Frederick

You hammer the target dummy with both swords, ducking and darting a circling it in unpredictable ways. Your focus is mostly on your feet to make sure they're always planted right. Apparently you've been neglecting your footwork a bit, so Frederick is trying to hammer in some good habits.

"Not bad" Frederick says. "You've been practicing?"

You stop for a break, a give one of your practice swords a twirl. "Footwork? No" You reply with a sigh. "Alice and like... half the other maids have been insisting that 'a man of my station should know how to dance'..."

Frederick chuckles. "They're not wrong..." He says.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up" You say.

"What? I am being serious" He says. "You think the rest of us were spared dancing lessons? Myself, Derrick, Daria, even your mother. We all had to go through this same thing"

"Did any of them actually enjoy it?" You ask, going back to hitting the dummy.

"Derrick and your mother most certainly did not" He says. "Daria on the other hand loved it. The trouble with her was to keep her from her bouts of 'improvisational flight'..."

"That sounds like her..." You say. "And you?"

"I had the benefit of a young, attractive instructor. I may not have liked dancing, but I certainly but my best foot into it..." He says.

"How'd that work out for you?" You ask.

"I was nine at the time, so... quite well" He says.

"What counts as 'quite well' for a nine year old?" You ask, shifting your feet and changing your angle.

"She told me I was the best student she'd ever had, and gave me a kiss on the cheek" He says, putting his fingers to his left cheek. "I swore I'd never wash it off... until I hit the mud during my training and my mother made me bathe... but enough about that"

"I find it hard to imagine you getting scolded..." You say.

"You haven't met my mother" He says. "You think the Commander is tough..."

"Your mom is still around?" You ask.

He nods. "Lives in Leon's upper quarter, with her sister and her niece" He says. "I visit sometimes, though not as often as I should"

"Hard to make time for these things when it's been one war after the other" You say.

"An excuse, and not a very good one in her eyes" He says. "She never did want me to be a fighter"

"No?" You ask. "What was her preference?"

"Anything else" He says. "My father was a soldier, and he died, as soldiers tend to do. She just didn't want the same to happen to me"

"To be fair, you're not exactly rank and file..." You say.

"No, but I could've been" He says. "She only agreed to let me learn to fight when I made it clear my interest was in duelling"

"And then duelling died out" You say. "How did that happen anyway? You never did say"

He thinks for a second, and then shrugs. "Alright. Might as well put the swords away, if we're starting story time..." He says, waiting until you're finished to begin. "So it all happened during what was supposed to be the biggest duel ever..."

Frederick describes the fighters to you: Edrine, a reptilian from Antolia whose defense practically flawless, and Gilles, a fighter from Locken who was said to have the perfect offense.

"Sounds like a good fight" You say.

"Hardly. I was there to watch. Gilles couldn't get past Edrine's defense, and Edrine couldn't find openings to counter" He says. "Even from my seat, which was pretty far back, I could see Gilles getting frustrated, and Edrine getting tired"

"So what happened?" You ask.

"Well, duels have rules. Certain maneuvers you can't perform, certain spells you can't cast, certain places you can't aim for..." He says. "In his frustration, Gilles broke those rules and cast a spell to blind Edrine. Then he went in for an attack. Edrine's blind flailing knocked it off course and he ended up stabbing her right in the throat"

"Oh..." You say.

He nods. "Medics are always on standby, but she lost so much blood so quickly that it was too late by the time they got there" He says. "Normally, if he'd played by the rules, Gilles would've been protected from legal consequences"

"But he broke them, so he was up for murder" You say. "What happened to him?"

"He ended up here in Antolia. Edrine was of noble birth, so we gave him to them to try and quell their outrage" He says.

"Did it work?" You ask.

"No. But it was worth a try" He says.

"So... no more duels after that?" You ask.

"No more duels after that" He says. "The outcome of that one had the city up in arms. Concerned citizens actually took to the streets to put an end to what they now saw as a 'blood sport'"

"And you?" You ask.

"I learned an important lesson" He says. "Both of those fighters were formidable, but only within the confines of a duel. The blinding spell Gilles used is something I've copied dozens of times in my work, and nobody even blinks"

"Well I mean, if you're blinding them..." You say.

Frederick chuckles. "But you know what I mean" He says. "Rules put you at a disadvantage in a real fight. Do what you have to, even if that means fighting dirty. But then I probably shouldn't give the man who can summon the power to level a city block a lecture about not holding back..."

"No. I do get what you mean" You say.

"Good. Now, I wanted to talk about your devil friend" He says.

"Cheska? What's up with her?" You ask.

"She's been wondering if she could join in on these training sessions..."