“One, two! One, two! Keep it up, keep it up! Raise those knees, keep those backs straight!”

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Yuriko followed the cadence easily, jogging in formation along with the rest of the cadets in her group. There were a hundred cadets to a cohort, each divided into groups of ten--a single squad. The entire Elite class of Sharom was grouped in one squad and they were running two abreast, following behind another squad--the one of Aneurin’s Elite. The rainy weather had taken a turn for the better with blustery winds cutting across the plateaus.

The Academic roundabout, the circumferential road around the Central Reserve, was filled with nearly seven hundred students running in militia cadet uniforms with heavy packs on their backs. Most of them, her classmates included, were struggling to keep up with the upperclassmen’s pace.

For her, though, this was no different from her usual training. It was quite light actually, Yuriko thought. Sure, she was carrying a twenty-Jin heavy pack but she was moving at a fraction of her usual speed. It was barely faster than a brisk walk, now that she thought about it.

Ella-Mai was beside her, looking somewhat strained, Diya Esras and Anika Finley were directly behind them, while the rest of the boys were at the back.

“How long are we running, I wonder?” Yuriko mused out loud.

“Probably just…around the…roundabout,” Ella-Mai huffed.

“Ah, well, quite a bit longer then, at the pace we’re moving at.”

“True…”

The cadet officers were carrying packs like they were though Yuriko assumed theirs were probably heavier. She recognized Kale Kinnock a while back when they were falling into squads. He seemed to be the corp commander or something like that. She saw Rorke too.

Her friends were spread out amongst the varied Academy platoons. Orrin was in the squad behind hers, part of the nine other squads of the Sharom cohort. Well, her current Academy only had enough students for one cohort anyway.

A bunch of cadets in Agaza’s red sped past them, most giving them a derisive snort as they passed. Yuriko frowned but ultimately couldn’t do anything about it. They were given strict orders to run as a squad and she couldn’t very well leave her team.

“Looks like I should train as usual on Sixthdays, too,” she muttered.

“Think you’re not exerting yourself hard enough?” a belligerent voice yelled beside her. One of the training leaders, a squad decanus and an upperclassman, jogged alongside her with no visible strain.

“No.”

His eyes narrowed and he turned his head to get a better look, but when he did, Yuriko noticed him visibly jerk, gulp, and then his breathing sped up unevenly.

Huh, what was that about?

“Er, uh…” He sputtered. “You really want to intensify your PT?”

“I do more in my regular training,” Yuriko began, “but, hmm, I’ve never thought of using weights while running. Hmmm, I should do this every morning then.”

“Uh, you shouldn’t push yourself too much.”

Yuriko gave him a longer look. He had short-cropped, orange hair, green eyes, and had muscles on his muscles. He was about a couple of inches taller than her too. He wore Agaza’s coat and his name tag read, Calendril, J. B.

“Decanus Calendril, I appreciate the thought but I need to grow stronger.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “That’s a good attitude.” He glanced down the line, frowning. “But you’re only as strong as your weakest member.”

“There’s nothing I can do about how they handle their training,” Yuriko shrugged.

“Right, right.”

He kept pace with them for the rest of the run though he fell back a bit to observe the rest of them. By the end of the run, they had wound up in a flat field of grass on the southwest part of the campus.

The day had begun with an address from the trainers, mostly teachers from Agaza. Yuriko saw Master Gethen, Master Antiga, and one other from her registration day. Master Gethen spoke at length of what the reserve officer training was about.

It was something all students of the Imperial Academies must go through and it would simulate being part of a battle group, either the legion or the local militia. Each session would last from sunrise to noon every Sixthday and during that time, they would be taught small unit tactics, organisation charts, basic strategising, and general skills that they would need should they decide to enlist or if they get drafted in case of an emergency.

The first couple of hours were for physical training then they would have their lectures until the end of the class.

It seemed redundant with Martial Sciences, Yuriko thought.

As soon as they reached their designated spot, most of the others dropped their packs and were fishing out their water bottles. The boys looked completely bushed and the other two girls too. Ella-Mai looked fine though.

“Form up, we’ll do callisthenics now!” Decanus Calendril yelled.

With a muted groan, the others complied. What followed was a half-hour of relatively simple exercises: jumping jacks, pushups, pull-ups, and squats, to name a few, though they wore the backpack the entire time. By the end of it all, Yuriko felt satisfied, both by the intensity and at the new method she could use to push herself. Maybe her strength could grow more from this.

They were sitting cross-legged on the grass, including their decanus, when an instructor walked up to them. She handed out sheets of paper and, upon inspection, it turned out to be their course curriculum. The first day was mostly orientation.

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“Sharom Elite squad,” the instructor said after a while, “you’ll spend the rest of this term working on your foundational skills but by the next term onwards, after you’ve determined your specialities, you’ll be trained as a special squad along with the rest of your batch. What you’ll learn during this term can save your life in the future, so please pay attention and give it your best effort…”

She droned on for the next hour and Yuriko didn’t think she would ever wish that she wasn’t here. She had so looked forward to this but it turned out to be nothing more than a glorified excuse to bring the Sharom students out of their classes. They wouldn’t even participate in many field exercises so they wouldn’t be put in any danger.

While she didn’t seek out danger, she had a gut feeling that, well, she couldn’t avoid it. Not when she wants to grow strong enough to venture out into the Chaos Sea on her own. Not when she wants to join a Legion whose primary purpose was to explore the Chaos and either seek out new planes or preemptively hunt down dangers to the Empire.

At the end of the class, they had lunch. It was ration bar stew but spiced well enough that it disguised the awful taste.

Talk about dangers they had to face.

Yuriko made her way back to the Golden Willow, took a long hot bath and changed into casual clothing. She’d meet Armsmaster Byrne and Spellweaver Merill in an hour and it took her a moment to remember why she wanted to.

“I need help,” she murmured. “Both with the voices in my head and in how to advance.”

What voices though? She hadn’t heard them in a while, so maybe she had just been hallucinating, or she’d imagined the entire thing.

Thok, thok!

“Come in, it’s open.”

“Are you ready, Yuri?” Krystal asked as soon as she came into the suite.

“I suppose.”

“You’re having second thoughts?”

“Well…” Yuriko sighed, “I haven’t heard the voices in a while, so I’m wondering if I just imagined the entire thing.”

“You’ve made an appointment, didn’t you?”

“Oh, I’ve no intention of cancelling,” Yuriko hurriedly said, “It’s just that…”

“I get it, but I think you should bring it up anyway.”

“Alright.” Yuriko shook her head. Why was she feeling so strange anyway? She could trust Armsmaster Byrne. Da told her before he left that he was trustworthy enough that he left her training regimen to him.

She grabbed her shoulder bag, put on her shoes and coat, and left with Krystal. They caught the Circuit Tram just before it was full and it took nearly an hour before they arrived at the Northern Mid Ring. Azalea Road wasn’t that far from Cherry Blossom Road, just a block away actually, and they easily found the Sunset Mellow Inn.

It was a large four-storey building with an oddly shaped roof. The outside walls were of whitewashed stone and the window sills were polished wood. A sign hung just above the entryway, proclaiming the inn’s name and had a painting of a comely woman on a horse strumming a lute while they rode off towards the sunset. The colours were somewhat faded.

The front doors were open and the buzz of conversation floated out to the street. So did the smell of sizzling sausages, spilled ale, and a strange floral perfume.

“They really wanted us to meet them in a tavern?” Krystal griped.

Yuriko just shrugged and entered. A quick survey of the common room revealed it to be half full of travellers.

“They’re not here.”

“Ask the innkeeper?” Krystal pointed helpfully at a rotund man with a white apron stained with brown gravy and tomato sauce, who stood chatting with a couple of patrons. “Excuse me?” she called out. The two of them approached the man.

“Yes, may I help you?”

“I’ve an appointment with Armsmas…er, Mr. Trevor Byrne,” Yuriko said.

“Oh, yes, of course. At the tea parlour. This way, please,” he gestured behind him. The two of them followed the man into a different room just past the stairwell and deeper into the building. They passed a central courtyard that had small decorative trees and an artificial pond. “Master Byrne said to bring any visitors to the parlour. We’ve got a good selection of teas--we’re famous for it!”

“Ah, then in that case bring us your house blend,” Krystal grinned.

“Of course, miss.”

The parlour was an al fresco area, with decorative wrought iron borders and small trees with purple flowers.

They were the source of the floral perfume, Yuriko realised, though she didn’t recognise the plant. No doubt Rami would have just from the scent alone.

Armsmaster Byrne sat before a round table with a pot of tea, a three-tiered cake tray that only had half of the contents left. His left arm was capped in a silver and jade piece, with runescript glowing a pale green light. Spellweaver Eilis Meriil sat across from him, looking quite content with a cup in hand.

“Misses Davar and Zorin,” Armsmaster Byrne greeted with a nod. “I didn’t expect Miss Zorin to be with you.”

“Come now, Trevor, you know those two are bosom friends,” Spellweaver chuckled. “Have a seat, both of you. Barnaby, kindly pull up an extra chair for our guest, please.”

“Of course, madam.” The Innkeeper bowed. He grabbed a nearby chair, moving it with deceptive ease, and gestured for Yuriko and Krystal to sit. “I shall return with your tea.”

“Thank you,” Yuriko and Krystal said in unison.

“It’s been nearly a season, hasn’t it?” Armsmaster gave them a small smile. “How are you girls doing?”

“Not too bad,” Krystal said slowly. “I’m still adjusting to Agaza’s routine. Makes me wish I trained more, really.”

“I failed,” Yuriko said slowly, “to get into Agaza. My Elite exam pointed me straight to Sharom.”

“Hey now, Sharom is a perfectly good Academy,” Spellweaver gently chided.

“But it wasn’t where I wanted to go to.” Yuriko shrugged. “But, I’ve accepted it already and there’s nothing I can do about it right now, so…”

“That’s the spirit, young lady!” Merill beamed. “You would have wasted your natural gifts if you’d gone elsewhere.”

“Now who’s derided who?” Byrne scoffed. “Yuriko is perfectly capable as a striker.”

“Yes, but her talents lie elsewhere. We abhor letting good talent go to waste.”

“Well, knowing how the academy works, no doubt they offered you a compromise, am I right?”

“Yes, sir,” Yuriko said dutifully.

“Well, you’re headed towards a combative role no matter what, so cherish these short years and make the most of it.” He grinned. “I’m sure you’ve no lack of new friends.”

“Too many pesky boys, actually,” Yuriko grumbled.

“Oh, hohoho,” Spellweaver Merill chortled. “You don’t enjoy the attention?”

“They’re quite inane!”

The two adults exchanged glances before Armsmaster Byrne gave a deep belly laugh. A moment later, both Krystal and Spellweaver Merill joined in, much to Yuriko’s confusion.

“Hee hee hee, if I leave her alone, she’d get surrounded quick,” Krystal gasped. “Good thing she’s quick on her feet!”

“I imagine so. Hah hah hah! I can’t wait to see the look on the Commander’s face!”

“Trevor!” Merill hissed.

“What! Oh, oh! Er, right.” He coughed into his fist. “Well, mind telling us what’s bothering you?”

Yuriko felt a bit down at the mention of her Da but she rallied her thoughts quickly. She looked at the two adults and hesitated. Armsmaster Byrne had been her teacher right after the Atavism, while Spellweaver Merill had given her sound advice on how to inlay her Facet. Her Da trusted them.

“I’ve…er, I’ve been hearing voices in my head.”

“You mean because of your bond to the artefact?” Spellweaver Merill asked.

Almost at once, a sense of relief washed over her, but she didn’t completely relax. “I’m not sure.”

“Do you have it with you?” Spellweaver continued. “Well, considering that you’ve bonded with an artefact, it’s probably communicating with you. All artefacts have a resident spirit though most times, they’re asleep. This is a good thing for you, Yuriko. You’ll be able to unlock more of the artefact’s power if that’s the case.”

“Ah, no.” Yuriko shook her head. “I don’t have Fri’Avgi with me. I don’t have the license to carry it yet. It’s back in Faron’s Crossing, with my brother, Marron.”

“It’s back in Faron’s Crossing?” Merill exclaimed, her eyebrows shooting up towards her hairline before scrunching together. “That can’t be right. I don’t know of any artefact that can communicate from that far away.” She tapped her fingers on the table. “Hmmm, but it’s not impossible. Maybe your artefact goes back further than we thought.”

“Either way, I don’t think it’s cause for concern,” Armsmaster Byrne rumbled. “Though if you’re feeling uneasy, you can ask for your Anima to be examined. It might not be the artefact spirit after all.”

“Well, I haven’t heard the voice since yesterday.”

“Then I suggest you do nothing for now. Perhaps listen to what it’s saying instead. Write it down in a journal so you won’t forget anything.”

“Thank you for your advice,” Yuriko said, feeling completely relieved now. Perhaps it was just Fri’Avgi after all.