Kaelon got back ln his horse with a grim expression. He held the book tight as he took the reins. Kane followed behind him as they continued their travels to Altium City.

  That night it rained, they stopped to rest under a rather large tree. It stood at least twenty feet tall and its canopy provided shelter from the slight drizzle. Kaelon quickly conjured a flame for them to huddle around for the night.

  Looking at Kane, he had a question in mind.

  "How do you feel Kane? I'm sure meeting a God and in the same breath gaining His favor must be a lot to process."

  Kane turned to him with a bit of a clueless expression.

  "Honestly, I haven't thought about it yet. Since we left Thalasar's domain I've just been focused on getting back to Altium."

  Kaelon put on a trustworthy smile and patted the giant's shoulder.

  "Well, you can come to me if you have any questions. I do have some experience with Gods after all."

  Kane let out a chuckle before falling silent. Kaelon left him to his thoughts and decided to focus on something else. He had made progress on The Breath of Embers during the battle with the kobolds.

  The first two forms of the style had become clear to him, but that was it. He only knew the first two forms, the others were still completely incomprehensible. Kaelon decided to pay his Divinity a visit, maybe he'd discover something.

  Closing his eyes he entered a state of meditation. his mind both focused and empty. Floating in that void he felt the pull of his Divinity in his soul. Moments later the divine hall from his dream appeared in his vision.

  In the center was the same stone altar as before, and resting on it was the same crystalline symbol. It faded in and out of reality as Kaelon approached. Hjs connection to it felt a little deeper than before but not much had actually changed.

  Reaching the crystalline symbol Kaelon feached out for it as usual. As he peered knto the symbol his mind was drawn into it. Last time this happened he gained The Breath of Embers, this time it wasn't something that impressive.

  As his mind delved into his own Divinity he saw bright orange footprints, as if they were made of embers. The footprints seemed to follow a pattern, a methodology. They flowed smoothly from one to the next, painting a beautiful scene of flaming oranges.

  As Kaelon observed them spread and flow, he unconsciously began to follow. Placing his feet directly on top of the footprints, he danced among the embers. A sword had appeared in his grasp at some point and the dance became a deadly movement technique.

  As he completed the dance a name echoed in his mind.

  'The Ember Steps'

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  A movement and stepping technique meant to be used alongside The Breath of Embers. The two complemented each other perfectly, but as it was Kaelon could barely follow the steps. He always seemed to be half a step behind, even as he followed the footprints.

  Opening his eyes, a resolute expression appeared on Kaelon's face. He turned toward Kane to find him covered in white scales. He would activate and deactivate them repeatedly with a thoughtful expression on his face.

  Kane looked back and saw Kaelon staring at him and paused awkwardly for a second. He cleared his throat before speaking.

  "Kaelon, you're done meditating? What's up?"

  Kaelon shook his head slightly before his expression returned to a determined look.

  "I just wanted to ask you to up my training a little. I need to get stronger to properly use my techniques."

  Kane raised an eyebrow before a menacing smile appeared on his face.

  "Don't regret that later. I'll just tell you that it's what you asked for."

  Kaelon's expression faltered a little bit but he nodded.

  "Of course I won't regret this. Becoming stronger is a priority, especially if these Sin Congregation guys are as strong as I think they are."

  The next day the two of them set off once again. Their horses streaked through plains and galloped past forests. At sundown Kane made them stop earlier than usual. They set their things down and Kaelon was about to gather sticks when Kane poknted his sword at him.

  Kane stood in frint of him, completely shirtless but covered in scales.

  "Pick up your sword Kaelon. You said you wanted to train didn't you?"

  Kaelon gripped his sword and stepped up to meet him.

  "What about your armor? Won't you get hurt like this?"

  Kane laughed at his words and raised his sword. He brought it down on his own scaly arm with full force while laughing. A loud clang resiunded but not a single scratch was left on his arm.

  "Do you think Divine Favor could be that weak? Just come at me and don't hold back. You do want to get stronger don't you?"

  Seeing his display Kaelon no longer hesitated. He dashed at Kane, keeping The Ember Steps in mind. His sword moved with skill that put most people to shame, but Kane wasn't most people.

  His large scaled white body moved with a soeed and grace that was unexpected. No matter what kind of attack Kaelon launched Kane could parry it. He even parried attacks with his arms, using his scales durability to his full advantage.

  As ghey fought Kane used his sword to correct Kaelon's mivements. Although his skill was exemplary and almost peerless, his execution was still a but lacking. It was like Kaelon had all the pieces of the puzzle but had yet to put them together.

  The two of them fought for hours every night and traveled as far as they could during the day. For the remaining five days this cycle repeated every night. Kaelon felt borderline dead by the time Altium City came into sight.

  It had been ten days since the siege at Vinhal. The other paladins were probably already back at the temple, reporting on the waves result. The two of them snapped the reins of their horses and speed ahead toward the city.

  Altan's Temple stood tall in their vision, right on top of Sunrise Mountain. Approaching the city Kaelon felt like it had been ages since they had left. Back then Kaelon had been excited to fight monsters, to prove himself.

  Now that he had done so, he could confidently say that he had been too naive. The reality he saw in Vinhal City and in that fort before it painted a different picture than his imagination. It had served as a rude awakening from his own fantasies.

  Finally reaching the city they returned their horses to a branch of the stables they got them from. After that was taken care off they rushed to the temple with haste. Running up fhe steps Kaelon regretted asking for all that teaining. His legs screaming in pain as they rushed up the stairs.

  Finally the found themselves in the temple grounds. As they came in a priestess looked at them in shock before letting out a shriek.

  "Sir Kane! Sir Kaelon! You are alive! We thought you were dead!"

  Her screams drew others to the entrance. They all wore the smae shocked expression looking at Kane and Kaelon in awe.