"Welcome to the war room, Lara." Vance Started with a chuckle as he waved his arms around in a sweeping motion, "And got what?"

"Ah-- right, sorry, but, uh... I came up with a proper working design for the breach loaded weapon you had me looking into." She replied, walking past the others, giving each a nervous nod in greeting as she made her way towards Vance. "Here, check this out." Sprawling the first and most prominent of the scrolls tucked under her arm across the desk, she began to point to a rather detailed drawing of a rifle.

Vance gave it a quick look over, his High Human mind already beginning to see the strengths and tiny adjustments made to the design he had given her. It was impressive stuff, The details being particularly attention-grabbing from how she was going to use runes to ignite a charge within a unique shell that would act as a container for another minor spell. That minor spell would then project a slug forward with a velocity greater than a modern small arms bullet. A quick calculation in his head told him this was likely on the scale of a .50 calibre, minus the recoil. When Vance had recalled the design of the old needle gun the Prussians had devised in his past world, he had no way of knowing that Lara would improve the design so much that it'd be as deadly if not more so than a modern weapon.

"Wow-- this is impressive stuff, Lara. How'd you?-"

"-How'd I manage to come up with the rune?!" She quickly laid the other scrolls down, showing each rune and bullet design she had drawn up in that short span of time, prompting a somewhat overwhelmed expression from Vance.

"Woah, woah, slow down, Lara, just... give me the quick rundown of your idea here," Vance said with a chuckle.

Lara nodded and took a deep breath, "S-sorry! I, I guess I got a little too excited, haha..."

"A little?" Chimed Richard, who came up beside her.

Richard raised a brow, somewhat impressed by what he was seeing, but yet also didn't seem too surprised by it either. Instead, it appeared as though he was ultimately used to seeing such amazing things, which prompted a curious look from Vance.

"You don't seem all that surprised by this?" Vance commented.

Richard shrugged, "Why should I be? You and I both know who she's the champion of, and from you I can roughly see that this is normal now."

Vance tilted his head with a shrug, "True."

"U-umm... I'm standing right here."

"Ah, sorry, it's just, this is some impressive stuff, Lara. I'm honestly surprised you managed to come up with a whole schematic in under a few hours." Vance said with some astonishment.

Lara seemed to beam with pride at that assertion, "Thanks! I just-- well, after getting my hands on this hammer, I've just been flooded with all these ideas, and I completely understand how to make things I would never have thought possible. Hell, I even know how this palace works!" She noted.

Raising his hand up to slow her down again, "Alright, alright, I get it, that's good, and I'll likely come to you for answers about this place later, but for now, I just want to know if you can make us a working prototype within a month?"

Lara nodded, "Yes, I can likely get a working model out in a week, actually." She replied confidently. "Just need to get a few materials from the mountain here, and I can start work on the first prototype tomorrow if you allow it."

Nodding in approval, Vance looked to Richard, "Granted, take Richard here to help guide you. He knows this mountain better than anyone and can likely show you where the best places are for whatever you need."

"I can do that. It'll give me some time to get to know Miss Mountainhelm as well." Richard replied.

Lara looked over at the horned redhead, a nervous expression quickly formed over her face, "This-- Okay..." She couldn't quite say no, as she didn’t rightly know where anything was.

With a small smile, Vance motioned for the door, "Then, I'd recommend you both get going. There's still time left in the day before we should all get some sleep. I'll need everyone up and ready for the next couple of days!" Vance started, pushing himself up to his feet, "In a weeks’ time, the recruits will be waiting at the muster point near the Luna Garrison, meaning we got to perfect this schedule of ours if we plan to make the best unit in the world." Vance announced to everyone in the room.

Looking back at Lara and Richard now, "In the meantime, I want you two to work together on this, more so as it pertains to the Wyverns as well, since part of the later training will be teaching those select few how to fire from a mounted position."

Both nodded in agreement, "Will do!" Lara chimed, beaming with excitement as she snapped off a salute.

Richard, for his part, just silently nodded in the affirmative, following closely behind Lara as the two made their exit from the room. Estrid and William both gathered their notes and made their own silent exits as their own heads were filled with ideas and plans that would likely keep them up all night. With everyone gone, Vance was left alone. Turning to look outside the stained glass window, he began to dwell on the future. A great many questions still needed answering, such as who 'E' was and whether they were going to launch another attack on the town of Luna. Then there was the new wild card in the deck, in the form of the Lancer Colonel from earlier. Vance still knew little about the Colonel beyond his unkept and unfashionable exterior and criminal connections, which made him a threat.

"Well-- no point waiting around." Vance thought as he looked over his shoulder towards the documents that littered his desk and table.

---

In the days leading up to the first batch of recruits showing up, everyone had put themselves to work, trying to perfect the system of which Vance had come up with, while Lara and Richard were off working on the new weapon and ammunition. Vance himself had to work closely with Estrid and William, showing them what he meant, detailing out how they'd go about educating their potential Marines. For that whole week, it was essentially a minor form of basic training for the two individuals who had just recently become officers of some rank -- Captain and Major-- which meant they had far more to remember.

Thankfully, things were done in time, and as Vance marched out, wearing his usual civilian attire, he watched the recruits funnel into their assigned area, with each area marked with chalk with the platoon number. Standing in silence on a makeshift stage, he scanned the group assembled before him, paying them a silent nod of respect before finally breathing in to speak.

"Welcome! All of you! As you know, this is an extraordinary moment in the history of not only Luna but that of Kendirewen and Tavaria." He started, his voice carrying out across the crowd. "What you'll be taught in these three months is more than any other soldiers alive has ever been taught. You'll be broken down and moulded into better versions of yourselves-- Stronger versions, able to face down any foe that comes your way. If you manage to persevere through this new form of Basic Training, you'll all have earned the right-- no, the honour of calling yourselves a Dragon Marine." A hush came over the crowd, each individual looking up at Vance, hanging on his every word, "No matter what you may choose to become within the Marines, you will be a soldier. You will be a Dragon Marine! If you're a steward, you'll have more training and understanding of battlefield tactics than a standard officer of line infantry. If you're a Dragon Marine Infantier, you'll be elite, far superior than even the vaulted Kendirewen Grenadiers!" The excitement in everyone was now evident in everyone.

Each man, woman, and individual standing in column formation was hungry to start.

"Then... there are those lucky few who will earn the honour of bonding with a Wyvern. Out of all eight hundred recruits, only a hundred will be lucky enough to bond with a Wyvern and know that it is not up to us whether you're selected, but rather the Wyvern themselves. Like us, they are intelligent creatures-- beings who pick their riders, not the other way around. Meaning even if you turn out to be going into a support trade, know that if a Wyvern chooses you as their partner, you have an obligation to ride them into battle, to care for, to nurture, and live together as one! Just as I do with my partner, Magic! A bond of trust must be created-- will be created. But know this, even if you are a rider, this bond won't merely extend to your Wyvern-" Pausing he let the words stew in their minds, "-But will also be a bond with each other. The purpose of this new training will not only build you into a proper soldier but will also build an unbreakable bond between the man, woman, or individual beside you. Each and every one of the people next to you will be your family; I will be your family. All you'll know and have to rely on should the time come for us to go to war will be the person next to you! For We Are Dragon Marines!" Vance shouted.

Everyone cheered, howled, and cried out the unit name, "Marines, Marines, Dragon Marines!" The chant carried out across the muster point, prompting onlookers to feel the energy radiating off the recruits.

Vance glanced over to Estrid, who stood at his side, "Think this will help inspire others to join?"

"Of that, I have no doubt," Estrid answered. "Question now, though, is whether each individual here will keep to it. What you laid out for them isn't going to be easy, and I have my doubts that even the Adventurers will be sticking around long." She sighed, noting how they were going to be treated like the rest.

Vance nodded, pursing his lips in thought, "True. For now, though, we focus on getting those who stick with it through these three months. We have over eight hundred recruits to train and only six months to do it all in. I intend to get each and every individual possible ready for when we're eventually called to war."

Estrid couldn't disagree; she knew the risks; she knew what they faced if they failed to achieve the results promised to Franz. A lot was riding on them, and the town of Luna needed them to succeed. With no Adventurer Guild left to bring in travellers, there was little hope to rebuild the economy that had been trashed by the goblin attacks and by the previous lord that had turned traitor. The last lord-- another individual threat Vance and Estrid had to contend with. While they had received word he had been stripped of his titles and land, there was still the question of where he was hiding and if he'd return.

For that reason, Vance had spent a few days helping Lara and Richard gather the materials necessary to complete the first prototypes. If completed in time, there was a chance they could use them to deadly effect against any possible incursions into the region. For now, though, both officers pushed aside the thought as they focused on the soldiers before them, as there was the first week to complete, which would require some time, given how many looked to be a tad bit out of shape.

"Let's get down to business to defeat the foe," Vance whispered with a smirk.