Except that they all 
recognised one another, they could have been a troop of bandits.  
Jesyan was becoming accostumed to the armor that he wore with his 
guardsman livery while he was on duty.  He suspected that part of the 
recent large scale practicing was to impress their visiting brothers 
from Kheld to the North. 

Unitas had not had need of soldiers to defend itself since the goblins
had fled sixty years ago.  Some of the king's advisors had been part of 
the army sent to Kheld to help them defeat the goblins in their land.  
But when things were well in hand, Unitas had withdrawn its army and it 
had been disbanded several years later.  Almost thirty five years past. 


In the twenty years of Jesyan's life, he'd not even winessed any action
other than a few traitors to the king and small uprisings in the larger 
cities, and none of those in the last five years.  But Kheld had had 
increasingly problematic border skirmishes with the goblins in the 
northern Ahnkaus mountains.  It was commonly rumored that the Kheldan 
general Kurn had come to ask for aid with the growing border war. 

General Kurn was an enormous and powerful man, and everyone in the royal
guard had a grudging respect for him.  He had probably had more 
fighting experience than all of the guard combined.  And he was always 
at the front of his army.  Jesyan felt like a child playing with sticks 
when the general had viewed the guards practice from the palace walls. 

Calling a break from combat, the captain of the night watch took his
leave after suggesting a few changes in his defensive technique.  
Jesyan had never seen the captain in real combat, but he'd heard that 
Captain Dinsefar could see as well in darkness as in light, and that 
his fighting was without equal in all of Unitas.  Dinsefar was only 
eight years older than Jesyan, but he was considered one of the most 
experienced and best soldiers on the guard. 

Jesyan looked up at the nearby palace while waiting for another guard
who would practice with him.  On the lower parapet stood two of the 
Queen's attendants.  He had met both of them four days past.  Both 
Jacuri and Rhieod were a year older than he, but something about Jacuri 
caught his eye.  Her jet black hair and noonsky blue eyes set off 
exotic pointed features.  She was gorgeous!  She was also outspoken, 
crude, and opinionated.  Jesyan smiled up at her.  She waved down to 
him, and he raised his arm to return the friendly gesture. 

Suddenly he felt his legs go out well in front of him.  Falling flat
onto his back, he groaned.  An older soldier arose from knocking him 
down, smiled down on him devilishly, and offered him a hand to get back 
up.  "The practice yard is not the place to be ogling at the ladies.  
Especially not the queen's handmaidens."  After glancing in the young 
attendant's direction, he said "Which one of them interests you?". 

Jesyan looked at him quizzically.  "Her name is Jacuri.  She's... kinda
cute."  He couldn't help scanning the parapets for the pair wondering 
already how he would explain looking so foolish.  He continued "She's 
loud and obnoxious, but there's something..." He trailed off as he 
realized that he didn't know with whom he spoke. 



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