A Rat Turned Wolf(New)

My fingers clench my training sword in preparation. I tap my kite shield against the mud to test the grip. My boots shift through the grass, ready to move. Though it's the middle of the night, the moon shines down on our opponent. A terrifying reptilian beast standing stoically with club in hand. Naz, Maheed, and I have been developing a plan all night for this. I look to the old dwarf on my left. The nearly invisible dog on my right. We're ready.

Naz charges Wal with a roar while Maheed disappears into the dark. I linger just behind Naz while peering over my shield.
Naz swipes at his legs while I try to bypass his shield! He deflects my sword again and again. His club twirls, tossing Naz's weapon aside before bonking him on the head. Naz 'oofs' as he's kicked in the gut and thrown into the dark.
Wal's tail whips at a noise in the night and Maheed yells, 'gah!' A splat in the mud later and now his attention is turned on me. Crap.
I raise my shield, block one blow, and block another! I peer over my shield to see his next attack. Low! The bottom tip of my shield catches his club! Ha! My sword starts to go for a counter attack, but my shield is twisting! He's twisting my shield! I spin to avoid having my arm broken and let go of my shield! It flies off into the dark. I catch his club with my sword- "Gah!" He smacks me in the back with his shield. My sword raises to stop the falling club! But it never comes.

"Never close your eyes during a fight. My last move was predictable. You could've went for the wrist and then my torso." Wal walks off to where Naz landed and growls advice at him. I sigh, stand up, and stare at the moon alone in the sky.
Since last night, after Andre, the grizzled King's ranger, came into the guest room, we've been out in the forest close to Solaris training. Well. More like Wal has been kicking our ass. Turns out he was a traveling mercenary who took too long passing through Solaris.

With nothing but coarse trousers, shoddy boots, and rough bandages, we had to build our own shelter and gather our own food. All under the watchful eye of Sir Andre and Stoler. Apparently the temple wants to ensure the princess is using her favour correctly. That's what I assume anyway. I haven't actually talked to my torturer yet.

We also learned a bit about the situation with the war from Andre. According to him, the king of Denmeer, Leonhard, went mad and declared war on Solaris. Apparently, Leonhard craves death though 'officially,' whatever that's supposed to mean, Solaris is threatening his position. And that's it. Just threatening his position. Then Andre went on about some political guff. The federations to the North and South won't send any reinforcements for reasons I don't care about. Long story short, Solaris is alone in this fight. Which means my family is in danger.

I sigh at the campfire. Maheed, who's holding the rabbit we caught on the spit, got worried. "Did I do something wrong? I thought it was cooking just fine."

"Huh? No, it's not that." I look around for Andre and Stoler. I don't see or hear them, but they could be lurking anywhere so I'll speak in code.
"I was planning on moving my family out of Solaris before I was captured." I motion my head slightly towards the dark. They offer an understanding nod.
"I'm just worried for their safety. We live on the North side of Solaris. Good thing I'll be close by." Meaning I'm actually going to be defending the damn city while they leave.

Maheed looks confused. Wal stares at me with his usual blank stoicism. Naz leans forward on his stone seat. "By Kalth's stones, the bastard has a heart. How old are ye kid?"

What? Where did that come from? I raise an eyebrow and reluctantly answer his question. "I'm nearing thirty. Why?"

His fuzzy eyebrows raise in shock before he laughs. "You? Nearing thirty? And ye don't even have any scruff on yer chin!"

"Elves take longer to mature than the other races you brick-headed oaf. If I were a dwarf I'd be.... Twenty maybe?"

He laughs harder. "And ye don't even have scruff! I thought ye were maybe ten, but even they have scruff by then."
As annoyed as I am, he's right. The few times I journeyed South for one of Nick's jobs, I'd see those stubby dwarven children running around with little mustaches. It's the weirdest sight in Solaris. "That makes mi next question a lot easier."
He wipes sweat off his fuzzy brow with an audible phew. "You got yerself a woman? By Kalth, a kid even?"

He's asking about that? And he thought I was ten years old!? I shake my head. "Poor codger. You're going senile."

Maheed and Wal offer their own condolences. "Oi. It's not 'cause I'm old I don't know how them tall bastards work. Now answer the damn question."

I sigh and relax on the log. "No, no kids. I've got a girl or two, but no woman."

He grunts. "Aye, I figured as much. You youngins always screw around when nothing's set in stone. Word o' advice. Wait 'till this is all over and find a lass and not one extra. It'll save ye from countless lonesome nights."

I don't... "Why are you telling me this? How did you get from defending my family to my love life?"

Wal growls his agreement. "Agreed. I find your trail of thought perverted."

Naz laughs and says, "Thought Kar had a bunch o' kids. It's what ye told the princess."
Damn it you old fart! Don't mention that here! Whatever. It's not entirely a lie, so I can probably get away with it if someone asks. And he's dodging my original question... Very well.

I squint at him. "And you thought I was ten years old?"

Wal joins my stare. "My point precisely."

Maheed dismisses us with a wave. "Don't bore into him too hard. He's a fragment of forgotten times. 'It' was probably normal in his times."

"Oi. Oi oi oi, what're ye implying there lad?"

I lean forward with a smirk. "Listen up gramps. You can't use kids in breeding anymore."

He shoots straight up. "I ne're said I did!"

"Of course, of course. You were on the right side of history."

After a long while of Maheed and I teasing Naz, the rabbit's finally cooked. Maheed and Wal are able to eat animals raw, so they ate their own rabbits while Naz and I had to supplement our rabbit with berries. Everything still tastes terrible.
We cram into our tent of sticks and leaves and sleep for a bit until Andre 'kills' us. He smacked each of us with a stick because we forgot to set up a lookout. Asshat.

A week passes, and I've picked up a good trick with the sword. Ditch the sword. Use a spear. I can stab people from far away, or if it gets stuck, bash 'em with a shield! Then stab 'em. It's so easy. I can even beat Wal one on one! Sometimes...
Naz has taken a liking to shields. He likes to use a normal round shield to protect his entire body and use a buckler as his main weapon. Even though he's old, he can still pack a hardy punch.
Maheed decided to use dual swords. With his insane speed and endurance, he can run circles around any person or creature, and when they least expect it, bam! Two swords in the back. Plus his black fur makes him near impossible to see at night.
Wal keeps his trusty club and kite shield. He says he can't get the edge alignment right on other weapons and ends up using them like a club anyway. And when his mace fails, he can always resort to his rows of teeth. "But that hasn't happened much."
He says as he proceeds to devour a rabbit.

Aroura stopped by a few times to collect more blood and mana and see how we were progressing. She always takes extra from me and she's absolutely giddy the entire time. Although, I've begun to mind less and less because she heals me a little further each time. The whip marks are all gone by this point. Although I would've liked my toe nails back first, but hey. This is good too.
I've also been able to learn a bit about magic. Aroura's real easy to get talking. Apparently anyone can do magic, but most people don't have the aptitude or mana for it. Mana, according to her, is the 'ethereal' measurement to how many spells someone can cast. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I think she means that it doesn't have any physical properties.
But that doesn't really matter. She taught us how to move mana so we have all we need to cast spells! I don't really understand it, but all I need to do is imagine what I want and move mana out. Sounds almost too easy.

This time around, she brought a carriage. Just as she extracted what she needed from us the Sun disappeared behind the Western mountains marking the start of midday. A few words with Andre and Stoler and they all pile in the carriage and we're ordered to 'keep up.' The carriage wasn't moving particularly fast so we had no trouble following that order. Well... Maheed, Wal, and I didn't.
Naz, the poor dwarf, is almost sprinting the whole way on his stubby little legs. "Are you having so much trouble because your beard's been cut? Does your power come from your beard?"

"Shut it! You! I'll-"
He falls into a coughing fit. "Beat ya!"

"Oh no. How terrifying."
We run for a while longer in the shadow of Mount Rayderant. The Sun finally peeks around the mountain, shedding light on the white walls of Solaris and our destination. A large camp set up just outside the walls, filled with... Demi-humans?

Aroura opens the window on her carriage and leans out with enough face paint to cover her scars. When did she have time for that? "The royal family has declared that demi-humans may wield weapons within the city, should they participate in the fight against Denmeer."
No way. I... I can hardly believe that. Either Denmeer is a truly terrifying foe or.... What are they planning? Aroura, as though she was peering into my thoughts, answered my question. "My father understood the threat of Denmeer and deemed it necessary our whole people to fight as one. Though he was most reluctant, I, for one, am most thrilled. Your species fascinates me to no-"

Andre interrupted. "What her majesty means to say, is that your combat training will be with others of your own species hence forth."

I ask between heavy breaths, "Most people can't afford weapons or armour. How will we arm ourselves?"

Aroura explains that the women back in Solaris will be making gambeson, an armour made of cloth. Then the weapons are being provided by the castle stores and various members of the upper class. People like Nick? Something seems wrong...
We arrive at the outskirts and Naz pukes and collapses. Gross. I'll just carry him until he can walk again. Everyone in the carriage steps out and lines up in front of us. Andre, Aroura, her servant, and Stoler stare at us with varying degrees of distaste. Aroura's servant carries with her, a stack of pale red fabric.

Andre orders us to kneel. Those of us who can stand, do so. Naz does his best to bow his head on my back. Aroura, who somehow managed to put one of those princessy dresses during the ride, greets us in a manner befitting royalty. "I greet thee bearing the gift of burden. Though rather unceremonious, such is the nature of your indictment. From now until the hour of your demise, you shall serve me as my personal soldiers. You shall serve me as the Eclipse Rangers."

Andre, once again, orders us. "Pledge your loyalties."

Since I'm the only one who's witnessed something like this before, I'm the first to respond. The other's follow me. "I pledge myself to service the good princess however she deems worthy in recompense for my past crimes."

Aroura continues. "Under the authority of High Templar Stoler, your quest for absolution begins now. Take these cloaks as your identification."
The servant hands us our cloaks. They're little more than long pale red pieces of cloth with the symbol of the eclipse sewn into the back. A dark circle surrounded by a light aura of yellow and eight swirls of yellow light.

After the cloaks were donned, Andre quickly tapped each of our shoulders with his sword and commanded us to stand. Aroura sighs and lets her posture slack. "Well then, I'll be off. Farewell my penitent heretics. I'm most eager for your progress."

She and her servant ride off towards the city. Andre begins to move towards the camp with a wave of his hand, signalling us to follow. I almost managed to take my first steps towards the others. "Kar'Desh."
I sigh. I face Stoler. "Or is that another alias you used to fool the princess?"

"You shouldn't label everything I say as a lie. Or is that what the temple teaches you?"

"Trust not, the thief. For he thrives on manipulating others."

"The same could be said about the temple."

"Enough!"
Ooo, I'm getting under his skin. "I know you're playing into the princess' naivety. Were it up to me, your corpse would already be rotting with the other heretics."

"You mean the innocents who didn't adhere to the temple's every whim? If you feel that way, why did you authorize us to become rangers?"

"There is no 'us' when you're involved is there? The other three, I trust. You, I don't. Dwarf. Naz-Karak was it? Ensure you mistrust all the thief spews."

He's dodging my question. Maybe his authority is actually quite shallow. Naz hesitates from my back before answering with, "Ye don't have to warn me youngin. Yer a good kid, but trust in yer elders a bit more. I haven't lived this long by trusting everyone I meet."

He smiles in Naz's general direction and I can't help but role my eyes. His smile turns overly smug when he turns towards me. "Know this thief. Nothing you do will escape my notice. I've already informed her highness of your little blunder last night."
What a child. 'Mommy mommy, Kar said mean things about you!' Good thing I decided to speak in code. His smug smile dissipates and falls into a scowl. "When you betray her majesty, I will personally cut you down."

I sigh. I should dissolve this situation. "Stoler, when I refer to my kids, I'm talking about my siblings. I've been like a father to them since theirs died. By the templars mind you. Does the name Ska'Lauler ring any bells?"
Almost the full truth. Their father was stricken with the plague. And his name was Fal'Lith. I continue. "I have nothing but respect for my liege. The princess saved us from you. Fed us. Given us purpose. I have no reason to betray her. Now, if you'll excuse me, I plan to become all I can for her."
I turn and walk away. Though I still look back to see his reaction. He looks annoyed, but nothing more. Hmm...

"Ye really are a bastard."

"No one said anything about playing nice. Can you walk yet?"

"Oh, mi poor old bones! How they creak and ache!"

"Alright, calm down there gramps, you're next to my ear."

I pick up the pace a bit to catch up to the others. It doesn't take long, but each stride with the old sack of bones on my back is actually fairly difficult. I reach them right as Andre pawns us off. "I've got four non-humans for you. They're your problem for now."

Another human like Andre. Brown hair and grizzled features with a few nasty scars. He looks to each of us and smiles. "Well aren't you all fancy. You must be her majesty's rangers. I'll be sure you lot suffer tenfold the others."
He laughs. "Name's Murphy by the by. Go on, we're all just havin' lunch."

Strange human. But I've got more pressing matters. I bump Naz up and shove him off my back. "Oi- oof!"

Ren runs into me, arms outstretched. "Hey Ren."