After a simple lunch supplied by the Guard and a small break, they gathered again around Yva. “Alright guys”, she said, “we’re all warmed up for some combat training but first, I’d like us to train our group’s formation. Asay’s an ass, but he was right, yesterday we shouldn’t have been fucking around when the wolves came up, we should have been in formation and combat ready.”

So much swearing, Yva, thought Asay, hiding a smile. And you kiss your mother with that mouth? He kind of noticed it before but now it was getting funny. To make herself more respected by the other tyros Yva was trying to act all rough and tough, which simply didn’t suit her at all. Deep down and except when dealing with runaway comrades she was a smart and polite girl promised to a bright future, not some grumpy old guard or something. Her tough-girl act really made Asay want to tease her.

“So, we’ll circle around the training field while in formation a couple of times. Let’s start with fifty meters away from the field, then we’ll go further away. Keep your eyes open guys, the visibility is good here in the outer fields but there could still be beasts here and there. Encountering monsters in the outer fields is a very real possibility, you guys know that. If all goes well, we’ll stop going around the training field and we’ll skirt the edge of the forest. Is everyone good with that?”

Everybody agreed and they walked out of the field to get into formation. Asay crossed eyes with Dageen on the way and they both gave each other the finger, as usual.

Yva stopped them once the distance was right and they went into formation. Aarus was in the front-right position and Seltori, their other [Shieldbearer], was in the front-left one. She was nowhere as physically imposing as Aarus, but a group needed at least two [Shieldbearers] and they had to make do with what they had. She wasn’t a bad fit either, she had a straightforward personality and she took her job seriously, which made her dependable. Furthermore, Asay had heard rumors that she had a rough childhood or something. She wouldn’t be running away Naochem-style anytime soon.

They were both roughly eight to ten meters apart. In the middle of these two, a good five meters behind, stood Yva. The distance between the two [Shieldbearer] was quite significant and any fast monster could bypass them easily if it took the group by surprise. The formation was that way because it made the [Shieldbearers] much more likely to intercept a flanking attack and because a [Psyker]’s role in any combat formation was precisely to use crowd-control skills and to make sure the [Shieldbearers] could intercept attacking monsters. Then, they were to ensure the [Shielbearers] were not overwhelmed or bypassed.

Roughly three meters behind Yva, standing parallel to Aarus and Seltori, were the group’s two heavy hitters: the [Arcanist] Doïmos and the [Elementalist] Melaen. If the first three were the main reason the group would stay alive, these two were the main reason monsters wouldn’t. Through the use of complex sigils and runes drawn straight from the aether, an [Arcanist] could bring the hurt in wonderfully diversified ways, while an [Elementalist] could achieve the same result by bashing an opponent’s skull with good ol’ condensed water or piercing them with earth spikes and whatnot. To compensate for his class’s more basic ways of attacking, Melaen was capable of using his skills faster and more intuitively. Then again, an [Arcanist] had a few long-range attacks that [Elementalists] lacked, at least at their levels.

The two classes both had their advantages and choosing one or the other usually came down to one’s personality. Melaen was a decent guy but frankly wasn’t the brightest ever, so he chose the intuitive class. Doïmos was a more intellectual girl so she became an [Arcanist]. To most, these classes were temporary, only meant to be used while undergoing one’s service, so young tyros didn’t hesitate too much before picking one.

Finally, at the back of the line stood Asay and Naochem, the group’s [Marksmen], also standing parallel to the [Shieldbearers] and standing almost as far apart as they did. They were plenty capable of killing unarmored monsters, as they proved yesterday, but their main mission was to target the enemy’s weak spot with precise shooting. A makaïd was always a dreadful opponent, but less so with an arrow in each eye. A flesh golem was a walking nightmare, but an arrow in each articulation would make it an immobile nightmare. It’s as they say, an arrow to the knee can retire anyone…

At first, Asay had argued about [Marksmen]’s position in their combat formation. He had the group’s most vulnerable class beside Opora’s as both Melaen and Doïmos had ways of using their skills defensively, something Asay couldn’t do. He should be placed in the middle of the formation, he tried to argue, but Yva shut him up quickly. A [Marksman] was very vulnerable, but quick and perceptive. An [Elementalist] or an [Arcanist] was kind of vulnerable, and slow, and mostly blind to their environment. In case of a rear-attack, they would die. Asay and Naochem would run forward to switch positions with the [Shieldbearers] and would have a decent chance of survival. It would be a crap situation, but doing it Asay’s way would be crappier. [Marksmen] had a longer range of attack than the other two and couldn’t be placed closer to the frontline anyway.

Finally, as one would expect from a [Shade], Opora was outside of the formation itself, running around the group to spot threats and identify the best path to follow. Her job was frankly exhausting, in Asay’s opinion, but apparently she liked being able to roam freely in the vast expanse outside of the Valley.

Once everyone was in position, Yva signaled them to start moving. Opora disappeared and Aarus and Seltori slowly walked, shields up and constantly scanning the front and the sides of the group. Asay had his bow ready and an arrow in his hand.

They were taking this seriously. Opora would come back every few minutes to signal that strictly nothing was happening and they slowly kept going. Twice, the group tensed when they heard a rustle in the fields around them, though both times it was simple animals that they’d frightened.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

It got a bit awkward a couple of times when the group crossed paths with a few farmers and hunters who stared at them in silent judgment. Thankfully they all decided not to ask what the heck were these young idiots patrolling the outer fields for. Almost everyday somebody would find a half starved monster that had escaped detection during the morning cleaning of the fields, but it was still a safe enough zone that noncombatants could go about their business. These monster sightings only ever happened early in the morning anyway as the beasts couldn’t survive long in the Belt.

The first round took them half an hour to complete, and Yva had them go further away from the training field for the next round. She started signaling them to take turns here or there, making them adjust the whole group’s position when it happened. The Shieldbearer would very slowly start to face the new direction, the tyros in the middle would hurry to face that direction and the two [Marksmen] would run to once again be parallel to the [Shieldbearers]. Then they’d get walking again.

It was useful training, but soon Asay’s mind started to wander. He looked around him in curiosity, not yet used to seeing so much open space. It had only been a month since he started going beyond the Valley’s wall after all.

They were in the Belt, where no aether could be found. It meant their inner reserve of the odd substance would not replenish and that, if a fight were to break out, they’d be dead once they ran out of it. They were in what was called the outer fields by the Valley’s residents, though Asay was quite sure it had a more official name somewhere that nobody used. It was the part of the Belt closest to the walls, where people could get relatively quickly to safety and where the guards atop the walls and towers could spot anything happening.

The outer fields was where the Valley’s non-vital activities took place, or where things that needed a lot of room were located. Textiles and sugar were grown here, for example. Both were important, but not as important as the food grown inside the Valley.

The Belt’s other half was made up of a forest. It was literally next to the Wilds and, despite the Valley’s best effort in culling the monsters, it was quite a dangerous area. It was used as a natural rempart between the Valley and the Wilds, to hide it and all signs of human activity so as to decrease the number of beasts attacking it. It was also used as the main - well, only actually - source of wood for the Valley.

Asay started to smile, though he quickly hid it. The outer fields were only roughly a half-kilometer deep and the view was limited on the one hand by the Wall, on the other by the forest, but still. What a beautiful sight.

Fields all across the horizon, as far as the eye could see. The blue sky above, grazing lifestock, the deep brown of the forest - so many fucking trees in such a tight space, how did it even work - and, more than that, the feeling of freedom. He felt lighter just from standing on this side of the walls, though he simply couldn’t explain the feeling.

To be honest, Asay liked being a tyro.

The training was horrible, as expected, but, well, it's something you got over eventually. Everybody did. Now, he and his group were allowed to take their own decisions over a stunning amount of stuff, he had a mission that he was capable of doing if he stopped being an idiot, he was starting to earn a living, albeit barely, and he was discovering a small part of the vast world outside of the Valley for the first time in his life. Truly, he’d never felt so free before. It was almost as if the whole world was opening up to him.

Asay was likely the only one in the team to feel that way, though. Being forced to obey guards’ stupid orders all day long and being at risk of dying on a regular basis was usually not people’s thing. Surprisingly, the freedom aspect either. Take Naochem, for example. Even now, Asay could see him sneak glances at the walls to reassure himself. Having grown with stories of how deadly it was outside all your life could do that, supposed Asay. The only exception would be Opora as she liked being outside the walls even more than he did, though Asay still doubted she’d look behind once her service was over.

Asay shook himself and tried to focus back on their training. And failed. It was getting seriously boring. He at least kept himself from waving back to some grandpa who looked weirdly happy to see his group walk around, which would have badly pissed off Yva. Oh wait, that’s an awesome idea, should I…? Arf, no, he went back to his field, too late. The old man looked sad that nobody waved back and Asay felt a bit guilty. God this is ridiculous, he sighed. And kept walking.

They walked on and on, ever so slowly. Asay could feel his boredom increasing with every step, and he took a lot of it. The only thing noteworthy that happened was Yva signaling to turn the formation in a way they couldn’t. The group was outside the walls, yes, but it didn’t mean they could walk all across the surrounding fields as they wanted, they had to follow the stone paths that crisscrossed the entire area. After a moment of confusion Aarus tried to follow the order by going over a fence but Yva had him stop and go forward again. She was blushing a little and the rest of the group was giving her weird looks. If even she’s getting distracted, it means it’s soon over!

And indeed, soon Yva broke formation and called them all around her.

“Alright guys, the plan was to go out of the outer fields and into the forest, but I think we had enough. Let’s all take a break then go back to the training field, okay ?”

“Are you sure, Yva?” asked Doïmos, frowning. “I mean, we walked in formation on straight stone paths for almost two hours. It’s kinda nice, I suppose, the scenery and all, but by itself it’s useless, right? I’m pretty sure you guys noticed but there’s a dire lack of stone paved roads in the Wilds and an awful lot of, I don’t know, wild terrain? Like the forest?”

Yva kept her irritation and self-doubts from showing. Doïmos had a point and she didn’t have a problem with that. It’s just that she always had a point. Between her and Asay, what a shitty group to be the leader of…

“I know, but we’re all fed up with this, I think. It’s making us sloppy and continuing would make no sense. I mean, I saw that Asay almost walked into Melaen earlier. We need a change of pace and I think we can train in the forest tomorrow. Unless of course i’m wrong and you guys still want to g...”

“No, I think we’re all good for today Yva” interrupted Opora, hands raised, echoed by the rest of the group. “I’m sure tomorrow will be a great day to do all kinds of things in the forest.”

“Wait a sec guys how come - ha, good one Opora - I mean wait, how come I’m used as an example of the group getting tired when Yva literally drove us into a wall not five minutes ago?” added Asay, mock-irritated.

Nobody answered and they all had a break under what shade they could get. Ten minutes later, they were walking toward the training field for some actual training.