Who was this infamous killer? It was a question that seemed impossible to evade and perhaps I didn’t want to evade it anyways. I was tempted to ask, tempted to delve into the details of what heartless creature would take the life of an innocent Philosopher. She was much like a lamb to a merciless wolf attack, only this time there was no rhyme or reason behind it. It did not feed on the carcass or show her head on a spike- it was causeless, ignorant. My blood seemed to boil heavily in my chest and my muscles seemed to tighten around my bones until I was suddenly motionless, lost to the anger and pain of not knowing. My lips parted to press air through my teeth and words were careful to follow shortly after. “Who did this? Whose name shall be whispered to the Gods in prayer that they pay for their mistake?”

I did not look to the DragonHeart, knowing that she would disapprove of my sullen hatred for the animal in question simply because it was not my nature to feel such passion for the object of death. But I craved it, needed it despite the fact that there was virtually nothing I could do other than sit back and wait. Wait on what though? I’m not sure… just wait.

But how many more would suffer before action was required? We needed the wall, we needed recruits, we needed to unite. If war ever came knocking on our doors, would we be ready? Or would we be sitting ducks, drifting around lazily because we thought ourselves immune? The Edge was certainly a force to be reckoned with, but now that we had been reckoned with, could we overcome the aftermath? The pain and the grief and the sorrow were all things that I could not commit to. They were feelings that made me angry more than anything else. I did not want to see the hurt in her eyes, my beloved Mirage. But I would abide by her word until she sent me into action.

I did not fear anymore because fear meant only that life was changing- I needed to be ready, not afraid.

“I will prepare us then. We must gather our protectors and teach them to fight accordingly, including those that are not specialized in the subject of warfare. We need to be prepared Mirage, especially in these kinds of situations. Perhaps we should hold a small tournament for everyone in the herd so that everyone will be informed of the basic procedures of battle.” The idea was not steadfast or guaranteed, but at least it would give everyone the opportunity to improve what skills they had (or didn’t have).

I wasn’t sure how things were going with our plan to spar those in the Throat, but maybe it needed to be reiterated that the dangers we faced were becoming closer and consequently larger. Mirage had said that we needed to hold together; then we needed to actually do just that. We needed to encourage each and every one of our members with incentive to excel.

But how?

As I listened to the waves crashing against the cliff, so loud and clear in the distance, it came to me. Many of the residents in the Edge needed a little push in order to convince them that this new learning process would be fun. Perhaps we could hold a tournament not based on fighting alone, but instead a series of games. “Perhaps we can encourage our followers with a small tournament filled with games from small training spars to races or something of the like. I know it’s not anything concrete, but it’s a start…”

If only it would work (with Mirage’s approval of course).