Ria was in her room. She was unscathed though it was quite the traumatic experience for her first foray outside of her sheltered life in the RazenHeir mansion.
Her heart pounded in her chest.
Ba dum! Ba dum! Ba dum!
She started breathing heavily, gasping for air.
Her mind was filled with the feeling of being trapped in the damp darkness, squeezed from all sides by wet cotton unable to move a muscle.
The pungent stench filled her nostrils, permeating through every fibre of her being
She breathed a deep breath, stretching her lungs to the limit, until she choked. It was normal air. She breathed. Still normal.
Ba dum! Ba dum! Images of a gigantic knight, clad in impervious armour, a hulking pillar of sheer strength, swinging a sword with the force of a hundred men, dominating the entire area around her.
She towered over her, watched over her. Her cold expression, the echoing sound of her voice, and the smell of her sweat.
"Down on the ground!" Her voice echoed in her head.
Ria fell off her chair.
She was panting, seeing her own sweat dripping on the carpet.
She couldn't think straight. Images of the gigantic knight kept flashing before her.
"This is unbecoming." She got up, walked to her wardrobe and changed out of her sweat soaked attire.
"Are you there?" She called out as she buttoned her shirt.
Shortly after, a maid opens the door.
"Yes my lady" She stands at attention, both hands on her skirt.
"What's my schedule? I should have lessons today."
"None, my lady. Your tutors are unable to travel due to recent incidents."
Ria paced around the room. For the first time in a while, she has some free time.
"My fencing outfit, where is it?" She asked suddenly.
Her maid was surprised by the suggestion.
"The stores. Forgive me, but my lady hardly drills."
" Is that so? Well, I think some drilling is in order."
"Yes, my lady. I'll go fetch it right away."
Ria left her room, made her way out through the halls of the estate mansion and out the back.
Her drilling outfit, a plain white tunic, black pants and a set of knee and elbow guards.
It was a straight pavement through to the drill hall.
The estate garden was to her right. A glass roof over the rows of delicate flowers. Some only found in obscure corners of the realms.
To the left, the barracks down the hill. Troops formed in a neat rectangle, swinging their swords in a synchronised fashion.
She reached the RazenHeir drill hall. The two storey tall entrance towered over her.
It was spacious. Really spacious. If used as a granary, it would supply the estate for more than a year.
It was meticulously kept. The maids swept and dusted the place at least once a day.
On the wall, there were the drill hall arms.
Great swords for a balanced style.
Short sword and musket pair complete with clockwork autoloaders for a scuffle in tight quarters or a hit and run attack.
Bucklers offered good defence for their weight.
Javelins to skewer beasts of war. Bombs to counter heavy armour.
It was a training regime built around skirmishing, utilizing the flames of the RazenHeir house that deals damage that adds up in an attritional battle but lacks immediate stopping power.
"Good morning, Lady Ria!" A burly knight bellowed. Sir Parkel, the Razenheir houses longest serving drill master.
He was in his usual tank top. His hair was grey and scarce, making way for a notable shine. Despite that, his physique was impressive with the exception of his conspicuous belly.
"You are certainly a rare sight around here!" He laughed with youthful energy.
"Stop it." Ria cast him an annoyed look.
"HaHaHa! It's good that you are safe. All of the knights are out on patrol now. You now have the hall to yourself."
Ria surveyed the halls. It was not often that she pays the place a visit.
She noticed some peculiar things. In one corner, there was a set of elbow and knee guards large enough to be zeppelin plating and a pair of flat shoes the size of a horse cart. There seemed to be skid marks on the ground on that half of the drilled hall.
Near the entrance, she noticed a rack containing curious items by the entrance to the drill hall. There was a signboard above it that read 'take one' and 'please do the thing back in your room'.
"Ahem. By the way, what are those triangular wooden blocks with straps attached? Ria turned to the drill master.
"Umm… well… That's uh… dummy crotch armour. Umm… crotch guards. yes, crotch guards you see." Sir Parkel awkwardly adjusted his crotch guard.
"Shall I take one?"
Sir Parkel nervously tugs at the shoulder straps on his tank top. "That… won't be necessary … "
Ria shrugs.
She grabbed a wooden rapier off the wall and made her way to a straw dummy.
She took a stance. She wobbled for a moment due to the uncomfortable weight of the wooden rapier.
She began.
Guard and then thrust and guard. Guard, thrust and back to guard. She managed two decent reps but she was already short on breath.
"Your form is correct but your stamina needs work." The drill master stood diagonally from her just out of sword range and observed.
Ria stabbed the wooden tip of her rapier onto the ground and leaned.
The drill master was right, she had indeed been skimping on her knight training. Due to her glaring lack of talent, she had resigned herself to her fate as what is commonly referred to by the rather unflattering title of 'desk knight'.
As a pure blood knight, she possesses the unique mana form of her blood line. That reason alone makes her too valuable to risk in combat. Instead, they can borrow their mana form to para-knights.
The para knights, those without a pure blood lineage and hence a innate mana form but have sufficient physical aptitude and tolerance for mana to utilize it, forms the backbone of a house's military power.
Ria picked up her rapier again and assumed her stance. A good thrust, arcing upwards to hit the chest of the training dummy. Her arm ached for a brief moment as she tried to put up her guard.
"The guard's too slow again. Seems like you are having trouble with just the weight of the sword."
Ria thrust again. Once the rapier hit the wooden dummy she forcefully yanked it back to restore her guard. But the force caused her to lose her grip, dropping the wooden rapier on the ground.
"Ahaha. Looks like your body is all stiff from sitting at your desk all day." The burly man teased.
Ria rested on her rapier again, staring down onto the floor and watching her own beats of sweat drip onto it.
As she catches her breath, she heard footsteps. Soft but massive. Longer pauses in between.
It grew nearer and nearer.
Badum! Badum! Ria's heart pounded in her chest. She felt a sudden rush of excitement.
She almost choked as she was already struggling to catch her breathe from the drilling.
She turned her eyes, fixing it on the drill hall entrance. The entrance to the mansion she left earlier was straight across from where she was standing.
Thud. Thud. Soft and low pitched footsteps that few could discern like she did.
They felt very close.
The next moment, a massive figure came into view, lowering her silver hair briefly to get through the entrance.
Ria laid eyes on a goddess. A towering pillar of strength and beauty. Her outfit, loose white tops, her thick biceps and muscular abdominal muscles.
Black shorts, her muscular thighs. White cotton knee high socks covering half her knee caps. Slightly drenched and dusty, giving the appearance of being reused without being washed.
Her rugged flats. Soiled with brown stains from traversing the country side. Fraying at the sides and visibly deformed from the punishment their owner pressed onto them everyday.
Her claymore the height of an elephant, hoisted on her back. A mass of steel that would have required a squad of horses to haul.
Each of her footsteps exude an aura of elegance and power that makes Ria's knees tremble in awe.
"Ah! Hello there, the drill hall angel is here! Well, looks like my shift is almost here. Catch you around." Sir Parkel scurried out of the drill hall with curious haste, leaving Ria alone with Hikari.
Hikari stopped in front of Ria. Her lower legs at least thrice as thick as Ria body.
Her knee socks dwarfing her. The cotton band forming the opening of the socks were a head above the top of Ria's hair line.
Ria's heart raced as she slowly raised her chin and tilted her head backwards. A rack of humongous abdominal muscles and the under side of a pair of humongous blossoms filled her view.
Ruby red eyes appeared over the blossoms. Ria shivered as their eyes met.
"My lady."
The mid pitched voice echoed through Ria's head. She could not see the lips move.
But the force of the words alone froze her tongue.
"Get on the ground" Ria heard the voice in her head. Her knees gave way, and her forehead hit the ground.