It was afternoon when they came. A company of ten soldiers, carrying banners adorned with the Imperial Crest of a golden dragon on a red background, aboard an Imperial airship. Nine of them were dressed in the armor of common soldiers, but the last wore more ornate armour and a helm shaped in the form of a tiger’s head, signifying a Captain of the Imperial army. Their airship floated high in the air, easily visible to all in the village; a beacon of their arrival that effectively had everyone running to inform their friends and family.

By the time they entered the village, the whole village was roused to meet them, as was custom. Even Old Fu had left his mountain to see this. Whispers through the crowd filled the air, for it was rare to see a Captain so far out here. Even the lowest ranked soldiers could clear out our village with ease, for their Cores were trained far beyond any of ours. And if the rumors were true, a single Captain was easily worth ten soldiers. It was easy to picture them slaughtering their way through the village if things got ugly, for layers of leather and armour made even the skinniest of them look bulkier than Brother, and they moved with a subtle grace I hadn’t seen anyone else match, with the exception of maybe Old Fu. Actually, from their stiff, straight-backed postures, it was now easy to see the similarities in Old Fu.

Our village chief, Wen, was the first to step forward in greeting as the rest of us knelt. A savvy businessman in his youth, Wen elected to stay in the village and manage the day-today issues within the village when he felt he was getting too old to continue his business. It’s quite a good arrangement; Wen is kind to us peasants, the merchants respect one of their own and none of us need to listen to angry merchants complain about how they should be compensated for dirtying their robes by jostling a filthy peasant. Back stooped with age, Wen was practically half the height of the Captain.

Well, saves him from having to bow, I guess.

‘By order of the Emperor,’ the Captain cuts off Wen even as he begins to speak. ‘Any man and woman below the age of thirty is to have his or her Core tested and, if found sufficient, to be drafted into the Imperial Army. I will remind you that it is your duty, and honor, to serve if you should be found worthy, and anyone chosen who tries to escape from this honor will have be executed along with any relatives they might have.’ He sounds bored, as though he’s lost count of how many times he’s had to give this speech. Honestly, he probably has. His soldiers are sent into the village, to scour the homes for anyone who might be hiding from the recruitment drive, but it really isn’t necessary. Most youths I know would jump at the chance to join the Army, being the fastest way to glory.

‘Most’, however, does not include me. Honor, my ass. Join the Army and fight for an Emperor who doesn’t even care for the wellbeing of us lowly peasants? Bleed for an Empire who rules by essentially monopolizing the elixir market to stay in power? I’d rather not.

But I don’t say any of this out loud, no matter how much I want to. We play the part of the meek and cowed peasants well when it comes our turn, mainly because we have a lot of practice being meek and cowed peasants. The Captain lays his hand just above my navel, right above my Core, and closes his eyes. I feel my Core heat up and causing slight discomfort, but it passes quickly as the Captain opens his eyes again and fails me.

Well, that’s a relief.

Brothers’ turn, and the same scene plays out. Except for a crucial difference. He passes.

And I feel the floor drop out from below my feet as I start to realize the implications.

Suddenly, I want to take back everything I said. I want nothing more than to join the Army. I would fight and bleed on some forsaken piece of land over a meaningless squabble in the name of a cruel and heartless Emperor. Just if it means I don’t have to leave my brother. 

The Captain moves through the rest of the village folk, but I’m too stunned to properly pay attention. Hai doesn’t get chosen, but one of his cronies is. When the last of us is examined, the recruits are given an hour to collect their things. Unlike the others, who make a mad dash back to their homes, Brother doesn’t head back towards our hut, instead making a beeline straight for me. Holding my face in his hands, he stares me in the eyes.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Be strong, little brother. Take care of yourself, and I promise I will be back for you.”

I can’t do much else but nod, for my tongue still feels like lead in my mouth, so I stare mutely as brother talks to some of the shopkeepers, extracting promises that they’ll watch over me in exchange for the years of service we’ve provided. I watch as he boards the airship, and as the scripts flare to life and the ship accelerates until it’s out of sight, I realize I never said goodbye.

Life can change so suddenly.

I lift the handle of my makeshift wagon, scrapped together from a few pieces of wood and a pair of old discarded wheels I got from Lu, our resident carpenter. Rich merchants meant horse drawn carriages, because Heavens forbid they got their silks dirty by walking. Carriages meant someone had to fix them and keep them maintained, and the parts that broke meant certain little orphans got to continue working even when the only person they cared for in the world had left them behind to fight for a tyrant.

Deep breaths….

The basket of fruit I’m towing is, however, a reminder of Brother. I hope he’s doing well, but the fact that messengers to remote villages such as ours can get quite expensive, so I don’t begrudge the fact that I haven’t received any letters from him yet even though it’s been two months since he left.

Well, I begrudge that fact slightly, but still…

“Oi! Baby sheep!”

…Oh no.

Yep. There he is, my sworn enemy. Has he put on weight? I think he has put on weight.

Grinning, Hai steps in front of me. His one remaining flunky remains a few paces back, trying to look intimidating, but it’s somewhat hard to do so when I’m half a head taller than he is. Hai rests one foot on my wagon, his boot caked in mud.

“I think I stepped in some shit today. Clean my boot off, with your tongue.”

I’d really rather not, so I consider my options. The area we’re in is empty save for the three of us, given how early it is. I could try shouting for help, but I’m not even sure the townsfolk would even help given who Hai’s father is. I could run, but that would mean leaving this basket of fruit and my wagon at their mercy, and I’m pretty sure they’ll do their best to wreck both as much as they can.

Well, actually…

“Go suck on a dagger, Hai. Even covered in shit, your boot is probably worth more than you are.” His mouth has fallen open at my insolence, I see. “I didn’t use my tongue even when I was with your mother last night, what makes you think I’ll use it on you now?”

Wow, that’s an impressive shade of red.

I drop the handle of my wagon and run while Hai screams at his flunky to chase me. I'm easily able to outpace them given how amazingly out of shape both of them are, but that’s not the point.

Step one, lead them away from my cargo.

Step two, hope my head is hard enough, because this is going to hurt…

Slowing my pace so I make sure both of them are able to keep pace with me, I run towards the village market, the most crowded place I can think of. Reaching the market, I see people chatting with stall vendors ahead, and I glance back to see where Hai is. Red faced and panting with breath, yet he’s still able to scream at me. Quite impressive indeed, and his screams are already drawing gazes from the rest of the people. He catches up, as I intended, and abruptly punches me in the face.

As far as plans go, maybe that wasn’t my best one, but in my defense I was under pressure, alright?

I walk back to where I left my wagon, bruised and limping. After I’d dropped, the two of my tormenters had decided to hold an impromptu contest to see who could kick me harder. It had lasted for quite a while before someone actually decided to break it up. Well, at least nothing was broken, I think… My wagon, and its cargo, was where I left it, which is nice. That I now have to transport it with painfully bruised legs is not so nice.

At least now Hai won’t be able to pressure his father to get me evicted or something. Even if he does claim I provoked him, the fact that he beat me up in public should be good enough for Wen to help convince him to drop all grudges. Although I really have to wonder if my dignity was worth the beating. I was relying on my body being somewhat well-built to take their hits, but it does still hurt.

Making the trek up the mountain is now one of my least favorite parts of the week. I have to carry twice the load without my wagon, which is bad enough, but the walk up is now filled with silence and serves as a stark reminder. I slam my pack on the ground as Old Fu walks out, a raised eyebrow at my black eye and bruising face. As I turn to leave, however, I hear him speak for the first time.

“Take the pack back down with you, and return with it tomorrow, at dawn.”

His voice is soft and coarse, as if he were hoarse from yelling. I snap back around, but he’s already gone back into the cabin.

...Did that sadistic old man just tell me to make this trek again? I consider ignoring him, but even so I do need the money. Cursing him under my breath, I hoist the pack up and make my way down the mountain.