Chapter 3

Titus woke to the rude shouting of a guard,

“Wake up brats!”

He tiredly rubbed his eye and stretched. Groggily looking around, Titus could see some of his fellow cellmates still lost in various states of sleep. Some being half awake, others still absorbed in their dreams.

The guard shouted again, banging a wooden baton on the cell bars,

“Wake the hell up!”

Titus heard the familiar sound of chains. The noisy guard opened the cell door, violently kicking and beating any of the kids who had somehow managed to stay asleep.

Another guard outside the iron cell door yelled,

“Line up against the wall!”

The tired group of kids slowly got up and groggily made their way out of the cell.

The chains Titus had heard earlier were the same chains he had been brought into this prison with. For a second time, they were all chained together. Everyone was now fully awake, cruelly torn from any sweet dreams they may have had and brought back to this nightmarish situation.

“Get going!” a guard commanded.

Titus was still not fully aware of what was going on, everything was happening too quickly for his tired brain to process. He robotically followed along, moving on autopilot, his eyes half closed.

After climbing a long flight of stone stairs they arrived above ground at a vast, dirt filled courtyard. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon. Frightened 12 to 18-year-old boys stood in slightly disorganized rows, chained together like criminals. Their minds raced, terrified at what might happen next.

A tall, muscular man walked in through the courtyard gates. Titus was surprised. Rather than a city or prison guard, this was a real soldier. He wore leather armor and had boots that went up to his knees. Standing with perfectly straight posture, he scanned over the crowd of gathered teens. Suddenly, in a voice that echoed loudly throughout the courtyard, the man shouted,

"Listen up, I am Captain Phillips! From now, until the day you sorry lot are sent off to war, I will be your commanding officer! In a moment, we will begin our march to the docks. Upon arriving there, we will travel by boat to the training camp. Until then, I don't want to hear any complaining from a single one of you bastards! You are soldiers now!" he paused briefly before continuing, "Fall in and line up!"

Titus couldn’t help but be struck with a bit of pride hearing what the Captain said.

“I am a soldier now…” he muttered softly to himself.

The Captain looked at the chains the teens had around their legs, frowning.

“Take those damned things off! How are they supposed to march like that?!” he screamed at the prison guards.

“But s-sir, what if they try to run away…” one guard asked in a quiet voice, clearly frightened by the Captain’s imposing manner.

“No need to worry, anyone who dares to run will have the honor of being executed by me personally.” he loudly declared, grinning widely like some sort of devil.

Many of the kids lost all the color in their faces. Following the Captain’s orders, the guards removed the leg irons of all the youngsters.

This Captain isn’t so bad... thought Titus, relieved to be out of those chains once again.

In groups of approximately 20 to 30, the youth were escorted by stone-faced soldiers on horses, led personally by Captain Philips.

As the group walked Titus glanced around noticing the pity and anger filled gazes from the civilians that had gathered in crowds around them.

One mother recognized her son in the group, calling out to him before being pushed back by the city guards.

As they neared the city gates, Titus suddenly felt a rush of excitement wash over him. He was finally getting to leave the city, just like he had always dreamt about.

He sighed to himself and chuckled, muttering “I would have never imagined that this is the way I’d be leaving.”

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While he was excited, he couldn’t help but also feel a great deal of sadness. This was the first time he’d be leaving his home in his 13 years of existence.

Walking underneath the massive stone gate archway, Titus couldn’t help but be amazed at the size of it. He stared up in awe.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get to stare for very long as the group kept moving onward. Titus felt the cold rough stone road under his dirty and tough feet as he walked. He was used to not wearing shoes, so it did not bother him much.

All of the kingdoms in the Empire of Xuvia were connected by a large network stone roadways. This allowed merchants and government officials to transport goods and supplies between cities quickly. Every couple of minutes, in an almost non-stop stream, large carriages and caravans rolled by.

Titus breathed in deeply, feeling the fresh air fill his lungs before slowly exhaling. Compared to the vile smell of the city, Titus deeply loved the smell of this fresh air. The road he was traveling along was lined with towering green vibrant trees, giving a beautiful and peaceful feel to the journey. If only the destination wasn’t so frightening, this would be a pleasant trip.

Several hours of marching had passed, the group had finally arrived at a dock on the bank of a massive river that stretched several miles across. Large trading vessels could be seen traveling up and down the calm waters.

Titus had read about this particular river before. It traversed thousands of miles, snaking through the entire continent. He felt a tinge of happiness being at a location he had only once before been able to read about.

At the docks sat a wide double decked ship. It had massive sails in the middle and another smaller sail toward the front. It made for a truly astonishing sight for those about to board.

“Get on board brats!” Captain Phillips yelled, commanding the young crowd. The couple hundred teenagers, ranging anywhere from 12 to 18 years old, began gathering onto the massive vessel.

Several minutes passed, the group continued to flood onto the massive ship. Titus, having been amongst the first to board, sat towards the bow of the ship. He watched over the incredible river, overjoyed he got to visit such a marvel in person. By the time boarding was finished, Titus was packed tightly, shoulder-to-shoulder with the others around him, leaving hardly room to move. The ship finally set sail down the river.

Over the next couple of days, the ship traveled in uneasy silence. Too afraid of what the future might hold for them, or scared by the stoned-faced soldiers, few chose to speak. Titus kept immersed in his own thoughts, wondering what the army was going to be like. He knew the army fought in wars, but did not know much else.

"Does this mean I’m going to war?" He thought worriedly to himself. Titus, having only read about war and its glory in books, knew little about the hell war truly was.

Titus was unaware of the chaotic state the continent was in. Not a single country was able to avoid going to war. Some were the aggressors, others just tried to defend against the other attacking countries. It seemed almost as if the Emperors had all simultaneously gone insane and were trying to decide who would have complete ownership over the whole continent once and for all.

Titus knew nothing of the horror that awaited him.

…..

Warm summer days and cold lonely nights passed. The ship had finally arrived at its destination.

The Captain, along with all of his soldiers stood up. He shouted, “Alright we’re here you bastards! Starting with those in the back of the ship first, get off in a single file line and follow the escort.”

At the orders of the Captain, those toward the back of the ship slowly began to stand up. Soldiers began to lead them off of the ship in large groups. Many almost fell over due to their stiff legs from the long days of travel.

The group Titus was apart of, having been one of the first to board, departed last. The old wood creaked beneath their feet as they walked down the long dock. Stepping onto the sandy river bank, Titus gaped at the massive cliff face off in the distance.

Titus looked around, staring in amazement. On every side of him were massive mountains covered with tall towering trees and lush vegetation. The river seemed to cut straight through the mountains, creating the natural wall that surrounded them.

As he walked, Titus appreciated the magnificent environment he had entered. He loved the smell of the fresh air, the sounds of the birds in the distant treeline, and the cool breeze that gently blew his unkempt hair. Never before had he experienced such a scene.

“What a beautiful place.” he thought, smiling to himself.

Led by the Captain and his men, the group walked up a steep dirt pathway that brought them up the cliff wall. Snaking through thick tree trunks, they continued deep into the mountains. They walked free, without any kind of restraints. Knowing, even without being told, that trying to escape was pointless. They had no chance of surviving on their own in this vast mountain wilderness.

After many hours of walking, the pathway leveled out, no longer being as steep as before. Titus was beginning to feel tired. Not from physical exertion, but from his ever increasing hunger. For the past week while traveling on the cramped ship he had only stale bread and water to satisfy him.

“After going through all of this, they better have something other than old bread to eat,” Titus grumbled slightly annoyed. His thoughts began to wander into fantasy, “Maybe I’ll get to eat some fresh meat... or maybe even sweets!”

Imagining himself with a belly full of beef and cakes Titus grinned, paying not the slightest bit of attention to his surroundings. “If I get to have sweets, I’ll loyally serve the army forever.” he thought to himself.

Completely immersed in a world of meat and sweets, Titus unconsciously began to walk faster, bumping into the next person in line. The shorter kid in front of him, taken by complete surprise, met the dirt face first.

Hearing the commotion, Captain Phillips turned around to see the group had stopped. He angrily shouted, “Who said you could stop walking! You—Why are you laying on the ground? Get the hell up!”

The short kid hastily got up, “S-s-sorry Sir!”

“Hmph — We have almost arrived, keep moving!”

The Captain noticed something odd among one of the teens in the group, “Kid, why are you drooling?”

“Me? Oh, I am. My apologies Sir!” Titus said, wiping the drool away from his mouth.