AN: I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I'm not sure why I didn't do this till now, anyways, thanks for the support for this series, and if you have any questions or suggestions don't be afraid to comment.

Now, To Battle!

-Chapter 2: Sword of Spirits-

(Kent)

When Kent woke up the next morning, Lyn walked up to him and asked, "May we take a slight detour? There is a shrine to the east containing a sacred sword. The people of Sacae go there to pray before traveling."

"Are you sure that is wise, milady? There are assassins that are actively trying to kill you. We should take a direct route to avoid them and get to Caelin" Kent said.

"I for one," Mark said who had also just woken up, "have no problem with this. In fact it is likely that the assassins will be thrown off of our tail if we take a less direct route, as most of them are probably mercenaries that have little to no tracking skills."

"Maybe, but it may also give them time to catch up if they are skilled." Kent said in return.

"Then I suggest that we go through the Bern Mountains, we could easily lose them there."

"The mountains are full of bandits."

"Another reason they will not likely follow us through there. They will most likely think not to look there, or if they see that we are going through the mountains they will think that we will be killed by the bandits."

"Which is likely, the bandits in the mountains are ruthless killers!" Kent roared, when he calmed down he apologized, "I sorry, I shouldn't have yelled."

"I'm getting the feeling that there's more going on here than you're letting on." Mark said perceptively.

"And you'd be right." Kent said.

"Kent, are you sure?" Sain asked as his face paled.

"Yes, they deserve to know. Sain and I are childhood friends, we known each other longer than either of us can remember. We originally lived in a village in Laus, a territory known for its army. We became knights to follow in the footsteps of our fathers. One day while we were still just squires. We were given a training mission, to help protect some villagers in Kathelet from bandits. Our fathers came with us to help give some support both physically and morally. That knight when Sain and I were supposed to be on watch duty got distracted and bandits were able to sneak into the village. By the time we realized what had happened it was too late; bandits had already killed our fathers and ransacked the village. When we reported what happened," Kent's eyes began to fill with tears, "we were shamed and banished from Laus. Word must have spread because no one would take us in, not until we reached Caelin. The Marquess was kind enough to take us in when no one else would, and we been faithfully serving him since then. Now you understand why I want to be nowhere near those mountains. If I were to betray Marquess Caelin's trust by getting his granddaughter killed I could never forgive myself."

"I'm sorry, Kent, I never knew." Lyn said apologetically, "But I think it would be best if we risk it with the bandits, but first I still want to go to that alter."

Later when they arrived at the shrine Sain remarked, "How quaint."

"The teachings of Elimine have the most followers in Etruria, but it's good to see that the ancient ways are still observed elsewhere."

Suddenly a woman ran to them screaming, "Help, Help, there are bandits in the shrine!"

"Calm down now, what happened."

"I saw bandits go into the shrine. They seem intent on stealing the sacred sword."

"What!?" Lyn cried, "We must stop them."

"Wait Lyn, we don't know enough about the situation. Rushing into a fight without a plan will get us killed." Mark brought up, "Being killed won't help anyone; we need to see if we can get any help."

"Your right." Lyn said, "There's a village nearby, let's go."

(Glass)

It was time. Finally after searching for so long, Glass had found a sword worthy of being wielded by him. He and his crew rushed into the shrine. He told some of his men to guard the front entrance so that none could disturb him. When he made it to the altar there was a priest in there.

"Stay where you are old man. And hold your tongue." He yelled at the priest.

"Threaten me as you will. I will not give up the Mani Katti. It is a divine blade under sacred protection. It cannot be removed from its place of rest."

"You're a fool old man. What good is a sword if you don't use it?"

"Use it? In combat? Sacrilege!"

"Sacrilege? I am Glass, the gods fear my name, my swordplay is peerless! And if I want this sword, than this sword I shall have." Glass yelled as he pushed aside the priest. "This is it," he said holding the blade, "It's more magnificent than I imagined. This sword was made for someone as skilled as me." When he tried to unsheathe the blade it wouldn't budge. "What is this?"

"The spirits of the blade have judged you unworthy. You have been found wanting. They have rejected you."

"What!? Listen to me you senile, old fool! If you value your own life, you'll get out of my sight! Curses, miserable spirits, I care nothing for you! I'll tear down this shrine stone by stone!

(Lyn)

"Did you discover anything? Lyn asked to her returned companions.

"There are bandits guarding the main entrance." Sain responded

"I didn't get any new information," Kent said with disappointment in his voice.

"There may be another way inside." Mark said, "We may be able to break through the walls of the shrine to surprise the enemy, if that's all right with you." he turned to Lyn.

"Yes," she replied, "the sword within the shrine that is more important."

"Alright then, Kent and Sain, I want you to go around to the front entrance and distract them, but don't overexert yourselves. Lyn and I will go make a new entrance in the side and surround them."

"Of course sir," Kent replied, "Let's go Sain." and with that they rode off.

"Sir, huh," Mark said to himself, "I think I like the sound of that."

"Come on, you," Lyn said to her friend, "we have a wall to break down."

"Alright," Mark said when they got to a weak enough section of the wall, "when I break down the wall the bandits will be confused for a few seconds. You need to use that time to take out as many of them as possible. On three, one, two, three, Fire!" he yelled blasting a hole in the wall. Like he said the bandits were confused at the sudden blast. Lyn was able to take two down before they came to their senses. She could see Kent and Sain fighting four more bandits at the entrance.

"I'll go help them!" Mark yelled to her over the sound of battle, "You go get the sword!"

"Right," she said in response. When she got to the altar of the Mani Katti she saw the man who must have been the leader of the bandits.

"Who do you think you are?! What chance do you think to have against me?!"

"I am Lyn of the Lorca tribe, and I will not let you take the Mani Katti!" she yelled in response. The man obviously knew what he was doing as he held his own against Lyn for several minutes until she finally found an opening. She slashed downward leaving a large gash across his leg, causing him to fall over where she was able to stab him through his chest finishing their battle. She rushed back to her friends to find that they had already finished the last of the bandits. When a priest came out of hiding and asked, "Your clothing, are you of the Lorca tribe?"

"Yes, I am Lyn the chieftain's daughter. Are you hurt sir?"

"Thanks to you I am unscathed. You have my gratitude."

"And the sword is it safe?"

"Yes, I have sealed away the sword for now. Until I remove my spell the sword cannot be drawn. Now as a token of my gratitude, I shall allow you to lay your hands upon the Mani Katti. Touch the blade and pray for a safe journey."

"Thank you," Lyn said as she went to touch the blade. When she did so a large flash filled the room. "What? Did— the sword, it's glowing," and it was. A strange yet soothing light was emanating from the blade.

"It's the power of the spirits," the priest said with glee, "They have looked into your soul and deemed you worthy to wield the Mani Katti."

"No, I can't, I couldn't," Lyn stammered.

"It is the sword's wish. If you require proof, draw the blade from its sheath." When she did the blade came out, glowing even brighter now.

"It came out effortlessly."

"I never dared to hope that I may meet the next wielder of the Mani Katti. I am indeed fortunate to see your sword reach your hands."

"My sword?"

"Yes, it is time for you to go now though. You face a great many ordeals. Grip this blade and meet your destiny head on."

"Yes… Yes sir." Lyn said with pride but also confusion in her voice. When they left the shrine, it was already sunset, so they decided to spend the night at the local inn. Lyn spent the entire time staring at the Mani Katti. "This is all so unbelievable." she finally spoke up, "Perhaps the most famous sword in Sacae, in my hands,"

"It's not that strange." Kent said in return, "In fact, many legends tell similar tales… special blades all over the land call out to their proper owners. And yet, when I saw you draw that blade, Lady Lyndis… I felt something extraordinary. That sword was waiting for you, you were meant to draw it."

"Stop it! I… I'm nothing special!"

"Think of it this way," Sain suggested, "Some weapons feel more comfortable in your hands right? Think of the Mani Katti as a blade that is only comfortable in your hands. Does that make it seem easier to accept?"

"It does feel right in my hands. A blade that only I can wield. That seems reasonable enough. I can understand that."

"Well, I hate to interrupt the moment," Mark said, "but if we're going to start traveling tomorrow, we need to get some shut eye."

"You're right Mark, goodnight."

(Mark)

Later that night, Mark woke up with a cold sweat. He had been having a dream, he couldn't remember much of the details, but he had seen a young woman his age with pink hair smiling as she dragged him along some hills, then the dream shifted to a young man with blue hair reaching out his arm to him in greeting. He was going to go back to sleep when he realized Sain was missing. Kent was right next to Mark in his bedroll in a position that was quite humorous, and Lyn was still in the bed (there had only been one bed which had been given to Lyn, so Mark, Kent, and Sain had been forced to sleep on the floor), but Sain was nowhere to be seen, until Mark heard someone outside, it was Sain practicing his lance techniques. When Mark went out there to speak with him, Sain saw and said, "Couldn't sleep either, huh."

"No, so what are you doing out here?"

"Practicing,"

"Yes, I can see that. Quick question, how are you able to focus so well in battle and be paying almost no attention to anything when there is a woman around."

"It's because I can't afford to let what happened at Kathelet to happen again. Kent didn't tell you the whole story. The reason we got distracted that night was because I went off to flirt with some village girls who had grown a liking to me, and Kent chased after me. And you know what happened next. It was my fault that we had to endure what we did. Kent to most of the blame when we retuned, saying that it was him who had gone out with the village girls and me who had chased after him. They beat him for that, a beating I should have received."

"Sain, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, me making mistakes that got my father killed, or the fact that Kent got punished instead of me. I've never even been able to get over my obsession with girls." Sain sighed, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound pessimistic. I'm going to head back to bed. Goodnight."

"Yeah, me too. Goodnight."