Journal Entry
Date: 03/01/7500
Author Name: Blake Justinian Margrave
The past two months since Lady Venula Zen, my sword instructor, arrived have passed quickly. I have learned that my father requested a Ranger from one of the King's Knights. However, the Knight sent her instead. This lady, above all others, was chosen to train me.
Having been humiliated on that first day, I have not once stopped writing within these pages of mine.
To be utterly honest, I have done everything I can. At night, after dinner, I practice sword stances within my room. I still have yet to best Lady Venula even once. Her arms, made of atom tissue, are what make fighting her so difficult. Instead of muscle, she has gears and wires that turn and pull. She can lift at least three hundred pounds with those arms. They look so human, if not for the faint metal shine.
But the sun is up, and today my brother has requested that we go out on a hunt. Our world is mostly rolling grass hills and steep rocky cliffs. Beyond that are wide open oceans with dark waters that resemble the empty night sky of the void.
Journal EntryEND
Date: 03/01/7500
Author Name: Blake Justinian Margrave
I stood up from my chair in my room and stretched. I walked around the large king-sized bed with its ebony frame and black cotton sheets of the highest quality. A black fur blanket covered it all. The mirror in the corner reflected my messy black hair and ruby red eyes.
I had been awake for maybe fifteen minutes.
I changed out of my white sleeping shirt and pulled on a loose black long-sleeved shirt that did not cling too tightly to my skin. Then I pulled on black pants made of metal string. Smooth, flexible, and capable of stopping a few bullets like the overcoats of the army and house guard. They were double-layered, with denim cotton inside to keep the metal strings from cutting into the flesh.
To finish, I grabbed the dark red and black overcoat of my family. The red was almost the shade of a freshly picked apple, while the outside was a deep oily black made of metal strings sewn together. After fixing the laces on my black boots, I opened my door.
My guard stood outside as always, his sword poking out beneath his black metal overcoat, reflecting the light from the wall fixtures. The lightbulbs were housed in glass casings, held by bronze hooks like lanterns.
"Morning, my lord," he said as I walked down the hall, not even realizing he had closed my bedroom door behind me.
"A very good morning, I suppose. Any news of the hunt my brother has planned today?" I asked.
I did not notice at first that I walked differently now. Since training with Venula Zen, my steps carried more strength. More certainty. My shoulders no longer slouched forward like they once had. The constant sword practice had changed me without my realizing it.
"Nothing new that I have heard. We are still heading to the eastern isle," the guard replied. "But the lions there have begun hunting farther inland over the past few years."
"Those lions have pelts that can stop metal rounds, correct?" I asked, rounding a corner and walking across the red wine-colored rugs.
"Yes, my lord. They killed several poachers a few weeks ago. Served those men right for hunting on our world without permission," he said with a grin I could practically feel.
I descended the metal stairs spiraling down the wall to the ground floor. Outside the windows, I could see the grav cruisers my brother had prepared. Large black ships designed for low-level flight across a world, but unable to break free of a planet's gravity. So instead they sat on the dark green grass of a world nearly devoid of forests.
The lions of this world often stayed near water. Lakes, rivers, and shorelines. They had adapted to aquatic life and could swim far faster than any human or Solrein. Their nickname was gilled lions, due to the gills along their necks. Very different from the lions of Earth. I had only seen images of true-blooded lions from the Pure World.
Outside, the air was mildly warm. The ocean sent a cold breeze, while the sun pressed heat down on us. People moved around the four ships, loading supplies in metal crates. All wore black overcoats reaching down to the knees, the metal strings absorbing sunlight and holding warmth against the ocean breeze.
Below the cliff, dark waters crashed white against the rocks. The drop was nearly half a mile. I knew how slow the falling could feel. I had after all fallen off this very cliff as a child. Lucky to survive they say. But I feel like it was less luck and more a cruel prank by universe to scare me.
I shuddered and turned back toward the ships.
My brother was speaking with one of my father's Knights who would accompany us. Spellblood Knights were a rare sight. They were not trained. They were made.
Their armor was an inch thick, forged from galactic steel, with exposed gears and wires at the joints. Armor that could snap swords like twigs. The gold and black plating bore red undertones, the colors of our house. It made a six-foot man look nearly six inches taller.
I stared too long. The house guard had already moved on, leaving me standing alone. Not all Knight armor was so heavy. Some sets were thinner, made for speed. The blueprints for such armor were secrets guarded by each house. Valuable enough to buy a solar system.
My brother already had a set being forged. It would take another year to complete.
"Blake! Sir Rickon will be accompanying us on the hunt," my brother Rayland said, grinning. A helmetless head emerged from the top of the armor, wearing a gentle smile.
"Indeed. Under your father's orders," Sir Rickon said, turning to face me fully.
His eyes were a bright neon green. Eyes filled with truth, loyalty, and kindness. The kind I wished people saw when they looked at me.
"Well then, let us not keep everyone waiting," I said. "Are the ships ready?"
My boots were already wet with morning grass. The wind pushed my hair back from my eyes, and my coat swayed around my knees.
"Indeed," Rayland said. "Sir Rickon, ensure everyone is aboard. We must leave before nightfall drives the prey back into the water."
I was glad our house colors were black, even if it made us look overly dramatic. Black absorbed heat, and on an ocean world, that mattered. Lady Venula Zen stood near one of the ships, shivering slightly in the morning air. Without metal-threaded coats, most would already be freezing. But her's was blue instead of black like ours.
Our world was seventy-four point nine five percent water. At least it was five years ago, according to my studies. We boarded one of the ships, and the rear hatch closed. Inside, red lighting filled the cabin. Red light had long been used to preserve night vision and ease the transition into darkness.
I sat beside my brother on a long metal bench cushioned with wool. The journey would take thirty minutes to cross three hundred miles at six hundred miles per hour. Sir Rickon sat across from us in his armor. Beside him sat Lady Venula Zen, her hair tied into a bun, dull brown eyes standing out among our bright ones.
Normally, a human would ride with the servants. But as a Knight's Ranger, she outranked everyone on board except my brother and me. Even Sir Rickon would have to watch his words. A silent agreement passed between us all.
Do not annoy the human today.