It was strange having to stand in four rows of men and women, all of whom stood stiff as planks as a single finely dressed man in the Empire’s colours: Royal Purple, with white inner lining, gold trimming, crème-coloured pants, and black shin high boots with silver spurs. The silver epaulettes on his shoulder bore a crowned sun with two crossed sabres underneath it. What did that mean to the brothers? Absolutely nothing beyond the notion he was someone high up the chain of command. Dark brown hair slicked back and a clean-shaven face with chocolate brown eyes that scanned the array of bodies before him.

Two individuals stood behind him in similar uniforms, with one wearing a less ornate uniform with three downward-pointing chevrons. Over his left breast were four medals that hung proudly, while the man ahead of him had none. Loup didn’t know what they meant, but Leonce did. He’d read before how medals were often a sign of courage and experience, and to have one meant the individual was likely a seasoned veteran. Though, truthfully, the military stuff didn’t interest him quite enough to delve too far into what each medal in his homeland actually represented; to him, they were just symbols of experience and nothing more.

“Is this is it?” The ornately dressed man asked the man with the chevrons.

The moustached man nodded, “It is, sir!”

The man frowned, “Well… not the most promising lot, I’ll give you that. Pity, and I was so hoping for someone to catch my eye. Oh well, proceed with the oath, Colour Sergeant, if you’d please.”

“Sir!” The man snapped off a crisp salute before marching to the front, holding in his hands a scroll, “Listen up, you lot! What I hold in me hand here is the very thing that’ll change ya life forever! A life of glory and adventure awaits ya after you swear this ‘er oath! Now, listen up and repeat afta me!” The Sergeant said, his accent a little strange to the brothers, who looked confused.

Either way, they all lifted their right hand and as the sergeant read the oath, each of the recruits repeated the lines, word for word, but put their name in place when directed. By the time it was done, it felt more like a hollow achievement they had gained by swearing an oath all at the same time, but to the ornately dressed man, it didn’t seem to matter much, only that they all said the lines. By the time they were done, the Sergeant announced they were all part of the Imperial armed forces and their lives were its currency to spend for as long as their contract was signed. Both brothers were glad they only had two years, as it seemed that most here had either five or ten by the horrified look on their faces. Still, the deed was done, and the ceremony was passed. Once the crowd quieted down, the man in charge again took centre stage.

“Alright, as you’ve heard the Sergeant say, you’re all officially members of the Royal Armed Forces, though some of you are to become commissioned officers. An illustrious and honourable role that I find rather appalling to know is being infested with… ahem… commoners,” The man noted with a sneer.

Leonce and Loup weren’t too surprised by his reaction. Nobles were like that. They had a few in Oakenhart, but they weren’t high on the totem poll like this man likely was. Instead, theirs were a Baron and a Knight. The Baron technically owned the land they lived in but never pressed his claim and instead focused on running the library as he believed it to be the only true bastion of civilisation in such a far-off place. Meanwhile, the Knight concentrates on running the town guard. In contrast, they weren’t quite as – arrogant – as this man was, they did show a degree of contempt towards the townsfolk when they tried to talk to them as equals. However, the brothers both bore no ill will towards them, as it was the Baron who had allowed them to learn to read and write. It was a skill, not many commoners had and was a requirement for one to become an officer in the first place, so it gave them an unexpected boon they had no idea would come in handy until now.

“Alright, well, Sergeant, if you’d please,” The officer said, nodding for the NCO to continue with the next step in their enlistment.

The Sergeant nodded, looking towards the assembled recruits before he got his swagger stick out and pointed to the first row, “First row is to move, double time to the building to your left! The second row will follow shortly after, and so on! From thar you’ll do a test ta determine yar job in the Royal Army!”

The news of a test caught both brothers by surprise, but Leonce was confident he’d easily pass it. He was an educated individual, unlike most of those surrounding them; while Loup was confident that he’d also pass, he wasn’t too keen about doing a test. Still, they hoped it wouldn’t be too difficult as it wasn’t exactly something either wanted to do or cared for. Aelizabeth hadn’t told them much in regard to what they’d have to go through, and the fact she wasn’t here was another notch in Loup’s growing distrust of their new ally. Meanwhile, Leonce was more curious as to why she wasn’t swearing an oath like the rest of them had and, for that matter, where she had gone. They entered together, but she went off to the Administration building, and that was the last they saw of her.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Either way, there wasn’t much the brothers could do or say regarding Aelizabeth as they filed in along with the rest of the group. Upon entering the building proper, the brothers were greeted with an interior design similar to that of a Romanesque barque building, with its many wall facings and decorations matching the style. It seemed the military had more nobles who sought to influence the armed forces or, at the very least, make the royal forces appear more well-off than they really were. Regardless of the intent, it looked a little too gaudy for both the brothers, who struggled to see the point of all the finery.

“Bleh, see this, Loup? This is when you know you have too much money,” Leonce whispered.

Loup nodded in agreement. He didn’t see the point in all of it. What were they trying to tell their commoner members? Were they trying to show their power with this? Or was it just a means for the nobles to try and gain favour from those in charge? There were more questions than answers here, but such thoughts were swiftly pushed aside the moment the group came to the examination room.

Within moments of sitting down, a woman dressed in the style of a hussar emerged, her ruby red hair tied in a loose ponytail, with a section of her bangs swept over to the left, just barely covering her left eye.

“You’ll each be given a sheet of paper, a quill, ink, and a test form. Upon getting each, you are to fill out your name at the top left; if you cannot, you are to file out via the door to my right. Those of you who do, upon completing the test, you are to please file out to the left door. Now, before we begin, do any of you have questions?” She announced to everyone before a handful of stewards emerged to pass out the aforementioned items.

No one spoke up or bothered to say anything. It was all fairly straightforward, and everyone heard what she said. A dozen or so men and women filed out through the right-hand door, vanishing behind the finely crafted door. Surprisingly, more people knew how to read than there were those that didn’t. Still, there was just enough space to accommodate all who could take the test. Upon taking their seats, everyone took a moment to fill in their names and awaited further instructions from the examiner.

She stood silently observing everyone as they filled in their names, nodding occasionally at a few as she did. As the final quill went down, she would return to the front and write 60 on the chalkboard on the far wall.

“You all have sixty minutes to complete the exam. If you finish earlier than that, you are to remain seated until the end of the allotted time. I urge you all to utilise the time given to you. Whether you finish or not matters little. This test is designed to aid the clerks in assigning you to the Regiments. If I or an officer with the rank of Major – they have two crossed swords and a pip – approach you, that means you’ve done well enough that you’re likely to be offered a place within one of our more elite regiments. If you have questions, now is the time to ask as you will not be given any aid during the testing period,” She explained, letting the silence hang in the air to allow anyone to ask their questions, but no one did.

Leonce and Loup just wanted to get it done and over with already.

“Very well, you may begin.”

With permission given, the group began. Leonce and Loup both got a good look at the questions and were a little surprised by how easy they all seemed to be: just your basic math questions, a few common sense challenges, and stuff like that. Neither brother struggled to get through the test, with the only problem requiring any length of time being the essay question at the end. But, before long, they both managed to complete the test and turned their papers upside down to show they were done. Leonce knew the topics and questions reasonably well, given his love of academics, while Loup knew all that was taught to him by Leonce. But both were shocked by how easy the test was to them, and it made both question if they answered things too well. Loup debated going back and fixing his answers while Leonce leaned back proudly, knowing he was in a better spot than those nobles’ part of their group. By the time the allotted time had passed, Leonce and Loup were first to hand in their papers, neither feeling worried about their test scores – not that they cared either way.

Filing out via the left-hand side, the group was led to a rather posh waiting area with comfortable red sofas, a few ornate tables with some finely crafted chairs, and off to the corner was a fireplace. Loup and Leonce quickly found a place at one of the tables.

“Did that test seem a little… too easy?” Loup asked.

Leonce raised a brow but soon shrugged, “I can’t imagine it would be harder than that. After all, They’re not expecting the best and brightest minds in the Empire. It’s the army. The ones with a brain in their heads are off making money via trade, studying at one of the illustrious universities, or living it up with their family fortunes back home.”

“So… we’re the idiots then?”

“Precisely, my dear brother, precisely~”

Loup frowned. He knew he shouldn’t have accepted Aelizabeth’s offer, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let his brother get killed if he could help it.

“Fucking – I knew we shouldn’t have accepted this,” Loup scowled, prompting a somewhat surprised look from Leonce, who was more accustomed to his brother’s aloofness.

“Relax, Loup. It’ll all turn out in the end. Besides, it’s not like we’re going in as a bunch of grunts and look at all this finery! I doubt we’d get to see such craftsmanship as adventurers,” Leonce noted, before adding, “You know, until we’ve attained a degree of success.”

Loup rolled his eyes, his frown fading into the barest hint of a smile.