He was tall with red curly hair like his mother. His father was a common soldier who had died in battle when he was born.
Fil and Jonas were saddened to hear that Tumas, the boy they met on their first day in Finarth, was part of the black team, the Dragons. The Dragons were the upper echelon, the sons of the most powerful men in Finarth. They both liked Tumas and they were hoping that they would be on the same team, but he was highborn, and hence were separated
Tumas’s group was led by Torgan, a mean, vindictive boy who despised commoners. He was the son of Prince Nelstrom, which put him high on the list for advancement. He was the same boy that Jonas saw running around the track on the first day. He was athletic and handsome and the girls swooned over him.
Jonas and Torgan became enemies early on, for Torgan soon recognized Jonas was his only competition with a blade. Jonas tried to befriend him but it was useless. Torgan viewed Jonas as lowly and not deserving the right to become a knight, and nothing Jonas did could persuade him otherwise.
***
Their second summer of training was exceptionally hot, making the days on the track more grueling than normal. On one of these hot days they were sparring with swords, and the hard work and heat exhaustion had everyone’s nerves strung tight.
The blue team and the black team were working hard on their sword forms. Jonas was paired with Titus, the son of a rich lord who was close to the king. Titus was decent enough with the sword and was kind to Jonas. He was one of the few from the Dragon team, other than Tumas, who did not look down on the Stag team.
Jonas had already touched Titus twice with his wooden sword, both killing blows to the chest. Titus was tiring, and sweating profusely, the salty wetness was dripping into his deep set eyes. Jonas was sweating as well, but his muscles still had life, and he danced lightly on the tips of his toes.
Titus came in hard with a powerful downward stroke. Jonas, batting the sword aside, side stepped, smacking him lightly on the leg.
“Good strike, Jonas,” Master Morgan said as he walked by. “Titus, go spar with Mulick and bring Torgan here.” Master Morgan turned to Jonas who was standing lightly with his wooden sword at his side. “Jonas, you’ve progressed well. Soon you will have to fight me to get a workout,” he said with a sly smile.
“Thank you, Master Morgan,” Jonas said, happy with the praise, although doubting he would last more than a few heartbeats with Master Morgan. The man was astonishingly quick and he didn’t seem to tire.
Torgan came running up to Morgan, his long powerful legs covering the distance easily. He was wearing the short sleeved Dragon tunic with light charcoal breeches. His jet black hair was trimmed in the usual fashion for royalty his age, short in the back and edges with bangs that were cut straight across the forehead.
“Torgan, I want you to spar with, Jonas. Jonas has improved quickly and he needs a better opponent,” ordered Master Morgan.
“Yes sir, Master Morgan,” replied Torgan eagerly.
Morgan pivoted, turning to instruct the others.
“Hey dung eater, you ready to feel a sting?” sneered Torgan as soon as Master Morgan was out of ear shot.
“Torgan, I don’t know what I ever did to you, but I hold no animosity toward you,” replied Jonas.
“It’s not what you did, but what you are. You have no right to be here. You are a peasant coward, not worthy to train as a knight.”
“If the king sees fit to have us, then that should be good enough for you,” countered Jonas.
“Well it’s not. Now get that sword up,” ordered Torgan, lunging at Jonas. Jonas stumbled back quickly just getting his wooden sword up in time to take the first strike. But Torgan was fast and his sword lightly brushed Jonas’s thigh with his second stroke.
“First hit!” Torgan yelled, loud enough for everyone to hear.
And your last, thought Jonas, regaining his composure. They danced around for several minutes, neither opponent scoring a hit. They were both strong and fast and their blades made a rhythmic striking sound, like an axe chopping wood, every time they connected. Jonas had never fought against Torgan before so he was just going through the basic moves, analyzing his technique. Torgan was matching his skill smoothly and was utterly confident