Tag Archives: Lance Da

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #14

As they walked out of the bleachers and through the training center, Metcalf couldn’t help but stare at Lance’s sword.  It was huge!  It was wide enough for her to hide behind!  And with the ease he was able to handle it; he could probably cut through a squirrel in a single swing!

She was so startled by its size she could only blurt out the obvious.  “That’s a huge sword,” she shouted, “How do you lift it!”

Immediately the student with knife and chain started giggling.  “Not now Will,” Lance’s other companion said.  Will tried to stop as best he could.  The joke escaped Metcalf.  It seemed to be an inside gag between the two of them.

Because of Lance’s armor, Metcalf couldn’t see any muscles but he looked fit enough.  His dark brown face was average at best, serious and observant.  There was no hint of strain.  Carrying the massive sword was easy for him though it could possibly be heavier than he was.

Lance was a large Crisho, almost six centimeters tall.  He dwarfed his companions easily.  At six and a half centimeters long, his sword dwarfed him.  He attracted a lot of attention by just walking with it.  Metcalf couldn’t help but think how much attention he got when he entered the training center.

He had not been here long enough to be experienced with the school.  He could possibly be experienced with combat.  There were rumors that he rescued a team of Protectors on one of their missions.  She didn’t know all of the details, but to save those trained intensely to save countries from warlords and militants took some skill.

He was obviously well practiced at manipulating motion.  How else could he lift such a large object so easily?  Metcalf was glad she didn’t challenge him to a three strike drill.  Even a simple slap with that thing would knock her out.

As he walked through the other students, he adjusted sword’s angle so that it was almost vertical.  He took care not to hit anyone accidentally.  As a result, the tip of his sword poked about a decimeter into the air becoming a beacon to anyone looking for him.  Obviously Metcalf wasn’t the only one amazed at his sword.  Conversations stopped as students turned to stare  as they walked.

“Its name is Aido, ” Lance said.  The starting conversation took Metcalf’s eyes away from his sword.  Only then did she realize that she was being spoken to.  Lance continued, “Some of my friends in Dust Wind made it for me.  They kept adding layers to it as I got stronger.”

“Isn’t it a little uncomfortable to walk around with,” Metcalf asked, “You could hurt someone with that thing.”  Metcalf had seen large weapons before but this one was extreme.  Heavy, sharp and impossible to sheath, he probably had to prepare for every doorway he walked through.

As soon as she finished talking, Will started giggling again, louder this time.  Again, it was followed with the other student saying, “Not now Will,” this time with more emphasis.

“A friend taught me a technique for moving things,” Lance said smiling, “There are a lot less people in Dust Wind too.  I’ll have to get used to crowds.”

Metcalf was having the worst luck with  targets today.  First she’s picked by a student from the top twenty percent, and now she picks a student that could possibly have crazy skills.  Thankfully, Lance was a new student and unfamiliar with the school drills.  She could pull out a surprise tactic that he would never think of and beat him that way.  Then she would be done for the day.

They reached the push drill area.  It was relatively empty but that was no surprise.  Academy points moved too fast for most students to be comfortable gambling here.  The drill guard was happy to see them.  This would be a well-used drill during the other times of the year, just not now.  With midterm coming up, he was just plain bored.

Just as Will described earlier, there was a smooth rock from the river placed perfectly in the center.  There were also two platforms on either side.  Metcalf walked to hers while Lance and his friends took the other stand.  Metcalf was ready to enter in all the information but it seemed that Lance was discussing things with his friends.

#1 – Lost and Found #13 – Lost and Found #15

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #13

Lance was wearing plain brown armor possibly made out of thick cloth.  Even the basic equipment in Forge Master Sef’s armory was more advanced than that.  Metcalf couldn’t see his weapon but it had to be something basic as well.  He wasn’t wearing a helmet.  Maybe he didn’t have one.

He was sitting high in the first level of bleachers flanked by two other students.  The three of them looked at the crowds competing below.  Lance just stared at everything.  Perhaps he was trying to take it all in.  Every now and again, one of the other students would point to an event while talking to him.  Apparently they were teaching Lance something.

Metcalf couldn’t recognize the other two students.  They were probably higher ranking students like Isabeau.  If so, they had no reason to be in the training center.

Lance had only been here a month.  There was no way they moved in the same social circles.  It was very likely the two students were assigned by the school to show him around.

Why would they bring him here?  Last she knew Lance was from the Rock Quarter.  Rock Quarter housing was on the far side of Glory City.  It was quite a trip to bring him all the way to this particular training center.

In the end it didn’t matter.  They were here, and therefore, fair game.  She could challenge any of them.  If they accepted a challenge, Metcalf could see exactly what they were capable of.

Lance was apparently capable of something.  Though he was still deep the red zone, he had gotten a heap of points in a few hours.  Still, midterm was in less than a week.  It would be impossible for him to get enough points to get out of the zone.  No matter what he did at this point he was going to take the final.

He may have just enough points to help her though.  She wouldn’t take all of them of course, just enough to get her to a safe point.  Also, it would be educational to show Lance just how quickly points disappear in the training center.  If he learned the lesson early, he wouldn’t be in the same situation Metcalf was in.

She started walking up the stairs towards them.  By the time she got to them, they saw and recognized her.  Even though they knew what and who she was going to ask, protocol demanded that she ask anyway.

Metcalf tried to sound as innocent as she could.  “Hey,” she said looking at Lance, “you want to do a push drill?”

She almost sounded innocent.  The look Lance gave her spoke volumes.  He knew something was up.  He looked to his companions questioning.  They both looked back as to say the choice was his.  “What’s a push drill,” he asked finally.

“Basically it’s like tug of war,” the student on his left said, “they get a large rock from the river and you try to use your motion skills to push more of it to your opponent’s zone.”

The student looked at Metcalf with an untrusting glare as he spoke.  Metcalf didn’t recognize him but apparently, they met in the training center before.

“Is there any limit on how we use our motion skills,” Lance asked.

That’s an odd question.  How is there more than one way to use motion skills?  You trade motion from something you don’t care is moving to move something else.  Metcalf was stuck on the thought for a while then she spoke.  “Sometimes, people put limits on where you can stand, but I don’t see any reason to put any limits on this drill.”

“Sweet,” Lance said with sudden energy, “I’m game.”

Metcalf saw their weapons.  The student to the left had a metal staff.  The other one had a large knife with a chain connected to it.  She didn’t see Lance’s weapon until they got up.

As the stadium seats lifted, she saw it.  His massive sword was under their seats the whole time and for good reason.  It was easily taller than any of them.  It was more than six centimeters long, two centimeters wide, and at least three millimeters thick.  The back of the sword housed a long handle.  The tip of the single edged weapon curved out from the blade and then back as to imitate the crescent shape of a very large axe.  The hilt area expanded in its last few millimeters to meet the blade.  The pummel of the hilt was a thick version of the classic hanging circle.  It looked more like a small metal doughnut.

It was all made from a single piece of metal.  She didn’t know how heavy it was.  It had to be heavier than any of them without armor.  It looked impossible to lift but Lance picked it up like it was a paper cutout.

All packed up and ready, Lance throws the sword over his shoulder causing the student behind him to flinch.  “Alright let’s go.”

#1 – Lost and Found #12 – Lost and Found #14

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #1

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Glory City: Stream Quarter Dorms

Metcalf Luo woke to the sound of soft music and a calming water mixer that served as her alarm clock.  Sunlight poured into her room signaling late morning.  Her bed and blankets, soft and warm, left behind for the day’s work.  Dreams slipped from her head as she frowned remembering her tasks and what must be done; what she must do to stay at Sword Mint Academy.

Happy plush toys lined the dressers and tables along the pale orange walls.  They were as close as they needed to be.  Most activities were done outside anyway.  All the same, she would have preferred to have a larger living space.

After her shower, she checked her handheld for the student ranking.  The holographic image displayed a transparent image of all Sword Mint Academy students ranked by their Academy Points.  The rankings changed ever so slightly as she looked; that happened constantly.

She focused the image on the lower forty percent.  The lower half of her focus was covered in a red hue.  These students would be the ones most desperate for Academy Points.  The final exam was dreaded by all students.  If they didn’t find a way out of the red zone within the week, they would have to take it.  Her own portrait was just above the red zone, her rank slipping as she slept.

She looked all the way to the bottom.  “Hm…  Still hasn’t moved yet,” she said to herself.  Lance Da had been accepted to the academy a month or so ago.  There was a little fanfare at his arrival but she paid little attention.  Metcalf recognized him differently now.  He was at the very bottom of the pack since he arrived, still with zero Academy Points.  Most new students rest for a week or so before they start trying to advance, but Lance?

It could be easy enough for him to pass the test.  The Quarter Masters would not expect him to learn enough to warrant a strict grading curve.  However, everyone takes the same strenuous test.  It was difficult enough that even the newer students try to learn as much as they could to prepare for the inevitable.  Lance wasn’t even trying.

She hoped he did well.  It would be embarrassing to fail in the first half year.  For new comers, the test was more of a wake-up call.  A heavy reminder of what Sword Mint Academy expects its students to be able to do.  She took the test once and passed, barely.  It was as horrible as she expected.  She never wanted to take the test again.  Since then, she managed to stay above the red zone with Naoh and Koh’s help.

It worked well but she did not like what they did.  It had to be a perversion of the Academy Point System.  Thankfully, Mid Term was coming up soon.

Now sixteen years old, she had been at the academy for most of her life.  She started realizing her niche a few months ago.  Her type of combat was not the type that warriors crave on the battle field.  She attacked from the shadows.  She was getting good enough to stop gambling with her Academy Points.  She would miss hanging out with Naoh and Koh, but they would have to get their points without her.  Perhaps after Mid Term she could speak to Master Fu about getting a new training regimen.

She stretched and put on her armor.  She grabbed her weapons; Blue, her short bow with barbed bolt arrows; Rasz and Black, her weighted aluminum nightsticks.  She took a count of her throwing knives, making sure she had all twenty of them.  She put the lot into her traveling bag and went out for breakfast.

She still could be a great warrior.  Stealth warriors have a good place in their field.  She would need more training to be useful but that was for another day.  Today, she needed to ensure her own survival at Sword Mint Academy.  To do that, she had to play the swindler; again.

“Here we go again.”

Lost and Found #2