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"One of the hardest decisions you'll ever face in life is choosing whether to walk away or try harder."
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Jason smiled a bit when he felt his horse nudge his back making him look at her. He petted her face, smiling. His horse, Stardust, is a beautiful grey and white mare with a black mane that fades out to white.

Sky walked up to him, his horse Jinx being lead behind him. "Ready?" he asked Jason.

Jason nods. "Yep," he said.

"Good," he said.

"This is going to be fun to watch," Mitch said making the two look at the hybrid. There are in the meadow just outside of the base. The meadow is often used as training grounds when people want to be outside instead of inside. It's Adam, Jason, Mitch, and Quentin. The four having their horses; Jinx, Stardust, Chex, and Pepper.

"Ty and them in position?" Adam asked Jason.

Jason nods again. "Yes, just waiting for us," he said.

After about five more minutes, the candidates came, but none of them had their horses.

Vikk pointed at the horses. "Are we supposed to be mounted for this?" he asked.

Sky shrugged his shoulders. "You can go back for your horses after I tell you what is expected of you. Now, you all are fully aware of the three new outposts that were constructed as part of the full restoration of the Kingdom of Dragons. Farfall, Crimson, and Raven. As well as the two bridges, Ashina and Serpent, that connect the Dragonmere island to the mainlands. Well...your task is to make it to the Raven outpost located on the island," he said. The candidates stared at Sky, waiting for him to say more but when he didn't, they got confused.

"Wait, that's it?" Tyler asked as Quentin and Mitch mounted their horses.

Sky crossed his arms. "Quentin and Mitch will be riding with you for medical and combat support during the entire trial should you need or want it. Jason and I will be by the Ashina bridge. Mount up and leave within the hour if you want to make it back here before sundown," he said. He turned away from the candidates, taking the lead from Jason and mounting his horse. Jason mounts Stardust, pulling her reins to face towards the bridge.

He smiled a bit and looked at Sky. "I'll race you to Farfall," he said making Sky smile and nod.

"You're on," he said before the two took off leaving the six candidates alone with Quentin and Mitch. The candidates were talking to each other. Mitch smiled at their conversation.

"We're missing something here, it can't be this easy," Nick said.

Noah shakes his head. "No, it can't. There has to be something else," he said.

Mitch lightly hit Chex's sides, making the stallion go forward up beside the candidates. "Well? You guys gonna mount up? We're burning daylight," he said.

"I thought the rules were we can't aid each other?" Ashley asked him.

Mitch nods at her. "Correct more or less..."

"Well wouldn't leaving as a group be aid? How are you and Major General Juneau supposed to ride with us?" she asked.

Mitch smiled, resting his arm on the horn of his saddle. "Well, that is the question, isn't it? Break the rules and you will be disqualified," he said. He saw the hesitation in their eyes, they are confused but only a few of them are. He sees Vikk and Jordan thinking making him smile a bit. 'Those two are more promising than the others, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them becomes Colonel,' he thinks to himself before Tyler spoke.

"They aren't meant to be with us," Tyler said making Mitch look at the recruit.

"So what do you want Quentin and I to do?" he asked.

"Go ahead, we'll catch up," Noah said making Mitch arch an eyebrow up at them.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked. They nodded, well all but Jordan and Vikk. Ashley, Nick, Noah, and Tyler then left to get mounted up and leave. Quentin comes up besides Mitch on his horse.

"You can come with us, generals," Vikk said making Mitch look at the recruit.

"Us?" Mitch questioned.

"Jordan and I," Vikk said.

"That's breaking the rules," Quentin said.

Jordan stepped towards the two officers. "Those rules are a test. They aren't real rules. The only rule that exists is to not kill anyone. The Generals and Captains of the Sky Army are so different from other armies because Commander Skylen is a strong supporter of individualism. I remember him saying in a speech once that he prefers officers who think for themselves and question his orders when they are in doubt. He hates officers who follow his orders without question," Jordan pointed out impressing both Quentin and Mitch.

Mitch smiled at Jordan. "Exactly right, Jordan. Adam is such a strong military leader because of those beliefs of his. He values individualism and the council of others. He isn't going to punish an officer for questioning his orders, he rather his officers doubt his orders than not at all. A military officer that leads without a doubt of their leader's orders from time to time is nothing more than a mindless puppet. An empty shell. We rather you guys think for yourselves rather than follow every order we give. I can see why you two are so highly recommended by people of high standings. I can see one of you becoming the Colonel," he said.

Quentin nods, agreeing. "Agreed, oh and don't tell the other four. Let them figure it out on their own. But don't worry, we'll tell Sky that you two already saw through those false rules," he said. Jordan and Vikk left to get their horse, the two officers watching them. "They figured that out without even needing a trial, impressive."

Mitch nods. "Indeed...those two are very promising. No wonder why Sky wants to test them personally. I sort of want to test Jordan's skills myself," he said.

Quentin chuckles before they start their horses at a walk, going back into the base to wait for Vikk and Jordan. "Oh right, you and Jerome already attacked Vikk not even two hours after orientation yesterday," he said.

Mitch looked at Quentin. "I got bored and Vikk was nearby. If he didn't want me to attack him then he shouldn't be near me when I get bored," he said.

Quentin looked at Mitch. "Mitch, you and Jerome get bored a lot," he said.

Mitch nods. "True."

"How was he? How did he do?" Quentin asked him.

Mitch shrugged his shoulders. "He's certainly skilled. He reminds me of Ian's fighting style," he said.

"I wouldn't be surprised, a lot of recruits tend to try to copy either Sky's, Jason's, or Ian's fighting styles the most," he said.

"But Ian's is the easiest to copy since Jason's required speed that took years to hone and Sky trains blindfolded almost all the time which is very hard to do. Ian helps train the recruits as well, so I'm not surprised that his gets copied the most," Mitch said.

"Or yours," Quentin said making Mitch smile and shake his head.

"Nah, many have tried and all failed to copy my archery skills," he said.

Quentin nods a bit, understand why. "Well, your skills are supernatural almost," he said. He looked at the archer. "How did you get so good with a bow if I can ask?"

Mitch hesitated, biting on his bottom lip. "Um...well, that's a long story," he said gripping the reins in his hands for a moment. Quentin's eyes look at Mitch's hands. It is no secret that Mitch has the roughest hands out of everyone. He has a few scars on the palms of his hands that he keeps covered up in gloves that are designed for archery use. But instead of only wearing them for archery, he wears them almost all the time. The scars have been there since before Quentin even met Mitch making him believe they are the result of someone training Mitch too hard or something much darker.

Quentin sighs and looks away, knowing it is better to leave it alone. Mitch isn't one who likes talking and closes up very quickly, especially when the topic is about his hands. Quentin nods. "I'll leave it alone, it's just that you did tell me that your right hand has been bothering you lately. And I know you don't like people looking at your hands. So if the pain starts becoming serious...I'm gonna have to look at your hands," he said to Mitch.

Mitch nods a bit. "I-I know...I know," he said before he looked at Quentin. "Quentin, I'm okay with you looking at them if you need to...but I rather avoid it if I can--"

"Mitch, you know how important your hands are, especially for you," he said to him.

Mitch gives Quentin a little smile. "Don't worry, Quentin. I learned that lesson a long time ago. I'll come to you if it gets serious. I just wanted you to know about it," he said.

Quentin returns his smile. "I'm glad you trust me that much, you all have been very challenging to deal with from a medical standpoint," he said.

Mitch chuckles and nods at him. "Well that is the result of a stern talking too from Sky to all of us when you were busy--"

Quentin grabbed Mitch's arm, shocked. "W-Wait, Sky said to stop hiding medical problems so much? He said to listen to the healers more? Sky said that?" he asked.

Mitch nods. "Shocking, isn't it? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. He did that more than any of us," he said.

"That he did," Quentin responded before he was Noah and Nick leave on horseback, splitting apart quickly. Quentin frowns. "If they don't all work together, they won't survive the trials."

Mitch nods again. "They need to learn that not every rule Sky sets should be followed...and it seems they want to learn that lesson the hard way," he said.

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*Timeskip*
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"This is good," Ty said making the others nod as well.

Just outside of the gates of Farfall Fort was Sky, Ty, Jason, The Fyre Brothers, and Jerome. They are all sat around a table, eating lunch.

Farfall fort is responsible for protecting the Ashina bridge and making sure that no enemy with ill intentions goes across it. It is mainly Sky Army owned while the Crimson and Raven outposts are owned by the Kingdom of Dragons. The two bridges that connect Dragonmere Island to the mainland were created by Master Phil Southam, a skilled elemental earth mage and a dear friend of Seto's.

"When are they coming?" Phil asked Sky.

Adam looked at the sky, staring at it for a moment. "Any minute now," he said. He looked at The Fyre Brothers, Jerome, and Ty. "Jerome, Matt, and Tom, you three head to Raven Outpost. Wag, Phil, and Ty stay here." They left, leaving Jason and Adam alone.

"Think they can do it?" Jason asked him.

Adam nods. "Well, it depends. I asked them not to make it easy. It's just entertainment from here. But I do want you to head over to Jerome, just in case. You and Mitch were always able to calm him down better than the rest of us," he said.

Jason nods, agreeing with him. "Yeah, he seems to be losing his grip more and more nowadays, the more he hybridizes, the less control he has," he said. Jason took an apple off the table, standing up. "I'll head over now."

"Wait, Jason. Don't you want to see if Ashley makes it across?" Adam asked making Jason look at her.

He stared at him for a minute before he figured out what Adam was implying making his cheeks flush in color. "W-What does she have to do with anything?" Jason stammered.

Adam shrugged his shoulders at Jason, smirking a bit. "You and her do have a lot in common, Jason. And--"

"So what if we do? All I would do is break her heart as I did with Cassandra," Jason snapped.

Adam's eyes soften at him. "Jason..."

Jason forced himself to calm down, looking away from Adam. "Sky just...forget it. Monsters like me don't deserve to have something like that," he said.

Sky stood up, stepping towards Jason. "That's not true--"

Jason looked at Sky. "Really? Because a lot of people say it behind my back. People are afraid of me, Sky, and they should be. I better get to Jerome before the candidates come," he said before he turned away but stopped when Sky grabbed his arm.

"Wait...Jason. Do you have feelings for either of them?" he asked.

"What does it matter--"

"It does matter. Do you?" Sky asked.

Jason hesitated, he looked over his shoulder at Sky, staring at him for a moment. "I-I...love Cassandra...I still love her. But I don't deserve her, Sky. She...deserves better than me," he said before looking away, he yanked his arm out of Sky's hand when he felt his emotions flooding up again. "I gotta go..."

He walked away from him, going over to Stardust. He's finding that he's emotionally numb to some things, a lot of things...but never to her. What happened between him and Cassandra hurts him more than he can say. He untied his horse from the post before mounting. Jason let out a shaky breath, swallowing down his emotions and trying to focus on the task. 'Why did Sky have to bring her up? Cassandra has been spending a lot of time at the Kingdom of Dragon's library that I barely see her...' Jason thinks to himself as he headed towards Raven Outpost.

Cassandra has indeed been going over to Ty's kingdom a lot, studying books that Seto assigned to her before he left. And he left her a huge list. But from what Ty told him, Cassandra is using Seto's assignments as an excuse to try to forget about what happened between her and Jason.

Jason was happy to see she was in a more stable state of mind two or three days ago when he last talked with her. But he knows that he damaged their friendship severely to the point he thinks is unrecoverable. So he doesn't bother trying...

"Jason," a voice spoke making Jason suddenly aware that he's outside of Raven Outpost, Jerome look at him. Jason paused before he looked at Jerome.

Jerome's eyes soften seeing the distant look in Jason's eyes. "You alright?" he asked.

Jason looked away. "I-I don't know..." he said before he let out a shaky breath, pulling himself back together before he looked at Jerome. "Sky wanted me to be with you in case you lose it."

"I don't think you being here is a good idea," Jerome said as Jason dismounted his horse, looking at Jerome.

"Why? You--" Jason froze when he saw Cassandra talking to Tom and Matthew. He stared at her for a moment. "Why is she here?"

"She was headed back to base, they ran into her and started talking..." Jerome said. He looks at Jason. Jerome could tell that Jason wasn't entirely happy to see her. "Have you tried talking to her?"

Jason bit on his bottom lip, tearing his eyes away from Cassandra. His eyes shifted to Jerome. "What do you think?" he asked without a flicker of emotion in his monotone voice. His voice making Jerome flinch as he stared at his friend.

Jerome is plenty aware of Jason's sometimes erratic behavior. And after Mitch told him about the conversation that he and Jason had, Jerome couldn't help but feel the need to be wary around Jason. "Probably not," he said.

Jason looked away from him. "Exactly," he said.

The hybrid stared at Jason for a few moments. "You feeling okay, Jason?" he asked.

Jason nods, not looking at Jerome. "I feel fine," he mumbled before his eyes shift to his left, looking at the mountainous-forest terrain that was far off in the distance on the mainland. The same mountains that hide the Nether Portal deep within its cave system. His hands balled into fists which Jerome noticed. He followed Jason's eyes, looking at the mountains before looking back at the general.

"You sure?"

Jason nods, not responding verbally, watching the bridge. He heard fighting, meaning the real part of the trial started. Jason mounted his horse. "They are here, get ready," he said before he hits Stardust's sides with his heels, going to the side as he watched Jerome shift from his human form to that of a larger than the normal bear. Jason watched Tom and Matt get ready, Cassandra coming over towards him on horseback as well. Jason grips his reins for a moment, but relaxes, not looking at her.

Cassandra stops beside him, looking at him. "Hey, Jason..." she said.

Jason bit on his bottom lip. "Hey..." he mumbled. Things quickly grew awkward between them. But Jason looked at her. "How are your studies going?"

"Pretty good, Ty and Rosani help me sometimes with it. They have been nice and their library is amazing. They have so many old books, but I need to have them translate some of the material for me since some of it is in dragon tongue," she said smiling at the thought. "Rosani is better with the language than Ty is."

Jason smiles a bit. "I can see that," he said making her chuckle a bit.

She loses her smile, her eyes looking at the general. "You know, Jason...I was starting to think you hated me...that you didn't want me around--"

Jason shakes his head. "No...never. I could never hate you, Cassie. I just...I knew that you had a crush on me--"

Cassandra's face flushes instantly in embarrassment. "W-Wait, you knew?!"

Jason smiled a bit and nods. "Of course I did, I've known two months after we first met that you had a crush on me...I'm dense at times, but I'm not that dense," he said.

"W-Why didn't you say anything?!" Cassandra exclaimed.

Jason looked away from her, losing his smile. "Cassie...You deserve to be with someone much better than me--"

"That's your opinion," she said.

Jason glanced at her. "It's the truth, Cassie. I'm not...I'm not someone who deserves to be with someone like you. I have...a lot going on and I just...don't want to drag you into it--"

"Jason, forget about my real feelings for you...don't think you can't come to me when something is bothering you. It hasn't eluded me that you've been distant and unlike yourself ever since the kidnapping with Vincent. And I know I said you don't have to tell me what happened, but...I can tell you haven't talked about it with anyone, am I right?" Cassandra asked.

Jason stares at the ground, nodding. "I don't...want to talk about it..."

Cassandra sighed, looking away. "You know, there was a time when I could tell what it is you were thinking...you use to tell me almost everything and in turn...I would do the same for you. You let me in when you had only ever let Mitch and Jerome in. But ever since this whole Wither powers and Vincent thing...you're like a stranger to me," she said before she looked at him, seeing his troubled expression. She gives Jason a soft smile. "Jason, I'm always going to be on your side, my feelings for you won't ever change either. You helped me through a lot of hard times in my life and I could never find a way to repay you for that. It doesn't matter what you do or who you become if you ever need someone to lean on...I'll be there every time."

Jason couldn't help but smile, he looked at her. "I-I know you will...despite my stubbornness, you are quite relentless," he said. She shrugged her shoulders. But Jason loses his smile. 'What am I doing? I need to keep her away until I understand what is going on with me. I don't want her to get hurt but...it's that smile...it's like she's controlling me with it or something,' he thought.

"Jason? You okay?" Cassandra asked snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked away from her, feeling his heart flutter. 'Damn...Why do I feel numb to everything else but not to her?' he asked himself.

He smiled a bit. "It's been a long time since we talked...I almost forgot how much I enjoyed your company," he said before looking at her, seeing the blush in her cheeks making him smile more. "Sorry, I'll try not to be so...tempting to you--"

"No!" she exclaimed making him arch an eyebrow up at her which only enhanced her embarrassment tenfold. "I-I mean...Shut up."

Jason smiled, looking away from her. "Sure..." he responded before he saw one of the candidates had made it across the bridge. "Well, well, looks like one made it past Ty, Wag, and Phil."

"But will he make it past Tom, Matthew, and Jerome..." Cassandra said making Jason shrug his shoulders.

"That is the test, but I bet it would be more interesting to watch if Seto were here," Jason said.

Cassandra nods. "Yes, he would treat it as a game, messing with them," she said.

Jason smiles as he spoke, "I think that's what Sky said to treat it as. Make them as frustrated as possible...which we are quite good at..."