Jo
"Marshal the armies, I expect." *He stated rather mildly.* "Kick up training, begin to investigate these rumors more often. I suppose that the preparations we can make are those that won't make neighboring countries immediately suspicious of us - but we can make sure that we are ready for an apocalyptic threat without alerting them, I believe."

"Or it could mean that I, personally, have to prepare for a challenge. In which case I shall kick up my own training once again. With the nature of my magic being as it is, I am sure... I am sure it was given to me for some reason. I shall have to find out what that is." *He cleared his throat.* "Doing both is going to be the most useful. I shall prepare both myself and the kingdom for a coming challenge."
Heather
Winrae's expression remained relatively neutral, though her mind was much deeper in thought. This dream the prince had seen and his course of action in how to deal with it worried Winrae. It sounded as if he were going to devote all his energy, time and sanity into preparing for something that may have been nothing at all. Of course, all dreams had meaning but still, it could be something much less severe than what they were thinking. Though she supposed it if it truly was something to rally the troops over, better to be prepared for nothing than be ill-prepared for something. Winrae nodded slowly, her expression now somewhat of a frown, "I implore you not to work yourself to death over something you or I know so little about. I also recommend speaking with your father or mother at some point about it, at least your dream. If you go raising your army up, I'm sure you'll worry them."

Winrae stretched out her long white wings for a moment, causing a long shadow to form over herself and the prince for a a fleeting few seconds. Folding them back up behind her back once more, Winrae rolled her neck a bit. "If at any point you wish to spar and work on your own skills to prepare *Yourself*, I'd happily volunteer." Winrae offered a playful and devious smirk, "Though just because I'm meant to protect you doesn't mean I'll go easy." Winrae then let out a chuckle, her voice sounded as challenging and proud as it always did.
Jo
"Well, Dame Kaliyah, I cannot say that it is wiser to underwork than to overwork myself, but I shall take that under advisement." *He chuckled for a few moments, considering her advice. It was sound, and there was no reason not to take it. His parents did need to be in the loop, but that was easily remedied.* "And as for the prospect of working myself to death, well - I should be fortunate if I could bring myself to that point."

"Now, if you wish to challenge me, you must realize that I could simply wrap your own armor around your body, shred you with it like a piece of parchment being pierced by arrows, and other such nasty metaphors, but I could use some practice against an abjurer enemy, as magic will be at a premium in any duel. So, what say we forego the wings and spells, and fight as we are, hmm?" *He asked, letting his hammer fly from his back and into his hand solidly. He brought the weapon up to grasp with both of his hands fully, and his armor shifted and flowed to form a helmet over his head - a helm in the frogmouth style.*

"I have no doubt I shall offer you a challenge before you best me."
Heather
"Ah, a fair fight you say? Its bold of you to assume my own armor and magic can't protect me from spells such as yours." Winrae winked before placing her stag helm atop her head. The horns were massive and stretched out relatively far, and one could easily wonder if Winrae had ever used them in battle to impale those who got to close. The paladin would have to be mindful of her wings, as she always used them in combat. No need to cheat, right? The helm itself, once it was locked onto Winrae's head, began to glow from within, the eyes shining a bright white. In armor, Winrae stood a bit taller than when out, at 6'10. She looked foreboding and one wouldn't have to wonder why she was so revered.

"Let's not wreck the garden though, Astalios." Her voice emitted from the armor, almost as if it were being projected out a bit louder than it was before she had placed her helmet on her head. Winrae pulled her golden and massive greatsword off of her back and readied herself in a more defensive position. She's allow the prince to take the first swing, as she wanted to see just how well his form was in battle. For now, she'd defend herself for the most part.
Jo
*It had been years of practice with the army that had readied Astalios for duels - and here, with an aasimar glowing bright in front of him, he had to admit, it didn't look very hopeful at all. There was the fact that she stood a good nine inches taller than him, the fact that she was still glowing despite the lack of magic involved in this duel, and the fact that she was divine in origin.

Regardless... He could do his best, fight hard, and perhaps find a way to outsmart her or come up with some other solution to the problem. He began with a huge looping overhead strike with the hammer, a blow that would easily be parried if it was a real strike.

Instead, he twisted the hammer at the last second, changing the angle of the strike to make it appear that he was feinting, and brought it back along its original course - feinting a feint, in essence.*
Heather
To say Winrae's greatsword was massive would probably be an understatement, but the weapon was definitely a difficult one to get past. Watching Astalios ready himself, Winrae smirked confidently beneath her helm. The prince may have had years of experience, but she did as well, if not more. Holding her greatsword with both hands, Winrae watched the prince move and strike his first blow at her, and in response Winrae raised her sword up to block overhead. He had surprising control over a weapon so heavy, but Winrae's was as well. Without her wings, she was much slower, but this didn't bother her. This battle would be more about strength and wits than speed, which was right up the paladin's alley.

As the two clashed, it would take a moment for either of them to pull their weapons back to prepare for another blow or block, which gave Winrae ample time to slam an armored boot into the prince's chest. With her armor on, she weighed more, and with her height advantage she'd at least knock him back a few feet, if not entirely onto his ass. Winrae then raised her greatsword once more, giving the prince no time to recover from being shoved away so harshly. Of course, Winrae would hold back her strength just a bit. No reason to maim the prince too bad, right?

As the two's battle carried on, passersby stopped and began to whisper to one another. Guards ran off to get others and tell them to come watch, maids stopped to cheer the prince on silently. Nevertheless, there were now eyes on the prince and royal guard. Two powerful stags clashed with one another, one winged, and one of silver. If this battle was real, it'd be one you'd hear in bard's songs or a tale spun by old men to their grand children. For now, this was nothing more than a friendly spar.