“There you are!” Ferris joyously remarked as he saw his good friend Agnar walk by. “For a second I had thought you burned! Thank the gods!”

Agnar merely smiled and told of his adventure.

Once Agnar was finished, Ferris was surprised. “Well, my story is boring compared to yours. I followed Sir Johnson, who ordered us to scatter and have groups of three walking by each other at least twenty five feet away from another group of three. It worked fairly well. I saw one of the three dragons land, and it was about fifty feet in front of me, give or take. I immediately took a sharp turn to the left, and my friend here,” Ferris then pointed to a young man, barely twenty five winters old. The young man extended his hand to Agnar, who shook it. He revealed his name to be Cyrus, the grandson of Sir Johnson. Agnar introduced himself and told Cyrus he was the son of Sir Randolph. Ferris then continued his story.

“We didn’t have a third because she turned right when we turned left. The dragon in front of us was creating a circle of fire. All I could hear were the screams of fellow trainees and the terrifying roar of the dragon. Cyrus and I ran as fast as we could and managed to avoid the attention of the dragon. We heard and saw it fly away into the skies and never saw the beast again. Nor did we see our friend.

“What was left of us met at the first gate, but Sir Johnson thought it would be wiser to wait at the second gate. So we moved forward and here we are now. I think Sir Johnson is talking to another knight. It's Dame Alva, a half-elf, I do believe.”

“I’ve heard my father talk about her.” Agnar stated. “Let’s just say they don't see eye to eye with each other.”

Agnar looks up at the wall. The wall, like the other walls, is made of concrete with a urfrin shell. It's not bright, for the weather has dullen it. However, urfrin has the unique aptness of taking ten years before rusting, rendering itself useless. There are, of course, oils and magic that are used to prevent or postpone the rusting of the urfrin and other metals. At the top of the wall, there is a walkway for soldiers to patrol around it. By the gate, there are two staircases that lead up to this path. The staircases themselves are about eight feet wide. The path is also about twelve feet wide, but surrounds an entire section of the city.

At the path are the knights, Dame Alva and Sir Johnson. They seem to be debating on what to do next. Sir Johnson believes that the trainees should wait where they are. Dame Alva points out that they are blocking two streets, sitting and not doing much. She believed they could help with the aftermath. It only took the two a few minutes of thoroughly debating before Sir Johnson agreed with Dame Alva. The two rallied up the trainees and said that if you were disqualified, you were to go back to your homes. Once again, Agnar said farewell to Ferris and this time there was no dragon to interrupt.

While marching back, Agnar and Cyrus began talking. They were becoming good friends with one another and found out they had a lot in common. Cyrus, like Agnar, dreamed of becoming a knight and began training with a sword when he was nine winters old. Cyrus also joined the army once he became of age, being sixteen winters old. Agnar, however, did not join the army. Instead he worked with his Aunt Treysa and Uncle Framr at the family farm. They grow wheat and have several apple trees as well as black berry bushes. He planned on joining the army after knight training, if he were to fail. However, in his free time, Agnar would practice sword fighting. His father found a suitable dwarf named Yndi, a highly skilled fighter.

Yndi was very tall for a dwarf. He was five feet tall, on the dot. Yndi once served in the dwarven elite force known as The Crushers. They are from the mighty kingdom Volthorlem. The Crushers are given prototype weapons, such as the infamous lava cannon, which has seen nine prototypes and there are rumors of a tenth being constructed. They also have experimental war machines and are a deadly force not to be messed with. The war wagon was designed by dwarven engineers of Volthorlem and was first used against demons. Its wheels are made of iron and have the head of a mace at the boxing of it. It is able to hold nine dwarves. At the front there are two repeating crossbows mounted on the war wagon. Four goats are to pull the war wagon, and these goats are given armor to prevent them from being struck by arrows. The base of the war wagon is made of urfrin, allowing it to be easily repaired and preventing arrows from piercing its hull. It is reserved for only elite forces, and if in the right hands, is a deadly, tactical vehicle.

Yndi taught Agnar that size was not everything. The smallest of people can overthrow someone that’s three or even four times their height, if they use their mind. Yndi also showed Agnar that speed, for the most part, is key to winning a fight. If you are able to out maneuver your opponent, then victory is yours. Overpowering someone with strength can only go so far and isn’t as reliable as out maneuvering someone.

Another interesting factor is that Yndi would sometimes dual wield two short swords. He gave both of them names. His favorite of the two was Hefna, which is dwarvish for big sister. If he was not dual wielding, that was the sword he would use while the other one, Hafta, was sheathed on his right side for backup. (Hafta means little sister in dwarvish). Yndi cherished these two blades because his father made one of them after he left The Crushers as a welcome home gift and the other when he first joined The Crushers for congratulations.

Whenever Yndi dual wielded against Agnar, Agnar felt overwhelmed and was always on the defensive. It took him two years before he was able to figure out how to properly be aggressive against someone dual wielding. Agnar attempted to learn how to dual wield once, but preferred the usage of one sword instead of two.

Sometimes Yndi would not train Agnar. Instead it would be his father, Randolph. Sir Randolph taught Agnar patients instead of continuously on the attack. His father showed him that if you stay on the defensive for a bit, you will be able to observe and learn and eventually predict your opponent’s movement, allowing you to find an opening and win the duel. Rarely Sir Randolph would teach his son, for he was a very busy man. However, when he could, Randolph would spend time with his family and advise Agnar.

Of course Agnar didn’t explain all this to Cyrus. He merely told him that his father hired a dwarf named Yndi when he was twelve winters old. Agnar said to Cyrus that Yndi was once an elite soldier, basically informing Cyrus that he’s had an expert teacher. Although Agnar did admit that it would do well for him to continue training with Yndi.

It took Agnar and the rest of the trainees half an hour before they were finally able to reach the camp. They saw tents being put out by wizards using water magic. Wounded were being treated and the dead were piled onto a wagon to send them off into the Tomb of Warriors. It's a tomb located directly under the King’s palace. The Tomb of Warriors holds soldiers who have died in battle. Statues are made for those who were considered heroes. They are put into stone caskets and sealed in this sacred room. Their names are carved upon the stone caskets and the Tomb of Warriors can be seen by all. Any damage done to the tombs or statues can be punished by whatever the King deems necessary, from years in prison, from debt in gold or even to death.

The old Sir Johnson ordered the trainees to help with the reconstructing of the tents. Wagons were being sent for the necessary materials to create and fix tents. Some of the wizards repaired some of the tents with their magic, but other tents were too far gone and needed to be replaced. Sir Johnson said to work in groups of two so that more tents could be worked on at the same time. And so Agnar and Cyrus decided to be partners and went to the nearest tent. They noticed that only the tarpaulin was burned and two poles needed to be replaced. They went to one of the wagons with the suplines and gathered the needed materials and repaired the tent. The two then used a magical rope that is resistant to weathering known as traveler’s rope. It's strong and sturdy, but flammable. They tied this on wooden pegs that were hammered to the ground.

Agnar and Cyrus continued fixing the tents and replacing what was damaged. It wasn’t too bad, for it was a nice day, weather-wise. It was less cloudy as time went by and the sun felt with the breeze. The wind did cause some troubles, but nothing hazardous. If it weren't for the rain from two days ago, the fire could have been much worse.

The repairing of tents didn’t take long at all. The groups of two turned into four, to six, to eight and so on until the last tent was fixed. The trainees then began double checking all of the tents and found they were all repaired or newly built. After this, Dame Alva gathered all the women that were knight trainees and Sir Johnson grouped all the men together. The two knights then began counting them. They knew that seventeen people were disqualified, meaning that there were only two hundred and eighty three other trainees. However, during the dragon ambush, several trainees went missing or died. The knights also learned that twelve were killed and sent to be buried, meaning that the missing either deserted the area or were consumed by the dragons. When the counting was done, only three were missing. Two women and one man. Nine men out of the twelve were dead and the other three were women. And so there were now only a hundred and thirty two men and a hundred thirty six women competing to become knighted.

Once done counting, there was a sudden shout from a soldier, yelling “Make way for the King!”. The trainees then immediately stood in rows of fifteen. Once one row was filled, another would be behind it. The rows on the left were the men and the rows on the right were the women. They all saluted His Majesty, riding on his horse. The Knights also were saluting their King, standing in front of one of the rows. Sir Johnson on the left and Dame Alva on the right.

The King then rode his horse in front of them all. He halted it and turned it around, facing towards the trainees. An elite guard was to His Highness' right, another of his left and the third was directly behind him. All of them were mounted on their horses. King Ivor II cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Knight training will be postponed until the beginning of next week. Tomorrow, a great ceremony will be held for all those who died today. Today is a day to remember, for now I realize the wrath and the threat that Satus opposes to us. They have made it clear that they want nothing with peace and have brought fire to the table. They have spat at our face and they have thrown away their food. Wasteful and violent are the ways of Satus. If their King, King Malvor, does not agree to peace and continues this, I assure you that vengeance will be brought upon them. Raids will be made. Outposts will be reinforced and armies will clash.”

After this, there was a pause with the King’s speech, which lasted for about twelve seconds. During this pause, he glanced around the trainees, trying to think of what to say. He finally took a deep breath and opened his mouth. He finished his speech with the following words; “We will need leaders. We’ve lost three knights on this day. You all are working so diligently and have shown great perseverance. I have decided, due to the most recent losses, that we are now selecting four knights. Two men and two women. Continue your efforts in training and the titles of Sir and Dame will be bestowed unto you as well as its responsibilities. I thank you all for your hard work rebuilding the camp. For this trouble, three gold coins will be given to each and every one of you. Including the wizards. It will be given to you tomorrow at the ceremony. I expect to see you all there. I also would like to hold a meeting with all the Knights of Hammerfest in two days. I shall inform the knights of the exact time through a messenger. Goodbye my brave sons and daughters of Hammerfest.”

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With this, King Ivor II waved farewell with his right hand and smiled. He turned his horse around and began trotting towards Hammerfest. His guards stayed in the same formation, following him. Once the King left camp, Sir Johnson and Dame Alva gave orders to the trainees to go home. Letters would be sent to all of them when knight training would resume. There was nothing for them to do, but to scavenge for what they still had.

Agnar rushed to his tent like the many other trainees. When he arrived, he saw his small wooden box laying outside his tent. He went to open it to check if everything was there. He kept a lock on it and the key was under his sleeping bag. The lock was still there so he walked into his rent. He then flipped over the sleeping bag to look under it and the key was gone.

“It must have been lost or taken when we fixed everything” Agnar thought to himself. He was wearing his armor that was given to him, for everyone in knight training has to wear it all day, everyday and take it off when going to sleep. It wasn’t shiny anymore. Mud was smeared on it and there was a dent on his chestplate. The dent was located where the dragon rider had shoved him. He looked down and noticed the filth on it and simply sighed, for it would take him some time to clean all of it off.

All trainees had a training sword. It was made of wood, more specifically from the trees over at Nightwoods. Those trees are tall and great, large and dark. It's a strong type of wood, making it good for a training sword. The type of wood is known as Midnight Yew. It’s a very dark shade of brown. Hard to paint on and doesn’t burn easily. Some elves use this wood to construct woodplate armor. Many don’t like it, but the druids and elves seem to use it the most. Woodplate armor is durable and is somewhat absorbent. It's great against arrows, swords and spears alike, but an axe could cut into it fairly well.

This training sword was laid by Agnar’s wooden box. Another item by it were his books. It seemed that Agnar was very lucky, for his items were neither stolen nor damaged. His tent was in the upper area of the camp. People were sorted alphabetically in the camp. People who had the letter a in their name were in the upper area and people with the letter z were in the lower area. They were Battles of the Ages, The Silent Army and a third book that Agnar brought. The book’s title was The Saga of Orik the Half-Orc. It was about the journey that Orik went through in the middle of The Second Age, also known as The Age of Heros. Orik was a part of the army of Hammerfest at a time and became a commander, leading an orcish force under the banner of Hammerfest. It's sad that many people believe that all orcs are evil. The truth is that only certain tribes are evil and others, like the one Orik was in, acted like big, strong people living a tribal farmlife. Although, no matter what orc tribe you’re in, every orc enjoys a good fight. Whether for sport or for personal reasons, orcs love fighting.

Agnar picked up the wooden training sword and gave it to a soldier collecting all of them in a cart. A horse was pulling the cart and another soldier was merely guiding the horse around the camp and shouting; “Return your wooden swords and please place them into the wooden cart.” The soldier said the occasional `thank you’ and `good day’ and other phrases like that to the knight trainees, laying their training swords in the cart.

After this, Agnar picked up his wooden box with his books on top of it. He made a silent prayer to the gods for stuff not being stolen as he walked with all the other knight trainees. It was a good thing that Agnar had to hike five miles carrying stones that weigh about fifteen to twenty five pounds. His arms would have probably given up on him otherwise from carrying his wooden box and books.

As he was walking back to Hammerfest, he noticed that many other knight trainees also carried a personal wooden box and their books. Others simply just carried their books back home, having no personal belongings brought with them, and some left their stuff in the tent, which wasn’t the wisest idea. Surprisingly, Agnar didn’t see any familiar faces as he walked onward towards home with the exception of Cyrus, who was speaking with a girl that he’s seen before, but couldn’t remember her name. Like Cyrus, she had blond hair, though longer than his. She was also a bit taller than him, though only about an inch. Cyrus was average height, being around five feet and nine inches tall. Agnar was on the taller side, being six foot.

Cyrus and the young woman by him seemed to have known each other or are becoming more acquainted with one another. She was carrying books, but no box. Same with Cyrus, except he had a picture frame on top of his books. Agnar noticed that the two enjoyed talking with each other. He didn’t eavesdrop, for that would have been rude. However he did overhear a few words, but nothing to make up a whole story. Agnar decided to not interrupt and simply continued walking towards the first gate without speaking. Just him and his thoughts.

He wondered what he would do back home, for now there is this random, but reasonable, delay with knight training. He thought that training with Yndi would be good, if he were available. He also knew that he would have to help his aunt and uncle with farm work. Agnar sighed at the thought. He did not want to pull weeds for hours on end and pick the ripe fruits. He wanted to read, to practice with his sword or to…

Agnar didn’t know what to do. He reckoned that helping his aunt and uncle would be good. But then the young man thought of something; continue the physical activities of knight training so it wouldn’t be such a shock to his body going back to it.

Lucky for everyone, there was no extreme heat, although that would be quite odd weather for spring. The wind was cool and refreshing to the skin and the sun’s warmth balanced off the cold. There would be an occasional large cloud, covering the sun for a few minutes. It, of course, darkened the sun and gave the wind a slight bit of a chill. Then the cloud would blow away and the sun would shine its warmth again.

Before long, Agnar and all the other knight trainees were back at the large, gray walls of Hammerfest. The gate opened and everyone began passing through, making their way home. He lost sight of Cyrus because of the crowd and didn’t feel like searching for him. Agnar wanted to go home, and home he went.

Agnar went to his father’s house, which was a mansion on the highest level, given to him when he became a knight. It was on the highest level of Hammerfest, past the final gate. In total, there are ten mansions, five on one side and five on the other. There are two floors, the first floor having a kitchen, dining room, living room, ect. The second floor has four bedrooms and two bathrooms. All of the mansions are built the same, but all look very fancy and nice. There are comfortable, large houses for each of the knights. Each of these houses have three servants and a chef. Two servants are for the knights and the third is the chef’s assistant, who helps prepare and delivers food to the knights. In the house is a book with all the names of the knights who dwelled in the mansion. In front of all these mansion’s is the King’s mansion.

Agnar didn’t go to his father’s mansion often. He found it boring most of the time. There was no field to run through and no tree to climb. As a boy, he loved the countryside and still does. He liked how there weren't so many people and the ones that were there you knew. He loved seeing the animals run off in the vast, empty fields. He enjoyed rabbit hunting and placing rabbit traps around the farm. The old brown bloodhound, Brutus, would sprint at the sight of a little rabbit and would either chase it until he caught it, or stop when the rabbit ran off too far. His father gave him Brutus as a puppy when Angar was thirteen winters old. The two quickly became very good friends. When Agnar would go to his father’s house, Sir Randolph would let him bring Brutus. The courtyard that connected a path between all of the knight’s mansions, was large enough for the two to run around and play. Sir Randolph even had a dog house constructed for him. It was built at the left side of the mansion door. There was no leash on him when Brutus was to go to his dog house, for there was a fence preventing him from running away. He could not dig out either because of the concrete on the walkway and where the fence was.

Not only was Brutus a good hunting dog, he was a fine guard dog. On one occasion, while everyone in Sir Randolph’s mansion was asleep, Brutus gave out a loud bellowing bark. This, of course, awakened Sir Randolph. He went to the window, with his lit candlestick, and saw a man climbing the fence. Brutus was still in his dog house, although Sir Randolph couldn’t see it, he figured the hound was around there. The intruder seemingly ignored the dog and hopped down from the fence. Brutus then charged at the man, who immediately climbed back up and ran off. After this incident, Sir Randolph gave the good hound a fine piece of steak and a pat on the head.

When Agnar arrived at his father’s mansion, Brutus was not there. He was at Aunt Treysa and Uncle Framr’s house. Agnar opened the black, iron, spiked gate and shut it. He walked up to the beautiful white double doors of the mansion and knocked three times. He then took a step back and waited for about a minute before an older man opened the door. It was the servant Fantr. He had short, gray hair and a bushy white beard. He smiled at the sight of Agnar, but then noticed his filthy armor and boots. Especially his boots. Fantr dreaded the thought of having to mop the whole house again. He just did that yesterday with the help of his wife Sif. He tried his best not to wince at the thought.

“Welcome back!” Fantr said. “I’m glad to see you safe.”

Agnar smiled back and replied; “It's good to see you too, Fantr.”

“Yes, it is, but please take off your filthy boots and leave them here on the patio. And please do the same with your armor. You also stink, so please go take a bath.”

Agnar sighed. “Yes, Mr. Fantr.”

The servant nodded his head and grabbed Agnar’s box as well as his books. He left the door open, and walked away, up the stairs, which was about twenty feet in front of the entryway. Agnar first took off his gloves and set them down. He then bent over and began unbuckling his boots. His right one first, then left. He then began taking off his chestplate and carefully set it down by the boots. Finally Agnar took off his leggings and set them down. He still had his gambeson on as well as his trousers. Barefooted, he began to walk into the house. However, Fantr asked him to stay put. Agnar, who only took two steps in the house, stood still. He saw Fantr going down the staircase. To Agnar’s right, there was a door. If opened, you would see the dining room with sixteen chairs and one long table. In the far left corner of the dining room, there is an opening that leads towards the kitchen.

To Agnar’s left, there was a nice, comforting living room. In it are four chairs and two couches, all beautifully made by highly skilled people. There are also tables, made by elves. They are of the highest quality and are quite exquisite. On the corners of each of the legs are small war hammers, carved with beauty, patience and passion. On one of the tables, which is set in front of the large window, there is a statue. It is signed by the dwarven sculptor Amon. Amon made a small dragon statue, breathing fire. It is perched on a rock, facing downwards. Its face, realistic and fierce. The wings are spread out upwards, as if the beast was ready to take flight. Sir Randolf was very happy when he received it, for it was a gift to him on his birthday.

On the right side of the couch that you see when you first walk in the room, there is another table of the same design. On it there is a teapot with three tea cups around it. They are each on a silver colored plate.If you were to first walk into the living room, on the top right corner there is a door. A quite pretty door made by elves. On it are three birds flying out of a great large oak tree. One flying right, another to the left and the last up to the sky. Each of these birds are flying upwards. This design on the door is on both sides and mirrors each other perfectly.

If you were to open this door, you would most likely find Sir Randolf sitting at his desk. Although you would have to turn right to face him. His desk is in the back of the room with a nice, comfy chair. This chair was not made by elves, but by highly skilled men. It is a nice, leather armchair that Sir Randolf seems to enjoy. In his office, there are shelves. On one of these shelves there are two bookends. They’re dragons, each mirroring each other. One facing to its right and the other to its left. In between them are a volume historical book series of The Age of Heroes (or the 2nd Age).

There are also book shelves, full of historical records, fantasy tales as well as books to teach you how to learn a language. It's in the office that Sir Randolf will do paper work for the king. He would write records of what he did at a certain time after coming back from a mission. Not too long ago he was at a village being attacked by orc raiders. He and a small handful of other soldiers went there and defended the village and forced the orcs to retreat. Now Sir Randolf is writing down what exactly happened on his journey there, what he did at the village, who got injured and how as well as his journey back.

Soon Fantr came down the stairs and gave Agnar house slippers, made of leather. He thanked the old servant, put on the slippers and made his way up the marble stairs.