Days of relentless training turn to weeks and weeks to months. Kain's rounded face which had been covered in baby fat only a year prior had morphed into the face of a man, his jaw as sharp as the blade in his hands and body even more laden with muscle then it was all those months prior.
He and Thalen clash swords under the light of the moon only just illuminated by a lantern hanging off a wooden beam. A sharp ringing sound fills the courtyard as their dull blades collide against each other spreading bright sparks of steel through the dark court. Kain grits his teeth pushing Thalen's blade back into his shoulder with what little strength remained in his arms.
"Finally," Thalen chuckles, wiping the sweat from his brow with a small purple handkerchief with a golden fort in the corner.
"Do you think I'm ready yet?" Kain pants like a dog, his voice now gravelly and deep.
"No idea" his voice was cheery as usual as he plucked the lantern from its resting place hanging from a small hook screwed into the wood.
They walk to the cramped barracks where the cadets all sit around a table watching the two biggest, Hobber and Roulf arm wrestle. Their muscles bulge and veins look as if they would pop at any moment, both their faces stretch and wrinkle as the two ogres try forcing each other back, Roulf slams his friend's arm into the table letting out a victorious roar as money changes hands around the room.
"Feel like losing Kain?" Roulf raises a pitcher of ale to his lips, scoffing it down like a starved animal.
Kain sits down in silence as cheers of anticipation fill the room. His hand which had once dwarfed others now paled in comparison to the Roulfs paws. Kain's grip tightens around the giant hand moving aside the skin and meat as they push into each other.
Roulf lets out a pained squeal as his knuckles dent the wooden table. The surrounding cadets roar in delight as he stands, raising his arms in victory before sliding into the thick covers of his bed.
Thalen clears his throat. "The competition is tomorrow." The cadets grow as silent as the night outside their tiny room tucked between the keep and the charcoal coloured wall.
Kain sits in silence as the lanterns are slowly blown out one by one. The cold of the damp boglands sinking into his bones. He retreats back into the pelt blanket falling asleep under its warmth.
The sun shines through into the courtyard where the boys have all been assembled In front of the master at arms.
"Time to make you lads look presentable" he scowls at the young men as several maids bring buckets of water.
Each cadet is drenched in water washing months of mud and odour from their tanned skin. Kain's now shoulder length hair sticks to his face as the water spills down his body leaving trenches of golden brown where thick layers of filth had once been.
A young maid trying not to stare takes clippers to his still grease filled hair cutting it short. The cold morning air blows through the training grounds sending shivers through the men's bodies as their heads are shorn almost bald.
As they chatter and laugh amongst themselves the gates slowly groan open cutting grooves through the mud and submerging the courtyard in anticipation.
Twenty knights adorned in silver armour ride into the keep on massive stallions that dwarf the horses of Braemoor. Behind them trots a titan of a horse, pure white with colourful fabric of green and blue draped across its back upon which sits a chubby man dressed in expensive silks and a robe as red as blood.
"Lord Wylin" a slight sneer breaks through Lord Braemoor's usually stoic face.
"Fenric" the chubby man smiles showing off golden teeth scattered around his mouth. "That ride was excruciatingly boring. Would you be so kind as to indulge me with some food and drink?"
The men stand in silence as the two lords chatter amongst themselves. Behind the silver mounted knights trail Alderwall's cadets, their uniforms white with silver and blue details sewn into the fabric.
A boy with hair as long as Kain's had just been leads the pack of cadets, his face devoid of blemishes or scars. A thin bladed sword resting inside an extravagant scabbard covered in winding silver vines reaching up to the hilt where they turn into a hand guard seamlessly transitioning from scabbard to sword. On his chest is the sigil of house Alderwall, a silver castle wall on a dark blue background.
The Braemoor cadets stand opposite their shining rivals almost blinded by their exuberant fashion in nothing but poorly kept rags they had only just washed this dawn and with old handed down swords that had seen decades of use from cadets prior. Only Kain wielded a sword worth its steel.
The two lords vanish through the doors into the keep leaving the knights and cadets alone in the courtyard. The mud slowly swallows their pristine boots, gulping the mirror like sollerets into its filth as the knights climb off their horses.
Kain's eyes dart around trying to not stare at the cadets lined up with their master at arms, he was remarkably young, about mid twenties with a greatsword at his side. A knight walks through the gate chaperoning two children laden with silver jewellery.
"Ah the rat knight" Scott, an older boy, rests his arm on Kain's shoulder, chuckling as the knight removes his helmet.
Long wispy strands of dark brown hair fall from his helmet, his skin was still filled with spots despite being in his thirties and clearly so, his forehead wrinkles were deep trenches even when not frowning. His jaw was sunken almost into his neck and eyes bulged from their sockets level with his brow.
"Who?" Kain averts his eyes to the floor, a lump forming in his throat.
"Lord Alderwall's eldest son and next to him his youngest son and daughter" Thalen leans in to whisper in his ear.
The awkward silence grows as the rat knight sits to watch the opposing cadets eye each other like circling dogs, only Kain stands staring at the shining armour and the sword at his hip.
"Like what you see?" the rat knight stands resting his hand on the silver rose pommel of his sword, scoffing as he approaches.
Kain ignores the knight staring blankly into the rose engraved onto the breastplate, his eyes filled with sorrow and disgust at the sore sight of the rat knight's face and body. He thought to himself how fitting the nickname was before the man was in front of him scowling.
"First time seeing a real man is it?" He laughs, low in his throat, no hint of sarcasm or jest in his words.
"No ser I was lost in thought" the boy raises his gaze to meet the protruding eyes of the knight.
"Best not happen in the fight or your betters may make you a cripple" He raises Kain's chin with a finger.
Kain bares his teeth in disgust as the cold air laps at his lips as they part. His brow furrows and eyes glare at the knight.
"Remove your finger before I remove it from your hand" Kain snaps at the man.
The rat knight's mouth hangs open, his bulbous eyes staring down at the boy in shock. The courtyard erupts with the noise of gasps and laughter as the knight's face scrunches with rage, turning bright red, his cheeks almost burning.
A swift backhand reddens Kain's cheek in turn "how silly of me to think a commoner would know proper manners" Their eyes meet, the corners of the knight's mouth stretching into a smile. The pommel of his sword slams into the centre of Kain's stomach.
"Awful lippy for a cadet, no?" The rat knight walks away as Kain clutches at his stomach on the floor gasping for air that refuses to reach his lungs.
His legs shake, pushing into the cold mud as he lifts himself up onto his feet. The opposing cadets laugh mockingly, sending a wave of rage through him.
The Alderwall children follow behind their elder brother leaving only the knights, cadets and master-at-arms in the mud soaked courtyard.