The three hours lasted for what seemed like days, leaving the boy and the woman weary and exhausted by the time the third phase was over, they both lay on the ground, struggling to catch their breaths and sweating all over.

"I—I never thought it’d be that difficult to do something like that." Jacob said wearily as he lay on the ground, his outspread arms dripping sweat onto the marble floors.

"Neither did I." Xenia responded, huffing and puffing like she just ran twenty miles.

"Congratulations! You have both passed the defense test." The Sage’s voice rang through the four corners of the small room.

The room immediately blurred out and Jacob and Xenia found themselves back in the real world, laying on the sand covered earth. The first thing they heard was the noises, the rustling of leaves, the birds chirping rhythmically, the distant roars and the sound of wind moving in all directions.

Then came the smell, the faint smell of damp moss, rotting wood and rich soil.

Jacob got up quickly and took it all in, even though the pocket world they had just returned from was very visually appealing, he enjoyed this realistic feeling to the things around him.

"Welcome back, I hope you enjoyed your time in Narvia?" Shinzo asked, his form had already returned to how it was when they first met him.

"It was okay, apart from the deafening silence," Jacob responded, his senses still acclimatizing to real world sensations.

"Ohh yes! My apologies about that, you see, even though I’m allowed to have this pocket world, I am unable to create a race—and as such, there is no life in Narvia." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’Understandable.’ The boy mused.

"Is this the entirety of our training?" Xenia asked as she stood up beside Jacob, dusting herself off calmly.

"Oh no! We are just getting started." Shinzo replied, a smirk appeared on his face.

"That was just a preamble my dears, your real training begins in a few hours."

The boy and the woman looked at each other, Jacob shrugged, and Xenia just placed her hands on her hips and looked down; shaking her head lightly.

"How long were we in there for anyways?" Jacob inquired.

"Oh—just a little over three weeks."

"Three weeks!" They echoed in unison.

"Wait, did I forget to tell you that time runs differently in Narvia?" Shinzo asked nervously.

"Of course you did! Three weeks is insane, it only felt like a few hours." Xenia spoke up.

"Every seven hours that go by in Narvia is equal to twenty one days in the real world."

’Interesting, similar to Kalgin I see.’ Jacob mused as the two argued on and on about time, he wasn’t too surprised by the discovery seeing as he was also in possession of a pocket world himself.

"Now that your first trial is complete, you will be granted a rest time of two days before we proceed to the next.

You are free to explore other parts of the forest during this time, or just do whatever it is that you wish." Shinzo spoke and turned around, leaving the both of them to their thoughts.

’This tortoise is really about to go to sleep again.’ Jacob thought and also turned his back at the Great Sage.

_ _ _

A large man possessing long white hair and a diamond studded eyepatch, sat bare chested at the window of one of the master bedrooms of the Ironfell castle, looking out over the castle grounds. The soldiers trained day and night, tirelessly so.

After the beast tide, there was no room left for complacency, and now that a new Patriarch had been elected, or rather placed. Rhoarin demanded they practice twice as hard, danger could spawn from any direction.

As the tradition demands, the role of Patriarch would fall into the hands of only Ironfell descendants, the supporting houses would remain as they are; supporting houses.

This would mean that Jacob was next in line for the Patriarch role, if he wanted it.

As the man glossed over his newfound responsibilities. A smaller, beautiful woman with long brown hair, walked in and sat behind him.

"Are you okay, Rhoarin?" Elena asked, running her hands through his hair and down his back.

"It’s just, I know I’ve wanted this for so long, but sometimes I don’t even know where to begin." He answered, his eyes still fixated on the yard below.

The woman sighed and stood up, walking around him and finally setting her self down on his lap.

"You know, being the Patriarch sure does come with responsibilities." She said, looking out the window.

"Yes it does, but what are you getting at?" He asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"But it also comes with benefits—look out there, at all those people training, their sword glistening in the sunlight. They do all of that in your honor, and on your command.

They look up to you, they respect you, and they are ready to follow your every whim. Even if it leads them to their graves—they will do so serving you, a worthy leader." She turned to face him as she finished speaking, lightly tapping her index finger on the tip of his nose.

Rhoarin looked at her with a newfound gleam in his good eye.

"You make me feel like a King," he said to her, holding her even tighter.

"Well, that’s because you are a King."

He smiled and said, "I hope mother and father are okay though." A worried expression plastered on his face.

"When have you ever known them to be unable to handle themselves?"

She kissed his forehead and stood up from his lap, walking over to the bed slowly and if Rhoarin would daresay, seductively.

In his eyes, she looked just as mesmerizing as she did the first time he saw her.

"Now why don’t you take your mind off those responsibilities of yours for a moment and come join me." She beckoned.

He looked out onto the yard for the last time, watching the armored men closely, taking his time.

He had only one thing to say before he would join his wife in bed.

’I am a King.’ He mused inwardly before hurrying over to the patriarch-sized bed.