//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: A Showing of Skills (Edited) // Story: The Elder Scrolls: Tales of Equestria // by Timeless Lord Slayer //------------------------------// Black let out a yawn as he got out of bed. Or rather, tried to. Something was holding his waist down. Looking down, he noticed that Lydia was holding him tightly, a peaceful smile on her face. He sighed. 'Why am I not surprised?' he thought. Black tapped her shoulder and her eyelids fluttered open after a moment. "Mhm...?" Lydia stared at him for a moment before her eyes widened and a deep blush colored her face. She released him quickly and immediately got out of the bed. "I-I-I–" Black held up a hand and silenced the stuttering and embarassed woman. He smiled lightly, before tossing her her leather jerkin and Steel Plate armor. Lydia remained still, armor and jerkin in either hand as her Thane picked up his armor and sword and started putting it on. Lydia slowly did the same, and soon the two were fully equipped. A knock on the door drew their attention, so Black walked over and opened it, revealing a yellow Earth Pony mare with a purple mane in a maid's outfit. She stared up fearfully at Black with her violet eyes. Black noticed that like all the other ponies, she was smaller than Celestia and didn't have wings and a horn. Perhaps Celestia was a hybrid? A light tapping on his armoured leg brought him out of his musings. "Um...Mr. Black Statue, sir? Th-the Princesses want you to join them in the dining hall," the mare said timidly. Black gestured for her to lead on and followed her, Lydia right beside him. They passed through numerous corridors and hallways before finally coming to two large, wooden double doors ingrained with gold and fancy looking carvings. It was in this moment that Lydia realized how regal everything looked, not even the Blue Palace could compare. What with the polished marble floors, vibrant red carpets, masterful architecture, and stained glass windows, it was simply breathtaking. The guards opened the doors to reveal Celestia and a dark blue winged unicorn with an onyx crown and necklace sitting at the end of a very long table with a number of chairs. Her mane and tail flowed in an unseen wind, similar to Celestia's, only it looked like the night sky. The table was the longest table they had ever seen, looking as if it could hold the entire castle staff and then some. Black took a seat next to Celestia, Lydia in a seat beside him. "Ah, Black and Lydia. So good to see you two. I take it you slept well?" Celestia asked. Black nodded, still as silent as ever. "That is good to hear. Allow me to introduce you to my sister, Luna," Celestia said, gesturing to the dark blue winged unicorn seated next to her. "Our sister tells us thou art not of this world, is this true?" she asked. Black nodded again. "Art thou not going to explain?" Black shrugged. Luna turned to her sister. "He is as stoic as thou claimed, dear sister," "Indeed. Might I ask how you two met?" Celestia asked. "We met a day after he–" Lydia pointed to Black with an armored thumb. "–defeated his first dragon. He was awarded with a weapon from the Jarl's personal armoury, and me, his first and only housecarl." "And this Jarl simply...gave you away?" Celestia queried. "It's not what you think, I was happy to go. You see, we housecarls are raised to serve our Thanes, whether it's with combat and strategy, or menial labor and chores." "I see...and how long have you been with Sir Black here?" Celestia asked. "Five years," Lydia answered. "So thou art close?" Luna asked. "Well...sort of. To be honest, I don't know all that much about him. He doesn't talk, after all," Lydia answered. All eyes turned to Black at this, to which he seemed to try and look anywhere but at the three females. Lydia sighed. "Whatever. Let's just eat," The two diarchs frowned at this, but remained silent. Shortly after, a blue Pegasus stallion with a yellow mane in a butler outfit came in and took Celestia and Luna's orders, and soon enough he had come around the table to ask Black and Lydia for their orders. "What would you like, ma'am?" the butler asked politely. "Some bread with a cabbage and potato soup, please," Lydia answered. The stallion swiftly wrote down the order on a notepad before turning to Black. "And you, sir?" the butler asked. Black pointed to the notepad the stallion was holding, asking if he could use it. The butler complied and handed it to Black. Black jotted something down and handed it back to the stallion. He stared at it for a moment, trying to read the foreign writing. "I'm afraid I can't read this," he stated. Lydia looked over and read the text. "It says 'salmon and an apple'," Lydia supplied. The stallion paled, but nodded and scampered off to fill the orders. "You eat meat?" Celestia asked. "All the sentient races of Tamriel eat meat. Well, aside from the Hist." Lydia added. "Yet you can eat fruit?" "We're omnivores. We can eat fruit, vegetables, and meat." "Interesting. Most races eat one or the other here." Celestia informed. "Really? In Tamriel, most races are omnivores." "The only omnivorous race here is the sea ponies." "Interesting." Luna spoke up. "Thy armor looks quite wicked, Sir Black. Would I be right in assuming there is some story to it?" Black nodded. "My Thane has been a hunter of Daedra since before he came to Skyrim. The armor he wears is a set he made himself five years ago with a few of their hearts." Lydia informed. "Well that sounds...unpleasant," said Celestia, visibly disgusted. "How doth that work, might I ask?" Luna queried, only slightly unnerved by the man's methods thanks to having lived when there were public executions. Lydia shrugged. "I honestly don't know how it works. My Thane is the only person in all of Tamriel who knows how to make Daedric armor and weapons, and he won't share his secrets. But I have walked in on him when he was forging and I've seen him throwing the hearts into the forge. As far as I can tell, the hearts are what give the armor that red glow." "Fascinating..." Luna stared at the glowing portions of Black's armor intently. Celestia, having regained her composure, spoke up. "Might I ask why your Thane is so hostile towards these Daedra? Surely they can't be that bad." Black snorted. "Daedra are immortal, manipulative tricksters that think of mortals as mere playthings and nothing more. Mehrunes Dagon, one of the Daedric princes, attempted to invade our world and subjugate all the races. Thus, many of the people of Tamriel are very mistrusting of them, as they should be. Although I have noticed that my Thane seems to harbor a deep hatred for them," Lydia informed. "I see...they do sound terrible. Almost exactly like the demons of Tartarus, in fact." "Demons?" "Wicked creatures, they are. Some would do as this, Mehrunes Dagon would, others would feed off of us, and many more would simply like to see us all dead. But they need not be paid any mind, they are safely secured behind the gates of Tartarus." "Indeed. They have been imprisoned there for longer than even we have walked this earth," Luna added. "I mean no disrespect, but how long have you two walked this earth?" Lydia inquired. "Oh, a few millenia. What was it, three, four thousand years?" Celestia said, turning to her sister. "Around there, yes," Luna concurred. "That's...Well, excuse me for saying this but, that sounds kind of...ridiculous," Lydia admitted. "We can show thee the records, if thou wisheth," Luna offered. "I don't see why not," Lydia accepted. Butlers came out and served the group their respective dishes. After finishing their meals, Celestia told the two a little of their culture and ways, like cutie marks and a bit about their brand of magic. And, a veritable mountain of records was placed in front of Lydia. Needless to say, she was convinced. Luna asked if she could get a demonstration of their skills, and the two complied and made their way through the corridors of the castle with the Princess and two Earth pony guards. Eventually, they made it to the training grounds where they could clearly see guards sparring with one another. The training grounds consisted of a large open courtyard with a single tree near the far left side of the castle wall, where as the barracks lay on the opposite end. The barracks was a large, rectangular marble building with a purple and gold tiled roof. It took up a fourth of the entire courtyard. The group slowly approached a lone unicorn guard near the barracks who was observing the other guards as they trained. His helmet was off, allowing them to see his mane a little better. He had gray fur and a green mane with a lighter green streak that was well maintained. His ruby eyes shone with wisdom and experience, yet there was a hint of mischief as well. He bowed as the group stopped in front of him. "Rise, First Sergeant Handsome Knight," Luna commanded. The guard, now known as Handsome Knight, stood up and glanced at the two behind the Princess. "Princess Luna, how unexpected! And who are these two?" Luna was about to answer, but he stopped her. "No, wait! Don't tell me! You're the two everypony has been talking about! Black and Lydia, right?" Black nodded. "That would be us, yes. It's nice to meet another fighter," Lydia greeted. "Likewise. Might I ask why you three are here?" he asks. "I hath come to see a demonstration of our guests' skills," Luna replied. "Ah, I see. One moment then," he told them before turning to the guards that were just in the middle of a break and were talking and eating lunch together. "Atteeeenntion! Fall in, gentlecolts!" All the guards immediately snapped to attention and put away their lunches for later, quickly marching over and forming a line in front of their Sergeant. "Alright boys, listen up! Due to some recent developments, training has been cancelled. However! We have been tasked with testing our new guests' skills! So! Who wants to have the honor of sparring with our two guests first?" Silence fell over the group for a moment before a stallion in the back of the line raised his hoof. He was a Unicorn with an orange mane and tail and he had a coat of white fur. "I do, Sir!" he said confidently. "Very well! Step forward, Private Iron Grip!" The stallion stepped forward and widened his stance. Handsome Knight turned to the two guests. "Which one of you would like to go first?" he asked. Lydia stepped forward. "I'll go." Lydia widened her stance as well and prepared herself. Her knees were bent, ready to leap at a moment's notice. The guards formed a rough semi-circle around them, making sure to give them enough space to fight. Lydia could feel their eyes travel over her body, observing her stance and glancing back at Black and Luna, who were watching with interest. Luna turned to face Black. "Dost thou think she wilt win?" she questioned. Black gave her a thumbs up. "I see," Luna turned back to watch the fight. Handsome Knight stepped in between the two and began to explain the rules. "Alright, since this is our guests' first time, let me relay the rules. First to land a blow to the head or chest wins a point. The round is over after someone scores a point. Best of three rounds. Hits to the face or nether regions are illegal. Also, no taunting! I want a good, clean fight here, got it?" The two adversaries nodded. "Now begin!" And so they did. Iron Grip charged forwards and lashed out with a hoof, only to be met with air. In the blink of an eye, Lydia had dodged and then swiftly punched the guard square in the jaw. "One point to Miss Lydia!" Iron Grip stumbled back, rubbing his muzzle. He then shook his head and glared at Lydia. Lydia smirked and motioned for the stallion to come at her. Iron Grip complied, but not before kicking up some dust to hinder his opponent. He then tried to slam his forehooves into Lydia's stomach, only for her to grab his hooves before they could make contact and throwing him to the ground. As the dust cleared, Lydia could be seen with her boot on the stallion's back. A shocked silence fell over the crowd, although faint chuckling could be heard from Black's direction. "The winner is Miss Lydia!" Lydia stepped off of Iron Grip's back and helped him up. Ever the good sportsman, Iron Grip smiled and offered his hoof for a shake. Lydia accepted and shook it firmly. "You're pretty good! But how did you see me through all that dust?" Iron Grip asked. "I didn't. But I could hear your hoofsteps pretty clearly. That was enough to tell me where you were," Lydia responded. "I see. Very impressive! And where did you learn to fight like that? That was one of the quickest fights I've ever had!" "I used to spar with the Companions when I was only a little girl. They're a group of highly respected warriors from my homeland." "They sound like honourable fighters. Maybe we can do this again some time, what do you say?" "I don't see why not." Lydia went a few more rounds with various guards, winning every single time. Despite this, the guards seemed to be enjoying themselves, and were only invigorated by the idea of a challenge. After a while, Lydia decided to stop. "Come on Miss Lydia! One more round!" pleaded one guard. "Another time, perhaps. But maybe my Thane would like to take some of you on," Lydia turned towards Black, who had been watching with Luna eagerly. "How about it?" The guards collectively gulped as the giant of a man stood up to his full height and walked over, many of them hesitant to fight him. However, some among them realized that he was wearing rather heavy armor, and thus knew he must be fairly slow. Lydia turned to Handsome Knight and spoke, "How about we use weapons this time? While my Thane is skilled in hand to hand, er, hand to hoof combat, I'd much rather see him fight with his own weapons. It's a bit more exciting that way, wouldn't you agree?" "I see no reason not to as long as any blades are dulled," said the Sergeant. "Alright then, who wants to go first?" Lydia asked the crowd as her Thane took his blade from it's sheath and gripped it tightly, the blue blade shimmering with frost. "I'll go," said a feminine voice. The group turned to see a unicorn mare with a lithe form, her mane and tail the color of mahogany while her fur was a pale yellow. Her eyes were like ambers, filled with the luster of determination. She summoned a simple broadsword to her side, bereft of any decoration, but of sturdy make. "Very well, just let me dull the blades then," Handsome said, his horn lighting up a rose red, and the two opponents' blades lit up for a brief moment as well, before it faded. "Alright, same rules as before! Ready?" At their nods, he cried, "Begin!" And so it did. The mare made a thrust at Black's chest, and the ponies were surprised to see him parry the attack faster than they thought he could. In fact, it was even faster than Lydia's movements. So when Black thrust his pommel at her and landed a blow, all within the span of what seemed like a milisecond, you could imagine their surprise. Even more so when the blow knocked her to her knees. "One point for Sir Black!" Handsome Knight announced. The mare slowly and shakily got back to her hooves. "That...was a good blow," she complimented. Black nodded his thanks, and then they began again. This time, the mare deemed it wiser to try and be more wild with her attacks, and tried to put on as much pressure as she could. But Black was simply parrying or deflecting all of the attacks, almost without effort. This went on for an extended amount of time, greatly impressing the audience, and Luna as well. Luna watched with fascination and no small amount of admiration as the bulky man deflected blow after blow, seeming to toy with his opponent. After a short while, Black knocked the blade out of the mare's grip, sending it spiraling and clattering to the ground. Then, he swiftly bopped her with the flat of the blade. "The winner is Sir Black!" Handsome announced. A roar of cheers and hooves stamping was the reply as the audience expressed their delight. The mare sighed before breaking out in a smile as she raised a hoof towards Black. "That...was by far the best fight I've ever had," the mare expressed. "Name's Heartwood." Black crouched down and took the offered hoof in hand, shaking it firmly and nodding. "Indeed. I don't think I've ever seen such skill displayed before. Maybe you'd like to come by and give us pointers when you have the time?" Handsome Knight offered. Black nodded and gave the stallion a thumbs up. "Wonderful! How does tomorrow in the morning sound?" "Sounds good to me, what say you, my Thane?" Lydia asked. Black gave another nod. "Alright, we'll see you then," Lydia turned back to her Thane. "So, my Thane, what shall we do now?" Black took out a piece of parchment from his pouch and a piece of charcoal and wrote something down on the parchment, before showing it to Lydia. Lydia read the note quickly. "You wish to visit the Royal Forge?" Lydia asked. Black nodded. "Alright, let's go then." Luna joined them quickly. "Oh, hello, Princess. Are you coming with us to the Royal Forge?" "I see no reason not to. If that is thine destination, then tis mine as well. We wouldst be delighted to witness the skill of thine Thane," Luna expressed. "Alright then. Wouldn't be right of us to refuse a Princess, now would it?" Lydia said. And with that, the three journeyed through the corridors of the castle once more, until they reached their destination. As they walked down the steps, the sound of metal clad hooves and feet colliding with stone resounded throughout the tunnel stairwell. There was also the sound of metal meeting metal, something that made Black quite giddy. Finally, they reached the bottom of the steps, and arrived in the same room from yesterday. Hammer Strike noticed them right away, and approached. "Good to see ya, lad. You too, Princess," Hammer Strike greeted, before noticing Lydia. "And who's this one?" "I am Lydia, Housecarl of Sir Black," Lydia greeted. "Nice to meet ya. So, what brings you all down here? I imagine it wasn't to just chat," Hammer Strike asked. "My Thane wanted to show his skills in the art of smithing," Lydia explained. "Is that so?" Hammer asked, turning to Black. Black nodded. "Alright then, follow me to the forge," Black nodded and followed the stallion. They stopped at one of the many forges. "Wait here, let me gather some materials for ya," Hammer Strike said, before walking off to grab said materials. He came back some time later with an array of metal bars, hammers, and tongs of all manner of sizes. "I'll give you some time to whip something up. Say...about three hours," Black nodded. "Alright...go ahead. The time starts now." Black started immediately, giving each bar a once over for a number of minutes, making many wonder why he was wasting his time looking at the bars, before rushing over to one of the smelters and tossing some yellow and blue bars inside. He started shoveling coal every now and again into the opening on the side of the smelter. Smoke rose from the top, but was funneled via magic runes and arrays which collected the heat and smoke and carried it up into one of the chimneys above. Black continued this for some time, until he grabbed a mold from one of the walls, a simple mold for a broadsword. Then, he took some thing from his pouch, something small yet red, opened the hatch, and tossed it in. He did the same with a bar of aluminum. After some more time passed, he lined the mold up with the channel, and released the hatch on it, letting the now green, bubbling, molten alloy pour out and into the mold. This greatly surprised the smiths present, as an alloy of Solarium and Hectinite had never been made successfully. Hammer Strike's stopwatch ticked to the two hour mark, and, after Black had checked the mold, found the metal was finally cooled. The next thirty minutes consisted of Black checking over the blade, as well as fitting it with a cross-guard, and wrapping some faux leather the ponies had lying around over what would be the grip. As the timer grew closer to the third hour, Black was searching for a good pommel to fit onto the blade, and, after finding one with a ruby inset into it, fixed it onto the finished hilt, finishing the blade in the process, and with minutes to spare. The smiths, Hammer Strike included, walked over to inspect the work. After much passing around and testing, Hammer Strike smiled wide. "Well, lad, you've definitely impressed me! You created a new alloy, and a simple but remarkable blade! Speaking of the new alloy, what do you want to call it?" Hammer Strike asked and appraised. Black gained a thinking pose for a moment, before taking out some more parchment and a writing utensil and jotting down a name. Lydia read it aloud. "Teranite," she announced. "Hmm, good name. Say, Princess, how would you fancy testing out the new blade? Then we can see how it holds up in battle," Hammer Strike offered. "We wouldst be delighted to," Luna accepted. She took the blade in her magical grasp, before her horn glowed brighter, and a block of thick and solid ice appeared in the room. She swiped with the blade, and the ice was cut clean in two. "Well, if that is not a sight We know not what is." The smiths expressed their approval with pats on Sir Black's back, and many of them begged him for his secrets. Hammer Strike broke them up quickly enough, and offered Black a position amongst them. He accepted readily. Meanwhile, Luna took her leave to raise the moon, and, after some time chatting and discussing with the smiths, Black and Lydia retired to their room. Their future looked bright, but as we all know... Good things...must pass.