The rest of the ceremony and feast passed in a blur for me. I expected the Jenusians to have a purpose for us beyond what they were letting on, but all of my theories did not include us being hailed as some sort of heroes sent by their gods. I stuck with my roommates for the duration of the feast and did not act as observant as I usually did. When we returned to our rooms in the evening, Louis seemed to be affected by the announcement the most. Gone were his droll musings about missing his favorite gaming computer, now he was on cloud nine with the announcement.
“Guys can you really believe it? We are heroes!” He started his tangent enthusiastically.
Max, Leigh, and I just rolled our eyes at his childish antics. At some point in a person's development, you stop believing in the myths and legends that were told to us as children. I myself did not see the word ‘hero’ in the same vein as Louis did. In my experience, there were no heroes, or at least I’ve never met one. The Jenusians probably didn’t have any ‘noble’ intentions in declaring us as such. The only person I could rely on my whole life was myself, and my mother to a limited extent. Remembering this I decided to examine our time in this world with the hindsight that we were viewed by the government as divine messengers and a lot more things started to make sense. If they thought of us as ‘persons of interest’, then the favorable treatment all of us have received would be expected. The question that remains unanswered: did they take advantage of our spontaneous arrival, or did they arrange it?
“We aren’t heroes Louis, we’re ‘Guardians’ whatever that’s supposed to mean” Leigh replied, hoping to catch Louis’ mind before it wandered off too far.
“Dude it’s basically the same thing, I’ve played a few games that had similar settings and I’m telling you we’re all destined to do great things here, I can’t wait to find out what kind of skills I’ve got!” Louis said, seemingly not perturbed by Leigh’s words.
“What do you mean ‘skills’, this isn’t some kind of game dude, I don’t know if you’ve noticed there isn’t much here that makes sense. I mean if there was some kind of pop-up window that showcased our stats and stuff then I’d be more inclined to believe you, but so far this world just looks the same as ours but like the medieval societies we learned about in history class, except the animals which are a lot more scary” Max intervened, hoping to get Louis to make sense, and not just ramble on.
I nodded, hoping to have Louis give his take on what exactly it means for us to be ‘Guardians’.
“Okay so let me put this in terms that you might understand…This world isn’t the same as ours exactly, it seems that there is some kind of reason that they are still in medieval times even though this country was founded nearly a thousand years ago. I mean look back at our history, from medieval times until modern day about the same amount of time has passed, but we developed by leaps and bounds, while they remain stuck in their ways. Remember what Mr. Hendricks said, he and the other teachers witnessed things which they thought to be sorcery, well I’m thinking it was exactly that! The existence of magic in this world probably stagnated the natural development that one would expect from a human society. I’m just guessing here, but if what the big-shot priest said today is true, then we were brought here for a reason. There’s probably some sort of evil entity that we must defeat, and for that we have to have some kind of advantage you know” Louis explained, hoping to convince his friends of his theory’s validity.
There was a pause after his explanation, I caught myself looking at the facial expressions of Max and Leigh, searching them for their reactions.
“So that’s what you meant by skills, you think all of us got some kind of abilities to let us stand a chance against beasts and stuff?” Max asked, to which Louis nodded with a wide smile on his face.
I decided to interject because there was a hole in his theory that all of us were given some sort of supernatural abilities.
“Wait a second, if everyone of us who came to Jenusia from Earth was given these abilities, then how did Brian die instantly to that massive bear back on our Journey?” I asked, hoping to gain some useful information from Louis.
Max and Louis’ faces darkened for a second, as they remembered the dreadful state of Brian’s body after the bear got through with him. Leigh knew of the event as well, but he did not interact with Brian much.
“Yeah that is weird, do you think that we have to somehow ‘awaken’ our abilities? Or perhaps not every one of us has them?” Max continued my thoughts, hoping Louis would have the answers to our questions.
“I think it’s most likely the former, the Jenusians know more about magic than we do anyway, something tells me that we’re going to be learning more than just history and such in the future…” Louis responded, surprisingly happy about the prospect of some physical training.
“If that’s true, it’s unfortunate our school doesn’t have any fencing club…” Max joked, eliciting a chuckle from all present.
The night passed by without issue, having some of my questions regarding our arrival answered, lifted a huge load off of my shoulders. In the morning our classes resumed, during which our teacher Goer informed us that starting next week, we would be splitting the classes by gender which could only mean that we would be learning different things than the girls would.
During lunch some of the students began asking the teachers why they were going to be splitting up the classes, with some of them not too keen on the idea of being away from their friends after things had been mixed for so long. Ms. Cardoza gave us some more details about why the split was happening.
“The reason the boys and girls will be splitting up is because soon you will be learning more than just information and Rahlian, Kuvira said that due to us being more important than simple guests, they want us to be able to fend for ourselves if push comes to shove. Mr. Hendricks and Kuvira spoke at length about this yesterday during the feast and it seems that next week some important people will be coming to test the aptitude of those here for magic, after that the boys who are found to not have any aptitude will be training how to defend themselves. Those with magic aptitude, boys and girls, will be learning from Kuvira herself, and she will be teaching you how to cast spells. The way she explained it, a lot of your practice will be similar to meditation, and it will be a long time before you will be able to do the things she does” She explained, hoping to alleviate her student’s fears.
Kevin, who was standing behind the concerned students, decided to ask a question of his own.
“By ‘defending ourselves’, are you saying they will be teaching us to fight with swords or something?” He asked sarcastically, not enjoying the prospect of being drilled like a soldier.
Ms. Cardoza’s face did not show any change in response to Kevin’s garish words, and she responded neutrally.
“The way Kuvira put it, it seems as if you will be building up muscle strength and stamina first, so just think of it as a P.E. class for now” she replied.
“Hah, a P.E. class with weapons, that will definitely be a first” he joked, before turning back to his table to continue his meal.
The news that we would be training physically made me even more irritated than Kevin was, the past month or so since we arrived in Krilos I did not do anything that would exert myself physically, and as such I did not notice the limitations of my body. If we were going to be learning how to fight, then I definitely needed to shed some weight, and put on some muscle. Looking at the plate that had my lunch on it I noticed that the food we were being fed could not be seen as ‘healthy’. The noble cuisine of Jenusia was just that, made for the nobility. The nobles I did see at the feast yesterday were not elite athletes by any means, and they looked a lot more like me, rather than the soldiers who guarded the compound.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
On the other hand, the food we were provided was a lot more nutritious than the food the common people ate, which presented me with an advantage the soldiers did not have. I was only 15 and I would be growing for some time yet, if I exercised in earnest, while maintaining the same diet I was eating now, then it would do wonders for my physical development.
Every day after classes, we were given a few hours of free time before dinner. I have been spending that time goofing off with my roommates in the gardens that surrounded the mansion, but that would no longer be the case. While wandering the gardens and hanging out with them, I spotted an area behind the storage sheds that seemed to be in a much worse state than the area around it. It looked like the area where supplies would be driven in on wagons, but that would only happen early in the mornings and it wasn’t a daily occurrence. If I spent some time exercising there, no one would be able to see it.
During the latter classes that day, I thought more about the feasibility of my plan. If I just told my roommates that I was hanging out by myself, they wouldn’t be suspicious. Before they began inviting me to spend time with them, that was exactly what I had been doing. When Goer dismissed us for the day I went to my room immediately, where I examined the clothing that I wore when I first came.
Conveniently, we were summoned to this world on Athletics Day, when all of us had been wearing our sportswear. A few days after coming to Krilos I decided to wash it myself as it had begun to stink more than was bearable. Since there were no washing machines I borrowed the tub the servants in the mansion were using, and after washing it with some stinky soap it no longer smelled of sweat. My shoes were in a much worse state, after wandering through the forest for a few hours, and then wearing them the whole time until Krilos, they were torn in places and were no longer as comfortable as they were before.
They were of course much more comfortable than the leather shoes we were provided by the Jenusians, but that wasn’t something I could do much about. I folded my clothes and shoes into a sack which I stuffed in my cupboard with the rest of my clothes, and waited for my roommates to arrive.
I did not have to wait too long, as immediately after sitting down on my bed and thinking about how to pass the time, the door opened and Louis came in. I exchanged a few pleasantries with him, before telling him I wouldn’t be able to hang out with them today. He seemed surprised I’m sure, as my roommates were the only people I would speak to at any length. I assured him that everything was fine and that I just had some things to think about, after which he was more understanding.
I grabbed my sack, after he left the room and made my way to the storage sheds. There were a few people milling about here and there, but they seemed to be busy with tasks of their own, as neither of them even looked my way.
Behind the sheds, I found the area I was looking for. The ground here showed a lot more wear than the rest of the garden paths, and there were hoof marks all over, and unfortunately for me, even some horse dung. A bit aways from the sheds, there was a lowered wooden platform, where the supplies would be unloaded, and it seemed a preferable alternative to working out in the dirt.
I changed out of my normal tunic and pants and put on my sportswear, and spread out the sack on the platform since I really didn’t want to get splinters. The cloth sack was certainly no yoga mat, but it would have to do.
It was at this point that I realized I had no idea how I was going to go about shedding weight and putting on some muscle. There certainly was no local PT I could ask to help me out with this either. My roommates weren’t an option either, as they were not ‘sporty’ by any means. Mr. Reuter who was our P.E. teacher back in school would be a fine option, but I didn’t want others to know that I was making any efforts to become physically fit. If it got out that the ‘fatty’ was trying to lose weight, then I could expect some people to start making visits to my for-now secluded training area.
Any start would be better than no start, so I decided to stick to the things we did in P.E. class and hopefully these exercises would yield some results. I stretched my body for a while before doing some sets of push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. I could only do so much for now however, and after only half an hour of exercise I was out of breath and my throat was drier than the desert. In my eagerness to come here, I had not thought of bringing a waterskin with me. I would remember to do so in the future.
I changed back into my normal clothes and made my way back to the mansion. Surprisingly the bathing room was completely empty at this time, which would give me some privacy after exercising. I felt a lot less sore after washing up, although my clothes still reeked of sweat. I would have to wear the same clothes when going to exercise and back, and wear others the rest of the time.
Half an hour of exercise might not seem like much to others, but to me it was a monumental start. If I could keep up with doing what I did today, and then increase the amount of sets I did in increments, then I would be in shape before I even noticed it.
My roommates came back earlier than usual, and they were a lot more talkative with me than they usually were. I kept insisting that everything was fine but after Louis told them that I wouldn’t be hanging out with them earlier today they got it into their heads that I was depressed for some reason. I didn’t act too differently when I told him that, so I suppose they were just worried for nothing. Since Max, Louis, and Leigh didn’t really hang around in the circles which found joy in bullying others, I decided to tell them the truth.
“So listen, you guys remember how Ms. Cardoza said today during lunch that we would be training how to fight right? Well as you can see I’m not anywhere near ready for that. I’ve never been too in shape as long as I can remember, so when I found out that we would be doing ‘P.E. with weapons’ I decided to try and exercise a bit on my own…” I explained, before insisting they didn’t tell anyone else about it.
Louis broke out into laughter at the end of my explanation, while the other two just gave him some confused looks.
“You nearly had us there man, you were working out? Come on if you’re going to make something up to make us less worried then you should have gone with something else” He said, smiling throughout his words.
“I really was working out Louis, I don’t know why you would think that I’m feeling down, but I’m not particularly upset by anything at the moment” I replied, trying to clear-up his misconception.
“Oh you were working out were you? I’m sorry but since I’ve come to know you over the last month I haven’t even seen any indication that you were into sports and such, it’s quite hard to believe actually…” Louis countered, not believing me in the slightest.
Max and Leigh seemed to agree with him after thinking it over, and the only thing I could do was shove my exercise bag at them before daring them to take a whiff.
“Ew gross, I think if I keep smelling this I’ll throw up…But this could just be unwashed clothes from way back when, how do we know they really do stink because of your work-out?” Louis asked, trying to find some error in my story.
“Well I guess I’ll just go and wash them now, and tomorrow evening they’ll be back to smelling just as bad, assuming you guys don’t mind me being elsewhere while you hang out” I replied, after which he agreed.
Washing sportswear was a chore, and I would have to make do with doing so occasionally, but the smell of sweat was bearable as I was sweating for a good reason. I returned to my room, before lying in bed and going to sleep faster than I ever had in my life.
The next morning my body felt more sore than ever, I grunted as I tried to stand up from bed before nearly falling head first into a still-sleeping Max. I forgot to eat dinner last night, and as such was eating my breakfast eagerly, the food seemed to taste better too but I didn’t spend much time thinking about it as my instinctual hunger urged me to wolf it down quicker.
The lessons that day were accompanied by slight pain whenever I moved. I tried, and failed, to sit still throughout, occasionally adjusting my posture. There was nothing interesting in classes that day, with just the regular Rahlian+Jenusian History classes, at the end of which I was bored out of my mind. I would remember the important parts, even if I didn’t want to. A lot of the Rahlian we were being taught was repetition, for the sake of those without photographic memories I suppose. The history was a lot of propaganda, and fictional tales that would have been interesting, had I not read similar ones back on Earth. I don’t suppose they will be getting any complaints about plagiarism though.
After classes I went to my exercise spot, and this time around it took a lot more willpower to finish the same exercise that I did yesterday. The soreness didn’t abate even after I did my stretches, and I just had to reassure myself that it would get easier over time. The one positive was that I actually brought my waterskin this time, and doing the exercise was somehow easier when I knew I would be getting some recognition from my efforts from my roommates.
I returned to the mansion and went to wash up, after which I returned to my room and waited. I must have fallen asleep unwillingly at some point, as I was woken up by Leigh when the sun had begun to already set.
Sitting up I saw Louis looking at me expectantly, with Max standing next to him with a similar expression. I pointed to the sack that was next to the bed, and before Louis even fully reached it the stench was quite apparent.
“Well I’ll be damned, you were actually working out!” Louis exclaimed.
“Yeah although I’m not sure if I should be happy or upset that you guys didn’t believe me at first” I jokingly stated, with a wry smile on my face.
Louis sat down next to me on my bed, and gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Max and Leigh sat down opposite us at which point the conversation devolved into whether they should begin working out as well.
“I don’t really think you guys have much to worry about, you all don’t look that out of shape to me” I honestly said, they didn’t exactly have the build to be recognized as athletes, they just had this skinny appearance to them that was quite enviable.
“Yeah I guess, what do you do when you exercise though? Do you remember some old workout plan or something?” Max asked.
“Not really, I’m just doing the standard stuff we did in P.E. class, I didn’t really think you guys would have much advice to give me which is why I didn’t tell you all before I started” I replied.
“Why didn’t you ask Mr. Reuter though? He’s our P.E. teacher, that must count for something” Leigh proposed, which was something I already thought of.
“The thing is, I don’t really want others to know that I’m working out, if some of the others found out, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t turn out well…” I explained, with my roommates giving me understanding looks.
“I could ask for you? I don’t think it would be that weird coming from me” Louis continued, offering a helping hand.
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to go out of your way?” I replied, not expecting him to be willing to do that.
“Of course doofus! that’s what friends are for” He answered, punching me in my sore shoulder.