Leif Denien Chapter 2

Leif Denien
Chapter 2

"Leif, are you alright?" his father asked.

"Terrible nightmare," Leif muttered. He was sweating all over. It had been a long time since he had experienced a bad dream.

"Yes, we know," Jason said with a nervous grin. "You were screaming for the past ten minutes."

Leif sighed. The relief at simply being alive was overwhelming. But another feeling replaced the one of fear and relief. It was hunger. Leif always had an enormous appetite.

"Could I have something to eat?" Leif asked meekly.

Jason laughed. "Always have food on your mind, don't you?" Even Leif laughed at this. Amelia, his mother, came in looking sick.

"Oh, you are alright!" she said with more relief than Leif had even felt.

"She wouldn't leave your side until I had pointed out that you would be hungry when you awoke," Jason said smiling.

"You had us both worried with your screaming," his mother said with a forced smile. "You were sweating and had a terrible fever."

"Well, I'm just glad that my dream wasn't real," Leif said sitting up. The smell of fried bacon and bread had just hit him. "Oh, but what I won't do for a piece of bacon right now." They all got up and went to the family table. Leif was slightly lightheaded. He leaned against the wall and regained his balance. Amelia had a spatula that was hand fashioned by Jason. It was the first birthday present he had ever given her. She hadn't used another one since. She scooped up the bacon and placed it on a pewter plate. Jason got up and helped set the table.

Leif's job at breakfast was to get water. He opened the same scarred door which he had entered through the night before and walked over to the well. It was relatively small with a bucket and a ladle. He hauled the bucket of water up and took a sip, making sure it was pure. Leif swished the water around in his mouth. It was pure, so he carried the bucket inside. Leif set it down on the table and sat while the rest of breakfast was dished to the plates. He stole a piece of bread and popped it into his mouth. His mom usually gave him a dirty look when he did that. This time she either didn't see him or didn't feel like reprimanding him.

Jason exited through their front door. He always did so to get the daily news from the capital. Amelia finished setting up for breakfast, but they never started until Jason got back. Luckily the office was just down the street. A messenger always came in the morning from the capital with information about the progression of the brewing war. The office would then have their scribes write copies, where they would then be bound and sold.

His father came in and sat at his place at the head of the table.

"Ah, let's see what's in the paper today!" he said jubilantly. He pulled off he string that bound the scroll together. That was the signal. Leif grabbed a few pieces of bacon and two rolls. He ripped one roll open and put a few pieces of bacon in. This was his favorite breakfast. Leif took a bite and savored the bacon prepared by the pig farmer ,Ulias, down the street. He was the best in the village.

They ate in silence while Leif's father stared down at the paper, not missing a singe syllable. Leif and his mother always thought it comical how diligently Jason studied the paper. When Leif was born, Jason had asked his friend, Belan, what a good father does. The first thing that came to Belan's mind was reading the news. Wanting to be the best father possible, Jason took up reading the news every morning. He never missed a beat and soon it became the signal that it was alright to begin eating, a tradition that Leif had grown up with. Usually, there were simply sales on blacksmith equipment. Being a blacksmith, he made swords for the army and for the village guard. There was a wasteland outside of the village and it was subject to raids by barbarians and wild wolves. Other than sales on blacksmith equipment there were food prices in the bazaar down the street, but the most interesting to Leif was information on the upcoming war.

“So, are you excited about your birthday?” Leif’s father asked him. Leif winced. He knew what was coming.

“Yes, very,” He replied.

“Have you decided on your profession yet?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, so, are you going to take after your father and become a blacksmith?”

“Umm..” Leif stuttered. Leif knew what he wanted to do, but he didn’t want to tell his father. Only arguing would ensue. “I…I’m going to be a village guardian,” Leif closed his eyes. He flexed every muscle and prepared for the wave of anger that would come crashing into him.

“A village guardian?” What future does that have for you. Danger?”

“It would be fun, protecting this village. And, an honor,” Leif fought back.

“An honor? Sure it would be an honor, but it would also be a waste of intelligence and life. Too many die while protecting this village!”

“Someone has to do it, or we would all die!” Leif shouted.

“Both of you,” Amelia cut in, “stop this. Neither of you will win!” Leif and Jason both looked sheepishly to Amelia and she shook her head and continued eating.

When Leif finished eating he excused himself solemnly from the table to get dressed for school.

He dressed in his favorite shirt that his mother made for him. It was a blue cotton shirt with golden embroidery. It fit him perfectly.

There were only ten students in his school class. His teacher was the village elder, Tei Maryon, the wisest man in the village whose duty was to pass on his knowledge. The only thing he didn't teach was swordplay, which was taught by the captain of the guard, Tei Henriton. Tei was their title for teacher.

He walked out the door, prepared for the horde of knowledge that always seemed to trample him. He knew it was important, but that didn't mean learning was easy. Leif stepped out, breathing in the light, crisp air. He would have to follow the path to the center of town where all the markets were and take a right to the forest. There was a forest haven where they met Tei Maryon everyday.

A light fog flowed from Leif's lips every time he exhaled. It was getting warmer, but winter had just ended. When it was too cold, Leif would go into his father's blacksmith shop just to warm himself. The hot fire served many purposes. Leif trod lightly because he knew he would be tired from staying up the night before. The mystical moon was still outside, but fading quickly.

Leif started to regain his appetite after he let his anger cool off. Leif stepped into the baker’s shop. Eliza, the baker’s wife stepped out to greet Leif. Her face was red with anger, but upon seeing Leif, calmed. She was a beautiful woman, who was skinny and had pursed lips.

“Why, hello, Leif!” She sang.

“Leif is here?” a voice came from back within the shop. A rather plump man popped his head out.

“Leif!” The man held his arms out in greeting.

“Pop!” Leif smiled in greeting to the baker. Leif loved Pop. He had a great sense of humor and was always happy.

“Get back to work in there, or we’ll starve!” his wife barked at him. It was obvious to Leif that she had been mad at him before Leif arrived.

“So,” she said, calming down again, “how may we help you?”

“I would like one sweet roll to go!” Leif said walking up to the counter.

“We have one right here!” She pulled out the frosted pastry and held it out for him. The aroma of fresh bread and sugar filled his entire body.

“How much?” Leif asked.

“Oh, don’t worry, this one’s on the house!” Pop shouted from the back room.

“Thanks Pop!” Leif shouted back.

“Thanks Eliza.” Leif nodded thankfully.

“Of course,” She said with gritted teeth. As Leif left, he could hear Eliza shouting something about how Pop was going to force them broke by always giving to everyone.

After a few minutes, He reached the forest edge. There was a sign that stated "Forest Haven- a place for learning." Leif acknowledged the directions and started down the path. There was something holy about this forest area, but he and his friends usually took it for granted because it was where they met for school. The birds had woken and started chirping their singsongs. The sun came over the horizon and a beam hit the back of Leif's neck. It warmed him to the bones. He loved the feeling of the first rays of the sun. A peace came over him as he neared the haven.

He was the first one to reach the haven. Even before Tei Maryon. It was a large area with an altar in the middle. The shrine read, "Forest Haven, in memory of Cakron Yahrul." Cakron was the village's hero. He was a wizard who dwelt in this forest. It always amazed Leif that magic existed. Few could use it and few had it. Leif often wondered how people obtained the ability to use magic. Leif knelt and wiped the dust off the altar. As the sun's rays shone through the forest ceiling to the statue, the beautiful white stone shone and sparkled. Leif smiled at its beauty.

"He was brave, and loved the people of this village," a voice said from behind Leif. Startled, Leif got up quickly and turned around. He saw Maryon, his teacher standing with a warm smile. He hadn't heard Tei Maryon approach. The old man had caring eyes, worn by ages. The man carried a walking stick that was carved out of the finest yellow pine. Leif relaxed when he realized it was his wise teacher.

"He's a legend," Leif whispered.

"You will get a chance to learn more about him in the history lesson today," Maryon said with a smile. Leif made a sign of respect and sat waiting for the lesson to begin.

More students arrived speaking amongst themselves. Everyone spoke one to another. Leif looked for his friends but couldn't find them. He was shy, and didn't feel like talking to any body else, and so he sat alone. Maryon walked to the altar and smiled. Most of the students respected him, but a select few were disrespectful all of the time. Leif turned to see Yurken, another member of the class who was always mocking Maryon.

"Today, you will have a special lesson about the wizard Cakron Yahrul, to whom this shrine is dedicated." Usually there was a murmur of complaints when they were going to learn history, but today there was an excited whisper as they heard the name Cakron. He was a legend taught to them ever since childhood.

"Quiet down, quiet down," Tei Maryon said softly. "In the year of 234 X, when magic still existed, there was a magician named Cakron. He was strong with the magic, and the other wizards were jealous. Cakron was banished to this very forest. He continued his studies and befriended the animals. He had the gift of tongues, and could speak every language, including the language of the creatures. Soon a tribe set up our village here. Cakron at first was weary of outsiders. But after awhile, he became the trusted adviser of the tribe chief. Soon, they set him as the village elder, the position in which I am now. He led the tribe so that it thrived. He was seen rarely, because he continued to live in the forest, near this haven. They were attacked one day by an army of barbarians that outnumbered the villagers six to one. When all the village's defenses were gone, Cakron came out and used a magical spell which destroyed the army of barbarians, but was killed himself as well. He had set up our governmental system and was our protector. Now what remains are this shrine and his hut further in the forest. You are all dismissed to the battleground."

Everyone got up, and stretched their limbs. They were all sore from sitting down, though it was a short lesson. Leif yawned and walked toward the battleground.

The next class was swordplay. The battlegrounds was a large fenced in area with solid dirt lining the ground. Today, they were having a tournament to prepare them for the trials. Leif retrieved one of the fake swords from the weapon rack. It was relatively light and he knew he would do well with it. They lined up and teams were picked for them. Luckily, Leif ended up on a team with Zach, his best friend. Zach was short, but powerfully built. He had black hair and always had something humorous to say. They clasped hands and gave each other encouragement.

"We're gonna’ win this one, I can feel it!" Zach said with a shout. It was Zach’s dream to become a member of the village guard himself.

"Yeah, right," a voice said from behind them. Leif didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Yurken. This kid would not give them a break for anything. He had short blond hair and green eyes. Those eyes were always so cold. Yurken lunged at Zach with his sword and Zach attempted to parry but Yurken wove through it and playfully tapped Zach on the chest. "Like I said. Yeah. Right." Yurken was the best of the class and let everyone else know it. Zach desperately wanted to defeat him. He would practice every day. Somehow Yurken could always defeat him.

"Hey, knock it off," Leif said threateningly.

"Whatcha' gonna do about it?" Yurken asked in an annoying voice. When he did that it sounded like he was holding his nose. Leif's muscles tightened in frustration. Yurken thought he was cool just because he could swordplay the best. Yurken danced around the two boys whacking them with his sword. Leif attempted a parry but before his blade could protect himself Yurken's blade hit him once again. Leif burned inside. He would never be a village guard if he had to compete with this guy. But maybe if Yurken became the captain of the guard Leif could serve under him. No, Leif would never settle for that. If he was to become a member of the village guard, he would have to become a better swordsman than Yurken.

"Hey!" a voice sounded. It was their teacher, Tei Henriton. "No fighting between teams before the matches."

"But he was attacking them," said a voice that made Leif's legs go wobbly. It was a girl with beautiful brown hair that had protested. It was Katie. Leif smiled. She walked over and stood by them.

"I wasn't talking to just Leif and Zach," Henriton said smiling. "Get back to your team, Yurken."

"Thank you Henriton," Leif said bowing his head in respect.

"No problem."

Leif liked Henriton. He was always fair, and didn't favor anyone. Leif was also put with Julius and Anuchus. On the opposing team stood Yurken, Telem, Jonnas, and Will. The matches would begin in a few minutes. Leif practiced with Zach. They went back and forth parrying, cross-slashing, lunging, parrying, lunging, parrying. After awhile they decided to take a rest. They each had individual pouches full of water. Leif grabbed his and drank half in one gulp.

"Ok, the match is about to begin. Students, come here!" Henriton demanded. Everyone circled around him. He drew a large circle in the ground.

"The first to leave this circle or be hit on the chest or stomach is the loser. The winner gains a point for his or her team."
Leif was first set against Telem. He was at a slight disadvantage because the sun was in his eyes. He didn't want to be the first to strike. He was worried about this. He was never a confident swordsman. Leif faked a lunge at his opponent. Telem played right into it and Leif dodged his parry and struck Telem in the chest. Telem backed down without much of a fight. He lowered his head and walked out of the ring. Leif felt an inspiring surge of joy at having won. He walked out of the circle with honor.
One-Zero.

Leif rejoined Zach, who was still cheering.

"Thanks, Zach," Leif said humbly. Zach clasped hands with Leif. He and Katie exchanged glances and Leif smiled quickly at her, and looked back to the matches. Leif's heart sped up in tempo, and though he tried he couldn't hide his feelings toward her. Leif downed the rest of his water. He knew he shouldn't have, and that he'd be thirsty later. He strapped his pouch to his belt and turned back to the games. Another of his team members had just won. Three-to-one. The first team to five wins would be the victors.

Zach went up next against Yurken. Leif silently willed him to win. He and Katie started cheering for him. Zach made the first strike. That was a mistake. Yurken simply parried it away. Yurken struck at him, but Zach turned to the side just in time. The blade slid past him. Yurken tried to bring the sword across, but Zach had regained himself. Zach knocked the sword away and attacked again. Yurken ducked and then lunged. Before Zach could move, he was hit in the belly. Leif dropped his head. It seemed that no matter how Zach tried, he couldn't beat Yurken, though he was getting better. Leif felt badly for him. Leif seemed to always feel everyone else's pain.

"It's ok Zach, another time," Leif said sorrowfully. Three-to-two.

"Next is Leif vs. Yurken!"