I woke up to the sun’s rays pouring through my window, blinding me. If you can avoid it, don’t have your bedroom window facing east. Normally I didn’t have to deal with that particular issue as I was in the habit of waking up a little before dawn but I’d apparently overslept, and based on how bright the light was I’d done it by quite a bit. I guess staying up until three or four in the morning wasn’t the best strategy when you plan on waking up early the next morning. I blame the nerves, it was fairly difficult trying to fall asleep last night, I had a lot on my mind especially after my talk with mom last night…

I got up out of bed and finally noticed something was missing. My little brother wasn’t snuggled up against me, in fact he wasn’t in the room. I checked under the covers again just to make sure, but the adorable little lump was missing. I threw on the vest I’d left out and opened the door into the living room. There I was treated to the sight of my family sitting around the table with Raha and the humans. Raha spoke before anyone else had the chance, “So the little prince has finally woken up. I hope this isn’t a habit of yours. I’m putting my reputation on the line by backing you and laziness isn’t something I can tolerate.”

I stared at him and started to feel defensive and unsure. The expression I was making must have been pretty funny because the next thing I knew my dad was laughing and pounding Raha on the back. Raha smiled and Dad said, “I told you that you’d be able to get him with that one. No matter how mature he may act he’s still a kid.”

Raha chuckled as he said, “I’m just kidding Swift, I got here pretty early, but since it will take a while for the carts to get unloaded, we have all just been sitting around and chatting. We decided to let you sleep in as long as you needed to, figuring that you probably didn’t get a lot last night.”

Mom nodded along with Raha adding in, “I told everyone to let you sleep in today since I know you were up late last night. Hope you don’t mind but I figured you would want to be well rested since you’ll be heading toward the capitol today.”

I grinned, “Yeah thanks Mom, I really needed the extra couple of hours though you didn’t have to play along with their joke. I was actually worried there for a minute that I’d have to do this on my own.” I looked at Raha as I addressed him, “So when do we leave?”

Raha was still smirking at his little joke, apparently very pleased he managed to pull it off. He responded, “Oh we still have a little while before my crew finishes unloading everything. Once they’re done we’ll head out.”

I nodded and then asked, “So, you never did explain our travel plans to me before you went back to Meadow Rest. Mind telling me what the plan is now while we have some time to kill?”

Raha stroked his beard a couple of times before answering, “Fine I’ll tell you since I’ve finalized all of the arrangements. Why don’t you grab some breakfast while I explain.”

I went into the kitchen and started reheating the leftovers from everyone else’s breakfast. Mmmm sausages and pancakes. Raha continued, “Gurt, and the barbarians are going to be assigned to one of the Lehmakin carts, Ilkea’s to be precise. You will also be storing your things in his cart, but will spend most of your time with the Guards. You’ll be working under Muuntaa as his lieutenant, you need practice leading other Susi and this is a good way to find out whether or not you’ll be able to cut it. Muuntaa will explain your duties on our way back to Meadow Rest and then you’ll be put in charge of a squad of guards. Hopefully this will give you some much needed experience.”

I paused for a second to consider the new task Raha had given me. I was going to have to run a squad of merchant guards, something I had no real experience with. I mean really, no experience what so ever, I’d played sports, but none of them were team sports. I’d never really been in a leadership position in my past life and I’d been fairly isolated in this one. Sure I could boss Gurt around, but he was a legit eight year old and I was not only older than him in this life, but I had all the experience of my past life. But I’d be dealing with men many years my senior and I’d be in charge of them.

This task was something I wasn’t really prepared for, but now that I thought about it I desperately needed to do it. I’d never lead men, especially in battle and an heir needed to do that. It wasn’t enough that I was a strong fighter with powerful magic, I needed to learn how to lead men if I wanted to have a chance at earning the respect of my clan. I gathered my resolve and nodded at Raha, “Thank you for the opportunity. I’ve never been in charge of anyone but my brother and my friends. I don’t know if I’ll do a good job, but I will do my best to learn what it takes to lead men.”

Raha nodded, “It’s good to see you aren’t taking this lightly. The men I place under your command will be relying on you to make smart decisions, their lives will be in your hands, and while bandit attacks and beast attacks are rare on the road to Tehoton, they do still happen. Normally I’d never let someone as green as you lead any of my men, but this is something you need to know how to do before you arrive in the capitol. Don’t betray my trust. Now as soon as you finish your breakfast you might want to go see Muuntaa so he can begin your orientation. I imagine we’ll be leaving soon and you need to be all set by the time we head out. You might want to say your goodbyes now.”

I sighed then quickly finished my breakfast. I got up from the table, and gave my mom a hug. “Thanks for everything Mom, if everything goes according to plan I’ll be back within a year. If not then we’ll figure something out, just know that I’m going to make a difference. I love you and I’ll miss you.”

We held each other for a while before I broke the embrace and made my way over to Dad. “Dad I want to thank you for helping to make me into the man I am today. You’ve made me strong, taught me how to take care of myself and most important of all, provided me with a goal. I just hope that I can become a man like you and I will keep your example in my mind while I fight our enemies and take what should be ours. I will stand proud when I introduce myself as your son and I will show our entire clan that you didn’t make a mistake when you married Mom, that you two were meant to be together and that they were fools to try and stand in your way.”

Dad lifted me up in a bear hug that caused my ribs to flex inward and said, “Just remember Son, despite everything some members of the clan did to get rid of us, they are still family. I lost my position because I forgot that when you are in a position to rule, the clan comes first. I lost myself in love and I’m happy with the choices I made, but if you plan on leading the clan one day you must always remember the golden rule. The welfare of the clan comes before anything else.”

I nodded, it wasn’t the first time my father had gone over that simple rule since I’d discovered my parent’s history and I’m sure he would continue to remind me of it through letters. But it was something I’d engraved into my heart, there would be no point in taking up a position of power if I didn’t keep in mind why I was taking it up in the first place. For my Dad it was the welfare of the clan that mattered, its position and power. I had different reasons for seeking my inheritance, I wanted to change a fundamental aspect of the society and I couldn’t do it without a base of power to work from. But I realized that there is no point in changing something if I destroy it in the process. I’d reform the laws and customs of my people, and I’d do it while leading them to a brighter future.

I know I sound kind of like a douchebag politician whenever I think about what I want my role to be in changing the Susi, but hey, that’s basically what I was signing up to become. I just needed to make sure I’d always remember why I decided to enter into the world of politics. As my father let me down from his hug I looked at the reason why I needed to make our society change its ways. Auttaa was sitting with the two humans, he and Julius had actually become quite close over the last month. I walked over my little brother, picked him up and gave him a hug. “Auttaa, I’m going to be gone for a little while, but I should be back in about a year. And when I come back I’ll have some really cool new toys for you to play with. So be good for Mom and Dad okay?”

I smiled at my little brother and he smiled back and said, “Kay!”

I’m pretty sure he didn’t know how long a year was, which was why he seemed to take my leaving so well, but frankly I’m just glad I didn’t have to always remember leaving him in tears. With a final nod to everyone I made my way outside and then headed over to the Taika’s place. I knocked on the door and waited. Kurt answered with a mild glare. While he agreed to let Gurt go he wasn’t very happy about it. When we all talked about it he was expecting to have at least a few more years with his son before he was sent off to a magic academy. Needless to say Kurt was less than pleased to see me. I said, “Hey Mr. Taika, I just wanted to let you guys know that we are going to be heading out pretty soon. Gurt is assigned to Ilkea Vaunut’s wagon along with Julius and Rufus. I’m going to be joining the guards while we’re on our trip, so I’ll make sure Gurt gets to Tehoton safely.”

Kurt sighed, “You know I’m not actually mad at you Swift, you are providing my son with an opportunity that’s almost too good to be true. Training in the capitol will allow my son to do whatever he wants with his life. I’m truly thankful for the opportunity, and I’m sorry I’ve been taking my worries out on you.”

He ended up giving me a hug and said, “I’m proud of the both of you and I know you’ll make sure my son stays safe, just don’t waste this opportunity. You have a goal and if you are dragging my son with you to the capitol I expect you to achieve your goal, you got me?”

I smiled down at Kurt relieved that we wouldn’t be parting on bad terms and said, “Don’t worry Kurt, the next time you see Gurt and I we’ll be well on our way to achieving great things.”

Westra interrupted the two of us at that point, “It’s good to see that the two of you have made up, I know things got a little heated when we originally discussed this but I’m happy it didn’t take a year for Kurt to remove his head from his ass.” She smiled at that to take the sting out of the barb and continued on, “Now Swift you make sure the two of you stay safe, I don’t want either of you coming back missing body parts you got me?”

I nodded enthusiastically and answered, “Of course Westra, I’ll make sure the two of us come back safe and sound. You have my word on it.”

She came over to embrace me and when she finally let me go she said, “Alright Swift I’m sure you have other things to do besides saying goodbye to us, so be on your way.”

She made a little shooing gesture and I chuckled at her actions. “You bet Westra, I have to report to Muuntaa, he’s going to teach me about what it takes to be a guard. So I guess I’ll see you both in about a year, unless of course you end up coming to the capitol to visit.”

Kurt laughed at that, “You know we are way too busy to waste a couple of months travelling. Unlike some young layabouts, we actually have work to do and can’t take months off. No no, we’ll see you both in a year, just make sure you come visit with results.”

I smiled and left saying over my shoulder, “You can count on it.”

Then I jogged over to Raha’s place in search of Muuntaa. My search didn’t take very long as he was busy directing the unloading process. Most of the carts were empty by this point, the movers and the guards were just now unloading the last few items. Muuntaa was standing on the last cart that still had anything in it, he was apparently directing traffic. As I got closer Muuntaa caught sight of me, he hopped out of the cart and gave a few last minute directions to one of the guards busy unloading it. Then he made his way over to me. When he got within easy speaking range I said, “So it looks like I’ll be under your care for the next little bit. Please don’t go easy on me, I realized this morning when talking to Raha that I am not very well prepared to lead anyone, so anything you can teach me would be appreciated.”

Muuntaa smiled, but not the friendly kind of smile, it was more like the smile he got when he was about to execute a move that would hurt me a lot. He said, “Oh, have no fear, by the time this journey is over you’ll be a great leader of men, of course I expect you to follow my orders to the letter, and any sign of slacking will result in let’s call it corrective actions on my part. You might want to enjoy this moment for as long as you can because over the next month this will probably be the only bit of rest you get. Breathe it in Swift, because if I’m not lecturing you on your duties I expect you to be either training or solving problems. Raha told me about his plans for you before he left and I asked him to pick this up.”

Muuntaa walked back to one of the carts and grabbed a small book. He handed it over to me and said, “Now I know you can read so I don’t have to teach you like some recruits, but I expect you to read this book and memorize it. It’s given to every officer that joins the Council’s army and you need to know it by heart. Of course book learning only gets you so far, which is why you will be given command of a guard squad on our journey to Tehoton. If you don’t act with confidence and exert control over your squad they will walk all over you. If they walk all over you the squad will become ineffective. If the squad is ineffective people will die. If you prove yourself incapable of command Raha will withdraw his support of your position. He’d rather an asshole that knows how to lead be in charge of the Jalo than someone who can’t cut it.”

I nodded and felt myself tensing up, apparently the friendship that Muuntaa and I had been developing would take a backseat to training. I said, “I understand, where do we begin?”

Muuntaa answered, “We begin with you learning the proper address for your superior. You will call me sir, and when I ask a question you will answer me with Yes Sir, or No Sir. I don’t want excuses or explanations unless I ask for them. The next thing you’re going to do it report to Sargent Kova. She’ll be the one making sure you know what it means to be a guard before we put anyone under your command.”

I answered, “Yes Sir. Who is Sergeant Kova Sir?”

Muuntaa pointed over at the smallest adult Susi I’d ever seen. She stood just shy of six feet tall and had fur colored a midnight black. She directed her subordinates with an air of easy authority and every order she barked out sent a Susi jumping to complete her commands. It was love at first sight, the look of fear she inspired in her subordinate it made something in my nether regions stir… yeah I felt like I was going to piss myself. This woman was not playing around and I was about to go willingly place myself under her command. I never really thought I was an idiot until this moment. I took a deep breath stealing myself for what was to come and jogged over to the intimidating little black Susi.

When I got within 10 feet of her she turned to look at me, her piercing green eyes travelled over the entirety of my body and I felt as if she’d just judged and then dismissed me. I mustered my resolve and said, “Sergeant Kova, Muuntaa just sent me over to report for duty. So here I am reporting as ordered.”

She snorted something that didn’t really suit her small stature but definitely suited her domineering personality. “So you’re Aatto’s kid, the little farm boy that’s got Raha willing to travel to the capitol. I’m not sure what the fuss is all about but I’ll whip you into shape just like any other recruit. So lieutenant farm boy are you ready to finally earn your keep?”

I felt mildly offended at her accusation that I didn’t earn my keep, but I’d seen enough military movies to know that disrespect just came with the territory. I replied, “Yes Sergeant I am ready to earn my keep!”

She smiled, “That’s good to hear lieutenant farm boy, why don’t we go have a spar just to see if you have any real potential.”

I nodded, and said, “Yes Sergeant!”

She grabbed a couple of quarterstaves from one of the carts and then led the way to a relatively flat and open field. She threw me one of the staves and said, "Begin!”

By the time I grabbed the staff from out of the air she was already charging in. Now I’d done some work with Dad to learn how to use a spear, and quarter staves worked along similar principles. So upon gaining a firm grip of the weapon I swung the staff out in order to halt the Sergeant’s charge and give myself a second to formulate a strategy. She didn’t give me a chance to do that, instead she showed off just how much faster than me she was. She ducked under the staff and then launched a thrust at my throat. I redirected the momentum of my swing to parry her thrust, but she had apparently planned for that. Instead of knocking her staff away from my throat she used the contact to redirect her strike into my stomach. I had the breath knocked out of me and my body reacted to the blow by forcing me to bow me head. She followed up her thrust by rotating the back of the quarter staff onto the top of my head. Apparently she didn’t pull the strike because I felt a lot of pain emanating from the top of my head which was followed up by me falling to the ground and then everything fading to black.

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