The slash of Gauss’ blade would easily have taken my head off if I hadn’t tripped on a rock and fell to my knees. The man was relentless, already pulling back and getting ready for another swing at my head. I rolled to the left but he stopped me by placing a heavy boot on my upper leg. His blade was coming down now and my only option was to roll up and grasp him by the waist like a little child.

How had it come to this? Hadn’t father taught me to be a better fighter? All of those sword forms, all of those hours of practice, were now gone. The polearm I had abandoned only moments ago was nothing like the sword. It was like I had never held a weapon in my life. It didn’t help that this heavy armored man, obviously a master at dueling, was trying to kill me in the most brutal way possible.

“I yield, I yield! I cried, gripping tightly to his greaves.

Gauss pulled back his leg and kicked me off of him with ease. I landed on my side, another rock in the training field buried itself into my ribs which were still very tender. Maybe it would be best if I just laid here and died. Then I would for sure be done with this living hell.

But wait, that was suicide and suicide was a mortal sin. I wouldn’t be accepted into the gates of heaven. But was it suicide if there was literally nothing else I could do to fight this beast of a man? But down deep, I knew this wasn’t true. I still had fight in me, even though it wouldn’t be near enough.

Gauss took two giant strides towards me, his greatsword dragging on the ground which was a clear maneuver to intimidate me. It worked.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to piss myself and would have done so if it wasn’t for Gauss already coming down with yet another strike. How in the world did he handle such a heavy sword with so much ease?

I rolled as quickly as I could but was not fast enough. The sword caught my linen shirt, pinning it to the ground. I tried to pull the shirt over my head but felt a hard kick to my ribs which ripped the caught shirt and ejected me a few feet. The aching of my poor ribs was back and I prayed to God that they hadn’t broken again.

And again, Gauss was on me like a relentless animal. Lucky for me, the oncoming swipe of his blade would kill me and I decided that God surely wouldn’t count this as suicide. This final attack would be my ticket out of this mess.

I closed my eyes and waited to be met by angels to take my spirit into heaven. I heard the swish of his blade and surprised myself when a small smile crept across my face. However, something strange happened in that moment. Without any help from my brain, my right arm moved on its own placing itself right in front of my face. I caught Gauss’s steel on my forearm which came back and slammed me in the nose.

Bloodshot out from my nostrils in a thin stream as I turned to my side and then onto my hands and knees. I bent my head into the ground but cursed when my horns stuck in the dirt. Their presence was a stiff awkward feeling. The only way to describe what it was like having horns, besides the dreadful appearance of them, was like that of two large teeth sticking out of your skull that just wouldn’t stop growing. I hadn’t had a chance to look at my appearance as of yet but doubted I really wanted to at this point.

“I’ve seen enough,” came a voice that was not near as deep as Gauss’. “The boy has proven enough to me that he isn’t a danger to Leader Nagheed. Now, please train him properly.”

“Yes, Captain Adino,” Gauss said, bowing his head.

“And Gauss,” added the voice with no face. I decided I didn’t even care to look up at the man who was talking. What would be the point? He was just another stranger who would most likely end up my enemy.

“Yes, Captain Adino?”

“Give this boy a proper rest. Make certain he is comfortable, fully healed, properly fed and dressed. He’s one of us now.”

Did he say rest? Food? Who was this man? I pulled my horns from the ground and watched a man place his hand on the shoulder of Gauss who was slightly taller than him. He wore a dark brown beard and had long semi-curly brown hair. His face was kind although it had one nasty vertical scar on his lips and a nose that looked to have been broken more than once.

“Of course, Captain Adino.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, Gauss? You’re at a high enough rank and can just call me Adino.”

The man turned to me and winked. “You’re in good hands, kid. Gauss will make you the best warrior the Order of Refuge has seen yet!” Adino winked again and shouted, “For the Almighty!”

And with that, he walked away.

I was stunned, resting there on my hands and knees panting like a dog. That man had been the epitome of glory and what was I? Some dirty wretch with demonic horns sticking out of my head. What did they want with me? Why not find someone less… satanic?

Gauss spun his greatsword in one hand and placed it into the sheath on his back with one crisp movement. He bent low and helped me to my feet. Why was everyone treating me so nicely now? Couldn’t they just make up their minds? I was getting sick of thinking I was going to die, I mean REALLY believing my life was at an end, just to be shown mercy and kindness.

“Deborah will see you to your room,” Gauss said, lifting me to my feet. “You will rest now and begin your mental training soon.”

“What’s mental training?” I asked him, a little bit of the blood from my nose making it into my mouth. The taste of iron made me want to vomit.

“You know. Books and scripture. You will study in our library. I will come to you when it is time to wield your polearm once again.”

Deborah was leaning against the wall of the exit of the arena. She was the same girl from the first night who had killed Jonni’s demon, but this time she didn’t wear a hood over her face. She wasn’t looking at me but I was looking at her. She was a very beautiful girl indeed. Long locks of golden blond hair, a pointy nose sprinkled with a few freckles, and bright green eyes that doubled as acid when she finally glared at me. I couldn’t help but gulp. I made a small prayer to the Almighty to reduce the lust in my heart.

Feeling embarrassed at how weak and puny I looked, I glanced away, not wishing to meet her eyes anymore. We didn’t say a word to one another as she started to walk off. Gauss gestured for me to follow and so I did.

She led me down unfamiliar halls that were completely empty aside from the rats that squeaked and ran away as we got close to them. Deborah stopped at a tall red door with a brass doorknob that had long ago turned green.

“Here,” she said, turning and walking away. I didn’t even have a chance to thank her.

I opened the door without caution. Nothing could have been worse than fighting Gauss on the sands of their training arena. The door slid open with ease and without creaking. The room was dark for only a moment before candles flicked on without me having to light them. This would have shocked me if I hadn’t been so damned tired.

However, the room itself was beautiful and nothing I had ever seen before. The floor was carpeted red and the walls were covered with similar paintings I had seen before. I noticed a small altar that held a pile of old parchments which I guessed to be scriptures. The best part of the room was the ginormous bed! One that I would become acquainted with very soon.

As I entered the room I noticed a goblet that held an array of different sized spheres. There was a variety of colors including orange, blue, green, red, yellow, and even black and white if one considered those actual colors.

They looked like little candies and, like a child, I reached out to grab one… but a wrinkled hand caught mine before I could do so.

I had figured nothing could have scared me any longer but I had been wrong. I yelped and fell on my backside, scrambling back to get away. An elderly man’s face came out of the shadows and smiled at me. How had I not noticed him before?

“I thought I heard someone come in!” said the man, his eyes a foggy blue.

“Are you… are you blind?” I asked him, my voice a little shaky.

The man frowned and shook his head. “Damn this youth of today. So rude! You meet a man for the first time and all you can do is speak of his ailments!”

“Sorry,” I said, standing up. My knees wobbled a bit and I was afraid I may fall over. “You’re in my room without permission. Wouldn’t you call that rude?”

“Oh, this is your room, is it? I thought it was the latrine.” The old man gave a smile and I saw that he was missing a few of his teeth.

“Who exactly are you?” I asked.

The old man chuckled, “Why, I’m Judge Samuel! But please, just call me Sam. I’ll be taking over your studies in alchemy and the Almighty!”

Sam, as he called himself, laughed at his own joke realizing that things like alchemy and the Almighty didn’t quite mix. His laugh turned into a sigh and he gave me a crazed look as if expecting me to laugh as well. It didn’t look like I was going to be getting any sleep tonight.