(Date: The Second Day of the Eighth Month — Ruciar)

  The Privates of Division Two were awakened at dawn by the blare of a trumpeter blowing his heart out in the center of the barracks. Sachi shot out of bed like a bullet, startled by the sudden alarm-like blast. His hair was matted down, and he felt a pounding headache from using too much Light the day before. He rubbed his temples roughly, knowing the pain would subside after getting some breakfast and many glasses of water.

  The young half-Elv could hear he was not the only exhausted Private by groans that filled the room, and he could clearly make out the sounds of Dallis stirring awake below him louder than any other.

  "I'm up! I'm up!" grumbled a tubby boy from the River Towns.

  Sachi chuckled and hopped down from the top bunk, ready for his first day as a Private. He slapped the top bunk playfully to stir Dallis. "Calling Private Ventin. Calling Private Ventin."

  Dallis looked horrible, dark bags stained the areas under his eyes and his hair stuck up wildly in all directions. He groaned as he squinted out the window, "How do people wake up this early?"

  "Gimme a break," called Sachi. "I thought you Riverfolk were already in your boats by this hour."

  "Not me." Dallis rolled to his back and covered his face with his pillow. "I'm usually not up till noon."

  Sachi laughed at his lazy bunkmate. "Must be a pretty bad fisher then."

  "Yeah, yeah... and what's your excuse for being so cheery at this hour?" mumbled Dallis. "You usually up trimming corn at this time?"

  "Delivering papers actually." Sachi teased. "Come on, you can't be late on your first day."

  The boy wobbled out of bed with another exaggerated groan. "This better be a one-time thing."

  Sachi didn't know much about the military, but he had a feeling his bunkmate's wish wasn't going to come true.

  After showering, Sachi and Dallis were issued their standard training uniforms; cargo pants dyed in a black-and-red camouflage pattern, a pair of black weather-proof boots that looked like several soldiers had already owned them, and a red short-sleeve with the Royal Family's black insignia on the right side of the chest. The clothes were itchy, clearly needing to be washed for the first time in a while, but Sachi was glad to have something new to wear. Best of all, with these secondhand boots he wouldn't have to ruin his good shoes while training.

  The two Privates followed a hungry crowd into the mess hall. It was a single-level stone building on the northern edge of the Scarlet Aerie that seated over three thousand soldiers with ease. It certainly wasn't the Red Charles, the floors were dirty, and when Sachi lifted his boots he could feel the soles sticking to the ground. The tables consisted of cheap steel benches that stretched in rows throughout the room, and the walls were painted a deep red, plagued with many stains and chips that made the whole room look uncared-for.

  All the mess hall food tasted like sandpaper to Sachi after experiencing the cuisine of Duke Ramses. He had been spoiled by a night of fine dining and feared that he would never be able to enjoy anyone else's cooking again. Sachi snuck glances over to Dallis and saw the river-boy munching down his over-cooked eggs and burnt bacon without pause. Sachi swallowed his pride and returned to the food, knowing that he needed energy for the day.

  "So, where'd you run off to last night?" Dallis inquired with a mouthful of blackened pork. "Me and some of the other recruits played a few drinking games last night to celebrate gettin' in."

  "Drinking? Where'd you get liquor in the barracks?" Sachi choked down the crummy food as best he could.

  "Uele."

  "What's a Yule?" asked Sachi, unsure how to pronounce the word he just heard.

  "A person." Dallis chuckled lightly at Sachi's lack of awareness. "Uele Parrish, he's one of the other new Privates in our Division." He looked around the room but found himself lost in a sea of faces. "I don't see him here, but he's nice—he drank us all under the table last night though. Must've been a true degenerate back in his hometown."

  Sachi smiled at the idea. "I've never really drunk before. I mean, I've had a few sips of whiskey and ale, but I thought they tasted foul."

  "That's what I thought too. I ended up getting sick and heading to bed early, but we had a ton of fun before my stomach gave out."

  "Well, you'll have to introduce me to them sometime, but I'm not sure when the next chance we'll have to share a drink will be. Seems like things are about to get busy for us."

  "By the Banished God, I hope not. This 'early-morning' thing is dreadful." Dallis rubbed his eyes tiredly as he lamented the thought of having to get up at this time every day.

  "Why did you even join up if you loved sleeping so much? You must've known this would be part of it."

  "I guess I knew," shrugged the lazy fisher. "I just hoped I was wrong." He went back to cleaning his plate. "And I joined because of the Rocs."

  Sachi blinked at Dallis with a blank face, unsure if this was the name of another person.

  "You know, the big birds?" Dallis' words continued to fall on his bunkmate's blank stare. "I guess you wouldn't have seen 'em out in the Meadows. Rocs are these monstrous birds that roost around the River Towns—they're big enough to swoop down and steal a grown mare. The damn things were like a plague back home in Neel. After they took my neighbor's mastiff, I knew it was only a matter of time until they got me too."

  "Rocs, huh?" Sachi shivered at the thought of such a creature. "Good thing you got out of there." The two boys continued to eat their breakfast, happy to have a friend to share the crummy meal with.

  After breakfast, the new Privates of Division Two gathered in front of their barracks. A crowd of older soldiers hustled past them and ran ahead to the beach or inside the palace to take care of their daily assignments. An Officer from the barracks instructed the new soldiers to line up and wait for their Captain once everyone had gathered. Six o'clock rolled around, and Revin was nowhere to be seen.

  Just before seven-thirty, the masked Captain made his way around the corner towards the men's barracks with a crowd of women dressed in the same standard training outfits following close behind. The Captain strolled leisurely with his hands in his pockets. Today, he wore much more casual attire, more like street clothes. His pants were slim fitted and stitched from black denim, embroidered on the lower legs with burning red feathers. On his feet clopped bright white running shoes, so clean they made even the most polished pairs of boots in the barracks look filthy by comparison. He wore thick cotton zip-up, colored white with black stars on the sleeves and the Royal Family's crest on his left breast. And on his face, he wore the same black cloth mask as always, covering his nose, mouth, and neck.

  When the Captain turned the corner, he waved to the young men like a friend running late for a cup of coffee. "Sorry to keep you all waiting, I had to pull a lost puppy out of a creek this morning." Most of the young soldiers could tell that this was a lie based on his tone, but no one had the audacity to call him out for being tardy. "Now that you guys and gals have reunited, please find your squad-mates and follow me." When Captain Holo was closer to Sachi the bags under his eyes became more apparent.

  The Elvish teen thought to himself. Maybe the Captain lost a drinking game last night as well.

  Victoria found Sachi entirely too easily in the crowd with his floppy ears and cone of spiky red hair. She snuck up behind him and covered his eyes. "Guess who!"

  "Hmm. With hands like that, I gotta say Captain Fissure." jested Sachi with a grin.

  "Oh, shut up." Victoria pushed Sachi playfully on the shoulder after pulling her hands away. The young boy was surprised at how strong she was and needed to readjust his footing to stop himself from falling over. The new partners exchanged their morning greetings and fell into line towards the back of their lines.

  "Thank you again for inviting me over last night." Sachi said humbly. "I don't think anything will ever taste the same again after having your father's cooking."

  Victoria covered her mouth and snickered at the statement. "How was breakfast at the mess hall this morning?"

  "Like eating rubber." They both laughed a little too hard at the joke, and several of the other Privates looked back at them with judgmental glares. Sachi and Victoria straightened up and put on their serious faces, both embarrassed to draw the crowd's attention. Sachi never had a friend who was a girl before, or any friend other than Mira, so he was still having a hard time understanding why she was being so nice to him. Most of the kids at Sachi's school found him "gross" for his Elvish heritage, so meeting girls was completely out of the question growing up. Plus, there was an incident while Mira was attending school where the fool accidently lit his pants on fire and exposed himself to a full hallway of students—that didn't help Sachi's chances of making friends either. It felt good to be accepted by Victoria and Dallis, but he knew that he still had a long way to go if he was going prove his worth to anyone.

  The oddly chipper Captain Holo led his new recruits around the west side of the castle, over to a fenced off enclosure on the outskirts of the Red Grove surrounded by dark chain-link fences. Along the way, their new Captain hummed an upbeat tune to himself softly through that black face mask. In such a casual outfit, Revin didn't have the same intimidating presence as he did in plated armor. Sachi felt strange admitting it to himself, but Revin looked more like one the tall fashion models he had seen in the newspapers and magazines than any warrior from his father's storybooks.

  "Hold!" Revin called out to the crowd when they reached the entrance to the facility. "This is your first stop: The Foundry." The ground within the fenced off area was dug up and carefully paved over with cement, and in the center of the area stood a steel warehouse. Compared to the Royal Palace, the Foundry looked like a baby castle, bearing the same stonework and Corvus family flags but only standing a fraction of the size. Revin continued as he led the troops in. "This is where the big-brains from the Research and Development Unit of Division Three craft the equipment and weaponry we all rely on. You will spend the majority of the next month training in this building with the fellow members of your squads."

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  Revin led his Division through the courtyard of the Foundry and instructed them all to break into their squads. Inside the enclosure outside awaited three Officers of the C.R.M. When the Privates had gotten into order, Revin addressed them all again.

  "I think it's obvious that I can't just let you kids go run off on your own now that you have your Red Wing badges—you all showed talent yesterday, but this is the place where you will hone your skills. So, with that said, I'll now be introducing you all to your Training Officers. From this point forward, they will see to your training and escort you on missions until you have the skills to lead your own teams. I hand-picked each of these soldiers myself to support the skills and Radiances in each of your squads, so trust them implicitly and obey every direction they give you."

  It didn't take long for Sachi and Victoria to realize that none of the Officers standing in the courtyard were here for them. They stood around awkwardly for a moment, feeling rather disrespected, looking back from one team to another, then eventually staring at their Captain for an explanation. After Captain Holo made sure all the other squads had been introduced properly to their new Training Officers, he moseyed his way over to the confused pair standing without a leader.

  "Don't worry. He's on his way... as a matter of fact, I think that's him now." The Captain pointed back towards the entrance of the courtyard, and when the Privates turned around their new leader fell into view.

  Unimpressed was a polite way to quantify their reactions to the lanky, stick-bug of a man who shuffled meekly towards them. The Officer carried himself poorly, slouched over with his hands in his pockets and wearing an unenthusiastic expression. He wasn't dressed in any grade of plate or leathers either; Sachi thought he looked more like a timid bank teller than a soldier. The unimpressive Officer wore a fresh white button-down, tucked neatly into black dress pants. His shoes were polished too, black wingtips that didn't suit any form of athletic activity. His black hair was combed down from a part at the center and shined brightly from too much pomade. He also wore thin-lensed glasses that gleamed in light like his oily hair, hiding his eyes in the reflected sunlight.

  Sachi and Victoria both let out subtle sighs of confusion. "Him?"

  "Over here!" Revin called out to the skinny man with an almost exaggerated excitement. "These are the two I was telling you about."

  The Officer stepped past the Privates without any form of acknowledgment and marched right up to Captain Holo. He took off his glasses and placed them delicately in his shirt pocket, revealing eyes as blue as clear summer skies, yet they were lifeless eyes; devoid of passion.

  "Please Revin, just give me a desk job." His pleas were that of a defeated man who would rather be in bed, it reminded Sachi of Dallis.

  Captain Holo bellowed with laughter in the Officer's sullen face, needing to lean forward and hold onto the man's shoulder for support through his deep cackles. "Come on now, old friend. Don't be so glum. We're both still young, right? And these kids will be great for you!"

  "I hate kids. Please just send me to a desk. I'll write memos or sign off on missions until my hand gets numb—anything but this." Every word the man spoke made Sachi and Victoria's faces grow more disappointed. Revin noticed the sinking faces of his newest recruits and ignored his Officer's request.

  "Privates, come over here and shake hands with the leader of your squad." The pair walked over slowly, still unsure why Revin would select such a man to guide them. "This is First Officer Zayne Shelik, one of the bravest men I've had the honor of serving with. We actually served in our first squad as Privates together too many years ago." As Sachi and Victoria looked at their new Training Officer's depressed expression, they doubted Revin's praises.

  The depressing looking soldier tried to argue with Captain Holo again. "I don't even need a nice desk, Revin—just a medium-soft chair for my back." By that point Officer Shelik's eyes had fallen to the ground, where they remained until Revin pushed him forward to his new team.

  Unsure how to cut the tension, Sachi reached out his hand slowly. "Good morning, Officer, uh, I'm Private Van'Heatah." The skinny man didn't meet Sachi's gaze, he just looked down to the ground and sighed in disappointment. He put his glasses back on before lifting his head.

  "Huff... It's nice to meet you, Private." The words were forced, and his tone was even less enthusiastic than it was during his pleading with Revin. He turned to Victoria without shaking Sachi's hand. "And what's your name?"

  Duchess Ramses nearly fumbled over her own name. "It's Vic- I mean Private Ramses, Officer. It's nice to meet you." She found it much harder to mask her disappointment compared to Sachi.

  "Yeah... you too," sighed Officer Shelik. "So, where's the third?"

  Captain Holo cut in. "There were some unordinary circumstances at the exams, and these two have been left without a partner."

  "Let me guess," Zayne rolled his eyes, "Helen?"

  "See!" Revin smirked. "That right there, that's why I knew you'd be the man for the job – you've got a good head on your shoulders. So, I've made other arrangements. We found an examinee who didn't make it to the final stage, but still showed a lot of promise in the second exam. He managed to defeat two of the opposing team's members while defending his flag, so I wanted to give him a chance."

  "I don't care about the reasons, where is he?" Responded the impatient Officer. Right on cue, Sachi heard a familiar voice.

  "Well, well, well... It's been a while, hasn't it, Long Ears?"

  Sachi whipped around, hoping his memory was deceiving him. It can't be. He would never. Sure enough, one of the last people Sachi wanted to see walked carelessly toward him and Victoria. He wore his same crooked-toothed grin and laughed at Sachi's perplexed face.

  "Woo-ha-ha, I haven't seen ya since that day under the Ol'Phanx—I never did get any payback for that one. We all thought you and that freak of a brother burned up with your pops."

  "I'd like you two to meet your new teammate..." Revin called over to Sachi and Victoria with a tone that revealed the smile he wore under his mask. "This is Faron Ali, from the Green Edge. I think his fighting style will fit this team well."

  Victoria looked over to the large boy strolling towards them. Private Ali wore a cocky smile and tall mohawk that would make most people hesitant to approach him, and on top of that his stature made him an intimidating presence. There was no doubt he was strong with such a build, but there was something else about Faron that made Victoria feel uneasy. She looked over to Sachi, it was obvious they knew one another, but Sachi's face was one she hardy recognized. Her partner's bright green eyes, usually full of hope, had been replaced by a dark stare with nothing but hate behind it. The Elv's nostrils flared, and his breathing became deeper; more focused.

  Faron stepped slowly up to Sachi and stared down at him with amusement. "What's that look for? If you keep that up our new friend might get the wrong idea. We should probably hug it out. That way everyone'll know what close friends we are."

  "Sachi," Victoria whispered over anxiously. "How do you know this guy?"

  Sachi couldn't hear his partner at all, every ounce of energy he had was being spent on holding himself back from lunging at Faron. He felt pressure building up around his eyes, like they were about to pop right out of their sockets.

  Why him?

  Officer Shelik was able to sense the tension clearly, which annoyed him all the more. "You see, Revin. These kids don't even get along. I was never meant to be a teacher. There's a broom closet on the sixteenth floor, I can start clearing it out today if you don't have any open offices available."

  Revin chuckled again at his First Officer's pessimism, "You're not gettin' a desk, Shelly—get over it." The Captain continued to watch Sachi and Faron carefully, wanting to see how their unexpected reunion would play out.

  Sachi looked over to Victoria briefly. After seeing her concern for his well-being, he was able to force himself to take a few calming breaths to level his head. "Why are you here?"

  Faron raised his head high and bellowed out with his obnoxious laugh again. "Woo-ha-ha! Same reason as you, I reckon. It's the only way for farm boys like us to earn a decent meal."

  Sachi smirked sarcastically at his mohawked bully and stared up to him with eyes of emerald shaded hate. "Well, I hope you enjoy the mess hall. The food's to die for."

  "Sachi!" Victoria called out to her partner louder this time, catching his attention. She darted her eyes back and forth between him and Faron with a confused expression, wanting an explanation.

  "This is Faron. We grew up together in the Green Edge. He's not my biggest fan."

  "Woo-ha-ha! You can say that again. This Elf has been a thorn in my side since the day I met him. Now wipe that pissy look off your face before you wind up crying again, Long Ears."

  Sachi took a long breath to calm himself. The half-Elv teen had worked a lot on temper control over the last few months. Now that his father was gone Sachi felt a responsibility to be more mature; to be the man his Qia'Dāv told the world he was. Sachi feared that if he blew his cool now Victoria would see him just like Faron did; just like most Humans did. "I'm not some whiny kid anymore," Sachi strained to get the words out as politely as he could. "I came here for my own reasons, so let's just try to get along." Sachi reached out a hand to Faron to shake and make peace.

  "Whatever." Faron walked by Sachi and over to Officer Shelik. He addressed the tired man with the same bravado, "Name's Faron Ali, Sir. I'm yer' heavy hitter, so count on me when all Hel breaks loose."

  The ever-impatient Officer adjusted his glasses. "You're late. Why?"

  The Officer's stern tone took Faron by surprise and the large teen stumbled over his words as he attempted to find a response. "W- Well... Sir. I... I just got here. I had to find the-"

  "Enough." Zayne sighed. "I don't have the time for your story. If I gotta do this, then we better get started." He looked back to Revin one last time. "I'll even take a pen in the stables."

  "Just get goin' already." Revin called out, now seeming to grow annoyed. "We'll talk about chairs and desks after you show these kids the ropes."

  Officer Shelik turned away with a loud "Huff!" again and wandered sluggishly from the fenced off courtyard and back towards the castle. He waved a hand for the Privates to hurry along, and sure enough, they did.

  As Captain Holo watched his new batch of Privates take off with their squad leaders, he felt proud of his first day as a Captain. Revin showed up late today, and he only had to work for about forty minutes. All things considered; his new job was quite enjoyable.

  Officer Shelik led his subordinates north without speaking more than a few frustrated grumbles under his breath for over ten minutes. Faron followed closely behind him and continued to try to impress Zayne with boasts of his athletic prowess. Sachi followed a few paces back with his head hung low and hands sunk deep into his pockets, Victoria close to his side.

  "What was all that about?" She asked after it was clear Faron was out of earshot. "That guy seems like a real twit."

  "Like I said, he's not a big fan of me, my family, or any Elves for that matter."

  "That's a shame, he's in for a real surprise when he finds out who works in the infirmary; or how many non-Humans are in this army."

  "He doesn't care about the others. We had plenty of Bloods and Hoofs back in Palos—even a few Felids. It's just the Elves."

  "Well, that's not uncommon." Victoria sighed uncomfortably. "There's a lot of Humans around the capital who share his views." She nudged Sachi with an elbow to get some energy into his step. "Don't worry, I've got your back."

  Sachi was happy to have a partner, but he didn't want to burden her with being his bodyguard. "No." he said sternly. "If he messes with me, I want you to stay out of it. Faron and I have been at each other's throats for years. We're gonna have to settle things between us eventually, and I don't want you in it."

  "Ooooh, how heroic," giggled Victoria. "You don't have to pretend you're some super-soldier. We're partners for a reason. That means your problems are my problems. I can't trust you on a mission if there's something about our squad-mate distracting you in the back of your head. We've gotta be focused on fighting together if we want to rank up."

  "Trust me," said Sachi. "I won't let Faron hold me back anymore."

  Officer Shelik came to a stop in front of two identical stone buildings on the northern edge of the Red Grove that resembled storefronts. He pointed to the building on the left, "That's the Crow's Armory," he pointed to the building on the right, "and that's the Crow's Gallery." He turned back to the Privates without emotion. "You buy armor and swords on the left; you buy firearms and ammunition on the right. We clear?"

  The Privates nodded and Zayne turned to walk back towards the castle.

  "Wait!" Faron exclaimed. "We're not going in?"

  "No. Go in on your own time. This is just a tour."

  Despite the tension in the air, all three Privates yelled in unison after hearing their Training Officer's statement. "This is a tour!?"

  "We've been walking for fifteen minutes." Victoria was able to speak first. "You've barely said a thing."

  "Look, I'm not a tour guide. I'm just showing you where things are, then we're doing exactly one hour of Lightwell training, then I'm heading home." The greasy haired man stretched his upper back and groaned as his shoulders and spine popped loudly. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

  Faron and Sachi looked at one another and realized they were both crossing their arms in the same frustrated fashion. Upon noticing this, they quickly adjusted their postures to differentiate themselves. With that, the new team went along with their lazy leader to tour the Aerie, each of them feeling their own unique brand of disappointment over their current circumstances.

  (To Be Continued...)

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