There is a difference between cannon fodder and real warriors. Who can tell the difference? In the midst of battle, it can be hard to tell the difference. That is why it is important to remember that, every enemy you face, no matter who they are or what they look like, you should never underestimate them. Sharia knows this all too well. So does the warrior facing her.

Thomas Dusk didn't know this person, but the aura they admit told him that this person wasn't a simple knight. Their stance was relaxed yet Thomas did not dare think he had an advantage. Thomas Dusk didn't know what to expect when he died in the arena. He thought he would either be saved by some noble and be hired as a bodyguard or stay dead. What he didn't expect was to wake up in a shack all alone with his armor and weapons nearby. Thomas checked himself out and was surprised to see that he was fully healed. After he put on his armor, Thomas left the shack and was met with a small arena where this knight was waiting. Written on the ground in front of the knight was the words,

"Fight."

The knight lazily pointed their sword at him. Thomas didn't know if this was a fight to the death but, even if it wasn't, he would still give it his all. He put his shield up in front of him and watched his opponent wearily. The knight just relaxed completely, their sword resting on their shoulders. Thomas circled the knight but made no move. Something about this doesn't feel right to him. He was sure that the moment he showed an opening, it would be his downfall.

'You make the first move, mysterious kni-'

Thomas flinched and felt his entire body shake under the impact. The knight had instantly rushed him faster than he could react, slamming his elbow into his shield. Before he could counterattack the knight, the knight slammed their hilt on his head. Thomas stumbled back, dazed. Still, even dazed and bleeding from his head, Thomas got into a defensive stance. Sharia nodded. She wasn't wrong when she picked him. Still, he wasn't done with him yet.

Sharia darted forward, attacking Thomas with a flurry of blows, each one heavy yet coordinated, giving Thomas Dusk no chance of parrying her attacks. Still, Thomas Dusk waited and kept his cool. He knew the knight he was facing was more skilled than him but, if he could get them to slip up once, then he would have a chance.

During the endless onslaught of attacks, Thomas felt his chance at one of the blows and parried the knight, throwing them slightly off balance. Thomas charged in, thrusting his sword at their gut while his shied blocked the knight's arm holding their weapon, stopping them from recovering.

Thomas felt a sudden pain on his face and his vision went black. At the same time, he could tell that his stab missed its target, his arm hit to the side. Sharia spun away and quickly transformed her blade and swept Thomas's legs before changing her blade back and putting the sword right next to Thomas's neck, her foot stopping him from getting up.

"I was right about you. Unfortunately, you didn't quite see the claws," Sharia informed Thomas before getting off of him. She walked a couple of feet away from him and watched the knight get up, her varasikara resting on her shoulders.

"So, you're a woman, huh?" Thomas asked, getting up slowly and blinking out the blood in his eyes, "You gonna explain why I am here?"

Sharia let out a slow chuckle and pointed her weapon at him.

"Why? Because you are a warrior. It would be a shame to see you go to waste," Sharia told him honestly. Thomas grimaced. This Knight's words, even if they didn't have a threat in them, were sharp.

"We are done here, unless you want to continue fighting me."

Thomas decided he would stop fighting. For now at least.

"Maybe another time. Now, can you tell me what you mean by warriors?"

Sharia shook her head.

"It means that, if a time comes and you are needed, then you shall be more than ready. You won't be a stain like most of Kingdom's knights are," Sharia explained with an even tone, yet Thomas could hear the disgust in it.

"You're one of the people who fought in the Great Wars, aren't you?" Thomas asked. He has heard people say the Kingdom's soldiers were weak, and many of them fought in the Great Wars.

"I have fought in many of them, I even fought with the kingdoms before they became the Kingdom. I would know what the warriors and soldiers of the Kingdom was in the past," Sharia responded.

"Now, do you need to be healed?"

Thomas shook his head.

"This much of a wound is fine. It will either heal naturally or leave a mark. As long as it doesn't affect my combat skills, I am fine."

Sharia nodded but could not see the reasoning behind Thomas refusing to get healed. While it really wasn't her concern, she doesn't think a sign of being tough is scars. In fact, the most scary person is someone who has little scars but were definitely scars from fighting. If they don't have a lot of scars, then that most likely means they are expert fighters. Maybe that is what Thomas Dusk is going for?

"I may as well introduce myself," Sharia told Thomas, rolling back her shoulders before pointing at herself, "I am Sharia The Warmonger, Princess Isalene's personal guard."

Thomas Dusk was silent for a while before pointing at Sharia in disbelief.

"Warmonger as in the title, right?" He asked, his eyebrows raised. Sharia nodded.

"You're the personal guard of the peace-loving violence-hating princess!?" Thomas asked, his voice skeptical.

"Indeed I am. She chose me herself," Sharia confirmed. Thomas Dusk shook his head and sighed.

"Really, what has this world come to?" Thomas Dusk muttered to himself.

"If you want to know the reason, ask Isalene herself. I personally don't know nor do I really want to know," Sharia told Thomas while she studied her left hand, which she used to slash Thomas with. After making sure her claws were still okay, she turned to look at Thomas before pointing towards a large old pair of wooden doors.

"Go inside and one of the maids will escort you to your new room. Your training begins tomorrow."

Thomas Dusk nodded and sheathed his weapons before making his way to the door. Once he left, Sharia made her way over to the shack she had put him in. Instead of going in, she walked to her left past the shack and into a hidden ruined hallway, hidden by the plants that grew over it. She made her way down the dark hallway until she came across stairs leading up. After climbing them, she found herself on a rampart. In front of her was Princess Isalene, watching the sun. Today, unlike most days, the sun was covered by dust and sand clouds. Normally, the sun is always covered like this but, where the Kingdom is located, they don't have that much dust or sand. Because of this, the sun is mostly out in the open. Sharia recalled an old memory while looking at the sun,

....

Sharia found her master sitting down staring at the sun. In this part of Nostalisk, the hills are higher than some mountains, making the sun seem closer than it actually is. Sharia had to admit the sight was pretty, if not a little tough on the eyes, but she has seen it so many times that it doesn't affect her as much as it used to.

Sharia sat down next to her master and watched as the little girl lifted up her dagger and closed her left eye. Sharia remembered when she use to do things like that back when she was living with her mother in the north. Of course it was with a normal dagger instead of the curved ritual dagger her master has but the concept was the same.

"Master, do you like the sun?" Sharia asked, an idea forming in her head. Her master turned to look at her, cocking her head in an adorable child-like way. Of course, that is because Sharia's master is a child. Many would find it weird to be a disciple of a child but, Sharia doesn't. Her master, Ai, is a wartorn. As such, she is only four and a half years old currently despite looking like a seven to eight year old.

Of course, Ai isn't just a child. She is a warrior. She has killed many soldiers and is considered the kingdoms' greatest assest. Sharia is twelve now and she knows she will never catch up to being close to her master's level. Of course, she isn't talking about her master's strength from being a wartorn but her actual combat skill.

"Yeah, I like the sun. It never ceases to be pretty in some way," Ai responded, putting her dagger away.

"Have you ever seen the kingdoms view of the sun?" Sharia asked. She knows that her master works for the kingdoms but hasn't been in the heartland herself.

"I am seeing it right now, aren't I?" Ai asked, confused. She wasn't wrong. The land they were in does currently belong to the Kingdom Of Dolmar.

Sharia shook her head and pointed towards the heart of the kingdoms.

"You've always been on the outside of the kingdoms. The view of the sun in the heart of the kingdoms is different. Trust me, I have seen it many times."

Ai turned around and poked Sharia on her nose.

"Of course I trust you! You're one of my trusted disciples."

Sharia let out a sigh. Even if her master is a warrior that many fear, she is still a child. She trusts people all too easily.

"The journey to the kingdoms heartland will take four and a half months-" Sharia started before Ai interrupted her.

"That's how old I am!" Ai shouted excitedly. Sharia waited until her master calmed down before continuing, which Ai did so with a sorry.

"There is a big problem stopping us. The Vikings have taken a firm hold of most of the mainland in our way to the kingdoms."

"Vikings? You mean those guys with the blue eyes?"

Sharia shook her head. Only her master would confuse two of the greatest factions in Nostalisk.

"Those were the Vanyans, and you only fought a small handful of them. Please don't try and challenge an actual Vanyan army by yourself," Sharia warned her master. Ai, for all her strength, probably won't survive a fight with a Vanyan army. alone At least, that is what Sharia thinks.

"Alright! So, the Vikings are the guys in black armor with similar weapons, right?"

Sharia nodded. Seems like her master had seen the Vikings before. That didn't really come to a surprise to Sharia. She knew that despite being four and a half years old, Ai has fought against many factions in her mission.

"Wait! What about your mission, master?" Sharia asked, suddenly remembering the mission her master is on. Like most wartorn, Ai was born from the womb of her dead mother. Her mother was killed by a famous silver dagger that only a handful use. So Ai has been on a mission since her birth to find and kill anyone who uses the knife for killing, hoping one of them would be the one who killed her mother.

Ai waved Sharia off, a sad but happy expression on her face.

"The mission can wait. I know it will take a long long time until I kill the right person, and its going to take months until I find another target. So, I'm gonna take a break and go see the sun in the kingdoms heartland. You don't need to worry about my mission. Just focus on getting us to the kingdoms heartland."

Sharia met her master's eyes, trying to tell what her master was thinking. Sharia really didn't think her master was giving up but, even if master did give up her mission, Sharia wants her master to give it up with a happy face and move on, not give up out of depression. Ai realized this and looked away from Sharia and back at the sun.

"Well, this has nothing to do with me giving up my mission but, do you know what makes a warrior a warrior?" Ai asked, still looking at the sun.

"...Determination and a sense of loyalty?" Sharia responded, unsure. So far, that is what she has seen Ai praise in a warrior.

"And knowing when to quit. Know when you have lost and don't keep going just to prove a point or for your own pride. Take mercy or take the easy route to leave so, when you are needed again or you have a chance to improve, you will still be there."

Ai turned to look at Sharia, a serious look on her childish face.

"That is one of the thing that makes up a warrior."

....

"Sharia?"

Sharia jolted from her memories and looked down at Isalene, who was giving her a worried look.

"Sorry, just remembering an old memory," Sharia told Isalene with a sigh. Sharia remembered that, when they did make it into the kingdoms' heartland, the sun was covered by the sand and dust clouds for two days straight. On the third day, Sharia was sleeping in when Ai came into her room and woke her up. When they came outside, Sharia saw the reason why her master was so happy. The sun wasn't covered and the sky was blue.

"What was it about?" Isalene asked, curious.

"About a time I was watching the sun with my master," Sharia told Isalene, walking closer to the edge.

"It's been about nineteen months since the sun was covered," Sharia told Isalene, who only nodded in response.

The two were quiet and watched the sun for a while before Sharia put her hand on Isalene's shoulder.

"I think we should go back. I want you to meet the ninja you saved and give me your opinion on him."

Sharia turned and started walking away but stopped when she realized Isalene wasn't following her. Isalene was looking back up at the sun again.

'I forgot Sharia has a master. I should learn who that is when I get the chance.'

With her goal in mind, Isalene turned around and walked after Sharia, who waited until Isalene was right behind her before she started walking again.