Ignite the Sun

"I'm sorry Cal but I don't think we'll be able to practice this week at all." Thomas stated. "I have no idea how they did it, but pretty much every commander managed to damage their armour or sword recently – or maybe they just haven't given them for maintenance in a very long time."

"That's too bad, but I'll live." Calen shrugged. "I just have to find something else to occupy the week. Maybe I'll borrow the aura training equipment from Cass since he doesn't need it anymore anyway."

"Good idea, but you can try swinging by the forge on the last day – if we manage to fix everything by then then maybe we'll squeeze in one day of practice."

"Got it, see you in six days I guess."

***

"Finally decided to train the old fashioned way instead of taking magic medicine?" Cassian asked as he bent down to retrieve the aura training implement.

"I'm afraid I didn't have time to run laps everyday with danger around every corner – plus don't act like you wouldn't immediately accept if someone offered you an enhancing pill."

"Never said I wouldn't." Cassian handed him the tool. "I already told you how to use it but I'm willing to repeat it if you don't remember anymore."

"No need, but thanks."

"If that's everything you need then please leave, I want to go back to cultivation."

"You're such a kind and welcoming person, you know that?"

"Shut up and get lost."

***

While Nickolas told them that the preparation period was mostly for the contestants, that wasn't strictly true – yes, the leadership technically had the event already organised, but the arena still had to be decorated somewhat due to the public nature of the event.

Since at this point in aura training it didn't require much concentration Calen would be bored to tears by just sitting and fruitlessly trying to grasp aura, so he decided to do it in the arena – seemingly the only place in the castle where something was happening.

He expected the knights assigned to the task of decorating to be rather down about it but they seemed to actually greatly enjoy it, perhaps because it was a rare opportunity to do something not related to combat.

Not that there was a lot to decorate – well, there was a lot of space to fill but the decorations weren't exactly varied: blue and silver banners with the Order's crest in three sizes, some kind of special torches using blue flame and blue carpets in the few VIP sections.

"Watching them goof around ey?" A voice came from behind.

Calen turned around to see Nickolas leaning against a row of seats in the back.

"I'm training, actually." He gestured at the tool next to him.

"Sure you are." Nickolas chuckled but then his expression became more serious. "I was visited by Tharion."

"What...?" Calen's eyes widened. "When? Why?"

"He appeared in my office a few hours after you left – apparently he wanted to inform me that he wants to attend the tournament."

"That's... strange. Has he done anything like that before?"

"Never, the incident with Arthur was the first time I saw him in five centuries – which is precisely why this development makes me so nervous."

"Did you ask him about it?"

"I did, but all he said was 'I simply wish to observe'. What do you think he wants to observe?"

"The fiasco with most of the round table following Arthur probably made him doubt your abilities to choose leaders."

"Can't really blame him to be honest." Nickolas half-Smiled. "Do you think I should prepare a special seat for him or something?"

"I think it's unlikely that we'll actually see him, he'll probably watch the entire thing from the shadows."

"Right, the guy who didn't even want to say his name after saving hundreds of people probably won't want special treatment." Nickolas agreed. "But if I'm not supposed to treat him in a special way nor will I actually see him, then why the hell did he even come to tell me about his plans?*

"Um... to stress you out?"

"Be serious."

"I am! Partially at least – if he makes you nervous then you're gonna pay more attention to every aspect of the tournament and produce better results."

"I'm afraid my input has little to do with who will be elected – otherwise I probably wouldn't have ended up in a cell."

"You really should think about creating your own faction, it would help you with a lot of stuff."

"Yeah, I need to do that and quite a lot of other things. Most importantly I'll need to set up a battle trial for Thomas after the tournament is done."

"You think the new round table won't oppose it?"

"They can't anymore – the whole argument was that he was our only blacksmith, but now that Greg turned out to also be one it's simply not true. Even if I decided to just make him a knight on the spot I doubt anyone would protest, but I decided to do it the proper way so that no one questions his title's legitimacy."

"Do you think his reputation will change once he becomes a knight?"

"Doubtful, his reputation was a product of his demeanour – however deserved it might have been. Nothing will change unless he stops snapping at everybody who even looks at him weirdly."

"That's what I keep hearing from people, but to be honest I've yet to see him get even slightly mad – and gods know I wasted a lot of metal in his forge."

"That's because you came with Alfred, had you visited the Order in your own initiative I suspect it would have taken him much longer to warm up to you, or well at least until either me or you realised who the other side was."

Suddenly Calen felt something with him – it was a shadow, a whisper of a feeling almost too faint to grasp with his senses, and it disappeared almost instantly.

But he was sure that it was there, even if just for a moment.

"Was that...?" He looked at Nickolas.

"It seems like all those body enhancements made you more sensitive to aura – it won't make you stronger or the training quicker, but you should be able to start cultivating quicker than normally. If you were to focus solely on cultivating you could probably still catch up to Cass."

"We both know that's not true, that lunatic is cultivating any time he's free and I have two more powers to take care of."

"Speaking of which, how's your magical progress going?"

"It's... a bit complicated." Calen stated. "My magic power keeps passively growing at a rate I've never experienced before, perhaps a side effect of the divine flame, but my understanding of magic stagnated since we woke up after the invasion. There simply aren't enough opportunities to use spells with my other powers and Isa around."

"No one said that mastering three separate powers was gonna be easy, but I bet that once you manage to do that you'll be like a... well I was going to say a god but then realised the divine flame on its own is kinda enough for that, so like, a super god?"

"Thanks Nick – you have such a way with words."

"Oh shut up." Nickolas swatted him on the head. "I'm the head of the Order you know, would you mock Sylara like that?"

"No, but I also didn't see Sylara slip on horse shit and-"

"That's quite enough." Nickolas clamped his hand over Caleb's mouth. "I have a reputation to maintain and the stories about my teenage years probably won't help with it."

"Alright, alright." Calen lifted up his arms as a sign of surrender. "We can change the topic if you want – you can tell me all you know about the Enlightened, somehow I think you'll have more to say than Sylara."

"Do you want an objective take on the Sage's Summit or my personal opinion?"

"Both preferably – unless you have something important to do."

"I don't, hence why I came to find you. In terms of objective facts, I think they are far to reliant on the sigils, the only people in the entire settlement who could count as capable fighters are the handful of scouts and the Grandmaster himself. They can be also quite stubborn when it comes to their traditions, perhaps because they were already forced to forsake so many of them."

"And your personal opinion?"

"They're weird but good people. Asur might just be a the strangest person I have ever met, but that might just be because he's a spirit." Nickolas scratched his chin. "What else, what else... oh right! They have this insane medicinal garden with things I can't even pronounce correctly – I think even Sylara might not have some of the things they do. If they ever want you to do something, take the herbs as a payment."

"You said they don't have capable fighters."

"That's right."

"But they have a garden full otg super rare herbs?"

"Yup."

"What do they use it for?"

"I have absolutely no clue."