Dawn training started with introductions.
The twelve members of the assault team gathered in a private training facility—windowless, heavily warded, designed for practicing techniques too dangerous for public spaces.
"I'm Captain Valdris, Iron Fangs mercenary company," the first speaker said. Kaelen recognized her from the earlier battle. "Combat specialist, fifteen years experience, proficient in anti-magic warfare. I'll be tactical coordinator for the assault."
Next was a massive man with arms covered in runic tattoos. "Garrett Stone. Rune warrior. I channel magic through physical enhancement—makes me fast, strong, and resistant to most offensive spells. I'm the breach specialist—where you need walls broken, I break them."
A woman with white hair and unsettling pale eyes spoke next. "Cassandra Frost. Elemental mage, ice specialization. I provide area control and enemy immobilization. Also, I hate small talk, so don't try."
The introductions continued:
**Viktor Chen** - Shadow assassin who'd defected from Marcus's organization years ago. Knowledge of cultist tactics, exceptional stealth skills.
**Brother Matthias** - Church paladin, trained in holy magic that specifically countered shadow corruption. The religious faction's contribution to the coalition.
**Yuki Tanaka** - Swordswoman from the eastern kingdoms, wielding a blade that could cut through magical constructs. Silent, observant, slightly terrifying.
**Elena Bright** - Not Marcus's Elena, but a coincidentally named healer mage. Primary role: keep everyone alive long enough to complete the mission.
**Thomas Aldric Junior** - Yes, the Chairman's son. Apparently he'd volunteered despite having minimal combat experience, driven by guilt over his father's corruption. Isabella had reluctantly approved it.
**Drake Blackwood** - No relation to Marcus, he insisted immediately. Fire mage, offensive specialist, prone to dramatic gestures.
**Sarah Chen** - Viktor's sister, also a defector. Dual-blade wielder, combat pragmatist.
And finally, **Ronan** - their instructor and team veteran.
Plus Kaelen and Lia made twelve total.
"This is the team," Captain Valdris said once introductions finished. "Twelve specialists with one goal: reach Marcus and stop the convergence. The main army will occupy his forces, but they can't stop the ritual itself—that requires getting to the source. That's us."
"What's the expected survival rate?" Cassandra asked bluntly.
"Honestly? Maybe thirty percent," Valdris replied without sugar-coating. "We're penetrating hostile territory, fighting through elite defenders, facing one of the most dangerous shadow mages alive. Most of us won't make it out."
"Cheerful," Drake muttered.
"Realistic," Valdris corrected. "If you want optimistic lies, you're on the wrong team. I deal in truth. The truth is this mission is nearly impossible. We're doing it anyway because the alternative is worse."
She pulled up tactical displays—maps, force estimates, defensive positions.
"Marcus has approximately eight hundred cultists and corrupted creatures defending the ritual site. Plus his personal guard of elite shadow mages. Plus whatever defenses the site itself has. We'll be outnumbered seventy-to-one, fighting on his chosen ground, with no backup if things go wrong."
"So what's our advantage?" Thomas asked, his voice betraying his nervousness.
"We're very good at killing people," Yuki said quietly. It was the first time she'd spoken. "And we're expendable. The main army isn't. We can take risks they can't."
"Exactly," Valdris confirmed. "We're the spear point. Fast, sharp, designed to punch through defenses and strike the heart. We don't need to win the battle—just reach Marcus and disrupt the ritual. Everything else is secondary."
She pointed to specific team members. "Garrett breaks through physical barriers. Cassandra controls crowds with ice. The Chen siblings handle close combat infiltration. Brother Matthias counters shadow magic. Elena keeps us functional. Drake provides explosive distraction. Yuki eliminates high-value targets. Viktor feeds us intelligence on cultist tactics. Thomas—you're our political hostage insurance if we capture anyone important."
"What about us?" Kaelen asked.
"You and Lia are the wild card," Valdris said. "Your resonance armor technique can counter Forbidden Blade attacks. If we face Marcus directly, you're our best chance of matching his power. But it drains both of you significantly, so we save it for critical moments only."
"And Ronan?" Lia asked.
"I'm the disposable veteran," Ronan said with dark humor. "I know Marcus personally, understand his tactics, and I'm old enough that sacrificing myself for mission success doesn't waste much potential. If someone needs to stay behind to hold a position, it's me."
"That's depressing," Kaelen said.
"That's military pragmatism," Ronan replied. "Everyone here has a role. Mine includes dying heroically if necessary. I'm fine with it."
The casual discussion of death was unsettling. But also necessary—they needed to think clearly about sacrifices without emotional paralysis.
"Training schedule," Valdris continued. "Week one: individual skills assessment and optimization. Week two: team coordination and tactical drills. Week three: full simulation runs against expected conditions. Questions?"
"Yeah," Drake said. "What happens if we actually succeed? If we stop Marcus, kill him, prevent the convergence—then what? Do we just go home and pretend this was normal?"
"Then we've saved the world," Valdris said. "We get medals, probably, and counseling for trauma. Then we find the next threat and stop that too. Saving the world isn't a one-time achievement—it's a career."
"I should have chosen a different career," Drake muttered.
"Too late now," Cassandra said. "We're committed. Either we win or we die trying. Complaining changes nothing."
"I like her," Ronan said to Kaelen quietly. "No nonsense. Efficient."
Training began in earnest.
---
The first week was brutal.
Valdris put each team member through individual assessments—testing limits, finding weaknesses, optimizing techniques.
Kaelen's assessment involved fighting three opponents simultaneously while Valdris shouted corrections.
"Too slow on the rotation! You're telegraphing strikes! Use shadow tendrils to create openings, not just direct attacks!"
He adapted, improved, got knocked down repeatedly, got back up.
Lia's assessment was magical—creating barriers while under sustained assault, maintaining concentration despite distractions.
"Your barriers fail under kinetic pressure!" Valdris observed. "Reinforce the structure with geometric bracing! Don't just pour power into it!"
By week's end, both of them had improved significantly. More importantly, they'd learned the rest of the team's capabilities.
Garrett could punch through solid stone walls like they were paper. Cassandra could flash-freeze a thirty-foot radius in seconds. Yuki moved so fast she was nearly invisible. The Chen siblings fought like they shared a single mind.
"We're not just twelve individuals," Valdris explained during a team meeting. "We're twelve components of a single weapon. Each component optimized, each interaction calculated. Marcus is powerful, but he's one person. We're a system designed to overwhelm single-target defenses."
"He's got support though," Viktor pointed out. "His inner circle includes at least four high-level shadow mages. We'll be facing coordinated defense."
"Which is why we train coordination," Valdris replied. "Week two starts tomorrow. Prepare for long days."
---
Week two introduced combination techniques.
Garrett would breach a wall, Cassandra would freeze enemies beyond it, the Chen siblings would rush through for assassinations while Kaelen and Lia provided cover.
Or: Drake would create a fire distraction, Viktor would use the chaos to plant shadow traps, Brother Matthias would provide holy barriers against counterattacks.
Every combination was drilled until it became reflexive. Until they could execute without verbal coordination, reading each other's movements instead.
"Again!" Valdris shouted after one drill went wrong. "Thomas, you're three seconds late on the barrier deployment! That gets Elena killed!"
"Sorry!" Thomas called back, sweating and exhausted.
"Don't apologize, improve!" Valdris commanded. "From the top!"
They ran the drill fifteen more times until Thomas's timing was perfect.
By week two's end, they functioned like Valdris had promised—a single weapon system with twelve moving parts.
"Better," she grudgingly admitted. "You might actually survive first contact. Might."
---
Week three was full simulations.
Valdris had acquired intelligence on the ritual site's layout. They constructed a full-scale mockup and ran assault scenarios repeatedly.
"Scenario one: frontal assault," Valdris announced. "Main army engages enemy forces. You punch through the center, reach the ritual chamber, stop Marcus. Execute."
They tried. Failed. Half the team "died" before reaching the objective.
"Scenario two: flanking infiltration. Viktor scouts, Chen siblings open a side path, team follows. Execute."
Better. Three "deaths," but they reached the ritual chamber.
"Scenario three: aerial insertion..."
They ran twenty scenarios. Most ended in mission failure or excessive casualties. But gradually, they found approaches that worked. Tactical combinations that gave them acceptable survival chances.
"That one," Valdris said after a particularly successful run. "Scenario fourteen. Hybrid approach—frontal feint, flanking main assault, aerial secondary team. It maximizes our advantages while minimizing exposure time."
They drilled scenario fourteen fifty times, until everyone knew their role perfectly.
On the final day of week three, Valdris assembled them one last time.
"Tomorrow, we deploy," she said. "The main army is already moving to staging positions. We'll join them, coordinate with coalition forces, and execute the assault within seventy-two hours of arrival. This is real. No more simulations, no more practice. Everything we've trained for gets tested against reality."
She looked at each team member in turn.
"You're the best I've ever worked with," she said, and it sounded like a eulogy. "If anyone can stop Marcus, it's this team. Don't let me down."
"Don't plan to," Drake said.
That night, the team gathered for a final meal together. Not formal, not ceremonial—just twelve people who'd spent three weeks becoming a unit, sharing food before potentially dying together.
"Think we'll actually pull this off?" Thomas asked.
"No idea," Garrett replied cheerfully. "But it'll be one hell of a try."
"To the try," Cassandra said, raising her glass.
"To the try," everyone echoed.
They drank, and the weight of tomorrow pressed down on all of them.
Tomorrow, they'd face Marcus Blackwood and eight hundred defenders.
Tomorrow, they'd fight to stop the convergence.
Tomorrow, everything would change.
One way or another.