Sam tried to hit Harlan again, and didn’t break her hand this time.

“Good, you controlled your output.”

“The fuck is this guy?”

“Alright, we had our meeting, now get over it or I’m going to stop being so friendly.”

“Fuck you.”

“I’ve never hit a woman without good reason, but you are a soldier. You must be held to an equal standard with everyone else within the organization. Now, since I’m a hypocrite, I’m still going to give you the chance to apologize.”

“Sam, say you're sorry.”

“Or what? Is your big bad brother going to hit me?”

“I’m actually her little brother. And I’m not here as her brother, I’m here as the queen’s blade.”

He punched her in the gut and she crumpled to the ground.

“Gods, fuck, why-”

“Amber, I’m not going to be insulted by her. Technically I outrank everyone here but the high commander himself even if I don’t have the desire or authority to directly order anyone around.”

“So you are just going to beat my squad?”

“I’m here as a teacher. I intend to use that position to teach. So, Cadet Sam, you will understand and respect the chain of command. That apology was not an ask, it was an order. Amber, now we can talk.”

Harlan healed her and she went to her bed to rest until the next set of exercises began.

He made movements as if he was hopping into bed, but really he just hung in the air next to Amber then set up a veil.

“I’m serious by the way, I can’t play favorites. I went after you first because you are the easiest to target, we both know one another, but I’ve never seriously fought you and I can do many more unorthodox things than you know because there’s just not enough time to explain everything. One should fight the known before they can spread that to those who do not know.”

“Prick.”

“There is somebody you should meet.”

“Can’t leave the base.”

“Don’t need to.”

Dawn slipped off of him and stood next to him.

“Hello.”

“Upgraded your armor?”

“When Harlan was an infant he pulled my mind out of my soul as I was dying and put it into his own soul which also…”

10 minutes passed.

“You know what. I’m going to head off to drills and exercises and stuff and then I don’t know.”

Harlan flew over to a sparring ring.

For now he was going to watch over the matches, 4v4 with the officer cadets acting as commanders, first to three.

The point was to test how well the officers knew those under them. If the cadets didn’t follow commands or they failed to implement the commands to the satisfaction of the judges, they lost even if they won, they didn’t want to train mavericks. Though often if one was able to win a 1v4 they ended up with a mark on their record so they could be recruited to certain special groups within the army such as rangers or the unseen.

Graduation was a month away, or at least the earliest graduation was, and only a handful of the officer cadets seemed ready to move along.

One of the worst so far was a pair of nobles, they didn’t say they were nobles, and last names weren’t supposed to be said during training, but everyone could tell that they were nobles.

They treated the soldiers under them like crap, and these soldiers hadn’t taken the disrespect lightly, so they would sometimes ignore an order that they thought was stupid even if Harlan could see that it made sense.

When the match ended in a draw the judges, Harlan, Enten, and the base commander, put up a veil to decide.

“I say we fail both of them. They have yet to instill any faith in the men they are supposed to be leading.

I know they aren’t training mindless order followers, but there will be times when they don’t understand an order and yet they must understand that it must be followed.”

“While I agree with the basis of your judgment, we should rule this a draw. The difference is mostly in how it appears on their record. Failures so far into their training are seen as a poor reflection of both teacher and student, but I know this is their fault, not the fault of the instructors.”

“I’m the guest, so I’ll follow your judgment.”

After a few minutes someone broke the veil.

“The officer cadets stabbed one another.”

Harlan vanished from sight and was next to the idiots.

He made them both freeze with telekinesis, healed them, stripped them of the weapons and clothes, and then he let them move again.

“Three laps, then you can get your clothes back.”

He opened a gate to the track.

“You can’t do this, my father-”

“Is not here, and clearly has failed to instill you in what you should be as a leader. Run those laps of your own free will, or I will make you run those laps. THIS IS AN ORDER.”

One man ran through the gate.

“It’s freezing, I won’t-”

Harlan covered him in mud and sent Dawn to puppet the mud, Harlan did not joke about forcing them to run laps if they refused.

“SHOWS OVER.”

Harlan skipped back to the judges platform.

“I hope that was an acceptable punishment.”

“You are unlikely to inspire respect, but fear will get you far as a temporary instructor.”

“I would rather build people up than tear them down, but those two idiots deserved it.”

“It’s too late for you to change how others view you, might as well use it.”

“How about I deliver verdicts myself?”

“I’ve no issue with this. Base Commander Hettel?”

“He may.”

People often flinched when he approached them, but they seemed to calm down when Harlan actually dispensed useful advice to both the cadets and the officer cadets.

Then they began to flinch again when he shouted at others for their failures while also giving useful advice.

He reserved corporal punishment for those whose failures were more deeply rooted than could be dealt with in the few minutes he allotted for himself.

“And remember, I don’t sleep, and I’m not busy while I am here. So feel free to drop by any time to talk.”

Harlan skipped back to the chairs.

“I feel that you both intend to tell me I made a mistake.”

“No, this is perfect, now I won’t be expected to handle you or share meals and the like.”

“He may.”

Hettel was a man of few words and a scarred face.

Finally it was Amber’s turn to show off.

The field was set up with walls, they randomly decided on the field every match. This was made to simulate indoor combat, though it had no roof so they could be watched better from the officers' platforms.

The Cald was to be pointman, Sam was rearguard. Yet it didn’t take long before the other brothers had moved around to the side so they could look at Sam during the exercise.

Predictably this resulted in them being seen first, without the element of surprise and with them not in their places.

The match wasn’t over and he hated knowing that he would need to yell at her.

The second and third matches were worse, even without a single mistake that could be faulted for the win it was clear that they were a well oiled machine, and though Harlan could feel that every one of them hated taking orders, they followed them.

Harlan went first to the winning team.

“Very good. The first person I knowingly killed was done in with that same trick of making a small hole to trip them up. Telling your men cantrips like that can give them a significant advantage depending on the terrain. Though I will say that this field is made to be like indoor fighting, and such a trick wouldn’t be usable in cities without prior authorization due to the mass sealing arrays.”

“Thank you. I fight by what the field actually is, not what it is meant to be.”

“Reasonable answer.”

Harlan then went down to the cadets and put up a veil.

“I can tell that you dislike your officer.”

“No issues, sir.”

“I’d rather not be lied to.”

The men were nervous.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“He’s an asshole, but when he graduates, we do. We all got tossed out of bootcamp and put here to be tools, and we just want to get out of here and get the bonus pay.”

“They pay you to come here?”

“Get a healthy bonus to our pay for some time, depends how long we stayed. But if we wash out, we don’t get it.”

“Very well.”

He popped the veil and headed over to Amber’s side.

Harlan sighed as he started.

“What was that?”

“They didn’t-”

“THAT WAS RHETORICAL, OFFICER CADET AMBER. WHAT I MEANT WAS THAT WAS DISGRACEFUL. THREE OF YOUR SOLDIERS SPENT MORE TIME LOOKING AT THE REAR OF THEIR REARGUARD THAN WATCHING FOR ENEMY UNITS. YOUR VANGUARD NEARLY FELD AT FIRST SIGHT OF THE ENEMY AND NEARLY TOOK THE FUCKING HEAD OFF OF HIS OWN TEAMMATE WITH A PANNICKED FIREBALL.”

Harlan turned into a monstrous form, like a cross between a bear and a beetle with seven eyes and mandibles.

“CADET TODDEL, ARE YOU AFRAID OF THIS?”

He passed out and pissed himself.

“CADETS CALD AND BESTEN, DO YOU INTEND TO JOIN THE ARMY TO VISIT WHOREHOUSES OR TO PROTECT THIS NATION?”

Both had different answers.

“DISGRACEFUL.”

Harlan buried them up to their waists in the cold mud.

“CADET SAM.”

She clinched her hands and made an upset face, but she intended to take the abuse.

“Good work. If these three could think with their higher head instead of lower, you might’ve at least put up a good defense. When Toddel panicked you stopped Besten from nearly dying.

When Besten knocked the teeth out of the other soldier you took advantage of that opening and nearly took out another. What you need to work on is your magic, those magical tripwires you put up were not able to remain hidden because they were set improperly.”

“Amber gave the command, I just followed it.”

“OFFICER CADET AMBER, DID YOU GIVE AN ORDER WHICH YOU KNEW COULD NOT BE FOLLOWED?”

“I thought that she-”

“YOU KNOW YOUR SOLDIER SO LITTLE?

BAD SOLDIERS FOLLOWING BAD ORDERS MAKES DEAD SOLDIERS. LEARN WHAT EACH OF THEM CAN DO AND PLAY TO THEIR STRENGTHS INSTEAD OF WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO.”

Amber was clearly less than pleased.

“I-”

“DID I GIVE YOU LEAVE TO SPEAK?”

Harlan skipped back to his judges seat.

“DIG THOSE TWO OUT OF THE GROUND, NO MAGIC.”

It was going to take a few minutes.

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

“I made a deal, no favoritism. And if this can make her a better soldier then that means she will be safer.”

“And it could also mean she doesn’t graduate.”

“People live and die on their failures. If she fails here, it means another six months training up a batch of dipshits. If she fails in a battle, I get a knock on my door by men in black suits.”

“I heard you were a soft hearted fool for your family.”

“I am. But I’m a man of my word and I feel like shit for yelling at her like that.”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

When the exercise was done they went for lunch.

Naturally Harlan sat with his sister.

“I can’t believe you did that.”

“I-”

“I’ve seen how you train people and you can actually teach them with respect and understanding.”

“Well-”

“You gave me the fucking teardown.”

“Because that is what I would’ve done to anyone else for making your mistakes.”

“What mistakes? That I got set with these three idiots who are undressing me with their eyes even now?”

“Do you think that there isn’t anyone who I’ve had to set straight for trying to get at me? That just because I remain a gentlemen that no other student has tried to get at me through my teaching? Or that no nobles send their daughters after me during parties in the hopes that they can get to me? Do I blame them?

Of course. But I don’t let them get away with it.”

“What do you expect me to do about it?”

“If a leader cannot rule through respect, then there is another option. These three aren’t going to be under you forever, you just need to get them to understand boundaries and tighten up long enough for you to graduate. And if you miss the first chance because of them, that is your fault as much as theirs.”

“Fine.”

Sam was pushing around her greens.

“They are high in iron. Good for you.”

“They taste like shit, mustard or collared, doesn’t matter.”

“What if I ordered you to finish your food?”

“Then hold me in contempt.”

“That is for court. What I would charge you with is insubordination.”

“Fuck off. And why do you care?”

Harlan shrugged.

“It’s because he thinks that you are another puppy that he needs to rescue from the world.”

“Don’t listen to my sister. I’m just making conversation.”

“Converse with her then. Whatever you said earlier had her all fucked up.”

“That isn’t a conversation for a public table.”

“Family bullshit. Fuck that, I don’t care anymore.”

Amber longly exhaled.

“Family bullshit is an understatement.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“You- Nope, not saying it.”

“Can we talk about that later?”

“Give me a few weeks to process that entire disaster of a story I heard. Does Adina know? Mom and dad?”

“You are the first I’ve told.”

He left out Marigold and Xol, they found out, but technically he didn’t tell them.

“You told me before her?”

“Oh, I also got married. Legally at least. Yggdra said it would be legally useful.”

“Which one?”

“Our dear queen.”

“No wedding?”

“Once things calm down we’ll have one.”

“Great.”

They spent lunch making smalltalk and avoiding the awkwardness that came from the one two punch of finding out Dawn exists and then him calling her a failure of a leader.

For the afternoon they had regular drills, but Harlan was participating.

When they ran 50 laps, he ran 500.

When they did push ups, Harlan did them vertically with one hand, pull ups the same.

After most of a day of that, it was demoralizing for almost everyone.

Then came practice sparring.

And through fate, or rather the meddling of Hettel, Harlan ended up with Sam.

Seeing what a monster he was, she feared the worst.

In the blink of an eye, Harlan’s sword was inches away from her.

“Don’t freeze up with fear because of what I am. I’m your teacher. Now, again.”

She circled him and he matched her.

When she struck he deflected.

“You are gripping your weapon too tightly.”

Again.

“I’m going to teach you aggression. Move forward as you attack, shift your weight from one foot to the other as you do.”

Harlan deflected every strike.

“Faster.”

Again.

“Faster.”

Again.

“Faster”

She couldn’t move any faster, but didn’t say anything.

They went for a few minutes before he started counters, light taps that she missed.

“You are overly focused. You only nearly won that fight during the exercise because you stopped paying attention and you got hit from the side. Again.”

.

“Straighten your wrist. You are also still gripping your sword too tightly and you are holding it too high on the handle. And lower it down some, don’t they teach you any proper stances? Shouldn’t Amber have taught you.”

“We’re here because we fucked up at the normal camps.”

“Some people are not meant for normal. But I think you have good instincts and reflexes. Now, we will continue.”

“Where the-”

“Are you sure you want to continue that sentence?”

Remembering the last time, she watched her language.

“Why couldn’t you be that nice before?”

“I was.”

“You punched me in the gut.”

“I warned you beforehand, all you had to do was not insult me again. Is Amber being too soft?”

“She’s good.”

“Soft works sometimes, sometimes it doesn’t. You don’t like soft, but you hate hard even more.”

“Why do you think I don’t like soft?"

“Do you want the soft or the hard answer?”

“Soft.”

Harlan put up a veil, he didn’t want to say anything that would get her hazed by the other cadets.

“However your life at home was, it has left you distrusting of kindness. So Amber has done nothing but coddle you because that is what her instincts are telling her, just like mine are. But that isn’t her job, that isn’t my job, and her weakness is going to kill both of you. You might as well give up on this entire thing if you can’t get over yourself long enough to not drag her down with you.”

“I said I wanted the soft answer.”

“That was the soft answer. By the end of the week, I want an answer, stay or leave.”

“If I leave Amber flunks.”

“That isn’t my problem. We have more time, so I’m going to continue to break you down so that you can be rebuilt as someone worthy of the uniform.”

Harlan ate dinner in his own tent.

Dawn sat across from him using the armor, just getting used to being a physical being again.

“You want her to fail, don’t you?”

“If she can’t take responsibility for those under her, then she shouldn’t be an officer. The higher she climbs in rank, the more people will be under her, and those are more people she is going to get killed.”

“You want to keep her out of the army so she is safe and you are trying to get that girl to leave the army so Amber has to come home until the base sends in the next set of fuck ups.”

“And if that was true, would it be wrong? We both know that she isn’t going to get them to fall in line.”

“You don’t know that.”

“She’s sloppy, she thinks she’s raising kids, but these are grown ass adults.”

“I admit, it isn’t how I was trained, but we both know that it can work out great to build a relationship with others. Loyalty doesn't breed through fear, remember?”

“Yet there are some people that cannot be made loyal, they can only be made to obey.”

“Don’t get all dark and gloomy on me.”

Harlan got up.

“Where are you going?”

“To discover something.”

Harlan went into the mess hall.

“Cadet Sam. I’d like to see you in my tent after your meal is finished.”

Harlan finished eating and waited for her.

“You wanted to see me?”

“I know I gave you a week. But why did you join? Why are you still trying? Is it for the bonus that you get?”

“Army gives me free room and board while I’m here. Nothing more to it.”

Harlan placed a pouch on the table.

“This is 30 gold coins.”

“You are trying to bribe me?”

“I’m giving you a real choice. If you want to be a soldier, don’t take this. If all you want is the money, take this, go back home.”

She fidgeted in her seat.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I’m asking you, what do you actually want? Because I want good soldiers in the army, and you could be one, but you aren’t one, and I don’t think you can become one in the next month. So why bother staying, wasting everyone’s time?”

“Because I can do it, and I’m going to fucking prove it to you.”

She stormed out of the room.

“Really? That was fucking low.”

“No. I got the answer I wanted. She has focus and anger, but she doesn’t like following orders.

I just needed her to make a choice, and it needed to be her choice.”

“You think some basic shit like that is all it’s going to take?”

“Actually, yes.”