Just one bite

His son’s boundless enthusiasm brought peels of laughter from the young father. Artorias loved the youthful wonder and excitement all five of his children possessed and he hoped they never lost that spark in their lives. Ciaran vowed to keep to his training so when he came of age, he would have earned one of the rare weapons his family kept under lock and key. "I know you will, my little knight," replied the proud Artorias, grinning from ear to ear with a bright, fatherly smile. It came as little surprise that Kea would want to see how he grew up learning how to fight and Art was more than willing to give his boy a glimpse into his past.

"All right, come with me, Kea!" Artorias ushered his dark-coated pup towards the armory door, waiting for him to step out so he could close the door behind them and prevent any other curious pups from slipping in behind them. With a beaming smile to Kea, Art led the way around the castle to the opposite wing, down to the very last room at the end of the hall. Pushing open the double doors, the Aegis revealed the pristinely-maintained dojo within. A large padded ring occupied most of the space in the room, the ring surrounded by wooden training dummies all in various states of destruction.

Artorias led Kea inside and over to a rack of wooden training swords off to the side. He hoisted out one of the larger ones, then picked up a smaller one and laid it before Ciaran to inspect. "This is how your dad learned how to fight with a sword. I was just a little older than you when I got my first training sword. I couldn’t be separated from it!" Artorias took the hilt of the full-sized sword in his jaws and lifted the weapon, spinning it with a bit of a flourish to catch it in midair. He then gestured for his son to pick up the smaller sword and test it out.

"Artorias Carpathius"