After a short run to his Wyvern mount, Vance had quickly flown back towards Luna. As he drew in close, he came to focus in on the sight of thousands of townsfolk all coming to the town hall near the centre of town. It was a building that stood beside the Guildhall, with a facade that mirrored the Guildhall, but was smaller in height and width with an added clock in the top centre. It was a simple building, by all accounts, with the town mayor being the Lord, or... had been until very recently. Now the town was leaderless officially, but unofficially it fell to Estrid to run the town, more so after the guild master had left some time before.
Swooping in low, the Wyvern came to a windy halt, flapping its wings, generating a gust of wind around, blowing up dust and debris as it came touching down on the cobbled street. After having gotten used to the harness, Vance was able to undo the straps with ease as he moved to join the throngs of people that surrounded the steps of the town hall. People were so absorbed in trying to see what was happening that they hadn't registered the arrival of Vance. It wasn't until he began to politely push through the crowd towards the front that people started looking and seeing their saviour make his appearance. Almost immediately, people stepped aside, creating a path for Vance to walk up unimpeded.
Standing, he caught himself a little surprised by the sudden shift in mood as silence fell around the crowd. Gingerly walking down the path before him, he made for the bottom step only to see Estrid and William talking amongst themselves for a moment before glancing towards Vance once, twice, then three times.
"Vance! Thank the Gods you came!" William started, rushing up to shake his hand.
Vance looked puzzled as he returned the gesture, peering up to Estrid for answers.
"You came just in time to see the recruits... Colonel Wolfram." Estrid declared as she waved towards the crowd.
Snapping his head over his shoulder, he looked in disbelief at the report. "What? What do you mean?" Vance asked as he stepped up beside the two. "What's going on? Why so many?"
Estrid and William looked at each other, then back to Vance, a smile on both, "That's because they trust you." William stated proudly. "After what you did? It shouldn't be hard to see people react this way! You saved the town, freed our people, turned a scared group of people into a strong unified militia, and defeated a goblin horde led by a goblin lord! That's not something anyone can just do in the span of a day." He explained.
"Ah... yeah, I suppose so, but what about you? Why are you here? I thought you and Aelizabeth were busy managing your farm?" He replied.
Shaking his head, "Not anymore. Goblins destroyed that first when they came through the fields just outside the town... tore everything down, and took whatever wasn't nailed to the floor." William said bitterly, casting his eyes down to the stairs below his feet.
Vance curled his lips in thought before turning to rest a hand reassuringly on his friend's shoulder. "Well, if you are joining, I'd be damn happy to have you as an officer. You and Aelizabeth are more than welcome." He tried to sound as reassuring as possible, but there was only so much he could do here.
William shook his head, "Thanks, I intended to join, but the wife's not too keen on enlisting, haha... no, she's planning to rebuild the farm using what I make to help fund that project." He admitted.
"Well then, at least you'll have the money enough to rebuild your home then. A Lieutenant's salary is hardly one to scoff at." Vance noted before snapping back to the crowd of people waiting at the foot of the stairs.
Turning to face the crowd, Vance gently rested the palm of his gloved hand on the hilt of his sabre, its magic seemingly seeping out from the sheath as Vance scanned the crowd before him.
"So! I see the experience with the goblins had the opposite effect on you all!" Vance started, his voice booming over the crowd, capturing everyone's attention, "Normally, one would go far and wide trying to avoid fighting again! And yet, here you all are! Either you're crazy or... Estrid here sold you something; she does have that charisma!" Vance chuckled, hopefully.
There were some chuckles from the crowd, but nothing substantial.
"But, even with what you all saw and experienced that day, you all still came out... You came out for a number of reasons. Some of you came to experience that same rush you likely felt fighting the goblins, others, like William here, likely joined to recoup what was lost, and others still are only joining as a means of getting a reliable means of employment." He paused a moment, gauging the crowd to see if they were listening. "Now... it's not my job to judge you or question your choice in this matter, but what I will say is this... you are about to join a grand undertaking! This isn't your run of the mill infantry unit, nor is it your average regiment of horse... no, what we form here today, will be the basis of which all other militaries will follow suit, and why? Because this unit will be one that does the job of three units! Land, air, and sea... we're doing it all, and why?" Another pause, this time everyone seems to be focused purely on Vance, hanging on every word, "Because we're using the best and more advanced technology, tactics, and training the world has and will ever see! If you sign on, I swear to you to this... you WILL be the best, you WILL be better than you are, and you WILL get all you dreamed of and more with this unit. No matter the risk, no matter the danger, no matter the situation, I will be beside you and guide you through this undertaking so that you may go on to do the same for the next generation and they the next. This unit will be the future... no, YOU will be the future!" Pumping his fist into the air, the crowd soon erupted in cheers and whistles.
"If this is the life you want, I'll kindly ask you to sign the dotted line on the contact Major and Lieutenant here will give you. They'll answer all questions you might have, but do be aware there will be some we can't answer and some you'll only get answers to during your training. Now... who's joining?!"
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People of different races, skin colours, and genders all came surging forward, everyone seemingly pushing for a chance to be first. It seemed his little speech was enough to capture the imagination of many, if not all, those people gathered around. A quick headcount told Vance there were some couple hundred people here, meaning there was no shortage of soldiers who'd soon be calling themselves Dragon Marines. It was quite the sight to see, though, so many people were willing to put themselves in harm's way. This sight alone was enough to motivate Vance to better the equipment of his regiment if it meant keeping these people alive. He'd only known them for two days. Yet, they seemed to be more unified, friendly, and hard-working than most he'd met before awakening.
As everyone signed the paper, Vance stood overlooking the whole thing, giving each individual a handshake or nod as they walked past. The reason they didn't stick around was likely due to how Estrid or William would tell the recruit they had a day or two to pack a few essential items before they all headed off to basic training. Just like any military, every soldier was provided with the bare minimum of training to ensure they could do the job of fighting and soldiering as the Kingdom required, conscript or not.
The training itself of the Kendirewen military was broken up into three different processes. The first two being Basic Training. There were two different degrees of movement based on one's status within the military, conscript and volunteer. If you were a conscript, you were given two weeks of training, usually just basic drills, musket handling and firing, and marching. If one was a volunteer, they were provided four weeks of intensive training to ensure the individual was fully prepared and ready to serve in the elite Regiments. The conscripts served in the primary lines of foot or horse, and the volunteers the elite and honour guard units. The third and final course of training was trades training which was reserved only for those who had some degree of education, so these individuals were often relegated to the engineers, clerical work, or construction and arcane artillery.
These were the three primary forms of the training set aside for those going the enlisted route, while the Officers corps often just went through a four-week training course to understand the trade a little better and understand how best to lead and utilize their troops. However, things such as leadership training and such had still not manifested yet in this world as many of the Tavarian militaries believed that if one had wealth and status in society, they were clearly qualified to lead others... a faulty and stupid line of thought that often led to more deaths on a battlefield, but such was how it was. All of this, though? None of this would be used for the Dragon Marines; no, if Vance wanted to create the most advanced fighting force in the world, he'd need to do what the modern militaries of Earth did.
It would take at least two years to train an individual into a professional soldier. Of course, Vance didn't have two years, nor could he expect the Marshal to set aside a whole Regiment of soldiers for two years. However, the time he had was enough to form at least the basis of a professional fighting force. Six months, six months to train, equip, and ready the Dragon Marines for their first active tour of duty. It was going to be challenging to teach everyone how to soldier, ride a wyvern, and fight on three battlefields, more so when he only had ONE professional soldier amongst the whole group, and that was Estrid.
Such thoughts would plague Vance as the crowd dispersed, and everyone who was enlisting left to ready themselves for training. The three were left in silence, a little overwhelmed by all who had signed up, as evident by the tall stacks of paperwork being stuffed into boxes by William.
"How many signed?" Vance asked, walking up to help William.
Estrid, who leaned back against her chair exhausted, replied, "The last count? Eight hundred and ninety-three people."
The blonde's eyes went wide, "What? Eight hundred? How many people live in this town?" Vance asked, shooting her with a perplexed look.
"About twenty thousand calls Luna home if you count all the farms, loggers, miners, and adventurers." She answered.
Vance paused, peering over at the buildings near the entrance. "I didn't think there'd be that many here?"
William spoke up this time, "It's not that surprising when you consider the location." He stated while he finished packing away the last box. "We're near the tomb of the First Emperor, the largest river and forest in Kendirewen, and the site is idyllic."
Vance hummed in response while he was lost in thought. If that many people called this place home, he supposed it wasn't too surprising to see so many people enlist.
"Well... putting that aside, for now, how many of those who signed up are adventurers or former?" Vance asked before hoisting the two large boxes up like nothing prompting both his officers to give shocked looks in response. "What?"
"N-nothing! Just... I... I... I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by anything you do anymore." William stammered with a nervous laugh.
Estrid quickly moved past her own shock with a sigh as she answered his question, "Around a hundred. Truthfully, it's what's left of the guild that called the townhome." She pointed out.
Vance nodded, "Right... we'll use them as our NCO's then. Their experience fighting monsters and working in teams will be paramount in establishing a proper chain of command made up of experienced NCO's and Officers."
William nodded, "Sounds good, though... what if Kendirewen sends others to help?" He asked.
"Not likely. I told the Marshal how I wanted to pick individuals I could trust and mould into a fighting force without the old line of thought mucking that up." Vance said, shaking his head. "I couldn't afford to take risks with this. At least the people here know me and know what I've done for the town, meaning the Adventurers are less likely to get into shouting matches with me, Estrid, or Richard once we start training the regiment." Vance continued.
As they spoke, the trio headed for the Wyverns that rested nearby the fountain in the centre of town, enjoying the cool freshwater while their riders were busy. Upon spotting Vance and Estrid, the two Wyverns perked up, looking expectedly towards the two.
"Yes, we're heading home. We have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it all in." Vance answered the looks as he gently set down the two boxes before them.
Turning to face Estrid, "Tomorrow, I need to ride out to Anceburg to pick up Lara. We'll need her to help us craft all the weapons, tools, and uniforms for the Marines. Once they're done training, they'll want their uniforms and weapons, and I'm not going to disappoint them."
Estrid smiled and nodded in response. "Sounds good. I'll work with Richard and William here on drafting up a training schedule for you to review when you get back. Hopefully, it's something you can agree with."
"Thanks, I'll leave it to you both. For now, though... I think it best to get some rest before tomorrow, eh?"
And with that, William gave a quick salute before making his way back home. Vance and Estrid returned with the former still a little unused to be saluted despite his new rank.
"Mmm... that's going to get some getting used to..." Vance murmured before the two flew off to the mountains.