The next few days were a blur. With only twelve people there were always more teachers than students. Pretty soon Blake had learnt the names of her fellow Paladins. There was obviously Narisa, Isaac and Jackton. Somehow Benny had survived the onslaught. Then the was Lila, Sarah, Mari and Emily. The rest were all boys, Alex,Wes and Orlando. Other than combat most of their time was spent learning technology rules that every Paladin must know by heart, ready for the Oath ceremony which would be held on the morning before the first dark moon of the month.

The rules were as follows:

You shalt honor the Lord each day.At dawn and at dusk you shalt pray to the God Almighty and show your servitude to our cause. Should you ever not abide to this law my child so shalt your punishment be to fast and pray to the Lord for 2 days without nourishment and without sleep. After this time your soul shalt be pure again.

You shalt protect the weak.You are to defend those who cannot defend themselves.You are the fortress for those who cannot fight and for those whose faith is to weak to strengthen their will against the forces of corruption.

You shalt always abide to this law, failure to do so cannot be forgiven, excommunication shall be the punishment for those who are to weak to walk the path of virtue.

You shalt show gratitude to the church and to the believers. You shalt free yourself of any mortal belongings which may cause you to stray from the path of virtue.

You shalt give freely of your belongings to the poor and the church to further the goals of the Lord.

Should you be overcome by greed so shalt your punishment be, to live in poverty for a year and a day praising the Lord for your life and living of the compassion from those to which you should have given.

You shalt show bravery before the foe. Never shalt you leave the side of your companions and brothers in times of need.

You shalt however not fight for the sake of fighting. If nothing can be won by a fight you shalt retreat.

Failure to stand by your companions and the brotherhood shalt only know one penalty, lifelong excommunication.

Fighting without reason shalt be punished with your own hand by 20 strokes with the scourge, to teach you the pain which comes from unnecessary bloodshed.

You shalt fight with honor. You shalt face you opponent honorable, you shalt not hide in the shadows like a murderer and strike from the back.

There is no honor in striking a fallen foe, you shalt wait until he gains footing

You shalt spread the word of the Lord. Wherever you go you shalt spread the knowledge you have gained and the insight you have found.

You shalt strengthen the belief of those you protect so that their faith will protect the land and the church. 

Your faith shalt be the foundation for our victory

There seemed to be a lot of emphasis on that last one. Blake guessed it was mainly because the king was an extremely religious man. The king. Blake couldn't believe she would get the chance to meet him. Sure she thought his laws were stupid, and that sometimes he didn't think before he spoke, but it was thrilling all the same. Only a few days left. Blake couldn't wait.

In the Alleys of the outskirts the corrupted gathered. An single white individual comes forward, pushing through a sea of black. It could remember who it used to be. A girl. It's name was lost, and this made it sad. Angry, even. Not that it mattered. It had been given new life. It would accept it's new destiny. It's master had given it a new purpose. It would feast on the flesh of humanity. It would lead the charge when the moon was dark. Only a few more days. Only a few more days until the mass extinction of the humans began.