Ben arrived in the Courtyard where he saw many young knights sparring with one another, he noticed Lancelot sparring with Galahad "ah, the fresh meat has arrived to the slaughter!" Gawain taunted from the side lines. Lancelot took Galahad's sword and handed it to Ben, Ben grabbed it and felt the weight "huh, lighter than I expected" Lancelot flipped the sword in his hand "yes, a heavy sword would be advantageous to your death in combat, it is better that the weapon is mobile than to be powerful" Lancelot pointed his sword to Arthur "they say Excalibur is like wielding a branch as a sword, nearly weightless and yet it holds untold power". Lancelot then drew a line in the dirt "stand here" Ben did so and Lancelot pointed his sword at him "let us see how you fair without your powers" Ben squared his feet and readied his sword, Lancelot tapped Ben's sword with his own.
Ben did a quick slash but Lancelot parried it and tried to push Ben back, Ben stood his ground and he pushed back, Lancelot stepped back once "impressive, you've had training" Ben smiled "I had a good teacher" Ben and Lancelot dueled with increasing intesity, the other trainees stopped and watched the two. Lancelot blocked an upward strike while grabbing his blade and hit Ben over the head with the pommel of the sword "ah!" Lancelot then struck Ben in the stomach with the pommel making Ben utter an "oof" sound. Lancelot moved to the side of Ben and scooped him off the ground with the crossguard of his sword making Ben hit the ground, Ben tried to figure out which way was up and which way was down as the trainees laughed. Galahad approached Ben and helped him up "my father is the best duelist among the Round Table, you did very well considering that fact" Ben responded "thanks, that makes the bruises less tender" Lancelot spun his sword in his hand "very good, but you lack control, you are easily angered and you lack restraint" Ben rubbed his head "might aswell tell me I'm built like a twig too" Lancelot pointed at Ben "that too" a voice cut through their conversation "that's enough Lancelot, I think I should be supervising our young Squire here" Ben and Lancelot looked to where the voice was coming from, it was Mordred.
Mordred approached Ben "come, I will be the one to teach you". Ben followed Mordred back into the castle, Mordred led Ben to a wall with tapestry infront of it, it Ben noticed a cherry blossom tree on it "huh, you don't see those in Medieval Europe" Mordred laughed "is that what you call our time in the future?" Ben looked at Mordred and scratched his head "oh uhhh, yeah" Mordred lifted the tapestry, there was only a stone wall there. Mordred tapped the stone with the pommel of his sword, the stones began to glow and they moved out of way to reveal a staircase "this is where I train" Ben and Mordred traversed the staircase, there was a strange blue glow to the staircase which only got more intense the further they went. The staircase plateaued into a room glowing with am ethereal blue while a giant cherry blossom tree stood in the middle giving off a soft pink glow that mixed with the blue light causing the light to turn violet. Mordred stepped infront of the tree "first part of your training, slice a falling leaf" Ben twirled the sword "really? Okay" Mordred drew his sword then tapped the tree with the pommel and a wave of petals came down, Ben held the sword and slashed through the wave cutting it in two "very impressive power, yet you didn't cut a single leaf" Ben lowered his sword "what?" Ben looked at the ground, not a single petal was cut" Ben turned to see that none of them were harmed "how?" Mordred approached Ben "I asked myself that same question when I first started training, you will learn how to cut through them, for now, let us resume" Ben held up his sword and Mordred sent another wave, and another, and another, this went on for hours.
Ben dropped the sword, his hands were bleeding and his muscles were screaming for help "that is enough for today, sleep will help you figure this out, for now let us return, you must be hungry" Ben felt his stomach "yeah, but I'm going to need to do something about these sores" Mordred took something out of his pocket, it was a green stone "no way" Ben whispered, Mordred gave the stone to Ben "that stone only has a few uses, use it wisely" Ben held the stone and it healed his hands "now, dinner must be ready by now" Ben and Mordred returned to see a feast was prepared "sit with us Ben, enjoy your time here, you've worked hard, now you enjoy yourself" Ben responded "in my time we have an expression called 'Work Hard Play Hard' so don't mind if I do" Mordred laughed "very well, Play Hard Benjamin" Ben sat down and ate, Arthur eyed Ben "Mordred...did you take him to the Blossom Room?" Mordred sighed "yes father, I did" Arthur began to reprimand Mordred "he is a Squire, having him attempt the Blossom Split, it is cruel to the boy" Mordred responded "father, he is ready, we all saw him duel Lancelot, someone who can do that is worthy of the test" Arthur slammed the table "he is but a boy!" Mordred got up "and yet he has battled and defeated Chronoa, not even you could have done that" Arthur then responded "watch your tone Mordred, I am your father, more importantly, I am your King, my decision is final" Mordred sucked in his lips in anger and sat back in his chair. Ben spoke up "uh, has there been any progress on how I'm getting home?" Arthur answered "worry not young Squire, the wizard Merlin is currently studying the shard you possess, he will figure out how to send you home" Ben relaxed a bit but couldn't shake the feeling of imminent doom.
The Next Day
Mordred and Ben entered the Blossom Room again "hey, didn't the King say I wasn't allowed to take the Blossom Split?" Mordred drew his sword "we are merely training here, nothing more..." Ben drew his sword and they began to spar, as their blades danced Ben notices Mordred was moving closer to the tree "oh, I get it" Mordred smirked and hit the tree, Ben stepped back eyeing the wave and slashed right through it cutting none of them "dammit!" Ben shouted, Mordred approached Ben "steel yourself Benjamin, this is the most difficult trial us Royal Knights have to endure, although I did have hope that sparring would sharpen your focus enough" Ben stuck the sword in the ground "maybe I'm not cut out for this trial" Mordred shook his head "no, you are ready, I've seen you fight, maybe you just need an augmentation" Ben knew what he was talking about "Sturnn, Let's Hunt!" Beowulf rotated his shoulder "okay, let's get slicing" Mordred sent another wave of cherry blossoms and Beowulf slashed through it but none of the blossoms were cut "I really thought that would work" Beowulf said. Mordred approached Beowulf "hm, tell me, how long have you had your Miraculous" Beowulf answered "about a year, give or take" Mordred nodded "and given how natural you are with it, you must've tinkered with its abilities" Beowulf shook his head "for the most part, no, the baseline abilities have gotten me by, that and my bracelet helps power me up aswell" Mordred circled Beowulf "the Wolf Miraculous is a powerful one, but it can be unpredictable...you've experienced the rage it can instill within you?" Beowulf lowered his head "more than once, I thought I had a grip on it until I had to fight a friend, I lost control again and I got badly injured because of it". Mordred suddenly transformed.
Mordred stood there, his armor now changed, it was now dark blue in color, his helmet was in the shape of a wolf's head, his pauldrons had wolf insignias, his gauntlets were clawed and his faulds were in segmented plates with waist armor and a centerpiece in the middle that was a wolf face. Mordred took his sword "let us begin" Beowulf and Mordred charged at eachother, Beowulf threw a punch but Mordred ducked, Mordred uppercutted with the pommel of his sword, Beowulf leaned back and dodged it, Beowulf threw a kick and hit Mordred in the side causing him to slide to the side but he was still on his feet. Beowulf and Mordred shared a look and charged again, Beowulf attempted a trip kick but Mordred jumped and stabbed at Beowulf, Beowulf rolled back disengaging, Mordred dashed forward, Beowulf ducked under a slash and sprang forward punching Mordred in the chest, Mordred stood his ground and kicked Beowulf in the midsection, Beowulf fell back but quicklt recovered. Mordred took a different stance and charged with sword forward, Beowulf weaved a stab but then had to leap over a horizontal slash, Beowulf landed and threw a kick but Mordred hopped back, Mordred slashed downward but Beowulf rolled out of the way. Beowulf drew the sword from the ground and rushed at Mordred, they locked blades, Beowulf grabbed his own blade and forced Mordred's sword down and bit Mordred with a shoulder charge "learned that one from Lancelot" Beowulf circled around Mordred attempting to do the same trip move, Mordred lifted his leg and evaded it, he then kicked Beowulf in the back nearly knocking him over. Beowulf and Mordred resumed their duel, it began to escalate as they neared the tree, Mordred taunted Beowulf "judging by how you fight, I'm surprised you didn't die in your first battle" Beowulf kept a stern face "I know what you're trying to do, I'm not falling for it" Mordred knocked Beowulf's sword to the side and grabbed his wrist, Beowulf felt he and Mordred connect, Mordred uttered a name. Beowulf felt his blood rise "you try so hard to protect and yet, they get hurt..." Beowulf's eyes turned red and he pushed Mordred back "yes...utilize that anger, it gives you strength, emotions are essential to survival!" Mordred attacked Beowulf, their swords clashing again, Beowulf saw that Mordred's eyes were red aswell.
Beowulf pushed back causing both of them to slide back, in a flash of movement Beowukf and Mordred motioned their swords once again. Just as the door to the Blossom Room opened and Arthur stepped through, Beowulf stood there with his blade raised to the sky and a cherry blossom lie at his feet, cut in half. Arthur threw the door to the castle open "both of you. To the barracks! I will deal with you in a moment" Ben and Mordred went toward the barracks with Mordred putting his hand on Ben's shoulder "excellent work my young squire". Ben smiled as he opened the door to the barracks, Ben sat on a bed as he waited, the door suddenly opened and Arthur along with Tristain, Lancelot, and Gawain entered "Squire Ben...what you have done was very irresponsible, the Blossom Split is the hardest trial we face while trying to become a Knight of the Round Table, it was quite...unorthodox" Ben looked down but Arthur made him raise his head "but to be fair...you are an unorthodox Squire, and given your coming battle, we have agreed that you are due for new tools to combat Chronoa" Ben's face lit up "come...we travel to Bodmin Moor".