It was funny she said this, because the man at home had always said the two were alike. Anyhow, Jam started to yammer about the comings and goings of soldiers, the increase in monsters this year, and other information that she told me every night. She would even show me new punches she had seen when looking for information on other military bases.

Tonight, she was filled with gossip. "You know the new kitchen hand burnt a whole batch of stew, and he got fired for it! Ack, I forgot to tell you, the Duke is moving up the day you guys go to battle." I snapped my head up; we had only been training for at least three weeks, fighting?

I am not sure if the trainees were ready for that. However, I was so ready to try out the new fighting style I was learning. For I feared I was still too weak. Training did not make me level up, as did situations that held danger.

"The monsters are getting more rampant in mountain regions; I heard they attacked and massacred a whole village. The rate soldiers are dying is way faster than those living," Jam squeaked. She must have listened in to the conversations of the Duke, himself.

My magic hardening was going exceedingly well; I could almost break through a whole tree with my first. Equipped with this new piece of news, my heart hammered in my chest, and I snuck out to training grounds to get some more practice in.

While I was slinking through the shadows, I could hear the night watch talking. "—so pitiful—young---why sent here?----sent to die. ---reminds me of children—home---sad."

They were on top of the wall facing out towards the east, I snuck closer and hid in the shadows beneath them. "Did you see what happened this morning? Poor things probably hit at home. I think the instructor even beats him too… I saw him after training…"

The two guards went silent, pondering each other's words. I stood quietly and left; it was sad that a fellow soldier had to go through that, but it was none of my business! …I felt like I was missing something but dismissed the itch in my brain to go practice the new moves Jam had told me about.

The next morning was a little strange. I am not sure what happened, but a lot of the men at the canteen would pass by and stick an extra piece of bread onto my plate. Soldiers were very nice, weren't they? I pondered.

After we broke our fast there was a loud announcement by the commander. "The mountains have been overrun by monsters; power is needed to fight them back. The Duke has commanded every man with an able body to fight. Pack your things, we leave in thirty minutes."

I rushed to my room, as did everyone else. I only had a few changes of clothing, the book that held my notes, hard army tack, and comfortable scraps of cloth for Jam to sit on.

Stuffing them all into a leather satchel, I tugged on my gambeson it was a padded defensive jacket that went on either as armor or under plate armor. Glancing back at the empty room that still held the lingering scent of. . . I walked out on my way to battle.

The trek was long; it was a couple of days' march to the Maudit Mountains; now that I think about it, wasn't the word Maudit French for accursed? I was not really into languages during my time in school; however, when I took it, that's what my classmates would call me.

At least they were creative. I found myself walking with my squad; they were quiet, probably wrapped up in the sudden departure.

"Hey, what will you all do when you leave the army?" Jack's rumbling voice scattered the dreary silence. Peter awoke from his stupor and laughed out with twinkling eyes, "I'll marry three pretty gals and settle down." There was a little chuckling all around, and the atmosphere lightened considerably.

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All eyes turned to Nathan, who said, "I won't leave the army but will go up in ranks and become a renowned knight!" Now, that made people laugh. Making Nathan furrow his brows and look down. I guessed it was my turn, and I just said, "I don't know yet."

"Com'on, a handsome lad like you doesn't have a pretty little thing at home waiting?" Peter said and clapped me on the back. I shook my head. "There weren't many my age around me."

He tilted his head quizzically, "How old are you anyway."

I didn't even know myself; the body I had found myself in overnight looked to be around fifteen. So, I answered, "Sixteen." Silence again spread through the men and those eyes that I had seen them make at me during breakfast prodded the back of my head. I shifted uncomfortably and looked down at my feet.

Then Jack, noticing my discomfort, said, "For me, I want to return to my beautiful wife and our son. You know she is the kindest, most caring, and most loving woman in the whole of the northern plains!"

His eyes were misty, and it seemed like he was not marching to certain death but back to his little house on 34th Street. He began to bubble over with excitement as he talked about the love of his life, I was in awe at how other families lived so differently from my own.

Though the days were long, the hours went quickly as the squad talked of home, family, and a warmth I found sad to be left out of. But I didn't have stories like theirs, nothing even comparable to them. On the third day, I could see the mountain; it climbed high into the sky, black as obsidian.

Finally, on the fifth day, the group of fresh trainees numbering around five hundred arrived at the base of the cursed mountain. The first thing I heard or didn't hear was the eerie quiet that blanketed the forest.

No birds, no crickets, no rustle of the leaves. It was as if the mountain had held its breath and was waiting, waiting, for something sinister to pass by.

Our platoon met with the Duke, and our orders were to rest for today and be ready to fight at first light.

I no longer had my own room, so I snuck out farther away from the camp to talk to Jam. She had been surveying the mountain for the days I was marching to it. Just as the Duke said, it was swarming with monsters.

Jam went on, "They are all levels 8-10 Starvire's; they are pretty low-level. But because there are so many, they come down from the mountain and have been eating the villagers near the base of it. Most villagers are only around level 5, and their occupation is not intended for combat."

"Do they have any weakness?"

"Of course!" squawked Jam, "Since it's a humanoid-type monster, it's around the same as a normal human. If you penetrate its eyes, it will die, or if you rip off its head, it will die!"

I sighed, that wasn't very helpful. I felt that when you rip anything to head off, it will die… Jam didn't understand battle tactics very well, so I couldn't just rely on her for a way to deal with them effectively.

I fed her some of the tidbits I got from my own measly rations, and she happily gobbled them up. I gently stroked her soft feathers and then stood to test something out.

I walked over to the nearest oak tree and wrapped it in a hug; I found that I could almost touch my fingertips around its trunk. After my measuring, I stepped back, and with a thwack! Punched the tree hard.

My strength had increased by bounds, and my knuckles went halfway through the tree. Then, adding both hardening and wind magic, I punched again, and this time, my fist broke clean through it, and my momentum made me stuck shoulder-deep into the hardwood. Tugging my arm out of my self-made trap, I nodded, satisfied.

I returned to the camp and sat next to the fire, staring into the dancing, mirth-filled light. I wonder what tomorrow has in store.

Before heading out to the battle, we were told to keep our formation and what we had been taught. Go for the head or take down the arms and legs that were our best bet for survival; the Duke's platoon members looked at us with sadness and that annoying emotion I couldn't quite place.

It was then that Nathan spits, "They are pitying us! I'll show them; I ain't afraid of no stringy animal in no forest."

Ah, I finally put a name to that look, pity.

All the soldiers armored up and took their weapons. I took a sword because going bare-handed might not be a good idea. With the comfortable clanking at my waist, I felt prepared for almost anything.

The sun was bright overhead when we stepped into the emerald green lush of the deep forest and began walking farther in.