Vhalar 6 722
Eternity had expected a handful of things and had fantasized about what her first day would be like if she ever joined the military. Of course, she didn’t want to work in the military but there she was, standing there with a bunch of other recruits. She tried to search her memory as to how it had all happened but it was all a blur. She wasn’t given enough time to think. She was being given a long intro into the place where they would be living while they did their training.
They were in a training camp that was dedicated to training up recruits and getting them out onto the field as soon as possible. There was never a shortage of help needed in the military. There were not many other women there. Eternity, her friend Melna, and a few others and that was it as far as recruits went. The rest were men of various ages. Some of them looked to be ex-mercenaries just given how many scars they had and how they carried themselves. Others seemed to look like they had never done an honest day’s work in their life. Good think they’d all be whipped into shape by the time they left.
They were supposed to report to a general. He was a powerful man in more ways than one. His massive frame coupled with his short hair and scarred face commanded one to heed him. He was the one who was in charge of the introduction that had been given. He introduced other high-ranking officers who took turns telling them when meal time was and when the no-noise hours of the barracks were. All the senior members had swords at their sides with leather sheathes and shining metal. They were exactly what one would expect of someone who’d dedicated their lives to their military career.
“Everyone in this group will be in the western barracks, you will go there now. Some of you will be chosen to stay behind to help with other tasks. If you ever get lost find one of us and be prepared to get punished for it.”
Eternity raised her arms and laced her fingers behind her head. She leaned back and stretched and let her breath fill her chest, ultimately leaving her lungs with an anxious sigh. Her friend was even more anxious. She was hopping from one foot to the other. “We should go,” she said, “everyone’s leaving. We can’t be late.”
Eternity didn’t know which way was west which was why she hadn’t gone anywhere. She wanted to see where everyone else was going to go. “Okay,” she said after a few moments but before she started walking one of the officers surprised her and loomed over her.
“Why haven’t you two gotten your butts moving yet?” he asked very loudly. Lots of the other recruits turned to look at them. It was easy to hear them snickering.
“W… we… we were just about to go!” squealed Melna. Eternity was scared stiff and turned her eyes away.
“Look at me when I’m speaking to you recruit!” said the officer even more loudly. “Tell me, can you two cook?” Eternity shook her head nervously while her friend nodded feverously. “Good! Come with me!” He turned and went the other way without looking to see if they were following him. Eternity was so shocked that she stood there and wondered why she had agreed to do any of this. But she’d committed so she pulled Melna so she’d jog along side her to catch up.
“You can’t cook. What kind of woman can’t cook?” asked the officer without turning his head. “What can you do? Any experience in fights? That expression on your face back there… You look like the type that’d stab me if I pissed them off.” His words were directed at Eternity.
“Fights? No, not really. I usually carry a dagger though.” Eternity said. She might have looked livid but she was the type to run from fights, not jump into them. She thought fighting as displeasing, something a woman shouldn’t have to do if she played her cards right. If the dagger came out, things were already screwed up.
“You carry a dagger and don’t have experience in fights? That’s a shame. You ought to practice with and without the dagger. Learning how to fight is going to be essential even if you don’t get assigned to a combat role. Even someone as small as you can do incredible things if properly trained. With any luck your instructor’s talent will rub off on you. He’s fairly new but he’s a good fighter. With any luck we’ll see him before we’re done today. The last instructor got transferred to another group, unfortunately.” For someone who had been yelling not too long ago he was now a lot more calm. He didn’t speak so sharply and seemed more like a friendly grandpa than a hardened warrior now that he was away from his peers.
Eternity hadn’t joined to get into fighting, she’d just wanted to earn a living. She knew that not all soldiers had to wield a weapon. Training in combat seemed like a waste of her time that could be spent stealing. She did think that meeting the instructor early was going to work to her advantage. If she could make a good impression then perhaps he wouldn’t be so hard on her.
It wasn’t long before they made it to where combat training was held. There were a couple men facing each other who both turned to look at the officer, Eternity, and her friend. The men turned back to each other and nodded and then began to spar. They both looked very different. One was tall and wide with eyes that didn’t seem to blink for the whole time that Eternity looked at him. He was very defensive and surprisingly agile. He was able to keep his distance too with his large arms. There was a satisfying sound produced when he caught the other combatant’s fists.
The one that had thrown the punch had his teeth bared as if he were pretending to be a vicious animal. His eyes were narrowed in concentration as he fought. He was shorter, faster, and obviously weaker but he looked to know how to use his power. It seemed that he wanted his punches to get caught so he wrap his one hands around his opponent’s wrists and go for a knee to the gut. Every motion the smaller man made seemed to have a well thought out purpose, every movement without any sign of hesitation.
“I can’t tell who’s winning,” Eternity said as the fight went on. “Is the instructor among them?” The first question was answered quickly by the larger man being brought to his knees and then to the ground. The smaller man was unyielding and jumped on top of him to pummel him some more but he held back at the last moment before throwing more punches.
“That’s the instructor, Aegor” the officer said with a neutral expression. He clearly didn’t have an opinion one way or the other regarding the outcome of the fight. He did not enjoy watching anyone fight, even for sport. To him, every fight was decided by fate so there was no joy in speculating on the outcome. He’d seen enough barbaric atrocities on the battlefield to know that fighting, real fighting was nothing to be celebrated. He seemed lost in his thoughts for a tick but then he said, “he will be the one to instruct you. He will be updating me on everyone’s progress regularly so don’t think you can skimp by.”
Eternity nodded nervously while Melna twisted her face in protest. She had many choice words for this officer and his expectations of her but she wasn’t brave enough to voice them. Eternity ended up helping the officer with a couple of menial tasks and her friend was sent off to help cool. Why she was chosen out of all the recruits was still a mystery to her, and it was one she intended to figure out. Or perhaps she had just been chosen at random, there was no way of knowing.
Eternity didn’t see Melna again until the evening. She’d been chatting with some of the other recruits and make friends when finally she came walking in after a long day of working in the kitchens. The moon’s light was already shining into the barracks when she stumbled in, swearing all sorts of words that Eternity had never even heard before. No doubt they were in a some other language. Melna stared daggers at Eternity who looked relatively comfortable and asked, “where’s my bed.” Eternity nodded to the one next to hers and Melna flopped down onto it aggressively. She was out within seconds.
Eternity chuckled to herself and looked at Mena laying there with her head perfectly in the center of the pillow. Her sheets were pulled up over her mouth and finally she looked calm. Eternity felt her eyes fixated on that pretty face. She loved the shape of her nose, and how her eyelashes were so gently resting against her upper cheek. Eternity then decided it was time to get some rest.
Continued Here
[Template credit to Pyrre]
