The pitter patter of rain rhythmically beat all throughout the indomitable bastion, lulling its inhabitants into a blissful sleep. Inside a large barracks, among hundreds of sleeping trainees, was a boy with black hair and red, vermillion eyes, hidden underneath his blanket with a hefty book in hand. He brought his finger to one of the book's pages and ran it across a sentence.
'Underneath the crooked peaks you will find the first, in the depths of despair you will find the next, and beyond the clouds you will find the last' he reread the sentence for the hundredth time. 'Once you have inherited the Hermit's three will you have the key to enter…the Elysian Grove'.
Even after all these years, the very thought of the elusive garden enraptured the young boy. Shane Fletcher was the name of the young dreamer, and it was his dream to find the mythological paradise.
'Keep laughing, when I finally get out of this damned place, I'll prove you all wrong'.
Sudden, faint sounds of footsteps just outside the barracks caused the young man to fumble his pages, hastily hiding the book underneath his bed ever so softly to not make sounds. Noiselessly, the doors to the barracks opened and a shadow covered head peered in. It surveyed the sleeping trainees and briefly stared directly at Shane before returning outside. 'Guess that's enough for tonight' the sleepy soldier yawned as he turned in.
The next day, things were a little different from normal. Instead of doing the usual weighted run, rock climbing, weapons training and sparring, Shane was pleasantly surprised to hear that his drill sergeant had an important announcement to make.
"Gather around maggots! Today's a special day, all the Sergeants and their trainees are required by the Chief General himself to head to the forest outside gate three and meet up. This is because the Chief General has an important announcement to make. Follow along" Shane's Sergeant left no room for questions as he was already leaving out the barrack's doors. "Last one to leave, shut the doors".
The snake of recruits fluidly followed their Sergeant as they moved in unison to their desired location.
They marched past the blacksmiths, the butchers, merchants, numerous houses, a modest library, five enormous statues of stone soldiers and a large building that looked far more fortified than the rest. Further in the back, where the Sergeant could not hear as well, the trainees gossiped.
"What could the announcement be about?"
"Maybe it's about the tenth year anniversary of…that day"
"I heard it is in regards to the release of the betrayer" And so on.
Shane himself was near the back, so he had front row seats to his peers' deluge of theories. Whatever the announcement was about, he didn't care, he just hoped it would allow him to finally leave this place.
Upon arriving at the gate, Shane could see that all of the other trainees under differing Sergeants had gathered. Up near the front, he could see his own Sergeant talking with six others.
Up where all the Sergeants were talking, was a girl with golden hair and verdant green eyes. It seemed like the Sergeants were discussing something about her. Shane observed as their faces went from impartial, to annoyance and then reluctance. Shane's Sergeant especially. Walking back to his group, the girl in tow, Shane's Sergeant, cleared his throat. "For today's announcement, we are going to be having Private Varcossia joining us" the girl, Private Varcossia, stood tall, a deep glower glued to her face.
All of the trainees grew taut. 'Seriously?' Shane sighed.
"Give her a warm welcome" the Drill Sergeant went back to talking with the other Sergeants.
Left alone with the girl, all the trainees shifted uncomfortably. With a scoff, she quickly paced to the back of the line, right next to Shane.
'Are you kidding me…' he groaned.
Why had he gotten the misfortune of standing next to Veronica Varcossia?
Veronica eyed Shane sharply, causing him to flinch and avoid eye contact. "Got something to say?" her voice was rough, tomboyish.
Contrasting her beautiful looks, her personality was violent, terrible and intimidating. Growing up, Shane had seen her get into a multitude of fights with kids around, above and way above her age. He had seen her bite off a kid's nose who was double her age, pummel one her age and even fight back against adults. To call her a devil's child would be no understatement. Everybody knew of her infamous deeds, and everyone knew not to mess with her.
"No, not really," Shane answered, a little nervous. Veronica eyed him for a second before going back to her perpetual glower.
A tense twenty minutes passed as all the trainees had finally arrived, Shane was practically drowning from the viscus vibes that Veronica exuded. It was just a bad time to be around her. When the line started moving, Shane accidentally let a sigh or relief slip from his mouth. The small army of young soldiers exited the giant gates of the third district, entering a vast and lush jungle that was just outside the walls.
Walking on an invisible road, all the trainees became a little bit tense as they listened to the sounds of the jungle. Unknown beasts roared, shrieks and wails of unseen animals invaded their ears. Luckily, they were trained to resist fear. That and the existence of hardened veteran sergeants ensured their safety. Shane, however, was not scared at all. He was ecstatic! It was very rare to be outside the safety of the walls, so he took in everything. The large, broad trees encompassed the soldiers, branching infinitely in all directions and looming over them like impartial giants. The bushes and thickets hid unknown creatures inside them, or maybe none at all. There was so much life that most trainees would be spinning trying to name them all, but not Shane, he knew all of it by heart.
'Woah! A glowing mana frog!' he nearly left the long line of soldiers, just to get a closer look. Shane awed at the snakes slithering on the floor, the bugs that were abundant in the lush greeneries and the birds flying above. He stared deep into the catacomb of trees, getting a glimpse of an elegant, feline creature with a long horn on its head, but just as quickly as he saw it, it disappeared. 'No way…'
Eventually, they had all arrived at the location.