Clang!
A wooden sword clashes against a wooden dummy. Sweat trickles down his bare body as he slashes again, his breath in sync with each hit; his muscles tighten and relax as he goes on.
"Two hundred and two..." He mutters softly, green eyes locked on his target as if it were real.
Shifting his feet on the sand, he exhales a breath, dodging as though an attack is coming. His mind flashes back to an impeccable knight he had faced in war, and he strikes, the tip of his sword slamming against the wooden dummy's lower abdomen.
Crack!
He straightens up
Crack!
Sliding the sword at his side, it instantly shatters, the lower part of the dummy snapping in half, and falling to the ground.
"And I thought I had held back." He murmurs, dropping to the floor in a hurry to pick up the next half. "If the old man finds this, it's over." He tries to put it back together, taking quick glances behind him at the small cottage.
'it's my fifth one this month. A king like me getting berated over a dummy again?' He grimaces. 'It makes me embarrassed just thinking about it.'
Jabbing the jagged ends together, no matter what he does, it doesn't reconnect. And the more he does, the more he realizes he has a punishment coming for him.
'Five-hour planks? Three hundred push-ups? A twenty-mile run? A spare?'
He questions each one, except the spare, sending dread throughout his body.
'Or perhaps it's one of the worst ones. Giving him a back rub or a foot massage'. He winces just at the thought of it. 'I may have done it in my days as a low-ranked knight, but never would I have thought I'd have to do it again as a grown adult. Well, a grown adult stuck in an 18-year-old.'
"Odde!" The old man opens the door and walks outside, stopping in his tracks and seeing the state the dummy and his sword are in.
"Master Riven..." He turns slowly, but as he even glances towards him, a foot is already crashing against his back.
"You bull!" He shouts, anger lacing his tone as Odde crashes headfirst into a tree. "I told you making wooden dummies is not easy! And swords!" He fumes, grey eyebrows arching.
Rubbing his head, he groans. "Ow! that hurt!" He lifts his head in anger as well, fingers pointed towards him.
Riven rushes forward, eyes bulging almost out of their sockets. "You dare point your finger towards your master!"
"..."
Odde slowly puts down his finger.
"Good." He stands back up straight, his silver strands catching in the blazing sun. "But thankfully, crafting a new dummy wouldn't be a problem." His voice deepens, becoming more serious.
Getting to his feet, he dusts off his pants, eyes firm on Riven. "Is it that time already?"
"Yes." Riven nods, arms behind his back. "The awakeners trail of the king's tower is upon us."
"Figures." He takes a pause, breath held as he finally gains enough courage to question. "Am I..."
"You are ready to climb," Riven answers before him.
'Finally. It took ten years but I'm finally ready.' He clenches his fist.
.
.
.
[Ten years earlier]
Jerking awake, he clutched his throat, chest heaving. His eyes darted around the dim, wooden room. A fire crackled gently in the hearth a few feet from the bed, casting flickering shadows on the walls. The mattress beneath him was soft and plush, a single white sheet draped over his lower body, shielding him from the bite of the cold air.
"Where the hell am I?" He utters without thinking.
The door to the side of him opens. "This is my home." An old man walks in, his frame covered with layers of clothing. "I am Riven."
Remain calm; he assesses the situation. 'Seeing as though he didn't kill me but instead bandaged me up, he isn't going to do so now.'
"And who might you be?" He moves over to the fire, opening the large pouch to his side, pulling out wood, and dropping it into the flame.
"Icar-" A throb of pain ignites through his body, restricting him from saying his name.
'Then if I can't say my name. Then, who the hell am I' Ponders, and his body answers.
Memories flood into his brain all at once. The fall of his noble life, the death of his family at the hands of a faceless man and his pupil.
"The faceless kings." He mumbles out the names of the people who took down his family.
Riven flinches. "How do you know of that name!" He yells but halts seeing Odde in tears, yet Odde is confused about why he's having this reaction.
'It...It has to be this body's reaction.'
"My name is Odde Orpheus." He answers between sniffles.
Riven moves closer, his hand resting on top of his head. "Did they go after your family?"
He nods.
"I see." He sighs.
Wiping the tears away, he regains his composure. "I need...to know how to climb the tower." He says, hoping that there's a way this man would help. "And I want justice for my family." He didn't want it for him but for the body he owns.
With the memories coming back, he also heard the young boy's last wish. Pleading to the gods that someone could help him. To exact justice on those who took his family away from him.
'It's the only thing I can do for him.'
"Well. You're just in luck, young man." Riven smirks. "You have come face to face with a retired climber."
Odde is left stunned.
.
.
.
[present]
'Now that time has come after countless training. I'm finally going to complete the mission of the gods and his own.'
"Come on in." Riven gestures as he walks in. "Get something to eat and some needed rest, and in the morning, you'll set off to the trail."
"Right!" He joins behind him but receives another kick to the stomach, making him sink to the floor in pain.
"With those reflexes, I don't think you're that ready." Riven chuckles.
F##KING OLD HAG!!