Felix waited in the training arena. The arena was deserted, as were the halls of the palace. The sky overhead was a dull grey, not night but not yet day either. He wore simple clothes, as was preferred by all Paladins, and a silver lion formed the clasp of his plain black cloak. He waited.

Kaesyn strode out of the barracks and into the arena. Felix did not move as she approached. She stopped just before him, and Felix studied her. She wasn’t as tall as him, and of course almost thirty years younger, obviously new to Wardom. Still, she had the right build for wielding a sword, and Felix was sure she had been a skilled warrior in the last life. It would take her a while to get back to that level of skill, and to become as smart as she undoubtedly once was, but she would get there.

“Kaesyn,” Felix said. “You know why you are here?”

“I was told I would be training,” Kaesyn said.

“Have you heard of the Order of the Paladins?”

She shrugged. “Only in passing.”

“You will learn much more. I am Master Felix Perther, and I shall train you. But first, let us test your ability.”

Felix walked over to a weapons stand. He picked up a simple sword and tossed it to Kaesyn. She caught it, fumbling slightly out of surprise. Felix unhooked his own scabbard from his waist and leaned it against the rack. He picked up an identical sword to Kaesyn’s. He turned to face her.

“Strike me,” Felix commanded, his sword held loosely in his hand.

Kaesyn looked at him in surprise, then down at her weapon. “These are real blades,” she exclaimed.

“Well observed. Strike me.”

“You train with real swords in your group?”

“I know you can fight. I saw you handle two palace guards at once yesterday. But true enemies will come at you with steel, not sticks. You must get used to it. Now, strike me.”

Kaesyn hesitated for another moment. Then she swung at Felix. Felix blocked it easily, just moving his arm. He knew she was not yet trying. Kaesyn swung again, Felix once again catching the blade. She feinted to one side before spinning around to the other. Felix blocked her again, unfooled by her trick. Kaesyn grinned, before launching into three rapid attacks. Felix deflected all of them, not retreating under her blows. Kaesyn lunged forwards. Felix stepped to the side, his trailing foot tripping up Kaesyn.

Kaesyn fell to the ground, her sword slipping out of her hand. Felix waited as she scrambled back to her feet. She turned back to face him. Felix hooked her sword with his foot and flicked it up for her. She caught it.

“Again,” he ordered.

Kaesyn went on the attack again, trying harder now. Felix retreated slightly, still only defending. Kaesyn moved faster and her blows were stronger, but Felix still blocked them all. Eventually, Kaesyn lunged too hastily and once again fell to the dust.

“Again,” Felix ordered as she got to her feet.

Kaesyn grabbed up her sword and turned to face Felix again. She came at him swiftly, giving him no time to rest in between strikes. Felix blocked each blow, but slowly he was forced backwards across the arena under the ferocity of her attacks. Each attack had power behind it, and Felix couldn’t help but smile. That only seemed to annoy Kaesyn, and she fought even harder.

Felix felt his foot touch the edge of the arena. The next strike came from above. Felix caught the sword with his blade above his head, and the swords locked together, Kaesyn forcing hers downwards. Felix was beginning to believe that she might actually make a good apprentice.

Felix grinned at her. “My turn,” he said.

Felix pushed her blade to the side. Kaesyn stumbled backwards, righting herself as Felix began his assault. His attacks were strong and accurate, Kaesyn struggling to deflect each attack. Felix held back enough force so that none of his blows actually landed, knowing Braydan would not be happy if he injured his pupil on the first day.

Kaesyn retreated across the arena, unable to launch her own attacks. Felix kept pressing her, forcing her to defend. Felix feinted to the right, watching as she fell for it. He swung his blade around and crashed the hilt of his sword into her hand. Her weapon fell to the floor. Kaesyn tried to back up but tripped over her own feet. She landed in the dust. Felix’s sword stopped just before her throat.

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Kaesyn stared up at him, waiting. Felix kept his sword there for a moment. They were both panting, out of breath. Felix threw his sword into his other hand and reached down and pulled her to her feet.

“You fought well,” Felix said, meaning it. “Your attack is strong, though rash at times. You dive in too easily, and your lunges leave you off balance. Your defence needs some work. You leave yourself open, and don’t protect your side. But we will get to all that.” Felix picked up her sword and walked back towards the weapons rack.

“Are we done?” Kaesyn asked in surprise.

“No. A Paladin must be able to fight with whatever they have available, not just a sword.” Felix picked up a pair of axes, tossing one up and down in his hand. “We are only just beginning.”

***

Felix strolled through the crowded streets of Lorr. The citizens moved about their daily lives, enjoying the peace while it lasted. These people had given up their warrior ways long ago, when they had arrived in Wardom, instead opting for peaceful lives. Sometimes Felix envied them that, but he knew he would never stop being a warrior. It was what he had always been, what he always would be.

Kaesyn followed behind him as they moved through the streets. He had spent the rest of the morning testing her, from axes to spears to tridents to bows. Both were weary by the end of it, and Felix had realised she was even better than he initially thought. That was good, but as he had said to Braydan, fighting wasn’t everything when it came to being a Paladin. Now, it was time to see her knowledge, and begin teaching her all the things she would need to know if she would ever become a Paladin.

Felix turned to Kaesyn as they walked through Lorr. “You did well this morning, Kaesyn. That’s good, but there are plenty of other things we need to go through. Let us start with the basics. How long have you been in Wardom?”

Kaesyn shrugged. “A few weeks.”

“I thought as much. Had you heard of Wardom before?”

“Before death? No.”

“There is not much to it, really. Well, that’s not true, but we don’t need to go into details. Simply put, Wardom is the warriors’ afterlife. All people who live by the blade have the choice to go here. Once here, we have the chance to live a second life. You can do with that life what you will. Some, like me, stick with their warrior ways. Others,” he indicated to the people they were walking past, “take new lifes, embrace peace, become farmers, blacksmiths, merchants.”

“What about those who don’t go to Wardom?” Kaesyn asked.

“They go to the other afterlifes. Blissdom for the good, Tortdom for the bad. At least, that is what people say. Once we die in this life, we too shall move on to them. But I don’t know how much of that to believe. And that doesn’t affect us now.”

They entered a large square. Felix led Kaseyn to a stone bench on the side of the road. He took a seat, indicating for Kaesyn to do the same. People moved slowly through the streets, paying no heed to each other. A few glanced at Felix as they walked past, recognising him as a Paladin. Felix watched a cart laden with food trundle across the square.

“You don’t remember much of your last life, do you?” Felix asked her.

Kaesyn shook her head. “Just flashes.”

“That’s all right. Most of your memories will come back eventually. Even your death.” Felix fell silent for a moment. He had relived that moment more than a few times, mostly during dark nights. He shook his head to clear it. “You still have your skills, that much was clear this morning, though it may take a while to fully return to your previous level. We’ll get you there, though.”

Felix looked to the other side of the square. A huge temple was opposite him, gleaming in the sunlight. Twelve tall marble pillars held up the eave of the building, images carved into the stone. And above the pillars, on top of the arching roof, were twelve statues. Six men on the right and six women on the left.

“See that temple?” Felix asked, pointing at it. Kaesyn nodded. “That is a temple for the Faith of the Twelve, or the Gentry Religion as some call it. The followers believe there are twelve gods, six lords and six ladies. Most people here accept it as the true religion. It describes an afterlife just like this, which many see as irrefutable proof. There are still some who practise other religions, who claim this afterlife is nothing more than a test.”

“What do you think?”

“The Faith of the Twelve was popular in my last life as well. I didn’t believe in it much then, but I am willing to admit there are some elements of truth to it. There are still parts I doubt, though. The priests would tell you that Wardom is infinite, stretching on and on forever in every direction. I don’t know how true that is. All I know is that the sun rises and sets, the seasons come and go, and empires rise and fall.”

Felix watched a trail of priests leave the temple opposite. Their robes were elegant and rich, full of colours. They all walked with long, ornate staffs, even the young ones. A few people bowed to the priests as they passed. Felix just watched. He had met few priests in his life he had liked.

He turned back to Kaesyn as the priests set off into the city. “Speaking of empires, there is one last thing I would like to discuss today: the conquerors. That is what we call a certain group of people that arrive in Wardom. They were leaders in their past lives. When they come here, they arrive better off than the rest of us. They arrive with a few hundred loyal soldiers, as well as some advisors from their past life. No one is exactly certain why, though the priests could give you a long winded answer. Some say they don’t come here directly after death, instead spending maybe hundreds of years waiting, though they don’t know it. A few arrive every year. Most die off, or are sucked into bigger empires. The most successful go on to form empires of their own, such as Caedan, Arthur and Leon. In the end, they all fall, one way or another…”

Felix spent the next few hours talking with Kaesyn, as the city moved about them. He brought her back to the palace as the fading sun glinted off of the high spires.