The mountain of the man, Aggard's Knight Champion Hallvard Thorisson, sat on a chair in the guest house in the gatehouse above the Northern Gate. He was wearing a complete set of mail armour with the crimson and white quartered surcoat of the Knights of Aggard. In the top left crimson corner was a white star indicating the fact he was a Knight Champion.

His boots which he had not removed yet, and his trousers, were covered in dried mud. The whole of his uniform felt like it had been worn hard in the outside world and not as part of ceremonial duties. I could even see faint gleaming marks on his mail which showed that they had been hit with something sharp.

His surcoat, too, was dirty and slightly faded.

Hanging from his belt was a large sword. So large was the sword that the end of the scabbard rested on the gleaming wooden floor.

The way he sat on the chair, reminded me of the way my sister's preschool teacher had sat on a preschool chair. A chair which was rightfully too small for the teacher, but they were required to sit it on, nevertheless.

The narrow slit windows, which were in reality windows for archers, let in more light than expected and some fresh air, welcome after the cloying incense which filled the temple.

That and the copper blood smell of the former priest's blood.

The stonework surrounding the narrow slit windows had been painted in a bright white paint. Between the slit windows was an ornate tapestry of the goddess Aggard sitting in majesty upon a throne. Some parts of the throne, and the halo around her head, had been picked out in a golden thread.

Again I had a slight issue with this oversized image of Aggard. Sure I knew she did in fact have the power and glory to be enthroned like this, but to me she was also a young woman who was lost.

Hallvard was looking at the two of us with his mountain grey eyes. His craggy skin and dark, wild hair and beard made him look more like a barbarian rather than one of the hallowed Knight Champions of Aggard.

Then again, there were plenty of trainees and trainers here who called me a heathen or even a barbarian.

Behind Hallvard was a large bed, complete with thick crimson curtains, easily three or four times larger than the narrow cot Alis and I were forced to share.

Those mountain grey eyes were locked upon Alis and myself. She was clutching my arm hard, not seemingly wanting to let it go anytime soon.

He then reached under his armour and brought down a pure black bracelet. I felt mana rise from within him, which he then directed into the bracelet. For a moment, runes glowed on the surface of the bracelet. A wave of mana washed out past me.

It was then I saw him look directly at me rather than at Alis clinging onto me. 'Oh, so you can sense mana can you boy? That'll be useful, and challenging.'

There was no reason to hide that fact anymore. So I nodded.

'Have you told anyone else about it boy?'

'Who? They would reject me further. We are taught that the only power we should rely upon is ours and that which is gifted from Aggard. Mana is neither.'

He growled, sounding more like a wolf than a human.

'Fools, the lot of them. Mana is a gift of our bodies. That has been proven by generations of mages. Just because some fools narrowly interpret a minor bit of scripture our order is bereft of mages.

'Don't they know how many more lives could be saved if we rely upon those powers than just the few blessed by Aggard who can heal. All of which are sequestered into the central temple, rather than being sent out where they can actually be useful.' The chair creaked alarmingly as Hallvard leaned forward. 'Anyways, that is not why I set up the anti-scry barrier. Before we leave here I need to know more about you two and what the goddess said to you two.

'To show trust between us I'll tell you why I rushed here from my usual domain in the Isles of Dunkeltal and just what Aggard said to me a moment ago.'

He stood up, and once again I was impressed by his height and broadness. But it was more than that: there was a supple strength and wildness about his movements. I could see why the bully of the head trainer backed away from Hallvard in the temple.

'Three weeks ago, I had a feeling that I needed to come south. So I cut short my normal patrol and started making plans for a journey south. A week later, I had a vision. In it, Aggard told me to head here with all haste. So I did. Last night she told me I needed to be here this morning, and so I fore soke sleep and spent the night rushing here.

'Praise to Aggard, I made it just in time to see that idiot priest pass judgement. After that, in that moment when she descended upon you two, she descended upon me too. In that she praised me for my work and asked me, asked,' he looked at the both of us, his eyes shining bright with fervent praise, 'not told, asked me to take the two of you to be my squires.'

He looked at me. So I went next. 'This time, Aggard didn’t say anything to me. Instead, she wrapped me with the same blessing she gave me the last time.'

Hallvard slipped from his chair and fell to his knees. 'Blessed more than once, you truly are blessed Klarric.'

There was an uncomfortable silence while Hallvard continued staring at me, almost to the point of worship. Then he remembered Alis who was still clinging to my arm. He climbed onto the chair; it creaked in protest of his weight.

'What did she say to you?' He said, his gravelly voice softer and almost inaudible.

Alis buried her pretty freckled face into my arm. 'She comforted me and said she knew the depths of my feelings. And that it was not good that the two of us to suffer her own loveless fate.'

I glanced down at Alis, who was still clutching my arm and refusing to look up at me. Her forehead was almost as red as her fiery red hair. She clutched my arm harder than ever. It was as if she was trying to stop me from fleeing.

Did that mean...

'Yes,' I heard Aggard's voice in my head, 'I believe it to be true. To see love flourish amongst my followers, despite not being able to have mine own flourish, is truly a blessing for me.'

I thought back upon how Alis had changed in the time since we had been forced into sharing the same room. I thought it was just that we were becoming friends, but was I really that dense not to notice the signs...