Among the new arrivals to Holsten was a man Anarion came to despise. Anubus Ragnor. He appeared behind Calmantos right after he informed Bwoire that the declaration of war had been made. Anarion’s eye twitched. “What’s this piece of shit doing here?” he asked angrily.

Calmantos replied “He’s here to take your place in Holsten since you are going to be fighting in this war. There has to be a swordsman stationed at Holsten at all times.” Anubus looked at Anarion “You are looking well, son.” Anarion yelled, “You have no right to call me that!” Bwoire wanting to defuse things said, “Go introduce yourself in town Anubus.”

Anubus looked at Bwoire. "Yes, of course, master." Even though it had been forty years since Anubus had been in Bwoire's squad he held the utmost respect for him. Anarion was furious. He looked at Calmantos "You keep that bastard away from me. I don't care if he's my father. I'll fucking kill him."

Calmantos sighed. "You are about to become a full-fledged Swordsman Anarion, there are going to be times where you will have to be in the same room or proximity." Amma squeezed herself between Anarion and Bwoire. "What do you mean full-fledged swordsman?" Calmantos said, "The four of you are going to graduate officially ahead of time, the council wants to test Bwoire's unit in the war."

Falcon and Ithilious moved up to the front of the conversation. “They want to see what we can do?” asked Falcon. Calmantos sighed “I won’t lie, they are more interested in seeing what Anarion can accomplish. His battle with ten thousand Oren was not only interesting but technically impossible. Not even Aenos Ragnor could have accomplished such a feat at your age.”

Ithilious said, "So the council doesn't care to see what the rest of us can do?" Calmantos looked Ithilious in the eyes "Unfortunately yes. The council has been monitoring Anarion's progress since Aenos became a major figure in the order. Right now they consider his potential greater than Aenos, so he will be in more dangerous situations, such as this war." This news was a shock for Anarion. He was somewhat happy that he was acknowledged to such a degree.

Amma asked “Why is this war dangerous? Sure there are plenty of Oren, but maybe the one Anarion fought was a fluke? Anyone with high chi could learn Elestran without previous knowledge.” Calmantos smiled “How perceptive. Unfortunately, they are not taking any risks. Terath was at war with Rotal until three hundred years ago. In exchange for peace, we would train one of their own. Maluk selected the one with the most potential, his name was Giguk.”

Calmantos continued. “Maluk taught Giguk everything he could. Giguk served the order well until fifty years ago. He defected back to his people. Maluk chased him down and killed him. However, since Maluk himself has defected we are unsure if he did kill Giguk. He could have been planning his defection as far back as three hundred years ago.”

Falcon said “So Giguk trained his people to become Swordsmen? How would he make Katarn?” Calmantos stated “Giguk was a very intelligent Oren. He likely observed the process of creation for the two hundred and fifty years he was in the order. Taking no risks the order wanted to declare war immediately, however, King Aeros was quite hesitant to lend his soldiers to the cause, it took a lot of convincing.”

Ithilious asked “Are we fighting with the soldiers? Why would we need them? We have quite a few Swordsmen here.” Calmantos said “No, they are here to help protect Holsten as it is the staging ground for the war. If Oren attack while we are deep in Rotal, Anubus and the soldiers will step in to protect the town. Anubus in particular has an ability like Aenos that cannot hurt ordinary people.

Calmantos asked “Any other questions?” Anarion said, “Yeah, tell me his ability.” Calmantos asked nervously “If I tell you are you going to use that knowledge someday?” Anarion said “Perhaps.” Calmantos laughed nervously. “He can manipulate Kinetic Energy, quite well that he can avoid hurting others.”

Suddenly a voice was yelling in the distance. Soldiers were still marching into Holsten. That voice yelled “Amma!” Everyone looked around. The voice got closer “Amma!” There was a man Anarion recognized from the academy. He was four years older. He got closer “Amma!” Anarion yelled, “Would you shut up already!” The man had short red hair, he was as tall as Ithilious and was wearing Swordsman garb, a dark black shirt however he had short sleeves like everyone else since it was summer. He had long black pants.

“Saren?” Amma asked. Saren replied “You remembered me! Amma! Let’s run away from this war and elope, I love you!” Amma looked like she was about to vomit. Ithilious stepped in front. “Saren, as Amma’s brother and gatekeeper I forbid you to come any closer to my sister. She’s madly in love with Anarion. I cannot allow this marriage!” Anarion did not flinch when Ithilious said that. Ithilious wondered if he already knew.

Amma’s eye twitched “Gatekeeper? Since when have I let you decide such things!” Amma roundhouse kicked Ithilous in the stomach, sending him flying fifty feet backward. Saren looked happy when she kicked her brother. Amma glared at Saren “As for you. How many times have I rejected you? I barely like you as a person.”

Amma took a few steps back, she was standing next to Anarion. Saren glared at Anarion “You still have eyes for this failure? Sure, maybe he’s grown a bit. There are some rumors about him, but they are only rumors. He will never be as strong as me, I’ve already reached my second release.” Anarion stepped up to Saren and stared him down. “Second release, eighteenth release. I don’t give a fuck. Do you think something like that would intimidate me?”

Calmantos smacked Saren on the back of his head “Knock it off.” Calmantos sighed “Amma, Anarion, sorry for this idiot. He’s apart of my unit in this war.” Saren said “Your so mean Headmaster.” Calmantos yelled, “How many times do I have to tell you, I’m no longer the Headmaster at the academy!”

Two more Swordsmen appeared behind Calmantos and Saren. “Saren, are you causing trouble already?” asked a man with an extremely deep voice. He was six foot six, as big as Anarion. He had a long red beard and long red hair. “Apologies for my son. He’s a bit of an idiot. Bernard Starfire, at your service.” The other man spoke, he had long blonde hair and no facial hair. He was five foot nine and had a scar across his right cheek. He looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties “I am Denthir Malatos, pleased to meet your acquaintance.”

“This is my unit,” said Calmantos. “I’ll have you meet the rest, later on, however, there is a smithy that is eager to meet you lot.” Everyone introduced themselves quickly. “He’s probably set up at the Blacksmith. They brought in a Swordsman Smith to forge your blades since you four are to become full-fledged Swordsmen.”

Everyone returned to town. The swordsman smith was ready and waiting. He was a grizzled old man in his seventies named Igard. He had a long gray beard and was looking impatient. “Let’s get this started,” he said, not caring to do introductions. He lifted a crate and placed it down on a table in front of them. He pried open the crate with a crowbar, inside were large black metallic shards.

He laid out all of the shards on the table, there were a total of twelve. “Pick whatever shard you want.” They each picked up the shard right in front of them. “Okay, now here comes the hard part. You are going to pour chi into the shard until you pass out from exhaustion. You don’t stop if you are tired, you don’t stop to eat. You don’t stop until you lose consciousness.”

They were all a little shocked. Each of them sat down on the ground and began pouring their chi into the black metal shard of choice. Hours passed and exhaustion was starting to set in for everyone. Igard waited patiently for them to pass out. A full day passed, two days passed, finally on the third-day people started passing out. The first one to pass out was Ithilious, then Falcon, then Amma shortly followed by Anarion.

Idgard picked up a shard when someone passed out and began the process of creating their Katarn. He smelted each shard and created the blade with passion. It took the old smith a week to create all of them. The week passed slowly, it took them all quite a while to recover from the process of pouring all of the chi they could into those shards. Finally one morning the smithy sent word their blades were ready.

Four black blades laid out on the table. Anarion could feel right away which blade was his without being told. It was calling out to him in his subconscious. Upon grasping his Katarn for the first time each one of them felt an incredible surge of energy and power in their bodies for the first time. Each blade was flowing with chi.

“Quite the boost isn’t it?” asked Bwoire. “This is the first release of your blade. Even in its first release, you have become more powerful.” Anarion said “I can feel it. I feel like I have the power to defeat any foe.” Bwoire laughed “That’s quite good. Don’t forget to collect your new sheaths.”

“Let’s go to the tavern, I have quite a bit to explain about your Katarn.” They followed Bwoire to the tavern, even while sheathed they could feel the power flowing out of their Katarn. They each took a seat next to each other, Bwoire sat across from them. “Now that you have your Katarn, I will explain how to unlock the power within.” They all listened carefully. “The blade you have is a piece of your very soul. If you want to become stronger you have to grow as people.”

Ithilious said, “I don’t get it.” Bwoire sighed. “Personal breakthroughs in your life act as a trigger to unlock a new form.” Ithilious asked, “How did you unlock your second form.” Bwoire looked embarrassed. “That’s an old tale. Even though I am immortal I’ve only unlocked my fourth form. It does not matter how strong you are, it matters who you become and how you get there.”

Falcon said “I think I understand. Which means you have not had much personal development. Maybe you should grow up a little?” Bwoire slammed his hand down on the table. “Not going to happen. While a second release does make you stronger, a first release can still defeat a second release.”

Anarion asked, “What do you mean?” Bwoire replied “You can increase your strength with just your first release. A first release could even beat a third release. Unlocking a release gives you more potential for growth, that’s all.” Amma asked, “How do I increase my strength with a first release?” Bwoire replied “The same way your Katarn was made. The more chi you pour into it, the stronger you become. Physical training is also important so don’t neglect that either. However, you should probably meditate more and increase your capacity.”

Before anyone could ask any more questions Bwoire said “Don’t wear yourselves out just yet. I have to teach you an important technique before you can fight as a Swordsman. When a Swordsman releases their power it can be dangerous for the people around them. Just because you have your Katarn that does not change. You need to learn how to deflect the power from a release, otherwise, you’ll die before you can fight.”

Bwoire stood up. “We are going to start right away, though we need to take this far out of town.” Everyone else stood up and began to follow Bwoire. Outside of town was a busy place, there were tents and a large stone wall being built that was going to surround the town. Holsten was to become fortified against potential Oren attack.

The fields were still stained red from Anarion’s battle. Bwoire lead them approximately twenty-five kilometers out of town, they had to run the entire way. They went to a clearing like the one they trained in before. “This is only possible with your Katarn. You are going to push chi through your Katarn and form a bubble around you.” Bwoire demonstrated it was easy to understand since the chi was visible due to Bwoire’s Katarn.

“The Katarn can make a person’s chi visible. Its nickname is soul metal,” said Bwoire. Everyone was able to make the bubble quite easily. Bwoire said “You’ve all done a good job. Now here comes the hard part.”

Bwoire’s eyes turned into lightning, visible energy was pouring out of him. The energy was like an extremely strong wind from a hurricane. The sky itself turned black.. A bolt of lightning came down from the sky and engulfed Bwoire and his blade. His eyes sparked with intensity, his blade turned into pure lightning. Energy continued to radiate out of him, but it was less strong.

“This is my third form release,” said Bwoire. Everyone was able to keep their bubble up. “I’m going to release my fourth form, you need to pour more chi into your blade and make the bubble stronger.” The sky became chaotic, lightning was hitting the ground at rapid speed. The force coming off him felt like ten hurricanes at once. Bwoire’s physical form vanished, in its place was a humanoid mass made out of lightning. The area surrounding had been damaged earlier, but the entire area now had been destroyed by Bwoire’s release.

The earth itself was levitating with the four of them on it trying to hold back Bwoire’s power. He suddenly reversed his blade to his first form. Suddenly it was like a mountain had been dropped around Bwoire, all of the earth that had been raised around him with his fourth release suddenly dropped. All four of them hit the ground as well, as the patch of land they were on had been levitating.

“I held back in each form. You can control the strength of each release, I used approximately one percent of my power in each.” Falcon yelled “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! That was one percent!” Bwoire laughed “We are going to work on this until you can keep that bubble up with one hundred percent of my power. You also need to learn to fight with that up.”

Ithilious sighed “That sounds impossible.” Bwoire laughed “Quit complaining. This will make you stronger. Eventually, you won’t need to do this, but you are not strong enough yet.” The four of them trained with Bwoire for a month straight. The entire time Anarion avoided his father. As time passed by the stone wall was completely built, turning Holsten into a fortress of sorts.

Tycondris used this as a chance to advance in life. He made friends with a general who came to Holsten to come up with strategies for the war to come. Tycondris was made a Captain of the Royal Army due to his experience in battle. He would stay in Holsten until the war was over.