|| 30th Fall, 506AV. || The Training Grounds, Taloba || Early Morning. ||
”It will get easier as time goes on.”
The words of her mother echoed through Ayatah’s mind. It had been three weeks since her first day of training, and… sure, things were getting a little less horrendous...
But that didn’t make them easy -- far from it.
The recruits were now usually awake when their trainers would burst into their rooms to call them to training, as opposed to still sound asleep like babes. Their bodies were getting used to the harsh brutality of their morning sessions when they would run and fight and climb on empty stomachs, before being fed some slop of oats and vegetables (and questionable meat, if you were lucky). After their sustenance, they would spar some more, run some more…
Until finally, they would stagger back into their dorm rooms (after being lucky enough to eat a second meal), and fall into their beds. The days were long, the nights short.
But for Ayatah, the harsh treatment was beginning to pay off. Her limbs were toning and growing in muscle. She was still not as strong as her comrades, but she was certainly becoming stronger within herself.
The recruits were slowly, but surely, becoming something close to… friends. There was no warmth or care between them as such, but an unspoken respect and empathy. When one suffered a twisted limb or concussion, the others were often there to soften the blows and save the ‘patient’ from further damage.
So, before the grey light of the early morning had even cast upon the garrisons in which the recruits slept, Ayatah and her roommates were already awake. One girl - damn, is her name Daena? Something like that - was already up and standing on one leg as she stretched her thighs. Ayatah, however, was making the most of those final moments before --
”Up! Get up you petching wastes!”
[i]Good morning, Sunshine.
The three other women rolled out of their beds, dressed and left - completely silent. Ayatah fell to the rear of the group, feeling a harsh cramp in her calf from the previous days climbing.
Down to the training yards they went, where about half of their comrades waited, some yawning and others chatting quietly. The sky held a thin grey mist, and meek sunshine battled through it. It did not take long for the rest of the recruits to come to the training grounds. A week or so ago, a male had apparently slept through the morning call, even when his dorm mates tried to wake him. Fearing for their own wellbeing, they had left him snoring in his bed. A bell late, the poor bugger had joined the others, hoping that nobody would notice.
Herliz did not miss a trick, and the moment his feet had touched the sand of the sparring ground, she had rounded on the latecomer. By the time she was through, the young man had tears and blood running down his face.
Since then, nobody came late to training.
”This morning,” the recruits turned slowly in the direction from which the voice was coming. They didn’t even have to wonder who was speaking, “you will be sparring. Not against each other, but my cadets.”
A throng of bodies stood behind the head trainer, in a perfect military line. Although they specialized in varied weapons, the seniors of the new recruits looked exactly the same; back straight, faces blank and forward, arms at their backs - or if their weapons would not allow, at their sides. That will be us in a year or so Ayatah thought, glancing at the terrified-looking faces of her equals. One girl in particular looked like she wanted to burst into tears, maybe two years for some…
But Ayatah would not allow herself to crumble under the critical eye of her seniors. If she was ever going to prove herself in these three years of serving Myri, early experiences such as this one could become help or hindrance.
”Pick a wretched little toy to play with.” It was a command not for Ayatah and her comrades, but for the seasoned recruits. Their hardy eyes fell to the body of trainees, and Ayatah was startled at their intense look of hunger.
She shook her head a little at her previous naivety: These are not simply last year’s newcomers. These are hardened recruits, who have been in our military for years. They chew up and spit out novices like us.
The realization was almost saddening. But then that little spark within Ayatah - the part that would probably make her get beaten up in a few chimes - came to life.
Bring it on.
The words of her mother echoed through Ayatah’s mind. It had been three weeks since her first day of training, and… sure, things were getting a little less horrendous...
But that didn’t make them easy -- far from it.
The recruits were now usually awake when their trainers would burst into their rooms to call them to training, as opposed to still sound asleep like babes. Their bodies were getting used to the harsh brutality of their morning sessions when they would run and fight and climb on empty stomachs, before being fed some slop of oats and vegetables (and questionable meat, if you were lucky). After their sustenance, they would spar some more, run some more…
Until finally, they would stagger back into their dorm rooms (after being lucky enough to eat a second meal), and fall into their beds. The days were long, the nights short.
But for Ayatah, the harsh treatment was beginning to pay off. Her limbs were toning and growing in muscle. She was still not as strong as her comrades, but she was certainly becoming stronger within herself.
The recruits were slowly, but surely, becoming something close to… friends. There was no warmth or care between them as such, but an unspoken respect and empathy. When one suffered a twisted limb or concussion, the others were often there to soften the blows and save the ‘patient’ from further damage.
So, before the grey light of the early morning had even cast upon the garrisons in which the recruits slept, Ayatah and her roommates were already awake. One girl - damn, is her name Daena? Something like that - was already up and standing on one leg as she stretched her thighs. Ayatah, however, was making the most of those final moments before --
”Up! Get up you petching wastes!”
[i]Good morning, Sunshine.
The three other women rolled out of their beds, dressed and left - completely silent. Ayatah fell to the rear of the group, feeling a harsh cramp in her calf from the previous days climbing.
Down to the training yards they went, where about half of their comrades waited, some yawning and others chatting quietly. The sky held a thin grey mist, and meek sunshine battled through it. It did not take long for the rest of the recruits to come to the training grounds. A week or so ago, a male had apparently slept through the morning call, even when his dorm mates tried to wake him. Fearing for their own wellbeing, they had left him snoring in his bed. A bell late, the poor bugger had joined the others, hoping that nobody would notice.
Herliz did not miss a trick, and the moment his feet had touched the sand of the sparring ground, she had rounded on the latecomer. By the time she was through, the young man had tears and blood running down his face.
Since then, nobody came late to training.
”This morning,” the recruits turned slowly in the direction from which the voice was coming. They didn’t even have to wonder who was speaking, “you will be sparring. Not against each other, but my cadets.”
A throng of bodies stood behind the head trainer, in a perfect military line. Although they specialized in varied weapons, the seniors of the new recruits looked exactly the same; back straight, faces blank and forward, arms at their backs - or if their weapons would not allow, at their sides. That will be us in a year or so Ayatah thought, glancing at the terrified-looking faces of her equals. One girl in particular looked like she wanted to burst into tears, maybe two years for some…
But Ayatah would not allow herself to crumble under the critical eye of her seniors. If she was ever going to prove herself in these three years of serving Myri, early experiences such as this one could become help or hindrance.
”Pick a wretched little toy to play with.” It was a command not for Ayatah and her comrades, but for the seasoned recruits. Their hardy eyes fell to the body of trainees, and Ayatah was startled at their intense look of hunger.
She shook her head a little at her previous naivety: These are not simply last year’s newcomers. These are hardened recruits, who have been in our military for years. They chew up and spit out novices like us.
The realization was almost saddening. But then that little spark within Ayatah - the part that would probably make her get beaten up in a few chimes - came to life.
Bring it on.
|| Ayatah's speech || Ayatah's thoughts || Others' speech ||
