Azi was laying on the bed, his mind just shy of being completely fizzled out. He'd only managed to retain his consciousness by concentrating on the people that came in. Even then, he'd still have to introduce himself to them, since he was too preoccupied to do that earlier. As the petting on his tail became less intense, he slowly became aware that Diana was also on his bed, still holding onto his tail. "... She might be a bit to close for my comfort." Azi would have gone to sleep regardless, since she was comfortable with it, but then he suddenly recalled something from the past...

-Four years ago-
_{"How are children born, father?"
"... How should I say this, when a man and woman are in the same bed together, the gods bless them with a child."
"Is it really that simple?"
"... Yes, Azi, that is how it is."}

Blushing furiously, Azi pushed through his exhaustion and lightly shook Diana's shoulder. "W-we shouldn't be sleeping in the same bed, Diana!" he whispered to her with a slightly panicked tone.

"I'm not sure of the 'fine' or the 'gentlemen' there, and I also don't like yer 'noble almighty' attitude." Claude's good mood (he was in a good mood, promise) had taken a turn for the worse with the improptu appearance of this stuck up noble boy.

"But if ya got ta know, I'm Claude. Claude Aster." Despite everything, perhaps Tybalt knew his name. The Asters were a famous family of mercenaries known for getting the job done when others could not. Claude too had made enough of a name for himself in the years he worked as a mercenary.

"You'll find no better merc to keep watch on yer back in this whole damn continent. I ain't from nowhere in specific, if I'm bein' honest." That was actually true, since Claude is not a citizen of any one kingdom or village.

---

The first man to approach her was a man with black skin. Seemingly from out in the sticks, or so the girl thought. She kept that little rude thought under her hat and went on to give the man a sweet smile.

"A pleasure to meet you, sire Anu, and do not worry about me. I wished not to see them death, but I believe I've already worked my way past that." The girl said with a bit of a sad smile on her face, turning her gaze away from him some. "But it warms my heart to know that I know find myself with more good people." She smiled at Hiro again.

She then turned to Hyakuya, and it was at this time that the woman gasped with surprise. Was he the famous manakete who protected House Varr with all its might?

Joan quickly took his hands and started shaking them fervently, "Might you be lord Hyakuya? Oh, I have heard so MUCH about you. Mother and father have told me so much about you! A mighty Dragon, defending the mightiest of house Varr! To think you would know of one such as me, I am deeply honored! Please, call me by my name!"

After that sudden fit of fangirliness, the girl suddenly remembered that she had to keep the proper condecurum at all times.

"I-I am so sorry about that." She then turned to Pauline. "It is a pleasure to meet the both of you. Oh." The girl was surprised yet again.

Were they an item, she and Aika? The two of them... two women? Wow, she never really did expect for something like that to actually happen. Outside of fiction anyway.

"Yes please. I'd very much like you to introduce me to everyone else." The girl was quick to chase awaay her doubts in hopes of becoming good friends with the girl, and flashed yet another smile at Pauline.

The Manakete was pleasantly surprised at the noble's reaction. Not only did she drop all forms of boundaries to take his hands and shake it, but she also practically fangirled. Those stories were true. He served as a loyal bodyguard to the castle itself, only being assigned to the front lines every now and then. What Hyakuya didn't know was that Lord and Lady Croce had actually talked about him. He was sure that he only exchanged a few words with the nobles just to greet them.

"I never thought myself to be famous but it is refreshing to see that someone actually acknowledges me." He said with a smile on his face. He kept a mental note to call her by her name and not by her family name. "As the daughter of one of the top nobles of Jotenvarr, I think it is mandatory that I know you. But we shall not let our titles hinder us from being comrades in battle." He continued. No matter the position or rank, they were all equal comrades and that was how Hyakuya would want everything to be like. He just nodded as she apologized because of what she did. He did not find it insulting but if it is her nature to do so, then so be it.

Diana attempted to push off the hand that was shaking her to little avail. She gave a sleepy yawn and tried to talk at the same time resulting in something somewhat partly understandable. "Buwwww I duuuuun waaaan." With her opinion on the matter fully expressed Diana returned to her attempts to sleep, fondly stroking the tail every now and again. She had to get plenty of beauty sleep to be well rested and prepared for tomorrow after all.

Tybalt made a good attempt to shake off the mercenary’s callous response to his extravagant introduction. This was not the first time his exuberant nature would be off-putting, and it most certainly would not be the last. The Argyris name was already dragged through the mud, one extra person being unimpressed by him, even if it was not for the reasons at hand, was something Tybalt had experience in shutting out.

“Oh come now, I was only trying to be friendly. Breaking the ice is always a challenge.” Tybalt said, giving the merc a cheery grin. “It’s a damn pleasure to meet you, Claude. From the reputation the Aster family possesses, you’ll be a shoo-in to be a knight, eh?”

He clapped the mercenary lightly on the arm as he passed by, sliding in a chair with a cheeky smirk on his face. When the mercenary explained his expertise in protection, the mage was more than eager to lay another goofy joke upon his previous quip.

“Oh, for that I have no doubt, Sir Aster!” He said. “After all, you certainly showed that door what’s what, right? I’d hate to be any inanimate object around you, my mercenary compatriot!”

He laughed, lightly elbowing Claude in the ribs. “No need to let what I get on your nerves, I don’t mean anything by my jests. I’m actually quite happy to see more than just nobility among the chosen canidates. Jotenvarr made a good choice to pick skill over blood relations to defend the king. Nepotism is such a failed philosophy, people like you are the real reason kingdoms move at all, right?”

Azi quickly resigned himself after realizing that it would be impossible to move Diana, who, along with being too tired to do so, simply didn't want to. "I'm not old enough to be a dad yet, though," He silently shed a tear internally as he lifted up her head, sliding his pillow underneath it before simply turning his back towards Diana, simply letting her cuddle his tail as he hummed a quiet lullaby to clear his troubled thoughts before he went to sleep.

"There, there, my dear Vivienne~" Alexandria spoke with a soft voice spoke to the screeching and berserk Wyvern who visibly calmed down at the Baroness's voice until it was laying it's large head on the woman's lap as she washed the Wyvern of its victim's blood on it's scales, which left blood and soap smears all over the woman's combat pants but the Alexandria didn't care it could've been much worse with those idiots, she was glad they all either died or quit after the Trial, it was such a shameful display of nobility. But Alexandria smiles as the large Wyvern tries to worm's it way out of the bath. "You were always such a troublemaker when it came to baths my Dear. But like I always says cleanliness is godliness, don't you know that already my Dear?" Alexandria said in a joking manner and she giggled as the Wyvern huffed a breath out in frustration as it know it wouldn't be let go.

Alexandria spent at least half an hour washing the Wyvern of all the blood from the earlier trial it wouldn't be so bad but she ended up doing much of the work as half her team was wiped out in the first few attacks and the rest depended on her to weaken the Foes for them to finished them off. Luckily for them they seem to know their limit and they quit right after the speech from the King, what a shameful display of nobility. They collectively had less nobility in all of them compared to Vivienne's left wing. But Nevertheless it is her's and Vivienne's duties to rest and prepare for the Trial tomorrow, and hopefully it will go better tomorrow even if she has to do it with only herself and Vivienne who was walking besides her in the roomy halls. Bugger off. She was to busy being angry about the mess Vivienne was that she didn't know room to stay in, and it shamefully looks 'modest' but she it was better then some camp in a far-off land where they have to sleep on Wyvern shi- oh wait there's somebody there to ask a question. A young woman with hair as white as snow and an air of magic those exhausted eyes. Alexandria smiles softly and tossed up her Noble guise and asked the young lady,

"Pardon me, my Dear, but you wouldn't know where I should go do you?"

Aika slipped out of the quarters, slinging her bag of personal belongings over her shoulder before closing the door. "Hm? What's this?" she wondered out loud as she bent down closer to the door itself. A footprint larger than her head marked the center of the door, and the wood around this print appeared splintered. "Ehhhh... probably that clod Claude... eheheh." she remarked before strolling off down the hallway to her right.

Shouldn't the bathrooms be near the quarters? OR AT LEAST a changing room? she thought to herself as he made a rather absurd distance down the hall, eye-balling each door only to find them numbered like her quarters. Maybe I went the wrong way? Her mouth curled into a pout and her brow furrowed as she stopped and pivoted several times. This was the way back towards the main halls right? Where the king made his grandiose speech about the universe, or something? Perhaps. Either way, she made a sharp about-face and began to stride back the way she came, but luck would have her trip over her own feet and fall flat on her face instead.

"WAAHHHH!"

"RRRAGGHH FUCK!"

Aika quickly pushed herself off of the floor, floating into an upright position as she slowly jumped to her feet, almost as if weightless. She dusted herself off while looking to make sure nobody saw that. Not the fall, but her recovery. Content with there being no witnesses, she once again began to head back towards her quarters.

After passing her boot imprinted door, Aika continued down the left hall in search of somewhere to change clothing, but instead found something much more interesting. Wandering down the same hall in the opposite direction was a wyvern! A great big wyvern with scales of amethyst and lavender and every shade between! It stepped gracefully in her direction, accompanied by a woman wearing what Aika would judge as an overly lavish red dress.

"Pardon me, my Dear, but you wouldn't know where I should go do you?" asked the apparent rider.

To her dismay, Aika's attention was almost fully directed towards the incredible beast that towered over her, as she stared in awe and excitement. And only after a long moment did she respond. "Huh?" she asked as she pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. "Sorry, I was entranced by your beautiful wyvern." she explained, finally breaking her gaze away from it. "Um, I'm not sure. Were you not assigned a room number?"

Alexandria couldn't help but giggle at the young woman's awe of Vivienne, who lifted up it's head high in pride at the girl's amazement. Alexadnria patted the Wyvern's neck as a silent way of telling it to lower it's head unless it wants to get a fat head which it does once She stopped petting it. The two are good at nonverbal talking which was is a useful skill in combat. The girl after a few moments of star struck awe finally responded to Alexandria's question, while saying she was entranced by Vivienne which caused Alexandria to smile softly at the young woman's honesty.

"It's no problem at all, Dear, most people are often intimidated by Vivienne, so she'll love the attention." Alexandria spoke elegantly. She loved bringing Vivienne everywhere, the Wyvern doesn't do well in those Stables, as it makes Vivienne's scales fade in color and a beautiful Wyvern is as dangerous as any battle scarred Wyvern. "I bet I was, but due to my dear Vivienne's dreadful appearance after the Trial I couldn't have her dirty up the royal castle's court with the blood of our enemies, that would be unsightly."

Pauline got up from her bed and look around the quarters, scratching her chin slightly.
"Alright... The pink-haired lady there is Diana - and trust me, she's actually quite a ruthless lancer in battle. She's from the same squad as I am. The poor creature who will probably spend the night with her-- oh, I don't mean anything obscene by that! Ahem, the laguz is Azi and he's in squad Trignita. You already saw Anu and Hyakuya, the blond mage there is Tybalt and he's the only mage in our squad. He's a great tactician, though. His guidance helped us escape injuries. The merc he's talking to is Claude and he's quite... unpredictable. I wonder if they'll replace the door anytime soon... The other swordfighter is Fredrick. Ah, and the two cavaliers. They're both in Trignita and I think one of them is Mikhail and the other's Scott. I didn't quite catch their names though. Uh... That should be all of them!" - Pauline rubbed her hands slightly and looked at Joan. "I'm sure it's difficult to remember all these names at once, so it's okay to ask if you forgot."

She heard a loud thump outside the room and an angry shout and opened the door to look outside. Was that Aika? "Aika, are you oka-- OHMYGODIT'SAWYVERN!" She grabbed onto the door tightly, trembling slightly as she looked at the beast, but calmed down slightly when she noticed its owner. "Uh... Nice to meet you?"

---

The following month was, basically, a living hell for the recruits. Hirotsuka wasn't kidding when she said she was going to go medieval in their asses.

To enhance Tybalt's defense, she would put him in jousting matches against Cavaliers of the highest order in the castle. Every time he fell from his force was counted as a loss, and he'd have to start over again until he couldn't move anymore.

She had Pauline jumping from one tree to another, constantly trying to hit targets she had set up in the forest. Every missed target meant less food for the ninja. If she missed enough targets, then she'd probably have to go out and hunt something herself, because she would be getting none of Hirotsuka's (handmade) food.

She trained Hiro personally. The archer's objective was way less complicated than the other's. To avoid being hit by Hirotsuka. Sadly, she didn't make it any easier by constantly shortening the distance between the two with her astonishing speed and not letting the archer use his bow.

Diana was more of a tricky one at first, but Hirotsuka eventually came up with a good way to train her. She put her up against an ungodly quantity of axe fighters. In hopes of training both her skill and defense, all of them used the superiority their weapons gave them to frustrate the lance fighter. Certainly, even with training weapons, it shouldn't have been easy for her.

Hyakuya, the manakete Hyakuya with years of experience behind him. How could she train him and actually expect some results? Well, the answer was simple, actually. Ordering him to turn into a dragon and take flight, before a flurry of arrows tried to stab him would probably do the trick. Probably.

Joan was the most difficult one, because, to start with, she had not been in the first trial with her. She was equal to the challenge, however, and put the troubadour on healing duty for her hurt comrades after their own training. Given that she was insistant about training physically herself as well, Hirotsuka made her hit a dummy with her staff to better her strength. Though her flimsy arms made for a pitiful sight and instead she handed her a tome.

Certainly, she was better at slinging spells than hitting things with a staff, but the fact that one other horse was burnt with a fire tome made Hirotsuka take the tome away from Joan's hands. Never before had someone seen a woman of noble birth bowing her head so many times while looking for an apology.

In any case, and regardless of whether her training methods were a success or not, Hirotsuka gave the recruits their orders once the time for the next trial came.

"You are to head to an old stronghold past the mountains of Jotenvarr. From there, you shall fetch a sword that was found there not too long ago. Reports seem to indicate that it is the legendary sword, Gram. If it is, then your mission is to retrieve it and present it to your king. If it is not, well, you need only return with it and present it to me." The woman explained as she slammed her hand on the board behind her.

There was a rather basic map of Jotenvarr's layout. It was a rocky, mountainous path, as it should be expected. It seemed steep at time and at others it seemed way more forgiving to those who dared venture in there.

"Beware for a group of bandits that has been sighted in the ruins, though. They are known for being brutal and for only taking," She turned to Diana, Joan and Pauline, "Female prisoners. Everybody else is slaughtered upon sighting. You will rendezvous with squad Septem at the front of the ruins. Their own objective is different from your own, so fear not for having to reach the sword before them. They are there so you can sort out the bandits." She explained.

"Well? What are ya waiting for? C'mon, scramble! Get going!" She urged them.

---

Illian's own training was, well if not more cruel quite a lot more excessive.

She chained together two people so that they should go about their business as pairs. The first week, she constantly rotated partners to see who got along the worst with whom. Eventually, the pairings became as follows:

Mikhail & Scott, despite the happy disposition of Scott towards Mikhail, Mikhail seemed to get even greener the more time he spent with the Red Cavalier.

Aika & Claude, since the mercenary often commented on how Aika should take care of not breaking a nail while fighting, which should've gotten on the nerves of Aika by the time the first week was over.

Azi & Fredrick, while not entirely antagonistic, their personalities did seem to be a much more convincing contrast. Azi's and Claude's personality did seem like more total opposites, but the fact that the mercenary often picked on Aika made her think this was actually for the best.

So, while paired like this, they had to go about their personal business (yes, even the bathroom) in an effort to further strengthen their teamwork. Or not. Illian hoped it would, but one could never know.

As for their trial....

---

Squad Quinque found themselves in a rocky path, not that far away from their objective, and were then face by the enormous mountain.

This place was known as the Dragon's Back. It was capricious as it was deadly. More than one adventurer had died while climbing over these rocky mountains. There was a safe path in which you had to go around the mountains, but it certainly took more time than what some thought it was worth for.

The sudden changes of weather that happened constantly around him made more than one warrior cautious about the place, save for the reckless who thought climbing the mountain was a good idea, and faster too.

It was in squad Quinque's hands to decide whether to climb it or go by the safer route. A decision better taken with a cool head.

However, they had just come across the bloody remnants of what used to be squad Septem. They had been brutally killed and their corpses were left to rot in the roadside.

Yet, and as rumor had it, squad Septem was made up of six men, and yet one was not there. Five corpses in total, one of them lacking. Had they been taken as a prisoner? that seemed impossible, however, as everyone knew that Septem was made up of only men, and that the bandits did not take prisoners aside from women.

Then....?

There was a sudden shout. It seemed like the cries of a woman. She asked for help, and also warned the other recruits of some bandits!

---

@Redstring@Snagglepuss89@NeutralNexus@Lauder@Polaris North@Eklispe

---

P.S.[Please wait until Snagglepuss89 to post. More info on the bandits to come] Checked

P.S.2[Sorry squad Trignita, but Light is in charge of your trial. like I said, lynch him] Checked too. We just need to lynch him now.

"... and may His Holiness guide you through my words to peace forevermore."

Having finished, Heike hung his head, emotionally drained. It was his final goodbye to his former squad, their last rites. While they may have followed a different faith from him in life, it was as much for his own peace as theirs. A small repayment for not being able to save their lives, for being weak and imprisoned instead of fighting to his final breath.

He suspected though, that breath wasn't too far off.

The shame of his predicament burned through him. It was true that he certainly wasn't the most masculine man around, and that he had grown his hair long the last few years, and that voice wasn't ever the deepest in the world, and that his name was unisex, and that...

He shook his head violently before the thoughts could continue. The point was; the situation was utterly ridiculous! These bandits actually thought he was a woman, and it was the only reason he was still alive. He knew the reason why of course, and the thought of it quickly turned his anger into boiling rage, and he steeled himself to continue with his escape attempted. Furiously, he worked to loosed the ropes that bound him to a pole in the center of the bandits' camp. He only had one assigned guard, and he was too busy taking a piss at the moment to pay Heike any mind.

If he could just get loose... At least he could claw one of their eyes out before the inevitable happened. An escape would be impossible at this point, especially with all ten of them chasing him. He refused to be the only one who died without a struggle though!
Just as the rope began to loosen, his guard returned, giving him a lusty once-over. Heike cursed his luck, in more ways than one, and stalled his plan.

"Heh, can't wait for a little time off later, make all this guard duty worth it."

Heike didn't even have time to spit on the man before another voice approached from behind him.

"You wouldn't need to waste time on guard duty to begin with if you'd just killed her."

"Oi! And what good would that have been? At least this way we can have some fun tonight, some nice reward for all that fightin'."

The scowl that must have answered the man could be felt by their prisoner, even if he couldn't see it.

"I'm telling you, this bitch is more trouble than she's worth! You think a hole's worth all that hassle? She kicked and clawed and bit the entire way into camp!"

"Gwahaha! You're just sore because she poked you with that spear of her instead of it being the other way around. Me an' the other boys want the same chance you blew! 'Sides, you can cut the bitches throat after we're done with 'er if it means that much to you."

The man behind her grunted, before leaving. Tension left Heike like water through a sieve, the man could have easily seen the struggle to escape and tighten the bonds, ruining all his work thus far. He noted his guard leering at him again, but strove to ignore it. Reacting badly would just result in a beating, and he needed his strength if he was going to get out of his bonds. As for reacting positively...
He shuddered visibly at the thought. His guard, taking offense at the clear message, spit on the ground and turned away.

"Fucking bitch will be shivering later all right..."

More slowly than before, Heike tried to take advantage of the progress he had made earlier. He was so close! Maybe he could even sneak away, or knock out the guard without being noticed. He at least stood a chance then. Even disgraced, a shot at living through this ordeal was worth taking.

Just a little... There!

It wasn't much, but he was sure that he could slip the rope over the top of the pole now, it wasn't much taller than he was. He steeled himself for what he was about to do, search for a rock to bash the guard's head in when another bandit ran into the camp, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"SQUAD OF THE KING'S BRATS APPROACHING! ANOTHER ONE! UP AND AT EM' BOOOOOOOYS!"

Heike sprang into action, ignoring the bandit that just ran past him, he focused on the guard who had just turned towards him. Taking advantage of the second of shock seeing his prisoner escaping gave him, Heike delivered a kick to the man's chest, toppling him over.
Then Heike ran for his life, quite literally.

His hands were bound, he had no weapons, no medical supplies, he would be slaughtered if they caught him, and surely enough he was only a few seconds ahead when more shouting erupted behind him.

"Oi! The bitch is escaping, after 'er!"

"Leave her you bloody idiot! She's unarmed! She'll be trapped in those mountains, we'll take care of her after the blokes with bloody weapons!"

It was true, Heike was heading upwards towards the mountains the bandits had camped at the base of. At least that would give him some cover to hide in, maybe if they managed to finish off another of the King's squads Heike would be able to find his way around and escape before he was caught.

Then come back later, armed and ready to take revenge for his fallen friends.

However, he hadn't given up on this newest squad yet. It was hard to make out from the distance, but it appeared to be squad Quinque. He had heard they did extremely well on the first trial, and the thought filled him with hope.

The faces of his dead squadmates then filled his mind and forced him to grimace. They had all done very well on their first trial too, even making it through with no deaths. That had changed of course. At least the fight seemed fair for both sides this time, rather than the complete ambush Heike's squad had been lured into. Filled with determination to avenge his brothers once more, he climbed higher up the slope, hoping his voice would reach farther. If these people rescued him, maybe they would have an extra weapon. Maybe he could help them fight too.

"HEEEEEY! TEN BANDITS IN TOTAL! I'M A SURVIVOR, HELP!"

He frowned as the echo of his own voice reached him, he really did sound like a damn woman. It also felt a little too much like begging. Perhaps it was exactly that.

Maybe they would rescue him in time, maybe not, but beggars can't be choosers.

---

The training had been brutal, not that it was hard to avoid his mentor just the fact on how hard she actually hit. To be honest, Hiro was too surprised by Hirotsuka's stregth and speed as she did not appear that way from first glance at all. "I think we should take the safe path. It may take longer but at least it won't mean certain death," Hiro stated, his mind getting back on track with the mission to retrieve the sword. The bloodied bodies only reinforced his opinion more, not wanting to end up like the first squad that came through the area. However, that was before the sound of a screaming woman peirced the air, catching Hiro's full attention. "Sounds like someone is warning us, not to mention in trouble. I believe we should investigate this," he stated, pulling out his bow.

If this was a survivor then it could do very well to have said survivor on their side, information on the bandits and such. However, Hiro would merely do it because it was in his nature to help those less fortunate, or more fortunate. Regardless, if his squad disagreed then Hiro would go it alone and regroup with them at a later time.

The squad of Trignita was led by Illian to a courtyard that was closer to the north end of the castle, but equidistant between the east and west sides. The halls of the palace that the sqauds stayed in wrapped from the main hall in the south where the main entrance was all the way around the east and west ends, meeting at either side of The Garden of Blades.

The training grounds of the royal guard seemed rather appropriately named, as the wide grassy courtyard had several areas where old weapons and shields had been stabbed into the ground. These placements of arms actually appeared artistically pleasing, and were each surrounded by beds of flowers, and finally labeled with a plaque. Inspection of these signs would depict the names of great fighters and leaders in Jotenvarr history, including their birth and death dates. The bright sun shone with unforgiving intensity upon most of the courtyard, save for the southern end, where the walls of the palace would block the light if one was to stand against them.

Standing in the center of the garden alone when Trignita entered was a rather tall and heavily armored man with a long blonde ponytail, and a spear. Upon arrival, Illian explained that the man in the courtyard would be the issuer of their second trial, and that she would meet with them again afterwards, leaving the team in the presence of the knight. Those familiar with history and those who have trained in the knight's academy knew him as Grand General Davos, the leader of the Jotenvarr armed forces. As Trignita approached the center of the garden, Davos looked upon them and spoke.

"If you have passed the first of Illian's tests, then you already have an expectation to meet." He stated with the blunt force of truth as he stood at attention towards the group, his hands folded in front of him and his spear impaled into the ground beside him. "For those of you who do not know, I am Grand General Davos. And I will be overseeing your second exam. At the conclusion of your testing, you will all participate in a tournament by order of his Majesty King Alexandro, to determine whom shall be awarded a position in the Royal Guard. It is for this reason that I believe that a test of your combat skills now is necessary. If you cannot match the might of a Royal Guard, then you do not deserve to join their ranks." Davos rose one hand and let lose a loud snap between his fingers, and the shuffling of feet and clanking of armor marched its way from the southern doors to the center of the courtyard. Standing before Trignita now was six guards, clad in the royal crests of Jotenvarr and carrying various different weapons. The first three wore metal armor not dissimilar to that of Davos's though less decorated. One carried a sword, one an axe, and one a lance. Two of the other three wore lighter armor made of studded leather and plate straps. One stood with a bow stowed across their torso, and the other had several daggers tucked away along the outsides of their legs. The last of the guards wore lavish robes and held a tome in one hand, and a staff in the other.

"You shall each test your skills against one of my soldiers. Those who best or hold their own in a duel here will move on to the second stage of this exam. Let us begin." Davos nodded towards the assassin guard, who nodded in return. The other five guards took a large step away from the soon-to-be arena, and the assassin drew a dagger, pointing it at Claude.

"Give me this one." He demanded as he pulled his hood over his head, obscuring his eyes as he tilted his face down. "A lumbering fool like him will not keep up with me."

The challenge from the assassin made the mercenary smile, showing all of his pointy teeth. Like last time, the man was wearing his large brown coat, wasn't wearing a shirt and was still wearing his sunglasses.

"Well, this lumbering fool will cut ya down to size." He cracked his knuckles as he approached the assassin.

He then took the sword hanging from his hip and pointed it at the man before him. "So, your gay little knives against my sword? Now, I wanna see how that goes for you. They are gonna BEG me to be in the Royal Guard after I'm done sweeping your ass across the floor!"

The man declared and then hunched his back as he prepared to leap at the assassin before him.

"Then... let's get wild." Despite his excited smile just then and boisterous behavior, the mercenary's smiling face soon faded away and he turned quite serious.

His eyes narrowed, his muscles tensed. The grip on his sword tightened. The muscles of his legs tensed as he prepared to leap forward towards the assassin. Any lesser man would feel intimidated by the sheer power his skill and experience gave him. Almost like fighting a bear, once someone said that to him.

Certainly, he knew never to understimate an opponent, no matter who they were. Even if he was arrogant, he wouldn't let his arrogancy become the end of him.

He could afford one or two knives digging into his skin, so he wasn't too worried. He would simply jump forward and crush his opponent with overwhelming force. He had always done it like that and would continue to do so until he was actually half dead.

---

Of course, she too was kind of tired from the training, but she definitely had it a lot less harsher than the others.

Her horse was trying her best to keep her balanced on her back. Joan constantly brushed her hair with her hands and praised her. Without a doubt, this rocky trail was hard on her.

"Don't worry, dear, we are almost there. Hang in there for a little while longer, all right?"

The squad that was left in tatters was definitely unsettling. Joan's eyes widened at the sight of it.

She offered a small prayer for the dead before going on her way. Perhaps the other bandits were still near? Certainly, that possibility was kind of frightening. Even more so if they only took female prisoners.

Joan held her staff tightly against herself. She was reminded of how her own squad was annihilated. She hadn't tell the others, but the sight of the bodies still hunted her every night. She even held one of her stuffed animals under the covers so that she could fall asleep.

The feminine shout from the mountains made her turn to the source of it. A blonde girl.

"Don't worry, we'll save you!" She shouted. "Let me accompany you, sire Hiro! Unworthy as I may be."

It had been a hard month for Tybalt, training had been a hellstorm of activity for the young mage. Every morning he would be up at the crack of dawn to Lady Hirotsuka’s orders to be suited up to train with the cavaliers. He had tasted dirt many times from falling off of the horse to a training spear leveled into him by a cavalier. This would continue until Tybalt could no longer hold himself upright on the steed and he would be excused from continuing. From there he would either lose consciousness from the endless beatings or struggle back onto a horse. To improve his physical stature to maintain such training he was given intensive physical regiments to condition him. jogging, leaping, crawling, jumping, any physical activity that Lady Hirotsuka had thought up before the afternoon came. He found new bruises lining his body every day, his skin now flecked with cuts and lacerations from the intensive physical exercise his indignant noble form had not been used to.

And yet every morning Tybalt woke with a smarmy, enthusiastic grin on his face. He knew this was for the greater good, and no amount a pain would ruin his optimism. Even after he was excused from the cavalier’s training area, his training did not stop. He would force himself to keep conscious after the physical strains, spending time in his room studying spells and memorizing tomes on battlefield strategies that won wars. Every day Lady Hirotsuka would physically destory him, and every knight he would rack his mind with new insights, and it had left him with impressive results. Not only had his spellcasting improved, but he was physically improved as well. He actually had muscle definition thanks to the training with the cavaliers, his body now displaying a toned muscular frame. His hands were calloused from using the training lances given to him by Lady Hirotsuka, making his physical stature just as ready for combat as his magical prowess. Every day brought new improvements, moments that he savored as a learning experience, from throwing a fireball to taking another plummet off of his training steed to the floor, Tybalt had worked extremely hard to continue improving himself.

One way or another, Tybalt was only strengthened in his resolve that he would be on that Royal Knights roster, for himself and his family’s sake.

And yet, even with all this improvement, the Dragon’s Back was still a grueling hike. The rocky terrain made any face quicker than a crawl exhausting, the terrain not really allowing for any cushioning of their feet. Nevertheless, Tybalt made every attempt to press on, his unwavering confidence pushing him forward even as he sweat through his fine silk tunic.

Upon hearing Hiro’s suggestion, Tybalt nodded in agreement. “I agree, Sir Hiro, that is a sound plan. We have no time budget for this quest, it’s best we take the safer route and come back alive from i--”

His words were cut off when the bodies came into view, the squad known as Septem laying before them in a mangled pile of blood and limbs, their faces marred in fear. Tybalt's features softened, it had not been often that he had lingered around after a fight, to see its remnants was truly a gruesome and saddening sight. What were the last thoughts these men had before they were killed? Was it family? Lovers? Regrets? Truly it did not matter, but the thought alone was ever so haunting, a reminder of the consequences for failure.

“Poor souls…” Tybalt murmured as he grabbed his trusty arcfire, advancing on the pile. “At least a cremation will be a better end than rotting out here…”

However, before he was able to throw the spell, there was a chorus of screaming and shouting, causing the mage to abandon his remorseful action and look to the sounds. There was a figure coming their way, screaming for help. It was a woman from the sounds of it, screaming that she was a survivor running from bandits. Tybalt raised a brow, lowering the rag as he left the corpse pile to face the woman. He had heard that Septem squad consisted of six, and there were only five bodies to speak of. Was this the survivor?

However, Tybalt was not one to blindly trust anyone in this environment. He had been warned by Lady Hirotsuka that this had been an area run by bandits, and there was no guarantee this was even the survivor of Septum, or a bandit. Not to mention that Septem was an all-male squad, and this woman was saying she was a survivor. Even bound, this could still be some sort of ruse to cause them to lower their guard, and Tybalt was not looking to take chances.

“Wait, Sir Hiro, Lady Joan,” Tybalt murmured to the pair. “I agree in investigating the claim, but Septem was an all male squad. We don’t know who this woman is affiliated with. Let's all investigate together, but keep your distance with her and keep your wits about you. I'd rather not find out she's part of some bandit ambush the hard way.”

He took pace after the archer and Valkyrie, calling out to the woman. “We're on our way up! Try and make your way towards us if you can!”

It was a challenging month for Alexandria and her trusty Wyvern. To put it mildly. The training regimen for Alexandria and the amethyst Wyvern were difficult, as they had to train both in avoiding arrows and dealing with sword users with Wyrm Slayers. But they endured the training where most others would've failed the harsh combat practice. But the regimens weren't the worst part of the whole month long ordeal. No, her biggest ordeal was that she changed squads every few days after team members quit or died, so the odd pair had to be transferred from Squad to squad until finally on the noon before the second trial she was to be sent to Squad Septem for the second trial... After they have already left for the trial. To say the lack of structural among the squads left a bad taste in her month would be putting it very mildly. IF she had to say what the taste tasted like it would be of old rotten bear meat covered in Pegasus shi- oh wait what's that up the path? It looks a Squad, and some dead bodies.

Alexandria walked Vivienne next to the piles of dead bodies, noticing the symbols on them proving that they were part of the Squads sent out to do a trial, five dead bodies but one was missing. It looks the priest is missing, Alexandria sighs softly which caused Vivienne to growl lowly almost purring as to calm down Alexandria, if only she was here faster then she might've been able to help Squad Septem. As normally Alexandria and Vivienne would be flying above the mountain range to better scout the lower areas for archers and brigans, and arrived much quickly then have been but this gods damne blizzard made it too dangerous to fly for extended amounts of time, she may be a skilled flyer but even she can't go though these strong winds and lack of visibility without risking her and Vivienne's lives. Alexandria looked up ahead seeing the still living squad, it looks like they arrived here early if the frozen blood around the Squad Septem was any indication.

Alexandria walked Vivienne a distance a ways from the still living Squad with a short ax equipped and asked, "I hope dears, that your all part of a Squad training to become the King's royal guard. Other wise, you will have a bad time with Vivienne and my Ax."

Hyakuya could more or less claim that being shot at was not a good experience but it wasn't entirely foreign to him either. As someone who fought in the war, he could confidently say that he had his fair share of arrows being stuck between his scales. The problem was, he was never attacked by a ton of arrows at once and expect to actually live after it. Well, fortunately for him, because of his old age and battle experience, he had managed to live through it.

To say that there was no improvement would be a lie. Not only had he gotten used to dodging arrows and shooting fire at them for it to melt, he had also noticed that his scales were growing tougher, stronger and more durable. Every day, he would thank Hirotsuka for the training and then limp off to Joan for her to heal him. He had also noticed that he was the one who went to her the most because of his injuries. Hyakuya wasn't sure if Hirotsuka was going easy on them or was just going extra hard on him because his training was being rained by arrows.

There were multiple instances that Hyakuya wanted to turn into a dragon and keep himself low to the ground while flying so he wouldn't need to endure the hike of Dragon's Back. But that would be very unfair to his squadmates, he thought, so he kept the thought to him and continued to walk. He was having as much trouble as his squadmates but he didn't mind. After all, he was forced to walk long distances when he was with the bandits when younger so he was used to it. When they were going for a decision to either climb the safe path or not, they all stopped.

Bodies lying on the ground, motionless. Their blood smeared the ground below. Five men, one missing. Well that was odd, they were a group of men weren't they? So where was the other one. So very odd. Hyakuya walked behind Tybalt to go for a closer inspection when Alexandria came into view. "We are squad Quinque, sent her to rendezvous with Squad Septem but it seems they have failed to survive an attack." He told her so she would not attack them.

A scream. Female. His ears twitched and he turned to where the sound originally came from. She was saying that she was a survivor from the bandits. Was she really? Was she claiming that she was part of Squad Septem which was compromised of only men? Or was she a bandit trying to lower their guard? These thoughts ran through the Manakete's mind as he watched Hiro and Joan rush to aid her with Tybalt explaining that she might be a trap. A most wise decision. "I'll keep to the rear then." He said as he followed behind their tactician once more, his hand wrapped around his stone, ready to transform any time.

With the tip of a great-sword only inches from his face, the assassin's demeanor remained hidden underneath his hood as he slowly lowered his hand and dagger to his side, taking a position of ease instead of one of battle readiness. After a long pause and no response to Claude's comments, the man lunged forward suddenly. The on lookers of Trignita, the Royal Guard, and Davos would be sure that the assassin would immediately impale his own head on Claude's blade if he didn't completely vanish as he lunged.

The streak of dark grays left behind were barely visible to those who believed they were even there, as the assassin reappeared behind Claude in almost the same instant that he lunged, crouching low with his dagger ready to strike. "Normally, I would end you silently, but you need to be taught a lesson," he remarked as he rocketed into a standing position and thrust his small blade up towards the back right side of Claude's neck.

Needless to say, Claude anticipated his intial strike to be dodged. What made assassins so cumbersome was not their brute strength, like with a mercenary or axe fighter, but their speed.

He was faster than most, Claude would give him that. However, the mercenary was more reckless and crazy than most too.

The incoming knife to his throat would've been nigh impossible to dodge, but that wasn't the plan since the start.

Claude's fighting style, as it should have been obvious to his squad, was one handed. He lunged forward his sword using only his right hand, while his left hand was left hanging by the side, in case something like this happened.

He put his hand right in front of the incoming knife, it piercing through his flesh and perhaps even breaking a bone or two. Still, the mercenary gulped it all down and took the man's hand, knife and all.

"Yo, got nothing better than that?" His grip was cruel and relentless. Despite his injury, the man's strength had all but faded away. "Because if it is, I'll sob for poor king Alexandro, yo!"

The man shouted, grinning again. The thrill of battle and of getting injured. It was one of the best feeling for the mercenary, and many looked at him the wrong way for this.

He took his right arm back, spun his sword around and them aimed to jam it in the assassin's foot, to stop him. Afterwards, he would take his sword back, take a step forward and would plant his foot firmly on the floor. With the Assassin now in his grasp, he could most certainly not escape from his next attack.

He would swing his arm, along with the assassin, overhead and then slam him against the floor right in front of himself.

After hitting the floor, Claude would go on to hit the man's face with the hilt of his sword to knock him out.

If the assassin got out of his grasp by any kind of miracle, Claude would step back and see what his next move would be. These Royal Guard folks couldn't possibly be pushovers if they were tasked with protecting the oh-so-all-mighty-king.