SINS OF ASH CHAPTER 3: TEAM ASSEMBLED

The instructors left to go talk to the other Prospects and Madam Luce bade them farewell as she returned to the Temple Archives to file the papers that Leo had been signing. With them gone, they were left alone with the man who had appeared out of thin air and become their master. He clapped his hands together and spoke, “This might seem a little unconventional, but I will explain everything in a short while. What you need to know right now is this: as of this moment, you two will no longer be living here and training with the Instructors. Instead, your time will be spent with me and typically, wherever I go, you go. I’ll be the one overseeing your training and what I say, goes. Is that clear?”

They both nodded, overcoming the shock of the moment and returning to the familiar concept of subordinate and superior. “Yes, sir,” they responded.

“Also,” he said, “feel free to call me Alan. If that’s too uncomfortable for you then you may call me Master Alan. There’s a million different ‘sirs’ out there.

“Anyways,” Master Alan continued, “there’s more to this speech, but I have something else to do before I can finish it. I want you two to go pack your things. Take with you whatever you can carry but that’s it. Meet me at the southern train station. See you there,” he waved goodbye and walked away.

They both sat there, watching him leave until his frame disappeared beyond the double set of doors. Across the room, Guardians were talking to their new apprentices and not a few of the former Prospects were staring at Alex and Leo, wondering what was going on with them. They didn’t notice because they were wondering the exact same thing.

Alex rubbed his temples. “My head hurts from all of this,” he said.

“Pretty sure that’s because I kicked you in the face,” Leo replied. “But I understand what you mean. To be honest, I’m a little frustrated. I arrived in Eternum yesterday and now he tells us that we might be leaving it today!” He scratched the side of his head. “I suppose this is what we signed up for.”

Alex stood up. “Come on, we’ve got orders from our ‘master’. Better follow them,” he said. Leo agreed and together, they exited the dueling room and proceeded to go towards Alex’s dorm room. Leo followed Alex and along the way, he explained the general layout of the temple. The first floor was for administrative concerns that featured lots of offices, meeting rooms, and general affairs overseen by the temple staff. At its center was a large, inverted amphitheater for formal gatherings, meetings, and announcements primarily serviced by the Guardians. Behind the amphitheater were the Temple Archives that stored every source of knowledge they had acquired over centuries and were meticulously run by its overseers and Madam Luce.

The second and third floors were for Guardian and Prospect training, both of which featured lodgings for Prospects, sparring rooms big and small, meditation rooms, classrooms, and any sort of special equipment used to enhance a Guardian’s training. Those floors were designed in order to further the speed, strength, dexterity, balance, and mobility of all Guardians who trained there. The second floor’s main feature was the Stability Disc while the third floor was more utilitarian. Prospects also frequently trained outside in numerous sparring grounds and fields which gave them more room to fight with their elements.

The fourth floor was apparently a recreational floor for fully-fledged Guardians that had their lodgings, private cafeterias, lounge rooms, libraries, and more. Anything that a Guardian needed to relax while off-duty was up there. The fifth floor was assumedly reserved for the Grandmaster but none of the Prospects really knew since floors four and five were restricted to them. Floor five was even restricted for most Guardians.

The Grandmaster was the leader of all Guardians in Eternum and Arcadia. As Grandmaster, his voice stretched throughout all of the temple and city with high levels of authority that nearly everyone had to obey. His thoughts guided their paths forward and he was the one who cared for all of the Guardians under his command. Alex had never seen him before but others had. They said he was a tall and powerful man who radiated strength like the sun itself. He was the most powerful Stone Dancer seen in generations and before he retired, he was quickly turning the war on its heels and subduing Adamance. The bones of his enemies shook when their blades crossed and nothing could stop his forward assault nor break his iron defense. A General of Legend, he became known as ‘The Executioner’ when he decapitated an enemy Guardian, breaking his full aura and cutting through his neck in one powerful swing; a feat that had terrified the other Guardians upon witnessing it, proof that even they were considered ordinary to someone like him.

Leo listened to Alex with one ear as he tried to take in all of the sights of the temple at once. The floors were all marbled and detailed with intricate patterns that he couldn’t make sense of. The walls were adorned with paintings and murals of Guardians fighting the elements, depictions of their divine swords cutting through their enemies, maps of the land, and even portraits of famous Guardians. At one point, Alex had to stop and turn back to grab Leo from a large window that overlooked the rest of Eternum’s Empyrean District, a lavish and organized display of grandeur.

“Are you even listening to me?” Alex asked.

“I am, just never been to a place like this before and too much was happening yesterday for me to properly take it all in. Why did the Grandmaster retire if he was so powerful and close to winning the Centuries War?”

Alex shrugged. “No one really knows. There are a million different rumors but one of the more common ones is that he got sick.”

“Not even the actual Guardians know?”

“At least my instructors didn’t.”

They soon entered the lodging area for Prospects on the third floor where those who graduated were running to their rooms, shoving things into bags, and finding their friends in other classes to say farewell to. Leo looked over Alex’s shoulder as he was following him and eyed the panicked Prospects. “Should we be in a similar rush to them?” he asked.

Alex shrugged. “Master Alan didn’t say that we needed to hurry. Just to meet him at the train station.”

“That’s true,” Leo agreed, but he couldn’t help but watch them as they made their way down the halls, doors on either side open and the rooms visible within as Prospects hurriedly packed. Small columns jutted out diagonally at the ends of each room into the hallway and with most of the rooms being identical, it created a weird pattern effect that felt like he was looking at the same room over and over again but with a different person in each one. The rooms were all a single space with a bed along the wall, a bed stand next to it, a small table, two chairs, a closet, a desk, and not much room for else. Not very many had windows either and although he couldn’t see it, there must have been a chandelier on the ceiling or at the very least, a lamp somewhere inside.

“Are they all leaving Eternum?” Leo asked.

Alex turned and watched as one person, whom he recognized as being one of the worst performers in his class, was kneeling on a rug before a small wooden carving of something vaguely lizard-like and painted red, his hands clasped before him and his eyes shut, mouth silently moving. They passed by in only a few seconds but it was long enough to make Alex shiver despite the numerous candles hanging in chandeliers above them. “I hope not,” he said.

They continued on in silence until Alex stopped in front of one room at the end of the hall, the numbers 592 carved onto the wooden door near the top.

“Here’s my home for the past year,” he said. “Don’t bother taking your shoes off. I won’t be returning.” He reached and turned the circular handle on the door.

“Prospects aren’t able to lock their rooms?” Leo asked.

“No, we can. I just never do.”

“Why?”

“Why would I?” Alex opened the door but as he was stepping in, an arm swung out from the side and punched him square in the face. His aura flickered and he dropped, clutching his face and nose as his eyes watered.

“Maybe that’s why you lock your door,” Leo said. He looked in the room and saw a girl with long blonde hair wearing the same uniform as them grab a chair and throw it at him. He flung his arms up and managed to catch it, but the girl ran out before he could grab her and took off sprinting back down the hall.

“Hey, come back here!” Leo yelled, dropping the chair and running after her. Alex cursed and got up, following him as they chased the intruder.

“Why is it always my fucking face,” he complained.

“Do you know that girl?” Leo asked.

“Never seen her before but I’m eager to meet her!” Alex growled.

She looked back, saw that they were following her, and picked up speed, running past staring Prospects and shoving a few aside as they got in her way. They entered the winding halls of the temples that connected to many of the dueling rooms, their boots stomping along the marble path as they got closer and closer to her. She was shorter than the two of them and it didn’t look like she knew where she was going. She missed turns that could have taken her directly to the stairs, instead trying to outrun them.

“Leave me alone!” she yelled. She sounded tired and frantic. Her voice was a high pitch but there was an air of a threat hidden within.

“You punched me!” Alex yelled.

“You’re chasing me!” she yelled back.

“What?!”

As they were about to reach her, she took a sharp turn and dashed through one of the doors, slamming them open and falling inside. Alex and Leo followed and saw that she had entered another large dueling arena, nearly identical to the one they had been in earlier. She ran across the padded floor split into the colors of the five elements in rectangular patterns until she stopped, realizing that there was no exit on the other side of the room. They stopped a few feet before her, blocking the only exit.

“We’ve got you cornered,” Leo said. “Explain yourself.”

“Preferably the part where you punched me in the face and broke into my room.”

“That’s literally everything,” Leo pointed out. “Your room was also unlocked.”

“Shut up,” Alex said. He pointed at her and his tone grew serious. “We’ll notify temple security if you don’t so get on with it.”

The girl spun around and the first thing they both noticed was her eyes. They were different colors, one brown and the other red. She had pale skin that was crusted with dirt and her hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in weeks. Wherever she came from, she had traveled hard and not in luxury. Her face might have been considered pretty were it not for the disconcerting stare brought forth by her eyes and the way she glared at them. She balled her fists and spoke loudly, almost shouting.

“You’ll notify security so that they can take me and examine all of my defects, right? They probably want to keep things quiet so they sent students after me, thinking they can take me. Too bad for you, I don’t do anything quietly!” she said.

The intruder thrust her right hand out and in a burst of dark flames that instantly rose the temperature of the room, she summoned her sword. From the flames, a longsword devoid of nearly all color emerged. The sword was black all over, from pointed tip to spiked pommel, darker than lacquer, the only trace of color residing in dark red flames along the blade’s edge. Embers trailed off the blade and with the light, they could just make out the semi-translucent nature of her blade. She waved the blade forward and the movement drew the eye, unable to pull away from the strange anomaly.

As one, Alex and Leo summoned their own swords into their hands, the familiar weights bringing a quiet calm into their minds, silencing any doubts or uncertainties.

“Don’t be stupid,” Leo said, ignoring the dark flames that brought unpleasant memories. “We have no idea what you’re talking about but we didn’t come for a fight. Just answers. This doesn’t need to get violent.”

She eyed the two of them, red and brown eyes evaluating them as she considered his words. Then she attacked. She swung her sword at Leo and a burst of flames forced him back as she charged at Alex.

Alex raised his katana in defense and their blades sang steel as she attacked with a flurry of blows to overwhelm him. He let himself be pushed back a few paces but held firm. He saw Leo running for them and she must have seen his eyes shift because she stopped abruptly in her attack and dashed towards him. She swung an overhand blow down towards his head, but Leo parried the attack. With a burst of lightning that struck with the sound of thunder, the charge enveloped his sword and he attacked her now.

His sword was longer than hers so he executed a maneuver designed to keep her at bay, especially her flames. Leo lunged, his sword a deadly point filled with the power of thunder. The following parry sent sparks flying but Leo continued forward, slicing side-to-side as lightning danced along his blade. She was forced back so Leo spun, sword trailing behind him in an arc of bright yellow light. The girl pounced, flaming sword traveling a wide arc as she swung at his exposed back. However, the distance was too great and Leo completed the spin, sword rising and exploding in a cacophony of booming sounds that reverberated several times across the room as their blades met.

Leo’s strength outmatched hers and with a yell, he followed through with his momentum and knocked the girl back in the air as he overpowered her. She flew back, flames following her like an after-image until she landed roughly on her feet and staggered backwards, barely keeping herself upright. Alex didn’t spare her any sympathy.

Wind Dance, First Form: Cutting Blade! Sharp winds blew out from his sword and with a controlled effort, Alex pulled the wind back and guided them along the blade, making them overlap and compressing them until they became a fine coating that barely strayed from their layers. Pulling his sword back from over his shoulder, Alex swung wide and the coating left his blade, now a large arc of razor-sharp wind that flew right at her. The wind blew at their hair as she was forced to raise her sword in defense. The arc collided with the flat of her blade and while the flames helped subdue some of the wind, they didn’t have the force to quell it completely.

The trailing points of the arc continued until they collided with her aura, slicing through it and bringing forth a dim red field of cracking glass around her. She took it in stride and was ready as Leo rushed forward. He attempted the same maneuver again, lunging with his sword, but she proved to be a quick learner. Instead of trying to knock his sword aside, she swung her blade right below his, the flats of their surfaces nearly touching until she twisted and brought her blade up. Leo’s sword was forced to follow and as it swung up, he couldn’t do anything but grimace as she took the opportunity to cut him twice across the chest, flames lingering and damaging his aura even further.

He recovered and shifted to a defensive stance so Alex moved in to assist. No reason to fight her alone when there were two of them. As he ran forward, the air inside the room swirling like flowing mist around his blade, she spun and ignited her blade with a giant renewed swathe of flames that threatened to spread in every single direction and devour anything it came across. With her arms raised to the ceiling, black sword cast in flames as if she drew directly from the sun itself, she struck a terrifying figure, a dual-eyed monster ready to incinerate anything that stood in her way and one that had a hungering for pain.

Alex cursed and shifted his course of action. Bringing his sword back, Alex spun with as much force as he could muster after stopping his run short, trying to protect himself from the enormous attack.

Wind Dance, Second Form: Whirlwind! The air curling around his blade seemed to expand as he solidified his will, opting for power instead of precision, and his sword swung with gusts of wind threatening to burst from his control as wind met flame. He barely had any momentum to work with and without a firm spin from his feet planted on the ground, he couldn’t utilize the full effect of the attack. The flames overpowered him, singeing his aura as he felt his arms and legs shake from the impact. The winds burst free and he managed to avoid the worst of the attack by allowing himself to get blown back, his body sliding across the length of the room.

Thunder Dance, Second Form: Arching Bolt! A crescent-shaped bolt of lightning soared across the ground, flying a foot over as it collided against the girl’s exposed back. The lightning exploded and thunder shook the room as the explosion threw her forward and sent her aura jumping. Parts of the floor burned over and darkened where the flames of her blade trailed along the mats, but the girl raised her blade and got back up with little more than a curse. Her aura still looked strong as it faded from view.

Leo cursed and began attacking again, wondering at her endurance and aura levels. They danced in and out, blades flickering toward each other like leaves caught in a wind. His movements were large and supported with strong bursts of power from his thunder to throw her back, but she always responded with speed and precision, finding gaps in his attacks and knocking his blade ever so slightly askew until she could rush him inside his range with a flurry of blows. She stayed tight and didn’t move around much while he moved with his blade, gaining momentum and supplementing his heavy hits with quick bursts of speed. She didn’t fight like a Guardian, he realized. More like a regular duelist. Like a soldier.

She let flames trail along her swing until they formed a giant wall of fire that made his face warm despite his aura. He backed up and she swung her sword through the wall of flames. The reaction was not what he expected. What he thought would happen was an arc of flames being shot at him like how Alex did with his wind earlier. He thought she would use the shield as cover and attack from behind it. Instead, the dark yellow and orange flames seemed to roll around inside the barrier they made, piling up along its middle until the whole shield collapsed and exploded back at him in a fury that reminded him of water breaking free from a dam. The blast blew wide, enshrouding him in flames and he knew he couldn’t dodge out of the way in time. He braced himself, sword held in front of him until he felt himself get hit from the side.

Leo’s feet left the ground and his vision blurred as he flew past the explosion, just barely skirting its edge as Alex tackled him out of the way, both of them landing in a heap on the ground. With their instincts hammered into them after hundreds of hours of training, they rolled to their feet and ran straight for the girl as she raised her sword to meet them. Together, they threw a flurry of attacks at her that she was forced to retreat from unless she wanted to get skewered. Leo swung wide and moved forward with his attacks to lead the offensive while Alex danced in between the movements, providing him cover when he was exposed and attacking with short slices designed to keep her pressured without any relent. It wasn’t perfect; their movements weren’t completely in-sync and they sometimes strayed too far from each other to make it seamless but it was effective in pushing her back and cutting her aura up as it flickered brighter with each new hit.

To her credit, she didn’t back down. She met each attack with similar commitment and unleashed flames that rolled over them during her counters. Amidst the onslaught, she dashed forward into their attacks, sword rising for strikes aimed at their heads while she took in blows that made her aura bleed. She was close to breaking so Leo let loose a roar of thunder from his sword that stemmed from his hands, traveled the length of the blade, and speared into her side, knocking her off balance. Alex followed up with a gust of wind that formed along his blade and the cut to her side made the wind explode with a high-pitched gust that sent her flying away from them.

She tumbled along the ground until she also rolled to her feet and raised her sword warily, eyeing them as she panted. They were in a similar state as their chests throbbed and thirsted for more air and sweat slid down their brows. They had their backs to the entrance and were blocking her way again.

“We won’t say it again,” Alex said. “Start talking and this can all be over!”

She laughed, harsh and bitter as she kept her sword raised despite all the damage they did to her aura. “You’re full of shit,” she accused. “You promise safety and training for Guardians but the moment someone a little bit different from the rest of you shows up, somebody you consider impure, you divine zealots feel the need to figure out what’s wrong with this person. Well, you can forget it! I won’t be someone’s-”

“They are full of nothing but the truth,” someone called out from behind them. “And perhaps a little bit of recklessness mixed with stupidity and youthful immaturity.”

They all turned to see who had spoken and both Alex and Leo were shocked to see Master Alan walking into the room, hands in his pockets and smiling like nothing was amiss here.

“Finally found you, although it seems my students found you first and proceeded to get into a fight with you. How ironic,” Master Alan said.

“She broke into my room and punched me!” Alex complained.

Leo nodded. “She also threw a chair at me and took off down the hall so we followed her here,” he affirmed.

The girl scoffed. “I did all that because you liars treated me like a freak and tried to interrogate me for simply existing. You didn’t give any of the assurances you promised me for coming here and then acted like I was about to attack everyone indiscriminately!” she said.

“You did do that though!” Alex argued. “You punched me in the face even though I had never even seen you before!”

She blushed at the truth of that but remained defiant and kept a wary eye on Master Alan. He raised his hands placatingly.

“You have every right to be angry,” he said. “They treated you horribly down there. When I heard the commotion, I went to investigate and when I found out what had happened, I was immediately ashamed. Please trust me when I say that I came here to personally apologize on behalf of the Temple and that things are being smoothed over as we speak.”

He truly sounded apologetic and his eyes shone with bright sincerity. A startling blue whose light could not be dimmed even by her flames.

She narrowed her multi-colored eyes. “I don’t believe you,” she said.

“Please,” he said. “Put your sword away and let’s talk things through. I’ve come to make amends and offer forth a solution.” He kept walking forward but stopped short as the flames emanating from her sword intensified and burned with a searing strength that made Alex and Leo hastily retreat back a few steps.

“No way,” she said. “I won’t back down and I certainly won’t listen to you-”

A sound like Leo’s thunder shook the room, only this set their ears ringing and their bodies trembling as a bright flash of yellow light arced past Leo and Alex in a blur, and with a roar made to cow even the mightiest of lions, lightning struck and the girl’s sword went flying in the air and out of her hands as Master Alan suddenly appeared in front of her, sword held out beside him and radiating with golden lightning.

Alex and Leo watched, uncomprehending, as the girl’s sword clattered on the ground, the black blade of impossibility now devoid of all flames. She looked up at Master Alan, hands still in front of her like she was still holding her sword, jaw dropped to the floor.

“I’m not the biggest fan of repeating myself so I’ll be brief,” he said calmly. “Disengage and let’s talk with clear heads. I come in peace, Cynthia Kalos.”

The girl who they now knew as Cynthia cursed and her scattered sword disappeared from where it lay only to reappear in her hands with a burning snarl.

“Let me handle this,” Master Alan ordered, and raised his sword in defense as Cynthia attacked him. As she threw her familiar onslaught of attacks at him, he calmly blocked each attack with one hand, pivoting back and around whenever she tried to attack his exposed side. His dark gray sword flashed when her flaming sword hit it, but he didn’t unleash any divine energy, the streaks of lightning adorning its sides remaining dull. Longer than a traditional scimitar, the curved blade had no issue repelling any of her attacks. She tried for another crushing overhand, but Master Alan batted her sword out of her hands again

She was panting and took a step back while he remained stalwart and unperturbed. “We can do this all day if you would like,” he said, “but the outcome will remain the same every time.”

She stared at him and seemed to grow smaller, fear at being cornered plain to see, but finally her sword disappeared from the ground and did not return to her hand. Master Alan let his sword disappear as well and the two stared at each other as calm returned to the somewhat destroyed room.

“Alex, Leo,” Master Alan called. “There’s no further need for you two to have your swords out. Please put them away.”

With a start, they both complied and sent their swords away back into the nothingness they stayed in until they formed at their bearer’s call.

“Excellent,” Master Alan said. “Now, if my information is correct, you journeyed to the Guardian Temple to become a Prospect and hone your abilities, all the way from Luxe, correct?”

Leo perked up at the mention of the Kingdom of Luxe. That was hundreds of miles away. He wondered if Cynthia traveled all that way by herself and on foot. That would be insane but it would explain her dusted and dirtied appearance.

“It is,” she answered slowly, watching him for any sign of a sudden attack, “but I no longer want to stay at the temple. I want my training to take place somewhere else.”

“Unfortunately, that is impossible for a Prospect. They live and are stationed at the Temple. This is where their training and instruction take place,” Master Alan said.

“There’s no way I-”

“I said it’s impossible for a Prospect. They have to stay here by law until they become an apprentice to a Guardian or ascend to the rank of Guardian themselves,” Master Alan explained. “You do not have the skills to become a Guardian and unfortunately, you just missed the apprentice selection exam. None of that being your fault, of course.”

She narrowed her eyes. “But…” she inquired.

“But,” Master Alan continued, “I have an offer. Become my apprentice.”

“What?!” They all exclaimed at him. This was insane, completely ridiculous. First, she attacked them and now she was being offered a place beside them like nothing had ever happened. Even Cynthia couldn’t believe what she had heard, but Master Alan only smiled softly at her.

“Sorry to interrupt here,” Alex said, “but you already have an apprentice. Two of them, in fact! That already breaks tradition. How can you have three?”

Master Alan turned to look at Alex. He was still very cheery. “Well, if I already broke tradition then what’s one more added to the team?” he asked. “Besides, you two seem to have a penchant for breaking the rules so I figure I might as well gather all the troublemakers in one spot to help keep a close eye on them.”

This time it was their turn to blush and they found that they had nothing to say to that. He was their master after all.

Master Alan turned back to Cynthia who was still looking dubious. However, the fear had started to recede and was now being replaced with interest. “How does me being your apprentice change anything?” she asked.

He nodded. “Good question. Starting off, we won’t be at the Temple. In fact, we’re leaving before the day is over. The city too. We’ll be traveling to Lake Acuity where we’ll begin training. I also have a dislike for the Temple and the people within and find myself needing time away from it. As you can attest, they’re rather grating.”

“That’s an understatement,” Cynthia said, but she was starting to calm down and Alex thought she sounded even a little excited.

“As my apprentice, your training will be completely dictated and supervised by me. You will follow my orders and travel with me as I go about my duties. Any expenses will be covered by either me or the Temple and I will be the one to decide when you are ready to join my brothers and sisters as a fellow Guardian. How does that sound?” he asked.

Cynthia grinned. “Exactly like what I want,” she said. “I accept!”

Master Alan held up a hand. “Just so we are clear, you will be fighting for the Kingdom of Arcadia and working to further its goals. Our paths will likely take us back to Luxe and eventually to Adamance. Do you still accept, knowing this?” Master Alan asked, his voice suddenly serious.

“I do,” she said without hesitation. “I knew that coming here and I made that choice myself. I could have gone to Adamance, but I believed Arcadia to be the better choice, regardless of how this Temple operates. You have my commitment and my oath. I will fight for Arcadia,” she swore.

Master Alan stared at her, looking again for something beyond the surface. He met her miscolored eyes with ease and made no mention of her sword. He focused solely on her. Then, he nodded.

“Very well, I hereby accept you, Cynthia Kalos, as my apprentice,” he declared. “The same honor goes to Alexander Scepton and Leonidas Agiad.”

Cynthia looked across Master Alan’s side towards them, her startled face making it clear that she had forgotten about them.

“With them?” she asked.

“That’s right,” Master Alan confirmed. “And before we can continue, we need to put this little event behind us. Don’t worry, I hear those two are quite good at that sort of stuff.”

They both simmered, their cheeks flushed. Leo decided to speak first. He took a deep breath then began. “I apologize for our behavior today and I hope that we can find a way to work together. My name is Leo, a pleasure.” He awkwardly bowed his head and Alex shoved him.

“Why are we apologizing?” he asked. “She still attacked us!”

“Alex,” Master Alan warned, but Cynthia interrupted him.

“No, he’s right,” she said. She faced them and looked Alex in the eyes. “I shouldn’t have attacked you and I got carried away. Sorry for all that. And your nose,” she added. “Also, I’m Cynthia. Nice to meet you,” she finished awkwardly.

“Don’t worry about his nose,” Leo said. “It was already broken.”

“It was not!” Alex objected. He looked at her then sighed. “Fine, I’m sorry as well. Let’s try and make this work.”

They all kind of stared at each other, trying to bridge the strange gap between them until Master Alan clapped his hands. “Excellent,” he said. “Now, let’s finish the introductions. Line up.”

The three of them rushed to obey and formed up, Leo in the center, Alex on his right, and Cynthia on his left. Master Alan stood before them, hands clasped behind his white cloak.

“My name is Alan Camdon, but you may call me Master Alan. From this moment onward, you three are my apprentices and I will work to hone your skills and make you the best possible versions of yourself that you can be. More than what you expect. In return, you three will obey my orders and work with me as a unit while we go throughout your training and my missions. There is real danger ahead and I will prepare you three the best way I know how but know this; your lives will be in real danger. The Centuries War is still ongoing and, saving the details for later, they will eventually need us. Will you three join me?” he finished. His voice was grave and his face was hard, but he looked earnestly towards them. He gave them the truth and didn’t sugarcoat it. This was the truth and they accepted it.

“Yes, Master Alan!” They all shouted, voices firm and eyes determined.

“Then head towards the southern train station. We’re a bit behind schedule so I’ll take care of things here and meet you all there,” he said. “Alex, you lead the two of them there. No detours, clear?”

“Crystal,” Alex confirmed. With that, Master Alan turned and with a flourish of his cloak, strode out of the damaged dueling room. They were alone again but now their number had become three and they were supposed to be teammates even though they just finished fighting each other. Alex wondered how this was ever going to work.

“Follow me, I guess,” he said, and began walking in the same direction as their master. Leo and Cynthia followed and together, the three of them made their way to the southern train station.