Three weeks came and went as the kingdom prepared itself. They had little idea of what they would truly be facing, but they took all precautions for both physical and spiritual confrontation. Men drilled in the open fields, conscripted into the defense of their home as they traded plows for spears. Priests prayed, asking their god for guidance and protections as ceremonies and holy items were created or brought into the light. It was an odd sight, watching priests wander the training fields, murmuring prayers and burning incense as people shouted and instructed on how to kill.

  The contradictions were noticeable to all, but they were buried under the general unease that had fallen over the populace of the city. Every preparation made told a story to the common citizen. War was on the horizon, and like a dark cloud, it hung over the city and smothered any emotion other than dread.

  Most men of a healthy age were taken as part of the draft, and their families felt the absence. It was hard, especially for those who had to travel far from home due to the summons of their lord. The knowledge that they did so in order to protect their families from grave threats was poor comfort compared to the warmth of a hearth and the love of a family. Duty demands much, though, and many people had to steel their resolve in the face of such a crisis.

  For Daegal and his close group of associates, things changed little from day to day. Osric had regained some of his weight, but he still looked thin as a rail. Leoric gave the boy some study material in the form of a basic alphabet which Mathew would help him read through at the end of their exercises. Daegal was curious about it as he didn’t know how to read either, and whenever he was around for the reading sessions, he listened in to the best of his ability. It made it more interesting to Osric with Daegal being there learning alongside him, which helped him progress.

  Emil was in talks with Mathew regarding any potential work in the capital after the current danger had passed. He had impressed upon the older apothecary his knowledge and ability to adapt to an emergent situation. It was a large step up in his position from unknown healer in the middle of nowhere to assistant to the king's apothecary. Even if the position didn’t end up being permanent, the experience and ability to say he held the position would be worth a lot on its own.

  Fiora continued to pursue something more... personal, in nature. She and Leoric had been spending an ever-increasing amount of time with one another. It started rather innocently enough, simply walking around the castle ground during their free moments and talking, but it quickly developed into further explorations of each other’s interests. They frequently had dinner together in private, exposing Fiora to many foods that she had never seen before as she attempted to match the eloquence of her partner. Leoric found her attempts charming even though he did not expect conformity from her.

  It was obvious that the two were courting one another, so much so that Daegal didn’t even need to smell them to tell as much. They both gave off the same scent of desire now, and while Daegal was happy for the two of them, there was a part of him that felt a little jealous that Fiora was spending less time with him despite his best efforts to ignore said feeling.

  As for what Daegal had been up to, he couldn’t really claim to have changed his schedule all that much. A few interesting things occurred around him. Reynard had asked Daegal to submit himself for more measurements. It thankfully wasn’t by that eccentric clothes designer as the man made Daegal nervous. Instead, he was set upon by half a dozen men who smelled of fire and metal who measured his limbs, chest, head, and even his tail. It was all very odd, and Reynard did not tell him what it was for as he simply smirked and said it would be a surprise, should they need it. That was almost two weeks ago, though, so he had given up on thinking about what the king had planned.

  Another event of note that happened to him wasn’t nearly as pleasant. Reynard asked him a favor, one that was rather uncomfortable. He wanted Daegal to help him harden the troops so they could face the otherworldly forces that would inevitably come without breaking. That would mean Deagal would intentionally have to be scary in front of hundreds of humans he did not know. That felt adversarial to the original goal of having him be friendly with humanity, but Reynard ensured him that it would help save lives.

  Daegal didn’t like the idea of playing the monster, especially since it dug up some nasty memories and made him feel like he was getting too close to his past persona of Wrath. He couldn’t help but question his own actions after learning that was who he was. It was maddening at times, trying to decide what was and was not considered close to who he once was. There was no telling where the line should be drawn when it came to that. He had killed many humans in the past, and while he could justify it in some ways, perhaps there was a part of him that influenced his actions that he wasn’t aware of.

  It hurt his head whenever he looked back on himself with this new frame of reference, so he endeavored to squash the idea whenever it popped up unbidden. He had enough problems in his immediate future that worrying about the past was an indulgence that he couldn’t afford. The nearest of these issues was the training he would be involved in.

  He had worn his little shoulder cape, the protections from judging gazes being minimal as he accompanied the captain of the royal guard, Edmund, and a handful of knights out to the training fields. At the very least it had been getting warmer lately as the last vestiges of winter were nearing its end. There was an open field just outside of the city walls that was filled with tents and makeshift training areas where men practiced with weapons both real and wooden. Those nearest the road couldn’t help but stop and stare at him; that is until their instructors caught them gawking and promptly chewed them out for it.

  Daegal and his small group ended up stopping in a field that had over a hundred soldiers currently tending to their equipment and awaiting orders. Those orders came when a loud call to attention rang out over the field. The men sprung to their feet, gathering their weapons as they lined up in rows five deep. Once they were all in place and standing with backs straight, the drill instructor started shouting out to them all.

  “Alright! We’re about to begin a new kind of training today, one that you all are in desperate need of. As I’m sure that you have all noticed, we have a special guest here today, and the training involves him. I’ve not been told all the details, but our enemies are likely to be unusual, closer to him than us, and frankly, I’m already seeing the necessity of what was suggested. You sorry sacks of shit look just about ready to piss yourselves and our new friend here hasn’t done anything but stand there and look ugly!”

  Hey, that’s kind of rude. Daegal thought to himself but didn’t interrupt as the instructor continued.

  “So, we’re all going to get nice and familiar with our friend here, which means you lot are going to be taking a swing at the big guy.” Hearing that they would be fighting Daegal, even in mock combat, made many of them look around with nervousness at their fellow soldiers. “If you can’t even handle one ugly bastard, what makes you think that you could stand in front of a potential army of them? Make no mistake; this is a fight that will determine whether all of us, husbands, wives, and children, get to see another day. If you fail here, then you fail your families too! Think about that!”

  They did, and Daegal could see more than a few faces become stern with determination. Now that the soldiers were in the proper mindset, they began to organize in combat formations with mock weaponry at the ready. Edmund stepped in front of Daegal and made a gesture to the formation.

  “Show us what it is like to fight you.”

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  Daegal understood that was the reason for him being here, but now that he was in this moment, he couldn’t help but wonder how he was going to pull that off.

  “Wh-What am I supposed to do exactly? I don’t think you mean for me to actually h-hurt them, right?”

  “Obviously not.” The man gave a groaning sigh. “Growl, roar, snarl, whatever it is you do while you’re fighting like an animal. You can push them around a bit but try to keep the injuries to bruises and not broken bones. Try to convey your strength with methods that don’t end in dismemberment. You’re capable of at least that much, yes?”

  “I... guess I can do that.”

  He would have to be a bit gentle with them if he didn’t want to cause serious injury. Looking at the group of soldiers clutching their wooden weaponry tight, he nervously shuffled side to side for a moment and almost raised his hand to wave before remembering he was supposed to be scary. Clearing his throat, he did his best to get into the fighting mindset.

  Approaching the troops, he let out a growl and bared his teeth. His heart wasn’t in it, though, so the menace never reached his eyes. Even with the half-hearted threat, he still inspired a large amount of fear and nervousness in the soldiers. As Daegal got within striking distance, those in front attempted to follow their training and thrust a few wooden spears at his chest. He reacted to the strikes with a swipe of his hand at the spears and surprisingly knocked two of the three out of their owner’s hands. The instructor did not like that one bit.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” For a second, Daegal thought the man was mad at him, but it was quickly clarified. “You got toddler hands or something!? Fucking idiots! You grip the spear, not gently caress it! If this was a real fight, you would be dead in the blink of an eye! Pick it up and try again!”

  Those that lost their spears scrambled to obey the orders that were given to them. It was a little awkward for Daegal to essentially reset himself while being threatening all over again, and he could see that many of the soldiers thought the same, at least until he made contact with them again. They thrust the spears, and this time held onto them when he batted them aside. That didn’t help them when he stepped into the formation and gave a relatively gentle shove that knocked down two rows of their formation. Some of them gave him a few prods when his back was turned, but he swept their legs out from under them with his tail. There were complaints about how Daegal did not react to being stabbed with the wooden weapons, and the instructor moved to squash those complainers.

  The man grabbed a real spear and walked up to Daegal. “I hear you’re quite tough; care to demonstrate?”

  Daegal did not fear the spear at all, though he also did not like the idea of becoming a target. Still, if it would get the idea through to the soldiers, then it wasn’t like he was being put in any real danger. He hesitantly nodded his consent and squared shoulders with the instructor who gripped the spear in both hands while readying himself.

  With a strong thrust, he pushed the spearhead toward Daegal’s left side, steel glimmering in the light of the afternoon. The bladed head made contact and slid off his scales with barely a scuff. Failing to make a dent, he pulled back again and aimed for center mass. This time the spear did impact and stick, the tip of it barely doing more damage than a stinging insect. With the point now made, the instructor retracted the spear and held it toward the trainees, showing them the tiny drop of blood on the very tip.

  “This is all you managed to accomplish with those blows. You would need to land at least a hundred more if you wanted a being like him to feel more than anger at your actions. We are not fighting a normal enemy, so do not expect normal results. Got it?”

  After receiving a series of worried but understanding nods and grumbles from the soldiers, the instructor sent them back to practice attacking dummies as a group. Once the recruits were busy, he turned to Daegal again.

  “I apologize for inflicting even such a minor wound as this and thank you profusely for your cooperation.”

  “Oh, it’s, uhm, fine. Like you said, I hardly even felt it.”

  From that point onward, it was simply a repeated series of events for most of the day. One large group after another came to be tested against him, and he pushed them around like a bunch of toddlers. It became somewhat of a comedy scene for any spectators in the area as those soldiers who had had their turn against him were now jeering their fellows who were repeatedly knocked on their ass time and time again.

  The idea behind his visit here was starting to work as people became less afraid and either more entertained or more frustrated as their ability to fight back against Daegal, who himself wasn’t putting his all into this, became annoying to them. Sure, their strategies could have landed him in a considerable amount of pain, and if their full numbers were to come down upon him, they would probably win with him eventually dying to the multitude of small wounds.

  Daegal had managed to not seriously injure anyone, though there were a multitude of bruised behinds and egos. While he had succeeded in his task of getting them to be less likely to run at the sight of someone like him, he was a little worried that perhaps he had created some unpleasant feelings between himself and the soldiers. He had, but they were different than he expected as a few shouted out at him as he tried to leave.

  “We’ll get you yet, you scaly bastard!”

  “Yeah! I swear we’ll find a way to knock you on your ass next time!”

  “Maybe some nets or ropes could help slow him down or tangle him up,” one suggested to his fellows.

  Despite all the challenges and threats, Daegal didn’t see any true anger in their eyes. It was all more... playful, if you could call military exercises that. They all wanted to get him, but at the same time there was laughter hanging in the air. The best way to describe it would be a friendly rivalry, a new relationship for Daegal to experience. He was almost looking forward to the next time he could come out.

  The training continued for a few more days with Daegal participating as their mountain to overcome. It had almost become sport for the soldiers as they experimented with various obscure strategies to knock Daegal off his feet. None of them officially worked, but they did note that the net idea got in his way quite a bit, especially when it got tangled in his horns.

  Everything was progressing apace until one day when Daegal was walking through the halls of the castle; a messenger came running through the corridor with a frantic look of urgency about him. The man’s eyes locked onto Daegal, and he quickly approached with the clear intent to engage. Daegal couldn’t help but wonder what was happening that required such a rushed-looking messenger to be sent out.

  “Sir Daegal! His majesty urgently requests your presence in the throne room.”

  Daegal figured he would get the full picture once he was there, so he acknowledged the summons and set off for the room in question as a brisk pace. As he approached the throne room, he could hear the chatter of a large group of people. The moment he entered the door frame he had to pause as he was confronted by the sight of many nobles and military oriented individuals. It was standing room only, and Daegal was starting to feel a pit form in his stomach as this couldn’t be good.

  When he entered the room, it was impossible for people not to notice him, and one of those people was Reynard, who looked a little anxious.

  “Daegal, you’re here! Good, now we can begin.” The king took his seat on the throne, and that simple act slowly brought the room to attention. “My friends and subjects, we have received a very disturbing and urgent report. A town three days out was razed to the ground.”

  This news created a cascade of conversation that filled the room with noise that made it impossible to single out any one conversation. It took a few seconds to silence everyone again as Reynard continued.

  “The rider who managed to survive the initial onslaught described the scene as coming straight from hell itself with many pale-skinned monsters tearing through anyone in their path. There can be no doubt that the enemy has decided to make their move. I know it is earlier than what we might have wanted, but we have made good preparations regardless. I would like to believe that our uncovering of their plot has forced their hand in this matter, so they may be just as underprepared as we are. However, prudence dictates that we should proceed as if our foe is fully prepared. They are heading our way, and we have three days to finish what preparations we can.”

  Reynard stood, projecting his authority as much as he could with a sweeping motion of his arm. “All military personnel are to begin fortifying the city at once. I want lookouts on the walls at all hours of the day and have our scouts attempt to track the enemy’s movement. Fill up our food and water stockpiles in case we are forced into a last stand. If anyone has any other suggestions, I would be open to hearing them, but for everyone else, move immediately! We have precious little time.”

  There was a flurry of motion as people sprang into action. Daegal was frozen in place for a moment as the crushing realization came down upon him. The moment of his confrontation with Envy had been decided, and he was not a part of that decision. He wondered for a second if he could truly face Envy when there was an army at their back as well, but he shook the defeatist thought out of his head. There was no room for that mindset, not when so much was on the line. He would win; he had to, no matter what it might cost him to do it.