Although he called it a camp it was more like a village. The buildings there where grey and square and placed in neatly formed rows. Most of the buildings had 2 floors, there were a few exceptions here and there but otherwise everything was dual floored.

The order of a disciplined army could be seen in every single part of the camp. The legionnaire led them through the camp until they where in the centre square. The square had the flag of the Aethling Empire standing proud in the middle.

The Aethling empire flag was one with a purple background with a white flower called the Nerium Oleander. No one really know why the flower was the royal mark but it had been so for millenia so no one bothered questioning it.

They were ordered to form lines by a rough and experienced looking drill sergeant. The lines they formed were nowhere near organised. At the end when they finished creating their formation they were standing roughly in a square formation.

"Today! You will be led to your bunks. Tomorrow! The real work begins." The sergeant declared with his powerful voice. "I will now form you in groups of eight,You and the other seven members will form a squadron! You will remain such until the end of training. Should one of your squadron members fail the tests they will be removed from the camp!"

"The missing member will then be replaced by other members of a squadron that is no longer complete! There will at all times be six members in your squadron unless circumstances require otherwise! I will now call your names. If you hear your name step forward and follow the legionnaire assigned to you."

The legionnaire started calling forth names. There was no specific order in the way he called the names. After about a minute of waiting Dorian heard his own name.

"Dorian Storsworn!"

Dorian quickly stepped forward and joined the legionnaire his group had been assigned. It seemed he was the first of his squadron so he paid attention to the names the Sergeant called after his own.

"Blaitz Gordonfell"

A tigerlike beastman of about his own age stepped forward and quickly made his way to Dorian and the legionary. His arms and some of his head was covered in red/orange fur that had dark stripes running through. The boy had a sturdy build much like his own and his golden predatorial eyes swept the grounds. He gave Dorian a nod and stood next to him keeping silent.

"Vorkolimiári Sétra Everwoud"

Now that name was a complete mouthful. This time a huge Entman of at least eight feet stepped forward and made his way to Dorian, and Blaitz. His steps heavy, he truly was an impressive sight. His skin resembled bark, tough and cracked. His eyes had the green of the forest, his hair resembling grass as it framed his rough face. Yet gentle caring oozed from his otherwise intimidating demeanour.

He bowed formally before Dorian and Blaitz who were surprised by the gesture but awkwardly bowed back. The Entman stepped next to Dorian, who felt like a dwarf standing next to the huge Entman.

"Ístril von Éllenmare"

This time it was a female elf that stepped forward and walked towards them. Stepping may have been the wrong. She gracefully glided towards them. Her golden hair flowing behind her, wearing a simple but elegant white dress that framed her figure exquisitely she drew the eyes of even the Sergeant who was distracted for the tiniest of moments.

With her smooth skin and golden eyes she made quite the impression as she joined the group giving them the slightest dip of her head in greeting.

Well it seemed the Legion did not care about gender and would just bunk all of them together. A rather unnerving thought to Dorian. He did not have a lot of experience with women and the one standing close by, was in no way any less sensual than anything he had ever fantasised about. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he heard the next name.

"Gladiel Karvin"

A handsome looking Aethling with wavy hair that reached his shoulders made his way forward with a bit of a cocky or maybe just confident stroll. His blue eyes matched his blue hair, his build was lanky, with defined springy musculature.

Once Gladiel joined the group he gave Ístril a seductive wink. Which she completely ignored, not even bothered by the rejection in the slightest he joined the rest of the group giving Dorian a jolly grin.

So cocky, perhaps. But he seemed like a good enough fellow.

"Arin Daughter of Grimligur"

This time it was a female dwarf that made her way to them. She had brown hair tucked in a tight braid, and brown eyes full of humour to match it. Walking towards them with quick steps she gave the group a wave and joined them. The rest nodded in response.

“Vivri Crimwald”

Another elven woman stepped forward, this one darker of skin. Eyes a bloody crimson, a scar over her left eye. Silver-gray hair in a bobcut, the woman sent a tingling sensation all over his body. He found his body primed for action when she neared them, it wasn’t just him either. Blaitz’s fur was bristling, claws growing on his paws.

“Easy boys.” Her sultry voice commanded. “Same side remember?”

The rest of the group glanced at Dorian and Blaitz who forced their instincts back down. Dorian bowed his head towards her. “Apologies.”

Her returned smile shattered his mind, leaving his mind blank and fuzzy.

“Kala Sommersift.”

The last one to join their merry little squad was a petite girl. Hardly measuring at five and a half feet. Her hair tied back in a tight copper-coloured braid. She had a disarming friendly smile, and that tang of recognition struck him again as she walked over.

He shook the stray thoughts from his head as he nodded a greeting to her.

"Follow me." The legionnaire said leading them away from the square.

Leading them into one of the square buildings. Once through the door they went immediately up the stairs, then down the hallway the door at the end was theirs.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Your possessions you can put in the chests at the feet of your bed. The closets you see are for legion property only, we will not rummage through the possessions in the chest but anything in the closet is fair game. But you will get that explained in the morning. Just remember! Private possessions in the chest. Trust me on this guys." The legionnaire earnestly pressed them.

The group nodded to his words and thanked him for the advice. Dorian took a look in the room and saw four bunk beds two on each side of the room. The room actually had more space than he expected.

There was also a bit of privacy for them, Each bed had a curtain that they could close around their bed to get some privacy.

"Id say the girls go together on one side and we take the other?." Dorian asked the rest of the group.

"Awwwh, and there goes my plan of enjoyment." Said Gladiel putting on an obviously fake pouting face.

"I wouldn't really mind, but I'm fine sleeping with beautiful over there." Arin said grinning.

Ístril’s crystal clear voice rang throughout the room demanding attention. "This would be adequate."

After the quick arranging of the beds Gladiel would sleep on the upper bunk bed with Vorkolimiári below him. Dorian would take the other bed with Blaitz in the bed above him. After dividing the bed they introduced each other.

"I am Dorian Storsworn." Dorian told them. "16 years of age, i come from the northern village Walmont near the border forests of Cumplai. I guess I'm here to get more combat experience." With that he finished his own introduction

"Blaitz Gordonfell, I come from the Savannah's in the south from the nomadic tribe of Esterfol. We don't really stay in one place so wouldn't say i live anywhere in particular. Joined the army because i was tired of the life of a nomad and wanted to do something more exciting." Blaitz told them, his voice a near primal growl.

" Vorkolimiári Sétra Éverwoud, is what I am known as. I understand the name is a harsh on the average tongue. It would please me to simply be known as Vor. I hail from the lush forests of Tolrím in the west. I am the second born of my generation and according to custom i join the legionaries to protect the empire in which we reside." Vor rumbled, his voice extremely deep and gave Dorian the impression of bumblebees.

" Ístril von Éllenmare, i am here to escape forced marriage, the only way i could break the bonds between me and my family was to join the legion." She stated indifferently, Shocking the rest of the group into silence for a bit.

Gladiel who was apparently feeling the awkward silence pitched in to break it. "Gladiel Karvin, a most dear pleasure to make your acquaintance. I jolly well came from the City Washmorth we just left. I just up and decided to change my life and joined the legion. Pitch in to protect our mighty empire and all that" The group recovered from their shocks with his positive attitude and they even laughed a bit.

"Real pleasure to make your acquaintance dear Gladiel, sir. I am Arin daughter of Grimligur. Basically I've always wanted to join the legion and so here i am. I come from the dwarven city of Krokilum. You guys seem like a good bunch so let's get along and graduate together!"

“That would be great!” The petite girl commented. “I’m Kala, hailing from the Norvener tribe Liftfuor.” Dorians heart stopped at the mention of his families name.

A wave of shock went through the rest of the group.

“THE blood Liftfuor tribe?” Gladiel exclaimed staring at her, eyebrows crawling up so much it seemed they wanted to escape from his face.

Kala chuckled, scratching the back of her head and biting her lip. “Well yea, but I’m just a normal tribesmember!” she quickly added.

“Did you ever meet the Infernal sorceress?!” Blaitz asked excited.

Infernal sorceress, Liftfuor tribe. It would take an idiot not to make the connection. Now he knew why his father had wanted to keep the family name a secret.

“Boys, boys, give the poor girl some room. Although I am curious as to if you have ever met the Bloody Bladesmith.” Vivri interrupted.

Kala fidgeted. “I saw them once when I was young, but nobody has seen them in years.”

“Before I forget to introduce myself.” Vivri said cutting the rest off from asking more questions. “I am Vivri, one of the Crimson Clan, also here to escape a spot of trouble like Goldilocks over there.” Giving Ístril a conspiratorial wink she continued. “Not to worry boys ‘n girls, but I’ve already had my fill of meat for the day.”

The rest of the group chuckled, Kala and Dorian just shared a look of confusion at the apparent joke.

After having introduced themselves to each other they started making small talk. Learning about eachother, they would be spending the next few years together after all. That is if they all managed to graduate.

Dorian quite enjoyed the conversations with the rest of the group. They got along pretty well, although they couldn't have been more diverse if they had tried. Maybe being so diverse is what they enjoyed about each other. Each of them had stories about their race that none of the others had heard before.

Telling stories like this it did not take long before the sky turned dark and the moon shone through the window signalling the squad that it was time to hit the sack. Getting into their beds the girls closed their curtains to undress and change into their sleeping outfits.

Once they had changed they kept the curtains shut. The guys didn't bother doing anything of the sort and just pulled of their clothes until they were in their underwear and jumped in bed then and there. Vor did it a bit differently the green robe he was wearing he neatly folded and put into chest, both he and Blaitz were wearing a loincloth instead of the boxers he and Gladiel used.

The lower bunk bed he was using was way larger than the ones the rest was using. It seemed the people in the camp had expected the Entman and had prepared a bed big enough for him to use. Although this automatically made Gladiel's bed just as large it didn't bother him. Gave him some room to twist and turn he told them.

And just like that the day's end had come and they soon fell into slumber. Most of them excited about what would happen tomorrow.

In the morning the loud yelling of the drill sergeant woke them up.

"You have five minutes to dress yourselves, get outside and line up! Hurry it up!" He roared pounding on all the doors in the dorm.

Quickly waking up Dorian leaped out of bed and rushed to put on his clothes. The rest of his squad was just as fast. Ístril had just slipped on her dress and jumped out, Vor had some trouble with his robes but with some help he was quickly done as well. The squad hurried down the stairs and outside to the square. Once they were lined up in formation the sergeant spoke again.

"It took you guys 7 and a half minutes to get down here and get ready! Go back to your rooms take of your clothes and get back in bed!" He roared at them infuriated.

Some people grumbled but everyone made their way back to the dorm took of their clothes and got into bed. The sergeant walked past the dorm rooms to check and see if everyone was back in their beds. Once he confirmed that everyone was in bed he roared out once more.

"Four Minutes and I want to see everyone outside and lined up! In the same places you were just now!"

Rushing to put on his clothes again, Dorian and his squad once again ran outside lining up in the same formation as they had been before. Some people didn't remember where they were before and decided to just fill the gaps.

"This is not the same bloody formation you guys had just now! I will teach you runts how to do this properly. ONCE! You better get it right or ill make it a hell of a day for you!"

The sergeant then proceeded to roughly line up the squadrons and put them in formation there were exactly two-hundred recruits in their group so he lined them up in rows of twenty. He told them to put their heels together stand up straight and put their right fist to the shoulder of the one to their right. The distance should be exactly enough for the first line to reach the shoulders of the ones next to them with their arms stretched out.

The people in the first row all seemed to be about the same height and breadth so the lines became pretty much even. The distance between each row was made by putting the left fist against the left shoulder of the one in front of you. But only the first in each row did this and the rest adjusted themselves to the distance of that one recruit.

After having positioned themselves the sergeant once more told them to get back in bed. Once he confirmed that everyone was in bed. . He roared his command at them everyone hurried to put on their clothes and get in line. But once more, not everyone was in time. The getting in formation simply took to long to get everything done in the four minutes they had been given.

The sergeant of course didn't care about their petty reasoning and ordered them to get back in bed. After confirming they were in bed he yet again roared his order. This time everyone was in a deadmans rush to get outside and in formation. And yet the same slow people weren't in time. The annoyance of the whole group could be felt as they started to glare at the slower individuals.

The sergeant still didn't;t care about their plights and ordered them to get back in bed. This pattern repeated itself for nearly the entire morning. The group was starting to get hungry but the sergeant was still screaming at them that they would not get breakfast until they finally got this right.

"Is it that bloody hard for you maggots to get into line?!!" He roared at them, Dorian could almost see foam spraying from the mans mouth rage painted on the mans face. "I can be here all damned day!" The sergeant took out a lunch box and the legionaries that were with him on instructing duty did the same.

By now it was near noon so everyone was really hungry. Especially after all the running around and getting in and out of their clothes and beds the entire morning. The sergeant told them to get back into their beds for what felt like the hundredth time.

"This is bullshit!" One of the recruits roared at the sergeant. "I came here to be a soldier not get in and out of bed for the entire day! I want to learn how to fight not how to line up looking like pretty little toys!"

Here and there a mumble of agreement could be heard from the other recruits. Dorian saw that the legionaries around him were showing a slight smile. It seemed they had been waiting for this. So that is why they kept having to repeat this exercise. Dorian thought to himself.

They were testing the tolerance limits of the recruits and putting down a statement. What happened next only confirmed Dorian’s thoughts.

"CENTURY!" The sergeant suddenly roared. "BEHIND ME, FORMATION!"

The surrounding legionnaires rushed forward in their full Armour and within thirty seconds the fifty on watching legionaries were standing behind him in perfect formation. Shields slanted at exactly the right angle. All of them forming neat lines.

"You think this is a game recruit?" The sergeant said suddenly lowering his voice. Even though he had lowered his voice the words were clearly audible throughout the square. "You think you can be a proper legionnaire if you cannot even form ranks properly?"

"If that is how you feel you are free to leave. Anyone who feels this way is free to leave. But make sure you never come back into my training camp." The drill sergeant threatened them letting his gaze roam over the now nervous recruits.

But no one left. His message had been conveyed and the recruit that had spoken up, shut up. So here they were once more getting into bed to get out of it again and stand in formation. Even with the message the sergeant had given them it still took another three hours before they finally got done in time.

"Alright this time it was barely good enough to pass" The sergeant said. The wave of relief going through the group was incredible. Who would have thought getting out of bed could be this stressful.

"You guys have only barely deserved your lunch. Follow us to the Canteen." The sergeant told them, the words were received by the growling stomaches of the recruits who by now were extremely hungry.

So this is what legionnaire training is like. Dorian thought to himself. Not quite what he expected but it sure was interesting.