Grandayria: Dawn of Heroes - Chapter 6

Ethan traversed through the snowy mountains, an all-powerful breeze kipping up and blasting his skin with sheer coldness. He threw his jacket hood over his frizzled and wet hair, hoping for the best, continuing as far as his tired legs could carry him despite the hazardous, deadly conditions.

Miles upon miles of snow. Thick trees covered completely in white. His feet were cold to the point where they were burnt. He pulled his shoes from his feet one at a time, sticking to his shriveled and soaked socks like glue. He dumped the frost from them, put them back on and continued through the vast winter nightmare for what felt like days. He was hungry, thirst, and above all else, cold, but at long last he'd finally made his way to the small town of Roach.

The buildings and houses were dusky and ready to crumble. Snow was hastily shoveled to the edges of the sidewalks, covered in dirt, trash and footsteps that looked like they belonged to small animals. Ethan looked ahead, and a child was patting a strange rodent-like creature with dark red eyes. She glanced at him and ran away, the creature following her into the distance. An old couple stood outside a withering house with a stand full of different sorts of fruits and cheeses, but they ignored him as he walked past into an inn. 
The area was large and surprisingly clean, the counter, chairs and tables all carved out of neat wood. The downstairs of the inn was vacant except for a bartender chatting away with a man seated in front of the counter. Ethan took a seat in the corner of the room, in front of a strong-smelling fireplace. The warm touch to his skin and the soothing nature of he rest caused him not to drift to sleep, but to practically pass out immediately.

To his surprise, nobody seemed to bother him, making him wonder if he was the only young child to make their way into the inn for some rest.

When he awoke again, the bartender was still chatting away with the customer.

Several citizens were gathered at a plaza in the center of town. They cheered in awe of a grizzly old mumbling, wielding a silver blade in his meaty hands. “I remember it like it was yesterday," he gloated. "Seventeen bloodthirsty pirates versus me and my best mate aboard the Castrian Ocean. We were young, bold, and downright stupid.”
“Did you win, Blademaster?” somebody in the crowd asked.

“No,” the Blademaster responded, his grin disappearing just like that. “I had yet to learn to treat a sword as a part of your body. I treated it as a tool, and that’s why I was forced to jump into the shark-infested wars just to survive. But I still remember the heat of that battle particularly well.”

“Yoo-hoo!” Ethan waved towards the hulking grizzly bear of a man. “Are you the Blademaster, sir?”

The mumbling rolled his eyes. When he began walking, Ethan followed, continuing to pester the skilled swordsman. “I know it’s not a good idea to bother someone with a big ass sword in their hands,” Ethan admitted. “But I need you to train me how to be a good swordsman.”

The Blademaster reached the outside of his modest home. “Why?”

“Because I’m the seer’s champion?”
The Blademaster laughed. “Yeah. And I’m King Mason himself. Where in Cythis is my crown, huh? Wish I was. That useless idiot never does anything for me or this town. Our kids are practically starving out here! And what’s wrong with your skin, anyway? Why’s it that peach color?”

“You! Over here! I found him, girls.”

Ethan turned around, to find Butch rushing towards him alongside the two princesses. “Rucy! Perl! Butch!” Ethan exclaimed. “What are you guys doing here?”

Butch chuckled. “These girls, well, I caught them sneaking out when they thought I wasn’t looking at them. And hey, what’s a little adventure, huh?”

“Did you hike through all that snow?” Ethan asked, his muscles still sore from the long and treacherous hike through the wintry mountains. “Why didn't I see you?”

Butch scratched his head. “Err...no. We took a carriage, actually.”

Ethan pouted.

“Remember that we’re not here for you,” Perl explained. “We’re here because Rucy wanted to go on an adventure.”

“Well, you came at a good time,” Ethan laughed, pointing to the grizzly mumbling behind him. “This is the Blademaster. I need him to teach me how to you know, use a sword? And he won’t do it. I told him I’m the champion of the seer, and he won’t believe me.”

“Well, do you know who we are?” Perl said. “I’m Perl! And this is Rucy. We’re the princesses of Elymore, daughters of King Mason himself. You will teach him how to sword fight.”

“Ha. I don’t give adamn about who your daddy is,” the Blademaster shrugged. “If it’s so important, why didn’t he come down here himself and see the shape our village is in?”

“You will teach him how to sword fight.”
The seer appeared in a dark violet smoke. “The seer,” Butch exclaimed. “You know just when to show up, huh?”

“The seer...” The Blademaster shivered at her presence. “I…I don’t know what to say. What do you need, my holy mother?”
“I need you to teach this child how to sword fight.” She looked towards Ethan. “And we’re on borrowed time. You need to teach him to master sword fighting in three weeks.”
“Three weeks?” The Blademaster shook his head. “I’m sorry, my holy mother. I respect the Cythis out of you, and I appreciate all you’ve for this continent. But even some sort of prodigy would take a year of training just to learn all the basics. I can’t just teach this kid how to be a master overnight.”

“He’s not just some kid, he’s my champion. Wait!” The seer grabbed her temples. Shut her eyes. Winced in pain. “Oh, no.”

Ethan’s heart pounded. “What is it?”

“No, no, no. Damn it. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“Holy mother, what's happening?” Rucy asked, trembling in fear.

The seer’s eyes widened. She started hyperventilating. “King Mason is in trouble. You all must head back to the castle right away.”