It took a while to gather everyone, but I managed. I explained what happened and my thoughts regarding my observations. When I finished, there was a tense silence hanging in the room. Everyone was deep in thought as they digested my words. Ivan was the first to speak up. “You walk the path of kings, correct?” After a nod from me, he continued. “Doesn’t that give you some kind of advantage? It would certainly be welcome in the expedition to close the shard.”

  Shaking my head, I responded. “No, that won’t help. I only start gaining the advantage after closing another memory shard. And believe me, I am far from ready to take another one on.” Another pensive silence fell over the room.

  “Bah, you youngins are overthinking this. Let the old bastard loose in the shard, and we'll be fine.” He said while pointing at Lionel standing next to me.

  “Old?...” I heard him utter in confusion.

  “No, that would still not work. He is a stage 3 warrior. And from what I’ve seen, this is only a stage 1 shard. He would not be allowed inside.” I paused to gather my thoughts. “I say we gather some of the eligible hunters and form a small force to conquer the shard. There should be enough capable people to take it out.” What I did not mention was that this would be a good opportunity to look for worthy squadmates. There is nothing wrong with getting some advantages out of this situation.

  The following days were spent in preparation for the expedition into the wild shard. I finally got around to commissioning a blade from the local smith. It was a bit of a rushed job, so the quality of the blade was not the best. However, it would be more than enough for the trial to come. With the familiar weight of the nodachi hanging by my side, I felt fully ready. Thanking the walking mountain of a man, I moved towards the edge of town. Where all the would-be hunters were gathered. It was decided that Lionel would be in charge of selecting the squad for the shard as he had the most experience out of everyone present in matters of military and warfare. I would not go so far as to call our little expedition a true military assault. Yet, there was no denying the battle to come would be dangerous.

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  There is no such thing as an easy shard. My own experience was proof of that. Those last two combatants in my shard were clearly stage 1 warriors. If not for the arrogance of that warrior, I would have had no chance of winning. The four other knights who traveled with me had long since returned to the capital; they reported only to my father. Not that they would have made much of a difference; they were all stage 2 warriors. The sound of disgruntled men nursing their bruised bodies came before I saw them. Some were standing with obvious pride, while others looked to the ground in shame. “Alright, that’s enough skulking about. Everyone who did not make the cut returns to the village.” Lionel’s voice cut through the small clearing with surprising ease.

  No one complained as they shot one last look at Lionel before returning to their daily lives. Most of them would never get an opportunity like today. Most of them were still mortal, not yet having set foot on the path of the warrior. So for a lot of the young men in the village, it was a great opportunity to embark on it, with less risk. Instead, those who did not make the cut would have to risk their lives in a different shard.

  My eyes traveled over my future party. I was surprised to see that I recognised two of them. The twins were unforgettable, one with unruly long black hair looking like a wild beast of a man. While the other had perfectly trimmed blond hair, aside from their hair color, they were virtually identical. It did not take long for them to notice my approach. “Bjorn, Magnus, I am surprised your father allowed you to leave the smithy.” The toothy grins on their face faltwered slightly at the mention of their father.

  “When else will Bjorn and I get a chance like this?” Magnus stood proudly with his black hair swaying in the wind.

  “Whatever you say, Magnus, whatever you say.” I shook my head as I walked past them, slapping Magnus’s shoulder.

  In total, there were around five combatants, excluding myself. Personally, I preferred squads of five, but having one extra man should not make that much of a difference. All those present shared the same quality with Bjorn and Magnus. They were all extremely muscular, clearly used to working with their bodies. Lionel had long since noticed my appearance, making a beeline directly towards me. “Is everything ready on your part? I already spoke to Ivan; his scouts returned earlier. The wild shard has been found.” I spoke in a calm, measured tone, as if discussing the weather or an evening stroll. Not a life and death battle where death was around every corner.

  “Yes, everything is ready here. I tried to make the team composition as balanced as I could. Remember your training, and don’t let pride be the reason for the death of yet another prince.” Lionel gave me a long, measuring look before stepping aside.

  “Listen up, everyone,” I shouted to those gathered in the clearing. All eyes turned to me as I began to speak. “We move out in thirty minutes. There is no going back after that. Those who are afraid stay behind. We do not need cowardice where we are heading. Everyone else, get ready, we must strike while the iron is hot.” I saw both hesitation and excitement inside their eyes as I moved towards the edge of the clearing. Waiting for them to get ready, as there was a shard to conquer. My blood started to boil at the thought of conquest, as a light smile graced my lips.