Under Arvid’s watchful gaze, Einar sat down and closed his eyes. Einar used the simple meditation taught to him to enter his inner world. Just as he guessed, the altar now had the small crystal arrowhead resting on it. He picked it up and a fitting indent appeared on the stone slab behind the altar. The young giant socketed the arrowhead into the hole, an image of an arrow shaft carving itself after it. When it was finished, glowing words appeared on the stone wall.

{Spirit arrow}

{Form an arrow out of your spiritual power to use with any bow or crossbow. The spirit arrow causes harm like any other arrow would unless the caster infuses it with the power of the elements through his own means or their weapon. Each rank in mastery increases the harm caused by two and the range of the arrow by thirty feet.}

{Spell type: spiritual}

{Spirit cost: 5}

{Bodily harm: 10}

{Casting time: 2 seconds}

{Range: 150 feet}

{Spell mastery: 0/10}

{Mastery progression: 0/10}

As it turned out, absorbing the arrowhead’s power had granted him a new spell which he could already see the use of. Other than this, he soon found out that his deftness attribute had grown by three and his divinity by one. ‘One point for each minute of the trial and a bit of divinity for the entire ordeal.’ He thought to himself as he looked at the number representing his valour which grew by two thousand.

It was now above four thousand, allowing him to form one of his star drawings. As much as he wanted to bring his ancestral stars to life, his mind and soul pulled him toward the raven-shaped star chart he received from Harald. It had to be of some use if the king of the gods gave it to him but when he tried to push his will into the sheepskin scroll, it fought back. ‘I need... five thousand valour.’ The youth thought as the feeling crept up along his spine and to the back of his mind.

He wasn’t sure how he knew it, but he was as sure about the amount needed as he knew his name. Einar let out a sigh as he put the scroll back down before leaving his inner world. The young giant knew that he was close. If the other trials also granted two thousand valour upon conquering them, then he could get the raven star sign after the next one. ‘I hope I’m right about this.’ He grumbled to himself as he opened his eyes, finding Arvid and Rúna staring at him.

“Is everything alright?” Rúna asked as she watched the youth open his eyes.

“I’m fine,” he said calmly. “It seems I was right about the arrowhead. It granted me a spell.”

“From what I’ve heard,” Arvid hummed. “Spells are rare treasured knowledge that none are too keen to share. Most are said to be worth their owner’s weight in silver if not gold.”

“What does it do?” The forgemaiden asked with an almost childish curiosity.

As an answer, Einar summoned his bow and began to pull on the bowstring. He willed an arrow to appear on the string, pale blue and hazy like a mirage of heat. The giant aimed at a nearby tree and let the arrow loose. It flew fast and straight, hitting the tree’s trunk before slowly fading away.

“Not bad,” Arvid nodded. “I could barely hear it leave the string. I’m sure it will come in handy while hunting.”

“Damn,” Rúna cursed quietly. “Now I really want to conquer the first trial to get a spell like that.”

“You already know where it is, you just have to somehow make the people of the Falling Sun Empire let you take the trial.” The young warrior noted from the side, earning a sigh from the forgemaiden.

“I doubt that any of us would have an easy time doing that. It’s best to wait until tomorrow. I’ve heard Brynhildr is planning an expedition inland in search of the trial grounds.”

“The sun is still high in the sky,” Einar remarked. “We should have at least five or so hours before nightfall.”

“So what,” Arvid shrugged. “Don’t tell me you plan on exploring further inland.”

“There’s no point in wasting time and letting the other kingdoms find the rest of the trial grounds.”

“There’s also no point in getting eaten by wolves or whatever else is in there,” the warrior argued. “I get that you’re eager to explore, being a seeker and all, but it’s dangerous to go out there alone.”

“If something wants to eat me, I’ll just kill it or run.” The young giant claimed as he stood up checking his equipment before his next visit to the forest.

“Do you mind if we go with you,” Rúna asked as she too stood up. “At least until the place where you found the first trial.”

“Fine by me,” Einar agreed with a wide smirk. “As long as you can keep up.”

Five minutes into their journey the forgemaiden was already huffing while Arvid was downright sweating and choking on his uneven breath.

“You know, not everyone has enchanted boots or weird ass bloodlines,” he yelled over to Einar, the young giant running a good fifty-yard head of them. “Some of us are only human.”

“Stop talking and pick up the pace!” The forgemaiden chided as she too started to speed ahead.

Another quarter of an hour later they reached a valley where the first trial ground was, the three of them stopping at the edge of the treeline. The valley was now crowded with people, four distinct groups staring daggers at each other as someone failed the trial with a loud death scream.

“Yet another Eastern dog died.” Someone from the Falling Sun Empire’s God-marked said with a disdainful tone.

“Stop acting like you own the world,” a man from another group scoffed. “You lost six people not even an hour ago.”

“Yet we still have more survivors than you lot.”

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“Enough,” a familiar voice commanded silence. “It seems we have new arrivals.”

“Looks like the raiders finally caught up with us,” a woman from what Einar now believed to be the Eastern Alliance’s champions remarked. “Looks like they can’t do anything unless a raiding ship is involved.”

“The tall one was the first to pass the trial,” Takeshi stated as they all watched Einar and his companions walk closer. “As for the other two, their fate is yet to be determined by the trial.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Arvid chuckled. “But I don’t intend to die anytime soon, so my only option is to win.”

“Arrogance,” another God-marked harrumphed, this one belonging to an unfamiliar-looking group. “Do you think it is easy to pass the trial set by the gods?”

“If the big guy could do it, then I should be able to as well.” The young warrior stated with a calm tone.

“Then prove it!” The man challenged as the barrier of the trial ground opened and the crowd made way for Arvid.

“Alright then.” The warrior nodded before adding into the middle of the arena.

A moment later the barrier sealed up and the glowing orbs above the columns began to spit bolts of light at Arvid. Everyone watched with bated breath as the warrior began to dodge the light bolts for a good minute before finally having to draw his sword. He then proceeded to either dodge or deflect the bolts with his blade. The other two minutes went by quickly and the youth came out victorious, claiming his prize before heading outside the proving ground.

“It seems the gods have a twisted sense of humour to let such a boastful man survive.” The God-marked that challenged Arvid said with a rueful sigh.

“Mind if I go next?” Rúna’s question surprised everyone. “I don’t have much time since I still have to set my forge up.”

“A blacksmith,” one of the Eastern folk mocked her. “What next? Shepherds?”

“Doesn’t matter what they are if they can survive longer than your people.” A man from the fourth group teased the Eastern man while holding his spear and shield.

“You…” The other youth wanted to argue but found it better to stop himself. “Fine. Let us see what the blacksmith can do.”

Rúna walked inside the barrier-protected circle and the trial began. To the onlookers’ surprise, the giant woman dodged the light arrows with uncanny grace, only summoning her fiery hammer for the last minute to deflect a few bolts. When the trial ended and she claimed her prize, the forgemaiden returned to Einar and Arvid.

“No luck with the prizes,” she lamented. “There was barely anything useful in here besides the divine nectar. Anyway, thanks for letting me try my luck!”

She then turned toward Arvid and Einar, the three walking away under the gaze of the crowd.

“Are you sure you want to go further inland?” She asked the young giant, earning a nod.

“I’ll try to make good use of whatever daylight remains. The two of you should go back to the village and tell the others about this place.”

“Try not to get into too much trouble.” Arvid said as he patted the giant on the back, turning around to leave with Rúna.

Einar left in the valley following the overgrown path on the other end of it. The forest around him slowly began to turn dark, the rugged path leading him beneath trees that grew larger than anything he had seen back in Bear-rock Island. The young giant held a grip on his sword's hilt as he felt uneasiness creep up his spine. ‘I’m being watched.’ He thought to himself as he walked across an ancient stone bridge that loomed above a small river.

Not long after he crossed it, the source of his amazing as finally showed itself. A trio of wolves crept out from the dense undershrubs not far ahead of him, their dark fur and brown eyes gleaming beneath the faint sunlight. The wolf kept circling him, growling and sniffing throughout making any moves. He slowly drew his sword which was now the size of a one-handed blade. Einar’s sense of danger flared up as the forest’s sounds dimmed around him the growls ahead of him filling the air that was disturbed by a faint crack that came from behind him.

The young giant spun around while summoning his ice shield, its frozen surface barely forming before a large snout struck it. A wolf much larger than the other three jumped at him with an open maw that was filled with thumb-sized fangs. Einar’s hastily erected defence managed to surprise the beast but it still made the giant tumble backward. The large wolf shook its head which seemed to be bleeding from the nose while the other three took their chance to lunge at the youth while he was on the ground.

The first wolf fell straight into the sword that grew in length under its owner’s will and got itself skewered right through the ribs. Einar swung his blade to the side as he tried to roll away from the other wolves, smashing his ice shield into the second beast’s neck in the process. The third wolf rigged its claws across his back, the hard leather part taking the brunt of the damage. He managed to get back onto his feet just in time to get tackled by the leader of the pack who seemed to have finally snapped out of its stunned state.

The nearly horse-sized beast sent him flying back toward a tree, Einar dropping his sword as his back hit the trunk. Before he could reach down to grab it, the wolf was on him again, opening its large mouth again, trying and failing to bite through the frost shield. Its efforts pushed the shield to the giant’s chest and squeezed the air out of his lungs, then, under his wide eyes, the shield began to crack apart. Knowing that he had only seconds before it broke into pieces, the youth grabbed his knife from his belt with his free hand and began to stab at the wolf from the side.

One stab skidded across its skull bone, another sinking a few inches deep into its neck. The pack leader staggered backwards from the sudden pain, its bloodshot eyes staring at Einar with a newfound hatred. It lunged at him once more but the giant stepped aside at the last moment, letting the wolf hit the trunk of the tree with its head. Einar took this moment and stabbed toward the dizzied wolf’s neck again and again, cutting a wide gash on it that spewed glowing blood. Barely into his third stab, he felt a jolt of pain in his arm as the last of the smaller wolves snapped its fangs around his arm just at the end of his bracer.

The left side of its fangs sank into his skin and flesh, finding it hard to go deeper into his muscles than half an inch. He let go of the knife that got stuck in the beast’s neck and used his other hand to punch the smaller animal in the skull with a hammer-like blow. A sickening crunch resounded as the wolf’s skull shattered under the inhuman force, blood leaking from its ears and snout. Its body went limp and Einar quickly pried its slack jaw off his arm. His momentary victory was cut short by the pack leader that turned its face toward him, the large head hitting him in the shoulder, making him stagger a few steps aside.

Although the beast that weekend by the large wound on its neck and the blood that kept flowing from it, it still had enough strength to try and rip him apart. It snapped at him with its large fangs, the giant rolling to the side and behind a tree. The wolf tried to follow him, a deadly cat-and-mouse game ensuing as the seeker tried to stall for time, hoping that the beast would soon bleed out from the strained movements. His plan seemed to be working as the wolf started to slow down, giving him just enough time to grab his sword from the ground.

Spinning around his heels he found himself facing the wolf that was charging at him once more but this time he didn’t jump aside. Einar let out a war cry, his hair flaring up with crimson flames as he dashed forward, going low as he stabbed upward with his sword. The tip of the blade pierced the wolf just under its opened mouth and went deep enough to hit its spine. It jerked from the sudden attack, but still crashed into the giant, burying him under its large body. The already weakened wolf trashed for a few more seconds as it tried to breathe but could only choke on the blood that flowed down through its pierced throat.

Einar managed to push the still-moving body off of himself and rolled to the side, pulling his blade out in the process. Not wanting to see his foe suffer a slow death from choking on its own blood, the seeker raised his sword and swung it down, beheading the wolf in a single, rage-fuelled strike. The wolf’s trashing body went still as the light left its eyes. Einar let out a laboured breath as he slumped on the ground, his arm pulsing with pain from the slowly bleeding wolf bite. His chest and back still hurt from when the pack leader squeezed him to the tree but at least he was still alive.