After that Olly led them to the cave that could house them. Orion set up the cottage, and suddenly there were six rooms and six stalls. They brought in their horses, and the next day the orcs began learning hand‑to‑hand from the cat girl. At first the male orcs laughed at her and claimed they could beat her easily. Orion simply said one at a time each of you fight her in hand‑to‑hand. He told Night not to hurt them too much. Night said I can take all three of them all at once.
So, Night fought all three hand‑to‑hand, moving with a grace that belonged to predators and spirits. She jump‑kicked one in the head, spin‑kicked the second into a wall, and overwhelmed the last with so many strikes he could not even see them coming. After this beating they worshiped Night. They had never met a female who could humble them so completely. So, they began the hand‑to‑hand forms. As they studied these, the girls practiced their sword dances, each movement flowing like ritual. When the orc boys stopped practicing just to stare, one of the girls would appear beside the distracted orc and strike him hard enough to send him back to training, and yet the swords never stopped moving.
When the orcs finished for the day, the girls practiced hand‑to‑hand with them. The next week, in the mornings the orcs trained hand‑to‑hand, and in the evenings, they learned swords, and the girls practiced with them in both hand‑to‑hand and at night with blades. Then the girls would go off to do their magic training and copying. At the end of the second week, they held a special oath ceremony. Several of the orcs sang the Song of Truth as the others recited their oaths and meditated. The true test was whether the swords would accept them; a living blade rarely chose more than one wielder in its lifetime.
So, everyone hoped for the best. The first to fall into a trance was Alric. Then Duric. Finally, Orick. When Alric came out, he was crying. He looked up and said his great‑grandfather's blade agrees to work with him to drive the shadows back. Next was Orick, who leapt with joy; his sword wanted revenge against the shadows, and so he agreed. Duric was the last to rise, and he said his grandfather's blade accepted him and warned that shadows, if possessing a body for too long, can resist the song.
After all, three awakened, a line of orcs stepped forward to test them. All three beat every challenger with ease. At first, they fought singly, then the three worked together, moving like a single will. Soon the orcs came at them six at a time, but still they prevailed. Afterward Orion faced all three, and though it looked as if they had the upper hand, he still put them on their backs. Yet he tested every block and stance they had been taught. When each finally rose, he clapped and told them they were well on the road to becoming excellent sword mages.
Everyone ate and celebrated. After the others left, the orcs gathered with the girls, who taught them the songs. For the next week the girls and orcs spent mornings practicing the sword and evenings reading magic and copying it into personal journals. On one such evening Orion asked the orcs to sit and meditate with their swords and ask if anything rested in their storage space. All three said there were their ancestors' journals and spell books and gold and cores and mithril. Orion smiled and said this bounty will help us rebuild the order.
As the week ended, they packed everything, and Orion said time to hit the road and put what we have learned to the test. So, the orcs fetched their mounts, Wargs—great wolf‑beasts larger than horses. It was quite the sight as they departed. As they headed toward the high mountains, the horses and Wargs clashed at first, but once the riders struck the Wargs for acting up, the beasts learned quickly not to challenge them.
So, they left the orc town and traveled the land. The orcs sang a song, and their forms shifted to look human, while the Wargs took on the guise of Fenrir's kin. Everyone laughed at the disguise. They came upon a large group of beast folk who attacked immediately. Orion tried to sing the Song of Truth to calm them, and that was when he understood—they were not normal beast men but possessed. He shouted these are the ones possessed for a long time. Everyone sings as we fight to weaken them. They used their swords sparingly, knowing real people were trapped inside, but they were surrounded, and at last Orion said I hate to do this but kill them if you have to. If the song fails and it is them or you, choose yourself.
The battle was long and brutal. Then it happened. Night's father appeared among the possessed and charged straight for her. Orion saw the horror on her face as her own father attacked. She did not parry, but Orion leapt between them and defended her. He said get out of here all of you ride to where I told you to go. I will catch up. Then he fought the beast men as only he could. Scales rippled down his arms, fire spilled from his mouth. He surrendered to the dragon within and unleashed it fully. He slew most of the shadows, but he captured her father. He would be his test subject; Orion would find a new way to drive the shadows out of living hosts.
Twenty minutes later the battle was done. He had Night's father tied and blindfolded. He found his horse, ensured it was unharmed, and rode to rejoin his students.