Time marches on

It became the routine for their travels. Walk all day, make camp before light ran out, eat, sleep, wake up early to train, eat, break camp and be walking again before the morning dew evaporated.

On the third morning young Alexander was up to watch Alex training Edward. Edward was a dedicated student, but his tendency to overthink his situation and choices made him hesitate too often and Alex chose to reinforce the mistake of this by hammering his defenses relentlessly.

Edward only complained about it once, but Alex explained, "You're a bright boy, but you need to be more confidant and less calculating in a fight. Since I won't teach you to think less I'm going to hammer your reflexes into an impenetrable defense. Letting your enemy tire themselves in a fight is a suitable strategy, but only if you can survive that long. My goal isn't to make you a master fencer, I'm only going to teach you how to survive."

Come the fifth morning young Alex asked to join the practice, so Alex let the two boys spar together against him. Although the gap in experience was not going to be so easily overcome it did the boys good to learn through trial and error (mostly error) how to coordinate their movements in a fight.

Demon had been working on her magic abilities. Mind magics were among the hardest to learn, but they are the natural magic to the Sphinx, the original creature that Demon had been before she became corrupted. Her new collar was still a source of annoyance, but it was no longer a complete obstruction. As was her habit she had been stockpiling her daily allotment of power that bled through the soul link between her and Alex. This power was initially hers, so her control over it was exponentially more practiced. But the curse that was generating the power was sealed in Alex's body, and she was no longer there. If she were able to work through the layers of defense and distrust of her in his mind she'd be able to influence the magnitude of the flow, but as long as her mind was sealed in a separate body the power that was once hers would never be hers again.

She hated the god of chaos and his avatar for many reasons, they were much stronger together than any god and avatar had been in the past. There had been a few, and only a few, avatars in the past. Very few gods trusted their mortal servants enough to lend them full access on a whim to their divine powers, it was a bond that once made couldn't be reversed , the two souls would be forever tied to each other. There would be no secret motives or memories between the two, everything would be shared.

But the god of chaos and his avatar were unified further than that. There was no hesitation or struggle between them, and she was woefully unprepared to test mental fortitude against a god who had no fear of letting her into his mind. A god who endured time without ever thinking he had something to lose was terrifying. Had Alex thought to get his blessing before challenging her things probably would have ended differently. Very few other gods are willing to get their hands dirty in mortal affairs, but that one...he LIKED to stir the mortal pot.

Demon shivered, she didn't want to see them a second time, but she failed to take control of Alex's body before he made it. And she certainly didn't want to see them for a third time. They might help Alex again, or they might swallow them both just because they could. Soul slaves were the worst form of existence, even the great demon lord Xenrdomu was afraid of that horror. And while Alex knew that he might be similarly enslaved, he was willing to risk it rather than lose his humanity.

Demon looked at her master with secret respect, he had more courage than any man she had known before in ten thousand years of living. He might be a little soft hearted at times, but he was noble and brave when it mattered most. All in all she was okay with her current life, and she wasn't ready to let it all end now. If things became dangerous in the south she would need to be ready to save her master.

It was a weeks march from Willowbridge to Grumen'Kal. They would need to find a secret caravan from there to Janida, absolutely no one could make it there without the help of a devout. And because of the stigma followers of the chaos god didn't wear their religion on their sleeves, you had to know how to find one, or where to find one. Demon needed her mind magics to be at peak proficiency when they got to Grumen'Kal or they would be relying on luck. And the goddess of luck wouldn't be any help to them, she hated chaos.