"All right then! We put our left foot forward." The boy followed his direction. "Then we take our sword," he handed him his sword in his right hand, "and hold it straight up and at shoulder height," Brahm instructed him. It was early in the morning and Wenzel's sword training had begun. The commander actually wanted to start out the training with the spear, but Wenzel was keen to start with the weapon he clearly preferred. Brahm had given him the following answer: "The effectiveness of the spear is very often underestimated by amateurs. It may not be the most iconic or "the coolest" weapon, but it has a greater reach and often more flexibility than a simple sword. In a duel between a spearman and a swordsman, I would say that the one with the spear has the better cards. Overall, however, it all depends on how good you are with it." Wenzel had, nevertheless, insisted on his preference. In any case, he first had to do warm-up training, which included push-ups, sit-ups and a short run. Before he had learnt anything interesting, he was already out of breath! Be that as it may, he now received his first sword-fighting lesson.

  Brahm continued: "Anyway, you want to put as much distance between you and your opponent as possible. That's why you should bring your sword forwards." Wenzel did so. "When you attack, you take steps forwards, but also to the right, so that you move out of your opponent's line of attack. In the basic technique we are learning here, the so-called "Oberhau", you bring your sword down on your opponent from above. Everything clear so far?" - "Yes," he replied briefly. Wenzel and his training partner, Isidor, then practised this move over and over again. As expected, Wenzel was still quite poor when it came to all the necessary factors relating to fighting. That was only logical. "Your body needs to build up a lot of core strength, which you still lack. We'll definitely be working on that in the near future," his bodyguard explained to him. The lad knew that this was a perfectly correct observation. There was a long road ahead of him in this respect.

  Later, it was also time to learn spear fighting. The arguments Brahm had mentioned earlier made sense to Wenzel, he had just never thought about these things before. The spear was primarily a thrusting weapon, but you often countered your opponent with an opposing blow, not a thrust, if he had just missed an attack. All of this required skill, which the boy did not have yet, but he was practising. Again and again, he received attacks and failed. Brahm, who was his training partner this time, gave him no quarter. He wanted to prepare him for serious fighting. Finally, his pupil dropped the practice spear from his sweaty hands. He was tuckered out.

  ...........Lunchtime! "Oh, God! This is going to be a long day." Wenzel realised. At last, he could sit down to the side. They ate a simple cereal porridge for lunch. That was all they had. Wenzel would settle for anything anyway. While they ate, his bodyguards chatted merrily with each other and with Wenzel. "You did pretty well for your first time, kid!" said Brahm. "Really?" - "Well, not really," his instructor returned jokingly, who then began to laugh at his own statement. Wenzel laughed a little, too. Then he patted the boy on the shoulder and said: "But you'll get there. No one is born a master." In general, Brahm often made jokes. He was a very positive guy and he clearly liked Wenzel. Isidor, presumably infected by Brahm's exuberance, also was in a good mood.

  But then Wenzel wanted to ask them something that had been on his mind for a while. "Hey, I haven't communicated much with the other martyrs here. What about our organisation? We're certainly not just Ordanians, are we?" That was how he introduced the topic. The boy didn't want to ask the question he wanted answered directly. Isidor replied: "We are from different regions and cultures. Most of the martyrs are from here, from Ordania, of course, but definitely not all of them." Wenzel listened with interest. "What unites us is not a common language or blood. No, we fight for God and for a better future!" The man paused briefly, but then continued. "And of course, we also fight for the one chosen by God." He looked Wenzel in the face, who turned away somewhat flustered. Brahm then signalled to his colleague with a shake of his head that that was enough.

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  "So, from all over Kaphkos, right? Even in the higher ranks? Because I have the impression that the commanders here are all from Ordania," Wenzel probed further. Ultimately, he wanted to find something out about Theodor. He would not be disappointed. "As far as I've heard, even our leader isn't from Ordania," said Brahm. At that moment, the lad pricked up his ears. "Supposedly he's from the Kashar Lands. If his appearance hasn't given it away yet, carefully listening to his speech will tip you off." He was right. Wenzel had also been able to recognise the slightest hint of a foreign accent when Theodor spoke, but he couldn't really pin it down. The only accent known to him so far was Peter's Camenese one. Carried away, Wenzel dropped any pretence and asked his next question directly: "Then how can he be called Theodor if he's from Kasharovar? That's not a Kashar name." - "Simple," replied Brahm, "he was baptised here and adopted an Ordanian name."

  Now it all made sense. Wenzel was satisfied with this information. Well, as satisfied as one with the knowledge, that August had actually warned him about something, could be. But was that really true? Who was Theodor really and were his goals actually what he claimed? Wenzel no longer knew what to believe. This matter would weigh on him for a long time to come. The three of them then continued chatting for a short time about a few things that were of less relevance to the boy. Soon, however, they continued their training. And just as the boy had anticipated, it was going to be a gruelling day. Especially, training with the sword felt like he was hit a million times. Despite the boy wearing thick robes to prevent him from taking damage, and them using only wooden swords to begin with, none of this could absorb the full force of the blows and stabs. The boy would take a whole lot of bruises from all this.

  Wenzel would also learn how to parry today and practise it over and over again. Or at least that's what they tried to do. The young man found it very difficult to parry his opponent. And as if that wasn't enough, there was one more thing to do. Later that afternoon, the youngster was given his first riding lessons. He was not afraid of these animals, certainly not, but he still had no experience. At first, Brahm put him on the horse and led him round by the reins to give the boy a feel for riding. He soon explained to Wenzel how to lead the horse and what he had to do to get it moving or come to a halt and so on. To his surprise, for once this wasn’t a big problem for the boy and he even managed to ride up and down with his horse a little on his own on the first day.

  That evening he fell into bed dog-tired. All his muscles, well, actually his whole body ached. He had calluses on his hands and blisters on his feet. From now on this would become normal. For him a new life hat begun. Many days and weeks would now pass. And Wenzel spent almost every day of it training. It was basic strength and endurance training, but also everything else. He learnt to ride a horse and visibly improved his sword and spear skills. He could certainly not be described as a real fighter yet, but his progress was undeniable and recognisable. He did not know how long it would take for him to "be made into a man", as Theodor had put it. Wenzel also began to work on his mastery of magic whenever he had the time. He could already levitate quite well, but he was still very clumsy when it came to telekinesis. So, when the opportunity arose, he looked for a place in the forest where nobody could see him and levitated a few pine cones or branches that had fallen to the ground. Slowly, his sensitivity for these things improved. Unfortunately, he hardly had time for more. His day was fully booked. Isidor and Brahm were definitely proud of him. But while all this was going on, the clock didn’t stop.

  Word went round the camp that the Chosen One had returned. This was hardly surprising, as several people had already heard the news. Hence, the news spread like wildfire through the ranks. And, of course, the suspicion immediately fell on Wenzel. He had only recently joined and, above all, he was getting special treatment, even though he was still a child in their eyes. However, nobody dared to ask the boy personally. However, the assignment of Isidor and Brahm, two commanders, as his bodyguards made things relatively clear for everyone. This worried the boy. He would probably have to talk to Theodor and August about the matter. After all, they wanted his identity to be kept secret. Whether this was the wisest course of action was doubtful.