After shocking Ervis more then once with shadow magic, Faith begun his efforts towards getting ready for the event in two years, under Ervis’s guidance of course. Saying Faith had knack for swordsmanship wasn’t exactly correct. It was more accurate to say he was born to wield a sword. Every lesson he was given by Ervis on technique would quickly be mastered and then imbued into Faith’s own personal style.

It was quite shocking for Ervis to watch as Faith seemly pulled and combined his techniques with ones Ervis had never seen or heard of out of no where. This of course was shadow sense guiding and leading Faith in the direction that best suited him. After going through that chilling experience Faith had managed to gain more and more understanding of his shadows.

Slowly he begun to adapt them into his combat style, when Ervis wasn’t watching. Faith became so absorbed in the two hobbies of magic and combat that were combined together that Eshir would have to literally drag him to the dinner table, or his bedroom, otherwise Faith wouldn’t eat or sleep. Eshir herself couldn’t complain since Faith had become a lot more affectionate towards her after his experience in the training hall.

It was quite inspiring to those residing in the castle to watch Faith train and train everyday with a ruthless determination, though to all the royals apart from those present during Sira’s duel with him, it was a reminder that they couldn’t even best a half breed. Tensions inside the two factions of the castle slowly grew as Faith got stronger and stronger training until his body gave out.

He’d learned that his stamina couldn’t be exhausted easily by any normal exercise, so Faith had gone for the training route of ten minutes of hell rather then ten hours of discomfort. Ervis had tried to push him in a different direction saying he should get the fundamentals down first, but after awhile he just gave up, teaching Faith things he thought would take years instead of months.

Faith’s power grew day after day as his potential that was dormant till now was coming out slowly but surely. He’d learned that the forgotten blade he chose was actually quite different to a sabre.

Its serrations didn’t take away from its parry potential, but they also lighten the weight of it increasing its speed, while keeping the effect of normal serrations. Faith had found that its style involved using the entirety of your body, putting both weight and fluid like motions into each strike. Too use it properly you needed precise control over your body but if did it perfectly the blade offensive and counter potential far outweighed any weapon Faith knew, including his master’s Sabre and his mother’s long sword. As for his Father, Faith guessed he probably didn’t need a weapon when his claws could cut through pretty much anything.

If someone engaged him with a longer sword, the increase in speed he had from the weight tied with its elongated blade would always hit first, while its fluid motions gave his body ample opportunity to dodge. If the long sword user really wanted a hit in they’d have to sacrifice a vital spot to do it and their strike would result in nothing but a cut or slash in a unimportant area. As for shorter weapons like broad or shorts swords, again the speed of the forgotten blade made it so parry and defence were possible and its reach cut off any form of offensive play from the other. Before they’d hit Faith he’d always have clear shot on them, assuming they were even with him in size, power and innate speed. If Faith came up against a double handed weapon relying on gravity for power, his fluid movement would allow for easy combat throwing his opponents centre of balance off rending every strike far weaker then it should be, and leaving them open for carnage.

Ervis forced Faith to spar with him and golems morphed down to Faith’s size to give him examples of both fighting on an even playing field and a uneven one. Ervis quickly discovered that one of Faith’s greatest quality in combat apart from his almost perfect precision was his ability to hide his intentions and will. When Ervis spared with him he felt nothing from Faith even when strikes hit, his eyes always cold and focused on the combat like it was nothing more then a fine game of precision and not fighting.

He also seemed to be getting stronger and faster day by day at a Terrifying rate. Faith knew why this was now as he’d found out when he asked his Father about it during one of their magic lessons. Alzeor taught all the pure spells faith knew to him such as barriers of mana, mana blade and every other pure mana spell Alzeor knew that Faith could cast. It was quite good bonding time between them and Alzeor took much pride in how quick Faith was to learn what he taught.

Not only that but Faiths hunger for knowledge seemed to even outweigh Alzeor as he devoured everything he was taught seeking more and more each lesson. Alzeor also taught Faith basics things he thought his son should know about the world, manners and every other thing he knew Eshir was too bloodthirsty to care about.

Alzeor thought after awhile his son could never surprise him, as he’d come to learn that Faith was quite the monster when it came to learning, however when Faith broached the topic of what happened after his duel with Sira he was proven very wrong. Alzeor had almost lost his cool in sheer euphoria of how amazing his son was, considering he’d gone through a dragons second trial at the age of four.

Faith had learned this way in between his fathers bursts of joy that he’d gone through a dragons coming of age type ceremony know as “Trial of hearts”. Supposedly it was something that most lesser or half breed dragon kin never went through in their entire lives, and any that did would evolve into true dragons if they completed it properly, though the chance were next to none.

Apparently when you qualified for the Trial when your emotions took on a form similar to that of your given element i.e for flame dragons they’d have to have a blazing rage and so on. When this happened your mind body and being would mix with the mana of your element, creating a literal projection of your emotions through mana.

If strayed from the mixture and lost sight of your element even once during the Trial you’d be eternally crippled until you qualified again, and that was only for true full blooded dragons. Lesser dragon kin would either lose access to their mana and die, or become one with the mana around them losing their physical presence and dissipating along with the mana, killing them as well.

The only way to pass was too stay focused enough to not let the element consume you, but to also accept it as a part of you. Faith had almost done this before the light broke him out of the trial , but that still counted as a pass by his shadows standard. Most dragons prepared their children extensively for it but given Faith’s age tied with his half blooded nature, that had never occurred to Alzeor almost dooming Faith in the process.

The reason it was called “Trial of the hearts” was because if you passed you’d be blessed with the trade mark “Dragon heart” which was the main reason for a dragons prowess. If using mana was oil for magic, then using it through spells and will without a dragon heart was like lighting a campfire, you’d create heat and energy but it wouldn’t be completely under your control nor pushing the mana to its max. Dragons hearts instead functioned like a engine constantly fuelling the body with strength and making any magic preformed as efficient and cost effective as possible, while also increasing control and power beyond the norm.

A dragon heart would take from around or near your normal heart, and pump mana like blood through it. Faith’s was no different and it had given him all the benefits it came with. The “trial of hearts” was generally seen as a coming of age ceremony and anyone that passed was considered a adult full blooded true dragon.

Alzeor and Faith decided to keep it under wraps for now since something like this hadn’t been heard of ever, even in dragons long and wise history. Still Faith was able to take advantage of his newly acquired dragon heart further increasing his connection to the shadows, and his ability to use magic.

If before they felt like an appendage that he had at his disposal, now they acted at but a thought ready and waiting to be used.