A steady rain pelted the training grounds at the Passguard citadel, turning the dirt into mud under the boots of the new recruits as they practiced handling a sword against an armed opponent. Soaked to the bone, the trainees shivered and slipped as they parried their instructor’s bdes over and over. Some managed to keep their footing in the downpour while others ended up on the ground every other strike, their tabards turning more brown than blue in the messy conditions. Still, each of the twenty trainees vying for a position with the Passguards always got back to their feet and continued their lessons—if a little rain got to them now, they wouldn’t be much use on patrol for Py’riel threats in the winter months.

  Janine braced herself for Warren’s next attack as her mentor ran her through the usual drills. Not to brag about my wearer, but of that year’s recruiting css, Janine easily outpaced most of them. Witnessing the Passguards cut a Py’riel down to nothing convinced her that her destiny y within their ranks. Six years on, that destiny seemed assured. Between the jobs she took rebuilding the town, she’d track down Warren for lessons in swordfighting and anything else he’d be willing to teach. In contrast, half the other trainees had never so much as held a sword before the summer session started—I’m surprised some of them hadn’t lost any limbs yet.

  I’d followed Janine on every step of her journey, and I mean that quite literally. Since the night of the attack a half-dozen years ago, Janine kept me within arm’s reach at all times. Of everything she inherited from her te mother, I was the only magical object she kept, she gave the rest to Tobias and Evelyn. I meant a lot of things to Janine: a memento of her mother, protection from monsters, an unfinished puzzle.

  ‘Protector’ might be a bit of a stretch for me, other than a single night’s light show that barely kept monsters at bay. I stayed static in a changing world, unable to divine the next step with my magic while everyone around me took off running. Quinn’s Peak moved with a fierce tenacity to not only rebuild, but improve the town in efforts to better protect the popution. Up went taller, sturdier walls with steel portcullises at the two main entry points to town, followed by watchtowers in each cardinal direction and a massive citadel on the northern wall with enough space to shelter the entire town if a new camity arose. The rebirth of Quinn’s Peak proved that the Py’riel did not defeat us, despite bringing us to our knees—these new structures, alongside efforts to revamp the Berin Passguards into a rger and stronger organization, better fit the role of protector than me. My services were mostly relegated to ‘night light’.

  “Denholm, Janine!” A voice called out over the csh of metal and grunts of trainees. “Center training circle, five minutes!”

  Janine rexed her stance and spun toward the middle of the muddy training grounds, where the ‘training circle’ had been trampled to oblivion by the trials of other recruits earlier in the day. “About time they called me, I’m ready to get it over with and get out of this rain. Got any advice, Warren?”

  From my vantage spot around Janine’s neck, I spied Warren’s fist swinging at Janine from outside her peripheral vision—to tap her on the head. “Don’t turn away from your opponent in the middle of a fight, for one.”

  Warren chuckled as Janine winced, but his mood grew serious when he looked toward the one running the evaluations. Just outside the center circle stood a tall man, wearing a full set of armor accented in the Passguard’s dark blue fabrics. His curly hair had been tamped down by the helm he often wore during his own training, a restrained wildness it shared with his piercing eyes. Despite his calm, stoic expression, those eyes looked like a mountain lion perpetually one pounce away from a deadly strike.

  “Captain Galen’s not easy to impress,” Warren said, sheathing his sword. “After what he’s accomplished on battlefields in Jaegrius, running the Passguards probably feels more like babysitting to him. He’ll likely pair you against Jacob or Tania, either would put up a fair enough fight for you. Keep in mind, though, it’s not about winning or losing; he wants to see your technique, your toughness. Be a little mean in the ring, if you can find it in you.”

  I’d say ‘mean’ was an apt descriptor for the Berin Passguards under Galen’s watch. Even after strengthening the town’s defenses with the raised stone wall, the mayors of the remaining mountain towns agreed that seeking out the Py’riel to thin their numbers with preemptive strikes would better serve the towns than waiting for the next attack. They hired Galen, who in turn brought a slew of skilled but unruly mercenaries with him to the mountains. The era of friendly volunteer Passguards ended, as these new soldiers were more likely to make a mess of the tavern than to help travelers with directions. Most townsfolk went out of their way to avoid the mercenaries when they could.

  Janine gripped me tightly in her hand—for good luck, of course, I’m also her good luck charm—before she stepped into the slippery center of the mud-covered training ring, ignoring the heavy rain as best as she could. “Denholm reporting for evaluation, sir.”

  “Ah. So you’re Denholm. I can finally put a name to the neckce.” The imposing captain paced along the perimeter of the ring, his armor cttering with each step.

  Janine smiled, gncing down at me. “Oh, yes. Do you like it? The Viridian Sphere was my mother’s before she passed, so I always have it—”

  “It’s stunning, certainly. Get rid of it.”

  A puzzled look came across Janine’s face. She paused, gncing back at Warren. The older man shrugged as he watched from afar. “Come again? Sir, I’ve never gone a day without it, it means a lot to me, so—”

  “So nothing. You’re not off to a good start here, Denholm.” Galen’s pace along the outer ring quickened, the wildness in his eyes intensifying as he stared at Janine and myself. “Questioning a direct order, carrying unsanctioned, possibly dangerous magical accessories in my citadel. No other trainees own an advantage like a relic, it hardly seems fair. So take it off, give it to your instructor, and let’s start again.”

  “An advantage? Viridian warded off Py’riel once, but that was a long time ago. It doesn’t help me fight or anything, sir, right now it’s just a neckce.”

  I began to grow as frustrated as Janine. In such a dangerous profession, I’d have thought the captain would welcome any such advantage avaible to him if I actually provided one. My wearer didn’t need help in a duel against the other recruits anyway.

  Galen crossed his arms, squinting at Janine. “Relics like that are never ‘just a neckce’, I’ve fought enough adversaries wearing simir things to know better. But fine. Since you won’t surrender your advantage, a fight with another trainee wouldn’t be very fair, would it? I’ll have to adjust your evaluation accordingly.” Panicked, Janine started to respond to the captain’s assertions, but Galen already made up his mind, looking to his biggest mercenary.

  “Rufel! center ring, now!”