The second mountain was taller than the previous one, a thin serpentine path leading up on its side, while the forest path he followed split in two to go around the mountain. Einar flew up as high as he could, landing on the small path carved into the stone before his time as a raven ran out. The air was cool but not freezing, likely due to his strong resistance to the cold. Walking up the path the strange feeling he got from the place grew stronger the higher he got. The ancient pathway was dangerous as part of it crumbled apart with time.

  The young giant felt glad that he was able to turn into a raven and fly as it helped cut his travelling time short, but as he reached the top of the mountain, his heart almost stopped beating. The top area was flat as if someone had cleaved off the tip of the mountain to make a place for the sixth trial ground. He could see a weathered altar in the middle of a stone circle that was arranged a good distance around the shrine. What made the place terrifying were the creatures that lay waiting around the altar. Einar had only seen a drake once, it being the fiery beast he and Alcmene fought together, but he was sure.

  Those things were drakes, even if their scales were an icy blue. They were covered in a thin layer of snow, making them look like ice boulders. ‘How am I supposed to start the trial if I can’t even get close to the altar?’ He asked himself as he saw one of the large beasts raising its head toward him. Much to his surprise though, the drake only looked at him for a few moments before letting out a frozen breath and lowering its head back down. Cautiously, Einar began to walk closer and he could finally see how the drakes were evenly spread out around the altar.

  Four drakes in the four main directions, each chained to the stone with chains that were as thick as his wrists and had glowing runes running along every link. Step by step he walked toward the altar while making sure that he was in a safe distance from the icy beasts. As he finally reached the shrine, a soft voice echoed in his mind wile a glowing wall of light rose around the proving ground.

  “A warrior might be strong in body and firm in mind but it means nothing if their soul is weak. Gaze into the eyes of the drakes and prove the strength of your soul. Fight their power with your own or risk losing your life to their fangs. Do not falter and do not concede. You are meant to rule or to perish. There is no other path.”

  The voice went silent for a moment, and Einar noticed movement out of the corner of his eyes. He watched as the drakes shook off the snow from their scales and sat up, all of them staring at him with cold, uncaring eyes.

  “To leave the trial alive you must face at least one of the ice drakes. Step in front of the beast with the blue circle in front of it to start your challenge. Only by succeeding can you leave but to earn a reward beside your life, you must challenge the drake with either the bronze, silver or gold circle and win.”

  Glowing circles appeared in front of the beasts on the ground and the drakes became momentarily agitated before their gazes snapped at Einar.

  “The trial of the spirit begins now!”

  ‘Damn!’ He thought to himself as he glanced at the ice drakes. Looking around he quickly found the one with the blue circle in front of it on his left. Letting out a sigh he walked over to it and stepped into the circle while facing the drake. As their eyes met, the giant felt the same uneasy feeling he felt on the way up the mountain, but this time it was more... real. Raw and cold. He could feel the beast gazing into his very soul as if searching for something, however, a moment later it lurched back with a yelp and the circle beneath him faded away.

  'Did I pass?’ He asked from no one in particular as he watched the drake lower its head in what he thought could be fear. With no answer arriving, he walked over to the drake with the glowing bronze circle in front of it. This time it went somewhat differently as the drake kept staring at him longer than the previous one. Einar could feel something brush up against his thoughts, straining his mind and senses just like when he cast his frost shield or his other spell. The strained feeling came and went as the drake soon lowered its head and the bronze glow faded beneath his feet.

  Walking over to the Drake with the silver circle in front of it, the young seeker soon found himself staring into a pair of sapphire-like eyes and a heavier weight settled on his soul. It pushed against him, trying to command him without words to step forward but doing so would have doomed him as he would have gotten into the range of its reach. Instead of complying, he stared at him with a cold stare, his mind repeating a single word. ‘Bow!’ Now it was the drake’s time to feel the strain and soon enough it relented. As soon as it dipped its head, the silvery light faded beneath the seeker and he was free to approach the last beast.

  The moment he stepped into the golden circle, he felt as if a giant hammer slammed into him, shaking his legs for a second or two. Meanwhile, his gaze couldn’t leave the gem-like eyes that looked at him with disdain. The drake in front of him was different from the others. It was larger and more robust than the other three, and its scales were a deeper hue of icy blue.

  ‘Come to me!’ Einar heard a voice in his head and for a moment, his body shook as it tried to move forward, but he stopped himself with a growl. That made the drake look at him with a newfound apprehension. ‘Move forward!’ The voice returned and the seeker felt it push against his soul, its weight adding up to several times what he felt from the previous creature. His body shook once again, but this time, it was more out of anger than the need to comply. His pride and rage flared up along with his hair that glowed red with flames.

  ‘Don’t look down on me you overgrown lizard!’ He said in his mind while staring daggers at the drake. For a moment he could see the fear that appeared in the beast’s eyes as if it had recognised something. ‘What are you?’ Einar could feel its thoughts in his mind as the drake couldn’t decide what to do. He kept staring into its sapphire eyes with a slowly rising anger, his draconic pride making its way through the depths of his soul. ‘Bow!’ The seeker ordered in his thoughts and the drake squirmed in its chains.

  ‘No!’ It replied with an animalistic growl. ‘I said, bow!’ He repeated, putting everything he had behind the order, forcing the drake to whine as it stumbled back before reluctantly lowering its large head. The golden circle faded beneath Einar as he staggered and stepped back, his mind weary and his soul bruised by the strange tug of war he had with the drake. It was a strange trial and he knew that the most likely reason it went so well was the dragon’s inheritance in his blood.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  The young giant walked over to the altar to see what rewards he earned from the gods, a teal-coloured glowing cloud catching his eyes first. He held out his drinking horn and a cloud floated over, raining a teal dew into the horn which he drank out in two gulps. It felt soothing as if the weariness of his mind and soul got washed away. Following that he pocketed the handful of gold coins that was a common thing by now.

  The next thing on the altar was an obsidian rune stone that held a teal-coloured symbol of power. Einar found no sheepskin scrolls with forging plans this time, but he did receive a tear-shaped crystal that glowed with an icy blue hue. The last item on the altar was a strange wind chime similar to what he often saw at the shrine on Bear-rock Island. He put that away as well, letting out a deep breath as he walked over to the far edge of the mountaintop. Looking down he could see the forest deep beneath him and the third mountain ahead.

  Even if he were to keep switching between his human and raven forms, it would take him days before reaching the last mountain and he would also need to find the seventh and eighth trials while on the way. Einar knew that this journey would keep him away from the others for a while so he decided to first go back and see how they were doing.

  Turning around he walked over to the other side of the mountain top and leapt off, turning into a raven. He glided down through the cold winds, his eyes following the ancient path. Several hours later he reached the fifth proving ground, finding it crowded with God-marked from all of the kingdoms. Walking closer to the makeshift ramparts, a voice called out to him.

  “Halt!” A man yelled but was immediately berated by another voice.

  “He’s one of ours. Let him through.”

  As the seeker walked through the bap between a hastily made barricade, he found a man of the desert kingdom and a woman of his homeland standing guard behind them.

  “Welcome back, seeker!” The woman greeted him respectfully.

  “Thanks. I see a lot has changed and the past day.”

  “After your warning of the monster that hunts God-marked, Brynhildr and the other leaders agreed that it is best if we move and act united until the threat is gone.” The guard explained.

  “A wise choice.” He agreed as he headed further into the makeshift camp that surrounded the trial ground.

  “Look, Einar is back!” Someone yelled from one of the groups scattered around the camp and almost everyone raised their heads to look toward him.

  The Vikings were the first to head over to him but they were closely followed by the other kingdoms’ people.

  “Einar,” he heard a familiar voice as Rúna appeared from the group with a yawning Arvid following her. “Glad to see you in one piece.”

  “I wanted to see how things were going here before I headed too deep into the other part of the island.” The seeker said.

  “Does that mean you already found the sixth trial?” Arvid asked, earning a nod from the giant.

  “I did,” he confirmed. “It’s on the top of the mountain ahead. There’s a path leading up there but it’s quite weathered so it’s best if you prepare to climb from time to time.”

  “And what trial will we face this time?” A far less haughty Brynhildr asked, surprising the giant with her behaviour.

  “The trial of spirit,” he answered after giving her an acknowledging nod. “Four ice drakes are chained around the altar. You’ll have to step into the circle in front of them and stare them in the eyes. From then on, they’ll try to overwhelm your soul and force you to move forward.”

  “What happens if you step forward?” Someone asked from the people gathered around him.

  “What do you think happens when you step in front of a hungry beast?” Another voice asked from the back, earning a slight laughter of amusement from the crowd.

  “Sounds like a tough challenge,” a warrior from Hellada said, many agreeing with him. “What of the beasts along the path?”

  “Just a few wolves here and there. I didn’t come across any of the large ones though. What about here? Did you come across any trouble?”

  “There were a couple of larger boars and wolves but nothing we couldn’t handle,” Brynhildr answered while looking at her people. “Luckily, there’s no sign of that... Oni so far.”

  “Let us hope it stays that way,” Takeshi remarked as he walked over with a few of his warriors. “An Oni is not something that can be easily killed. Lady Hanako is already working on some binding talismans we could use to pin it down, but even then, it might have grown too strong for us to handle.”

  “All the more reason to conquer the trials as soon as possible,” a man from the Eastern Alliance stated. “The gods gave us three months, yet we’re already at the fifth trial after barely a few days. If we can reach the last trial in another week or two, we’ll be able to spend the rest of that time building proper defences and getting stronger ourselves.”

  “I agree,” the leader of the desert kingdom’s God-marked spoke up. “If what you said is true then this Oni of yours can grow stronger by killing and eating the God-blessed beasts of the forest. If we kill them and take their power before the Oni does, that would deprive it of a chance to grow in strength.”

  “Doing so would make a target out of our people,” Takeshi argued. “The last time it killed three warriors without a problem. How many do you think it can take on now? Five? Ten? Even a binding talisman can only hold it down for a few moments and without enough strength to kill it in one go, the Oni can feast on the flesh of those it killed to heal its wounds.”

  “How long will it take for those talismans to be finished?” Brynhildr asked with an annoyed tone.

  “She should be done by tomorrow morning,” the answer came. “More than enough time for everyone to have their chance at the trial. After that, we should move toward the next one together. That way, even if the Oni attacks us, we could overwhelm it.”

  “Then we’ll dig in for the night,” the warrior of Hellada stated. “we’ll shrink the camp down into as small as we can so that it can be properly defended and have guards in rotation. Agreed?”

  “Agreed.” The others said with a firm tone, the crowd dispersing once the decision was made.

  Einar walked over to Rúna, the young woman giving him a knowing look. They left toward the area where she set up her tent and the seeker spread out his earnings on a wolf hide rug.