A hard object hit my stomach, pain ripping me from my peaceful sleep as it raced through my body. I convulsed against the object, getting pushed into my bed.

“You’ll be late,” a gruff unamused voice reminded me as I coughed and hacked, trying to force air into my lungs.

Dosor growled and jumped up at the morning visitor as I whirled and tried to hit them. My lungs burned but I wasn’t going down without a fight.

"Good," he said as he easily caught my blow in one hand, letting Dosor bite down onto his prosthetic arm. "I see Nadia didn't completely neglect your training."

The sun had just started peeking over the horizon, bathing my room in the subtlest orange tint. It would have been beautiful if it weren't for Lasse towering over me, glaring down.

"What was that?" I asked annoyed, only realising what he had first said as I spoke. "I still have plenty of time before training starts."

"Dawn does not mean sunrise," he simply said, dropping Dosor back onto my bed. "You have five minutes to get to the yard or you’ll have to run twice the laps."

He took a step to the door, but stopped and looked over his shoulder when I didn’t move. "I'd start getting dressed if I were you."

His words had finally reached me and I burst into action, getting dressed.

I threw Dosor an apple from my nightstand to give her something for breakfast.

I slipped into a short but sturdy tunic and pants over which I slipped a chest plate with shoulder guards. Bracers went onto my arms and fingerless gloves over my hands.

I put on the harness to attach to the dragon scaffolding, along with sturdy boots and a thick belt.

I didn’t have proper armour yet but this training equipment should suffice for now.

We made our way to the yard where Rachel and Ethan were already standing at attention, listening to Lasse.

Mom laid on the grass, leaning against a training dummy.

I walked next to Ethan, holding Dosor in front of my chest. Best to just stand at attention instead of attracting even more attention.

"Now that everyone is here," Lasse called out, eyeing me, “Let’s start with your training. You normally get fifteen minutes to warm up, today it’s five! Make it count!”

“What kind of training are we going to do today?” Ethan asked, starting to stretch.

Lasse walked over to Mom and waved him off. “Your warmup should prepare you for every situation. Hop on, Nadia,” he told her. He went down and began doing push-ups, Mom quickly sat on his back in full plate armour, polishing her greatsword.

Ethan and Rachel turned to me, awaiting instructions.

I guessed that I was their leader. I needed something quick that warmed up the entire body.

“Let’s start with three sets of suicide sprints.” I burned five thin grooves into the grass with a fire cantrip that turned into thick ashen lines as Mom waved her hand, making them last. “Ready. Set. Go!”

We exploded into motion, sprinting back and forth, immediately reversing directions without a moment’s respite. Even as a start, every single sprint taxed my endurance as I wasn’t used to such rapid acceleration.

Ethan zoomed past us, finishing the three sets while Rachel and I were still on our second set. He jumped forward, past the last marker, and used the momentum for an even bigger jump. “First!”

I chuckled and continued on, the cold morning air burning in my lungs. Ethan cheered us on as we continued.

“Next, we’ll do push-ups with burpees,” I ordered the two, checking the time. We had a minute left. “Until failure or time!”

I dropped down and joined the two in the exercise. My legs burned from the suicide sprints but I kept going, jumping up and lowering myself down repeatedly. I even saw Ethan struggling now, he was a runner after all and didn’t have the highest endurance.

Dosor imitated us, which looked incredibly adorable, but I kept going. She tried her best, better not laugh or she’ll stop trying.

I had never heard of a dragon doing physical exercise.

“Time’s up!” Lasse yelled, letting Mom off of his back.

He marched over without any hitch in his breath. "First of all, we'll test your endurance. I know how hypocritical it is when the instructor just sits down and watches so I'll join you. We'll be running laps around Dragon's Heart."

Ethan pumped his fist. He always did enjoy running, even if he struggled with pacing himself.

Rachel sighed but followed along with us. I didn’t know the exact distance of a lap, but it was definitely more than a kilometre.

Lasse set a blistering pace, only Ethan being able to stay by his side as he continued explaining the exercise “We’ll run two laps to begin. If I overtake any one of you, you’ll all have to do an extra lap. If you collapse, only you will have to do an extra set of the next exercise.”

I plodded along at an intermediate pace, slowly picking up speed to not be left behind and damn the others to an additional lap. I was confident enough that I could last the extra lap but Rachel and Ethan both lacked the stamina for it.

Rachel jogged alongside me, already breathing quickly as she really wasn’t used to a lot of movement.

She had the same problem I had, staying most of the day in a workshop, whether forge or lab, left us both with little stamina. At least I had some stamina from my constant hammering and the exercise my Mom had forced me through- Ignatius bless her.

When we crossed the Dragons Maw, Mom was already lying on top of Uldru, enjoying the sunrise in full armour. Uldru was like a small mountain, contrasting the soft hills of the surrounding terrain with his hard scales.

How she got here before we did, I had no idea. Probably a spell.

I kept staring forward, watching Lasse and Ethan disappear behind the first tower. I knew that Rachel would start chatting if I gave her an option and that would lead to both of us failing.

The steady drumming of my feet on the soil was almost therapeutic, a constant noise that rattled through my legs with every step. It was a reason why Ethan and I got along so well, we could run the entire day and fool around in the plains or forest.

We jogged along the moat surrounding Dragons Keep, seeing a couple of frogs relaxing on lily pads on the edge of the water. I did remember Tobias mentioning that some frogs climbed onto Kizmat and somehow held on until Dragons Keep. Those were some tenacious frogs!

“I hate cardio,” Rachel whined as we got to the other end of Dragons Maw- called Dragons Ass by some cruder Dragonknights. She constantly tugged her hair behind her ears as she bounced along.

I continued a bit without answering, letting her catch her breath before she could answer. “Do you need to tie your hair together?” I asked as she fixed her hair yet again.

I took out a piece of string as she nodded. “Yeah, do you mind?”

She stopped walking and I jogged on the spot, tying her hair. I quickly made it into a low ponytail, not knowing how else to tie it. Her hair was only shoulder length so there weren’t too many options anyway.

“Thanks,” she glowed, giving me a lightning-fast hug before continuing our exercise.

We picked up the pace slightly, not wanting to get left behind.

The rest of the first lap went by without a hitch. We even saw Lasse and Ethan pass the first tower in their second lap as we reached Uldru's tail.

Rachel pulled out two corked flasks of a green liquid once we left Mom's field of view, offering me one. “Stamina potion, do you need one?”

Stamina potions. Rachel had managed to think of a recipe which made these tiny second winds in a bottle. They restored your stamina like a healing potion instead of a regular stamina potion, giving you a burst of your depleted stamina back. It didn’t help if you took one before the exercise but they were really impressive for their size. They also didn’t cause the potion buildup regular potions do.

“No, thanks,” I replied, not slowing down for a second. “Take yours as late as you can or this exercise will be just as bad for you next time. It’s about building stamina, not faking it.”

She shrugged and downed one flask, stowing the other in her jacket. “I’ll go ahead then, don’t want to cost you two another round,” she told me with a smile.

I kept my pace and watched her disappear behind the next tower, her burst of stamina allowing her to pick up her speed.

Ethan was walking slowly, holding his side.

I slowed down next to him. “Rachel has a stamina potion if you need one.”

He gave me a thumbs up, panting, and I continued on.

I got to the last bend when I heard heavy steps behind me.

Lasse was rapidly approaching, having picked up the speed after finishing his two laps. He didn’t look winded and even had Ethan over his shoulder but it didn’t slow him down at all.

I picked up the pace but he matched my increase in speed. My lungs started to burn as I saw the finish line approaching, Uldru having laid his tail across the dirt road. I didn’t see Rachel anywhere.

My sides burned as I broke out into a sprint, hearing Lasse's steps quickening.

The finish line approached, but so did his steps.

I jumped over Uldrus's tail, diving into the damp grass.

“Well done,” Lasse said, setting Ethan down on the grass. “No extra laps. Rest one minute, then drop down and give me two sets of ten push-ups.”

We waited a minute and dropped down, starting our pushups, breathing heavily.

Ethan tried to join me but Mom pushed the flat side of her greatsword onto his back. “Take a break. You can do your three sets when you have caught your breath.”

Rachel slogged over next to me and dropped down onto her stomach, starting her sets.

Lasse walked over to us and stood in front, counting along with us.

I barely made it to twenty and fell onto the damp grass, Ethan having joined us shortly before I finished.

Rachel forces herself up, counting loudly “Twenty.”

“Ten more.”

“Why?” she asked, flopping down. “I did my two sets of ten.”

Lasse crouched down. “And you took a stamina potion. Although they are very useful in combat, and Miss Interita has told me about your particular brew, you should refrain from using them during training unless stated otherwise. Raising your tolerance for potions is important but you should not diminish your physical training for it. Most potions amplify your already existing abilities or depend on them so a balance of the two is important.”

“Yes,” she strained herself to rise up, continuing her exercise, “Sir.”

She failed during her fourth pushup, falling face-first into the wet grass.

“Alright, that should be enough to get the potion out of your system,” Lasse said. “Two minutes break, then we proceed with the training.”

Dosor plodded over and laid down on my stomach, stretching her legs.

The break went over way too quick, with Mom distributing water skins. Lasse grabbing two practice swords heralded the end.

The swords were made out of a soft alloy that left streaks of silver wherever they hit. They had no edge but were hefty enough to feel like a real sword when swung.

No enchantments adorned the blade, not even one to make them more sturdy.

He flipped one in his hand and held the handle towards me. "You'll help me with the demonstration."

I grabbed the sword and got into a stance like Mom taught me. Sword in a neutral position, light on the feet.

"You all have had a bit of experience with sword fighting," he said, circling around me, "but that was spars. People who went light on you because they wanted something from you."

He went for a quick strike, testing my defences with a swing to my shoulder.

I managed to shove my sword in front of his, barely blocking the force of the strike.

"There are three major styles of sword fighting that are popular in Tera. They will suit you well if you are in an army or a mercenary, but… " He continued, stopping mid sentence to throw a wild swing at me.

I had expected a surprise strike but the sheer ferocity of it caught me off guard. I barely managed to twist and turn so I could deflect his blow.

A burst of blue came from his prosthetic shoulder and his sword accelerated even more, bending mine and crashing into my chest.

I fell on the grass, barely holding onto my sword.

"Your enemies won't bother with those when it comes to their life. I have never once seen a devoured or monster use one of the styles. We'll work on developing your instincts and turn them into a unique style suited to you- and your dragon." He looked at me when he said the last part.

He grabbed my sword and bent it back into a straight blade. "First, I'd like to get a grasp of where exactly you are at and how you fight. Interita, Lumina, you two spar. Tonitrus, you'll spar with Nadia."

Rachel's eyes almost popped out of her skulls as Mom got up. Sparring with the Destroyer was a privilege but having to prove you can fight when your opponent could kill you with a mere thought or a singular swing.

Ethan grabbed a sword and got ready, a huge grin splitting his face.

We both knew how this spar would go.

He would go for quick strikes to overwhelm me before he could wear himself out and I would defend myself to the best of my ability, using any opportunities to strike back. It was a coin flip at best, leaning towards his favour.

I took a step forward and tapped my sword against his, an old tradition of ours.

He didn't burst into action as I expected, but started circling me.

I took a step forward and tried to strike at him but he simply disengaged.

We continued with short exchanges, getting two strikes in at most at once, until Ethan changed his approach.

He stayed close, just within striking range, and constantly pestered me with short strikes. Most of the retaliation from me was dodged or reflected as he continued to dance around me.

I had to do something about this, trap him.

As if on cue, he swung for my waist.

I trapped his sword between my arm and torso and swapped my sword to my other hand.

I swung at his centre of mass, forcing him to abandon either his sword or tank the strike and any follow ups.

He let go of his sword and ducked under mine, advancing on me.

Before I could react, he absolutely decked me in the face, his fist connecting before I could react.

"That's enough," Lasse ordered as I scrambled up. "Lumina wins. Good thinking on both of your parts."

Ethan held his side where I had struck him, a thick silver line telling. "Fuck your hits hurt."

Rachel had a singular silver spot on her chest.

"Interita, Tonitrus, you're up next." Lasse grabbed a sword and turned to Mom. "Lumina, watch Nadia and I spar carefully. I want to show you something."

Rachel walked over to me and bowed slightly before getting into a stance similar to mine. "Let's go."

I nodded and went for a light strike that she easily blocked, prodding her defences.

She didn't have an ounce of experience in sword fighting and it showed. She preferred bows and alchemy to direct conflict.

She tried to swing at me but barely missed so I retaliated with a strike to her shoulder.

I distanced myself to not take any more hits. Any hit in a real fight could be fatal so I tried to minimise any hits I had to take. It would give her a small advantage but it was good practice.

I needed a distraction.

I grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at Rachel, dashing after it as she protected her eyes.

She dropped her sword and tackled me, throwing both of us onto the ground. I didn't have any chance to stay upright as she impacted me midair.

The fight devolved into squabbles as we rolled on the ground, trying to get the advantage of the other.

Rachel managed to pin me down, holding my arms above my head while sitting on my chest.

I managed to free my hands, seconds away from reversing our positions, but Lasse interrupted us "enough! Good thinking on both of your parts, especially the distraction. Tonitrus, never discard your weapon in an actual fight unless you know that you are going to win."

She mumbled something incoherent as she climbed off of me, her face a deep shade of red.

"What is this 'ace up your sleeve' you are talking about?" He asked, already done with his spar.

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He didn't have any marks on him but I doubted that Mom lost to him. Not that I could see the marks on her armour anyway.

Rachel pulled a small flask filled with a green liquid and gas inside out of a satchel. Probably a poison. "A flamethistle smoke bomb."

Mom chuckled.

"Two vials of acid and a contact poison, " she continued, her face growing redder by the second, "I had many options but opted against them as this was only a spar and I didn't want to inflict any lasting injuries. "

"Alright," Lasse said, nodding. "I'll get you some dummy potions that won't actually hurt anyone. Some will count as a win for you if you match certain criteria like ingestion. I'll explain it when I have the potions."

Rachel nodded furiously. "Of course."

We went through a few more rounds that ended similarly to the previous ones before Lasse collected the swords.

"Now scram," he said, "Lin wants to take care of your magical and historical education. I've taken enough of your time for today so make your way to her room or the library. We continue tomorrow at dawn, actual dawn."

----------------------------------------

"Is this her room?" Ethan asked.

Rachel and I shrugged.

I just knocked on the door. There was no reason not to try it, after all this was the Dragonknight quarters. Maybe they can help us find her room. "Lin?"

"Yeah, I am coming!" Someone yelled from inside.

The door opened to show a young woman, barely in her twenties. She wore only a very loose robe hanging off of one shoulder and a wide brimmed hat similar to that of the elven witches from stories of old. Her curls of striking purple were in complete disarray and she reeked of alcohol and old paper.

Of course, she was taller than me.

"How can-" She began to ask us before noticing the freshly hatched dragon in my arms, "ahh, Caleb- and Rachel and Ethan. Come in!"

She ushered us in while fixing her robe. "Rache- Miss Tonitrus, how is your research going?"

Her room was a dump.

Messy piles of papers and books filled the room, leaving exactly one surface free for her to work on. I could see glimpses of jars and stones beneath the papers, reagents for spells. A hammock hung above a pile of clothes in the corner of the room with a small pile of dishes next to it.

"Rachel is fine," she said. "My research is going splendid! I got a dose of venom serpent venom that I am trying to refine."

"Refining?" Lin asked, pushing a stack of documents to the ground to reveal a chair. "That's ambitious."

She sat down on the chair as Rachel answered "Yeah, I've got a long way to go but I think it'll pay off."

Lin nodded and grabbed rimless glasses, putting them on. "Advancing alchemy is a commendable goal," she said, smiling at Rachel, "but I'll stick to my spellcrafting. Speaking of which!"

She clapped her hands and gestured for all of us to find a place to sit. "I wanted to be the first to teach you about the wonderful world of the arcane. Spells and Runes, Conjuration and Manipulation, even the theory of Necromancy and why you shouldn't use it."

Ethan sat on a pile of books, balancing his weight while I just sat on the floor along with Rachel.

"Everyone says necromancy is heresy but I never got a straight answer why it is absolutely forbidden," Ethan asked.

Lin stared at us, then a smile cracked open on her face. "Great question! Necromancy is forbidden because it strengthens Zephyra and damages your own soul."

"So it's like prayers to Zephyra?" Rachel asked.

"Yes!" Lin answered, starting to search for a document of some sort. "While prayers to Ignatius take some of your mana but grant you spell-like miracles that you can redeem for very little mana at the moment, kind of like savings, Necromancy steals life force from others and channels it through your soul to Zephyra, which damages your soul every single time you use it. The more you use it, the less mana you can effectively channel and Zephyra grows stronger with each use. The Spells cast using Necromancy are ridiculously strong and versatile but it's not worth it in the long run."

I raised my hand.

She motioned towards me. "No need to be so formal, just speak up when you have questions."

"Alright," I thought over my question once more before asking "I am sorry if this is rude to ask but… you're very cheerful for a Knight whose dragon died. How?"

Rachel elbowed me in my side but Lin just laughed.

"Denial, that's how!"

An uncomfortable silence stretched dangerously long as my crew just stared at her.

"Speaking of bonds!" Lin said, pointing at Dosor. "You should have noticed a feeling of belonging when in the vicinity of your dragon."

I nodded and she continued "That's your bond forming. The bond between Dragon and Knight is a magnificent miracle granted to us by Ignatius that allows us- you to keep the order of the world. The bond multiplies your mana reserves and increases the intelligence of your dragon. It also allows you two to communicate nonverbally once it fully manifests."

She went on a tirade about dragon anatomy and different analysis spells to identify various problems that could spring up during Dosor's growth.

It was a fascinating topic and she was a passionate teacher, but my head had started to hurt after the fourth spell she demonstrated. She had charts, reports that detailed the gained info, and instructions for each spell that she explained with each example.

Dosor had dozed off after the first.

"Alas we'll have to stray away from the arcane arts for a moment to talk about something just as important, history." She shuffled on her seat and pulled a piece of jerky out of nowhere. "What's the biggest historical threat to the Dragonknights?"

Ethan answered first. "Monsters."

"Wrong!" Lin called out, turning to Rachel.

"Nature?" She answered hesitantly.

"Ehh!" Lin imitated a horn and turned to me. "You should know this."

If I should know this, it was probably-

"Necromancy," I hedged my bet.

She didn't make any weird sound or tell me I was wrong so I continued "We would be screwed if another Dragonknight succumbed to Necromancy like Al'kaar and turned into a Soul of Avarice. We have too few people that could rival such a power and those that can are needed elsewhere."

"Yess!" She said, before correcting herself "Kinda. It's infighting. A Soul of Avarice would be bad and has done the most damage to our proud organisation in a short timeframe and it is technically infighting."

Rachel scowled. "There were dozens of fights with minor noble houses and even kingdoms over the years. The Shaar conflict took thousands of lives and two Dragonknights over the span of three months."

What?

She looked at Ethan and me before raising her hands in an attempt to defend herself "What? I am still the heir to a noble house. I got quizzed on this."

"You're right," Lin said, fixing her robe. It really didn't fit her at all. "A lot of Noble houses had sworn allegiance to Ignatius and still wanted more. They needed our help to secure land and resources but we tried to stay neutral. Thousands suffered because of us and we had to adapt our operations."

"Let's cycle back," she said, fixing the brim of her hat. "Can any of you tell me what exactly a Soul of Avarice is?"

"No, no one knows," I said.

"We have theories, but there has only been one Soul of Avarice in our recorded history." Lin defended herself, starting to look for something. "Al'kaar heavily hinted at the possibility that he managed to free his Necromancy from Zephyra. It also appeared to have rapidly escalated the destruction of his soul."

We waited a few moments for anything but she just kept looking for something.

The lesson devolved into history from there on out as she kept ranting about the incompetence of the squabbling noble houses, something that Rachel had a lot to say about.

It was late evening when Lin finally looked outside, shocked.

"Oh, how the time flies when you’re having fun!" She called out, clapping her hands, "Please, I don't want to keep you any longer. Unless…"

She trailed off and looked at us with big eyes.

I felt like she didn't get many visitors.

"We haven't eaten all day, even after our rigorous training," I said, feeling a pang in my stomach. "So I'd prefer to shower and get some food before bed."

Lin sniffed the air. "Oh yeah, you guys should get cleaned up."

She ushered us out, suddenly having remembered an urgent mission the Allfather had given her. It was a wonder to me how she got anything done.

We showered and reconvened at the cafeteria after I grabbed some coins.

We got up to the counter and Ethan rang the bell.

"Should we take Eva with us to the Hatchery?" He asked. "Dosor will probably grow big enough for her to join."

"I can't think of a reason why not," I replied.

Eva appeared from the kitchen shortly after, wearing a tightly bound apron and a hairnet over her clothes. "Welcome, Sir Interita, Sir Lumina, Miss Tonitrus. How may I be of service?"

"We'd like some dinner," Rachel said.

Ethan quickly added "and we'd like to ask you to join us in the Hatchery for a sort of introduction or an interview."

"That would be most splendid," Eva said, showing no emotion at all. "What would you like for dinner? We can take it with us to the Hatchery and eat there at the table designated for the dragon's feast."

"Do you have roast chicken today?" Rachel asked, rummaging through her pouches to search for coins.

Ethan quickly added his order as he grabbed his pouch. "I'll take whatever you'd recommend. "

"I need some raw meat for Dosor and just some stew for me," I said.

She nodded. "Two bowls of stew, roast chicken with gravy, and meat scraps. I'll deliver them to the Hatchery along with some juice."

"I'll help you carry it," Ethan offered. "They can go ahead."

"Alright. Thank you."

I took the hint and quickly agreed “We’ll see you there, have fun!”

“But-” Rachel tried to interject but I ushered her along. “Wait, we-”

“I know,” I said, waving to the two. “We’ll see you at the Hatchery.”

I quickly led Rachel out of the cafeteria and explained once we were in the hallway “He wants to spend some time alone with her.”

“Ohh, He is still holding out hope, huh?” She grabbed my hand and bounced along, merrily swinging my hand back and forth.

“It’s kind of admirable how he tries to be respectful, right?” she asked, looking up at me with big eyes.

I thought before answering, Dosor chirping happily.

She had never spoken about him like that but I doubt that she had feelings for him. She would have told me if she did unless it was a recent development.

I had never been good at this sort of stuff so I just pushed it to the back of my mind.

“It is,” I said before continuing “ I think he should just tell her how he feels. Nothing is going to change for a while but it’s not like he’s agonising over it so it can’t hurt to wait.”

Her bouncing had turned into a regular walk by the time she answered “Right.”

“Why? Are you interested?” I asked, a grin spreading on my face.

It was just too fun to tease her.

“What?! No! Ew,” she exclaimed, letting go of my hand. “He’s like the last person in this keep I’d want to ask me out!”

“So you have a ranking?” I teased.

“Shut up.”

We arrived at the Hatchery and I decided to just drop it.

She could date whoever she liked after all.

We chatted until the two arrived. They were carrying the bowls and plates in their hands and Ethan was talking with her animatedly.

We settled down and ate, drifting from topic to topic until the night claimed each of us, one by one. We hadn’t really gotten to ask Eva much, but we very awkwardly managed to invite her to join us in training.

I could already feel the strain on my muscles from today.

I was sure that tomorrow would be easier.

----------------------------------------

I woke up before Lasse could wake me and we made our way to the yard.

Rachel was already there and drank something out of a vial just as I arrived.

"Good morning," I said, walking over and setting down Dosor to start stretching. I wanted to be prepared for today.

Eva and Ethan arrived together, Eva having an unstrung bow on her back.

"Good morning," Ethan called out before joining me with the stretching.

Eva stood next to Rachel. "Hello."

We greeted them and continued stretching.

Lasse appeared shortly after, in full armour with a large backpack.

Eva bowed deeply and asked "May I join the crew in training for the foreseeable future?"

He turned to me. "I do not see any problems with her joining," he said, "but you should know that the foreseeable future will be hard. It is your choice, Interita. "

"We talked about it yesterday. She can join."

He nodded and started immediately, turning around and jogging away without another word.

I grabbed Dosor and we followed after him in a single file line.

Instead of running laps around Dragon's Heart, we followed the road up the hill where the sun blinded us.

I couldn't exactly shield my eyes so I just had to squint and hope I didn't bump into Lasse.

We ran and ran, an unending slough through the roiling hills.

The Harndom forest loomed in the distance with the Ciar vanishing in it. The dark trees quickly got denser to shield the monsters within.

The distance between Dragon's Heart and the Harndom Forest appeared endless as hours of running didn't get us any closer, leaving it a fixed feature in the landscape.

My mind wandered as the endless path beneath us stretched and stretched, the surroundings barely changing.

"Can- we- please stop?" Rachel panted out, starting to slow down.

"We will stop at the next intersection for a short break," he said smoothly. There was no shortness of breath evident in his speech. "If anyone collapses, carry them until then."

I looked over my shoulder to check on the others. I was still feeling fine, only a little winded as our speed hadn't been that high.

Ethan was struggling and heavily sweating. His smile was still vibrant so I knew that he would make it until the break.

Rachel was panting, barely holding on as she hunched along. She didn't look too good with sweat coating her face and dripping down.

Eva had a perfectly neutral expression on her face as she jogged along. Her breath was hitched and she sweated slightly but I doubted that she would cave in before the break.

I stepped to the side and slowed down, letting Ethan pass me and handing Dosor to him.

"Rachel, do you need help?" I asked, walking alongside her.

She managed to force a singular word out, "No."

I stepped in front of her and stopped her. "Come on," I said, "I can carry you until the break. Collapsing here won't help anyone."

She stopped.

"Alright," she agreed, dropping onto my back.

I lifted her up by grabbing her legs while she wrapped her arms around my throat.

I chuckled as Rachels position reminded me of a backpack but just kept running.

I picked up the pace to not get left behind, staying behind Eva instead of overtaking her.

"Sorry," came the whisper from Rachel the moment she caught her breath. Her arms tightening around my neck as she continued "I didn't want to slow you down."

"It's alright," I replied, squeezing her leg reassuringly. "We're a crew after all."

I plodded along after the rest, dreading the last stretch to the intersection. My lungs were on fire and I was sure that Rachel's front had been soaked with my sweat when we came to the intersection.

I collapsed onto the ground at the intersection, letting Rachel down into the grass.

Yep, she was completely soaked.

Eva sat down on the ground cross legged, breathing surprisingly evenly.

Ethan laid on the ground with a huge grin, letting Dosor rest on his chest.

"Twenty minute break," Lasse said, dropping two waterskins and three small packages on the ground beneath us. "Limited supplies will be a reoccurring issue on your travels and you might not be able to appropriate or find enough to feed everyone evenly. Interita, you are in charge of distribution for now."

He turned around and started jogging down the street, leaving us to our own devices.

"Man, why do we have to run so much?" Rachel whined the moment he was out of earshot.

"I like it," Ethan breathed out.

I grabbed one of the waterskins, taking a few gulps of water before handing it to Rachel. I made sure to only drink a little, leaving at least half of the water for her.

"We'll distribute it evenly, Ethan and I will take the minority so you two should fuel up," I decided. We were both more used to exercising than them and filled up yesterday.

"Thank you," Eva said, grabbing the other waterskin and timidly drinking from it. She handed it to Ethan shortly after.

I broke into the first package and found it disappointing. It was only some hardtack and jerky, dried food that we would be having as our rations when travelling.

I handed one package to everyone. "You eat first. Feed Dosor some jerky as well, she needs to get used to it."

I felt like we would be out here for a long while.

Rachel and Ethan handed me some of their rations, jerky and hardtack respectively, and we all chowed down.

On the minute, Lasse reappeared with four stones of varying sizes on his back. The smallest one was about the size of Dosor while the others were slightly larger.

He dropped them onto the intersection and collected the empty waterskins and wrappings.

"Alright, next stage. We'll continue running with these on your back," he ordered before walking to Dosor. "You will run alongside us until you can't move anymore, then someone will carry you along instead of their stone."

He looked at us for a second before shouting "What are you waiting for? Move! Move! Move!"

We burst into action. Not caring what size of a stone we got, Eva and I ended up with the two bigger ones.

We ran after him as he steadily picked up the pace until our lungs and legs burned alike.

The sun was just starting to descend when he called out for us to stop. "We'll continue with some magical instructions," he said, sitting down on the damp grass. "Show me your basics."

I went first, kneeling in the grass next to him and starting to weave a spell with my hands.

Strands of mana exited my fingers and intertwined in a relatively simple array, forming the runes needed for a Candlelight spell.

A shimmering ball of light appeared in front of me, not even as bright as a torch but very stable.

He waved a hand through the ball of light. "Doesn't dispel after an interruption, good. The strength could use some work, put more mana into it. Next."

I didn't dismiss my Candlelight and went onto the next spell, Levitate.

I picked up a decently sized pebble and let it rest on my hand, channelling my mana into a tiny torrent beneath that lifted it up from my hand. The pebble was steady but slowly descended.

Lasse swatted my hand away, causing the pebble to fall down to the ground.

"I've seen enough. Lumina, you're up next," he ordered, waving me aside.

I obliged and let Ethan take my place.

He asked him to show the same two spells. His light was bright, as was expected, but his pebble was a lot shakier than mine.

Lasse didn't stop there. "Next."

Ethan grimaced but let the pebble fall, instead conjuring a flame on the tip of his finger. It was straight and somewhat powerful, definitely better than mine.

For now.

"Enough," Lasse declared, waving Ethan away. "Tonitrus, you're up."

Rachel quickly took the place of Ethan but stopped Lasse before he asked "I am not really suited for arcane spellcasting. I want to become a healer."

Lasse stared down at her. "I'd urge you to learn the basics of conjuration, evocation, and illusion. Ask Lin to teach you, she is better at this," he thought for a moment before continuing, "I'll allow you to heal the others during the exercises until stated otherwise."

He turned to Eva and waved her over.

“I can not cast any spells considered the basics,” she simply stated, not moving from her spot, “Father said that I would not be able to cast any spells, no matter how much I trained.”

“Let Lin check you over, she could probably tell you more,” Lasse said, “but for now, let’s stick to basic training to increase your magical control and power..”

He raised his prosthetic arm and cast a complex looking spell, weaving it with his organic arm. “We’ll continue with some esoteric training.”

I could feel the mana building from the spell as a shimmering mass of void coalesced above his hand, it only made me wonder what he meant.

Esoteric training could mean anything but-

My world plunged into darkness, the others fading away until all I could see was the void of the world surrounding me, Tera just a distant spot in the distance. I didn’t know how I knew it was Tera as it was just a blue and green marble in the endless void.

I shifted in the void, looking and turning around to find the sun behind me. It was a bright orange star, filling my entire view but somehow not burning my eyes.

Dosor floated in front of me, wildly writhing and turning in an attempt to find purchase. I felt waves of anxiety emanating from her, filling the nonexistent space.

With nought a thought, I flew over to Dosor and grabbed her, hugging her to my chest to try and calm her down.

She scratched my arms and stomach in her writhing, tinges of pain running through me as the light of the sun faded.

I turned around as Dosor had calmed down.

A shadow smothered the sun, wings of pure darkness spreading outwards to circle the sun, me, and Tera behind me. The face was definitely draconic, two slits of pure light as eyes and a toothy grin of red light growing in intensity as I floated in it’s claws.

The sun barely shined through, just enough for me to be able to see the claws starting to trap me.

“Lookie here,” taunted a primordial voice as one of the claws pried Dosor from me like an undeniable force of nature. “The newest plaything of Ignatius…”

I tried to speak but no words escaped my throat. Terror started to grip me as I failed to think of the implications of Lasses spell.

“The son of an oracle and the failed Knight.,” it cooed, twisting around and encircling me until its head towered above me. “I can’t wait to dig my claws into your soul when you inevitably fail to follow your Oath. Enjoy your time amongst the elite of humanity, for it is more limited than you think.”

It looked towards the sun and untwisted from around me. “Oh, it appears that I have run out of time for today, my brother calls and your companions are starting to get suspicious.”

It dove into the sun, disappearing from sight.

The sun and Tera faded into the void until I lost even my own body to it.

The void persisted for ages, my mind wandering as it was left without any stimulation.

This must be some sort of illusion induced by Lasse, something to test our presence of mind or magical resistances.

He announced it but didn’t say what we were supposed to do, so we probably had to figure it out ourselves.

Mom had always said that illusions are for the weak but cunning, something she never had problems with due to her overwhelming firepower.

I didn’t have any points where I could start unravelling the illusion but I could just flood the area with mana, not that it would work against Lasse.

Perhaps this was the task? I didn’t know how we could break free if we were all in separate illusions.

My eyes snapped open as something cut into my stomach, Dosor shaking on my stomach in fear. A quiet growl escaped her throat.

Rachel and Ethan kneeled over me, fear and worry written all over their face.

“Interita,” Lasse called out, “What happened?”

“Huh?” I responded, not knowing what else to say.

“What did you see?” Ethan asked.

I quickly regaled them with my vision, explaining all I could and every detail I could think of.

“Is that not what you guys saw?” I asked.

Everyone shook their heads and Lasse explained “The spell was supposed to just settle an illusion over your mind, a bit of an exotic spell I raided from the Pale Serpents. They used it to train their mental control and I adopted that practice in the last years. It was supposed to be an illusion that taxed your mind and forced you to train your mana output to escape. I lifted it when I noticed your distress.”

I was not sure how to react to it.

Would I have been stuck there if they hadn’t pulled me out?

It didn’t matter. We had to resume training or we’d lose the day.

We continued our training, spending the rest of the day running with minimal food and water. Lasse didn’t stop there, letting us rest for a few hours before making us do safe esoteric training, mostly for mana control and output.

The only person who got sufficient food and drink was Dosor but in bigger intervals. We spent the majority of the night on the move, stopping shortly for other exercises.

We didn’t spar or do any other more complicated exercises, only training our resilience in the physical and magical instead of any techniques. Any questions got deflected or straight-up ignored.

I just wished that this wouldn’t go on for too long.