Emery stared at the gargantuan row of bluish-gray stones, neatly placed in a circle with some of them being on top of two stones. According to Killgragah, this was the place of power he was looking for.
He stepped closer thinking to himself how was this possible; the stones looked so mighty and heavy that he could only imagine someone like Killgragah, a mythical dragon, would be able to move something like this. However, the bigger question was, what was the purpose of these stones?
As if Tyra had heard his thoughts, she walked up beside him and spoke directly through his mind, "According to the High Priestess, this was an old shrine. But how and when it was made, were also the same questions she had because these rocks had been here even before they had settled in the forest."
He gave a nod and proceeded to walk up the hill and touch the stone. Once he confirmed that the five girls in wolves' form were out of sight, Emery tried to contact Killgragah.
"Can you hear me?" Emery asked.
Killgragah voiced his thoughts to Emery. "Yes, kid. Good. This is the place. There is something that I'll need you to do."
"Okay, but let's do it later. I'll come back when it's dark," replied Emery in his head.
"The quicker the better. Don't make me wait too long!" answered Killgragah.
After spending a good few minutes touching the rocks and walking underneath some stones that had another stone on top of it, he went back at the foot of the hill and asked the rest of the girls to guide him back at the village.
The moment he walked in at the village, however, the group of the warriors he had fought with last night as well as a dozen others were waiting in front of his tent. The huge bald man who had battled with Kastan stepped forward, raised his axe and declared, "Outsider! We, the Akavi Warriors, do not welcome you as one of us! Come and prove to us you are trustworthy!"
Shouting erupted as the dozens of warriors struck their wooden shields.
The five girls had gone to their tents first and when they got back, they were already wearing clothes. They went up to Emery and Morgana said, "This is the Akavi Warriors trial. You don't have to prove yourself to them since the High Priestess already considers you as part of us."
The eldest sister, Tyra, said, "Morgana, don't tell you're worried he'll take your title of the strongest, are you?"
Morgana turned to her and answered, "No, but I find this trial to be unnecessary and silly."
"Outsider! What say you?" challenged the huge bald man while waving his axe that split the air.
Emery stared at the bald man with cold eyes. He felt there were other reasons behind the challenge rather than this just being a test. He wondered if this was an excuse as a payback for last night's skirmish. Although he hadn't killed anyone directly, he had helped the Quintin's Expedition Group in defending against them and his temporary comrades had dealt the finishing blows. Anyway, he was curious to see how strong this man actually was as well as how capable his right arm now that it was back. He asked them for two swords with the intent of trying it on both hands.
"So you're not a coward, outsider," said the bald man with a grin.
The rule of the trial was simple. Emery, the challenger, would stand in the middle of the circle that the Akavi Warriors formed in the center of the village. Those who wished to challenge Emery may step forward for a one on one duel. This would continue until no warriors from the Akavi group steps forward or Emery falls unconscious.
Emery readied himself and raised the two swords on his hand, one of the front while the other overhead. The first warrior approached holding an axe.
There was no signal when they should start but since the warrior was already circling him, Emery took the initiative and dashed to swing his swords.
It felt weird for Emery using the swords to block and attack at the same time, this was his first time doing this after all. As more exchanges occurred between them though, he was getting used to swinging the swords from different angles, which barely left room for the first warrior to block. Eventually, the first warrior surrendered, cementing the first victory for Emery.
The next man Emery would fight was a spear and shield user. He decided to take this one more cautiously because the spear had a longer reach. His opponent struck the first blow this time, forcing Emery to be on the defense this time. Although the opponent was using a spear, each strike behind it had a heavy weight that was much stronger than all the fighters he had encountered. Still, Emery just needed one opportunity to close the distance.
Spear was a staple weapon because of its long reach, however, its strength was also its weakness. Soon enough, Emery parried the warrior's spear and knocked the enemy down by crashing himself at the enemy's shield before he pointed the sword at his enemy's throat.
"Wow! Brother Emery is so strong!" cheered Glita from the sidelines. That, however, attracted more enmity from the warriors around him. He had been so focused on what was in front of him that he hadn't realized the village's center had been filled with spectators both old and young. The village's chief, Brennus was also there but didn't say anything as he continued watching.
He could see from the spectators' eyes they were curious about his strength while these Akavi Warriors still emitted malicious intent. Nevertheless, Emery thought this was still necessary in order to gain their trust. After all, he was indeed an outsider, he had been raised not from here, even though he shared the same blood with these people.
The bout continued, Emery defeated the third, the fourth, and after he defeated the fifth warrior, his arms were starting to stiffen.
He waved his arms, trying to shake off the unpleasant feeling when Morgana stepped in and said, "That's enough. The trial is only supposed to last three duels at most. He has proven himself already."
"He is an outsider, he must prove himself!" shouted the bald man.
"This is not right, Cavvi! Chief Brennus, please ask the Akavi Warriors to back down. He already had en—"
Before she was able to complete her sentence, Emery patted her on the shoulder and said, "I'm still okay."
"Did you hear that? The outsider says he's still fine, let's continue!" declared Cavvi, the huge bald man.
Morgana gritted her teeth and went back to where his sisters were watching.
The sixth warrior stepped in and Emery readied himself once more. He very much would like to transform right now but as a respect to tradition, he decided against it and held himself back from using any spells. He convinced himself this was a good experience in improving his fighting skills and a great opportunity to know what his limits were.
After defeating the sixth warrior, Emery got on one knee and gasped to catch his breath. Some of his sweat was burning his eyes and he felt like hot air was exiting all over his body. This was probably his limit, he believed, but he had to make for one more push. He raised his head and sword and pointed it at the person named Cavvi. But to his surprise, the bald man simply grinned and sent another of his allies to fight him.
The seventh warrior charged and attacked relentlessly without giving Emery a moment of rest. It was a one sided bout, fortunately, Emery still managed to find a weakness at the seventh warrior's attack pattern and he exploited it. And with that, Emery claimed the seventh victory.
He then stabbed his two swords on the ground, trying to support himself. His arms and legs were shaking, throat as dry as a drought, and the feeling of hot air exiting body earlier now felt like a blazing flame inside him. Emery's vision was blurring and his hearing was starting to emit the buzzing sound.
He could barely lift his head but Morgana's voice still entered his ears.
"Cavvi! You are shameless! Fight him at his best!" Morgana screamed.
Based on that, he understood that the huge bald warrior had stepped forward. Forcing himself to stand up with one of the swords as the support, indeed that warrior with the most black markings on his body was making his way forward.
Emery closed his eyes first and breathed in a large amount of air to collect himself. The pounding of heart was reaching his ears but after exhaling all he had taken in, he felt a bit better. Readying himself for his last fight, he grabbed the two swords and waited for Cavvi to come closer.