The Wrong Side of the Coin

Chapter 1: Breakfast in the cabin

Liam's journey began on his seventh birthday, he woke up, and like any other day, began with the making of his bed. As he was nearing the completion of his first task he began to hear the telltale sounds of breakfast being made in the kitchen, the beef sizzling and popping as it cooked over the fire and the feint chopping noise that accompanied vegetables being chopped on the counter. When he was finally done with the bed-making he quickly changed into his standard daily clothes and walked into the kitchen to assist with setting out whatever they would need to eat their breakfast. This consisted of a tablecloth and three plates with a set of cutlery for each of them. At the head of the table his father was already seated awaiting the food that would soon be prepared to eat. His father was one of the greatest swordsman in the entire kingdom and after serving his fair share of years as a knight he retired to Setrik Castle where he was hired as the swords-master. As such he was in charge of training every new knight and man-at-arms in the entire area in the art of swordplay. Liam's mother, who was at the counter preparing the last of the bread for their breakfast, was a young innkeeper when she first met his father and since then has almost always been by his side. At this point and time she worked at the castle as a maid for Dunnahil, the Lord of Setrik. Once their breakfast had been completed Liam's father rose and announced that he had to head to the castle for his lessons and Liam began collecting any utensils and dishes that they used to clean them. As Liam began to carry the dishes to the counter his mother stopped him.

"I'll do the dishes for today, I have a surprise for you." She told him.

"Really?" Liam asked. "What is it? What is it?" he repeated excitedly.

"I feel like you have grown old enough to begin training with a sword so I asked your father to get you this." She said as she pulled out a flawless oak training sword from under the table. It was made of a dark oak wood and had a leather handle slightly lighter in hue. The blade was hardened in a fire so that it would not dent nor fall apart as easily as some meager stick. He grabbed the sword from his mother and swung it several times to test the weight and balance.

"It's heavy," He commented, "but when i swing it it feels like i could do it all day without getting tired!"

" Of course, it's very well balanced. Only the best for our son, of course." His mother stated. After excessively thanking her he ran outside. "Make sure you only use it on that post that is out there. We don't need you breaking anything!" She called after him.

As he ran he swung the sword out to ether side feeling the satisfying weight behind them. When he reached the post he stood holding the sword like his father taught in his classes, out away from the body with elbows and knees bent, ready to strike in any direction at a moments notice. He swung the sword at the post alternating overhead strokes and jabs. Since he had never received any training up until this point his muscles had not developed to where he could swing any roundhouse strokes or feints. Overhead strikes are the easiest because the force of gravity assists you when you swing the blade downwards, and jabs are easy to imitate because all they require is thrusting the sword forward towards your enemy. Thud after thud could be heard as his new wooden blade rebounded off the post time and time again. Before long the sword fell from his hands and he leaned against the post. His fatigue finally over-passing his exhilaration. His mother walked out with a satisfied smile on her face.

"I am pleased you like the gift we got you, but you must learn to conserve your strength. You would not wish to fall in battle merely because you got tired would you?" She teased.

"Of course not." He said hastily. " I will do whatever I can to be able to wield it for a longer period of time."

"Very well," She said with a chuckle, "now go get the horses ready. Your father will be home soon and you still have your horse-riding lesson this afternoon."