Original Idea
The Unlikely Knight
I was born to the young Selanian Prince of the House Amell. He was next in line to be King. When his father dies he will be King, but until that day he teaches me all that he knows. Six and ten cold seasons have passed since the day of my birth and my father has taught me the art of politics, royal behaviors, histories, battle tactics and most importantly the use and art of weaponry. I have learned all that I can from my father and I am still seeking knowledge in the art of weaponry. My favorite subject my father has taught me. My father was loving and caring and wished to please me, so he went looking for a teacher who could teach me in my chosen subject. He first went to the Captain of his Father, the Mighty King's personal Knights. But the Captain refused to teach me. My father continued down the rank of command among his father's knights, but all refuse to teach me.
My father became desperate to find a teacher for me in the art of weaponry with a good reputation and willing to teach me. We went to a neighboring kingdom and asked the King there if he knew anyone willing to teach me the art the Knights practice. The King sent us to an old man. At first this trip seemed disappointing, but this night began my training as a Knight.
The old man knew nothing of being a knight, but he knew how I could learn to be one. So my father left me with the old man to get the training I so strongly desired. My father was returning home to take the final steps to becoming King of Selania. The night my father left I started a new life and began preparing to be a Knight. The old man cut my hair. The hair that I so tenderly cared for. The old man took my clothing from my possession and began rifling through it. He took out a few pieces of clothes and through the rest in the fireplace, where he had me carefully make and tend a fire. He told me, "From this day forth you shall be known as Mat. You will now do exactly as I say, no matter what, or I will stop helping you get the training and knowledge that you want." I nodded my head and made a slight bow in acceptance of his remark and command.
The next few weeks the old man told me how to walk, talk, eat, drink and even sleep. He told me, "You are now a poor peasant boy, no longer of your royal blood. You must look expendable to the Knights, or you may never become a Knight. Once you are in, you can look other than expendable and I am pretty sure that you will be more than they bargained for, or you would not be here with me fighting to get what you want." The old man had been given money by my father, so that I would not be a burden on him or his family. The old man went out and spent the money on a new wardrobe for me. I didn't like most of what he bought, but I knew better than to complain. But there was one article that I loved. It was a black broad rimmed hat. I began to wear it everyday, mainly due to my lack of hair, but the old man never told me to take it off. He just smiled and nodded to me. He once said, "You are finally getting the hang of this."
A month after my arrival in Rakeil, it was time to try and be recruited by the Knights. I took with me nothing but my trusty daggers, which were the only weapons that I didn't have to buy anew. There was a long line of boys trying for this honor, I was among them. To even be considered for this we had to pass a physical. This was the most horrifying part of the entire ordeal for me, but thankfully I had already had a physical done and the old man showed the doctor the papers saying that I was fit as a fiddle. Phase one was done and the line of boys was considerably shorter. The next test was to follow the orders. This was very similar to the game I played with my friends at play time. The told us to do something in a certain order and if we didn't do it exactly as said we were taken out of the ranks and sent home. Since I had been taking orders from the old man for the month previous, I did very well. After the orders stopped, the line was shorter yet. Now came the final test. The Captain of the guard said to us, "This is the hardest test of all you will endure today. This is a test of coordination and to see if you boys have any related skills in the art of combat. Only five of you will be chosen."
The test began. I was towards the end of the line, so as the fighting began, I did as I was taught. I began to watch the Knights fighting the boys. I watched for their weaknesses and the strengths. I would use their weakness against them and try to counter their strengths. There were only three combatants to choose from. I would land any one of the three, they rotated in order but the line was far too long to see which one I would end up with, so I watched them all.
The first combatant was a short, stocky man with a fair amount of muscle behind him. His strength and his skills were his strengths, that was a given for he was a Knight and knew what he was doing. But he had one flaw in his many performances. He had a weak stance. If taken by surprise or if attacked first his stance would be broken and you could gain your point. But no one ever did this, not a single boy got a point on him; he was my far the easiest opponent.
The second combatant was a tall, muscular man. He has a good style and an unbreakable stance, but he left many openings in this swings and his defenses. If you had the right timing you could score a point directly at his heart. Two boys gained a point off of him, but in my opinion it was just by luck. At those precise moments he had fallen over a rock.
The third was a man of great strength and build. He was build like a house and he looked mean. But he was not a fighter; he lacked everything but muscle. But because he was so intimidation, no one gained a point off of him.
It was nearing my turn, but I wanted to watch my opponents further, so I stepped to the end of the line. It looked as thought I were a coward but my reasoning was sound. I knew what I was doing and I knew what I was going to do, but I didn't want to give away my tactics or my insights, so I stepped to the back of the line. The old man saw me do this and he smiled at me. The smile was the one he gave me when I was doing something right. At the time I wasn't sure if he knew what I was planning or if just waiting till the end was the best. I got my answer when he nodded his head. He knew what I was thinking.
The time was close for me to make my mark; one person left and then it would be my turn. The boy before me was shaking his boots, he had the monstrous fighter ahead of him. The boy panicked and fell. No point scored.
Now came my turn. I have the man with the weak stance. But instead the Captain of the Knights held up his hand ad said, "No more shall fight, the five have been chosen."
I was upset at this and began, " You think I am a coward, a person full of fear. I am not! I would not be here if I were. Do you care to hear my reasons behind stepping to the end of the line?"
The Captain sighed, "May as well, young coward."
"I stepped to the back of the line to further watch my opponents. I watched to find their weakness. I watched for their strengths. Both have their points to them, a weakness can be exploited and a strength can be avoided. This one." I pointed to the man I was to fight. "He has a weak stance, but is good in most all other areas. To gain a point attack him first, he will stagger and you can make a quick thrust at his heart and you shall score." Then pointing to the one that had just fought. "Him. He is nothing but muscle. He has little to no skill. People lose to him only because he is intimidating. To make a point all is need is a quick move under his swing and a backward slash at his head and he will be slain. The last has holes in his attacks and in his defenses. To make a point all is needed is the right timing and then when he attacks, dodge him to the left side and swing to his side and you will mortally wound him. This is what I looked for and this is what I would have done had I gotten a chance to prove myself."
"And how do we know this," replied the Captain, " if you are the only one who sees these things. These men are Knights, they have had the best training the world can offer, and a peasant boy like you says he can defeat them. Do you care to demonstrate?"
Calling his bluff, "It would be my honor, my Lord Captain." And I did just what I said I would do. Two Knights were scored against and the crowd made a horrendous roar of delight as the last Knight was struck. That day myself and four others were chosen.