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     Edward Hildebandt smiled as he looked eagerly at the new group of initiates who had wished to become Templar.  Some looked eager, others looked scared, and still others had expressions that he could not read.  There were six dozen candidates and six were under his protection.  As he was looking over which ones were to be with him, Grandmaster Damien York came into sight and every Templar saluted.  The traditional salute involved placing one fist across one's heart and the other hand behind his back.  It symbolized strength and also humility, which all Templar were known to show.  Grandmaster York saluted back as he stood at the front of the courtyard where all of the candidates were assembled with the apprentices. 
     "Before me stands brave young persons in the pursuit of the title of Templar.  In order to carry this title, you must first demonstrate to the Order that you truly wish to defy the Children of Severio, the worshippers of the dark god and his creations.  You must pass a trial that your apprentice has been notified of.  They will guide you along your way.  Goodluck in all of your endeavors," said Grandmaster York as he saluted again and then stepped down.  There was silence for a few minutes before the Templar Apprentices began informing their initiates of their task.  Each group had a different task of similar difficulty. 

     Edward opened up the scroll that held his task and read it to his group of six.
     "Just past the southeastern border of Rencana is one of many ancient Templar fortresses that were abandoned in the great era of peace.  Within the Fortress of Nesden are numerous chests that carry two different items: A lump of silver and a rubber stamp with the seal of the Templar upon it.  These items are kept within special chests that can only be opened by unique keys.  There are six keys that are to be distributed to each initate and they are destroyed after opening one chest.  Open a chest and each initiate is to bring back one of each item.  Then the chests are to be resealed by the apprentice until the next class of initiates come," read Edward.  He looked up at his class of six and rolled up the scroll. 
     "We will begin our task immediately.  My name is Edward Hildebrant and I will be accompanying you there," he added.  The group then began to leave the fortress of the Templar and headed to the southeast. Their path crossed some uninhabited wilderness as well as simple farmlands and forests. 
     "While we are traveling, I wish to know each of your names so that I know what to call you.  Approach me whenever you wish," said Edward.  The time it took them to get to the border of Rencana was about two days.  By the time that they had reached the border, two of the initiates came to introduce themselves to Edward.  One was a blonde-haired young man and the other had red hair.
     "Edward, my name is Christopher Flemming from the town of Hensley," said the first young man as he introduced himself.
     "You may call me Xavier...I have no surname," said the other man with red hair.
     "A pleasure to meet both of you," said Edward.
     "The first one is nice enough but the second one is rather odd," thought Edward at the same time.  Either way, the Fortress of Nesden was just entering sight and Edward pointed it out.
     "Before we enter this ancient castle, I wish to hear the remaining four initiates introduce themselves before heading inside.  Search for the chests and use the keys I have given you for opening them," announced Edward.

Darius had been silent for most of the journey.  It was the first time he'd ventured far outside of a city before.  While his father had, obviously, been on a number of excursions, his work had never allowed him to bring Darius along.  To him, seeing it for the first time, the wilderness was beautiful.  The air here was also different from in the cities.  It was far more malleable, clearer, and Darius liked it.

During his two days of travel, Hanno had been experimenting. At first he created a bolt of lightning between his two hands. After some thought, he began to apply it. He touched his hands to both sides of a stick, created the bolt of lightning and the stick burst into flames. He did the same to a pile of leaves which exploded into flames. He then tried a clump of dirt, with little to no result. Hanno, thankfully, stopped himself before trying it out on his horse.
During the trek, Meridius rode up and introduced himself to the apprentice.
"Sir, I am Hanno Meridius, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

[[OOC: Reiterating...you can go in...my character is making sure they are CLOSED AFTER you open them...*Glares at Demonsul*]]

Silvanos nodded to the apprentice known as Eduard, or Edwuard, or was it Edwoord? He could not remember, maybe it was Edward? He would just call him apprentice. The language employed by the Rencanans had been difficult for him to learn, but he could speak it somewhat fluently now. His accent was strong, and the names were difficult for him to remember. He was Syllvan-os Sortem-Myllam Kareimon, not Silvanos Caramon.

His hand was on his longsword, the steel weapon he had been trained extensively in. It had once been a peculiar weapon to him, as his people used spears, darts, javelins, and wore the skin of their cattle, known as gremorin.

A gremor was a thick-skinned, yet slow, beast that preyed on insect colonies. Their trunks would enter the hole, and their tough tongues would navigate the tunnels. They were easy for a man with a good spear to kill, and their skin made good armor. Not only that, but their meat and organs were full of nutrients and their bones were light and tough as could be.

Silvanos, or Syllvan-os, had never been a hunter. He had been a trader's son, though, and he had heard stories of the insects that a gremor would feed on. They were huge compared to the ones in Rencana; about the size of a man's index finger. The soldier-ants carried a lethal venom, and their queen was the size of a small hand. He had encountered a few workers, but never a soldier.

The corridors were dark, and his ears and eyes were straining to sense any noise around him. He thought about drawing his sword, but decided against it.
"Syllvan-os, tore yomeno. Veke marinve hestoe irkruken," he said to himself as he continued, noting the length of the halls and their mazelike qualities, "Torw keil ebuurei!"

He turned into a room and held his arm up. A ball of flame appeared in the palm of his hand, lighting the room. It appeared to be a classroom, and there were around eight large desks and several chairs. Under one of the desks was a chest, and Silvanos pulled it out and shoved his key inside. He turned it, and it turned with no resistance. He pushed it open, and inside was a lump of silver and a large stamp. He grabbed the stamp and the silver and watched as the key disolved.
"Vurend yeurendol," muttered Silvanos before getting up and leaving the room, trying to remember how to get back to the entrance.

Odd. Very odd.
The castle was abandoned, yet Hanno felt... A presence. An itch behind his ear. Logically speaking, the initiation seemed too easy. Naturally, Hanno found this suspect. When he had dismounted and entered the castle, Meridius had been on his guard. But, as he went further and further into the castle, the quiet had begun to lull him into a false sense of security, and Hanno had spent the last half an hour experimenting with his lightning powers as he walked.
But now he had found his chest. It lay there, open. His key had dissipated once he had used it. A rubber stamp and a lump of silver? Why? The items just seemed too simple. Perhaps, they have magical properties? Curious, Hanno Meridius, son of a great fighter, raised in relatively high society, having studied under the most prestigious minds of his time, reached into the chest.
And he grabbed the items.
Nothing happened.
That was uneventful.

--------------------------------

Hanno was bored. The stamp was in his pocket, and he was walking through the (rather large) castle. He was bouncing the lump of silver back and forth between his hands. He couldn't stop touching it, something drew him to this lump of silver. It was really quite fascinating the way it melded together. The more he looked at it, the more he thought that it was something... Special. Magical, even. Elemental. Maybe that was why the Templar had to get them as initiates. Maybe these lumps of silver were important for their training.
He had an idea.
Hanno held the lump of silver aloft, then clasped both hands to it.
Then he created a bolt of lightning between his hands. The silver began to glow, brighter and brighter.
"Yes! I knew it!" Hanno began laughing and smiling. He'd figured it out after all! The silver was Special! IT was...
I can't stop. Hanno couldn't stop the lightning. It just kept going and going, he was creating it but he couldn't stop creating it. The light shone brighter and brighter, then there was a crash of thunder, louder than anything Hanno had experienced before.
And the lightning began to go through him.
Instead of stopping at his hands, the lightning was making a full circuit through his body. The thunderous sound changed to a shrill whine, the light shone brighter and brighter, and Hanno had never experienced anything so painful in his life. The light and the sound became all. There was nothing but light, sound and pain.
Then the world went black, and Hanno Meridius fell to the floor, unconscious.

Hanno hurt. Everything felt... Twisted. Tight. He wanted to go back to the darkness, but something had woken him up.
His arm hurt, more than the rest of him. It was different, too... Sharper. As if... As if he'd been cut with a knife.
In the arm.
In the middle of a supposedly empty castle.
His eyes shot open. The world was blurry, and he couldn't quite hear properly. It will fade. Focus! Focus!
As if from a great distance, Hanno heard someone yelling his name. Telling him to wake up. I am awake dammit, I just don't want to move. His hearing started to refocus. He heard a buzz of something... Chanting? He turned his head so he could see something other than the roof. Cultists! Every movement a struggle, Hanno crunched up to a sitting position.
They had noticed him.
He threw his body forward towards the nearest cultist, striking him on the side of the neck with his hand. The cultist fell to his knees. He felt something stab into his armoured side, and heard a loud snap.
Hanno spun around to see a cultist holding a ceremonial dagger, broken at the hilt. With as much speed as he could muster, Hanno struck the cultist with open palms on both side of the villains heart while creating a bolt of lightning between his palms. The priest jerked and fell to the ground, his heart stopped. Another priest jumped him from behind, and Hanno's abused body crumpled under him. He rolled over on the ground, digging his chin into the priests arm to prevent the fiend from getting a chokehold. Hanno brought one of his elbows up then smashed it into the cultist's ribs. He heard them crack under the power of the strike and the weight of his armour. He threw the cultist aside, then stood up in a corner with his sword at the ready...

Darius had made it about halfway down the corridor towards the stairs he had come up when a loud and powerful blast shook the castle and threw the air into a flurry.

     Edward saw Hanno get to his feet and fend off three of the cultist priests, and he decided that he would divert the other three from the young initiate.  The three cultists, however, were intent on killing Hanno before he could interere.  Edward raced across the room and jumped between them and their target. 
     "I am your opponent.  Face your death," Edward growled.  The cultists moved in at one time with daggers ready and Edward was forced to retreat momentarily.  He drew them into the hallway away from Hanno.  They were forced to go through the broken door one at a time and the first cultist went to stab at Edward, whose back was against the stone wall.  He ducked under the attack and the blade struck the stone wall, thrust his sword through the cultist's chest.  His sword became stuck and he let go of it as the other two cultists attempted to trap him. 
     Edward retreated farther down the hallway and had no other weapon on him to fight.  The two cultists moved quickly towards him and were poised to attack.  Edward threw himself at their legs and knocked one clear off of his feet and the other stumbled into the wall.  He gathered lightning into the palm of his hand and send it streaming into the fallen cultist while the other regained his senses.  His electricity only stunned the cultist because the other one cut his attack short.  Edward raced back to his sword and freed it from the dead cultist as the other two prepared to attack again.  Instead of waiting for them to attack him, Edward charged and disarmed the first cultist and kicked him to the ground.  The second cultist slashed at Edward's arm but the blade simply could not cut the scale armor.  The blade instead was deflected upwards at Edward's head and he was forced to throw himself back from the attack.  He then made several quick stabs that found vital points on the cultist and he fell to the ground stone dead.  The final cultist had just crawled to his knees to see Edward standing over him and did not make a sound as he was executed with a deep slash across his throat. 
     Edward ran back to where Hanno was and found no other enemies in sight.  He helped the young initate back to the gate where he sound about seven cultists running off into the distance.  After a short time, the other initiates gathered back at the gate except for one: Christopher Flemming.  Edward left Hanno in their care as he quickly searched the fortress and sadly found the young initiate had been ambushed and died from his injuries.  He picked up the dead initiate and carried him back to the gate where he laid him on the ground.
     "We will need to take him back home," said Edward.
     "Looks like he failed the initiation," said Xavier as soon as he saw the body.  Edward said nothing as he put Christopher's body onto the horse that he would no longer be riding.  After quickly checking that everyone had gathered their items, he had them mount their horses and they made the trip back to the headquarters. 

***

     The group made their way back to the Order of the Templar stronghold and recounted their experience to Templar Master Gideon Desaul, the head of the initiation process in Rencana.  Edward also spoke to Gideon about Christopher Flemming and the dead initiate's body was taken and buried in a large field full of graves.  The initiates all witnessed the fallen young man's burial and Edward only spoke a few words.
     "This field...full of thousands of dead is reserved for those who did not make it through initiation.  It is an initiation through blood and survival.  Now, if you will follow me...I will show you what the two items are for," said Edward.  He led them to the blacksmith of the Templar and inside he demonstrated the end of initiation.  The lump of silver was taken along with the stamp, which was revealed to have a metal seal hidden underneath the old rubber one.  An armor of steel scalemail was placed on a stand and the silver was heated and pressed against the armor with the stamp.  The seal of the Templar was imprinted on the armor's center and cooled quickly.  Each initiate received an armor as their two items were taken and used.
     "As some of you may have realized, the silver was magically enchanted by our finest users of magic.  The magic slightly amplifies your abilities in the areas of magic, speed, and strength.  It will not turn you into a skilled master, but it will add to your current abilities so that you are one step closer to being one.  Now, I wish for you all to rest for several days and train if you need to.  It will take a few days for the rest of the initiates and their apprentices to return from their tasks.  Talk with your fellow initiates if you wish to.  The men with you in this group will become your Templar brothers," explained Edward.

***

     "So you failed at even killing boys who are not even fully trained Templar...how disappointing," said a large man with a face covered in tattoos and scars.
      "P-please master, it was not our fault.  It was-" stammered one of the surviving cultists from Nesden before his jugular was severed and he slowly bled out on the floor writing in pain.
     "Anyone else have more excuses?" said the man quietly.  None of the remaining six cultists said a word.
     "Very well then...please see our high priest, he has some way that you can repent for your failure," he added.  The six cultists then jumped to their feet and ran to see their high priest.  Little did they know, that their deaths would be their penance and that their blood would aid their god more than their lives.

For most of the ride home Darius had been deep in thought.  He constantly stole glances towards the dead body, and stole glares towards their apprentice.

Dominik looked up in surprise, from focusing on a ball of light he was juggling between his palms. "What do you mean? It went great, until those cultists showed up, damn them under the earth. The only trap I found was this tripwire thing."
He turned back to his palms. "But look, this new armor, it's amazing! I can do so much more now!" Suddenly, there were five balls of light bouncing between his palms, but one look at the concentration on Dominik's face revealed how hard this was for him to achieve. The balls vanished, and he turned to Darius. "Sorry, didn't catch your name. How'd the initiation go for you, anyway?"

[[OOC: I returned earlier than planned.  Might as well give you all something to work on since my night at the bar was cancelled since it is a holiday :'( ]]
[[OOC: EDIT - holyshitlongpost! Finish with your conversations as you see fit, get your new sword as you see fit, and meet at the gate whenever! I gave you time to do whatever you wish and talk with other people if you want.]]

     The next few days passed quickly, but it was the nights that went painfully slow and haunted Edward.  Visions of cultists slaughtering Christopher Flemming flew through his mind and even haunted his vision shortly after he woke from his light sleep.  He would throw water on his face and then attempt to sleep again.  Finally, three days had passed and Templar Master Desaul summoned Edward to his quarters.
     "I have finished reading the report that you wrote about the initiation of the new members.  I believe that you proved yourself very capable despite the situation.  The capture of one of your initiates was an unexpected event that forced you to assist them.  I would have preferred you to have let the initiates deal with the situation themselves.  It is their task to prove their abilities and demonstrate their ability to fight.  Having to rescue an initiate who foolishly sent lightning through his own armor and allowed himself to be captured is something you should not have to do," said Desaul with little emotion in his voice.
     "I could not stand by and watch the cultist priests summon a large demon from him.  It would have been extremely dangerous to myself as well as the other initiates," replied Edward.
     "I see your point...maybe we might have to see about...making sacrifices in situations like those.  Killing the initiate would reduce the strength of demon summoned from his body," suggested Desaul.
     "...killing him?" said Edward, taken by surprise.
     "The initiation weeds out the weak and leaves us with raw strength and determination.  If we are to defeat the Children of Severio, we must have the strongest that Rencana has to offer.  These young men willingly volunteer to join us, and they must prove to us that they are worthy.  We do not select them and then thrust them into life and death situation.  They wish to join the Order of the Templar, they must prove themselves," replied Templar Master Desaul.  Edward was suddenly thrown into chaos inside.  He did not speak for almost a minute and simply lowered his head. 
     "Apprentice Hildebrandt, I have an assignment for Sir Bondra, you and the five remaining initiates under your command.  Lord Donahue, from the village of Tacen, has not sent any news to us for almost five days.  We typically receive word within three days.  I would like you and your initiates to go to Tacen and receive an explanation from him about why he has not sent a messenger," said Gideon Desaul.
     "Could the messenger have gotten lost or mayb-" started Edward before being cut off.
      "The same messenger has been sent for the past seven years.  He takes between one and two days to reach us and now it has been five days.  With word that the followers of Severio are growing stronger in the south, we need to keep close contact with all of our allies.  This is your assignment.  Please have your initiates visit the blacksmith for new weapons.  I will promote them to apprentices due to the nature of this situation.  They have proven themselves as well.  I also...give you the rank of Templar Knight, giving you cooperative command with Sir Bondra of this mission," said Desaul.
     "S-sir? Templar Knight?" stammered Edward.
     "Kneel, Edward Hildebandt," said the Templar Master.  Edward dropped to one knee and Gideon Desaul drew his sword and rested the point just above his forehead.  Edward winced as the sword point dug into his head slightly and a trickle of blood ran between his eyes.
      "Edward Hildebandt, due to acts of strength, skill, determination, and courage, I hereby grant you the title of Templar Knight.  You are now one of the grand army of Templar who dedicate their lives to the destruction of Severio's servents.  What do you swear?" asked Desaul.
      "Fealty," replied Edward.
      "Then rise as Sir Edward Hildebrandt of the Order of the Templar," ordered the Templar Master.  Edward rose to his feet and felt the pain in his head disappear suddenly and the blood was gone.  He did not say a word.
     "You will leave as soon as you can gather the men under your command and visit the armory," said Gideon.  Edward still did not say anything as he left and headed to the armory. 

     It took Edward only a few minutes to get to the armory.  When he arrived there, he found the armorer mumbling about an initiate.
     "Kids think that I don't know anything about armor and lightning...bah, what do I care?" he grumbled while working on some initiate blades.  He then noticed Edward and coughed as he dropped what he was doing.
     "What do ya need?" asked the armorer.
     "I am in need of some Templar Knight armor and a new blade," said Edward.
     "Templar Knight? You look like you are still a tad young for that.  Who knighted you?" asked the man curiously.
     "Templar Master Gideon Desaul.  He also ordered me here before I leave on an assignement," replied Edward.
     "Ah, Desaul...I better fix you up quickly.  Just hold on for a moment.  I finished a blade and armor up just a few hours ago," mumbled the armorer as he looked around.  Then he set a large armor of metal plate on the counter and then placed a Templar Longsword next to it. 
     The armor was made of two large steel plates fashioned to perfectly protect Edward's torso and shoulders.  A seal, similar to the apprentice armor, was upon the chest but was much larger in comparison.  There was also an accompanying suit of chainmail that would cover his entire body and fit comfortably underneath of the chestplate.  The longsword was beautifully forged from steel and had another Templar seal upon the crossguard.
     "The seals are similar to the apprentice ones, but these are much more effective and powerful.  I hope that they are enough of a boost to help you in this mission of yours, whatever it is," said the armorer as he went back to work.  Edward changed out of his old armor and placed on the new one.  It was heavier but it did not restrict his armor or leg movement at all.  The sword was much more balanced than his old sword.  The basic weapon and armor of the standard Templar Knight was impressive.  He gave the armorer the old equipment, which was checked for damages and prepared for an apprentice who might need it.  
     Edward then found five initiates who did not have any current duties and requested that they find his five initiates and Sir Bondra.  He gave their names and descriptions and set them off with orders to go to the armorer and replace their old weapon with an apprentice sword and to meet at the main gate of the stronghold in four hours.  Edward sat down.  So much had happened so quickly.  He was exhausted.  Summoning unknown strength, Edward headed to the archery range of the Templar headquarters.  There, he collected a decent bow made of maple along with fifty arrows with iron tips.  After he finished with all of this, he walked to the main gate and promptly fell asleep from exhaustion.

Dominik looked troubled for a moment, the light disappearing from his hands. "What are you implying? That the cultists were... arranged... to test us? Or that the apprentice was supposed to?" shuddering, he turned away, closing his eyes to mumble a prayer. "I don't think that-" he cut off, as a pair of initiates entered, calling for Dominik and Darius. "That's us," he said, standing. "My name's Dominik Baxter, in case you don't know. Blessed under the spirit, junior priest of the Five - and I guess a Templar Initiate now, as well." He gave a dry chuckle. "I do hope you aren't right. A trial by blood and death is not a very promising prospect." turning, he made his way towards the two initiates, calling out to them. He stopped halfway, turning to Darius. "You coming?"

   The two initiates, with orders from Edward, informed Dominik and Darius that they were to be sent to the armory to receive an apprentice sword for each of them and that they were to meet at the main gate in four hours to leave for a mission.  When they finished giving their message, they left to do other tasks.

Arriving at the gate, still quite not believing the new sword in his hand, Dominik saluted to the newly-armored Edward. "Lead on, sir!"

[[A bit busy right now, should be able to make longer posts tomorrow, maybe later today.]]

     Edward saw that everyone had gathered at the gate and he stood up from where he was sitting.
     "Everyone, this is Sir Isaac Bondra, the knight who will be accompanying us.  Our mission is to travel to Lord Donahue's castle in Tacen and find out why no contact has been received from them in five days.  Prepare yourselves for anything," said Edward.  Everyone then mounted their horses and they rode off.  It was a two day journey while going at a gentle pace, but they were riding hard since contact was vital.  They arrived within sight of the town by nightfall, but Edward could not see anything from the distance they were at and with the lack of light. 
     They set up camp for the night and moved out early the next morning.  The sky was overcast and rain sprinkled down off and on.  The town of Tacen was quiet.  The group rode into the town with their eyes scanning to see any enemies.  Then they saw cultists scattered around, looking towards the castle.  The gates were shut and arrows were being fired from it occassionally, but it was obvious that the defenders were surrounded and weary. 
     "It looks like these cultists have surrounded the castle! We need to help Lord Donahue clear them out! Looks like they are spread out pretty thin, so we should be able to avoid large groups of them until they are in disarray.  Attack!" said Edward as he dismounted.  He was not a good fighter on horseback and chose to approach some enemies on foot.

Hanno had been thinking about the armourer's suggestion all through the journey, but what he saw here snapped him back to reality.
A city under siege by those villains. At first he considered dismounting, but was unwilling to leave his horse to the mercies of the cultists. Drawing his sword, he did his best to remember what he had been taught of mounted combat.
Horses are heavy and massive, deadly with momentum. The horse is as good a weapon as your sword, don't lose either, use both. Keep moving, don't get bogged down.
Hanno spun his horse around, looking for a target. Three cultists. Digging his spurs in, he yelled to urge his horse on, sword held at the ready. The cultists spun at the sound of hooves bearing down on them, but not fast enough. One of them was crushed by the horse, the other two jumping aside. Leaning down from his saddle, Hanno slashed deep into the back of one of the cultists, severing his spine. The other cultist stood up and started running, but was unable to get to a building in time. The Templar longsword cleaved his skull in two. With one hand on the reins and one holding his sword aloft, Hanno spun his horse around, searching for a new target...

     The light rain had given Edward an advantage as he saw a group of cultists firing arrows towards the castle.  He knelt down to the moist ground and concentrated as his hand drew a symbol upon the ground.  Then he focused his energy into his palm and unleashed a wave of electricity that danced along the wet ground in front of him.  The cultists turned around as they heard the sound, but they were already doomed as energy coursed through their bodies until smoke came from their eyes and ears.  The screams did not bother Edward as much as they used to.  The armor felt a little ligher as well, which helped him as he moved from house to house in order to avoid cultists with bows.  He returned fire with his own bow and scored several kills, and Edward moved closer to the main gate of the castle.  He moved towards the gate until he found a small shelter from arrows.  
     "How many men are still alive inside!?" yelled Edward.
     "Who the hell are you?!" replied a voice.
     "Sir Edward Hildebrant of the Templar.  How many men do you have?" asked Edward again.
     "About seventy swordsmen and forty archers manning the walls!" said the guard inside.
     "We are hitting their forces from behind.  If you come out now, we can crush them in between us! They are spread thin!" yelled Edward.
     "Very well!" replied the guard.  The gates opened up after around ten minutes and the swordsmen poured out with full armor and shields ready.  The battle began to shift in their favor.  Edward then raced back to rejoin the fight that was growing in intensity.

Hanno had been trying to get himself some sleep, something of great value to any soldier, as his father often told him, but he had been unable to. Every time he closed his eyes, the dead Initiate had been there, staring at him, accusing him. He had done something foolish, and it had cost an initiate his life. All he could see was that man, his body twisted into something vile as a demon tore it's way out of the ground...
Alarm bells? Hanno got up from the cot he had been allotted, quickly slipped his armour on over his head then buckled it into place. Belting on his sword,  he hurried out of the barracks.
A guard ran towards him, wild eyed, looking desperately for a way out. Hanno grabbed his arm as he ran by, swinging around to face him, "What is it man? Speak up!"
The guard, shaking, stammered out his reply: "Th-th-the c-c-cultists. They're p-passed the wa-walls. They're gonna turn me into a monster!" Shaking violently, the guard staggered into a corner, where he sat hugging his knees, rocking back and forth, chattering. With a last disgusted look, Hanno noticed something; the man's arm had strange markings on it. Hanno rushed to the guard, looking at the man's arm. It was one of the cultist's summoning marks, the scars several days old, thankfully not completed. The man must have been captured and escaped sometime over the last few days. Seeing the cultists passed the walls would have been too much for his mind. Deeply saddened, Hanno studied the man's face. He's staring at something Hanno turned around. The sword flashed towards him, but slid off his scalemail coat as Hanno turned just in time. Cultist! Hanno grabbed the cultists shield, pulling it aside as he drove his left fist into the mans face. Hanno's right hand shot to the cultist's sword arm, grabbing it at the wrist and twisting the arm so the hilt faced Hanno. His left palm shot out, snapping the cultist's wrist and driving the sword out of his hand.
Hanno had forgotten the shield arm. The shield smashed into his back, sending Hanno sprawling onto the ground. Quick as he could, Hanno turned his fall into a roll, diving and grabbing the Cultists blade, which he used to slash at the cultist's feet. The Cultist jumped out of the way, and Hanno stood up, drawing his own sword. The cultist ran towards him, shield in prominent and a dagger pulled out. Hanno brought his two hand's together and summoned a bolt of lightning. It struck the cultist, stunning him and throwing him back. Hanno leaped forward, kicked the shield aside and beheaded the cultist.
One down...

Dominik had been sound asleep. It had taken him a long time to rest his mind, as doubts as to the goodness of the Templar continued to surface, despite his efforts to squash them. Indeed, would the Gods have sent one of their most promising priests to be trained by a flawed organization? Unless he was sent to cleanse them...

Alarms woke him, and he grabbed his sword instinctively, creating a sphere of light to illuminate his path almost unconsciously. He rushed to the lower floors, and joined a group of guards who were slightly outnumbered by a group of the armored cultists.
Dominik had never fought a serious foe with a shield before, and he'd not fared well during training against them. Cursing, he began to channel energy into a flash, then let it dissipate as he realized he could not protect the guardsmen from the blast without alerting the cultists he was going to use it. Instead, he simply began using his sword, relying on the other guards to watch his back.
He struck again and again, quickly and without putting too much energy into a single strike, but the cultists' shields were always ready to block the blow. Dominik made a mental note to get better with the sword. Changing tact, he began to strike low at the legs of the cultists, and then as they began to defend lower at their heads. His first strike connected with a cultist's shin, leaving them tom crawl away before a guard finished them. He then cleaved into another cultist's head, punching through a cheap and rusted helmet with little effort. After a while, he traded a gash on his sword-arm for a stab into the eyes of the cultists.
Struggling to continue to use his sword, he had an idea. Summoning up a large ball of light, he held it in front of a cultist's face. The effort caused him to drop his sword, but he couldn't use it anyway, so he stepped back behind the guards. The cultist, no longer able to see directly in front of himself, staggered around, flailing his sword. Dominik had to focus to keep the light ball in the right place. After a while, one of the guards recovered from the surprise of seeing the light appear and easily ended the cultist's life.
Dominik then continuously summoned more light orbs in front of the cultists, sometimes moving it to the cultist posing the most threat, switching it to keep them disorientated. The guards soon worked out he was the cause of the light, and slaughtered the cultists one by one. The last cultist standing, knowing his fate, threw down his weapon and fled. It seemed he had more sense than manic devotion compared to the others.

Sagging, Dominik picked up his sword with his off-hand and leaned against the wall as one of the guards congratulated him for his help, and could he possibly help them retake the next room, and all that...Dominik couldn't really hear him. He felt himself drifting off. Keeping those large light orbs moving had been tough. But hopefully, he'd done enough to warrant a short rest.

That night, Dominik slept through the night only through exhaustion. Every time he discovered something useful to do with his power, it exhausted him. He needed to train more, learn to grasp more power. But at the pace things were going, he'd never have the time.

After returning to the Templar bastion, Dominik trained relentlessly, throwing light balls around, summoning them as large as he could, pushing himself to his very limits. To his dismay, he found his limits to be much lower than he thought, and training was slow.
One session, after failing to push an orb of light further than forty feet away, he caused a frustrated explosion of light as bright as he could, lighting up the training yard, and promptly half collapsed into sitting on the ground, breathing hard. He needed to be stronger. The gods needed him to be stronger, if he were to cleanse the Templar...if that was their mission. Gods damn that man, for putting doubts into his head!
Climbing to his feet, he set off to locate Darius. He needed to talk with him about their beliefs regarding the morality of the Templar.

"Urgh, a nightmare. Thank the gods we escaped as lightly as we did." Dominik looked down. "About what you said before...do you really believe that? Do you think that the Templar are inherently...as dark as you said?"

Hanno had been practicing, and thinking. His two palm attack could be logically extended to two iron bars, with thin wire of gold, a cap of gold at the end and a golden connection at the handle. It was a good idea, but it was costly. Hanno didn't think he would be purchasing it for some time.
Frustrated, he went into the training yard where he began working out, improving his muscles and practicing his swordsmanship. Block, stance, strike. "Fighting is all about stances. You need a base of power to strike from and to be able to react. Maintain your balance, and move your feet". That was the first lesson Hanno had been taught by his father about combat. Going through all the stances wasn't as easy as just swinging the sword around wildly, but it would pay off in the long run...

Dominik looked concerned. "Are you suggesting that the...cultists...are more right than we are? They worship demons...they disgrace their very reason to exist. But...I can't see why so many would die for the initiations..." he turned away, muttering to himself, troubled. Perhaps the gods had put him here to clean up the Templar. If so, then they likely put Darius there for the same reason. He'd have to talk to him about that at some point. But for now, he went back to training his ability to summon light.

[[OOC: *Hides when he realizes that he is spending more time with his gf*]]