The Paradox of Freedom (3)

The final class of the year for the Swordsmanship Department.

In the end, the class was the same as ever, right up to the last.

The training grounds, swept by a chilly wind.

Starting with a morning run, the cadets sparred with live blades, then practiced forming ranks for different situations. At the end, they gathered before Instructor Jacques and received his declaration that class was over.

After that brutal entrance ceremony.

The twenty-five who had held on to the very end stood in a line on the training grounds.

The twenty-five freshmen wore training uniforms, now in tatters after a year of use. Their faces had lost as much fear as their collars and sleeves had lost fabric.

They were proper warriors now. They hadn’t merely swung their swords; they had truly fought with their lives on the line….

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