Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress of Ashtown

Lessons in Defense

Those who underwent training to become a Sorceress's Knight learned a great many things: history, math, literature, geography, science, and more. They were not just a partner and a protector, they were also a scholar, a confidant, and someone that a Sorceress could use to bounce ideas off of. That was why the curriculum of Arcadia's Knight Academy was so intensive and in-depth. Young nobles learned far more than which end of a sword they were supposed to stick into their opponent.

Intensive academics aside, combat was still considered the premier subject that all Sorceress's Knight candidates needed to excel in. It didn't matter how intelligent someone was if they couldn't protect the person they were supposed to look after.

The main purpose of a Sorceress's Knight was to protect a Sorceress from danger while she summoned a spirit. Spirits took time to summon depending on the power of the spirit and the chant being used. A light spirit being summoned for a basic chant to illuminate the area around a Sorceress would take less time to summon than a light spirit with a longer chant to burn an opponent's retina or―Gaia forbid―a chant to wipe out an entire city.

Caspian found himself standing in a spacious training hall along with the rest of the Sorceress's Knight candidates, all fifteen of them. They were lined up in a row, many of them looking eager to prove themselves. Their instructor, a tall man with solid muscles, a square face, and wearing basic leather armor with extra padding stood in front of them. Grasped firmly in his massive, calloused hand was a large wooden claymore that looked about as tall as him.

The training hall was just that, a large room nearly twice as long as it was wide. The room consisted of the same stone walls and arched ceiling as every other room at the academy, but it also contained a platform situated at its center. It covered much of the floor, this platform, leaving only a bit of space for students to stand. Hanging along the walls were various weapons that were meant more for decoration than practical application.

As they stood before him, the instructor cleared his throat before speaking in a loud, booming voice that echoed through the training hall. "Okay, everyone, you know how this goes. You're going to be sparring with me today. Wait until I call your name, and then come onto the platform where I'll test your abilities and see how much you've learned in the past three years." After saying this, the instructor glanced down at the board in his hand and called out the first name on the list. "Ichiya Clouse!"

As Ichiya, a little weedy kid who looked more like a fourteen year old than a sixteen year old, walked onto the platform, Caspian zoned out. He wasn't particularly interested in watching his peers spar. Instead, he thought about his own time spent at the academy.

Unlike most students who arrived at the age of thirteen, Caspian had been living at the academy since he was ten. He hadn't taken part in any of the classes back then―he hadn't been old enough at the time―but he'd spent a good deal of that time in the library and, when he could, sneaking into the training hall to practice his own swordsmanship. Even after being scolded repeatedly for not obeying instructions, he'd continued sneaking about, much to the faculty and headmaster's dismay.

That dismay had turned into outrage from many of the staff when he turned thirteen, and the headmaster announced that he would be attending the academy with the nobles.

The first two years at the academy were spent enhancing one's physical strength and endurance through exercises and stretches. During that two year period, students learned what sort of combatants they were. Different warriors had more talent in different aspects of battle. Some relied on speed, others strength. Some preferred precision, while some simply took to striking whenever the opportunity arose. It all relied on a person's innate skill and the way their body was built.