"So, what exactly happened to me?" Frey asked as he left the Blood Forest with Doevm.

"You got infected." Doevm said. They both had their new equipment from Kilot. The metal looked similar to regular steel but was much stronger if it clashed together with it. Their spear shafts were a dark red with a plain smooth grip. Frey's thin metal armor was reinforced with roots from the plant that tried to kill him. Their spatial rings held a lot of food and clothing and was tucked tight into their leather bags. The golden spear had been left behind with Kilot. At Doevm's hip was a new dagger. The hilt looked normal, but both he and Frey knew the blade more than made up for it.

"Kilot said you were done for." Doevm continued. "You were out for an entire day and screaming about how you would avenge your brothers. Just when you were about to die, the plant let go and died. You sat up. Kilot said you were a descendent of Arthur, the past hero. You inherited his power to eat souls and awakened it to eat the plant's soul."

"I guess that's why I have a splitting headache with pain worse than the one in my side." Frey held his forehead. "My vision is still blurry."

"And I'm a little angry," Doevm hissed. "You took an unnecessary risk there. You could have just forced the man to cut down the tree yourself instead of trying to copy my tricks."

"But Jameson said I should copy your tricks." Frey argued while adjusting his armor. "This is a little tight in the crotch."

"Just beat your opponents with your overwhelming strength. That's all you need to do. When Jameson said to learn tricks from me, he meant that you should fight dirty, not with your head. I fight with my head because I'm weak. If I were like you, I would blast through my opponents."

"Alright." Frey held his new spear up to the light. "But do you think my weapon can handle it? Whenever I put my full strength behind one of the guards' spears, they broke."

"You broke your spear with a single swing?" Doevm raised an eyebrow.

"Well, more like a dozen swings." Frey swung his new spear around as they talked. "But I think this one will last a little longer."

"It better have. We paid a lot for that spear to be made." He lied. "And you almost died. If you break it, it had better be for a good reason such as over an enemy general's head." They chatted until they were out of the Blood Forest. Doevm held out the map and determined the direction they should go in.

"How long until we get to the battlefront?" Frey asked.

"It depends." Doevm said as he watched a carriage roll towards them. Three horses pulled a simple cloth-covered carriage along. "We can walk, or we can get a ride." He walked in front of the carriage and waved his arms. The driver stopped and glared at them.

"Aren't you two a little young to be out here by yourselves? I hear there's a gang of raiders around here, just waiting to ambush somebody." His hands were shaking on the reins.

"We were drafted." Doevm held up the letter Reginald gave him. "We're heading towards the battlefront, but we got lost. If you're heading to the same place and it's OK with you, can we tag along?"

"I don't know..." The driver signaled for Doevm to get closer, who obeyed. "Between you and me, the two passengers are a little...um...nuts."

"Driver." As if on cue, a deep voice rang out from the inside of the carriage. "What's the holdup? Our mission cannot be delayed." The carriage shook as a brown-robed man hopped out.

"Ashtehar?" Doevm asked. "Is that you?"

"That is my name." Ashtehar said. "But I do not recognize you. Are you a prophet sent to me by the goddess of good?"

"No. You saved me a little over a decade ago. Remember the kid you took into the Virility household? They made me a servant, and I got drafted into the year-long war."

"That's fantastic! Truly, the goddess moves in marvelous ways. And your name was..."

"Doevm." Doevm sighed. "You don't remember me at all do you?"

"Not one bit." Ashtehar laughed. "Nevertheless, the goddess has allowed us to cross paths again. You say you are heading into the war, and so are we. Hop on and we'll exchange stories to pass the time." Doevm looked back at Frey and winked. They both hopped inside the carriage to see a white-robed boy hiding in the back. Doevm took the hint and sat far from him, but Frey sat across from Doevm right next to the boy. Ashtehar jumped in, and the carriage took off once again.

"Doevm," Ashtehar said. "Who's your friend? Is he a mage?" He leaned forward. Doevm could picture drool coming down the war monk's wide chin.

"I'm just a gua-" Doevm elbowed Frey. "I'm a servant like Doevm. We both got drafted."

"That's interesting." Ashtehar stroked his chin. "Because you both certainly don't look like servants. Both of your bodies are covered in muscle."

Frey stared at Doevm, who said, "We both served as guards for a while, but we got fired a couple of months ago. We both kept in shape and kept our weapons."

"What a benevolent man that Reginald Virility is. Tell me, he has looked paler every year I visit him. Now that you're separated from him, can you tell me if he was getting sick? I thought it rude to ask him to his face."

'But gossip is OK?' Doevm thought. 'You war monks really are the ultimate hypocrites.' "He was just worried about his son. Speaking of children," Doevm terribly transitioned to, "Who's this?" He said as he pointed to the white-robed child in the back.

"That's my new apprentice, Oliver." Ashtehar said as he puffed his chest out. "He's been gifted with strong light magic and will be serving in the war as a healer."

"Oh," Doevm nodded, pretending to be interested. He tried to think of more to say but couldn't think of anything.

"Yes," Ashtehar continued, completely oblivious to the awkwardness. Both Oliver and Frey were watching in silence, hoping no one would drag them into the conversation. "He's even in the blue realm." He stared at them both, expecting awe but receiving blank expressions. "The blue realm, you know, something incredible for people of Oliver's age."

'Is a blue realm something to be proud of?' Doevm thought. 'I'm already far beyond that even though all my magic was reset.'

"Oh," Ashtehar sighed. "Silly me, I forgot you two aren't mages." He kept gloating expecting more praise. "Do you want to know what the blue realm is?"

'I want to feed you to the Blood Trees and wipe my memories of you with a grindstone.' "No Ashtehar, I have no idea what the blue realm is. Please explain it to us."

"Very well, it seems as if I have no choice but to educate you two in our ways. Every mage starts out in a white realm, much like Oliver's robe." Oliver tightened his hood around his face. "It usually takes a year to make it to the next realm, the pink realm, but Oliver did it in six months. The next is the blue realm, which takes two years to advance, but Oliver did it in a year and six months."

"Wow, that all seems very impressive Ashtehar. Did he accomplish it all under your expert tutelage?"

"Don't be silly." Ashtehar leaned back. "It was all the goddess's doing. She led me to him. She gave me the knowledge to teach him. If he advanced any slower, that would be an insult to the goddess."

"I think I understand." Doevm nodded and put his bag under his legs. "The blue realm is amazing, and any lower is bad."

"It's not just bad." Ashtehar stood up and got closer to Doevm, who inched his hand closer to his dagger. "An insult to the goddess is not just words. It is blasphemy." As he talked, his chest got higher and he straightened up. "You outsiders wouldn't understand. Blasphemy is not tolerated in our sect. To fail is to deny our goddess's wishes. Her will is good. To fail to uphold justice is a sin. Oliver is strong because she demands it! No less, but always more! I will give my life for the goddess and my very soul! Oliver reflects the goddess's favor in me. I will not let that favor be weak!"

"I understand." Doevm said softly as he slowly backed away.

"Master," Oliver piped up. "P-Please don't hurt them. They are just ignorant, not blasphemous."

Ashtehar seemed to snap out of his trance. He looked at his hand, which was balled up in a fist, then at Doevm, who was directly below him. Frey even had a spear to Ashtehar's throat: "I'm sorry." He said. "I am often accused of being heavily dogmatic when I'm just enthusiastic. Please accept my apology."

"I accept it." Doevm laid down on the bench. "But don't let it happen again."