Dawn came early, but Alice was already awake.
Years of disciplined training had made early rising second nature. The knock came at precisely the fifth hour—Adrian's efficient punctuality.
"Training starts in thirty minutes," he announced. "East training yard. Dress for combat work."
"I'll be there," Alice replied, fully alert.
She found Mira in the corridor, similarly prepared. They made their way to the training yard together, where Adrian stood with Garrick and Dorian.
"Your Highness, Lady Elbrecht," Adrian greeted formally. "We'll begin with physical assessment—I need to understand your current capabilities."
"Ten laps around the yard perimeter. Standard patrol pace."
Alice and Mira completed the run without strain, their years of training evident in efficient movement and controlled breathing. Several watching guards murmured appreciatively.
"Good pace," Adrian observed. "Now strength conditioning—push-ups, squats, core work. Continue until failure."
They worked through the sequence competently, finishing with trembling muscles but proper form maintained throughout.
"Impressive," Dorian said. "Elite warrior conditioning. You've both put in serious years of work."
"Since childhood," Alice confirmed. "I never wanted to rely on others for strength."
"It shows," Garrick added. "Your physical capability is excellent. Now we see how it translates to demon combat."
Adrian nodded. "You're both capable warriors—you proved that at the trials. Now we add demon-specific skills to that foundation. You fought during the caravan ambush—Imps and that General. That experience gives us excellent starting point."
The training hall's walls displayed detailed illustrations of demon types across the hierarchy.
"You know the classifications," Adrian began. "Arch Demon at the top, though that position remains vacant. Princes below that—none have appeared in a century. Generals commanding armies. Soldiers as standard warriors. Imps at the bottom."
"Common knowledge," Alice confirmed.
"Right. During the caravan, you both fought Imps and engaged the General alongside Finn, Edric, and me. That was actually my first General encounter—they've been uncommon lately, which concerns border command. My father faced one a year ago, but sightings have dropped significantly since then."
"Why is that concerning?" Mira asked.
"Because Generals don't just disappear," Dorian said grimly. "If they're not appearing at borders, they're either consolidating elsewhere or being directed toward some larger purpose. Either possibility suggests coordinated demon activity we don't fully understand."
"But for your training," Adrian continued, "let's focus on what you learned from the caravan. What did you observe about the difference between Imps and the General?"
Alice thought back to that chaotic battle. "The Imps were aggressive, coordinated in packs. We handled them well enough—standard combat principles worked with some adjustment for their size and strength. But the General was completely different."
"How so?"
"Everything was amplified. The speed, the intelligence, the raw power. Against the Imps, we could predict attack patterns fairly well. The General adapted mid-combat, recognized when tactics weren't working, shifted approach. We won because there were five of us coordinating against one opponent."
"Excellent analysis," Adrian said. "That adaptive intelligence is the key difference. Which brings me to critical field recognition rule."
He pointed at the General illustration specifically. "If a demon can speak—actual speech, not just roars or growls—then it's not an Imp. Soldiers sometimes develop basic speech capability. Generals always can. Princes are fluent."
"Speech indicates intelligence level?" Mira asked.
"Exactly. Imps operate on instinct and basic coordination—they lack cognitive capacity for language. If you encounter a demon that talks, you're facing at minimum a Soldier, possibly a General, maybe worse. Regardless of what it looks like physically, speech means extreme caution."
Alice remembered the General from the caravan—it had spoken, brief commands that coordinated the Imp assault. At the time, focused on survival, she hadn't processed the significance.
"The General during the caravan spoke," she said. "I remember now. Short commands to the Imps."
"Yes. That should have been your first indicator of threat level—demons that command verbally are always dangerous. If you ever encounter a demon that speaks fluently, conversationally, assume you're facing a General at minimum, possibly a Prince. Retreat immediately and get reinforcements."
"The General I faced spoke fluently," Dorian added. "Taunted, evaluated our formation, exploited weaknesses it identified through observation. Fighting something that can analyze your tactics verbally while crushing you physically is uniquely terrifying."
"So if we encounter a speaking demon?" Mira asked.
"Assess immediately whether you can retreat safely. If yes, do so and report to nearest military authority. If no, fight as team, coordinate intensely, and survive however you can." Adrian's tone was blunt. "Speaking demons kill experienced warriors regularly. Your caravan survival was combination of skill and fortune. Don't count on fortune twice."
They spent the next hour covering practical demon combat across different types—behavior patterns, threat recognition, tactical responses.
"Your caravan experience accelerates this training significantly," Adrian concluded. "You've fought Imps successfully and engaged a General as part of coordinated team. Most people arrive at Northwatch having never faced a demon at all."
The practice yard featured modified training dummies—Soldier-height, positioned to simulate demon proportions.
"Standard combat forms assume human opponents," Adrian explained. "Against demons, those assumptions fail. You learned this during the caravan—different height, reach, attack patterns. Now we refine those lessons into consistent technique."
He demonstrated against the dummy—strikes angling upward, defensive positions creating space, footwork emphasizing lateral movement.
"Your turn."
Alice engaged the dummy with her perfected technique. Against human opponent, devastating. Against Soldier-height dummy, inadequate.
"During the caravan, adrenaline made you adapt in the moment," Adrian observed. "Now we're making those emergency adaptations into trained responses you can execute without immediate death pressure."
They drilled for two hours. Alice focused on transforming caravan experiences into reliable patterns—the angle adjustments she'd discovered against the General, the spacing learned from Imp combat, the footwork that had kept her alive.
"How long before this feels natural?" she asked.
"Weeks of daily practice. But you're starting from practical experience, not theory. That accelerates everything."
Late afternoon brought patrol observation. Sergeant Marcus led them through defended territory.
"Soldier tracks," Adrian confirmed at the second station.
Alice studied the marks with tactical eye trained by experience. An Imp scout maintained parallel course at distance—standard surveillance Marcus explained.
The patrol returned without incident.
Evening found Alice reviewing notes when Adrian arrived with food.
"You missed evening mess."
"I was processing today's training against caravan experience," Alice said.
"Your foundation is exceptional—actual demon combat experience. Tomorrow we start sparring. I'll simulate Soldier behavior while you apply what you learned."
"The caravan taught me demons are beatable," Alice said. "Even that General—we won because we worked together."
"That's the most important lesson. Demons aren't invincible. Now we refine your capability."
After he left, Alice continued her work. The caravan had been terrifying but educational. Now she was refining those desperate lessons into consistent skill.
One day complete. Many more ahead.