The following morning, Pax wasn’t the only one yawning and rubbing at bleary eyes as they gathered next to the enormous field and training area near the team complex. A stunning number of students from all three academies streamed into the area for the new war games training. There were so many, they spilled out over a large section of the nearby lawn and sidewalks.
When he’d first arrived, Pax had glimpsed the training areas and had been speculating about the purpose of the various equipment with his friends. Whatever the instructors had in store for them, it wouldn’t be easy. Based on what Ravalar had said at the assembly, the instructors would organize them into squads of ten for the war games training.
Knowing the conditioning instructors were in charge and their tendency to race full speed ahead, Pax and his crew had taken the time to discuss their plans earlier. They’d decided to stick with their original seven while feeling out other students who didn’t have a squad and might be a good fit for their empty three slots. Then, once they found out the details of the training, they’d approach some other candidates.
“Over here.” Amil stood up on his tiptoes and waved off to their right.
A moment later, Bryn and Tasar pushed through the crowd to join them.
Pax smiled at their warrior friends, glad Amil had spotted them in the crowd. Another thing they’d decided was to group up on the first day, so they were as ready as possible for whatever happened.
They all craned their heads, looking over the sea of faces to find Tyrodon. To Pax’s surprise, he popped out of the bustling students like he’d known exactly where they were.
He gave them a grin and, at their questioning looks, patted the small pack he wore slung on his front. “I just headed over to where most of the mages were and kept walking until Scorch could sense his new friends. We should do some testing and figure out a way to have our companions communicate with each other. I was thinking we could experiment with our Echoes. You still have extra ones, right, Pax?”
Pax didn’t have time to respond before a piercing horn blasted three short signals that cut through all the chatter and made more than one student wince.
Too loud. Talpa complained, sinking into the ground beneath Pax’s feet.
Pax felt jealous. He wouldn’t mind sinking into quiet soothing dirt for a bit of quiet and a few more hours of sleep.
“Attention!” a voice boomed out over the crowd, ensuring that the conversations didn’t start up again.
Pax looked up to see their conditioning instructor standing with a shorter man and a tall elven woman on a small wooden stand built to look over the crowd of students.
“I am Sergeant Necos Iglis, for those who don’t know me. I’m the mage academy’s conditioning instructor. Next to me are Master Crafter Seraphina Windhaven and Captain Durak Stoneheart, who fill similar positions at the crafter and warrior academies. Together with our assistants, we will train you to not only stay alive but succeed in your assignments during this war. Captain Stoneheart will now explain how this is going to work.” Iglis stepped back and handed the speaking device he’d been using to the man behind him.
The man with dwarven heritage stepped forward with ease despite the weight of his well-worn and heavy plate armor. Covered in obvious marks of battle, every piece of his armor still gleamed with signs of meticulous care. He held his helm under one arm. Pax could see the haft and blade of a battle ax attached behind him at belt level.
He kept his light beard trimmed just as short as the half inch of hair on his head. Thin white lines of scars marred the rugged skin of his exposed face, neck and hands. Too many to count. One particularly thick one pulled up the side of his mouth in a false half smile. Pax shuddered as he thought about how many scars the man likely carried under his armor. This was not a leader who led from the rear.
He stepped forward, his gray eyes sweeping across the assembled crowd of eager students, a mix of warriors and mages. The training ground buzzed with an energy of anticipation, but no one dared break the silence. “Welcome, warriors, mages and crafters.” Durak's voice, deep and commanding, echoed out to the far corners of the field. “Today marks the beginning of a new phase in your education. Until now, you've faced the challenges of fighting beasts, creatures that lurk in the night. But the time has come to prepare you for a different kind of adversary. You will battle your fellow brethren, despicable traitors who have brought war to our empire when we are already fighting for our very survival.”
The mood darkened in an instant as the gravity of his words settled in.
Durak continued, “In the coming war, you won't be facing mindless beasts. Your enemies will be thinking fighters, strategizing, and adapting just as you do. To face them, you must not only master your individual and squad skills, but learn to anticipate the responses of an intelligent and canny enemy.”
He gestured towards the fields behind him set up with various sprawling war games equipment. “Here, you will engage in simulated battles against your fellow students. Your blades, spells and devices will clash here, where you will make all your mistakes so you don’t die when faced with an actual battle against our enemies. Remember, the more ruthless you train here, the greater your chance of survival and victory when you face a true test. We will not go easy on you. Your goal is to learn, to adapt, and to emerge stronger as a united force that will crush our enemies!” He gave them a determined nod, and that was all the crowd needed to erupt in a roar of agreement.
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Pax and his friends joined in with more enthusiasm than their neighbors. But inside, Pax’s stomach twisted with his growing dilemma. What if he had to face his fellow loyalist students across the battlefield? How could he justify killing them?
Pax had no suitable answer. He just had to hope the rebel recruitment efforts became successful enough to tip the balance before too much bloodshed happened. He knew it wasn’t realistic, but it allowed him to shove the worries aside for another time.
“The first step today is to register your squads with our assistants. Don’t worry, you can still adjust them this week, but next week we will finalize them and distribute anyone without a squad to those who don’t have the maximum of ten.”
A sudden thrum of murmurs rose in the crowd as heads turned, looking around while searching for friends and evaluating neighbors.
“This process will proceed much faster if you follow the instructions of our assistants without question.” The captain’s voice boomed out again, silencing the crowd and pulling their attention back toward him. “First, find and organize your squads. Then report to one of the assistants set up at the edge of the training fields. There, they will assign you to one of the first three training rotations: Capture the Flag, King of the Hill and the Ambush Scenarios. You have ten minutes. We will organize anyone slower than that as we see fit.”
There was a drawn-out moment of silence as the crowd tried to process all the information in Stoneheart’s rapid fire words. Then everyone exploded into action. There was no doubt the man would follow through on his threat to put them into squads they didn’t choose themselves.
The din was incredible, as everyone seemed to move and yell for friends at the same time. Pax saw a few squads already gathered together, planning ahead like they had.
Follow me. Pax sent to make sure they could all hear him. Feeling as if the battle training had already started, Pax tucked his arms in and shouldered his way toward the row of assistants standing ready with clipboards. After people stepped on his boots and knocked into him too many times, he really wanted to ask Whisk to clear a way for them. The image of students scattering away from the apparition of a large slime put him in a better mood as they finally emerged from the crowd of desperate students organizing themselves.
There was no indication of which assistant was running which of the war games mentioned by the captain, so Pax just headed for the far one that still had no one in line.
“Squad name and members?” the bored-looking warrior asked, holding his pen at the ready. He gave them an impatient look that changed to startlement when he noticed all their pets.
Pax was grateful for the pause. In all their planning, they hadn’t thought of a name for their squad. They couldn’t really use Tribal, as Turgan would probably use that for his squad.
Guys? he asked as the clerk finished checking out their pets.
Something to suggest we’re loyal to the empire like Loyalists or similar to Vanguard to impress Captain Langley today? Rin sent.
Mentioning our companions would be good too, if we’re hoping to get noticed for them, Bryn sent.
The others chimed in with suggestions.
Something with Blades.
Or Shields.
Crown’s Elite?
Phalanx would sound cool.
Sentinels?
Someone behind them cleared their throat, and Pax saw another squad had moved into line behind them. He hurried through the suggestions, finally coming up with one he liked. How about Beast Sentinels? Implying we’re protecting from the beasts as well as using our pets to protect the empire?
The other gave him a quick go ahead, and he turned to the clerk and filled him in on their new name, along with the names of their seven members.
When he finished noting the information, the man looked up again and asked, “Temporary or permanent?”
“These seven members are permanent, but we’re open to recruiting three more members.”
The man made a note to that effect. “You’re good to go. Head to the arena three, the terrain one. Follow the signs behind me. You’re assigned to Ambush Scenarios today.” He hesitated, then added, “Captain Stoneheart has a standing policy that squads who arrive first get the best assignments.”
Before they had a chance to thank him for the tip, he’d already turned to the squad behind them, asking them the same questions.
Pax decided they should listen to the man and run. His friends followed him without hesitating. Rin tossed Eris up into the air to scout ahead. They hurried along a wide stone-lined walkway that moved straight between two extensive fields that the signs labeled as arena one and two.
A few hundred yards ahead, Pax could make out walls in the distance. The signs told him that those were arenas three and four. They kept up a fast pace. Pax enjoyed how his breathing barely sped up, and his muscles moved him much faster than he’d ever been able to run back in Thanhil. And he was even wearing a full set of leather armor. Higher abilities were no joke.
As they got closer, the walls were much taller than they had appeared in the distance. Built from simple stone, they had a parapet walkway on top that Pax assumed instructors and observers could use.
Two smaller lined paths broke off to the right and left. They led to wide wooden gates that had been propped open wide enough for two wagons to go through side by side.
Pax and his friends followed the arena three sign and took the left path. Still running, they headed straight for the open gates. They only stopped when they entered and found two long tables set up side by side and manned by three warriors and a mage. A half wall behind them sectioned off the entrance area and blocked their view of the inside of the area, though the upper portion of trees and foliage let him know it wasn’t an open field like the first two arenas.
Seeing the tables, they stopped immediately and arranged themselves into two even rows. In the front, Pax, Bryn and Rin straightened to attention, erring on the side of formality. Talpa stood by Pax’s side while Eris fell from the sky to Rin’s outstretched arm and happily climbed to her spot on Rin’s shoulder.
“Squad name?” The mage in front of them asked, despite how her eyes flared with interest at Eris’ display.
“Beast Sentinels,” Pax answered quickly.
Her brows rose at the name, but she didn’t comment, dutifully recording the name. Behind them, another squad raced in, shifting to stand in front of another assistant when they saw Pax’s squad was already there.
“As you’re one of the first five squads to arrive, you get to choose. Ambusher or defender? You’ll take the opposite role in the next class.”
Pax blinked before turning to his squad. “What do you think?”