Twenty of the finest recruits Kitsu Fortress Drill Sergeant Yuri had ever seen stood before him on the dusty training field outside of Kitsu Fortress. Each of them were physical specimens that far surpassed the level that Yuri himself had entered the army at a decade ago. Beyond that, each had pushed into the second tier. Yet Yuri feared it would still not be enough. The troubling rumors coming out of the third army camp worried him. What were men and women before the madness represented by all manner of fiends wielded by the enemy?
Yuri cleared his mind and got to work. He had one month to train these kids and try to keep them alive, and he would spend every second on accomplishing that. “Form up!” He yelled.
“Each of you is here today because you impressed someone in your recruitment. You represent the finest recruits Agorra has to offer. I am here to tell you it is not enough. I, too, placed top of my class. I didn’t lose a single duel during my training. I easily outran and out muscled my fellow blades during my time. On my first mission, I froze and moved too slow, taking a near fatal wound. I am here to make you better than I was. I will succeed in my mission. Whether you succeed in yours is in your hands.” Yuri said to the suddenly sheepish looking kids.
“At the entrance to the training yard, there is a line in the dirt. You will run to that line and run the loop laid out around the camp. You will run that three times and then meet back here for combat drills. Questions?” Only silence answered him as the recruits processed what he said. “Dismissed.”
———-
Rico dashed forward and slapped away his opponent’s sword with the flat of his blade. She retreated and sent a flurry of stabs to make space, trying to keep Rico back. Her speed was superior to his, but her technique wasn’t enough to close the strength gap between the two of them. If this was a mana enhanced sparring session it might be different, but unfortunately for her it was not. He waited for her to spring forward again and stepped just to the side of her stab. Using his left foot, he kicked out and felt her knee give as it bent backwards. She yelled out in pain and flailed backwards as Rico advanced, pinning her to her back with his sword at her neck.
“Dead.” Rico stated and removed his sword, offering his hand to help her up. “Healer!”
“Damnit Rico, that hurt.” Amelia gritted out, her teeth clenched as she accepted his hand and hobbled up, using his shoulder as a support.
“You rely on your speed too much. You let yourself get out over your balance with each stab. It leaves you open for a counter if you miss,” Rico responded and helped her over to the bleachers surrounding the practice yard.
“If I had been using my mana, it wouldn’t have missed,” she huffed in response.
Rico let the argument drop as the healer reached them and worked on her knee. His hands glowed a soft blue as he grabbed her leg with one hand above and below the break. Amelia grunted in pain and frustration as the man worked, shooting daggers with her eyes at Rico. Amelia hated to lose, especially to Rico, whom she considered her primary competition among the Blades. Rico took a seat next to her on the bleachers while the healer continued his work and looked out over the practice yard.
“You hear?” He said, changing the conversation as a peace offering.
“I…yeah. This morning at breakfast in the mess, it was all anyone could talk about.” Amelia stifled her anger and responded. “The entire team, that never happens, at least not to someone like him.”
“Not his entire team. I heard one ran off and they never found his body. It was his first mission. I remember seeing him around a few months ago when I got here. Nice guy,” Rico responded.
“What happened?” The healer asked, looking up from kneeling by Amelia’s knee.
“An entire strike team was killed during a mission, except for the captain and one private that went missing. Ambushed by Edorians and an entire pack of mindless led by a powerful sapient. Down the valley beyond the field camp while they were clearing caves.” A new voice joined in from behind Rico.
He turned around and saw one of the other students, Riley, joining them on the bleachers. Riley had a penchant for rumors and spreading them. He was arrogant and pompous, bragging about his upbringing in one of the noble house of Agorath. Amelia’s eyes lit up and her face lost its scowl for a brilliant smile at the sight of the prototypically built soldier. Blonde hair and silver eyes with muscles that rippled out under his training uniform. Rico rolled his eyes as Riley leaned back and Amelia devoured him with her eyes.
“Which strike team?” The healer asked, ignoring the obvious teenage drama trying to unfold.
“Wolf team, Captain Alton, was the only survivor. I heard he’s taking it pretty rough,” Amelia answered without taking her eyes off Riley.
“Shame they won’t allow us in the field yet, clearly a failure of leadership. That would never happen when I activate Sphinx team. A few mindless and doris won’t defeat my team.” Riley scoffed.
“Mind yourself, private. Captain Alton is one of the finest soldiers in Agorra. I was there…in the valley during the battle of Olshein. I owe my life to that man and I will not tolerate any insolence.” The healer said with anger, standing to meet Riley’s eyes.
Riley met his stare for a moment before scoffing again and walking off. Even Riley wasn’t arrogant enough to get on a healer’s bad side. Rico traded looks with Amelia. None of their instructors spoke much about the battle of Olshein. It was considered a massive failure of the new command in the beginning of the War of the Valleys, as the current war was being called. It wasn’t strictly off limits, but bringing it up was a sore subject that tended to leave their instructors in harsh moods.
“You were there? Truly?” Amelia asked him.
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The healer studied Amelia for a moment before looking around to see who was listening. They were fairly isolated on the bleachers and the sound of practice matches in the yard drowned out conversations. At first Rico thought he wasn’t going to answer. It was hard for some soldiers to talk about the battles they had been in. The healer took a deep breath and put his hand on Amelia’s leg to leverage himself up and sat on the bleachers beside them. He spoke and the hair on Rico’s neck stood up.
“I was there. That was before we realized how heavily the Edorians used the caves for ambushes and traps…”
——
Private Liste woke with a start to someone yelling nearby. He scrambled out of his sleeping bag and fumbled with his uniform and sword. When he emerged from his tent, the area outside of it was a sprawling chaotic mess. Heavily tattooed Edorians were rampaging through the half asleep camp. Liste watched his sergeant get gutted by two of them as he emerged from the tent across from him. Liste pulled his sword from its sheath and shakily held it out in front of him.
The two monsters just laughed and continued advancing on him. He yelled for help or backup or his mother, he couldn’t remember. The first Edorian to reach him slapped the sword down and ripped it out of his hand. The second didn’t even bother to watch and turned around to find another target. Liste watched his fellow soldiers being cut down, caught totally unprepared. Just when Liste knew he was going to die, the Mad God himself descended on the field.
Sword blazing blue with mana, the man cut through the Edorians like one would butter with a heated knife. Liste watched him in disbelief as he skillfully stalled the Edorian advance before more soldiers came to join him. He recognized the uniforms. The strike teams had come to save them. Dozens of Edorians fell before the man with the blazing sword as he rallied the infantry to form a shield line. As soon as it happened it was over, the man with the blazing sword moved on to rally another part of the camp.
——
“I was just a private. This was before my mana sense manifested and I joined the healers, scared to death and had just watched my commanding officer die. I don’t know what happened in that cave, but I would caution judgment. I have seen that mans mettle tested, and it is not lacking.” He finished in a soft voice, his eyes seeing the events of a night long past.
A chill crept up Rico’s spine as he and Amelia traded looks again and let the silence linger. It was rare to hear a firsthand account of that night here in the academy. Official counts listed forty percent of the camp as a casualty, with nearly all other soldiers present now out in the field. Only a few officers and ancillaries, like the healer, were still at the fortress or the academy. He remained lost in thought until the drill sergeant called for them to gather near the center of the practice yard for more drills.
———
Rico’s arms burned as he tried to finish his last round of exercises. It had been two grueling weeks since he arrived at the specialty unit training camp located outside of Fort Kitsu. Every morning started with running a training loop around the camp three times, each loop was three miles long. After running the loop, they had two hours of combat drills with every weapon type he had ever imagined using. Today’s had been a heavy battle axe, which was the likely cause of his arms about to fall off.
After combat drills, there were two lessons that lasted two hours each. The first weeks lessons included geography of the valley system that made up Agorra, the mountains that surrounded it and what was known of the outside world. Each of them was expected to intimately know the landmarks and layout down to villages and outposts, even odd shaped rocks. For someone who grew up on the streets of Agorrath, it was overwhelming, to say the least.
The second week included the politics of both Agorrath and the cities of Agorra and the makeup and command structure of the army. Rico would start his enlistment as a private, and the specialty units used a slightly different command system to the common units. He was trying out for the role of a blade on one of the striker units. During his basic enlistment training camps, they had detailed the specialty units one could qualify for, and this one struck an internal chord with Rico. Highly autonomous focusing on reconnaissance and elimination missions, used as the first line to attack foes or rescue allies.
There were seven other hopeful blades and only two of them would be chosen for this round. Rico dropped to the ground, exhausted after finishing his last set of fifty push ups. He looked around and saw only Amelia on her last set with the others lagging. So far, the training had been mostly physical, with the lessons not involving any tests. Rico and Amelia far outpaced the others, despite both being smaller and coming from non-traditional families. Growing up on the street had perfected a specific type of physique for Rico. He wasn’t sure of Amelia’s story as she guarded it closely, but she was clearly no soldier in training for the past few years.
“Listen up!” Sergeant Yuri shouted out to the practice yard. “Those of you who are finished, dismissed for the day. Rest up tonight and cycle your cores. Captain Alton arrives in the morning and you will want to make a good impression. The rest of you? Get back to work.”
Rico took his time getting to his feet and walking out of the practice yard. His sore muscles protested the walk even as he circulated to relieve them. A visit to the baths would be his first stop. Captain Alton was a legend in the strike teams even before he had achieved the fifth tier. He couldn’t see a better way to achieve his goals than attach himself to someone like Alton. He saw Amelia trailing after him out of the corner of his eye and listened to the sergeant shouting at the others as he walked.
----
“We are sending you back to Kitsu for a month. You need to select a new team from the recruits, six privates. I wanted to promote a corporal over from another team, but I know you like to train them yourselves. Pick two and field promote them. I’ll sign the paperwork.” Major Corbin said from beside Alton while they walked to the horse barn. “I know that the loss is still fresh, but we cannot have Wolf team out of commission for too long. You are too valuable, Alton.”
“Play nice with the scholars. I know they annoy you, but we need to find out as much as we can. I pulled some strings and brought in an old friend to make it easier on you. One month, thats all I can ask of you. One month out of the field to work with the priests and make your selections. Wolf team will rise again and Agorra will be better for it.”
“Understood sir. I think some time away will be good for me. I still find myself…” Alton trailed off. He finished packing his saddlebags and hopped up on the large brown workhorse. “I will see you in a month.” He saluted and waited for his dismissal. When it came, he rode off down the well-traveled dirt path back towards Kitsu Fortress.
———
“I know they are young, but they are not a bad group. Above average for newly awakened, I would say. Far better than we were at their age. You have seven blades, six shields, and seven for various utility roles.” Drill Sergeant Yuri said as he walked beside Alton. “We have twenty candidates. I have all of their test results and scores laid out for you. I understand you need six? That is a lot to bring on at once time.”
Alton ran his fingers through his hair and sighed in agreement. “It is. We will drill here for a month before returning to the lines. The war is at a stage where we cannot risk under manning the other teams. I will be between here and Kitsu, meeting with the scholars and priests. I will let you know of any special training, otherwise continue as you see fit.”
“Very well.” Yuri responded and turned to head into the inn of Old Barrow Alton would stay at. “Now that business is settled..” He said with a smile and ushered Alton to the bar.