Three weeks following Master Scholar Tika's demonstration

The Barracks

A typical day in the life of a knight recruit starts very early in the morning - most would call it night time. Normally we would be awoken when our bunks or mattresses were flipped over, and after the first few times everyone banded together and we created our own watch schedule. Normally a watch schedule would be something created to protect and warn our fellows during a dangerous time, and it was not something that one would expect would be needed what with us being surrounded by walls and guardsmen, but this guard duty was sacred to us. For an hour on alternating nights, one of us was on watch at all times. Who were we guarding against? Our instructors of course. If people were not out of bed by the time one of our instructors got to us, they were flipped out of their bunk mattress and all.

At the time, this seemed like just another form of hazing or maybe a way for the instructors to let off some steam. It was not until later that I appreciated the actual lesson. Without any words our instructors had managed to instill in us the importance of having someone guarding over you in your weakest moments. The discipline we trained into ourselves out of fear of letting our fellow recruits down, of falling asleep at the guard post only to have everyone awoken in the worst possible way. This happened, once, in the early days. Recruit Uriel could not keep his eyes open, and we were all flipped onto the floor. Uriel had it the worst, as it seemed like the instructors took special umbrage with his failure, and it was not something that was every repeated again.

Today was different. Knight Commander Roderick strode into our barracks later than normal, and every boy was already up and ready for the day. We awaited him in our regular formation, and as we did so my mind reflected on all that I had learned and all that I had earned. Gone was the fat from my body, instead replaced with a hard muscle. I was not a giant, not yet, but I was lithe and built way more than a child of nine years old would have been. I wouldn't win any strength contests, but I would win most races and tests of endurance against most adult males.

Where before we recruits struggled to stand in formation, struggled to align ourselves perfectly, and struggled to find the point of it all, now we stood there as bastions of discipline, as unmoving and unyielding as stone... Well as unyielding as a nine-year old could be. It probably just looked like we had constipation. I remembered how, before, when I stood in formation for more than five minutes my legs would begin to shake and ache. People underestimate how hard it is to stand stock-still in a rigid position of attention. They underestimate how much their body relies on them fidgeting to give various muscle groups a break from the strain of holding them aloft.

That weakness had been drilled out of us. Now, even though we had been standing for forty minutes at ready-rest, I was still as fresh as if I had just woken up. We learned the subtle tricks of rocking slightly on your heels to shift the weigh, of flexing muscles to keep the blood pumping out of our legs so we would not pass out, like many of us had done the first time we held a formation like this for this amount of time. Much had changed, and it was impressed upon me how much difference such subtle knowledge could make. A simple thing as flexing your butt cheek could keep you awake, alert, and conscious when in a situation like this. That thought amused nine-year-old me.

While Zerial, and some of the other recruits, went about their morning thoughts, Roderick surveyed the vastly diminished platoon - now basically just a squad of boys, and decided that this phase of their training had completed. The weak willed had been crushed mercilessly and where before there stood a relatively massive class, only 12 remaining recruits arranged into three rows of four. From this point forward Roderick would need to merge this group of recruits training for knighthood with other groups of recruits training to become men-at-arms if he wanted them to practice larger-unit leadership and battle tactics.

That would come, but it was a task for the future. Now he had the thankless job of teaching these young idiots about combat - starting with the spear. Over the weeks he had steadily swapped their spears for slightly heavier ones, eventually ending up at fifteen pound crudely shaped staves. Unfortunately they would need to relearn the basics, since normal spears only weighed three to six pounds on average with much thinner wooden hafts. That was fine, the purpose of the heavy training staves was to build arm endurance for long grueling hours thrusting the lighter spears...

"Good morning gentlemen" Roderick greeted his stunned recruits politely. "By making it to the end of this phase of your training, you have earned a modicum of respect. Let us see how long that lasts. Squad leader Sebastian, form up outside and march them to chow,"

"AYE SIR" Sebastian screamed.

"Shut the fuck up, you're indoors," Roderick growled.

Sebastian looked gob-smacked, but quickly responded in an appropriate tone.

"Aye Sir. Left Face! March!" and like that Sebastian turned the small formation and led us out of the door, calling a soft cadence to keep us in step.

...

"Fallout" called Sebastian once we arrived at the cafeteria that served the barracks. Together We entered and quickly got in line. We were surprised when Roderick stalked in after us and had a quick private word with the cooks serving food on the line. After receiving a nod and affirmative confirmation Roderick grabbed his own breakfast and went to sit with the other men-at-arms and knights eating at this hour - change of watch would happen soon so the place was quite lively.

We were stunned when we were allowed to choose something other than bland meat, bread, and porridge.

"Alright gentlemen," the cook called out to us when it was our turn, "Knight Commander Roderick as approved you for general soldiers rations of the mess. That means you may have normal fare," and with that he led us to something our poor deprived taste buds had not been graced with in ages - bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits and more! A veritable feast awaited us and many recruits piled their plates with all of the delicacies they had been dreaming of. Sebastian caught my eye and dropped back to the end of the line with me.

"Hey, Zer. Do you think this is a trick?" Sebastian asked me quietly. A good line of reasoning that quickly made the nearby recruits elbow the other boys, and soon everyone was paying attention.

"Hmm... Maybe... It does seem like the kind of thing that the Commander would do... Maybe we should test the waters and eat a little lighter today. Can't throw up what isn't in your stomach" I considered and the rest of the boys nodded.

"Yeah, but what if they're letting us eat well because we have a large task ahead of us today? Or maybe we wont be getting lunch or dinner..." considered Tameral, another recruit who had made it to the end. This caused us to stop and consider for a moment... Finally Sebastian spoke up again.

"Everyone here is responsible for themselves. Eat what you want while keeping in mind your individual tolerances. Make sure to at least get some meat, bread, and fruit into your bodies and everyone should drink two mugs of water before we leave!" I nodded in agreement and the rest of the boys considered that to be sound advice. Everyone was different, and lusted after different things for their taste-deprived mouths.

But if we had learned anything within the difficult time spent here, it was to observe the situation, weigh the odds, and decide on a course of action without regret. Nothing could change what was to come and only through our own actions and preparations could we gain advantage of the situation. If we went a little hungry then we knew next time to eat more. No one would go thirsty, not after that one kid had almost died of dehydration before the Scholars and Priestesses could get to him. And regret only meant you would suffer twice.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Sebastian and I had both grown a little over the weeks and both grabbed a little bit of everything, equaling up to a healthy portion of food on our plates... okay maybe a little more than one should eat in one sitting, but damn it we were hungry. We headed to the recruit area of seating and took our usual place at the table, with Sebastian, Tameral and I sitting together. All the recruits had formed a fellowship of suffering together and all were very close, but even in this tight knit group of boys there existed even closer bonds of friendship and cliques that gravitated to each other.

"Tam, what do you think they've got lined up for us today?" I asked before shoveling eggs into his face.

"Damn if I know. This is uncharted territory for us," Tam responded around a mouthful of bacon.

Sebastian nodded sagely to this and said "I suppose that this new treatment means we will be moving on to different things... But I still expect the hallmarks of a Hexenguard Knight to make guest appearances during our training,"

"Endurance, Technique, and Intelligence" the three said together with some amusement. The hallmarks changed depending on the moods of Roderick and the Men at Arms but they eventually learned that all the different things could be boiled down to those three simple words. They amounted to an even simpler phrase: be prepared...

The Sands

"Alright gentlemen, line up" Sergeant Mills told the boys who rapidly complied. "Today marks the end of your basic training as recruits and begins the weapons training portion. Over the years you will develop and hone the skills we teach you here. Remember, weapons training is a constant in the life of any warrior be it a barbarian, man-at-arms, or knight. To neglect your practice is to neglect your life. Slacking off here will result in punishments that will make your past few weeks seem like a calm day. But i want you to know that the true punishment for failure to live up to the potential of your weapon will simply be forfeiture of your life at an early age.

Now, behind me you will see that the rack of training staves has been replaced with a rack of spears. These are weapons. They are not toys. You will not be swinging them around like idiots, nor will you attempt to harm each other with them unless supervised by both the Knight Commander and Master Scholar. Killing another recruit or anyone else through negligence is an offensive that is and has been punished by execution - recently. You have been warned, now go grab a spear."

With that Sergeant Mills, who already had a spear in hand, lined us up with roughly eight feet between in a square around him. "You will watch me preform. The spear is a weapon that is easy to use, easy to train, and very hard to master. As a knight you will be utilizing a variety of weapons from a dirk to a saber or pole-arm. Each weapon has its niche and none are necessarily superior to the other. A sword useful on horseback for riding down lightly armored opponents will do nothing to a knight if used in a slashing motion. A spear is a versatile tool that has its upsides and downsides... Recruit Connor, tell me one upside"

"Sergeant Mills, a spear can be used to keep your enemy at distance," Recruit Connor rapidly answered with an easy reply.

"Good, Recruit Zach tell me a weakness of the spear,"

"Sergeant Mills, a spears weakness is in close range combat, as it can be difficult to bring it into play,"

"Good. Recruit Zerial, how can we adapt to an opponent who has gotten to close for traditional spear use," Sergeant Miller continued to grill us on knowledge that had been hammered into our heads over time and we easily broke down the essence of what a spear is and does. A pointy stick for killing others at medium to long melee range. Sergeant Miller continued for over an hour and eventually exhausted our pool of knowledge. At that juncture, he began to lecture us on some of the more advanced or situational uses for a spear.

"If your spear is shattered, and only a foot remains you are not weaponless. Both ends of the weapon can be utilized, as sharp wood will go through human skin very easily if enough force is applied to the proper area. If you happen to still retain the spearhead, it can be utilized as a punch dagger..." and it continued.

At roughly noon we were fed rations at the training ground consisting of our usual fare - bread, water, and jerky and then the lessons moved onto practical portions. By now we had adapted to the lighter weight of the weapon as it felt in our hands but had yet to perform any of the basic spear movements. Sergeant Miller rapidly corrected this.

"THRUST!"

We would scream and thrust their spears forward as one towards their dummies, impaling the hide and hay that these particular ones were constructed of.

"WITHDRAW"

We would withdraw and reset their stances.

"THRUST!"

And so it continued. Thrust and withdraw until even the light spears in our hands felt like lead, tour young muscles beginning to quiver with exhaustion. Even if something only weighs a fraction of what it used to, performing the same maneuver hundreds of time over the course of nine hours at maximum speed and strength had shown us that we still had far to go in honing their bodies...

The Next Day

We were once again awoken like semi-regular people and allowed to get a healthy and diverse breakfast. This time we held back only a little in piling their plates high. However the routine changed as instead of marching straight to the training field that had become the center of our world we were marched into an armory by Knight Commander Roderick.

"Good morning Gentlemen. Today we will fit you for your first set of training armor. As you continue to age and grow, this armor will need to be changed or altered several times. We will take care of this for you here, but if you graduate and are awarded the title of Knight you will be responsible for your own upkeep and maintenance of your arms and armor. That is why it is vital that you pay attention today as the armorers here go over in excruciating detail.."

Several hours later

We marched into the training yard wearing our new (old) armor - a boiled leather jerkin with chain mail, greaves, boots, and steel conical helmet. The typical armor for their county's man-at-arms. The unfamiliar armor chafed and it's weight held evil portents for us. By the diabolical glint in Roderick and Miller's eyes we knew that we would be running many laps and marching many miles in this armor...

And we were right. Over the course of the next four weeks my group of recruits fell into a routine while also experiencing new vistas in which to suffer. Every morning we were awoken, broke our fast, collected our arms and armor, and would then we would march varying distances to new locations and different terrain. We practiced spear fighting and marching on grass plains, learning about the true strength of the spear - the phalanx. Then we would march back and do exercises that included endurance and strength training.

Over time the training seemed to take on a tempo. It was more physically demanding but we were offered a modicum of respect that seemed to drive our actions and push us harder. Injuries were common but not looked down upon. A recruit who got injured in the course of training would quickly be seen to by one of the Scholars of Priestesses on hand and then resume training or sit on the sideline and observe - still a member, still a participant in the question-and-answer style format.

And so as the training continued under the excellent guidance of Knight Commander Roderick and Sergeant Mills we began to see improvements. Our forms became standard, our movements precise. Where before we would struggle after an hour of spear practice we could now utilize spear-and-shield for an hour and thirty minutes... and then two hours.

Little did we know how lucky we were to be trained by the two men who conspired to turn us into death-dealing machines of destruction. Gerald had managed to pluck both of the gentlemen from the Royal Institute of War where they had been serving in similar roles. Between Gerald, Roderick, and Miller they had over seven decades of military and combat experience that was steadily and harshly drilled into our minds.

And as our bodies healed from the rigors of endurance training and after the hazing that weeded out those unfit for duty as a Knight, we found that our abilities increased. Soon we moved on from spear training to pole-arm, pole-axe, and blunt weapons training. Though we were not yet allowed to spar with each other or anyone else due to the risk of a serious injury, we drilled forms and learned about footwork, gymnastics, maneuverability, and hand-to-hand combat.

We were taught how to use a dagger and recognize the presence of a dagger on another person. We were instructed on the best way to garrote a man and how to non-lethally subdue someone with a dirk. We learned a thousand and one ways to break and bend the human body in directions it was not designed to go.

And so to continued their instruction in the Scriptorium in private classes held only for the future warriors and healers of Hexenguard. In these lessons we learned the best ways to capture, surprise, or counter magic users. We learned anatomy and the placement of organs within the bodies. We studied non-physical aspects of Knighthood including the oaths involved, the sacred duties that would be entrusted to us, and our rights and privileges as Noble Knights. We learned about the differences between the Hexenguard Brotherhood of Chivalry and how other realms trained and raised generation after generation of knights. Which kingdoms took a hereditary approach and which established methodologies and meritocracies within their chivalrous brotherhoods.

We trained, fought, bonded, bled, and learned while beyond the borders of our peaceful duchy wars raged. News came through mage-relays daily of battles won and lost, villages sacked and burned. As future knights they sat in on mock councils held between Knight Commander Roderick, Master Scholar Tika, and Gerald designed to introduce them to the political side of chivalry.

And in this method, we continued to learn and grow.