"Darius, wake up."

The voice was firm and persistent, breaking through the walls of his dreams. They dissolved into the pale haze of dawn filtering through his dormitory window. The teenager turned over and moaned into his pillow.

"Five more minutes." He yelped suddenly in shock as his world turned upside down and he landed with a thump on the cold stone floor. Yanking his bedsheet from about his head he stared up at the imposing form of the Golden Guard standing over him, staff glowing a bright, angry red.

"Roll call was fifteen minutes ago. This is the third time you've missed it this month. I expected better of someone with your recommendations." Darius hastily detangled himself and stood to attention.

"Sir, yes sir, Golden Guard, sir! Won't happen again, sir!"

"I should hope not. Your coven head has authorized me to dismiss you immediately upon your next reoffense." The face was unreadable behind his impervious mask, but the voice held absolute conviction. Darius's eyes dropped to the floor in embarassment.

"I expect to see you on the drilling grounds in five minutes. I'll be putting you through your paces today myself to make up for all your lost time." Darius suppressed a groan.

"Sir, yes sir!" The Golden Guard turned to go but paused, hand on the door handle. "Oh, and Darius, I recommend wearing clothes to bed. You never know when you might be urgently called to duty."

Darius felt his face burn as the door closed behind his superior officer. It was still burning five minutes later as he stood in uniform on the palisade grounds. His friends in the Abomination coven's elite guard were in the mess hall right now, eating breakfast to their heart's content, but here he was drilling with the Emperor's coven. It was tough work keeping up with them. They had the use of all forms of magic and could overcome with ease and flexibility the obstacles he had to surmount with only his wits and his abomination abilities. The Golden Guard singled him out over and over again for the slightest mistake, pushing him harder than anyone on the field.

By the end of the hour he was exhausted. Panting and gasping he sat down hard on the steps, trying to catch his breath. The coven members laughed and slapped him on the back as they left the training grounds for their breakfast. His stomach twisted painfully inside him and he stood up to follow them.

"Not so fast, kid." The Golden Guard was before him, arms crossed. Your coven is scheduled next for drills so don't go anywhere." Darius sat back down with a groan. The masked figure chuckled and tossed him a flask. "Drink up. You'll need it." Darius uncorked the bottle and drained its contents, water spilling down the front of his uniform.

"You know," his superior tilted his head to one side, the dark eye slits fixed on the young man, "you're not so bad out there." Darius looked up eagerly.

"You really think so?"

"Sure. You've got all the talent you need." He knelt down before the sitting teen so close that Darius had to lean back slightly. Darius saw through the mask to a pair of dark magenta eyes which locked into his. The eyes twinkled. "If only you weren't so lazy." Two fingers pressed sharply on his forehead and Darius lost his balance, laid out on his back on the path. The Golden Guard laughed good naturedly and retrieved his flask. "Be at roll call tomorrow, kid. Byeeee!" In a flash he was gone, and Darius groaned as the face of Alador leaned over him.

"Wow, don't you look like something the Titan dragged in." Darius grunted and rolled over.

"Golden Guard put me through the ringer today. That guy has it out for me." Alador shrugged and began to stretch.

"Whatever, man. Let's just hope you have enough energy to keep up with me today." Darius groaned again as the rest of the Abomination coven members filed into the arena.

"Let's just get this over with."


The next morning Darius awoke so sore he could hardly move. He forced himself to rise, his shirt clinging to his aching back and arms.

"You've got all the talent you need…if only you weren't so lazy." The words came back to him like a taunt and his face clouded with indignation.

"I'll show him! What does he know anyway? I'm not lazy!" Gingerly pulling on the rest of his uniform he glanced out the window to the palisade grounds, barely lit by the dawn. To his surprise, the Golden Guard was already there, drilling alone. He had disrobed to his waist, but he still wore his gloves and the mask which obscured his face. The figure below paused to wipe its brow and looked suddenly in the direction of Darius' window. Darius swore sharply and dropped out of sight, heart hammering in his throat and face hot again.

At that moment the bell for roll call rang out across the still morning air. Muttering streams of curses to himself Darius finished dressing and hastened to the field with all the other coven scouts. As roll was called he saw the Golden Guard again standing to one side and speaking quietly with one of the senior scouts. He was back in full regalia and as imposing as ever with his unique staff. As roll finished, the senior scout stepped out to face the line of recruits and cleared his throat.

"The Golden Guard, recognizing that your first duels are fast approaching, has invited those of you who feel they need extra assistance preparing to join him for additional practice before morning roll." An excited murmur ran through the crowd. The speaker cleared his throat again. "All who wish to take advantage of this gracious offer may meet here on the grounds in uniform tomorrow morning at 5 am sharp. You are all dismissed" The murmur turned into a groan at the thought of lost sleep and extra work. The Emperor's coven scouts remained behind on the training grounds as the remaining covens filed out to the mess hall. Alador elbowed Darius in the ribs and chuckled.

"Maybe you should join him, you obviously need the extra practice if you're going to beat me." Darius huffed and gave Alador a dismissive shove.

"Fat chance, Alador. There's no way I'll lose to you." Alador's smirk widened.

"Oh really? Remember what happened last time?" Darius glowered, cursing the messy-haired, pimply-faced prick and devoted his attention to his breakfast.

That night, Darius went to sleep in his uniform, determined to be on time.