Mam closed her eyes as she stood in the glow of the magma trails dwarves used to light their forts underh Arda’s surface. An odd report had e to the desks, ohat required a Divio iigate since Dwarves were incapable of magic, Irinika was too busy on the front, and the others weren’t too apt with the skill.

  She looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath, vivid hair, whiter than snow, cascaded down her back like the purest avahe gates here were locked off, the madness roots y further in those tunnels. Those were to be avoid. She wrote off the simplest solution that would have satisfied everything: some o happening on the surface. This wasn’t that.

  She opened her mouth, rocky air tasting of minerals settled oohe usual fvours were here, dirt, sedimentary rocks, irons, coals, lots of golds aoo. But there was a taste of something she had not seen in a thousand years. Lohan that in fact. It came harshly at first, magic. Overp magic, sweet and lovely, as if she was breathing in liquid ambrosia. But theertaste hit and she her throat made a gasp. She k would e back eventually. No matter what everyone else said, she simply had been sure it would be back. Humanity could never tain itself.

  The delicious fvours of Worldbreaking.

  Kavaa smirked to Iliyal as the Goddesses were pig themselves up off the ground again. Third time today, this should be the st. Iliyal, in his dark uniform, cape on his back, pistol and sword on the hip, did the unthinkable. He smirked back to her. “Right dies. Are we done?” He said from the other side.

  Once again, Olonia got off her knees. Her armour had been damaged this time. Kavaa always sidered herself calm and under trol, she had never beeo needlessly hurt people… but she wasn’t soft. Sometimes an amputation o happen. Sometimes, someone o be put into their pce. She had led the Clerito Olympiada after all. It was ohing to dislike viole was another eo cower from it. A set of scales fell off from Olonia’s armour.

  Once again, Saksma was ba her feet. Once again, Paida and Agrita and Aliana stood up. Once agaiheir eyes shot daggers of pure rage at Kavaa. The Goddess of Health smiled back at them. “We are not done!” Olonia shouted.

  “You have not gotten a siroke on her.” Iliyal said, arms behind his back.

  “I scraped her with my arrows.” Aliana replied and Iliyal sighed. Green eyes met Kavaa’s grey and she got the message. He wanted some assistance.

  “I could have dodged it if I wao.” Kavaa replied coldly. There we go, she had never been fond of that pretentious Allian at. Aliana only made a tsk sound with response as she ied her quiver. Kavaa could not wait for her to run out already. She had assumed these were magical ons at first, like Kassandora’s Joyeuse, but no. They were merely what the Goddesses had trained in.

  “This is the st time then.” Iliyal said. “If you ot stop Kavaa this time. Then you will admit you will never defeat her at the pace yoing now.”

  “We’re gettier.” Saksma replied. Iliyal once again gave Kavaa a ft look, she merely shrugged back. Bullying mortals wasn’t fun because mortals could not fight back. But Divines? National Divi that? There really was some satisfa in that. The same as when she found someone pining of a minor illness and made a disgusting medie so her time would stop being wasted.

  “You’re not.” Iliyal replied. “Kavaa is a Great War veteran, you’ve not even broken a sweat on her yet.” Kavaa smiled as Iliyal tinued. “She has purposefully not made a scrat you yet. You are children who’ve learned how to walk and now think you run a marathon.”

  “Marathons take determination and endurance.” Olonia shouted as Iliyal walked past them aled baext to Kavaa.

  “You’re talking about a gentle hike through the hills. Show me a child who cross twenty six miles in four hours.”

  “Most people take eight to finish one.” Aliana said again. Kavaa took a deep breath. That at really did grate on her ears.

  “And you’re Divines, you should be able to do one in an hour.” Iliyal replied. “I haudents who do poorly, students who don’t want to lear worth my time.” He took a deep breath. “We have e here because you asked to be trained, if you were simply wanting petition, we would have sent Anassa to end this farce with a finger snap.” He took a step back, as he always did when they were about to start. “This is the st time. If you do not accept that you are g in knowledge after this, then we will go our separate ways.”

  Olonia blinked in surprise. Her smile dropped. Saksma’s did too. Aliana only readied an arrow. She was the only one who Kavaa had noticed an improvement in, she was shooting rarer now, looking for attacks of opportunity rather than simply trying to overwhelm with fire. It could be that, or it could be that her quiver only had a few arrows left and she didn’t want to waste them anymore. Olonia stuttered out some words. “Excuse me?” She asked.

  “We will leave Olonia.” Iliyal said. “We will very simply leave. There is nothing you do about it. You have simply grated my patience down to the point there is nothi. The first fight was enough for me to see what you were doing wrong.”

  Olonia went red and blushed. Saksma mao bark something out. “We…” She stopped. “ologize but this really is how we…”

  “How you what Saksma?” Iliyal barked back. “How you what? You are pyfighting. This is not a game, I am here to train you for warfare. Do you even know what warfare is?” He tinued on, his faot ging, but it was obvious he was angry. Kavaa blinked upon the realisation and tur the elf. Wait. Iliyal was dispying aion? “Oh you’ve read great tales upon the war we’ve fought in. You’ve seen the films and dotaries. You’ve preteo be galnt knights who save the day! Wonderful! Beautiful! The two people standing here, who have so graciously e to assist you, were those knights, and there was nothing galnt about us Saksma.” He took aep back. “You want warfare? You want to see what’s it like?”

  Auro Kavaa. “Show them.” Kavaa drew her sword as Iliyal kept barking. “You have ten seds tanize some defence among yourselves, I don’t care what or how. Kavaa has just ambushed you in Erdely regions. She’s out to kill you.” Auro Kavaa. “This healing won’t be needless.”

  “It won’t.” Kavaa replied. She kly what Iliyal was doing. Maisara used the same method on her Padins. He was even giving the game away, did they not notice his boot steadily?

  “Ten seds have just passed, you’ve been ambushed.” Iliyal said ftly. And Kavaa raced forwards, her sword whistled as it slid out of sheath.

  “WAIT!” Paida shouted. She shakily put up her defence as Kavaa stepped towards, her foot twisted, she turned immediately, and she saw Saksma, still lifting that tremendous greatsword. Why the did woman eve if she didn’t have the strength to? What was the point of a on like that? It was just a club at this point.

  “The whole point of an ambush is that you don’t wait.” Iliyal shouted from behind Kavaa as he started cirg them. Kavaa’s eyes met Saksma’s, she saw those blue sapphires light up with shock at Kavaa’s speed. She saw the sword twist, she heard the sliding of pte as Paida came in from behind. This is why Divines needed suits crafted by artisans and not amateurs.

  Kavaa grabbed Saksma’s arm at the elbow. She pulled the Goddess forwards, she stepped to the slide as Paida’s bde came down. And she saw Paida slito Saksma. The Goddess of Doschia screamed as Paida dropped her bde in shock.

  But Kavaa only kept close to Saksma, stepping around her, pte armour sliding against that cuirass that had beeed from the three previous beatings. This was ing now. Kavaa turned, her sword point stabbed in Saksma’s thigh, she turhe stab into a slig blow, the sword leaving Saksma’s leg and smming into Paida’s leg.

  Kavaa twisted her hand, the bde twisted with her, she slid it up. The edge found the opening, between the leg armour and the chest pte. It slide into cloth, and into flesh. Paida’s scream echoed among the trees as Saksma hit the ground. And Kavaa did not slow down a breath. She let go of her on. Aliana was aiming at her, her eyes in shod fury at what just had happeo her friends.

  Kavaa grabbed Paida before she mao fall and swung the Goddess between herself and the archer. And Aliana, her eyes smouldering like a volo, turhe bow. Not at herself, at Iliyal. She released the arrow. For a moment, she thought of having to expin to Kassandora what happened. Endless images fshed before her eyes. How could she return if the elf died here? What would Fer say? Helenna? Iniri? Arascus? How could she-

  Iliyal saw the movement before the arrow was even flying. She was obviously going to shoot him. One hand grabbed his pistol, he took a step down and swerved his body. Aliana was a good shot frankly, there was little to pin about her in that regard. But good marksman were a dime a dozen. She wavered for a moment before letting the arrow fly. That was more than enough time to see it would fly past his shoulder.

  And then those images were wiped away by the lightning crack of a gunshot. Another one. A third. A fourth. Aliana blinked as she grabbed her chest. Anunshot made a hole in her shoulder. In her leg. In her knee. And the Goddess dropped, not even screaming, simply moaning in pain, blood leaking from small holes.

  And Iliyal’s shout came through. “That was good Aliana! That was truly good!” He said. “And it perfectly demonstrates why you must be aware at all times. A single instant is enough to end your life.” Kavaa spun and turo face the elf. He didn’t even a scrat him. He…

  Kavaa had to shut her jaw after it dropped. He had holy dodged it. Was the man ever not on guard? He put his pistol bato his holster and o his side. Kavaa turned, grabbed Olonia’s wrist as it was ing down on her. Still slow, faster than before, but there was still that moment of reservation in the Goddess, as if she didn’t actually intend on hurting Kavaa.

  Unfortuhough, Kavaa didn’t have the same hesitation. Olonia had stepped forwards to slice, Kavaa pulled her further. The moment made Olonia lose her footing, she fell down, her wrist still held by Kavaa. The Goddesses body twisted one way, the arm iher as Kavaa turned her arm. Pop. The shoulder dislocated. Olonia still mao keep her grip on the sabre.

  Kavaa threw her arm down, brought her knee up. The dislocation of the shoulder was swiftly followed by the crag of bohe sabre dropped, it never hit the ground. Kavaa grabbed the bde, threw it back up, caught the hilt, and turo face Agrita.

  The Goddess of Rilia was stood there, spear quivering as her entire body shook, knuckles white around it, the tip darted left and right as if trying to find ce in the air itself. She made an attempt at a stab. As had been done before, so was done now. Kavaa effortlessly stepped to the side, caught the spear, pulled it forwards. And then she smmed Olonia’s sabre into Agrita’s side. The Goddess dropped in a scream.

  Iliyal wasted no time, he stepped forwards iween the Goddesses. Kavaa watched their bodies, the wounds were slowly closing. That was on in National Divines like them, slower than Fer’s almost instant regeion, much slower than her healing, but they’d be standing in some thirty minutes. Maybe not Paida and Saksma. Boook a long time too actually. Well, Aliana would be standing at least. That’s if she knew how to push out fn objects out of her body with just regeion. Kavaa’s eyes turo the woman who had been shot.

  Actually, none of them would be standing if left alone. Iliyal clicked his boots together, and unched into his lesson. “That’s what warfare is. That’s what I’m here to teach you.” Iliyal said sternly. “Now do you see how tremendous the marathon is? Or are we still going to ighe fact we’ve been having a gentle walk this eime?”

  Aliana y motionless as she hugged her bow. She didn’t even have the decy to look at them, only staring up at the sky. Saksma breathed heavily, Paida had nded on her and they both let out harsh gasps. Agrita had curled up into a ball. They would be g ohe adrenaline wore off, Kavaa had seen it before. “I…” Olonia rolled over, clutg at the wound in her chest. “I see.”

  And when Kavaa saw the smile upon Iliyal, it was as if she was looking at Kassandora in full force. Those burning eyes and that dev smile, as if he was watg a city burn before him. “Good.” He said. “First lesson is the most important. This is what happens every day otlefield. You will feel this every siime, because this is what everyone in that Great War you all pretend to be i every damn day. It builds discipli builds camaraderie and it builds battle paranoia. This is not a skill you survive without.” He crossed his arms. “Have we worked it out yet?”

  “What?” Paida croaked as she clutched the broken hand on the ground.

  “Pain toleraraining.” And the elf turo Kavaa. “Heal them.”