Joshua heeded the words of Iacus, heading back to Mulligan.Seeing some change of environment, and even seeing Raizel floating in front of him.

"Ah, so this is your trial. Oh... Oh...That's a lot of emotional dread and devastation here. Seems like you went through hell, you aren't the first and hopefully not the last. There's no need for words now is there? Come follow me, I've gotten a slight tingle in my bones." Raizel said as he floated away, Joshua was trying to figure out where was the bones on Raizel. He's a tome, so where would his bones be?

Joshua followed Raizel around, he could not run. That usually means more items have spawned, though what Joshua ended up going was the horse stables that was near here. Joshua could see a horse that was strolling about.

"There... It seems your friend Johana was famed as a horseman. It is a very special creature... This one is a Spectral Horse." It was a horse with a black coat and Raizel's explanation was brief, but this horse. It does not look any different than anything else.

"Spectral Horses are a unique breed. These horses will follow in accordance to their master, a creature with a temperament. Spectral Horses are like a ghost, one cannot feel their pressence unless they call for it." Raizel explained as the horse charged at Joshua head on, fading away into black smoke upon making contact with his body.

"It was very attached to Johana, and it seems. To have been the memory of the horse that she had before." Raizel continued with his explanation, seeing the spectral horse appear on the opposite end of the road, this made Joshua think about what he needed to do.

The spectral horse galloped to Joshua and he stood there. He didn't fight it or did he evade. When the horse stopped in front of him, Joshua was still scratching his head.

"Your name... It was Beauty wasn't it? Just like that book. I remember when Johana told me she had always loved a beautiful black colt. Her grandpa called you little blackie but Johana always called you Beauty. You... You died because someone burned the horse stable down and I remember Johana not coming to school for days. She even had a lock of your hair made into a keychain." Joshua's words reached the horse, lowering its neck and meeting Joshua's eyes.

Blinking twice as it let out a neigh, then rubbing its nose over Joshua's hand. Then snorting as it raised its neck to look at Joshua.

"It's ready. This horse is ready to be your familiar." Joshua touched the reigns and watched as Beauty transformed properly. The horse was still in its majestic midnight colours but the mane glowed azure. The hooves glowed violet, and inscriptions of white over its body.

The Horse itself must be named.

"How does Zephyr sound?" The horse snorted at Joshua, then followed up by a neigh.

"A fine name... So it seems that you've gained this one as your familiar." Raizel chattered away, as Joshua was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was talking to a tome.

Zephyr, the Memoir

Class Spectral Horse Level *Follows the Rider*

A horse that was once named Beauty based on a story written in the late 1870s. The horse of Johana, it remembers the words of its previous rider. The love and care.

Personality : Playful.

Familiar Skills

Spectre Able to turn into a ghost like being Neverending Stamina Does not tire at all Rider's call Can be summoned at any time and anywhere with a whistle Haunting Pressence Able to scare enemy mounts. Boundless Terror Combined with the Mask of Thorn's intimidation skills, can break enemy morale far easily.

The horse faded away, then Joshua whistled as the horse picked him up from below. He was riding on top it, complete with its own saddle and a shaffron that was similar to a bicorn's horns.

"Good. Seems to me that you're getting used to things. Now, let us make our way elsewhere." Raizel said as he guided Joshua to a path. Zephyr was comfortable and it was strolling along the path with no issues whatsoever.

"Would you like more details on anything?" Raizel asked.

"What's a Noir Dancer?" Joshua asked.

"A Noir Dancer, it is the highest class for the Death Dnacers. A Noir Dancer can only be granted to Death Dancer's that have undergone through a trial. A trial that requires for the Death Dancer to face the past Death Dancers and fight to the death. Failing it or being rejected by the Death Dancers leads to them losing their class and cannot do anything." Raizel explained.

"Then what about Cherry Blossoms?"

"Ah those... You see the First Lord of Thorns and the First Noir Dancer combined forces together, they ended up destroying a great evil. The First Noir Dancer died and in the last moments, gave the blades known as Cherry Blossoms to the First Lord. It is as a means of remembering them by."

"Why are you speaking vaguely? I know the First Lord was a he. Don't tell me the Noir Dancer didn't have a gender?"

"It is vague because there's been 3 conflicting accounts. Which were by the First Lord of Thorns himself. He called the Noir Dancer 'he' in one instance, then a 'she' in another and lastly 'they'. I am a Tome of Thorns but even I am not spared of lies and contradictions. It will be up to you to decide which is the truth and which is the lie." Raizel answered, chattering away with sarcasm in his words. It was like Raizel will never let Joshua know which is real and which is fake.

"Ah, we are here." Raizel led Joshua to a barren plain, one that Joshua does not know much about.

"By acquiring me, you've gotten access to the many parts of the past. Including the past Lords and Gardens. You are the 13th Lord who was given the title from the get-go, but the 82nd person to achieve such feat. What that means is that you are the 13th to be given upon clearing the Trial of Thorns, while the other remaining from the 82 minusing the 13 are Gardens that ascended to Lord upon reaching the required details. My purpose here, is to guide you and teach you in accordance to the will of the Goddess of Seasons. Your purpose, is to learn about what it means to be a Lord of Thorns. As humans have said, history is doomed to repeat if no one learns from it." Raizel rambled on, but Joshua kept hearing it. It was as if Raizel spoke with layered sentences.

The plains opened up, where Joshua finds himself in a cemetery of sorts. There were weapons strewn all around.

"Ah... This... This is new." Raizel said as they stepped in, this was like a graveyard of weapons of sorts. Swords, katanas, sabers, maces, iron clubs, stone clubs, spears, javelins, daggers.

"I do have a page on this. It is being written down as we speak. This is a Burial Ground for many swords. One that originated from the Avatar of Destruction. These blades are the many blades were moved by your resolve. However, these weapons have a different requirement than Ice Reaper. They will keep watch of your actions and one by one will materialize into the real world. These weapons are awaiting your actions. These weapons have followed the Avatar of Destruction through his many lives and reincarnations." Raizel read out loud, as he opened the page for Joshua to read. Seeing illustrations that accompanied it. The former Avatar of Destruction known as Lee, but his current form is that of a 19 year old named Kael Webster. Aside from the name there were 50 names that were not filled.

"The 50 blank slots are the former lives of the Avatar of Destruction... Ice Reaper, can you guide us?" Raizel called out, where Ice Reaper appeared in front of Joshua.

"Yes.. Of course, I sense something here. Follow me." Ice Reaper spoke as the weapons reacted, they float above from the ground. Their blades pointing to a colosseum with a ceiling that was maybe 10 to 20 meters tall. Give or take, Joshua was not sure about the measurements but he did see something interesting. There were 52 Cages hanging above, Joshua.

Seeing Kael and Lee in them, they were both smoking in their respective cages.

"These cages are for you tor try and face the Avatar of Destruction's past lives and current life. The strength has been adjusted to suit their current battle data... Adjusting... It has been suited to follow the current Avatar of Destruction. It would be best to work in a different angle. As we are currently. Even if you had Iacus, Donovan, Lugasa and the four Ancients. It may not be enough to face the current pair." Raizel explained.

"Is he that strong?"

"Yes... My master turned countries to ruin with just a whisper of words. He could whistle the end of a world, he could do many things but he chose to keep his powers to himself. Now, it seems that the swords outside are those that have decided you are worthy to serve." Ice Reaper explained to Joshua.

"I hope I don't dissappoint." Joshua said where Ice Reaper chuckled.

"I doubt it, but this place. It is as a means of a training ground. When you face a tough enemy, or you need to fight a battle. This would be it." Ice Reaper said as Zephyr carried Joshua on its back.

"Now, that is one of the new places. Come let's go see another location. The Tombs of the Thorns." Joshua heard Raizel as the Tome of Thorns made its way ahead of them, yet Zephyr galloped slowly, not to overtake the tome. Reaching to an entire hill made of these Tombs.

"These are Tombs that belongs to the Thorns of the past. The 81 Lords and the Gardens." Raizel explained, Joshua watched how Iacus and Donovan went to the tombs of their respective Lord of Thorns. Kneeling before them, paying respects to their past Lords. Though to Joshua it looked bare, the statues above the Tombs were plain and lacked any sort of identification as to whose Tombs they were.

"It looks empty because the details of their lives will be revealed bit by bit, not just weapon excerpts. As time passes on, when your actions remind me of them. I will let you know if I have pages that are ready to be read." Raizel said, it was a weird way of doing things but Joshua merely shrugged the way all of this was being handled. It was not his place to judge or even wonder.

"Now then, follow me. I will lead you to a new weapon." Joshua followed Raizel, this time being lead to a pair of pistols with a pair of sunglasses.

Twin Guardians

A pair of pistols based on the M45A1 pistol. Born from the wishes of the children to have a guardian that will protect them.

Based on the pistols of comic book hero 'Undying Triggerman'. Children wished for a guardian and for someone who would take care of them.

Attack Power 35 X 2 Range 150 meters Capacity 7 for each magazine Ammo 45. ACP

The pair of pistols were in a desert tan finish with black thorns forming at the sides of slide with the words.

'Guardians.' Joshua holstered the two pistols and then picked up the sunglasses, watching it fade away. Then seeing a dark tint over his Mask of Thorns. The sides by the eyes had a metal frame of sorts.

"Ah, it seems that the Mask is adjusting to the current daily life utilities. A nice pair of shades to go along with your current equipment. Now isn't that interesting?" Raizel spoke, floating all around Joshua. Then flying close to look at the mask, seeing the dark tint over his eyes faded away.

"It seems that the mask is currently adapting to many things. Though the mask cannot increase its defense stats, it can increase its utility. Maybe you can try with one of those.. Rangefinder? View finder? Or scopes? You can even put a bluetooth headset to it." Joshua looked at Raizel as he raised his eyebrows even further.

"Oh, come now. Why do you look confused? Have you never thought of merging items together?"

"Er..."

"Bah! If you wonder why your current Coat of Crimson and Gauntlets not being sufficent it's because you never think of this! My word. Lord, you need to understand that combining pieces of armor of a higher defense stat will add more to it. Take a kevlar vest and combine it with your current Coat, it increases projectile resistance. Get a stab proof vest and you can increase it. Though it does not work if you keep taking the same armor plates to combine with the Coat. It will break as a result of abuse and will give you warnings about item compatibility." Raizel scolded Joshua, though Joshua couldn't help but smile, being scolded like this wasn't bad.

"Now why are you laughing!? I am scolding you. Can't you pout or something!? Instead of laughing or smiling?!"

"Sorry, it's just. I've not been scolded in years that I forget what it's like. You're quite a caring Tomb." Raizel let out a sigh, chattering his mumbles away.

"Of course, I'd be caring nimwit! You are the Lord of Thorns and I am your Tome. I have never failed any of my Thorns! No matter how barren my pages are! I may not have all the information on the Gardens and Thorns but that does not mean that I am useless!" Raizel cried out, perhaps it has not been awakened in many years.

"I didn't say you were useless, though Raizel."

"I'm sure you thought of it before!" Raizel shouted back, perhaps this Tome itself was insecure of something or someone called it useless in the past.

"No. I'm just... Grateful that you're teaching me things. I didn't know most of these things anyway." Raizel turned away from Joshua, and when Joshua tried to look at it. The tome kept floating away.

"Are you embarrased?"

"No!" Joshua was wondering if this tome had a complex of sorts, but first. He needed to follow what Raizel said and follow it around.