Zane hopped down from the wagon and looked around him. They were in a deep canyon somewhere in eastern Terram. Years ago, the river had been redirected away from the canyon to clear a space for the encampment. Sand colored walls of the canyon rose to frightening heights all around him. He looked up and tried to see the top of the canyon but looking up made him feel dizzy so he concentrated on the ground. Pug and Rose dropped down beside him and also took in their surroundings.
"Welcome to paradise!" Came the sarcastic voice of "Old Dirt Face," which had quickly become his nickname. He gestured with fake grandeur at the mass expanse of tents spread out in the canyon. "Everyone get in line to be assigned to your tents."
They fell into line behind all of the other recruits and waited in line.
"For some reason I imagined this place a lot different," Pug said.
"It's not quite as exciting as I imagined either," replied Zane
"Well what did you guys expect?" Rose asked. "Unicorns and butterflies?" Zane laughed, but Pug replied seriously,
"Well, I at least expected there to be a couple of buildings." Rose shrugged,
"Were here to be toughened up, giving us buildings would be going easy on us. Plus, they probably move the camp fairly often to avoid being found." Pug stuck out his tongue. Zane chuckled and looked toward the front. Rose turned and entered the girl's line, leaving Pug and Zane in the guy's line. Zane noticed that the girl's line was much shorter.
Luckily, he and Pug were two of the first in line. They were already approaching the front. It turned out that the tent assignments were easy. There were four people per tent, and they took the first four in line and put them in tents together. This was fine with Zane and Pug, as they were put in a tent with Aaron and someone whose name they didn't recognize. The two walked through the camp looking for their tent number.
Along the way the spotted the young hooded man who had broken up the fight between Zane and Winston. He was heading into a massive tent at the middle of the encampment.
"I wonder who that is," Zane said to Pug curiously.
"I don't know . . . but he must be important if he's going into that tent," Pug replied scowling. "and here I thought I was lucky that to be only sharing a tent with four people for once." He shrugged, "Oh well, I won't complain." Zane nodded and stopped. He spotted the tent with their number attached to the side.
"Here it is," he said gesturing toward it. "Let's go in and see if your still not complaining." Pug sighed and they pushed aside the tent flap. The tent was surprisingly roomy, and not at all complaint worthy. In the center of the tent was a small square table with four chairs around it. Spread out in the corners of the Octagonal shaped tent were four sleeping bags, each with a simple chest nearby along the wall. A well-built young man sat cross legged on the sleeping bag to the right of the entrance polishing a sword. Aaron, who must have passed them as they admired the mysterious mans large tent, had beat them there. He was seated at the table scribbling on a piece of paper. He looked up when they entered,
"Hey guys! Looks like we're rooming together. Cliff and I already picked out our beds. The front two by the door are ours. You guys can have the two in the back," he said gesturing toward the back of the tent. Zane looked at Pug,
"You can choose first. It doesn't matter to me," he said.
"Ok sounds good," Pug replied, "I think I'll take this one." He walked back and took the bed on the left side of the entrance. Zane made his way to the one on the right and opened the chest. He put his meager bag of possessions on the bottom. Then he unclipped his sword then slid his shield off his back and put them on top. When he finished putting away his things he went and sat down at the table across from Aaron. Pug had finished unpacking before him and was already seated next to him. He glanced back to where Cliff was still polishing his sword; he had short curly blonde hair and dark brown eyes.
Aaron saw him watching and whispered, "He's not really the talkative type. All I've been able to get out of him is his name."
"Well it can't hurt to be friendly, we will be living together after all" Pug said standing up from the table. He motioned at Zane to follow and walked over and stood in front of Cliff. "Nice to meet you Cliff my name is Pug, and this is Zane," he held out his hand to him. Cliff ignored his hand and glanced up at them for a moment,
"Likewise," he said, immediately returning his attention back to his sword as if nothing had happened. Zane sat back down at the table with Aaron and Pug.
"Told you so," Aaron replied smugly.
"What do you mean? I think we will get along just fine," Pug answered with a grin. Pug barely finished his sentence when booming horn sounded twice throughout the camp.
"What does that mean?" Zane asked.
"Ah, old dirt face mentioned this before. I think it means we are supposed to meet at the command tent," Aaron replied. Zane stood up from the table and followed Pug and Aaron out of the tent.
"Come on Cliff!" Pug called as they left the tent. Cliff stood, carefully put down his sword, and followed the group a few paces behind. Zane and Pug followed Aaron who led them back to the massive tent they had passed before. People were gathered around the tent looking expectantly toward the entrance. Zane spotted Rose among the crowed and led the other three to her. As he arrived next to Rose, the mysterious young man who had stopped Zane and Winston from killing each other exited the tent with old dirt face.
The mysterious man began, "Hello everyone, I am Oran. Young, well trained recruits are vital to the Semper Vitae. As such, I will be staying here to oversee your training for the next month. I will then I will return to the front lines." Zane stared with his mouth open in astonishment. That was Oran! Oran was the commander of the Semper Vitae! "This is Captain Dux," Oran continued. "It is his job to train you to be the best soldier you can be. Now that introductions are finished, welcome to Lorem Praetorium. Here, you will be trained as a part of the Semper Vitae and defend the land from the Aeternam Vitium. We called you all here to fill you in on the rules and procedures. Captain Dux, if you would."
"All right listen up," started Dux in a bored vioce as he stepped forward. "For the rest of today, you will be getting fitted for armor. It will take a while to sort out the armor and put in orders for extra armor if we do not have what we need. You will have to make do with whatever we give you until the orders come in, so I better not hear any complaints! You will be expected to arrive at the cooking tent for your meal later this afternoon. You will be given a meal today and tomorrow, after that you will be expected to find your own. There is a cave north of camp that leads to out of the canyon. Beyond is a where you will be expected to find your food, after capturing, or shooting, or whatever you do to get your food, you will bring it to the cooking tent, and they will cook it for you. If you don't find any food for the day you don't eat. If you catch more than you can eat, the food will be distributed appropriately so that it does not go to waste."
"Cheery this guy," Aaron said to Zane.
"That's an understatement," Pug whispered. Zane nodded and continued to listen.
"Bathing will be done in the river. Each tent will have a specified time for bathing, which will be given to you after your evaluation. Tomorrow will be your evaluation, you will be put through several tests and will be placed in one of the following categories, warrior, scout, or archer. If you fail to meet the requirements for these positions, you can either go home or work in the kitchens. Girls will be put into the following categories, cook, archer, scout, or nurse."
"What?!" Rose exclaimed outraged. "You mean to tell me that girls can't be warriors?!" Zane shrugged. He didn't really know what to say.
Rose crossed her arms and fumed silently as Dux continued, "Now go get some food and rest and we'll see what you pansies can do tomorrow." Zane felt all of the nervous excitement that he had felt before come swelling back up again as he thought about the test. What if he was placed as a cook?
He heard his father's words in his head, "My son is going to be the greatest warrior there has ever been!" No . . . he couldn't afford to fail; he had to become a warrior for his father's sake.
"You ok Zane?" Rose asked him looking concerned.
"Y . . . Yeah I'm fine," he replied distractedly.
Rose looked at him, concern still evident on her face, but before she could reply Pug interjected, "Come one guys let's go get some grub before I starve to death. They didn't feed us that well on the trip here and I'm starting to feel it!" They quickly agreed and went to dinner. Dinner consisted of small game from the woods along the river outside of the canyon, but that was fine with Zane. He was used to it from hunting in the forest around his home. After they finished eating, they said goodnight to Rose and started for their tent. On the way to it, they ran into Winston, who already had a gang of other rich kids around him.
They stood in the middle of the path intentionally blocking their way. "What do you want Winston?" Zane spit coldly. Winston's broken nose had been bandaged and his voice sounded as though he were pinching his nose shut.
"I only want to tell you to stay away from my cousin. Rosalia doesn't need to be hanging around filthy riff-raff like you." He responded angrily.
"Rose," Zane replied emphasizing her name. "Can do as she likes, which is definitely not hanging around with you."
"Don't you tell me what she can and can't do," Winston snarled. He put his face extremely close to Zane's. "And if you don't then you will have to deal with me."
"That's a scary threat," Zane answered sarcastically. "I'd better stay away, or I might end up breaking another nose." Winston's face turned into one of rage.
"Yeah Winston, you better watch out. You wouldn't want permanent damage to that ugly face of yours." Pug said also angry.
Winston laughed, "Oh no look out," he said turning to his gang. "We have angered the poor midget."
"That's it! Screw it! I'll tear your nose of myself!!" Pug yelled. He was about to leap onto Winston but Aaron caught and held him back.
"Easy Pug, now's not the time." He said. Zane was ready to break every bone in Winston's body, and was about to try, when he remembered Oran's advice that he must control his anger. He stood, his fists clenched and trembling, as Winston once again put his face close to his.
"Midget here is willing to fight me but your too much of a chicken, "he said. "I'm surprised, I knew you were stupid, but I at least thought you had some fight in you. Pity, I guess your father didn't teach you how to fight. My father taught me how to fight when I was a boy. Your father probably sent you here hoping that you would die off and he would have one less mouth to feed." Zane stood trying with all his might to hold back his anger as Winston began to push him with both hands. "Fight me! Come on you filthy little swine! Fight me!"
Zane was about to give in and jump on Winston when a voice echoed from behind him, "Leave him alone." Zane and Winston both turned to look. Cliff was standing there, looking at Winston with both fists clenched.
"Looks like chubby wants to join in on the fun too!" Winston said to his gang. "Maybe he has more courage than whore mother and midget." Cliff took a quick step forward grabbed Winston by the shirt, pulled back his huge fist, and plunged it with a thud into the side of Winston's face. Winston's feet left the ground and he flew several feet through the air and landed face down in the dirt. He was out cold. Everyone stood and stared in awe at Cliff. Cliff stood looking extremely uncomfortable when Captain Dux stormed up to the group. Winston's cronies scattered in different directions and fled the scene, while Zane, Pug, Cliff, and Aaron turned to face him.
"What the hell happened here?" he demanded angrily pointing to Winston's limp form lying several feet away.
Cliff had his shoulders slumped and his head hung low and was about to respond when Zane said, "I . . . I lost my temper again sir." Cliff looked at him shocked. Aaron and Pug exchanged glances and Pug shook his head as if telling Zane not to do it. "We got into an argument and I lost my temper and hit him again."
"All right then," Dux said. "Come along with me then. I believe Oran would like to hear about this. You guys," he gestured to Cliff, Aaron, and Pug. "Take Mr. fancy pants to the emergency tent." He motioned for Zane to follow him, then turned on his heels and marched toward the command tent. Zane followed without a glance back and they soon approached the tent. Dux held the tent flap open and Zane entered. Oran was the lone person in the massive tent. He had his back to them and was pouring over a large map on the table.
"Oran," Dux said. "We've got a troublemaker here. I know you've already talked to him once, so I decided to bring him back to you." Oran turned around and saw Zane.
He sighed and looked at Dux, "Thank you Dux," he said. "You can go. Zane here can tell me what he did himself." Dux turned and left the tent leaving Oran and Zane alone. "So . . . what happened this time?"
"I lost my temper again and attacked that kid named Winston." Zane told him. Oran sighed again,
"I already told you Zane, you need to control your temper, or it will get you into a lot of trouble, more than punishment at a training camp
Zane nodded, "Yes sir," he replied meekly. Oran was about to continue when the tent flap swished opened, and Cliff entered the tent.
"It was me sir," he said definitively, standing straight with his hands behind his back. Oran looked taken aback by his words while Zane tried in vain to signal for Cliff to stop.
"What was you?" Oran asked.
"I knocked out Winston sir," Cliff said quietly. Oran turned to Zane,
"Is this true?" he asked.
"Well technically yes," Zane replied. "But it was my fault! I provoked Winston. Cliff was only defending me!" Oran turned back to Cliff.
"Is this also true?"
"Well kind of, I didn't really care about defending him but . . ." Oran smiled and cut him off.
"So, you mean to tell me that Winston was antagonizing Zane, and that you, Cliff, knocked him out because Zane was refraining from doing so himself. And when Captain Dux came to the scene, Zane, took the blame because you felt that it was your fault?" Zane and Cliff glanced at each other surprised.
"I guess . . ."
"That's kind of it . . ." Zane and Cliff responded at the same time.
"Go back to your tents," Oran said with a chuckle. "I won't punish you this time, but beware. Fighting with teammates is not tolerated in an army, especially not the Semper Vitae. If you really want to stay here, then I suggest you get yourselves under control. Zane and Cliff shuffled their feet and gave each other and awkward glance. "Go on then, shoo! Before I change my mind." Oran motioned for them to leave, his attention already back on the map. Zane and Cliff left the tent and began to walk slowly back to their tent. The camp was quiet, everyone must have returned to their tents early to rest for the placements. Zane couldn't believe their luck, why did Oran let them go free?
"You didn't have to do that you know," Zane said after a they had walked a while in silence. "It was my fault, I should have taken the blame."
"You didn't hit him, I did," Cliff said simply.
"Thanks Cliff," Zane said. Cliff shrugged,
"Didn't do it for you. Something he said touched a nerve, that's all."
"Well whatever the reason, I'm glad I wasn't on the receiving end. That was quite the punch," Zane responded as they stopped in front of their tent. Cliff eyed him sideways with one eyebrow raised before ducking into the tent. Zane sighed and followed him inside.
Aaron and Pug were sitting at the table, obviously waiting for them to return.
"What happened? Are they forcing you to work in the kitchens? Are they making you go home?" Pugs words spilled anxiously out of
"Dux took me to the command tent to talk to Oran," Zane answered. "Oran was talking to me about losing my temper when Cliff came in and said it was him."
"What did they do to you?" Aaron asked.
"Nothing," Zane replied shrugging.
"What do you mean nothing?" Pug asked looking confused.
"Nothing," Zane repeated. "He let us go." Pug and Aaron looked at him as though he was insane.
"He just let you go?" Pug said incredulously.
"Yup," Zane said. "We explained what happened and he just lectured us a bit and let us go." Pug shrugged and moved across the room to his sleeping bag. He stretched with a yawn and sat down cross legged.
"I guess we won't question your good luck."
"What about you guys?" Zane asked. "What happened to you?"
"Not much," Aaron replied, "We carried Winton to the emergency tent, but don't worry, we were careful to . . . uh . . . accidentally bump his head on a couple things."
Zane burst out in laughter, "So that's it? You just took him to the emergency tent?"
"Pretty much yeah," Aaron said. "After that, Cliff left, he didn't say why, and we came back to the tent."
"Um . . . Aaron?! you forgot about the most important part of our little adventure!" Pug yelled from his sleeping bag. Aaron gave him a confused look. Pug stood up and covered his heart with his hands in a dramatic gesture. "My heart has been stolen by a smoking hot nurse!" Aaron sighed and rubbed his forehead with one hand.
"Oh yeah, that." He said with a sigh.
"I'm a bit jealous of Winston after seeing her," Pug continued unprompted. "I even thought about having someone give me a good knock, so I have a reason to go back. How about it Cliff? Up for round two?"
Pug looked over at Cliff who was back to polishing his sword. Cliff looked up at him and smiled menacingly.
"Well if you insist . . ." he said in an uncharacteristic reply.
Pug paled and said, "On second thought, I think I'll just stay here." Zane and Aaron burst out with laughter. Pug then realized that Cliff was pulling his leg. He stuck out his bottom lip in a pout and slammed himself into his sleeping bag,
"I don't know about you guys but I'm going to sleep," he said apparently not enjoying that he was the only one that didn't recognize the joke. Aaron blew out the lamp on the table and the other three got into their sleeping bags. Zane spent the night mentally preparing himself for the day ahead. He finally fell asleep late into the night, where he was tormented by his dreams.