Kane and Kaelon stood at the front of the training grounds facing a crowd of paladins. They were in the process of choosing the men that would join them in Windstone. Kane stepped forward, clearing his throat. The crowd fell silent as he began.

  "Men! We gathered you here today for one simple reason! Fifty of you are going to accompany us into battle with cultists! The destination is Windstone Harbor, and we set off tomorrow! Who wants to accompany us into this fight?!"

  Cheers broke out among the crowd, each paladin vying for a spot. Their hearts pumped with excitement at the prospect of earning glory. Kane's slit eyes did a look over the crowd, examining the men as he continued.

  "We will hold duels, wooden weapons only. All of you will fight at least three times, different opponents each time. After I've seen your strength, I will decide who joins our mission."

  With that the dueling began, the paladins parted to make space for the duels. One by one they eacb stepped up, the losing man would retreat and wait for another chance. The winning man stayed on until he finished his three duels or lost.

  The whole process took quite a long time, the sun was already setting by the time the last duel was over. To Kaelon the stand outs of the duels were Brand, Victor, and a few others he had never met.

  They were Sir Jaime, whose sword moved with extreme speed. Sir Jon, a tall man weilding a heavy great sword. Finally there was Sir Hans, an older but skilled warrior.

  The five men were named squad leaders by Kane, dividing the unit of fifty men into five ten men squads. The squad leaders would then report to Kane followed by Kaelon, as his second in command. Brand and Victor's units being directly under Kaelon.

  As Kaelon was returning to his room, he decided to stop by the prayer hall. He kneeled before his father's statue and offered a prayer.

  "Father, tomorrow I set off for Windstone. I don't know what lies waiting there but I'm sure it's not good. May your light guide my way forward. Know that I will not falter on my path and I will do all I can to come back victorious."

  He stood up without waiting for a reply, he didn't have anything else to say to his father. Walking out of the prayer hall he felt a gaze on him. Turning back towards the hall, he saw the statue's eyes held a proud gaze. He nodded before heading off to his quarters.

  That night, after his regular training, Kaelon dreamt of his Divinity. He was back in the usual space, looking up at the symbol on its pedestal. He felt their connection, his growing ownership however small.

  Peering into it he once again saw The Breath of Embers. Unlike before though he managed to comprehend the third form. A vision of a burning slash that cut even beyond his sword.

  'Third Form: Soul Flare Rend'

  As the vusion came to an end, he felt himswelf waking up. His eyes blinked open as the square he was in disappeared and he found himself in his quarters. Standing up he let out a sigh.

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  'I thought I would see more...'

  Shaking his head he put aside his disappointment, they were setting off for Windstone today. He didn't have time to dwell on his dreams. Kaelon quickly equipped his armor and headed for the training ground.

  There Kane and some of the squad leaders were waiting. Brand approached him as he arrived, taking his place behind him. Kaelon settled nex to Kane and the two chatted while waiting.

  It wasn't long before the training ground was filled with fifty men. The squad leaders rounded up their men and Kane and Kaelon stood at the forefront as they marched out of the temple.

  The last time he had left the city, it had been with a group of ten men. Back then the citizens of Altium had peered at them through windows and on the streets. Today, they moved with fifty men. The reaction was vastly different from before.

  Their march became an impromptu parade, with civilians surrounding them on all sides as they made their was out of the city. People pointed at Kane and Kaelon with wide eyes, surprised by their standout appearances.

  Kaelon faced the crowd with a stedfast expression, focused on the battle ahead rather than the attention. The large group made their way through the city in around an hour.

  Once they made it to the wall, they got on the prepared horses and prepared to set off. Kane sat on his horse, facing the crowd of men behind him. He raised his sword to the sky and yelled out.

  "It's time! In ten days we will arrive in Windstone! We'll move as far as possible on hirseback during the day and at sunset begin setting camp! This will be an arduous journey, keep your wills sharp and be ready to encounter anything on the road! Now, let's go!"

  Turning toward the road, Kane set off with his horse. Kaelon followed right behind him and their men weren't far behind. Horses streaked through the northern plains, heading for the coast.

  By the time the sun set Altium city was a dot in the distance. The paladins immediately began setting up tents and campfires under their squad leaders directions. Kaelon, left free, decided to train with his sword. The vision from the day before was still clear in his head and he wanted to test oht his new technique.

  Not far from their camp there was a lone tree, Kaelon approached it with his sword in hand. Closing his eyes he readied his stance and recalled his vision. His divinity was insfused into the blade, much more than he usually used. The blade became red hot in seconds, flames dancing on its edge.

  Kaelon's body tensed and the burning in chest rose. He channeled thag energy straight into his sword, letting it build up for a moment. Suddenly his eyes shot wide open, glowing with golden light.

  'Third Form: Soul Flare Rend'

  His sword slashed out emitting a wave of fire that cut through the tree's thick bark. A second later and the tree collapsed, completely severed in half. A raging fire began to consume the falled half, leaving behind a smoking stump on the ground.

  Kaelon panted a little, catching his breath. The technique took a lot out of him, requiring a lot of his energy to fuel the slash. Not only that it took a little time to charge up for him right now, in the future that wiuld change. For now though, all he could do was wait a few seconds to charge his attack.

  Turning back to the camp the smell of dinner led him to one of the many campfires around. Sitting around it were Kane and all the squad leaders. Kaelon approached them and sat to Kane's right. Looking around he reached for a bowl of stew as everyone greeted him.

  As he began eating Kane turned to him with a smile.

  "Are you still up for training, you were gone before I could find you."

  Kaelon immediately nodded.

  "Of course I'm up for it, I was about to ask you myself. After we've finished our meal, let's get to it."

  Kane nodded with a smile and turned to the squad leaders.

  "You guys are welcome to join us too, we'll be training like this every day after setting camp."

  The men nodded, looks of enthusiasm in their eyes. The night ended with all of them on the floor panting after receiving Kane's training. Kaelon stood to the side with a smile, he found some enjoyment in them undergoing the same torture that he had come to endure.