Ten – The Basis Part Four

The next morning Raidon wakes up before sunrise. Today the muscle ache he had yesterday is even worse. Slowly he starts to get ready for the new day. Since he still doesn't know what to do with John, he decides that there should be a group conversation. Maybe then they can find out from John why he reacts this way and how they can come to a solution.

With that in mind, he wakes everyone up just before sunrise. At least everyone except John. Him, he leaves lying in bed. In a soft tone, he explains to everyone why he woke them up fifteen minutes earlier than usual. Most think it's a good idea, although they're not very happy with getting up early.

Together they sit together at the end of the room. John is on the other side so they won't disturb him too much. Raidon begins gently:

"We have to come up with a solution to the situation with John. As it stands, the problem will get bigger and bigger the further we get with our education. We can't force him to do anything, but leaving it this way will cost us all dearly. Does anyone have an idea how we can solve it? Because I thought about it all day yesterday and haven't gotten anywhere yet."

"Well, I'm not too happy with those extra chores either, but I don't see what we can do about it," someone replies.

"It's not just the chores," Raidon says. Apparently he is already one step ahead of the others. "If this continues, then first the chores will get worse. You heard for yourself what Quinn said about the toilets. But if they don't see any change after that, then they're going to punish us even worse. The best case would be that we would all be fired and be able to return home without pay. In the worst case, they use us as water carriers or something like that for the normal military. Then we’ll have no freedom, no wages and we can run around like crazy for those slackers of nobility."

The others are surprised by Raidon’s reasoning. Gareth is the first to respond.

"You could actually be right about that. I hadn't thought about it like that."

The others also hesitantly agree with this.

"So we have to find a solution," Raidon says. "I suggest that we discuss with John how we can ensure that he gets organized. Right now it's almost time for the morning bell, so it's not possible, but I suggest we talk to him at lunchtime."

Everyone agrees and while they are still nodding in agreement, the morning bell rings.

Like every day, they start with morning gymnastics. The laps are still difficult. This is mainly because the muscle ache is worse than the previous days.

The rest of the morning the group is very quiet. During breakfast there is not much talk among them. The weapon training after breakfast is fighting the poles again, which is admittedly tough, but still not too bad now that they know what to do.

Once it's lunchtime, it's time to confront John. Since no one starts about it right away, Raidon takes the lead again.

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"John, we need to talk," he begins. "I know you'd rather not have it, but we'll all have to make sure we don't have the worst room again. That means that your place must also be neat. How can we ensure this? Please explain to us what the problem is."

John doesn't respond and doesn't even show that he has heard him. But Raidon doesn’t let go.

"JOHN!" he shouts much louder this time. Many men at the other tables are now starting to look at them, and John finally responds.

"Yes, what?" Is all he says.

That's when Gareth starts talking

"John, this is from all of us. Not just from Raidon. None of us want to become water carriers in the regular army."

"Water carriers?"

"Yes, water carriers," Raidon says. "That's where we'll end up if we can't muster the discipline that comes with the New Legion. Others could serve in the normal military, but for us that is not an option. We are not nobility and we cannot afford the equipment. That's why they will use us for all the things nobody else wants to do. Failed soldiers really won't just be sent home with their wages."

"Hmm," John hums.

"So," Raidon continues, "we're going to have to make sure everything is in order. We would like you to work with us about a solution. You now belong to our group, so we would rather not lose you. But in the end, we will have to do something. Better to lose one person than all of us."

They now see John thinking deeply.

When one of the others wants to add something, Raidon stops him, and Gareth says:

"Wait a minute, he has to decide this himself."

Moments later, John starts talking:

"For years I have been a wanderer and beggar. Before that, I was a journeyman with a woodworker. But then the whole building burned down one night. The master and his whole family died. I was having a drink somewhere and when I came back, it was over. All at once everything I had was gone. Then I kept drinking. I've been living on my own for years now and it's hard to adjust again."

The others are silent while John tells them his story. Once he's finished talking, they exchange a look and are in agreement. They're going to help him. From now on, they will fully involve him in the group and even help him keep his place tidy.

At that moment they see that all the other tables are almost finished eating. They quickly empty their own plates. Fortunately, they have just finished when the bell rings again.

During writing class, Raidon starts by testing out his ideas from the previous day. He no longer tries to learn the rules of the old language, but he looks up the words from his handbook that he recognizes. Indeed, he finds a lot of words that are either very similar to the current words, or can be linked to them in some way. In a short time he has worked through the first chapter of the handbook.

Even though he doesn’t know exactly what it is about yet, a global picture is already starting to form in his mind. With the rules they have received from the clerks during the first class, he manages to translate some more words. This is enough to almost completely translate some of the sentences. Even the grammar is a bit like the current grammar. It is becoming increasingly clear that the current language originated from the old language. In this one lesson, Raidon has already learned more than the previous lessons combined. And the lesson isn't even halfway through!

One of the clerks has noticed that Raidon is doing something different than the others. He comes by to see what that is. When the clerk wants to scold him, Raidon shows what he has discovered.

"Look, all these words are similar to those in the old language. And some rules are almost the same. The old language is where our own language originated from! This way we can learn the old language a lot easier. All we have to do is discover the connections!" Says Raidon enthusiastically.

The clerk is not convinced.

"You might be right, but we can't assume you are. The best thing is to just follow our teachings. Then we know for sure that the translations are correct."

Raidon disagrees.

"Isn't this whole class about us learning the language in order to continue our education? In that case we should not only be able to translate the old language, we need to really know the language and be able to speak it. Your way takes way too long."

However, the clerk isn’t being persuaded. Raidon just has to translate according to the rules.

At the end of the lesson, Raidon is fed up with those rules.

This way we’ll still be translating next year, he thinks to himself. Thus he intends to go through the book and learn the old language at his own pace. At first glance, the first chapter seems to give some background information about the old legions. Any knowledge that he can find is welcome. And the sooner he is able to find that information, the better.

At that point the lesson is over and it's time for their laps, followed by weapons training.