Elebor takes Regis with him to his hut on the outskirts of the Elven Kingdom.
"Well, well. I hope that you're ready for this, child. Starting tomorrow, I shall put you through hell, and teach you the basics of using a spear. I shall show you how a spear, if used well, can be one of the most powerful weapons of all time. You must also learn the basics of the bow, in case a situation arises where you must fight somebody from a distance." Elebor says in a commanding tone, arms crossed over his chest.
"For now, however… you should go and explore the kingdom. There are lots of places you can go to. Since you're 14, you're old enough to start exploring by yourself." Elebor says with a heavy sigh. Eyes drooping down because of exhaustion.
"But-" Regis tries to intervene.
"No but's, child. You must at least have the courage to explore an unknown place by yourself, with absolutely no help whatsoever." Says Elebor, raising his voice in a strict manner, pointing his finger at Regis.
"Yes…" Regis answers, his voice soft and squeaky.
Regis starts walking towards the middle of the kingdom, filled with elves. He was clearly excited. You could see the gleeful smile he was exuding. It was almost as if he'd been possessed by a cheerful spirit. While walking down a street, he bumps into a boy, seemingly similar to him in age.
"Ah… sorry." Regis apologizes while bowing his head, a sign of respect but not submission.
"Hah? What's a human doing in our elven kingdom? Who are you, and why are you here? You greed-eyed blondie?" The boy says sarcastically before shoving Regis back with both his arms.
Regis falls back and almost falls hard on the floor, but he manages to regain balance at the final moment.
"What's wrong with a human being in this kingdom?" Regis asks, his voice squeaky but angry at the same time.
"Who the hell do you think you are to show me such an attitude, you filthy human!?" The boy exclaims, throwing a punch at Regis's jaw.
The punch lands, and Regis gets mad. He furrows his eyebrows, but stays quiet while glaring at the elven boy.
"I'll gouge those eyes of yours out of your sockets! HOW DARE YOU GLARE AT ME THAT WAY!?" The elven boy starts shouting, garnering the attention of the other elves passing by.
The passersby cheer for the elven boy.
"BA-RA-HIR! BA-RA-HIR!" They cheer for the elven boy.
"So your name's Barahir, huh? Interesting name." Regis says, his voice laced with annoyance, tone low.
"Hmph! You're lucky you even get to know my name, filthy human!" Barahir taunts.
So… this is how people are, huh?Just because they like their own race more… they cheer for the wrongdoer just for being a part of the same race… I suppose this is how everybody is… such disgusting behaviour… I hate it… Regis calmly thinks to himself despite the situation.
Barahir throws a punch at Regis, which lands right on his temple. Regis's temple gets bruised, yet he's still only glaring at Barahir. As if waiting for the perfect moment to strike back…
Just when Barahir tries to throw another punch, Regis elbows him in the ribs.
"GAH! OW! OW! YOU… FILTHY-!" Barahir screams, his voice a mixture of pain and anger. However, just before he strikes, a man treads through the crowd and puts a stop to this children's fight.
Wait… this guy… Elebor? Regis thinks to himself, eyes wide with surprise.
"Elebor! What're you doing here?" Regis asks in a high-pitched tone. Clearly surprised.
"Boy, we're going to have a long talk after this." Elebor says with a stoic expression, while Regis gets chills down his spine.
"But for now, tell me, what happened for there to be a fight between you and my grand-nephew?" Elebor asks, clearly not very pleased with this predicament. His eyebrows are furrowed, his jaw clenched, and his face tense.
"He's… your grand-nephew? Oh my g- I didn't know! But… what happened was…" Regis explains the situation to Elebor as the crowd disperses, moving about their day again. Elebor, however, seems tense and mad that his grand-nephew would ever do something like that.
When Elebor looks at his grand-nephew for confirmation of what happened, Barahir can't do anything but nod and confirm under his grand-uncle's gaze.
"You two shall train under my tutelage together, is that clear?" Elebor says, which catches both Regis and Barahir off guard.
"WHAT? WITH HIM? NO WAY!" They both say in sync, before turning towards each other, glaring for a little bit, and turning away.
"You shall either train together, or get beat up together. Now… what will it be?" Elebor asks, which sends shivers down both Regis and Barahir's spines.
"Yes… sir…" Regis agrees hesitantly.
"Urk… fine!" Barahir agrees in the end.
Elebor, Regis and Barahir walk to Elebor's hut on the outskirts of the kingdom in complete silence. The silence was sharper than any sword could ever be.
"You're going to be here for 5 more years at the very least, so you'd better make yourselves at home. Together." Elebor says, opening the door to his hut, which is bigger than it looks on the outside.
Regis and Barahir reluctantly nod while looking around the hut. It has walls of wood on the outside, but hard rock on the inside, along with 3 straw mattresses with thin blankets and no pillows. There is a sword buried deep inside of the wall straight from the entrance to the hut, and a spear buried deep inside of the wall which the entrance door is attached to, opposite to the sword. There's a weapon room left from the entrance to the hut, and a kitchen right beside the weapon room. To end it all off, there's a latrine right from the entrance to the hut.
"Now, this is where all three of us will be staying for the next five years. Get ready to train every single day without a break starting from tomorrow, children." Elebor says with a wry smile.
Ugh… he clearly knows that it's hell for us, doesn't he? Regis thinks to himself, and sighs before responding.
"Okay, Elebor." Regis says in a defeated tone, looking down at the ground.
I guess this is going to be my life for the next 5 years now… might as well be as comfortable as I can… Regis thinks to himself, looking down with a defeated expression.
"Fine, grand-uncle. I'll be sure to learn every possible thing from you!" Barahir exclaims, excitedly.