The Shield Bearer

Chapter 3

After an awkwardly long silence, with Rene not knowing what to say to the people staring at her, like she had just done the impossible, James spoke up.

"Phew! That was closer than I'd like to admit." He stood up and straightened the new, white robes that he was now wearing. He turned first to face the Shield Masters. "Thank you for giving me the honor of training with you. But as you have seen, following this path would only lead to my premature death." He then turned to the two priests. "My calling is with you. Please take me to the temple, so that I may speak with the Arch Bishop."

The two of them shook from head to toe, for a moment and then seemed to come out of a trance. "Yes sir!" They started towards the infirmary, which was the fastest way to reach the temple from here. This required that they walk past Rene, who was still standing, a bit in shock, herself. They stared intently at her, keeping their eyes on her, until they were forced to look away as they headed on.

James gave Rene a big smile as he walked up and grabbed her into a big bear hug. "Thank you, Rene. But don't get too big for your britches, even if a goddess touched you. You will always be like a little sister to me. I will pray for you everyday. Journey well." He let go of her, only to grab her shoulders and hold them briefly, as if to size her up.

In that moment, Rene took the opportunity to size him up too. His coal black hair was still a bit unkempt, like he had a bad haircut. His face was clean shaven. His eyes were still almost as black as his hair. And he was grinning like a school boy, who just won the prize.

"We did make a pact, to make it together. While I can't follow you to the battlefield, I will be with you in prayer. Keep your faith and we will face what comes, together, as we promised we would." He then nodded, as if reassuring somebody, unseen. James turned and marched off, catching up with the priests, following them through the infirmary door. Rene wondered when she would see him again..

'Well then," Elric's voice was serious as it pulled Rene's attention back to the courtyard. "I think that I can say with pride and a bit of awe, that you, Rene are a Shield Bearer." The term shield bearer was used by the common folk, to refer to Shield Masters. Since it was the role of a shield master to protect the common folk, they commonly used the title that the people gave them.

Rene looked at the other eight trainers, who were smiling broadly. There was Jesse, and in a moment she finally remembered the names of the others. The tall barbarian was Adam, with his longsword. There was Graves, the one with the morning star. Christof and Cameron were the twin brothers, bearing matching twin shields and swords. George, David and Mortimer carried maces

Elric offered her a warm smile. Then turned to look at the remaining seven candidates. All were standing at attention, with their shields in position, their eyes focused on Rene. "Congratulations to all of you." He swung his arm out expansively toward the students. "You are all now ready for the real training."

All of them sighed in unison and disappointment. Apparently, they thought that they had failed their test.

"Don't get all down on me now! You should all be proud. All of you have earned the title of Shield Bearer, tonight." Elric admonished them for misunderstanding. "But that is not where your training ends. All Shield Bearers, must serve a certain amount of time, in the service of the host city's militia. This is an opportunity for you to repay, the expense that our hosts have put into training you. It is also an opportunity for all of you to learn the real life applications of your training."

The young shield bearers perked up as he explained that they had passed the final test. They murmured amongst themselves, trying not to shout their excitement at their success. After taking a moment to absorb the implications of what Elric had told them, one young man stepped forward, apparently speaking for the group. "Sir...we are honored to serve and honored by the new title that you have granted us. But..." He hesitated a moment and flashed an awkward look at Rene.