Druva

Cain shifted uncomfortably on his leather pad. A large bruise was growing directly on his buttocks, causing pain whenever he applied too much pressure on the area. This made sitting essentially impossible. But it wasn't as if he could be the only one standing in the ritual room.

Curses! I pray that damned Bradforth trips and falls on his face!

The twelve chosen participants for the Tournament were still undergoing their grueling daily training personally overseen by Sir Bradforth. It had been a little over three weeks since the start of Sir Bradforth's torture and every day Cain woke up covered in fresh injuries. Every muscle in his body was sore, even the ones he didn't even know he had. Every moment he made was pure agony. Nowadays, there was always one of Instructor Bela's leaves sitting between his gums and his cheeks. Damn the potential side effects, he couldn't function without them. Somehow, all the candidates managed to keep up with Sir Bradforth's exercises. But they were all hurting just as much as Cain. Even Eleni wasn't immune to this. Never since inducting had he seen the Bellona in such a horrible physical state. She clutched an injured arm to her stomach. Whenever she moved in her seat, she winced.

One may wonder as to what kind of training Sir Bradforth was putting them through. It was fairly simple. Muscular and endurance training for half of his session, then sparring for the other. The only difference was Sir Bradforth trained them until they had no choice to collapse on the sparring ground's dirt floor once he was done. The exercises he gave them were insane. Push ups until failure for three sets. The same with pull ups. He managed to procure some sort of incredibly dense stone block for them to carry and perform deep squats. Another three sets to failure. Air squats for sixty seconds for three sets. Then they had to pick up another one of those blocks - one in each arm - and do full three laps of the sparring grounds. Finally, he would have them hold out a sword made of Fa knows what until they couldn't. Cain could only hold the sword outstretched for fifteen seconds before his arms gave out. He also threw up right afterwards. That was the first time. Now he could hold it for around forty. Sir Bradforth also ensured they pushed themselves to their absolute limits. If they tried to take it easy when he wasn't looking or pretend to have already reached failure when they didn't, he would smack them on the ass with the flat of his blade. Hence Cain's bruised bottom.

But that wasn't even the worst part. Once they were all tired to the point of nausea, their muscles shuddering from overuse, he would begin the day's spars. Sparring against each other would have been perfect since all they needed to do was go easy on each other. But in his special lessons, they only sparred one person: the great Sir Bradforth himself.

At first, Eleni was excited to finally test herself against the older and more experienced fighter. Even though she couldn't hold her sword without her arms shaking. Her mind quickly changed after he began punishing her every error with stinging strikes to all parts of her body. The Bellona always loved a good fight, but she was no masochist. Especially with most of her strength being sapped from earlier training, she never had the energy to properly defend herself, let alone launch her own offensive. That was the first time Cain had ever seen her take such a resounding defeat. In the beginning, it was shocking. Now it was just an every day occurrence. Cain had always greatly respected Eleni. The others were incomparable against her skill and finesse. But even she was nothing in the face of Sir Bradforth. Even at her full strength, Cain was sure she would be unable to win against the blonde swordmaster. To be fair, he was the Head Instructor in charge of teaching them swordsmanship for a reason.

After their first day of training, Cain and Eleni had unanimously decided to not take part in their private training that day. It took them everything they had to simply wash up and climb into bed.

Cain took a deep breath, attempting to wash away the lingering pain and focus purely on his Blessing. He had progressed even further with his mastery over the deity's power. He could now withdraw the Blessing up to the elbows on both his arms. He was still far from the level he eventually wanted to achieve, but progress was progress. However he did pick up a skill that some were struggling with. Brother Haggerty had explained that Blessings could be transferred to the follower's equipment. This rule seemed to be limited to only inanimate objects: one could not pass the Blessing to another even if they were touching. He could now transfer his Blessing onto his uniform and weapon to make them far more durable. It still took some time and focus to get the job done but it was getting easier every day. Now it only took a couple seconds to move his Blessings between objects.

Brother Haggerty's voice suddenly broke the silence of the meditating Inductees.

"Sorry to interrupt you all, but I will be requiring your attention. The past couple weeks we have simply been focusing on performing the ritual and expanding both the potency and mastery of your Blessings. Yet there is still some material i must teach, some information that I have been withholding on purpose. I recommend you all listen diligently."

The room's white glow slowly diminished, the usual orange light from the candlelights once again washing over the stone walls. They all listened attentively.

"I told you during our first lesson that there are three deities: Hela, Corintha, and Fa. But that was not the entire truth."

He paused.

"There is in truth, one more deity. According to the few religious texts from the ancient times we possess, this deity is the oldest of them all. He was the original deity who stood side-by-side with the Great Bard. His name is Druva."

The Inductees looked at each other. This was unexpected. Only Eleni's expression stayed the same.

"You may all wonder what Druva is the deity of. Let us review what we know of the others. Hela is the deity of alacrity, Corintha the deity of acuity, and Fa the deity of protection. Druva is simply the deity of destruction. He represents fear, brutality, and violence. You may come to think he is evil. That is a common misconception many buy into. Simply because the Blessing can be used to cause harm doesn't mean it is inherently evil. Fear, brutality, and violence are all tools. You see them often used by the leaders of your very own Empire. It just happens to be that the followers of Druva are a savage bunch."

Cain's eyes narrowed.

I see.

"I'm sure you can all guess to who are the followers of Druva are. The Nomal. Just as all the deities seem to have physical domains, Druva does as well. All we know is that his domain begins at the Greatwoods. Perhaps it stretches far beyond to where no man or woman has ever gone. But what you need to know as Inductees are the powers the Blessing endows its follower with. Druva's Blessing is unlike Fa's, where its most natural state is to thinly cover our entire bodies. Their Blessing's natural state essentially covers whatever they believe to be their greatest weapon. This could be a sword in their hands, a dagger on their belts, or their fists themselves. Due to its nature, their Blessing is much easier to move across their bodies and weapons. However, they seem to have trouble increasing or decreasing the size of their Blessings. For example, they cant expand it to cover their entire bodies or concentrate it on the tip of a finger. While not impossible, it is highly uncommon to see a Nomal wielding their Blessings that way. Furthermore, they don't seem to actively train the use of the Blessings.

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"You may wonder as to the actual effects of the Blessing. You may be able to guess. Simply put, their Blessing makes their attacks more destructive. When imbued onto a sword, it can cut through Fa blessed elion armor, skin, muscle, and bone as if it was just parchment. When imbued onto a hammer, it could crush the biggest of men into a simple red splatter on the floor. One thing to note is that their Blessing doesn't make their weapon heavier or add more physical force into their strikes. No. It is as if Druva simply wills their weapons to become more lethal. Druva's Blessing stacked on top of the Nomal's already superior physical strength makes up for a frightening foe. But that doesn't mean we cant defend against them. If anything, our Blessing is the perfect counter to theirs. Due to the fact their Blessings are naturally condensed, our thinly spread Blessings can do little to block attacks. But what if we condense our Blessings to the same size, or smaller?"

Brother Haggerty proceeded to condense his Blessing right above his heart. The Blessing was a beacon, its white radiance washing over the children sitting in front of him.

"This way, we are able to block their attacks. Something no one other than the followers of Fa can do. That is why I train you in the manipulation of your Blessings. This is why I stress mastery over potency. This is the only true way to face a Nomal in direct confrontation."

The Inductees nodded, absorbing the valuable information. Cain had no clue that the Nomal followed their own deity. He could understand why it wasn't public knowledge, why they weren't let known earlier. The Nomal on their own were scary enough. But with Druva's Blessing? They were a force that not even the central armies would want to tango with. The deities were also known in the continent to be generous and loving beings that guided the way for their followers. Beings that protected and nurtured human civilization. The mere existence of a deity of destruction shattered that illusion. Perhaps the other deities weren't just the compassionate shepherds many knew them as. There was most likely more to the deities than Cain had originally thought.

"Besides Druva, there is one more thing I would like to explain in further detail. The Chosen."

Now this was something Cain truly didn't expect. What more was there to talk about them?

"I mentioned that they are incredible powerful followers that far outclass even vicars. There is a particular reason for that. Their Blessings themselves actually don't see an overwhelming boost in potency. If anything, it is similar to the difference between a novice and a templar, or a templar and a vicar. No, their true strength comes from something different altogether. I mentioned that the deities seem to live and breath within the bodies of the Chosen. I meant that almost literally. Other than alacrity, acuity, protection, and destruction - the main component of the deities's powers - there are other elements. For Hela, that was wind, cloud, and levity. For Corintha, light, sound, and color. For Fa, earth, rock, and metal. Except for the fact that Hela's Blessing can make equipment lighter, these secondary elements are not accessible to the average follower of the deities. However, this all changes with the Chosen. The primary power we are gifted with is called the Blessing. The secondary power - one only accessible to the Chosen - is called the Right. Each Chosen has access to a certain degree of control over the secondary elements of their deities. Let me give you some examples. For Hela's Chosen, they will have some degree of authority over the winds and clouds. In combat, this could mean the blowing of sudden incredible gales or the formation of near opaque fogs. These phenomena could effect entire battlefields. For Corintha's Chosen, this could mean the Chosen could control light and sound to create illusions. Perhaps create sudden bursts of sensory information to momentarily stun opponents. For the Fa's Chosen, this means to be able control the earth itself. Each Chosen also seems to specialize in one of the secondary elements. The Chosen of the Bellona family has an affinity with metal. The Chosen of the Kayle family has an affinity with rock and grass. Of course, the Chosen are not gods. Their Rights are not all powerful: they cannot be used for great lengths or in immediate succession. The few Chosen that have selected to elaborate on the Right all described it to be incredibly draining power to use. Not only on the body and mind, but the soul itself. That is why there have been cases of Chosen being overwhelmed by large numbers of assailants. Though, in a duel, they are nigh unkilllable for the average follower like us. For the Druva's Chosen, nothing is known. There has never been a recorded champion among the Nomal that have ever become a Chosen. Thank Fa for that."

Cain couldn't help but feel doubt. To control the very elements of the world? Humans? That seemed like a power no one should ever possess. If this was true, then perhaps they truly were hand picked by the deities themselves. It wasn't like Brother Haggerty to lie anyways.

"The process for becoming a Chosen is unknown. Every Chosen that has come and gone have described it to have happened almost haphazardly. The only trend is that they all happened to be dealing with some sort of dilemma at the time of their awakening. Some were emotional, some physical. Either way, it is not something that can be forced. The Emperor personally experimented with that idea himself. It must be completely natural. And there is no evidence that one must be a vicar to become Chosen. There are cases where templars and even one novice became a Chosen. To be frank, even I sometimes fantasize of becoming a Chosen. Also, there seem to be no restriction on the amount of Chosen a deity can choose. Hela currently has the most Chosen. Ten if I am correct. There are the two I mentioned in east acting as Fa's. Then finally Corintha's two Chosen in the southern city states. This totals to fourteen across the continent."

Brother Haggerty gave them a smile.

"While it is especially uncommon for Chosen to appear among the ranks of common soldiers, you never know if it could happen. Remember, the deities choose their followers for a reason. I believe that this is even more true for the Chosen. The deities do not randomly choose their champions. They must reflect the will and traits of their patrons. If you are faithful, any one of you may very well become the third Chosen in the east. Thank you for listening to this long winded lecture. I afraid I have taken up too much of our time. Let us continue to practice wielding our Blessings tomorrow."

...

Cain lay down in bed, head resting on his palms, and stared at the Red Room's ceiling. He felt like a corpse. The feeling reminded him of what life was like before inducting. While he had dreaded coming to the infamous Institute, he found he enjoyed the comfort of routine. In complete honestly, the days had began to blur together. He never really had the time to think. That was until Eleni and Cain decided to temporarily put a stop to their nightly rendezvous. They decided to no longer ignore the cries of their damaged bodies. Rest was just as important as training.

Cain couldn't help but think about his makeshift family back in Laconia. If there was one thing we wanted to do, it was to go back and visit the kids at the orphanage. To tell them all about the Institute and the people he had met. They would never believe that he was bunking in the same room as a Bellona and a Fabii. He could already imagine the looks on their faces. Cain already knew Eleni would end up placing in the top four. He contemplated asking her to come join him in visiting his childhood home. But then again, she probably had her own things to do and people to meet. He didn't want to burden her with his request.

I'll think about it after I win the Tournament.

While as much as he wanted to believe that simply working hard would allow for him to win the whole thing, he knew it wasn't true. Watching Eleni's spars with Sir Bradforth had been sobering. He saw how much she was holding back on him during their training sessions. Cain had been slowly building up a plan to deal with the girl, but that had been instantly shattered the moment the girl first clashed blades with their Head Instructor. Now he was back to square one.

Fa, please enlighten me. Give me a moment of brilliance. I'm going to need it. Or better yet, curse her with bad luck. Just for the Tournament. Maybe she'll trip on a rock and lose in the first round. Wouldn't that be a sight for sore eyes...