He woke up gasping for air and covered in sweat. He put his hand on his chest and felt his heart racing. He blinked several times and took in his surroundings. His emerald green eyes scanned the walls for the comfort of the posters plastered randomly about. He did this every time he woke up it assure himself he was safe at home despite his troubling dreams. He ran his hand through his messy black hair. It was tangled and dripping with fresh sweat from his dream. He tried to remember what it was, he vaguely remembered the clash of weapons and the shouts and cries of the injured. The details slipped away before he could remember clearly. He could definitely recall feeling great sorrow during the dream. He had been having these more often as he grew older. He suddenly vaulted out of bed and in a start of surprise, how could he have forgotten, it was his birthday!
Today he was finally Seventeen, the age he needed to be to join the Semper Vitae. He looked again at the posters on the walls, almost all of which were recruiting posters for Semper Vitae. But his father, obsessed with Semper vitae as he was, would still never let him join. Zander flung open the chest at the foot of his bed and threw on a tunic and burst through the door into the main room of the meager hut. Their hut was a small three-room hut with two bedrooms, one for Zander, and one for his father. It was in a small green clearing with a small stream trickling next to the house. It was in the forest of Arboribus in the Northern part of Patriae. Not to his surprise, Haran, his father, was already gone and had left a loaf of bread and a pitcher of water on the small table.
Zander took a large bite of bread and took a big swig of water and started out the door before he had time to swallow. Once outside he headed to the back of the hut and began his morning chores. Excitement was spreading through him and he found it increasingly difficult to concentrate at his tasks and nearly lost various limbs and appendages while chopping wood.
Finally, when the sun was in the middle of the sky and Zander was drenched with sweat from the heat and hard work, he could no longer contain his excitement. He dropped his axe and went into the house. He burst through the door, expecting Haran to be seated around the table eating dinner as he always was at this time of day, and found the house quiet and empty. Wondering at Haran's lateness, he began to prepare dinner himself.
Zander grew increasingly worried at his father's absence as he finished preparing the meal and began to eat. He had finished the meal and was about to go looking for Haran afraid that ill had befallen him when the door burst open and he heard his father's voice,
"Whoa there Zander, started dinner without me eh? No matter. I'm hungry enough to eat rotten leftovers. Get your old man a chair, will you?" His father spoke breathlessly, his round jolly face growing redder with each sentence. Haran had the same sparkling green eyes as Zander. But while Zander had messy coal black hair, his father had a messy mop of curly blonde hair.
"Of course," Zander replied standing and giving his seat to his father and grinning. "A bit late today aren't we Haran? You had me worried." Haran's face broke into a wide grin,
"Worried? About me?! I can take care of myself. I should be worried about you, with your long journey approaching and all."
"Long journey? What do you mean?" Zander then noticed the dust on Haran's tunic and the mud on his boots. "You've been to the village haven't you!?" he cried. "What have you brought?" Every so often on special occasions such as Christmas and Zander's birthday Haran would travel to the city and bring back something intriguing and special. Haran let out a barking laugh,
"Observant as ever my boy! You'll make a fine soldier when you join the Semper Vitae." Zander stared at his father in confusion.
"Join the Semper vitae?" Zander asked his mind racing.
"Yes Zander, join the Semper Vitae!" answered Haran. "I got up early today and went to the city to sign you up! You'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon, so you'd better start packing for the trip! Oh, but before that, come on outside, I have a present for you!"
Zander's mind raced, he felt as though he was dreaming. Join the Semper Vitae? He couldn't believe it! All his life his father had been praising the Semper Vitae, the army of highly trained volunteers who defended the land from the Aeternam Vitium. The Aeternam Vitium were the opposite of the Semper Vitae, where the Semper Vitae stood for justice and peace, the Aeternam Vitium stood for evil and oppression. They have been locked in nonstop stalemate warfare for centuries, both sides producing some of the most famous heroes in the land. He had grown up hearing stories of the bravery of the men and women in the vitae, and now he was going to be part of that! It had been his dream to be part of the Semper Vitae and now it was going to happen!
He looked up at Haran. He had never seen him this excited; his face was red as a tomato, and his smile lit up his face. Yet . . . if he looked deeper, he could see the tired sadness in his eyes.
"Thank you, father," he replied. "But I can't. Who will chop wood? Who will do the hunting? I have to stay and help you." Haran's face fell and he stood up, the smile leaving his face.
"You must go Zander!" He said desperately. "I can manage here. I will find a way to live. Besides, with you gone I have one less person to feed and take care of," He smiled gently. "I will be fine. You go and make a name for yourself Zander! You are destined for greatness! I can feel it in my old bones. You must go!" Zander was speechless he had never heard Haran speak like this.
"I . . . I will go," Zander answered looking for words. "I will do my best to make a name for myself. And you father. It is not that I don't want to go. I was just worried about you."
Haran's face softened, "Then follow me!" Just like that Haran's excitement was back at full force, and he turned and hopped through the door into the yard. Zander followed his father outside filled with curiosity. Outside, set against the house, was a large misshapen package. Haran picked up the package and held it out to Zander. "Go on. Open it up!" he said bouncing with excitement. Zander took the package and began to tear off the brown paper. He gasped as the shining hilt of a sword was exposed. He tore at the package with renewed vigor and was soon holding a slightly tarnished sword and a dented shield.
"These are amazing!" Zander exclaimed beaming, "How did you afford them?" Haran looked extremely pleased with himself at Zander's excitement and replied,
"I am sorry I could not afford anything new. I had to buy them slightly used and even then, could only afford ah . . . well let's just say . . . they weren't greatly cared for in the hands of their previous owners."
"They're perfect!" Zander said gazing fondly at his father.
"I am glad that you like them son! But there is no time to dilly dally. You must be up early tomorrow if you want to be on the wagons and get to the training camp of the Semper Vitae!" Zander could not think of anything else to say so he turned and went back into the house to his room. It took him very little time to pack his few possessions so he spent most of the wondering what the future would hold.
He spent a sleepless night tossing and turning in nervous excitement. He finally managed to fall into a fretful sleep as the sun began to lighten the edge of the sky. After what seemed like only moments, he was awoken by Haran's voice,
"Whoa ho! it's time to get up Zander! You'll never make it in time if you don't get an early start!" Zander dragged himself out of bed, his mind still on the dream he had been having. It was even worse than the one the night before. "Why the long face son? Today is a happy day! My son is going to be the greatest warrior there has ever been!"
Zander laughed the dream slipping away, "I seriously doubt I'll be the best ever," he said. "But I will do my best."
Haran gave him a large pat on the back and said, "Good my boy. Now get dressed while I make you up some breakfast!" Haran left the room and Zander threw on a fresh tunic and pants. He then grabbed his old sword that lay out on his chest and returned it to its battered sheath. He clipped it to his belt and slung the dented shield across his back. He walked proudly out of his bedroom door into the main room. Haran was just setting out the finished meal when he saw Zander.
"Look at that! You're a true warrior Zander!" He exclaimed. Zander smiled and him and sat down at the table. Haran must have started preparing diner long before he had awoken Zander. He had prepared a simmering stew with a loaf of fresh bread that he must have bought in the city the day before.
Despite the delicious meal Haran had prepared, Zander ate little. His stomach churned with nervous anticipation for the trip ahead. After he had eaten as much as his stomach could handle, he stood up from the table and got ready to leave. After making sure he had everything he needed, he went outside and stood with Haran to say their goodbyes.
Although he was filled with anticipation, Zander couldn't help but feel the sadness of leaving his father and the clearing he had lived in for his entire life. He looked at Haran and saw the same sadness reflected in his eyes.
"Make me proud Zander. Make a name for yourself and do anything you can to defeat the Aeternam Vitium." Haran told him solemnly.
"I will," Zander replied, the determination evident on his face. He offered Haran his hand for a final goodbye but Haran brushed it aside and embraced him in a bone crushing hug. Zander returned the embrace. After Haran released him, Zander turned to go. However, as he started walking away a question occurred to him.
"Why do you want the Aeternam Vitium to be defeated so badly?" He asked his father. Haran thought for a moment and replied,
"Do not concern yourself with my troubles. They will only lead you to misfortune." Though Zander did not understand Haran's words, the expression on his face told him not to question him further. He nodded and turned from his father with a last wave and started down the beaten path into the trees.
The three hour walk through the forest passed quickly due to Zander's preoccupied mind. Before he knew it, the village of Piscium spread out below him as he emerged from the trees. The smell of sea salt and fish filled his nose as he approached. He could make out the sails of large ships over the rooftops of the buildings. The village traced the sea in the shape of a crescent moon. People bustled about with their everyday business. Vendors selling fruit and various items yelled and competed for customers. Though he had been to Piscium several times, the amount of people and conflicting smells and sounds took his breath away every time.
Being that it was located in the northeastern part of Zander's homeland Patriae, and southwestern part of the land of Terram, Piscium was an important port for many ships. It was also one of the perfect places to gather up volunteers for the Semper Vitae from Patriae and bring them north to the headquarters of the Semper Vitae in Terram. Where exactly this was Zander had no idea, as it was a closely guarded secret. He knew from his father's many stories that even the new recruits would not be told the location. All he knew was that it was located somewhere in the western part of Terram.
Zander wove his way through the crowded streets and found the Town Square. Once there, it was easy to find the group signing up for the Semper Vitae. There was a group of about twenty people at one end of the square all looking nervous and carrying weapons. Zander walked toward the group as they listened to a speaker. He was clad in armor that bore the Semper Vitae symbols. Zander stood at the outside of the group and listened intently. He was saying,
" . . . Be expected to show bravery and loyalty. Each and every one of you will be trained and ready for battle after the training we have to give you. The Vitae have many members and our ranks are growing quickly. But with the recent increase in attacks by Aeternam Vitium we need all of the members we can get. As such, the requirement of acceptance for the Vitae has decreased greatly. So let's load up all you pansies and get you to the training ground where hopefully, we can knock some sense into you and get you battle ready," Zander raised his eyebrows and thought to himself, wow if there all like this then I might not enjoy this as much as I thought.
The crowd of people began shuffling toward the awaiting wagons that would take them to the Vitae training camp. They made their way to the other side of the street where the wagons came into view. They consisted of a simply wood floor with four wheels and a two-foot wall around it to prevent you from falling out; each was being pulled by two horses.
That's great; Zander thought sarcastically, that will make this trip better. After listening to the Vitae leader's speech, he doubted that they would stop and find cover if it rained. He sighed and fell into the single file line along with everyone else. The Vitae leader was writing down people's name, height, and then assigning them to a wagon.
Zander looked around at the people in line around him. Most were dressed as he was in simple tunics and boots. A select few were dressed in finer clothes, marking them as the wealthier recruits.
He was taking all of this in when the person in front of him turned around and tapped his shoulder, "You might want to watch up front," the wiry haired kid told him laughing. "Yeah this is gonna be good!" Zander turned his attention to the front of the line were a lavishly dressed youth that couldn't have been any older than Zander himself seemed to be having a heated but quiet argument with the Vitae leader. Something that Zander himself had already noted never to do.
He watched as the Vitae leader disregarded the quiet nature of the argument and said angrily, "If you have a problem with the transportation than you are more than welcome to walk!"
"I refuse to be treated with such disrespect!" the lavishly dressed youth replied, also raising his voice. "I will not ride in such a lowly way! Transportation like this should be reserved for paupers only! Not the rich and noble like myself!" Zander had already assumed that the lavishly dressed youth was not the brightest, and his opinion of him was steadily dropping even lower..
"Look. If you don't like it, then too bad!" the Vitae leader yelled. "Out on the battlefield no one gives a whoop if you're rich or poor! You either fight or die! So just because I can I'm not going to put you in the same wagon as your rich buddies and you can spend the ride with what you call paupers! Now get the hell out of my sight before I really get mad!" The rich kid stormed away red faced to his appointed wagon where he sat crossed legged scowling.
"Serves him right the rich prick," the wiry haired kid said. Only then did Zander notice the girl that had been in line behind the rich youth. She was dressed neatly in nice clothes and you could tell she was wealthy. Only unlike the lavishly dressed youth who seemed to strive to show his rich status, she looked as though she wished she were anything but rich. She had shoulder length brown hair and was, Zander noted despite his newfound prejudice against the rich, extremely pretty. she looked up and met his eyes. He quickly looked away but couldn't help but notice that her eyes were a light shade of brown. When he looked away he realized that the wiry haired kid had been watching him intently.
"Wouldn't think too much about that," he said. "The rich don't mix with the poor. It's just the way it is. Honestly though, I think I'd even give it a shot for a girl like that." He winked at Zander. "My name is Puganto. I know. Stupid name right? Most people call me Pug for short." Zander blinked in surprise. He had wiry brown hair that fell across his heavily tanned and freckeld face. He had watery blue eyes that sparkled with witty intelligence.
"My name is Zander," he replied.
"Zander huh? Ugh, that name sounds so stiff! Makes it sound like I'm talking to a noble or something. No offense of course," Pug added quickly. "Hmmm what should I call you? . . . Oh I know! Zads!" Zander stared at him in wonder . . . "Okay maybe not Zads. That sounds like a nickname for a sweetheart. Ha, maybe you could get that pretty rich girl to call you that. Hmm . . ." He paused for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed and his hand rubbing his chin. "Der . . . Zan . . . and . . . no those don't sound right . . . Oh what about Zane? Doesn't really sound like Zander but it least it's not so stuffy sounding. Oh look sharp were up next!" Pug told him.
"Name and height?" the Vitae leader asked Pug.
"Five feet six inches!" Pug replied proudly.
"Name?" he asked bored.
"Puganto Brevis," said Pug.
He snorted loudly. "Name like that you must be from eastern Patriae eh? Not a good name for a fighter that's for sure. Bit scrawny too. If it was up to me, you never would've made that cut. Unfortunately that's not my decision. Wagon two," he said pointing toward a wagon. Pug stuck out his chest and walked defiantly to his wagon. What Pug didn't realize is that with his round face this made him look like a bloated fish. Zander laughed out loud and decided that he didn't mind Pug.
"What are you laughing at boy?" asked the Vitae leader. Zander's laughing ceased instantly at the harsh tone. "Name and height?"
"Za . . ." He was about to say Zander when he remembered his conversation with Pug. From what he had seen so far, he would prefer to distance himself as much as possible from the rich recuits.
"Did you forget your name boy? You know we don't accept mentally ill kids into the army."
"Zane!" He said after a moment's hesitation.
"How do you spell that?"
"Excuse me?" Zane answered taken aback.
"Are you deaf!" the Vitae leader shot at him.
"No sir!" Zane answered. "Z . . . A . . .Uhhh," his mind raced for an answer, "N . . . E?"
"Don't even know how to spell your own name. Typical! With the riffraff their letting in these days it's a wonder the Vitae is even holding out. Last name?" he asked.
"Uhhh," Zane replied thoroughly embarrassed now. "I don't know sir."
"You mean to tell me you don't even know your own last name!" Zane looked at the ground still embarrassed. He must have realized from Zane's expression that he wasn't joking, and he dropped the matter. "Height?" he grunted. Zane was at a loss for words and shame began to well up inside him.
"I don't know that either sir," he said sadly. He was sure the Vitae member was going to yell at him more and comment on how he wasn't cut out to be a soldier. However, knowing your height must have been an uncommon thing since the Vitae member wordlessly reached into a pouch at his waist and pulled out a cloth tape measure.
"Five feet eleven inches," he said after measuring Zane. "Not too bad kid. Maybe you'll make a soldier after all. Wagon two." Zane sighed in relief and started in the direction of the Vitae leaders pointing. He studied the people in the wagon as he approached. There was the spoiled rich kid in the corner looking as though he were surrounded by mice, a tall scrawny kid with patched up clothes, a well-built youth with a square jaw, and to his surprise the rich brown eyed girl. As he reached the wagon he rejoiced in his luck as he saw Pug tucked away in the corner opposite the stuck-up rich kid. He climbed into the wagon and sat himself next to Pug across from the brown-haired girl.
"Hey there Zane!" Pug said. "I was hoping that you'd be in the same wagon. It'd be a long ride with no one to talk to." Zane nodded and looked across at the brown-haired girl. With a start he realized that she was watching him. When their eyes met, she smiled at him. He awkwardly returned the smile while averting his eyes. He looked around and found that one other passenger had joined the wagon. A mysterious man wearing a hooded cloak and carrying a big staff sat on the end. He was wondering about the man when Pug nudged his shoulder.
"Looks like old dirt face is driving," he said. Zane looked up and seen that the Vitae leader from the name line was indeed seating himself above them in the small driver's seat. With a lurch they started forward and began moving.
"I wouldn't quite call that driving," Zane said to Pug noticing, to his amusement, that the horses were so well trained that they automatically followed the two wagons in front of them. "Old dirt face" let the reigns hang down and was settling down for a nap. Pug chuckled,
"He has a good idea though," Pug replied. "I think I'm going to catch a little shut eye myself. I suggest you do the same, it's going to be a long trip." Zane heeded his advice and settled himself down in a comfortable position and tried to sleep. Despite his excitement about the days ahead, his sleepless night soon caught up with him and he fell into a deep sleep.