Differences
“I’m Akari Arasaka. I’m sorry for how I acted.”
“It’s alright Ak-”, a look stopped Logan dead. “Arasaka, you don’t have to worry about it.”
“I shouldn’t but I do, that’s the reason I end up behaving that way sometimes. I’m not sure if anyone’s told you yet, but this Squadron operates a little differently than others. Most Squadrons just get filled with forty recruits, and train with their Captain under standard protocol, for a standard duration before becoming proper Legionnaires.”
After saying this Arasaka picked up her tongs again and grabbed the metal piece she had just quenched. The heat in the forge room was making Logan’s eyes water a bit, but Arasaka was showing depth he hadn’t expected immediately, and thought she deserved to be heard out.
“Captain Frear’s Squadron obviously does not have forty recruits. Instead it is filled with people who have unique powers to integrate with their peers, and those who require additional vetting before being allowed into the Legion. Oftentimes, those are not mutually exclusive categories. Therefore this Squadron ends up stationed here for a lot longer, all while participating in more dangerous missions.”
Suddenly what the quartermaster had said made a lot more sense. The conversation with the man took on a whole new light in Logan’s eyes.
“Huh, well, I guess more time to train isn’t bad. What was that about more dangerous missions? That doesn’t sound like a safe environment to train fresh recruits in.”
“All Squadrons carry out missions, eliminating monsters and controlling the population of beasts. We just take the tougher ones, because we often have the personnel to handle it. Also Captain Frear is significantly stronger than the other captains, having reached B-Tier herself.”
That didn’t sound too bad to Logan, it was pretty much what Jeremiah had done, if more violent. He could also handle his own safety by teleporting, so he wasn’t too worried. However, there was something that had been bugging him for a while.
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“What’s the difference between beasts and monsters? And where perhaps, might abominations fall on that scale?”
Logan had fought what Gregor and Amar had called abominations back in Alteep, but no one had ever really explained what that meant. For a while, Logan had thought it may just be a synonym for monster, but the days on the road had dispelled that notion.
“Beasts are naturally occurring inhabitants of Earth, while monsters form from certain conditions about the environment being reached. Although it isn’t known, it's common thinking that monsters are Death’s creations. Now, as for your last question… abominations are a relatively new concept. They used to just be monsters, but as new types kept appearing some magical researchers discovered the presence of a unique element in some of them.”
“I’ve never seen one, but I’d love to get my hands on a corpse or two. I bet I could make some cool stuff out of one. Anyways, the Nobles and the Royals like to keep a close eye on their appearances so they send the Legion out when they appear.”
Well, now the villagers' reaction made sense. Still, Logan wondered what that unknown element was. He was trying to think, but the heat was really getting to him at this point, with sweat dripping down his brow.
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“Ah, well, thanks for telling me all that, I appreciate it.”
“No problem, it’s the least I could do after acting so embarrassingly…”
Arasaka seemed to realize then that Logan couldn’t take the heat. Literally.
“Why don’t we pick this up another time. It’s late, and you should rest before your first day here. You are going to need to be alert.”
“Ok, will do. Thanks again.”
Logan walked out of the magically soundproofed hut and back into the cool night air. If this was just his second night, Logan had the feeling he would actually learn a lot here.
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After his conversation with Arasaka, Logan was still left with his original problem. Afraid to sleep, he wandered out through the camp at large, trying to figure out its shape. It turned out that it was a giant loop, with the command and support tents in the center, and the various Squadrons located on the outside.
After a walkthrough, Logan decided if he was going to be up, he might as well be training. So he started running.
At first he tried counting the laps, but soon Logan fell into a pattern of just focusing on his own footfalls and ignored the outside world. Only the occasional left turn slowed his stride at all.
Time slipped away and all that processed in Logan’s mind was..
Pat… Pat…
Pat… Pat…
Pat… Pat…
The wind whistled in Logan’s ears over his mostly bald head. For the first time since the battle at Alteep, everything felt clear. All the crazy experiences he’d had recently crystallized together, and Logan could move forward again.
It wasn’t until Logan could tell the night was almost finished that he made his way back to his barracks. Slipping inside, Logan got into the showers as the trumpets began to wake the others up.
Somehow they had water on tap, but it wasn’t through a mechanism Logan recognized, and it looked somewhat rough hewn. Instead of any noticeable faucet, once Logan pressed the button water just started pouring on his head.
And Logan didn’t mean the water came out from a spot above him. No, a continuous rain of lukewarm water followed him around wherever he moved. It was nice to finally have a shower, but Logan couldn’t quite get his legs properly under the water.
That’s what he was trying to do when Jerry stuck his head in.
“Like it? One of the few joys of being part of Frear’s Squadron. Arasaka made these a while back, while a water attuned was passing through basic.”
Well now Logan was doubly relieved they had mended fences. If he had pissed off the person in this world who invented the shower, life would become unbearable pretty rapidly.
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As Amar had slept that night, she had dreamt the strangest dream she could remember in quite some time. Everything had been so abstract, but she could remember seeing huge swathes of the most vivid colors, luscious greens, yellows and purples.
As the colors had surrounded her, Amar had closed her eyes and felt a presence accompanying the wild visages. It made her think of her mother, before she had passed, and of the summer Jeremiah had taught her about his history, and by extension, her own.
That was why Amar was in the Legion, now. Learning about the history of Svell before the Goddess of Life had intervened and brought an emissary to guide them had shown her that she needed to be strong enough to fight for herself.
As those memories played, Amar could hear the gradual rustling of leaves in the wind, and a creak burbling. She could tell the presence was smiling as it spoke to her through the noises of the world.
‘My Child’
W-who are you?
There was no response, and as Amar opened her eyes she began to see the vivid colors fading. A desperation filled her, and a sense of longing, but the vision was not over yet. Over the last of the noises came one more phrase.
‘Watch… the stranger…’
Then the blaring of trumpets were in her ears, forcing Amar back into the land of reality. Staggering out of bed, Amar tried to focus on getting ready for the day. If she let the vision distract her too much, the first day in a Squadron would ruin her. It was a famous breaking point for dropouts.
Even if her sleep had been marred, she was thankful to have gotten the full amount. Amar couldn’t imagine going into today not in peak performance.