King Mikael and Contessa rode side by side, one thought between them.
Who knew armies were this loud?
The thundering rhythm of hooves and boots filled the air as the king's army moved behind them like a living tide. Wearing dark armor, each soldier bore the silver lion of Elnoria across their chest.
Contessa kept her eyes forward, her thoughts fixed on the army stretched behind them. Thousands of them. All tested. All awakened.
She had watched as each soldier stood before the Shivering Tree at Rainhold, taken into resonance, and emerged changed. The most interesting part? All had succeeded.
It was quite easy to give in to fear when one is a sixteen year old walking through an invisible wind towards a magical tree, but not when you were a fully trained soldier. Of course, some grunted and others screamed, but they all endured. And they'd been blessed for it.
All who endured were no longer ordinary men and women. They were something new. Something more.
