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Thor walked with his head down, downcast, kicking pebbles on the road Krohn walked at his side and Ephistopheles circled soion barracks Since the funeral, his encounter with Gwen, he felt deflated The pain of watching MacGil being lowered into the earth took so out of hi had taken hiiven hiure he&039;d ever had He felt as if he owed hi, that it had been his responsibility to save him, and somehow, he had failed As the bells had tolled, Thor felt as if they tolled the announcement of his failure

Then there was his encounter with Gwen She hated hie her hts came out today: she felt he was beneath her A coht all the while The thought of it crushed hiirl he had grown to love

As he walked back towards the Legion, he realized it was the one thing left that he could cling to here He cared not for his village, or his father, or his brothers Without the Legion and Reese - and Krohn - he did not knohat he would have left

Krohn yelped and Thor looked up and saw the barracks before hi&039;s banner flew at half , and could tell the , their leader, had been murdered, and worse, no one kneho did it, or why There also seemed to be an air of expectancy Would the arion with it?

Thor saw the wary looks of the boys as he walked through the large, arched stone gate They were stopping and staring at hiht before he&039;d been thrown into the dungeon, and Thor was sure that the ru the king Did these boys know that he was vindicated? Did they still suspect hi to save him?

From their looks, he could not tell But he did know that the tension in the air was thick, and he could tell that he clearly had been a subject of conversation

As Thor entered the large wooden structure of the barracks, he noticed dozens of boys stuffing their clothes and various objects into canvas sacks It looked, oddly, as if the Legion were packing up Was it disbanding? he wondered, in a sudden panic

"There you are," canized

He turned to see O&039;Connor standing there, sht red hair and freckles fra his face He reached out and clasped Thor&039;s forearm

"I feel like I haven&039;t seen you in days Are you okay? I heard you were thrown in the clink What happened?"

"Hey look, it&039;s Thor!" yelled a voice

Thor turned to see Elden hurrying towards hi him Thor was still amazed at Elden&039;s attitude towards him, ever since he had saved his life across the Canyon, especially when he recalled the hostile greeting Elden had once given hi up beside him were the twins, Conval and Conven

"Glad to have you back," Conven said, e

"And I," Conval echoed

Thor was relieved to see them all, especially as he realized that they did not assu to do with theat O&039;Connor, not sure which question to answer first "I was thrown into the dungeon At first they thought I had so But after he was killed, they realized I had nothing to do with it"

"So they let you free?" O&039;Connor asked

Thor thought about that, not quite sure how to respond

"Not exactly I escaped"

They all looked at him, wide-eyed

"Escaped?" Elden asked

"Once I was out, Reese helpedbefore he died?" Conval asked, shocked

Thor nodded back

"He knows I am innocent"

"What else did he say?" O&039;Connor asked

Thor hesitated He felt funny telling the special He didn&039;t want to see, or seem delusional, or cause envy So he decided to omit that part and just tell thee rim

"Do you have any idea who did it?" O&039;Connor asked

Thor shook his head

"As much as you do"

"I would love to catch him," Conven said

"As would I," Elden added

"But I don&039;t understand," Thor said, looking around, "what is all this packing? It see to leave"

"We are," O&039;Connor said "Including you"

O&039;Connor reached over, grabbed a canvas sack, and threw it at Thor It hit Thor hard in the chest, and he grabbed it before it hit the ground

"What do you mean?" Thor asked, puzzled

"The Hundred starts to"

"The Hundred?" Thor asked

"Do you know nothing?" Conval asked

"It see," Conven added

Conven stepped forward and draped an arm across Thor&039;s shoulder

"Don&039;t worry, ion The Hundred is the Legion&039;s way ofus out It is a rite of passage Every year, at su training you&039;ll ever know Soranted honors, weapons, and a perion"

Thor looked around, still puzzled "But why are you packing?"

"Because the Hundred is not here," Elden explained "They ship us off Literally Far from here We must journey across the Canyon, into the Wilds, across the Tartuvian Sea, and all the way to the Isle of Mist It is a hundred days of hell We all dread it But we ion Our ship sails tomorrow, so pack quickly"

Thor looked down at the sack in his hand, unbelieving He could hardly i the Canyon into the Wilds, boarding a ship, and spending a hundred days on an island with all the Legion ht of it excited him; it also terrified him He&039;d never been on a ship, had never been across the sea He loved the idea of advancing his skills, and he hoped he would make it and not be weeded out

"Before you pack, you should report to your knight," Conven said "You are squire to Kendrick now that Erec is gone, aren&039;t you?"

Thor nodded back "Yes, is he here?"

"He was outside with so his horse, and I knoas looking for you"

As Thor stood there, his ht of the Hundred excited him more than he could say He wanted to be tested, to be pushed to the extreood as the others And if he made it back - and he felt sure he would - he would return a stronger warrior

"Are you sure that I&039;m included, that I&039;m allowed to come, too?" Thor asked

"Of course you are," O&039;Connor said "Assuht doesn&039;t need you here You need his permission"

"Ask him," Elden said, "and be quick of it There is much to do to prepare, and you&039;re already far behind The ships will not wait And whoever does not go, cannot stay in the Legion"

"Try the armory," O&039;Connor said "I saw Kendrick there just an hour ago"

Thor needed no prodding He turned and ran fro for the ar at his heels

Inhard, and there was Kendrick He stood there alone, inside the ar up at a wall of halberds He looked pensive, intense, lost in thought Thor felt as if he had intruded on private ti

Kendrick turned, and his eyes were red froht of his father&039;s funeral, reround, and felt terrible

"Forgivehis breath He could see Kendrick&039;s grief and felt bad for intruding "I&039;m sorry to have disturbed you I will leave"

As Thor turned to leave, his voice rang out

"No Stay I would like to speak with you"

Thor turned back and waited, quiet, feeling Kendrick&039;s pain Kendrick waited a long ti the weaponry

"My father, he loved you very much," Kendrick said "He barely knew you, but I could see his love for you It was real"

"Thank you, sire I loved your father, too"

"The people in this kingdom, and in the royal court, they have never considered me to be his true son Just because I was the son of another mother"

Kendrick turned to Thor, a determination in his eyes

"But I am his son As much as any of the others He was a father to me My only father My father by blood Just because we don&039;t share the same mother, that doesn&039;tout and feeling the tip of a blade mounted on the wall, his eyes ," Thor said, "but from what I saw, I could see his love for you, and his approval for you It see as it was for any of the others"

Kendrick nodded, and Thor could see the appreciation in his eyes

"He was a good ood dom will not be the sa," Thor said "You would be the best one to rule"

Kendrick looked at the blade

"Our kingdom has its law And I must abide by it I feel no envy for my brother, Gareth The law dictates that he should rule, and he will I do feel upset for my sister, as passed over That was not ret I don&039;t know if Gareth will be a good King But that is the law, and the law is not always fair It is unco: that is its nature"

Kendrick turned to Thor and examined him

"And why have you come here?" he asked

"Since Erec has left, I aned to be your squire now It is a great honor, sire I can think of no finer knight"

"Ah, Erec," Kendrick said, looking off, glassy-eyed "The finest knight we have He&039;s off for his Selection year, is he? Yes, I ah I&039; He&039;ll be back He can never leave King&039;s Court for long"

Kendrick&039;s expression suddenlyto me to ask for permission to leave for The Hundred, are you?" he asked

"Yes, sire If that is okay with you If it is not, I understand, and I am here to serve your needs"

Kendrick shook his head

"Every young Legion e Selfishly, I would like you here, but I will not hold you back Go You&039;ll coer warrior and a far better squire"

Thor was overwhelratitude towards Kendrick He was about to ask him more about what lay in store with The Hundred when suddenly, the door to the armory burst open

Thor and Kendrick turned to see Alton standing there, dressed in his royal finest, flanked by two guards of the royal court

"There he is!" Alton screaer at Thor "He&039;s the one who struck ine? He struck a member of the royal fauards began to walk towards Thor, when Kendrick stepped forward and extracted his sword from his scabbard The sound of the metal resonated in the ar his sword drawn before hiuards stopped in their tracks

"Come any closer and you will pay the price," Kendrick threatened

Thor could hear in his voice souards must have sensed it, too, because they dared not move

"I am a member of the royal family," Kendrick corrected "An immediate member You, Alton, are not You are son to a third cousin to the king You guards will answer to me before you do to this pretender And Thor is my squire He is not to be touched Not now or ever"

"But he broke the law!" Alton whined, bunching his fists like a baby "A commoner cannot strike royalty!"

Kendrick slad he did In fact if I were there, I would have struck you myself Whatever it is that you did, I&039;m sure you deserved it - and a lot uards leave now Or if you prefer, co to use ave each other a wary look, them both turned, re-sheathed their swords, and strutted out the ar in frustration as the guards left

"I would suggest you follow theood use for this blade in my hands"

Kendrick took a step forward, and Alton suddenly turned and ran out the door

Kendrick, s, re-sheathed his sword and turned to Thor

Thor was overwhelain

"I don&039;t kno to thank you," Thor said

Kendrick took a step forward and laid a hand on his shoulder

"You already have Just seeing the look on that pip&039;s face actually hed, too Then Kendrick looked at him with all seriousness

"My father did not take people under his wing lightly He saw soreat in you I see it, too You will make us proud Go to The Hundred and excel Go and become the warrior that I know you will be"

Thor walked in the suion&039;s compound, Krohn beside hi the sky with spectacular pinks and oranges and purples Krohn whined in delight as Thor led hi him a chance to run, to play, to chase animals and to catch his dinner Krohn carried an Ursutuay in his e creature about the size of a rabbit, with purple fur and three heads, which he had proudly caught but er before his eyes, now nearly twice the size fro more of a desire to run andmore playful, and he demanded that Thor take him farther and farther, and run with him If Thor didn&039;t run with him as much as he wanted, Krohn would nip playfully at Thor&039;s ankles, and not let him alone until Thor chased hihted squeal, until Thor got tired of chasing hi, Thor had wanted a break from the barracks, from all the frantic preparations He was all packed now, as was everybody else, and it felt as if they were counting down the hours until they left the Ring Thor didn&039;t know exactly when they were leaving, but he was told it would be within the next day or two The y, filled with anxiety for the trip to coreat change had swept through them suddenly

Thor wanted one last chance to be alone before the trip, to clear his head, still swi, and with his encounter with Gwendolyn His hts of Erec, of where he ht of how te seemed so permanent, but it rarely was It made him feelis as it seeon, standing there, dressed in his scarlet robe, holding a staff and looking out to the distant horizon, into the vast expanse of the open sky Thor, as always, wondered how Argon had appeared here so suddenly Thor looked at him, and felt both a sense of dread and excite for you, after the funeral," Thor said "There are so many questions I have for you Even before the death But I could not find you"

"I do not alish to be found," Argon said His eyes were shining, a light blue

Thor stared at hiht now Did he see the future? Would he tell hi toon answered

"Will I return?" Thor asked, dying to know

Argon looked away

"Will I still be in the Legion? Will I pass the test? Becoon stared back, expressionless

"Many questions," he said, and turned and looked away Thor realized he was not going to respond to any of theon added "Every choice you make, that is what creates it"

"But I saw MacGil&039;s future," Thor said "In that drea to die And yet I tried to help and it did no good What was the point ofit? What was the point of all that? I wish I&039;d never known"

"Don&039;t you?" Argon asked "But your knowing affected destiny He was meant to be poisoned You prevented that"

Thor stared back, puzzled He had never thought of that

"But he was killed anyway," Thor said

"But not by poison By dagger And you don&039;t knohat effect that sdo It was too much for hion was hinting at

"The King wanted to see er for answers "Why me? Of all people? And what did he reater than his? Were these just the words of a dying on replied

"So then it&039;s true?" Thor asked "My destiny is greater even than his? How is that possible? He was a king I aon took several steps forward, standing feet away from Krohn, and stared down at him Krohn whined, and turned and ran away Thor felt a chill, as Argon stared right through hiant for his will He chooses the humble The least likely Those overlooked by everyone else Have you not considered this? All of your days fare This is a warrior&039;s - a true warrior&039;s - foundation Hues a warrior Did you never sense it? That you were greater than what you were? That you were ht, and realized that he had sensed it

"Yes," Thor responded "I felt thats"

"And now that they arrive, you still don&039;t believe it?" Argon asked