“Clayson?” I heard a hunter calling softly from outside my tent the next morning.

“On my way.” I called back just as softly, getting a grunt in response. I had felt him trip the ward outside my tent, and was already dressing for practice. I didn’t mind waking up an hour early to help them with training, especially since they were going at it with such gusto. I just hoped none of them would develop some of the haughty attitude I had seen in others. Stretching, I headed outside only to come up short as a messenger flinched at my sudden arrival.

“Decanus Clayson? Orders from your Centurion.” He said, handing me a small scroll.

“Thanks.” I nodded, taking the scroll from him and reading it. I had to work to keep my face frozen, especially as the messenger seemed to want to linger for a while before heading out.

Clayson. Camp hygiene is a major concern for forward camps. Every other day there will be a supply caravan arriving. They also remove the large clay containers in the latrines and leave replacements. Your squad will be in charge of removing and sealing the used containers and replacing them with new ones. Arrival is usually mid-morning. See the quartermaster for sealing supplies. This is a four man job, and those not involved in the morning will be standing the second watch. Paul is excepted from the watch requirement.

I gently rolled the orders back up, and knocked on Dorian’s tent pole. After a few minutes, he poked his head out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Brandon? What’s up?”

“First orders from Centurion Clavis. We are on permanent latrine duty it seems, as well as second watch. Do you know why he would single Paul out? He’s not to work night watch.” I explained, offering him the orders.

Dorian furrowed his brows as he read the orders, slowly shaking his head. “I can see us getting scut work, that’s part of the Legion. But usually its one or the other, you don’t give a squad latrine’s and the shit watch schedule. Especially if we are supposed to go on patrols as well. As for Paul, I have no idea. Must be a special assignment.”

“Figures. I’m sorry man, if you guys want me out of the squad just say so. It’ll at least keep the worst of this from affecting everyone.”

“None of that.” He gave me a gentle shoulder punch. “We’re in this together. And if we have to take a bit of the shitty jobs without complaint, well. It’ll just look better on us when we get our promotions.”

“Alright, sounds good. I have to go help the hunters with aura practice. Would you let three of the others know about the orders? Make sure they eat a light breakfast, just in case. I’ll take a rotation at night with everyone, but let them know since I need less sleep and can’t eat actual food, I volunteer for permanent latrine duty. We can then rotate squads of three out.”

“And Paul?”

“He won’t be on permanent duty. Rotate him like the others, but have him let us know if he has a special mission and needs to switch on occasion. We can at least be flexible, and you’re right. We will beat this guy at his own game.” I smiled, getting one in return. “Alright, I gotta go if I don’t want a bunch of hunters angry at me. See you guys at breakfast.” I said, turning and jogging off. All the while I was cursing Clavis in my mind, but I knew I’d never go through with it. Still, just imagining his face as I lost my temper at him was a bit cathartic, and by the time I had reached the training grounds with the hunters, I was already back to normal.

“Ok, so there’s two possible ways to progress after you figure out how to work your aura.” I said, sitting down in the open spot they left for me in the circle. As soon as I was down, my aura reached out and started pressing in on everyone, trying to get them to respond and push back. “I’ll leave it up to you as to which you will pursue. You know your work and what will help. Now, the first, and hardest, is concealment. An old hunter once asked me how I noticed him in the dark. It has to do with being able to detect aura. I can actively use it like this, and tell when your aura naturally repels mine, or I can withdraw it and actually see concentrated aura at night. Humans shine like bonfires. I can teach you to mask your aura, getting it to match background levels. The second thing I can teach you to do is similar to what I’m doing now, only you can use your aura to actively hunt. Spread it out, move it around corners, underneath doors, what have you. Slip it through the smallest gap, and you can explore places without risking your body. The downside is that others will feel uncomfortable, as if eyes are on them. That may give you away, it may not. It just depends on the skill of your opponent. Questions?”

They looked around at each other, giving some sort of silent communication. Whether it was through normal training, something they worked out on their own, or just knowing each other that well, I didn’t really care. If they truly were the blades in the dark, silent communication around creatures with superior hearing was an essential that I was glad they cultivated.

“Can you teach both at once?” The one who woke me asked.

“I can.” I nodded.

“Before we go through with a lot of difficult training, I got a question. I’ve seen you attack others with aura. Can we do it? And could we use that to draw an enemy into a trap?”

I stopped to think on that one. True, attacking with aura was another difficult step, but once you could extend your aura and use it to search, it wasn’t that much harder. You just needed to harden a bit of it. And if you only wanted to get someone’s attention? A single tip or blade to draw blood was all that you needed. As I played it out in my mind, I started slowly nodding.

“I think we could make it work. Pick your specialties as normal. The best three at searching with aura I will teach to make a single blade. An attack with that, even if it fails, will get a vampire’s attention. If he immediately retaliates, you could have as many hunters as you need concealing themselves, ready to ambush him as he passes.”

“You don’t seem to care about fighting fair. You sure you’re a soldier and not a hunter?” The guy grinned, getting chuckles from his friends.

“Our teacher drilled into us that fair is for dueling. Soldiers, and from your words hunters, practice killing. It doesn’t matter how it’s done. What matters is at the end of the day you are alive and your foe is dead.”

“Damn, a soldier with some sense. Well, thanks for spending your time to train us. I guarantee it won’t be wasted.” With that, they all closed their eyes and got back to work. As silently as I could, I stepped back and moved to an open area of the training field, keeping pressure on the hunters. Concentrating, I made an opponent out of aura, and started battling him with a training blade. For a half hour we battled silently, until I felt the barest waver of aura pushing back against me from one of the hunters.

Heading back to the group, I wasn’t that surprised to see it was the head hunter, and he was frowning. Wondering if it would help, I started slowly pulsing the pushes against the auras. “I’m pulsing the pressure. Feel it coming and receding. Follow the force with your mind.” I whispered, just loud enough for all of them to hear but not loud enough to break their concentration. “Trace it back, find the source. Feel it, know it. Then plunge yourself into it. It’s like controlling another limb, you just have to know it’s there. Press back.”

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The leader was first, but two others weren’t far behind. It started as a waver, then swiftly evolved to a force pushing back. After they all got it, I called a halt. “Ok, that’s enough for now you three.” I said, seeing they were all sweating. “Unlocking aura manipulation is draining. You’ll be spent for the next several hours, so I suggest a light day. Do not attempt any other manipulation, you’ll just exhaust yourself. We will slowly ramp things up, so spend the day thinking about how you want to progress.”

I smiled as they left, already happily conversing among themselves about how it felt. Unsurprisingly to me, each one was slightly different. That’s life though. I decided to head to the dining hall and join our squad for breakfast.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

“You the ones doing the latrines?” The quartermaster grumped as we arrived en mass.

“Yes sir.” I nodded.

“Great. Here’s the lids, here’s the spare clay.” He said, sliding over four lids and a bucket full of wet clay. Each lid had a small hole in the middle for some reason. “Put the lid on, seal with the clay. Hole is for venting, but it’ll splash out if you aren’t careful. I’d make sure all your armor is back at your tent, and wash yourselves after. Here’s the chits for approved excess water usage.” He said, sliding four chits across as well. “There’s a special bath for you to use first. Get the majority of the gunk off.”

“Thanks sir.” I said, taking our stuff and heading toward our tents. “Alright, Dorian already split the groups, right?”

“Yeah.” Alfred said. “Me, you, Paul, and Dorian are first up. Virgil and Joffrey are joining our training group with Terrance this afternoon. The rest are joining Laurence on their first field tour.”

“Alright. Would you guys mind watching our stuff by the training field while we get this stuff settled?” I asked.

“Not a problem.” Joffrey assured us. “Since you’ll already be having the shit job, I won’t even mess with your equipment.”

“You best not.” Dorian glared. “I still have to get you paid back for that damn itching powder you got into my armor in training.” We all chuckled, but still kept moving. Already I could see some wagons heading toward the latrines.

“Better hoof it guys. Looks like the wagons are hear.” I said, and we took off at a jog. Good thing we did, as the wagon master was just pulling up and looked pissed.

“You the new latrine guys? Good.” He said, not giving us a chance to answer. “My guys put everything into and out of my wagons. You just get it here. If you aren’t here in time, we leave without you. And you don’t want four jugs of waste sitting around in the hot sun for days. Got it?”

“Yes sir. Guys, let’s go.” I said, heading down into the lower level of the latrine. As quick as we could, we slapped four lids on the containers that were roughly chest high on us. A liberal application of clay sealed up the outside, and we broke up based on height to carry out the jugs, using the pair of poles through arms on the jugs to lift them safely. Thankfully they had made a very low sloping ramp to get into the latrine, so the guy at the back didn’t have too many issues carrying the jugs up. We finished the first run when the guys had unloaded all four jugs, and the wagon master was already impatiently tapping his feet.

“I’ll cut you some slack this time, since it’s your first day. Make sure the rest of your squad knows that it won’t happen again. You should have at least two of those jugs up before we even get back here.”

“Yes sir, I’ll make sure it never happens again.” I said, heading back down. “Guys, leave the jugs for now. Let’s get these guys back on the road, we’ve already caused them enough delays.” The others nodded, and for a fraction of a second I thought I caught the wagon master flash a smile.

Once the latrines were taken care of, and everyone had been thoroughly cleaned, we headed back to the training fields. Terrance was waiting for us, having Virgil and Joffrey spar against waves of his own group. Our guys were hard pressed, especially considering they were fighting two against one, and their enemies had been working together for a long time. The window for counterattacking was small, and they seemed to be utilizing only one out of eery three or four.

“Welcome back! Just in time too. Everyone, form ranks. Shield wall practice!” He ordered, and everyone lined up. We slammed forward, clashing as usual. Both sides struggled to find a way to overpower or outmaneuver the other, but for some reason we were stopped before too long.

“HOLD UP! CLAYSON, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Terrance yelled, walking over and between our now separated lines.

“Sir?” I asked confused.

“What’s rule one of the battlefield?” He asked, looking over all of us. Pointing randomly over his shoulder, the soldier immediately answered.

“Use every advantage you have to win!”

“Exactly. Now, Clayson, explain to me why you are holding back?”

“Holding back what sir?” I asked, confused.

“Are you not able to affect things with your aura? Did I not see you slashing flesh and blocking blades with aura in a mad whirlwind of battle against a vampire? Why are you not using it in combat here?”

“Well, um.” I stammered, embarrassed. “I’ve never done it before? We never tried it, and it never occurred to me.”

“Stop!” he said, shaking his head. “We’ll break you of this, don’t worry. Every other day we will alternate training. Today you will be behind your shield wall, supporting them with aura when you are able. Do what you will, but I want to see innovation! Bonus if you use it sparingly and in ways that are hard to detect. A secret weapon is only useful if the enemy doesn’t know it. They already know one person can use aura. If they can’t pinpoint which one, then they have to be overly cautious whenever they come across any of our patrols. Tomorrow, you will battle in the thick of things with your aura. You need to be able to support your whole team while being in combat, anticipating their needs. Now, reform your lines and back to work!”

“Yes sir!” We cried, and I dropped back. He wanted innovative? I was determined to give him that. As the lines closed in, I sent aura snaking through the shadows, selecting three enemies. I made a loop around their feet, and just before the clash of shields tugged them closed. With their footing destroyed, they were easily overpowered and gaps formed in the enemy defense. Gaps that our side took advantage of immediately.

“Gah! What the?” Someone yelled, his blade stopped mid thrust from getting Joffrey in the side, as he had lost his balance when he unexpectedly overpowered the enemy. Strands of my aura were the only thing holding the blade back, at least until Dorian could step forward and cover.

“I got it Brandon.” He called, and I released it. Holding a thrusting blade was a lot more draining than pulling out the footing.

“Disengage!” Terrance called, and both sides backed off. “Clayson, I assume you did something to their footing?”

“Yes sir.” I nodded.

“Not bad. You disrupted their line, but you didn’t warn your own warriors. That’s why Joffrey fell down, and you put his life in danger. Work among yourselves to figure out combat tactics. We’ll keep going today, but I expect you to have a way to inform your company vocally and a silent one. Now, get back to it!”

Time after time we clashed, and I tried several varieties of disruption. A gentle tug on someone’s shield wrist would let them know I was going to be pulling the enemy shield out of position, a tap on the leg let them know that I would be disrupting footing. And I did it in different ways as well. Some shields would slam into their neighbors, some would be pulled down, or just twisted in place. I only pulled feet forward or backward, as I wasn’t wanting to injure anyone’s knees. Some retaliatory blades would be slapped aside with aura, some were overextended with a slight push at the back of the elbow. My favorite was sending strands of aura up the enemy’s backs and having blades appear gently poking the base of their necks.

We were about an hour away from dinner when Terrance called a break for this particular exercise, as he could see I was starting to slack a bit from overuse of aura. “Alright, Clayson back in line. This time we fight normal, no aura.” We fell into line, with Terrance taking the spot directly across from me. He was well rested, and slippery as hell when battling, and I wasn’t looking forward to the amount of pain likely coming my way. Just as we stepped forward into range, I felt a searing pain in my right eye.

“AAAAH!” I cried, bending in pain and lowering my shield. I barely caught the look of horror flash across Terrance’s face as his wooden blade smashed into the side of my head, unable to pull the blow in time. As I was sent sprawling from the impact, I felt one of my blood trackers flicker and die just moments before I lost consciousness.