Fort Edo was bustling with activity as the new conscripts had been training for several days and since they were all almost exclusively hunters they were put into a ranger battalion of roughly 300 archers. This was a good thing because they would be more detached from direct fighting, or at least that is what Rokuro thought when he first was put in charge of a small portion of the battalion which consisted of 50 of the men mostly from his town. He was quite surprised to be given a commanding position among the conscripts but took the title without question. This way he could more readily guard them for the battles to come.
It wasn't until they gave him this position that they said our battalion was forward deploying battalions that were put in charge of ambushes and scouting enemy positions, making it one of the highest mortality rates of all the empires armies besides that of front line meat shields also known as conscripts. Those words caused Rokuro quite a lot of anxiety over the last couple of days.
Rokuro felt a heavy burden as he spoke to his unit "You all know that our first mission in a couple days is going to be a real test as we have little experience with warfare" The previously hardened hunters all knew that it was a daily struggle to survive when hunting dangerous beasts in the Great Northern forest, but fighting another who was just as intelligent and bent on survival as they were was not the same their eyes for many of them showed fear something Rokuro didn't know what to do about, because... he was terrified as well.
In three days his fellow men and himself were going into enemy territory to scout and destroy the supplies that were being shipped toward the enemies frontlines this was something that most would consider a suicide mission, but Rokuro knew that no matter what happened he would survive to see his wife and daughter again.
Nyoko... Mei... wait patiently I will be back he thought fondly of them to himself as his men let loose another round of arrows at targets.
…
In the next room, Seito Mei stood silently waiting for the elders to show up. Though from the outside it looked like Mei was calm in reality it was all still a daze, never in a thousand lifetimes did she think she would have the opportunity or the talent to be accepted into the most famous academy in all of empire, but what excited her was the the look her father and mother would have when they realized how amazing their daughter was.
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As she waited, she thought about the moment the energy flowed through her body. Mei had never felt more elated in her life. It made her feel strong, secure, and warm very similar to what her father did when he embraced her. The pure raw energy wasn’t something she had experienced for many; the feeling was quite addictive, but Mei, who was still a young child, couldn’t fully comprehend what this feeling was, but she wanted more.
“Seito Mei!” a loud thunderous voice came from above and echoed through the chamber. Like the last room, it was lined with five observation pavilions each having one person on it.
“You’ve shown enough aptitude to be accepted as an outer disciple of the academy. As such you will not have a formal master until you reach the point when you are blessed by a deity and your Ki obtains its innate nature. Until then you will live and study in the academy along with all the other duties required of disciples. The four other elders in charge of this assessment have agreed to this decision I have made.” The voice was Grandmaster Zhou who was speaking as if doing a rehearsed formal speech.
There was a long pause as the words bounced off the walls of the large room. “Is there anything you would like to ask before you accept this offer?” one of the other elders spoke up. This one had a soft gentle yet mature feminine voice.
The voice belonged to a youthful elder who couldn’t be considered an older sister to Mei. The woman was beautiful in fact even her mother who was considered a great beauty in Naebashi couldn’t hold a candle to her. The elder’s frame was slender and delicate with fair skin and deep well-like eyes that accented her fox-like face.
Mei was still a child, but from what she could tell anyone that young in a high position was extremely talented which was what was most shocking of all. Plus it was easy to tell this because all the other elders were significantly older.
Pondering the question Mei knew she only had one question “I have only one elder! Will I get to see my family?”
The women nodded “Yes, disciples are allowed to see their family once a year during the lunar festivals for a week. Besides that, they are allowed to write to their loved ones.”
Mei’s heart dropped like a boulder that rolled off a cliff face. Not seeing her mother, but one time a year?!? How could she do this? This was a ground-shaking revelation for her.
“Child this is only until you receive a blessing from a deity and are promoted to inner disciple. Afterwards, your freedoms are greatly expanded. This opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone of your background so I ask you to think about this carefully” Grandmaster Zhou said.
The words reminded her of what her father told her right before he left. With a nod of acceptance, she looked up to the elders as confidently as she could muster as a six-year-old old “Thank you for your words of wisdom Grandmaster!” She bowed respectfully to both the Grandmaster and the young female elder as well.
Looking back at the exit she firmed up her heart and balled her small hands into a fist and promised herself she would succeed.