4- Getting 'Trained'

The door creaked open. Zin cast a muffling spell on it to cancel out the noise of the creaking, but he was afraid when using even this low level spell, cos even this little mana fluctuations could cause the Thalmor Justicar to be alert to his sneaking in. He moved to a dark corner of the large dungeon hall, which in reality was an interrogation room, mounted an arrow on his favorite Daedric bow, pulled to a full-moon and let go the arrow with a twinge. The arrow sailed like a swallow in full flight, and then hit the unwary standing elf straight on the Adam's apple. He had his mouth wide opened as his line of sight flashed with a blood-red 'FATALITY', as he thought, hey this is life, how can it flash with a Mortal Kombat prompt, but then he felt cold hit in.

"Oh, so cold. Help. Assassins. They're tryna kill me," Zin yelped.

"Come on UP, and stop yelling absurdities, sleepy head" a young red-head around 17 or 18 threatened Zin with her palm held out. Her long hair were tied in a 4-strand French braid while she was fully dressed in her plate-armor. "Get up, it's time for your morning training before that witch Iris catches you for those absurd studies".

"Really, I don't get it. The kid's a gifted swordsman, see how easy he learns swordsmanship, even at the age of 5. Oblivion, I've only been teaching him for a month and he's at the level of skill of mine when I was a junior knight" the heroic knight huffed away muttering under her breath.

Zin got up from his wet bed, his clothes clinging soaked to his skin. He yawned, sleep already leagues away from him. "Seriously, there are far more civilized ways to wake up a sleeping boy but never mind. At least this venting will make her much less harsher during the drill." He cast a small drying and warming spell on himself and his clothes, as he started walking towards the wardrobe on the side of his bed.

Zin was very familiar with his manor. Oh far more familiar than any five year-old child could be of his child hood home. Not because he loved exploring it, because don't get me wrong, this manor was indeed very beautiful, but because he had been to every nook and cranny of this manor before even being born. Yeah, this manor was named 'Proudspire Manor', the very one you must buy to become a thane of Haafingar. Zin remembered being surprised and joyed when he learnt that they had bought this manor. Apparently the property had been vacant since its owner had died in the Great War.

Putting on his padded jacket, Zin hurried, almost tripping as he heard the yells coming from the courtyard of the manor. Five minutes was his allotted time to get ready and be on the training ground, but his trainers usually started yelling at him at barely 4 minutes of preparation time.

Zin picked up his blunt practice sword as he made a bee-line down towards the grounds. There he saw his two torturers, the pair of lionesses whom his father had attached to him as his bodyguards, but who claimed that Zin was far too much in danger and he must be able to protect himself, taking this as their opportunity to train him into the way of knights. His swordsmanship teacher Elaine, the fiery tempered one, who used cold water on him to off-set her temper, and the kind hearted platinum blonde Selene who taught him body arts, dodging and was in-charge of his physical fitness.

Running up to them, the two looked stared at each other, quite impressed at his ability and speed, though not hiding the disappointment from missing a chance to make him run 50 laps around the training ground. Looking back at him the, the wonder and appreciation turned back into a deep scowl, as Selene thundered: "trainee Zin, you're such a lazy bum. You're almost late. Don't forget, it was you begging us a month ago to train you in the way of knights and now you're being late. Seriously, we have half a mind to give up training you and make you take cold water baths at mid night to set right you laziness."

"I never wanted to be trained. I just wanted to learn magic and up came you two claiming the need to train me, and now you're blaming it all on the innocent me, this is…." Zin only managed to speak up to here when he was blasted by a cold water jet from Elaine's hand, make him choke, as she retorted with a smirk, "rules recruit. You don't talk when not asked, do not say more than yes and no if not asked to talk when at ease and don't ever negate the instructor. Understood?"

"But….."

"20 laps around the training ground. Understood?"

"But this is unfair...."

"40 laps." Another jet of cold water "understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"45 laps. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Louder. Can't hear you clearly."

"UNDERSTOOD"

"Oh what a shrill voice. Almost like a lady's voice. But ladies don't shout, they're soft spoken like us." Zin rolled his eyes in the back of his head, as if the hollering banshees screaming at me when he was in his room were daedra from oblivion.

"Tch tch, only 45 pity, can't bring it to a wholesome 50. Anyways start running soldier, training is still waiting". Zin started running, cursing his fate at being stuck between these two elegant, civilized looking sadists. Although he knew he was learning from the best, as these two were not just simple knights but rather spell swords, proficient in wielding both swords and fast-paced combat magic. As should be expected from disciples trained by his father, a training and fighting madman. His father always used to say, "Zin, the days of peace aren't for peace, rather they are for readying for the battle. Even if we don't do so, the enemy is always doing it."

And this was the reason, he, a five year boy, who was considered a genius, both mentally and physically, starting walking at 6 months, speaking at 9 months, and started reading and writing at 18 months was being given boot camp treatment.

2 hours later, Zin was receiving a beating from his swordsmanship teacher, who was throwing him around like a rag doll. The straw mattresses did help, though they were much worse compared to good old foam ones, for although they did prevent broken bones, bruises were still present.

"Oi, take this", another jet of cold water, that Zin countered with a lesser ward shield. Seriously, the classes do help. He can show almost the combat capacity of a junior knight when he is only 5. Although his huge mana reserves do contribute a lot to his capabilities. Mana reserves, his father says are comparable to an Arch-mage.

Zin parried another attack from Elaine, as his battle senses flared causing him to roll and cast another lesser ward, as Selene attacked from the other side, followed by her flame attack. Zin did admire the pair of these tutor/bodyguards of his. Both of them spell swords, with Elaine proficient in expert swordsmanship and water/ice based spells and Selene proficient in fast controlling the rhythm of the battle, with her fast swordsmanship and mastery of fast casting small fire and wind spells. Nothing like large scale magic, but yet could be very deadly in a close fight, and in preserving life.

"Little monster, who taught you fighting, why are your battle reflexes so good?" Elaine asked, as she lunged again, to be avoided by Zin using a cartwheel dodge. 'How can I explain to them that these are the side-effects of my dragon soul being awakened right from my birth? Actually, this should happen only when I killed my first dragon, by allowing me to swallow its soul, but I think my awareness of the origin and nature of my soul caused it to awaken right from my birth.'

"Oh Elaine keep quiet, the master forbid us talking about his peculiarities. It'd be too dangerous as even walls have ears", Selene chided her. Elaine pouted, and said, "but still, it's really depressing. We worked so hard for so many years, and this brat looks like he'll be catching up with us within 3 to 4 years, and may even be better than us by the time he is 12, even if we keep making progress. It's so unfair".

"Oh life is unfair. So was it when we had to leave good ole Jehanna for this Nord country. But still, that's how life is." 'Suck it bitches' Zin completed the sentence in his head.

After the morning 'warm up training' of 4 hours as Selene and Elaine called it, Zin returned to the dining room of the manor for his breakfast, only to gobble it down and hurry towards the back rooms where the two mages, whom he had mistaken for maids at the time of his birth lived.

And this was a typical day in the life of Zinkahjool, heir apparent to the former earl of Jehanna, heir apparent to imperial count of house Larus, heir apparent to thane Lars of Haafingar.

So was his life starting from his fifth birthday, when he asked his father for permission to apprentice as a mage for his birthday present, and so was to be his life until he was to be seven years of age, as his father found him mature beyond age, his mana making him an anomaly amongst all races for someone un-trained in magic and so young of age, his body transformed to a superhuman strength from the powerful dragon blood rushing through his veins.