CHAPTER 7 - ENEAS
----------------------------------------
Everyone got into line. Horizontal rows of about fifty narwhals per row. Natirra, unfortunately, ended up right in the first row, unable to hide behind anyone.
They were all arranged in order, standing silently without making a single move. The guards positioned themselves at the ends of the line to maintain order. None of those poor souls dared to make a move that could disturb anyone or cause any kind of trouble. But there was an air of anticipation, as if they were waiting for someone in particular, though that someone didn’t seem to arrive.
Natirra glanced around, of course in a moderated way to avoid drawing any glares. She looked to the sides and sometimes dared to glance behind her, but she couldn't spot anyone. Monomia and Riaca must have been much further back.
They had been brought even further into the military headquarters, now standing in front of a building that, from its position and imposing presence, seemed to represent some kind of center. Just as the village had its communal center, this was the military’s.
Upon arrival, they had been divided, following instructions, all to present an organized and honorable greeting for the generals who would soon arrive and take charge of training the young cadets. To do this, they had decided to divide all the narwhals into horizontal rows. Unfortunately, Natirra hadn’t managed to see the exact spot where her friends had been placed, but although she was slightly worried, she wasn’t actively afraid; she was confident she’d find them eventually. Her anxieties were more about herself—she didn’t like being alone.
She glanced around once more, this time observing the faces of her peers in the front row. They all seemed regular, orderly, standing firm and steady with their gazes fixed on the doors of that building. Probably burning with that same curiosity to see who would come out of there. But one of them, or rather, one girl in the row didn’t seem to sit right with Natirra—it was the girl standing right next to her.
Natirra turned and faced a narwhal girl who, from her stature, couldn’t have been more than six years old, yet apparently, if the age division was correct, she was twelve, the same as Natirra, meaning she was an adult by narwhal standards. All of this to say, she was extremely short, so short that even Natirra—who was herself short compared to average—had to lower her gaze to see the little head of curly pink hair. But it wasn’t her height that surprised Natirra the most—no, it was this tiny girl's inability to stay still. She spent the entire time trembling like a child in the cold, and beyond that, she seemed on the verge of bursting into tears at any moment.
“Yikes…” Natirra thought as she watched her. “I may be a coward, but not to that point. She looks like she could faint any second now.”
The childlike girl continued trembling, unable to stop. Despite how strange this seemed to Natirra, something else caught her attention.
All the soldiers suddenly focused their attention on a specific place: the door of that central building.
Like a band, they began playing various instruments in a full celebratory style. The guards behind them raised the army’s flag, and another row of soldiers, those with the musical instruments, positioned themselves to form walls along the path for those apparent celebrities who were emerging from the center.
All the soldiers, including Natirra, were curious to see who would come out from there. Suddenly, several men and women in military attire emerged from the building. Natirra fixated on their uniforms, clearly different from hers and those of the common soldiers. They were of a brighter color and adorned with medals. That, along with their hats, which were also decorated with various medals—different for each general—instantly signaled their high rank.
After walking through the celebrations and receiving compliments from the senior soldiers, who treated them like gods, they too lined up in a horizontal row, staring directly at the cadets.
Each one of them exuded a different aura, a different kind of terror, but all of their faces spoke of war. There must have been ten of them in total, so not many. They analyzed the situation, everything went silent, and the celebrations quickly ended. All the cadets fell silent. Yes, all except for that coward next to Natirra, who trembled even more, as if she had literally seen a ghost.
All the soldiers then made a respectful gesture, the same one the village chief had done. A fist behind, a fist in front.
Among all those strange generals, each with a particular character, one of them—the most menacing and the one with the most medals—stepped forward towards the cadets. He positioned himself in the center between the two groups of cadets and generals, and began his speech.
«“Young Narwhals! Warriors of Amelis, Conquerors of the Oceans! This is General Rinoria speaking! The greatest military leader on Amelis Island!”» He started his speech, and from the word ‘Warriors’ onward, Natirra knew he was laying it on thick.
«“This is the beginning of your journey, a tough and fearless one, to free the island’s seas and bring honor to yourselves and your families! You will be trained by the most recognized and respected lieutenants and generals in the village, including myself personally, and you will be divided by age! To ensure a minimum level of uniformity.”» After that, the guards began approaching the cadets, guiding them to divide them up according to age. Natirra too had to follow the orders of some soldiers, who led her into a small group in which, fortunately, she could recognize a few faces. Meanwhile, the speech continued.
«“During this long month, you will undergo intense and rigorous training, to determine your rank and, consequently, your value. You will need to demonstrate strength and courage, as well as patriotism for the safety of your nation.”»
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Despite the motivational speech, few seemed convinced, or at least that’s how it appeared from Natirra’s perspective. But her perception was likely colored by her own reluctance to participate.
Before long, all the ages were divided into small groups, and those generals who had stood behind the main leader each took charge of a group. General Rinoria finally ended his speech with some final announcements.
«“You will soon be escorted to your tents, which will be your only places of rest and socialization before the journey begins, but first, allow me to go over a brief list of all the rules you will be required to follow in the camp.”»
And from there, he began listing all sorts of rules, but Natirra promptly ignored them. Not because she planned to break them, but… mainly because she would learn them anyway and most likely wouldn’t remember them.
Natirra turned toward the small squad of kids her age, trying to spot Monomia and Riaca among them, but before she could, the voice of the general who had taken charge of the squad rang out.
«“Soldiers! Young ones! Follow me!”» With a voice that was as hoarse as it was loud, everyone immediately turned their attention to her, beginning to follow as she marched quickly ahead.
During that brief march, Natirra was lucky enough to spot both Riaca and Monomia, who were also confused, and she moved directly toward them.
«“Guys, I found you.”»
«“They caught us off guard.”» Monomia said, sounding even more cheerful than before. «“Things are getting super interesting!”» True to his style, Monomia’s voice was considerably louder than the other two, who kept their voices low out of fear of the general marching ahead of them.
«“Well… You might say that, but these guys seem pretty scary.”» Riaca said.
«“They’re generals, after all.”»
«“Don’t tell me you’re scared of that little blonde.”» Monomia stated, laughing a bit. Natirra didn’t respond; that little blonde, the general, actually did frighten her a bit, and she didn’t feel like mocking her, especially because she shared a deep fear with Riaca—one that Monomia completely ignored—that the general might overhear them.
The trio continued marching, without saying anything more.
After a long walk, they approached, with their squad, a specific corner of the camp, next to some tents that, as far as Natirra could tell, were exactly where they would be resting.
They lined up in a horizontal row once more. But being a relatively smaller number, there weren’t many rows, and everyone was positioned and visible to the general.
The general in question suddenly raised her voice, having positioned herself in front of the young cadets, visible to each of them, she looked them over, scrutinized for a moment. Then, like Chief Rinoria, she too gave a speech, but she did so in a particular way, walking down the horizontal row and locking eyes with each cadet. Fortunately, Natirra was at the end of the row and could prepare herself for her turn. But someone else wasn’t so lucky. Standing next to Riaca, Monomia, and… the trembling little girl who had stood beside her earlier.
“So, she is my age, huh?”
The girl seemed utterly terrified. Despite wanting to calm her, Natirra couldn’t bring herself to do it; she too feared the general’s approach. The general herself, the blonde one, began walking, locking eyes with all the cadets, who responded with the typical respectful gesture, each with their own quick reaction.
«”Listen up, recruits! You’ve been given a job of utmost importance, and I expect you to treat it as such! Get it through your heads that there will be a lot of hard work ahead! Today, you’ll rest, but starting tomorrow, we will put you through rigorous training. You’ve already been warned by the commander, but I’m here to emphasize it—I won’t be going easy on any of you! You need to be prepared for what’s coming.”» The blonde general quickly reached the end of the line. Riaca, Monomia, and Natirra exchanged glances.
When the general reached Monomia, she fixed her gaze on him.
«”You... What are you smiling about?”» Monomia, as usual, had a grin plastered on his face.
«”Ah, oh... Nothing, nothing.”» The general moved closer to his face, exclaiming,
«”Tell me, cadet! Am I amusing to you? Is that why you’re smiling?!”»
«”No, Captain!”»
«”What did you just call me?!”»
«”I mean, no... Ma’am?”»
«”Ma’am?!”» The general looked at him with surprise.
«”This ‘ma’am’ could tear you to pieces! Show some respect! Immediately!”» After that, she threw a harsh punch straight to Monomia's stomach.
«”Ow!”» Monomia gasped, collapsing forward and clutching the spot where he'd been hit.
The general turned towards the rest of the line behind her, who had all been watching poor Monomia. «”What are you all staring at?!”» And they quickly returned to their positions, minding their own business.
Then, she gave Riaca a glance and, without any comment, moved on. Riaca let out a sigh of relief.
She passed by Natirra, exchanging another glance, scrutinizing her. «”Mmh...”» Natirra struggled, sweating, to meet her gaze, but after a few seconds—long, painful seconds—the general moved on, and Natirra also felt a deep sense of relief.
Finally, it was the little girl's turn.
The general arrived, looked down, and, confused by her behavior, called her out. «”You do know it’s highly disrespectful not to look your superiors in the eye, right?!”» But the girl was trembling like a child. «”I said, look me in the face!”» After that command, the girl raised her head. Her face was soaked with tears, snot was dripping from her nose, and her face trembled.
The blonde general burst into laughter. «”Are these our soldiers?! What decisions the village chief makes! What’s your name, cowardly cadet?!”» The trembling girl struggled to spit out her name. «”E... E... E... E...”»
«”Quickly! I want to hear it!”»
«”E... E... En... Enea... Eneas.”»
«”Eneas, huh?”» Another laugh followed.
Then, after that hysterical laugh, she moved her face menacingly close to the trembling girl’s. «”Look at you! Are you a baby?! Look at how you’re crying! At this rate, pirates will mutilate you on sight!”» After hearing that, the girl looked like she was about to faint, but suddenly shouted, «”No! I don’t want that! I don’t want pirates, please!”»
The general burst out laughing again and walked away from the line. Natirra felt a bit of pity for the girl, but she also felt better knowing she wasn’t the most scared one there.
The blonde general then gave one last order.
«”We’ve got a long way to go, a very long way... Guards! Lead them to their respective tents!”» And with that, they were all led away.