As sunlight seeped in through lazily closed curtains, a young boy with hazel colored hair started opening his eyes. The boy swung his legs over the medium-sized bed, he stood there for a minute rubbing his eyes and stretching his well toned body. Before he could properly wake up, though, he heard a large crash downstairs, which broke him out of his trance like state. A crash like that could only mean one thing, he overslept again, and his father was not happy.
Alchred hastily jumped out of bed, put on the tunic thrown on the floor from yesterday, and scurried to find a pair of pants. But before he could, his dad smashed the door of the room open. Alchred knew that face too well, his father Lord Ethelm was about to give him an earful. "I leave for 2 days, and all of a sudden you decide that skipping class is ok?", before Alchred even had a chance to respond his father kept going, "You think you can sleep till noon and avoid all your duties?". As Alchred opened his mouth to protest and weasel his way out of a punishment, his dad held up his finger. "I don't want to hear a word from you, put on your clothes gather your equipment we are going to see Herbeorht to apologize to him. Nod if you understand, I don't want to hear you speak until I hear your heartfelt apology". Alchred reluctantly nodded his head, he had no choice after all.
Alchred finally found his pants under his bed, he put on his sandals and walked downstairs into the main living area of the manor his parents owned. Alchred considered sneaking into the kitchen to grab a piece of food, however the presence of his father nearby dissuaded him. Alchred walked into the armory, grabbed his wooden training sword and leather armor. He decided to only put on the vest and vambraces of the armor due to the sweltering heat of summer. He expected some sort of comment from his father, however he received none, which worried him.
Once Alchred had all of his gear, he went outside to where his dad was now waiting for him. The sweltering heat got stronger outside without the thick stone walls to protect him anymore. As Alchred's eyes adjusted to the new brightness, his dad beckoned him to follow. They walked through the town of Cawic, where the few citizens braving the intense summer heat greeted his dad. He was a well respected lord, he was kind but was also powerful, enabling him to protect the town from any dangers that may appear. He wasn't a knight captain for no reason, even if most lords only were liege knights. His martial prowess was well renowned, and being classified as a silver class made the people of Cawic very proud to possess a lord such as Lord Ethelm.
On the other hand, Alchred was despised by the members of his village. Alchred was seen as lazy and not holding up to his father's legacy. Alchred of course didn't mind, as these allegations were completely right. He never wanted to follow his father's legacy, he didn't want to become a knight. He would much rather inherit the town of Cawic to become their lord and hire some knight to do all the dirty work. But he knew his father would never allow such a thing to happen, so Alchred was forced to go through all the steps of becoming a knight anyway.
Finally, his dad stopped at the edge of the copper forest, a vast forest that contains some abominable monsters that his father and his soldiers fight off if they get too close to Cawic. That is why his father was such a fearsome warrior since a young age, Alchred's grandfather sent his dad into the forest to fight these monsters. This gave him valuable combat experience, which was unanimously known to trump learning how to fight. A real life or death scenario taught someone much more than a teacher could. However, Alchred never did participate in such barbaric methods, when his dad sent him into the forest he simply sat down under a tree near the edge of the forest where no monsters wandered and waited until it was suitable time to leave. He would report that he found no monsters, and although his dad didn't believe him, he had no evidence to say otherwise. This happened a could have times until his dad gave up on him.
At the edge of the forest stood a small garrison, this was where the majority of the soldiers lived. They kept a vigilant eye on the forest to ensure that no monsters would escape the forest. A couple of hundred meters away stood a small hut with a steel class warrior named Herbeorht, a man reaching his sixties who once was an iron Marshal within the army of Bundinal. After 25 years of servitude, he left the army in search for a more peaceful life. He found himself being employed by Alchred's father to act as Alchred's teacher.
As Alchred stopped, he realized his grumpy teacher was approaching, and he did not look happy that Alchred skipped his usual lesson time today as well.
Herbeorht, was tall, had large shoulders and clearly built muscles that could be seen through his tunic. He had a scar going through his left eye, which he claims he received from fighting a high orc. His eyes were gray and emotionless, however there was a twinge of regret hidden within the gray clouds in his eyes. He was wearing a light tunic due to the sweltering heat, he had a military issue leather belt which had a longsword attached to it. The longsword was his father's and was his prized possession.
"I believe you have something to tell Herbeorht?" said Ethelm. Alchred bowed like he was taught how to from a young age, "I am sorry for skipping training, Herbeorht. I promise not to do it again." Alchred knew Herboerht wouldn't but his bullshit, however with his dad still here he would have to accept the apology. "Very well Alchred, I accept your apology." said Herbeorht. But something was off, Alchred usually could tell that Herbeorht would remain angry even after an apology, but today he remained nonchalant.
"Alright, Herboerht I leave Alchred in your hands for the rest of the day". A wicked smile appeared on Herbeorht's face. Alchred knew what was imminent, he was about to experience hell on earth. As he watched his dad disappear, walking back towards the village, all he could do was pray and hope that one of the gods answered his prayers.