"What was that place?" I asked, as I descended the mountain with my new master. Compared to that first mountain, this one felt nothing more than an over glorified hill. It was like seeing a dog after spending your lives with wolves.
Syar chuckled, reading the defensive shame in my tone. "There's no need to feel embarrassed fainting. You're not the first to faint in the presence of that place....but perhaps you may be the last."
"What do you mean?"
"That mountain," Syar began, "has a name. All great things do, whether men remember it or not. Some believe that mountain is older than the land itself. I guess only the elves could know how old it truly is. They called it Dracken Fjell. Those steps you walked on boy, they existed before our race ever stepped foot here."
The way Syar spoke about it, was shuddering to say the least. "Dracken Fjell. What's that in our tongue?"
"Dragonmount."
My eyes widened. "Do dragons live here? I thought they were extinct?"
Syar's laugh was low, and sad. "If only they did. No, there are no living dragons left in our world, that much I'm sure of. The story of Dragonmount is much more tragic. He paused, as if weighing how much to confess to me.
After another stretched moment, he continued. "Legends are mostly fiction. Usually just stories crafted by over imaginative folk. Yet, sometimes, there is a truth to them. A seed of real history from which the myth sprouted. The stories say it is the final resting place of a crying deity."
"A deity" I repeated, my voice almost reverent.
"Not any deity boy. A powerful one, a true lord of men. One that used to be respected, powerful. Worshipped even. They say the deities cried so much, his tears formed the oceans. And he chose that mountain to die, to end.
Other stories say that at the peak of Dracken Fjell lays a dragon egg."
"A dragon egg? How could it have remained unhatched for so long?"
"Who knows" Syar answered. "I've certainly never seen one. But then, there are parts of that mountain even I can't wander easily."
I felt surprise widen my eyes. 'Places even he can't go.' I didn't have a good measure of Syar's power, but I knew enough to understand the severity of his words."
"But the stories say, " he continued, "should you choose to believe it, it's a dead egg at the peak of that mountain. An egg that almost hatched, but failed. They say it was the final egg of their species. Their one hope, gone now, like the rest of them."
"What a sad legend" I muttered to myself.
Syar must've heard it, because he chuckled again. "It is, isn't it."
"But I don't get it? Why was it so hard to climb?"
"That's a good question. Perhaps one day you may discover it, if you ever manage to get to the top that is."
"Come on boy, hurry up" Syar beckoned, his pace speeding up.
"Where are we going?" I asked as I hurried to keep up.
"There's a cave at the foot of Dracken Fjell. That's where we'll be training. You won't need to worry about fainting. That place was made for training."
"It was made for training? What do you mean?"
"I'm training you in the old ways boy. Ways I doubt few others still remember, and even fewer would actually learn. The Knights of old, they taught their disciples differently to the way modern academy's do. Both have their strengths. But with time I have you, I think it'd be better to keep you in the old ways."
"Keep me?" I asked, frowning at the inference.
"Didn't you know boy? One of the few records that we know of the knights of old. The requirement of every single knight was to be a Blessed. Awakened weren't allowed to be MageKnights back then."
Eventually we reached that mountain again. However this time, instead of climbing it, we looped around to the back. Instinctively, I couldn't help but avoid looking up. Instead I kept my head down, and moved as quickly as I could.
At the back of the mountain was an entrance. A small cave. Silently I followed as we walked into the heart of Dragonmount.
The cave quickly opened up into a large cavern. With a click of his fingers, fire flickered into life in lanterns all around the cavern, illuminating with a worn ghostly orange light.
The cavern was colossal. It comprised of one large training area. Or at least, that's what I assumed it to be.
The training ground was smooth, too smooth to be natural. The rest of the cavern consisted of lanterns embedded into the rocky walls and high ceilings. So those at the top seemed almost like flickering orange stars, dancing above me.
Without realising, I let out a heavy breath. "Damn."
"Nice to know it's good enough then" Syar replied, smiling slightly. "Welcome to your new home boy. For the next two months, apart from the weekly visits to the Fort, this will be your new home. You'll train here, eat here, and sleep here. So get comfy."
I looked over the training ground with a new eye, my heart sinking as I realised how poor of a time these next two months were about to be.
"So" I finally ventured. "What are you going to first teach me?"
"A fighting art," Syar replied. "Right now, you need a complementary mana fighting art. But to do that, we need to know which weapon you are best with."
"I use a spear mostly. Not too good with a sword, and I haven't really had the chance to explore other weapons."
Syar nodded gravely, turning towards me. "Do you know how the squires of old were taught, boy?"
Seeing me shrug helplessly, Syar continued. "Through trials."
"Trials?"
"Yes. Growth always came through a trial. And perfection came through mastering the growth. You did the first trial. The trial of ten thousand. Now, it is time for you to do the second."
I couldn't help but feel anxious as he spoke of the trials. The trial walking up the mountain hadn't been easy. Neither had it been straight forward. I wasn't exactly looking forward to going through another such experience.
"What's the second trial?"
"The trial of the heart. It's a trial that takes place within your body. Completing it provides insight into your body. Insight into the best ways in which mana flows into your body, and to what weapons your body is best suited to."
Frowning, I asked Syar a question. "If it's so useful, why doesn't everyone do it?"
"Because. Failing the trial of the heart will kill you at best. And at worst....well. Let's just say, death would be the least of your worries."
A small chuckle escaped my lips. "Why the hell would I risk my life for power?"
Syar frowned. "You were willing to risk it so earlier, why not now?"
"No" I replied, shaking my head. "That was different. This...I'm not doing this."
"You should've told me," Syar replied, "that you were unwilling to risk your life before you walked in here."
"I'm sorry master. But I value this life too much to risk losing it so unnecessarily. Isn't there any other way I could learn?"
"There might've been." Syar's voice was soft now. Soft in that unnerving way of his. "But it's far too late for that now."
A pit formed in my stomach. "W-What do you mean?"
Turning towards me. Syar's grin was weakly illuminated by the dancing yellow flames.
"Dear boy. Your trial is already about to begin. That fate was sealed the second you stepped in here."
….......
Gritting his teeth, Noah danced back, barely dodging the side cut. Officer Scarlet grinned, eyes gleaming.
"Almost" she taunted.
'She's crazy' Noah despaired. He had thought this would be an ordinary spar. But when Officer Scarlet had handed him a real sword.
That's when he knew, this was far from normal.
Lunging forward, Noah attacked with a thrust, hoping to break through her guard. She parried the strike contemptuously, her blade redirecting the strike with a casual precision.
Stomach dropping, Noah watched helplessly as her sword arced through the air, edge closing in on his face.
'She's going to stop...right?'
The blade showed no signs of slowing as it sped towards him.
'Right....'
…......
Before the blow could land, a powerful gale erupted from Noah. Grunting, Officer Scarlet was hurled back. Flipping in the air, she landed in a tensed crouch, eyebrows raised.
She felt it before she saw it. The raw power that was radiating from the boy. Like an unleashed storm. Winds whipped around him in a feral frenzy. His hair shimmered white, eyes bleeding into an icy blue. Ice crystals began crystallizing on his body like a second skin.
Yet what was perhaps most unnerving was his expression. It was eerily blank, as if wiped clean. His eyes seemed to see beyond her, locked into some sort of trance. Consumed by the force now surging through him.
Despite herself, Officer Scarlet's lips curved into a smile. "Well, well. Let's see what you got, Noah."