origin ver. section 4
2023-03-25阿门罗 来源:百合文库
After the meeting, Thane tried his best to leave the castle with a hint of dignity, but the claw mark on his face spoke more than words ever could. Not wanting to face anybody just yet, he made for the guards’ training grounds.
They were situated on a high terrace carved into the face of Spire Stonebluffs’ monolithic frontage. Off to the side, along a wall overlooking the precipitous drop down to the Hound’s Tongue, a smaller patch of dirt and frost-covered grass was fenced off. It was here where Thane held his training regimens with a group of burlap dummies, all arranged in a line along the wall.
The dummies sported all the nicks, cuts, and improperly re-stitched limbs that one might expect as victims of the Prince of Blades’ ire. Some were small — meant to be rats, while an overly large dummy stood in for the Bear Clan. Yet Thane’s sword had been near exclusively hacking away at the wolf dummy, his blade left impaled through the heavy burlap head.
Thane was lounging on the ground, back against the wall. He scowled at the wolf dummy with unchecked disdain, as he always did following a beating from his elder brother.
“Son, a word?”
Thane’s fur stood on end and he leapt to his feet. There, at the edge of the otherwise empty training grounds, stood Thunder Greymane. To his left and right, shield maidens of the Iron Guard held at rapt attention.
Thunder held up a paw and the shield maidens nodded. When he approached his youngest son, the guards remained at the grounds’ entrance.
“I wanted to talk with you. In private.”
“Ah.” Thane rubbed his neck. “Think I’ve learned enough for one day, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
Thunder sighed. “You mustn’t disrespect your superiors, Thane. It’s unbecoming of a Greymane prince.” His voice didn’t seem nearly as judgmental now that he was off the throne. “Your brother may have been harsh, to put you back in your place like he did, but it is our way.”
The sun was setting somewhere on the other side of the mountain, and dusk fell quickly in Spire Stonebluffs. A chilling breeze cast through the spire, sending bits of straw from Thane’s dummies flying through the air. Thane shivered, but Thunder showed no discomfort, walking past his son’s cordon and looking up to the nearby Stone Spire. Even in the failing light, one could clearly make out the path leading to the summit where the evil they sought so desperately to contain lay patiently in wait.
“You know why the Iron Guard exists, yes?” Thunder asked.
“To protect the hierarchy. To ensure the strength of the Wolf Clan never falters.” Thane’s response was textbook, learned to the letter from a very young age.
Thunder gave a nod of approval. “They do not answer to me, but to the oldest tenets of the Wolf Clan. Do you remember the first tenet?”
Thane sighed. “Strength is power.”
“Strength is power,” Thunder repeated. “And if the Wolf Clan Alpha shows weakness, any at all, the shield maidens… redistribute the balance of power.”
Thunder stepped close to Thane and put a massive arm around his son’s shoulder. “What I said in there, about you never being the strongest wolf in the pack… I was speaking as the Clan Alpha, not as your father.”
Thane lowered his gaze, embarrassed.
“Everyone in this kingdom expects the world of Fang,” Thunder continued. “Nobody has ever expected anything from you, which makes your accomplishments that much greater.”
“What accomplishments?” Thane muttered. “They call me the Prince of Blades, but I’ve not earned that title.” He glared at his father. “Fang is the Winter Wolf. Freyja is Snowstrider. You are Clan Alpha. All titles earned through fire and blood… but Prince of Blades was given to me.”
“You don’t think you deserve it? Why?” Thunder was taken aback. “Because you can’t best Fang in battle? Nobody can. Nobody except me.” He glanced over to the shield maidens across the training grounds. “That is how the hierarchy works. You can best any beneath your station, and that’s all we’ll ever expect of you.”
“But?” Thane asked.
“But you need not prove it by participating in those fights of yours.” Thunder clapped his son’s shoulder. “If you’d lost against a hare, that’s bad for us. It’s bad for the Greymanes. It makes me look weak. Makes Fang look weak.” He paused for a moment, in thought, eyes settling on Thane’s sword poking from the dummy nearby. “And yet… I suppose it doesn’t do you much good to serve as guardian of the Hakonsbane and only be able to use it against burlap and straw.”
Thane cocked an eyebrow. “What are you saying?”
Thunder leaned in close, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Stop getting caught.”
Thane tried to mask his grin, but did a very poor job.
“Wipe that smirk off your face, son,” Thunder said. “Anyone asks, I came out here to scold you some more.”
“Of course,” Thane said, his grin falling into an exaggerated scowl.
Thunder nodded and turned, but something still wasn’t right. An unanswered question hanging in the air.
“Father.”
“Hm?” He stopped.
“This bear.”
Thunder looked back over his shoulder.
“Do you trust her?”
His father’s breath rolled over his shoulder like clouds haunting a mountaintop. Then, wordlessly, he left the training grounds, Iron Guard at his side. For Thane, it was as clear an answer as any.
They were situated on a high terrace carved into the face of Spire Stonebluffs’ monolithic frontage. Off to the side, along a wall overlooking the precipitous drop down to the Hound’s Tongue, a smaller patch of dirt and frost-covered grass was fenced off. It was here where Thane held his training regimens with a group of burlap dummies, all arranged in a line along the wall.
The dummies sported all the nicks, cuts, and improperly re-stitched limbs that one might expect as victims of the Prince of Blades’ ire. Some were small — meant to be rats, while an overly large dummy stood in for the Bear Clan. Yet Thane’s sword had been near exclusively hacking away at the wolf dummy, his blade left impaled through the heavy burlap head.
Thane was lounging on the ground, back against the wall. He scowled at the wolf dummy with unchecked disdain, as he always did following a beating from his elder brother.
“Son, a word?”
Thane’s fur stood on end and he leapt to his feet. There, at the edge of the otherwise empty training grounds, stood Thunder Greymane. To his left and right, shield maidens of the Iron Guard held at rapt attention.
Thunder held up a paw and the shield maidens nodded. When he approached his youngest son, the guards remained at the grounds’ entrance.
“I wanted to talk with you. In private.”
“Ah.” Thane rubbed his neck. “Think I’ve learned enough for one day, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
Thunder sighed. “You mustn’t disrespect your superiors, Thane. It’s unbecoming of a Greymane prince.” His voice didn’t seem nearly as judgmental now that he was off the throne. “Your brother may have been harsh, to put you back in your place like he did, but it is our way.”
The sun was setting somewhere on the other side of the mountain, and dusk fell quickly in Spire Stonebluffs. A chilling breeze cast through the spire, sending bits of straw from Thane’s dummies flying through the air. Thane shivered, but Thunder showed no discomfort, walking past his son’s cordon and looking up to the nearby Stone Spire. Even in the failing light, one could clearly make out the path leading to the summit where the evil they sought so desperately to contain lay patiently in wait.
“You know why the Iron Guard exists, yes?” Thunder asked.
“To protect the hierarchy. To ensure the strength of the Wolf Clan never falters.” Thane’s response was textbook, learned to the letter from a very young age.
Thunder gave a nod of approval. “They do not answer to me, but to the oldest tenets of the Wolf Clan. Do you remember the first tenet?”
Thane sighed. “Strength is power.”
“Strength is power,” Thunder repeated. “And if the Wolf Clan Alpha shows weakness, any at all, the shield maidens… redistribute the balance of power.”
Thunder stepped close to Thane and put a massive arm around his son’s shoulder. “What I said in there, about you never being the strongest wolf in the pack… I was speaking as the Clan Alpha, not as your father.”
Thane lowered his gaze, embarrassed.
“Everyone in this kingdom expects the world of Fang,” Thunder continued. “Nobody has ever expected anything from you, which makes your accomplishments that much greater.”
“What accomplishments?” Thane muttered. “They call me the Prince of Blades, but I’ve not earned that title.” He glared at his father. “Fang is the Winter Wolf. Freyja is Snowstrider. You are Clan Alpha. All titles earned through fire and blood… but Prince of Blades was given to me.”
“You don’t think you deserve it? Why?” Thunder was taken aback. “Because you can’t best Fang in battle? Nobody can. Nobody except me.” He glanced over to the shield maidens across the training grounds. “That is how the hierarchy works. You can best any beneath your station, and that’s all we’ll ever expect of you.”
“But?” Thane asked.
“But you need not prove it by participating in those fights of yours.” Thunder clapped his son’s shoulder. “If you’d lost against a hare, that’s bad for us. It’s bad for the Greymanes. It makes me look weak. Makes Fang look weak.” He paused for a moment, in thought, eyes settling on Thane’s sword poking from the dummy nearby. “And yet… I suppose it doesn’t do you much good to serve as guardian of the Hakonsbane and only be able to use it against burlap and straw.”
Thane cocked an eyebrow. “What are you saying?”
Thunder leaned in close, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Stop getting caught.”
Thane tried to mask his grin, but did a very poor job.
“Wipe that smirk off your face, son,” Thunder said. “Anyone asks, I came out here to scold you some more.”
“Of course,” Thane said, his grin falling into an exaggerated scowl.
Thunder nodded and turned, but something still wasn’t right. An unanswered question hanging in the air.
“Father.”
“Hm?” He stopped.
“This bear.”
Thunder looked back over his shoulder.
“Do you trust her?”
His father’s breath rolled over his shoulder like clouds haunting a mountaintop. Then, wordlessly, he left the training grounds, Iron Guard at his side. For Thane, it was as clear an answer as any.
4人×哭李白