Avryn had kept himself busy, reading the stories written about Vlan Heath. He saw her in himself upon deeper reflection. There were times he felt inspired, and times where he felt despair. It had him double thinking his initial plans in quiet contemplation. He looked down on his necklace, the form his gunblade takes now. The words of Sir Iver echoed in his mind.

  “I have no family, no kin to give her to,” those words bounced within the walls of his brain.

  His heart pounded as he imagined the worst scenario. The sun’s heat wasn’t helping with his state of mind. It won’t happen. He would not allow it. He set the books back in the shelves, and exited the library. The salty sea breeze welcomed him to the courtyard. The courtyard looked livelier it seemed, with his new perspective. His life had a god helped protect, he would not have it wasted.

  “Well, well, here’s a guy looking like he made up something in his mind,” Harver walked up to him. “Can’t say I’m used to seeing you like this, but it suits you. Being all serious, and all.”

  Avryn greeted and caught up with him as they made their way to their next class. Other students had already gathered in the training rooms. The two reunited with their respective squads. They were curious on the developments on Avryn’s gunblade. Tvira had talked about that to them, but they wanted to see for themselves.

  He showed them the necklace. One thing was bothering him. He didn’t know how to “unsheathe” it. He ripped the necklace off and with the flash of light, the gunblade revealed its true form. Its additional pendant hanged down from the end of the handle now.

  “Shooting star, huh? Like your name,” Leifren examined it.

  Avryn experimented and held the blade close, and it transformed back into the necklace. He turned to Rinna as he put it back on, and asked,

  “Has Sir Iver ever done this before?”

  Rinna was as puzzled as him,

  “This is the first time I’ve seen Lerosa do this.”

  Avryn’s mind wandered again. Iver had Lerosa for years, according to Rinna. Him not having unleashed its full potential was an absurd thought. His own answer would be simple, knowing him. The swing of a door interrupted his thoughts. Instructor Kelinald had arrived.

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  He briefed the class on the subject of intelligence gathering, and reiterated that knowledge is a soldier’s greatest weapon. They would run a simulation exercise where they must scout out the area and tick off a list. They would have to find: three routes of Corpse wolves, two nests of Corpse birds, sources of steel, coal, and berries, a pool of fresh water, and a new Corpse wolf variant. If the students could find at least more than half of those, they would pass the test.

  “Grocery shopping, huh. Should be straightforward,” Avryn looked to his squad mates.

  Kelinald caught on,

  “Indeed, Mr. Starbright, glad someone shares the same sentiment,” he praised.

  A caveat to this test was the time limit. They would have fifteen minutes until nightfall, when the Lost Lands became its most dangerous. Foggy rain would signal when time was up. They were tasked to return to the outpost before it happens.

  The training rooms booted up with a chorus of hums once again as the test had begun. Squads were dropped in their own pocket of the simulation. Each squad virtually were given the same map, for fairness.

  Avryn took in the landscape once again, and exhaled. Tvira egged him on, time was against them. He was still distracted, often staring at the horizon. A quick stare from Rinna got him back into focusing.

  They had a quick break after having fulfilled half of the tasks. Rinna was the first to ask what was wrong with Avryn. His eyes darted downward looking for an answer. He shook his head,

  “I don’t know, but I feel like I’m not even here. I always had it, even back then. I don’t even know what triggers it,” his shoulders slumped.

  His eyes told another story. He bowed down and apologized to them, he should keep to his standards as a leader.

  “You can make it up to us by being the leader we know you can be,” Rinna changed positions, ready to move.

  Night had almost come. The sky started to don its dark coat, and the first stars had appeared. Thunder rumbled nearby as the rain fell. Time was almost up. They just needed to check off one more thing before they finished. They couldn’t.

  Results came in, Leifren’s squad got the perfect score while Avryn’s was almost perfect. This slight defeat stung Avryn the most. Harver came to cheer him up,

  “Hey, there’s always the next fight. You can shut us up then,” he assured him.

  The class was dismissed. Jenilah caught up to Avryn as their teams departed. She knew he wasn’t feeling himself and checked on him. Avryn smiled, but nothing could get past her. They sat down in the courtyard and he recounted what happened.

  He read up on Vlan Heath’s life, citing several books. He felt afraid. That same fear had manifested from during his trial. The fact Vlan Heath’s cause of death being unknown was frightening.

  Jenilah held his hand and gave him reassurances. They all must cross that bridge eventually, especially considering what they’re doing here.

  “It’s what you do with the time you’re given. So what will you do, mister Avryn Starbright?” she asked.

  Avryn turned to her. His blue eyes filled with vigor,

  “I’m going to fight with every breath.”

  “Now that’s the spirit,” she replied.

  Avryn recalibrated his thoughts. He thanked her for the time and got on another one of his solo training sessions, now with a renewed inner strength. His fate would be his own making, he thought.

  He booted up the program and put the settings on a one-on-one duel with Sir Iver.

  “Get ready, old man. I’m gonna beat you today,” he taunted the knight.

  “Good, good. Pride always comes before the fall, as they said,” Iver brandished his gunblade.

  Several thousand virtual bullet casings littered the floor by the end of the training. Avryn lost again, but the sting of defeat was nowhere to be found. His fire had only gotten stronger. He grinned to himself,

  “Almost there.”