Valaris watched the aeter-made spheres assimilate with the trainees. He counted through the silence and rested his eyes, separating from the cheers that followed. He allowed the celebration to persist a little as well, masking a smile in admiration of the youth in front of him.

With a deep breath, the Senior Knight whispered to the aeter in his body. It coursed to his arm, now raised as a symbol of authority. He waited another moment, and snapped his fingers immediately after. The sound drummed against the trainees in formation, causing them to falter and wane from cheers to groans. They held to their ears in pain and straightened a little later with crumpled expressions.

Valaris stomped his foot with a loud thud, tremoring the gridded formation once more. His aeter flooded through the veins underneath the soil and manifested in shape against thirty-two of the hundred trainees. They rose in pillars and stopped once level with the Senior Knight.

“I feel compelled to address the lot of you first. Just know that there is no shame in not possessing any form of combat potential,” said Valaris, kindly. “We stand on the backs of several classes outside the field of battle and they aren’t treated as lesser individuals. The Lord of Fire you chattered on about some time ago stands among them, for example. But perhaps it is now time to explore a different path, still in service of our Empire, merely different.”

The failed trainees reflected an aura of disappointment. Their heads lowered with shame, and their shoulders slumped with a sense of helplessness. It meant many things, many stories. Valaris embraced the regret, allowing it to fester even.

“But if you think this decision unwise…I am willing to offer those interested another opportunity,” said Valaris, suddenly.

The trainees perked at the suggestion, wiping away their tears in haste. They gulped and trained their eyes on the Senior Knight, ears sharpened and in silence.

“In worship we strengthen, in worship we walk the path of blood,” recited Valaris, in continuation. “By design, we apply this logic to a variety of professions and roles in the Godvildian Empire. Do you know why that is?”

Valaris lowered his head to offer a moment of thought to those who had failed the test. He didn’t expect an answer, but feigned expectation, nonetheless. The trainees looked to each other in puzzlement, some scratching their heads, and others fidgety with nervous energy. The Senior Knight cleared his throat and straightened for an answer but held to his breath instead. He raised an eyebrow, watching an arm wave from side to side, at a distance, and with enthusiasm.

“One moment, please,” said Valaris. He counted to the back and manipulated the pillar to a bend, pulling a silver-haired individual to the front. “Well, he certainly looks unusual.”

“Ah, apologies, I mean, well, for the interjection that is,” said Rollo, with a laugh. He wore an almost child-like demeanour and only eased to a state of calm in some time, sharper now. “Are you perhaps referring to the Trial of Castor Argonaut?”

Valaris twitched around the temples a little. “You’re aware of something obscure…I won’t deny it, but yes. The trial exists due to the contributions of High King Argonaut.”

“My father was an admirer; never missed an opportunity to speak of the man’s greatness,” revealed Rollo, truthfully. “The Godvildian blacksmith, long denied by Ehedus, who restructured his aeter construct and developed a nation as mighty as the Godvildian Empire…tell me, why is his story obscure?”

Valaris sighed out loud and rested to an easy expression. He pulled on the earthen pillar in front of him once more, drawing the silver-haired individual to an arm’s length from him.

“The dead, they’re easily forgotten,” whispered Valaris. “Perhaps more so upon the extinction of an entire race. I’m sure you’re aware, yes?”

“Quite well,” said Rollo, in a whisper as well. “Pay me no heed. I’m merely a provocateur, a bad habit, I think.”

Valaris’ lips lowered on the sides, almost invisibly. His eyes averted to the many who had passed, and then again at those in front of him.

“Let’s all go down, then,” suggested Valaris, stomping on the pillar authoritatively. He shattered the aeter framework that kept the earthen pillars erect, softening the soil for an easy descent. He demanded attention next, with a loud and deliberate cough. The Senior Knight continued as the trainees hurriedly returned to formation. “In worship we strengthen, in worship we walk the path of blood…the saying is more a rule that applies to all of Mioverold. It offers a path, a road for breakthrough and opportunity.

“High King Castor Argonaut achieved this feat first, by forcing away from the role of a blacksmith to pioneer the age of a new race – the High Humans. You may educate yourselves further in the Village Library; the Trial of Castor Argonaut is a good read…”

The Senior Knight reeled from the speech and paused for the benefit of the trainees. He scanned the formation and noticed their eyes on him, clear and without doubt.

“We’ve since used the story to create a separate test, simple yet elegant,” continued Valaris. “You may force your way into class through a trial by combat.”

***

Daiden tensed at the sight of thirty-two trainees rising with the earth to meet with Senior Knight Valaris. He stiffened further when Rollo moved to the front for a barely audible conversation. His heart relaxed when they returned to formation, with the silver-haired individual at his side.

“Hey, hey!” whispered Daiden, with his eyes straight ahead. “Are you listening?”

“Were you worried about me?” asked Rollo, with a soft chuckle. “How cute.”

“There’s something I want to confirm,” said Daiden, breezing past the former’s comment. “Why did Ser Valaris twitch at the mention of that book…the Trial of Castor Argonaut, was it?”

Rollo brightened a little with the question. He gazed at Daiden from the corner of his eye, impressed. “Very good! I’m surprised you even noticed.”

“I was right then?” asked Daiden, curiously.

“Well, in part,” admitted Rollo, with a slight shrug. “The Godvildian Empire omits a lot more than it hides. They played a big part in what caused the extinction of the High Humans, the Noxun Empire as well, of course. I may have touched a nerve by forcing him to divulge more than was necessary to the trainees.”

“Shit! Did I maybe ask the wrong question?” thought Daiden, swallowing back on a lump in his throat. “He sounds just as angry for some reason…ah, none of my business, I suppose.”