"Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price."
-Sun Tzu

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*The Next Day*
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Jason walked into the training area with a file in his hand, looking at the contents as he walked in. Inside there are recruits sat along the walls while six recruits stood near the center either talking or just waiting there. Off to the right is Adam, Mitch, Jerome, Ian, and Quentin which is where Jason went to.

Mitch picked his head up from resting against the pillar he's leaned against and looked at Jason. "Did you get it?" He asked.

Jason nodded not looking at Mitch. "Yeah, here," he said before he gives the file to Adam to look at. Adam opens it and looks at the papers.

Inside was information about the six recruits.

The six recruits being the six Captain Candidates: Noah Craft, Nick Barbarian, Tyler Brotato, Ashley Mariee, Jordan Maron, and Vikk Star.

The papers held information about who they are and what they are skilled at, also about how it is they got to be a candidate as well.

"You sure Jordan can handle this? He is new," Ian said.

Jason nods. "Definitely, he can handle this. He is the reason I'm still alive, he and Ant helped and protected me," he said.

Adam's eyes flickered up to Jason. "And Ant?"

Jason shakes his head. "Ant wasn't interested in being a part of the Sky Army, but I told him that he's always welcomed here regardless if he wants to be a part of the army or not," he said.

Adam shuffles the papers to Jordan's profile, looking at it. He smiled a bit. "Well, he does have quite the resume. And some impressive recommendations from some pretty powerful people as well," he said.

"Who?" Mitch asked curiously.

"The Fyre Brothers, Jason, even Seto as well, and some royal prince named Andor," Sky answered.

"Never heard of him," Ian said. Sky shrugged his shoulders.

Mitch smiled, crossing his arms. "I love these trials, they are so much fun...well for us anyway, not for them," he said making Jerome nod agreeing.

Jerome rubbed his paws together as he looked at Adam. "So, please tell me we are doing a Jungle Trial again," he said.

Adam shakes his head. "No, the problem with this batch of candidates is that knocking them out and dumping them in the middle of a jungle in the middle of the night alone would phase them very little," he said. He closes the file, looking at his friends. "We have quite the challenging line up here. But...we've tested tougher people."

Jason nods, agreeing with him. "Yeah...us," he said.

Sky looks at Jason. "Come on, let's start this," he said before the two walked out to the six candidates. Upon seeing the two officers walking towards them, everyone ceased talking, watching now. Officer trials are a big deal in the Sky Army since Sky doesn't make it exactly easy to become an officer, but that is the biggest reason why Sky Army Officers are so tough to begin with.

While there hasn't been a General Trial since the very beginning of the Sky Army, there have been plenty of Captain Trials over the years. Everyone cannot wait for the day that Adam posts the trial dates for the two open General positions. But everyone knows that Adam is waiting for Seto to return to begin the trials for General. But right now, recruits are gathered in the arena to watch the trials for the captain positions.

Sky smiled looked at the six. "Well, I'm glad you all are still here despite what happened last night," he said.

"Right now, there are four open positions for Captain, but recently, Sky has created a new rank that is right below General and above Captain that is up for grabs," Jason explained surprising everyone but the generals and Sky.

Sky chuckled softly. "I have offered the job to the current captains, but they all rejected the position. Along with the four captain jobs, the rank of Colonel will also be thrown in. Unlike the rank of captain, the person who is bestowed Colonel is decided entirely by me and me alone," he said.

Ashley stepped towards them. "W-Wait, why did the current captains reject it? And isn't it unfair to offer it to recruit ranks?" she asked the commander.

Adam shrugged his shoulders. "Valid points, Ashley. I'm offering it because unlike the lineups of captain candidates in the past...you six are truly going to be a challenge for us to test. I'm almost tempted to make the Captain Trials be at the easy mode difficulty level of a General Trial, but then that would just be unfair to all of you. The General Trials make this look like child's play," he said making Jason nod a bit.

"Yeah, no kidding..." Jason muttered.

"What is a Colonel? What are their responsibilities?" Jordan asks.

Jason looked at Jordan. "An overseer and the official representative of the Sky Army if either Adam, Ian, or I, have our hands full and cannot meet with our allies directly. You will meet with the Sky Army's major allies and will be expected to make decisions with the army's best interests in mind. You need to have a lot of grit and resilience, but the Colonel is only chosen by Adam because you will also be working closely alongside him meaning you need to have advanced combat skills and be trustworthy. Adam tends to get himself in trouble a lot--"

Adam loses his smile. "I resent that, I do not," he said.

Jason nods. "Yes he does," he said making the recruits either smile or chuckle.

Adam rolled his eyes before he looked at the six. "I'm reorganizing the duties and responsibilities of the Sky Army Officers," he said.

"Why?" Vikk asked.

Before Adam could respond, Quentin interjected. "Oh, here, let me give you the truthful answer instead of whatever lie Adam is about to tell you. It's because we finally got it through his thick skull that he has WAY too many responsibilities that he can easily pass off to his Generals. That's why the rank of Colonel was created, to pass off some of the responsibilities of the generals to them so we can lighten Adam's burden," Quentin explained. Adam bit down on his bottom lip, he won't lie that is one of the reasons why Adam created the rank of Colonel...but he made it so that when he leaves, his friends won't be so overwhelmed since he knows they can't take the burden that Adam has as the leader as it is right now.

He sighed. "Sure," he said before looking back at the six recruits. "Over the next six days, you will have two scheduled trials and two unscheduled ones. Over the next six days, you are going to be tested in multiple areas but not all of you are going to be tested in the same way as your fellow candidates. Each trial is personalized to your skills and needs."

Jason looked at them. "And keep in mind that we will of course be ensuring that your safety is the biggest priority," he said making the six nervous.

"Just how dangerous are these trials? You wouldn't be saying that General Jason unless there was a huge risk of death," Nick pointed out.

"Well, you six are challenging, so we have to test you differently from the past candidates," Jason said.

"Don't be such a wuss," Jerome suddenly said making people look at him.

Mitch smacked his arm. "Jerome, shut it, besides, you don't even know what the trials are yet since Sky hasn't told us yet," he said.

"The Nether isn't going to be involved, is it?" Noah asked. Sky grips his arms slightly as Jason's posture stiffened.

Adam chuckles slightly. "Well I was tempted till I remembered that I have morals," he said before his expression darken slightly. "No one is allowed to enter the Nether without my or King Ty's permission first, those would enter of their own will without permission will be punished severely regardless of who they are. Besides, I wouldn't recommend the Nether, very few come back alive." There was a silence following the commander's passive-aggressive response.

Of course, everyone knew that the Nether was a restricted area since it is Lord Herobrine's domain. The Sky Army doesn't want anyone waking up the Nether god 'accidentally'. This is why the only people allowed in the Nether without permission are Commander Adam Skylen, King Tobias of the Kingdom of Dragons, and Master Seto Azdel a.k.a Master Harvey Magi. Those three are the only people allowed inside the Nether and they are the only three that can determine who goes in or not. The commander kept the Magic Council out of the decision-making since Adam ensured that the Sky Army had complete control over the area the Nether portal is at so the council can't get their hands on it.

Queen Jessica Hart of Sacura Kingdom and King Max of Nasia both agreed that the Sky Army should hold control over the Nether portal for the time being since they are the ones who put Lord Herobrine to rest in the first place. But the only way to get the Magic Council to agree to the terms was for Sky to ban General Jason Probst from stepping foot on the premises unless the commander himself is with him.

Jason crossed his arms. "Well, now that that threat is out there now. There are four open slots for Captain and one for Colonel. You will find out what the two scheduled trials are on the day that they are being held. All weapons are allowed. Potions are allowed. The only two rules that exist is no yielding or asking for aid," he said confusing the six.

"Wait, we aren't allowed to yield or aid each other?" Nick asked. Sky nods at him.

"But what if we--"

"Those are the rules, break them at your own peril," Jason said cutting Vikk off. He looked at Sky.

Sky nods. "The Sky Army rules concerning never attacking an officer is lifted from you six, but you are only allowed to attack the generals or me during a trial, in no way, shape, or form are you allowed to attack us outside of the trials," he said.

"Wait, why would we attack you?" Tyler asked.

Sky smirked a bit. "Because we are going to attack you and we expect you to fight back," he said.

Jordan narrowed his eyes a bit, he found these rules to be strange and out there. "Only during the trials?" he asked.

Sky looked at him. "That is what I said," he said.

Ashley rose her hand a bit. "You aren't like...gonna kill us, are you?" she asked nervously.

Jason shrugs his shoulders. "As I had said before, we will keep your safety in mind, but we will try our hardest to do that," he said.

Noah sighed. "Well, look at this way, at least a mage isn't attacking us. I would feel way less safe if General Azdel was here," he said making the other five feel better until he heard Sky chuckle a bit.

Sky shakes his head as he smiles. "In no way, shape, or form did I ever say that magic isn't involved here. The Fyre Brothers have agreed to help in Seto's place, so you will be tested on your abilities to handle mage. That and Ty has also acknowledged that he will help, but due to his position as a King, you six are not allowed to attack him unless it is in a controlled space. We don't need any political consequences here," he said before Nick pointed at Jason.

"He has magic," he said.

Jason nods. "Yes, I do. I have a type of death magic that triggers a very slow and painful death through decaying. You want me to use that on you, Nick?" he asked looking at Nick.

Nick shakes his head as he took a step back. "Dear Notch no," he said.

Jason smiled a bit. "Don't worry, I don't like using my magic. Besides, I don't need magic to win a fight, I can do that with pure skill alone," he said.

Sky motioned to Jason. "I banned Jason from using his magic during the trials anyway, I don't need anyone having the Wither Curse. That is an affliction that cannot be cured with healing potions, it can only be cured by dark mages and since Seto is gone, our only option would be Master James Waglington, and I rather not bother him with something as mundane as that when he is busy with his own duties," he said. He took a moment to think, seeing if he missed anything or forgot something. When he was sure he said everything, he looked at the six candidates. "Word of advice, though Ty has already told you this. I would develop eyes in the back of your heads and sleep with one eye open. Us higher-ups tend to get bored easily and now we have something to cure that."

"Way to make us not feel safe anymore, commander," Vikk said.

Noah's eyes soften a bit at Sky. "Wait, are you sure you attacking us is smart? What about your sight problems?" he asked making Jason look at him. Of course, Jason agrees with Noah but it took a lot of arguing to convince Sky to keep out of the trials and be sidelined. It took a lot to convince him to let Ian and Jason be the main monitors of the trials while Sky will watch and observe them. But he couldn't convince Sky to not be an attacker.

Sky crossed his arms, looking at the six, he could tell they were all concerned about that. "If you think my sight problems impede a lot on my ability to fight, use that against me," he said before a smirk formed across his lips. "I would love to see how underestimating me would go for you."

Jason chuckles a bit and nods. "I would like to see that too," he said looking at Noah.

Sky smiled a bit. "Your concern is touching, Noah, but wasted. I know my limits, I will be an attacker but certainly not one of the main ones. The main attackers will be the generals, I will only attack you if I feel like I need to test your abilities in a way that is up close and personal. So do not worry about me. If someone was to get injured, well, you all know where the infirmary is," he said. Sky could tell that he put them on edge, which wasn't completely off from what he was trying to go for. But he didn't want them to feel like they are under siege on base. Sky loses his smile a bit. "Your safety is still a top priority, don't worry, no one has ever died in these trials. And that isn't about to happen with this one. So be at ease, we will always be around during the trials to make sure you are safe. If we feel you are in more danger than you can handle or need help, we will come to your aid."

"When do the trials start?" Tyler asked.

Sky smiled a bit. "If there are no more questions, the trials start now. The first scheduled trial will be made clear to you soon. You are all dismissed," he said before chatter filled the room again. The other generals coming over to Jason and Sky.

"Are you sure about this, Adam?" Quentin asked him.

Sky nods as he looked at his friends. "Yes, I am. Don't worry, I will leave the majority of the testing to you five...But I want to test Vikk and Jordan myself," he said before he looked at the two.

Jason looked at Sky. "Thinking they have what it takes to be a Colonel?" he asked.

Sky bit on his bottom lip, pausing for a moment before he spoke. "We'll see..."

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*Three Hours Later*
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It didn't take long for Jason to take an interest in Ashley since she has a fighting style that is similar to his own. He wanted to test her, but he at first wanted to talk to her first. He's known Ashley for some time, but never really sat down and had a conversation with her and he needs some advice about Cassandra.

So when he spotted her, he went over to talk to her. But as soon as he got close, he saw her jump and pull out a knife making him smile a bit. He puts his hands up. "Whoa, stand down there. Just want to chat is all," he clarified.

She slowly put her knife down, still on guard. "Alright, I'll trust you for now," she said before she sat back down.

Jason lowered his hands. "Just out of curiosity, did you already get attacked?" he asked.

She shakes her head. "No, but I heard that Noah did, he got doubled teamed by the two Lieutenant Generals and barely got out of that alive," she said making Jason chuckle.

"That's not entirely shocking. Mitch and Jerome tend to get bored easily and need something to entertain them. And they work better as a team than solo," he said.

They are outside of the chow hall in the outdoor seating areas. Jason sat down beside her on the bench as she continued eating. "So, what did you want to chat about?" she asked still on guard. While she trusted Jason...she couldn't help but still be on edge. With Mitch and Jerome already attacking not even two hours in, she didn't trust the generals as much as she normally does right now.

Jason sighed, looking around not seeing a whole lot of recruits around but still enough that he knows they are gonna listen in to their conversation. But right now, he doesn't entirely care the moment. "I need...help with something," he said.

"Okay, what is that?" she asked.

"With...someone..." he said making her stop eating before her eyes shifted to Jason.

She hesitated, not wanting to assume who it is that he is referring to. "Is this someone...a sorceress?" she asked.

Jason nods. "Yes, I'm talking about Cassandra, you can say her name, Ashley," he said making the general look at her.

Ashley gives him a faint smile. "What about her? From what I hear, you kinda screwed that up pretty badly," she said.

Jason looks away from her. "Gee thanks for the reminder," he said.

Her eyes widen a bit before she touched his arm. "No, wait, I didn't--I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stir up bad memories," she said making Jason nod a bit. She removed her hand, turning towards the general, giving him her full attention now. "If you don't mind me asking, what did happen between you two? Did you just...Did you not feel the same way she did?"

Jason hesitated, not knowing how to answer with a lot of people listening to their conversation. But given how much he did screw up, adding more rumors that surround him won't do any more damage. He sighed, leaning back so his back rested against the table. "Honestly...I do, but I just...got scared," he said honestly.

She chuckled lightly. "Really? You got scared?" she asked.

Jason nods. "Yeah, I know it is hard to believe, but I never...I never really had someone just...confess like that to me before. Sure, I knew she had feelings for me before, but...actually hearing them from her...it was different," he said.

Ashley loses her smile. "And yet you rejected her," she said.

Jason nods again. "For her own good," he said.

"What do you mean?"

Jason shakes his head before looking at her. "Ashley, I'm not as good of a man as you think I am. I just want to stay friends with Cassandra, but now things are just awkward and I know why. I hurt her feelings--"

She nods. "You rejected her yet you feel the same for her...and you want to stay friends. Are you afraid of a commitment or admitting your true feelings, general?" Ashley snapped with narrow eyes at him. Jason looked at her, stunned by the question.

"I-I..." he started but stopped not knowing exactly what to say. There are many reasons why he doesn't believe being with Cassandra is a good idea. But the two things Ashley brought up...they are good points. Jason's eyes looked away from her. "L-Let's just say that admitting true feelings was...beaten out of me at a young age."

Ashley's expression soften immediately. "General..." she mumbled.

Jason chuckled a bit. "Hey, at least now I won't have to lie about the scars on me anymore since the whole world basically knows I was born into slavery and up till I was a teenager. No more having to beat around the bush," he said trying his best to lighten the mood and failing. He loses his smile, looking at Ashley. "I'm sorry, just forget that."

She gives him a little smile. "At least it shows just how strong you are. Not many people can come out a background like yours as strong as you have," she said before she loses her smile. "But it does show just how damaged you are, general."

Jason nods, agreeing with her because he knows she is right. "Yeah, you're right about one of those things," he said.

"Which part? Being stronger? Or being damaged?"

"Being damaged, I escaped my past as a coward. It was because of Jerome and Mitch that I became what I am today..." Jason said.

Her hand touched his hand. "Not entirely because of them, it took a lot of strength to move past that. Don't count yourself so short," she said.

Jason looked at her, staring at her for a second before he returned her smile. "Thanks, and just know, since you have a similar fighting style to me...I'm going to be the one mostly testing you," he warned making her expression drop instantly.

She pulled her hand back. "B-But you're way out of my league," she said.

Jason nods. "Yeah, true...but that's the point," he said before he gives her a small smile. "Don't worry, I'm not really up to attacking yet. Not feeling the greatest right now, so later. But I am curious, where did you get speed training from? Who taught you? I've seen you fight up close, but never against you before."

She smiled a bit, but she was worried about how he said he wasn't feeling good. "My older brother, he helped me since he tried to steer me away from joining the Sky Army, but when he figured out he couldn't sway me, he helped me. And you do look a little pale, maybe you should go rest," she said. True be told, she noticed his weakened state during the orientation for the trials but thought she was just seeing things. But up close, Jason is a little pale and seems worn out.

Jason nods. "Probably smart, but I'll be fine. Just haven't been getting a whole lot of sleep lately is all," he said before he gets up to his feet. "Well, thanks for the talk. I needed that. And good luck on the trials, you're gonna need it. The Captain trials aren't even close to as hard as the General Trials...but they are no joke either. So, trust your instincts and use your head. Those are gonna be your best assets to survive the next six days." Jason smiled seeing her nervous look. "You're gonna do fine, Ashley. You are more capable than you believe you are. I believe that you will make it through this just fine, so start believing that yourself."