"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."
- Milton Berie

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*Ten Minutes Ago*
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Sky smiled hearing hooves in the distance. He mounted his horse, looking at the others. "They're here," he said.

Ty's draconic presence suddenly appearing; his wings, tail, claws, and eyes shifting to purple showing. He flies up into the air, hiding, leaving Wag and Phil at the entrance of the bridge.

Sky looks at the two wizard brothers. "Go easy on them, let them win but make it a challenge," he said.

Phil smirked, cracking his knuckles. "It would be our pleasure," he said. 

Sky smiled, he looked to his right, seeing Tyler, Noah, and Nick coming. They slow down their horses to a walk.

"I knew this wasn't going to be easy," Noah said.

Nick looked at Sky. "What is this?"

"What do you mean?" Sky asked faking his confusion. "Your task is to get to Raven Outpost...so get going." The candidates hesitated but Tyler went ahead, Noah and Nick staying. Even though they were just standing there, Phil and Wag were quite intimidating to the three recruits.

"Where's General Probst?" Nick asked Sky.

Sky shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I'm not his babysitter," he responded.

Nick narrowed his eyes. "You're not very helpful, Commander Skylen," he said making Sky put his hand on his chest, looking offended.

"You know, Nick, if I cared enough to help, that would hurt," he said. Nick and Noah were snapped back to the task in front of them when they heard Tyler scream. Noah's eyes widen seeing Tyler's horse riderless and a pillar of earth sinking back into the ground from near the animal.

"W-Where did he--"

Ty flew up from the chasm holding Tyler upside by his ankle. The recruit stops screaming when he realizes he wasn't falling anymore. Ty flipped Tyler up, grabbing his arm before lowering towards the ground and dropping the recruit on his feet but Tyler fell to the ground when he landed. Ty chuckled, stalling for a moment before landing beside Phil. "Try not to do that so much, I can only save one at a time from the chasm," he said to the wizard.

Phil smiled. "I know, I just wanted to scare him and it worked," he said.  Ty rolled his eyes, but he smiled as well. He looked at the three candidates.

Noah sighed. "I knew this wasn't going to as easy as it seemed," he muttered before his eyes looked at the two wizards and dragonmere king in front of him. He gritted his teeth. 'Master Phil is an elemental earth wizard, best there is, getting past him is a challenge in itself given he doesn't even have to be facing you to hit you. Master Waglington is mostly an archive mage, a magic that isn't helpful for combat in the least bit but he is also an athar wizard. So I can't underestimate him, he's a threat for sure. Then there is Ex-General Ty Ellis...I mean King Tobias, the Dragonmere King, and the wild card since we haven't seen King Tobias in actual combat yet so I have no idea what he is capable of. But given how strong he was back when we all thought he was just a normal human...getting magically enhanced is only going to make him stronger. He's going to be very hard to beat,' Noah thought to himself. Noah knew that the three men in front of him were strong, stronger than he was. Noah's eyes looked around. "Where's the other two?"

Nick looked at Noah. "What?"

Noah looked at him. "The Fyre Brothers, Master Matthew and Master Thomas," he said making Nick nods realizing he was right. He looked at the mages and king.

"Yeah, where are the other two? Are they back at the academy--"

"Shoot at King Tobias!" a voice shouted alarming the two candidates before an arrow flew past Noah's head and went straight for Ty. Ty smiled a bit and sidestepped, the arrow going past him.

"Ooh, looks like one of them was able to see through Adam's lies," Phil said.

"Lies?" Tyler questioned before another arrow fired at Ty. Ty flew up dodging the arrow, knowing who the archer is since he can see Mitch in the distance. Ashley, Vikk, Jordan, and Quentin coming as well.

Jordan looked at Mitch. "General Hughes, you focus fire on the king. Aim for his wings, those are the most vulnerable spots on any living being with wings. Hit his wings and you will render him immobile," Jordan said making Mitch nod. He looked at Quentin. "General Juneau, you aid General Hughes. Keep King Tobias from attacking General Hughes, if I'm right, he will go after Hughes first since he poses the greatest threat to him because of his archery skills. So keep him off General Hughes by distracting him. The three of us will go against Phil and Wag." Quentin smiled a bit and nodded, acknowledging the plan.

"Are you sure we should be using the generals like this?" Ashley asked concerned. She didn't like the idea of ordering the generals around.

Vikk nods. "The commander said that Generals Juneau and Hughes are sticking with us for medical and combat support...but he never specified the limits of that support. So it is obvious he wants us to use them to get past the mages and the king. Especially since he gave us two ranged fighters," he said.

Jordan smiled a bit seeing Phil and Wag. "Phil and Wag are strong in magic but weak in close combat. But since Phil is an earth mage, he is more dangerous. But it is like Wag has eyes in the back of his head, so keep on your toes and always watch your six. Phil and Wag specialize in surprise attacks. Ashley, you should focus on attacking Wag, overwhelm him with your speed," he said making Ashley look at Jordan.

"You seem to know a lot about them--"

Jordan smiles a bit. "Well let's just say that I'm good friends with the Fyre Brothers after all we have been through together," he said.

Phil smiled seeing Jordan. "Well, this will be fun," he said. Wag nods, agreeing. The candidates and two generals split apart. Mitch notched an arrow in his quiver, looking at Ty.

Ty crossed his arms. He knew their plan, after all, he could hear him with his enhanced hearing. "Phil, Wag, the candidates are going after you. Jordan told them weaknesses," Ty said to them.

"Did he now? How rude," Phil said before he rose his arm up, his eyes radiating a greenish aura.

Ty forced his attention onto Mitch and Quentin. He was impressed that Jordan and Vikk saw through Adam's deception. But yet again, Ty has always had a good feeling about Jordan. Ty dodged another arrow from Mitch, he swooped down, heading towards Mitch.

Mitch gritted his teeth. 'Damn it!' he thought before he aimed another arrow, an arrow that is close enough that he knows Ty won't be able to dodge in time. But he felt pain sting up his right arm as he let go of the bowstring. The pain knocking his aim off and missing the dragonmere king.

Ty grabbed Mitch's shoulders, pushing him off the horse and letting him crash onto the ground. Mitch groaned as soon as he hit the ground, his horse slowing down, confused at the sudden loss of his rider.

"O-Ow..." Mitch groaned feeling his entire body is sore from the landing.

Sky stared at Mitch, concerned. 'Mitch has never been that off before...' he thought before he saw Ty land beside Mitch.

"You alright, Mitch?" Ty asked the archer.

Mitch smiled a bit. "T-That hurt...like a lot, but I'm good. Keep going..." he said before Ty nods.

Quentin also ran into trouble, Phil able to keep the three candidates back while Wag went around the general. Wag knocked Quentin off his horse with a spell and went after Quentin. It was then that Jordan understood what was happening.

"Noah! Nick! Protect  General Hughes! Tyler, Ashley, contain Wag!" Jordan shouted.

Sky smirked hearing the order, his eyes looked at Jordan, watching his orders get followed. 'I guess the rumors around him are true. He's smart...very smart. He's figured out why his first plan was flawed and came up with another...He may have even figured out the real task for this trial...'  Sky thought as he watched the others follow the orders.

Ashley grabbed Wag's shoulder, jerking him backward. The wizard stumbling back but keeping his balance. He watched Ashley draw a dagger, stepping off the ground and lunging at him with it. Wag quickly put up a shield, Ashley put her foot on it, stepping off it and going over the wizard, landing behind him.

Wag grits his teeth, looking over his shoulder at her. 'Damn! She's fast! She's almost as fast as Jason is!' Wag thought to himself. He spun on his heels, grabbing her wrist to stop the knife from getting to him. He then pushed his hand against her stomach, using a spell to make her go flying back and crash into the ground.

Jordan watched Ashley get kicked back, making him grit his teeth. 'This isn't easy at all! I think I figured out what this trial actually is. We are supposed to escort Mitch and Quentin to Raven Outpost, but that is easier said than done!' he thought before he looked at Vikk.

"Vikk! Any ideas?" he asked.

"Trying to think up one but I got nothing!" Vikk responded as he dodged an attack from Phil.

Sky loses his smile slightly. 'Did I make this too hard?' he thought to himself. 

"I got it!" Jordan said making Sky look at the man, interested in what he has planned.

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Jason smiled, hearing the fight going on. But he is aware of the challenge that is being presented to the candidates because it is a challenge. Normally they would tell the candidates the real goal of it but given how advanced the candidates in this group are in training and capabilities, they withheld that information and sprinkled in a lot of lies to see if they could see through them.

For anything that would have to do with magic in the Captain trials, Seto would be the person they would have to go through. And that is not an easy task at all. Seto has this 360-degree awareness that puts the other generals to shame. Not only that, Seto knows how to add insult to injury with his magic when he uses it during trials. Meaning, Seto knows how to taunt and poke the beast, he knows how to make candidates mad and irritated.

Jason let out a soft breath, softly petting the side of Stardust's neck with his fingers. His eyes shifted to the side again, looking at the mountains but looked away. He had a bad feeling...

Not that the feeling isn't anything new to him, he's been having it for a long time now.

His eyes flickered up hearing a shout. He smiled a bit seeing that the candidates somehow made it past Ty, Wag, and Phil. Jason grabbed his reins, turning Stardust and hitting her sides, moving further away from Jerome to give them space.

'Jason,' a voice pierced into his head making him wince and touch it. He let out a shaky breath, gripping his hair when the pain increased. 'Jason.'

"S-Stop..." Jason mumbled under his breath as he closed his eyes. He flinched hearing a dark laugh in his head making his pain worse. "Aargh..."

Then the pain suddenly vanished making him tense up. He let out a shaky breath as his eyes opened realizing that the candidates came during his moment of pain.

Even though the headache is gone, the aching is still there which is splitting his already split focus. And like he expected, once their horses saw Jerome in his beast form, they were spooked. Well, all but Mitch's and Quentin's horses of course who are used to seeing Jerome in such a state.

Jason turned his head away, hearing the fighting but his mind was somewhere else. He saw something move in the tall grass catching his attention. He stared at it. 'Could be an animal...' he thought.

His eyes flickered, seeing it move again, but saw a flicker of color that did not belong. A flicker of red.

Jason gripped his reins, knowing that there is no animal in this area that is red and is that big. 'We're being watched...' he thought making him bite on his bottom lip. But he saw another flicker, this one closer to him making him on edge. 'We're in peace times right now, any attack could trigger a war...' he thought. Jason wasn't surprised to being watched, after all, trials at the Sky Army are a big deal for not just the army, but for Astina as a whole. Everyone knows how much the Sky Army depends on the captains it has, so selecting them is not a choice that is taken lightly. Those chosen are regarded as hardened warriors, they become targets. And in this batch of candidates, they could already be regarded as hardened warriors given their skills.

He let out a soft breath, making sure to keep an eye on the guests and the candidates in front of him. He looked at the candidates, smiling a bit seeing Jerome is keeping in front of them, making sure they can't pass. He chuckles. He knows how much Jerome loves to just mess with people which is why he loves the trials so much.

Jason flinched feeling dizzy all of a sudden, he touched his head, his glaze casting down as he heard Cassandra speak.

"Jason? You alright?" she asked.

Jason tried to nod or at least say yes but he couldn't, he blinked and his vision went out of focus and the next thing he knew, his world tilted and abrupt pain hit his right side making him let out a yelp.

"Jason! Oh my notch! Are you okay?!"

Jason opened his eyes, seeing he must have fallen off Stardust. He pushed against the ground, making himself sit about halfway up as Cassandra rushed down to his side.

She grabbed his arms. "A-Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere--"

Jason pushed her hands off him with his arm, nodding. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I-I just...got dizzy for a second and lost my balance," he mumbled.

"Are you sure you're okay? I could try and heal you with my--"

"I said I'm fine!" Jason snapped not looking at her.

Cassandra flinched at his voice, staring at him for a moment before just nodding. "A-Alright..." she mumbled before she gets up and goes back to her horse. Jason sees her mount her horse and kicks the horse's sides, making them left Jason and Stardust alone. Jason sighed, looking down at the ground before he felt a hand on his shoulder making him flinch and whack it away.

"Okay, ow!" a voice recoiled.

Jason's eyes widen a bit and he looks at Sky who is holding his wrist. "O-Oh, I'm sorry, Sky..."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. But I saw you fall off Stardust, you alright?" he asked.

Jason nods. "I'm fine..." he mumbled not looking at Sky. His eyes shifted towards the mountains again, staring at them. He bit on his bottom lip, looking away as he pulled himself up to his feet with Sky's help.

"You sure? That fall looked like it hurt a lot," he said.

Jason forced a smile, looking at him. "Would it make you feel better if I get a checkup?" he asked.

Sky nods. "Very much so, just to make sure you didn't hit your head too hard..." he said.

Truth be told, Jason wants to leave, the temptation of the mountains...the Nether Portal...it is too much for him to handle. He nods. "Than I'll go right now," he said.

"Right now?" Sky questioned as Jason mounted his horse.

Jason nods at him again. "Um yeah. I don't like being within sight of the Ethereal Heights makes me...on edge..." he admitted.

Sky's eyes soften. "Alright, I'll tell you the results of the trial," he said making Jason give him a soft smile before turning his horse towards the bridge. But before he left, Sky spoke. "And you better go apologize to Cassandra while you're at it. You were a being an ass to her."

Jason looked at Sky to retort but the commander already walked away. He sighed, gripping his reins before hitting Stardust's sides when his heels, heading back to base.