Early in the cold morning Strom quietly rolled out of his sleeping bag and crept out from behind the cloth entrance. He was extremely careful as to not wake the slumbering children, especially his loudly snoring brother.
A small piece of paper was clenched tightly in his hands beneath the rugged dark gray cloak he wore to protect himself against the early morning cold.
Most of if not all of the little amount of belongings he had, he left back in the orphans' camp.
'I'm sure Aaron will be happy that I left the pack of playing cards..." Strom thought with a somber smile.
He remembered the fun times the two brothers had shared between that old deck of cards. They had both cherished the object more than the others since it was one of the only remaining mementos they had managed to salvage after their parents' deaths.
The many heartwarming memories Strom had experienced with the orphans and his brother flooded his mind and helped him to continue pressing onwards through and out of the city.
Sure he loved all of them like his own sibling, and he truly cherished the times he had spent with them, but unfortunately those memories and fun times could not put food into their hands.
Strom pulled up the tattered cloak closer to his face as he sneakily exited the Zephyr Kingdom's gates with a few other people. Luckily, the guards standing on post did not recognize him past his gray cloak's disguise.
After gaining some distance from the small kingdom and his home, Strom pull the cloak down from his face and basked in the rays of the morning sun.
"How long has it been since I was last out?" He wondered.
The last he could remember leaving the kingdom was when his parents had taken him on a trip to visit some relatives from a neighboring kingdom way before Aaron was even born.
'Back then, everything was so much more simpler...' He somberly thought as he reminisced.
Unfortunately those peaceful and carefree times had not lasted very long. His parents had been taken from him when he was ten years old and Aaron was only six. They had died while part of the reinforcements sent to the said neighboring kingdom where his other relatives had lived.
At the time, Strom had been excited for his parents since they were already considered great war heroes in the Zephyr Kingdom, but after learning of their deaths, his positive outlook was completely shattered.
'The Romans are too strong... If even my parents were defeated then there is definitely no hope remaining for this kingdom.'
Strom was not new to warfare since his parents were high ranking officers in their kingdom's militia. They were the ones who had begun teaching him about war ever since he was able to walk. His brother followed a similar upbringing at least until his parents' disappearance...
For the first decade of Strom's life he had been raised in a military setting, which was the reason for his steeled nerves in regards to joining the Roman militia.
Although the Romans were the cause of his parents' deaths, he did not hold any malignant intentions or residual hatred for them. Due to his parents being powerful soldiers themselves, he had been taught that death on the battlefield was not that born of hatred but of great honor.
To meet the end of your life at the hands of someone more skilled and powerful than you was truly an honor.
Strom could still remember these words to this day and so did his brother. So even if he was joining the Roman military, he did not consider it as betrayal but as an honor to his family. He would join a militant force that could be considered the strongest on the continent.
Plus, he would be compensated and able to provide funds for the orphans back home in the process. Even though the Zephyr Kingdom would most likely fall, Strom did not believe this to be necessarily a bad situation for the orphans.
Based off of how the Roman Empire turned the neighboring kingdom into a city-state, Strom was quite certain a similar occurrence would unfold for his kingdom.
'A better government and system is exactly what our kingdom's people need anyways.' He thought resolutely.
After spending more than roughly half a day trekking towards the Roman military encampment, Strom was utterly exhausted, but stubbornly continued to press on.
The red flags and tents situated on top the hill in front of his vision was like the rope of a finish line ever so fixed in his ambitious sights.
"Al-Almost there..." He panted as he sorely walked up the hill riddled with wooden spikes and makeshift walls.
The creaking sound of wood from behind him alerted Strom of someone quickly approaching from his rear.
Steeping to the side of the newly made stone path, Strom squinted his eyes to make out the wooden cart that was quickly approaching at a fast pace.
The ringing sound of iron striking stone pierced the air with the rickety sound of wooden wheels turning and clacking against the stone closely following.
"Woah!" Shouted the carriage driver as he slowed the horses after noticing the kid near the side of the road.
Strom looked up towards the man situated on the front of the open carriage with wide eyes.
The man adorned the common Roman soldier's uniform but with a distinct gold stripe emboldened on his shoulder plate. The carriage driver was quite muscular and sat completely erect in his seat, which made him look even more imposing.
Strom gulped before quickly saluting the man.
"Sir! I'm Strom and wish to join the Roman military!" He said firmly without a single waver in his voice.
The Roman soldier cocked his head to the side and studied the young kid up and down with squinted eyes.
"How old are ya kid?" Was the only response Strom received.
"Sixteen as of today... Sir!" Strom replied with a straightened posture.
The soldier nodded his head with an understanding light in his eyes after seeing the tattered clothes the kid wore.
"Hop on the back, I'll take you up to the commander and see what we can do for you." The soldier said as he motioned his hand towards the back of the carriage.
"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" Strom thanked the man before quickly running over to the back of the carriage and hoping on.
Although he was extremely exhausted, Strom refused to show or express it in fear of damaging any of his efforts in joining them.
On the back of the carriage a few more soldiers, who were injured and similarly dressed as the carriage driver, studied the kid with narrowed eyes.
"Looks like we got another street rat." Murmured one of the injured soldiers who held his bleeding arm.
"Says one of these so called street rats!" Laughed another soldier with a smile.
"Must be why you're always so good at picking them out!" Mocked again another soldier.
"Whatever! At least I'm not one of those pampered spoon fed nobles!" Barked the original soldier.
The carriage went silent before all of the men began laughing in unison.
"Is that gonna effect my chances of joining you guys?" Asked Strom with a bewildered look in his eyes. He had never imagined his social standing would be taken into account when joining.
"Hahaha, don't worry about it kid! Like old Frey over here, you shouldn't face much trouble when joining. Just watch yourself, alright... The main duty a soldier has is returning back alive!" The soldier next to Strom explained.
Strom nodded his head in agreement and released a long held sigh of relief.
"Alright! Shut your asses up back there so I can get us back to camp already!" Shouted the soldier that was driving the carriage with laughter.
"Yeah yeah, don't act like you weren't just listening in the whole time with those big ass ears of yours from up there. We know that you're the one who spreads all the gossip around here anyways!" Laughed a soldier in the back.
"Yeah, I'm sure the commander finally got some decent sleep since you left the camp!" Voiced another soldier.
The carriage driver shook his head while laughing as he resumed their trip back to the main camp.
Strom felt more relaxed after being surrounded by the carefree soldiers in the wooden cart but still couldn't help but feel slightly nervous as they entered the camp.
Although he had been trained in a militant based family, he was still unable to completely bottle down his nerves. After all, his brother and the other orphans were relying on the pay he would receive from this enlistment.
The carriage finally came to a stop in the center of the massive encampment and the soldiers began shuttling themselves off of the back. The driver hopped down after handing the reigns over to another soldier that raced over to tend to the horses before walking over to Strom, who was currently just taking in the bustling sights around him.
'So this is a Roman camp!' He thought in amazement.
The different red, silver, gold, and white uniforms were all flashing about the camp and glowing in the warm golden rays of the afternoon sun. The different red tents dotting the encampment held all sorts of eye-catching things. Besides more uniformed soldiers and horses of different sizes and breeds, the shining gleam of steel weapons also sparkled beneath some of the tents.
One kind of weapon in particular caught Strom's attention. A long thin blade with a sturdy looking hilt was propped up against one of the weapon racks holding an assortment of spears.
'A longsword!'
Strom was quite familiar with this weapon, since it was the same one his father had wielded expertly throughout his years, and he had even taught Strom how to wield it with a certain degree of skill.
Strom was knocked back into reality from his drooling stare over the sword by a slap on the back from the carriage driver.
"Don't worry! I'm sure you'll get all kitted out eventually, but first we need to get you to the commander." Laughed the hearty soldier with a warm smile.
"Uh, yes sir!" Responded Strom as he was brought back to his current unnerving task at hand.
"The commander's tent is over there in the center. You see that massive one with the small flag and emblem, that's the one. Follow me!" The soldier ordered.
Strom nodded his head and followed after him.
'The Roman Commander... I wonder what he's like...'
A picture of a large robust Roman figure painted Strom's imagination as he followed the soldier through the flaps of the massive red tent.
'Huh?'