Their small army was moving south slowly along the old Imperial highway. A remnant from the Age of the Gods, the highways were considered the most useful things the Levaine Imperium had ever created. A means of projecting their power and expanding their trade network, the Imperium had moved their great armies along the network of roads with superior speed to wherever they were required. The highways that had survived the Veil and subsequent magical conflicts became strategic interests that were heavily patrolled and protected.

The road they were currently following was officially designated as the ‘Grand Southern Highway’, but was commonly known as the ‘Long Road South’. Stretching almost 2000 miles from the Capital, down through the Lichten pass and into the heartlands of the Illati Kingdom, the smooth undulating road was the major thoroughfare for all traffic heading to and from the south.

Passing through the rich pasturelands and the mines along the border, the highway was dotted with many villages and towns that had sprung up alongside due to the trade that flowed towards the Capital. Minerals, crystals, livestock and grain in huge quantities were brought by merchant caravans all year round. At harvest time, wagons would span as far as the eye could see, a veritable sea of trade goods and resources heading north.

The distance to the Florenzi fortress would take almost two months to cover they had determined. It was possible to march faster with the aid of the wagons and reach within six weeks, but that would put strain on the inexperienced troops, so in consultation with the veterans of the force, they employed a regimen of training while on the march, with occasional stops for mock battles.

By the second day they had already developed a routine of 6 days marching and 4 days of training every week. Marching, weapons training, and skills development, the Sergeants of the Companies had prepared a schedule that ran the troops ragged. Orchid had lost interest quickly when he realized that the training was repetitive and required little oversight from the Cadets. He’d tried at first to involve himself with the soldiers but had been told in no uncertain terms by Sergeant Kowalski to maintain his distance and focus on planning. His efforts to determine what sort of planning officers did in general had left him stymied and by the third day had forced him into an uncomfortable conversation with their accompanying instructor.

“Go think about it yourself.” The captain said.

“Captain, it’s only after I thought about it for several days that I came to you.” Orchid tried to tamp down on his frustration.

“You’re a Cadet and this is your company. We’ve taught you how to operate when you’re in charge of your own force, but we’re not like the Romanche and their strict adherence to protocol and hierarchy. Your forces will act and develop as you see fit.” She’d glared at him with a withering look. “Or have you forgotten your lessons. Why do we operate like this?”

Responding to the question like he was in class, Orchid immediately recited. “When a mage is placed in charge of a military unit, their unique abilities make it impossible for the unit to operate as normal. Early experiments at forcing standardization impacted the efficiency of forces drastically, so, with the Rose Rebellion mages had greater leeway in structuring and operating their units within the limits of military laws. In essence, as long as it works, do what you want. It’s why each of us are training our companies separately.”

“If you know that Cadet, go figure it out. It’s like your Sigils, no one can help you.” Losing interest in him, she had gone back to training her martial skills.

Not receiving any help from the instructor, he had then proceeded to meet with the other Cadets to study their approaches. Watching Justain charging at the head of his men or Rock blasting tons of Earth spikes and boulders over the heads of a defensive line, hadn’t given him much inspiration. In the end, he had settled on following the standard pattern of acting as mobile artillery and magical defense in the few joint sessions he held with 7th Company.

The Sergeant had seemed satisfied that he wasn’t introducing too many changes into their routine. It had been a strange feeling to receive such a deferential lecture from the Sergeant. The contrast between her tough demeanor and measured words were a glimpse into a life in the military. The joint training with his troops took up very little of his time, as it was scheduled for only one day in the week. Trying to keep himself busy he had taken to preparing reports on their supplies and training for the entire force, but that took much less time than he’d expected.

By the end of the second week the boredom was getting to Orchid. The interesting sights had become a blur of people and buildings that made him feel that nothing would ever change. He’d never realized how difficult he found following a routine. With another six weeks left, he turned to stalking the camps in search of amusement, a bag of apples in hand. Most of the other Cadets were in similar positions, but were spending time together in their groups to combat the tedium. Within his own group, Gertrude remained aloof and Leon was so focused on practicing with his axe, they never managed to develop anything beyond a professional rapport during the last two weeks.

The solution to his problems came about in an unexpected manner.

Strolling by the soldiers as they set up camp for the night, Orchid maintained a stern expression. His walks during the evening were carried out erratically as he dodged his guards. If they knew where and when he was going, Jensen would bring his squad to shadow him, much to Orchids chagrin.

The company of 100 was divided into 4 squads of 25 soldiers each. Each squad had at least one device specialist and medic, but this number varied based on the availability of the specialized recruits. Each squad was further subdivided into 5 files of 5 soldiers. The file was the smallest unit of soldiers within the army of the Kingdom and it was around the file that everything was designed. Each file would have a tent and cookware to be shared among them. The supplies that they brought were also prepared to be distributed to each file per day.

Watching the tents go up quickly gave Orchid a sense of satisfaction. Even though he was not responsible for any of the soldiers’ achievements, compared to the speed at which camp had been set up initially, the difference was significant and was entirely due to the hard work of his Sergeant. Kowalski was like a hurricane, always showing up whenever there seemed to be the slightest problem and more importantly fixing whatever the issue may be. Efficiency was her middle name and Orchid was impressed with her more every day, making sure to study her actions.

Being late for his walk after a meeting with Jensen, Orchid happened to be passing by when he saw Kowalski hunched over beside a small fire. Curiosity gnawed at him so he walked up to her.

“What are you doing Kowalski?”

“Carving, sir.” She replied with a small salute. Raising the half-carved figure in her hand, she gestured with her knife. “It’s a hobby of mine.”

“Carving? Not to sound insulting but that doesn’t seem like something you’d do.” Passing her an apple he sat across from her on a rock.

“It’s something my mother taught me.” She responded curtly.

“Like I said Sergeant, I don’t mean to insult you. What are you making?”

“It’s a wolf. Saw one a few days ago.” Seeing him staring at her curiously she added. “It looked very honorable.”

“Wolves? That sounds difficult to carve.”

“It’s not that bad, sir. Carving takes time and effort, you start with a few shapes and before you know it you have something worthwhile on your hands.” Reaching into a bag at her side she pulled out a small figurine of some type of bird.

Taking the carving into his hand, Orchid was astonished at how realistic it was, the feathers seeming to sway in the wind.

“I’m not sure what this is, but it’s amazing sergeant.” Orchid breathed as he held it up to the light from the fire.

“It’s a hobby sir. The military can leave you with lots of free time. Once your training is done there’s not really anything to do. Most of us veterans pick up a hobby of some sort that can keep us busy during those long hours.”

“I’ve felt that recently. Especially when we’re marching like this from one place to another.”

The sergeant smiled at him before turning back to her carving. Eating an apple from his bag, Orchid watched her as she carved. Her movements were almost hypnotic and he lost himself in the smooth movements of her knife. There was a soft swishing sound as chips and slivers of wood fell away from the carving, exposing more of the wolf with each slice. Time passed without him realizing and before long he was walking back to his own tent.

The image of Kowalski’s carving wouldn’t leave his mind and so it was that the next day he sat on a wagon, a block of wood and strengthened bone knife in hand. Staring at the wood for a while, he gently cut into it with his knife. Seeing the shaving fall onto the road, he felt a deep satisfaction. Continuing with his work, he slowly shaved away at the wood. His eyes traced the woodgrains and the sounds of their march slowly vanished as he carved.

Around their midday break, he stared at the misshapen lump of a carving in his hand. His attempt at carving a glyph had failed miserably. Frowning in thought, he considered the mistakes he had made in his work.

“Maybe I should try something simpler for a first attempt.” He muttered and took out another piece of wood.

The next carving was meant to be a simple cube.

It wasn’t.

“What did I do wrong that time?”

“You don’t have much talent for that, do you?” Anna’s ephemeral voice came from his side.

Turning to see Anna standing with the Rat at her side he considered his options before speaking. “It’s not a matter of talent. It’s practice. Without practice, how can you get better?”

“What about practicing with your Sigils or formations?” Rat suggested.

“I practice my skills regularly.” He said defensively.

“Oh, you’re in one of those moods.” Anna remarked, tossing her still purple hair over her shoulder. The Rat looked at her in confusion while Orchid turned his eyes away in embarrassment. “Whenever he gets confused and bored he starts behaving really strange. Little Purple just finds it impossible to sit still, he always has to have something to do.” She explained. “So, what’s bothering you Orchid?”

“Nothing Anna. Stop being so inquisitive. I just wanted to take up a new hobby.”

“A hobby which you have no talent for.” Rat offered from the side to which Orchid just scowled.

“I doubt you came here just to insult me. What do you want?” Orchid wasn’t interested in talking about his boredom.

“We want your help. Two weeks from now we’ll be reaching the city of Bismark and we need your support for some things we want to acquire there.” Anna said airily.

“What do you need from the city of artists?”

“It’s not important.”

“That’s way too suspicious, either you tell me or I won’t help.”

“Just consider it a favor, little Purple.” Anna stamped her foot in anger, trying to enforce her will.

Ignoring her, he stared at the Rat.

“I know some people at the Auction house.” Rat explained, ignoring Anna’s strangled cry. “They tell me that there are some special herbs that Anna said she wants being auctioned off.”

“Why would they still have any of what you want by the time we get there?”

“They’re selling three sets of the plant every day for the next month.” Anna’s sullen expression was strange, considering that it was just a plant.

“What plant?” Orchid’s suspicion just kept increasing at her evasiveness.

“Heart’s Blood vine.” Anna blushed and looked around as if she was worried someone would overhear.

“I don’t think I’ve heard of it before. What’s it used for?”

“Are you going to help or not?” Her voice was strained and her face was turning red. Orchid knew that this wasn’t the time to pressure her further.

“I’ll help. What do you need? Money?” He asked raising his hands defensively.

“Money, commercial ability and protection.” Anna clarified.

“Protection? While Rat’s with you?” Orchid was astonished. Rat may not be the strongest of the Cadets, but in the sort of close quarters fighting that you’d experience in a street, he’d pit her against the best anyone else could offer.

“Trust me, Orchid. We need you.” Rat said. Her voice soft and convincing.

“Can I bring someone along?” Orchid asked, already planning how to get the best deal for them.

“Yes, that’s fine.” Looking relieved, Anna made some more small talk before taking Rat away back to their Companies.

It’s just buying a plant. It will be a good diversion.

Going back to his carving, Orchid took out another block of wood as he whiled away the time till they reached Bismark.