“I definitely have to inform the generals about what has happened here, they will come up with how they want to proceed,” Major Tisen thought.

Lisla Tisen’s report was extensive. What this boy had done was unbelievable and frankly distressing. Something that large, with that much detail, and the sensory aspect as well was something she had only dreamed of being able to accomplish and this boy did it, not even being conscious. One of these three would have been impressive, two was phenomenal, but three… three was terrifying. Some masters had been Padrins for decades that couldn’t accomplish such a feat. Lisla concluded that it was because he was unconscious that Advos could manage it. Her reasoning being, that in that state, his mind was free of inhibitions and logic and doubt, and he acted on pure impulse believing that he could do anything. That didn’t make it any less dangerous, and Lisla was still trying to find out how he had that much raw energy to tap into being a level one. Even in such an uninhibited state, she still couldn’t work out how he didn’t turn into a Syndas. Advos had been lucky this time, but should something like this happen again there would be no telling the carnage that would ensue. Lisla was not a fan on relying on luck, and something like this needed intense further. Lisla sent her report with the crew of the transport ship that picked up Advos. She gave clear instructions on whom it was to be delivered, and even more detailed guidance on how Advos was to be observed, before heading back to her posting in Bontai. The followers of Ishira were much more militaristic focused than the other god temples. They referred to themselves as the Legion of Ishira, more commonly known as The Legion. They were very regimented with their chain of command and military rankings and viewed themselves as soldiers above all things. Their core belief was that their training and discipline would be even more useful than solely relying on their Padrin powers. So they function primarily as an army. When Major Tisen had explained all this to Advos, it was more off-putting, then he believed Lisla had intended. The life of a professional soldier for the rest of his life wasn’t what Advos envisioned for himself in the least. “What have I gotten myself into?” Advos thought laying in his cabin on the ship, as he could hear people doing their morning runs through the hall. The other soldiers on the ship extended an offer to him to join them many times when he was in the ship's galley. “This is something you will have to get used to pretty fast, you might as well start now” a lieutenant, not much older than Advos had tried to convince him. But Advos had been on the ship for two days and hadn’t left his cabin to do much more than eat and shower. The communal shower was also something he was less than keen to get used to. His family wasn’t wealthy, but they were well enough off for him to have his own private bathroom, and going from that to a unisex communal bathroom was a huge contrast to get over. He wasn’t ashamed of his body, but the little regard for personal space or modesty was unsettling. “Remember, you asked for this, my son.” Advos immediately sat up, looking around the room searching for who was talking to him. Upon seeing that the door was still closed, he realized it was coming from directly in his mind. “Just something else that will be hard to get used to dealing with.” He thought to himself. “I know I asked for your help, I just didn’t think it meant all of this!” He attempted to send a mental reply. “You may not see it now, but you are on a great path to succeed.” “Succeed at what? Being a soldier? What kind of life is that?” He didn’t get a response, which only frustrated him more. He punched hard into the pillow on the bed, pushing through the thin material and striking the solid metal frame below. Shaking his hand in pain and frustration, he laid back down and stared at the ceiling, listening to the shouts and stomping of feet outside his door. After six days aboard a cramped transport ship, Advos had finally arrived at Optimore-Fi. After the fourth day, mostly out of boredom, he had finally consented to the daily run with the troops aboard the ship. It was that, or sit in his room lamenting over his thoughts the entire day. So he, albeit reluctantly, chose to lament anyway but to break it up with a bit of running. It became painfully apparent to him that he wasn’t even close to being able to keep up with the soldiers. By the end of the first lap, he was out of breath, and they were still preparing for 4 more, and that had been with Advos pushing himself to keep up with them. The ship touched down on the landing pad, and one lieutenant came to help him collect his things. “You got all your stuff? Because this ship won’t be on world long, and you won’t have a chance to retrieve anything you forgot.” the lieutenant told him as she stood in the doorway, watching Advos pack the last of his belongings. “I think so.” Advos replied before muttering under his breath “I wasn’t allowed to bring that much, anyway.” They had only allowed him had only one case for belongings. It wasn’t as if he had a lot of stuff he wanted to bring, but it was another restriction that just seemed arbitrary. “Can I have a few minutes, please?” He requested from the soldier. After he saw her nod to him, Advos sat down on the bed and pulled up the interface from the wrist, and typed out a quick message to his parents telling them he had arrived. Optimore- Fi was light years from his home planet of Maladon Prime, and it would be weeks before they got the mass of messages he had been sending. But the effort of sending them made him miss them just a little less. “Okay, I’m ready,” he announced as he grabbed his case and headed to the door of his little room. The lieutenant saw the look on his face, and she felt bad for Advos. “This place isn’t nearly as bad as you think it is.” The soldier said as she walked in front of him leading him off the ship. “I’m sure you will grow to love it in time as all of us do.” She smiled as she looked back at him. Her kind and supportive words did nothing to change the morose expression on his face. Advos wasn’t really her type, but she had to admit that he was attractive, or at least he would be if only he would quit acting like such a victim and embrace what was happening to him. Joining the Citadel was jarring at first, she could concede, but it was such a fantastic place once you got used to it, she thought as they walked through the corridors of the ship. Stepping off the ship, Advos’s jaw dropped, stunned at the sight before him. Optimore-Fi orbited a blue gas giant, Arivox, that filled a portion of the sky. The light of the star tinted everything in a dull blue color. It created an incredible calm feeling that washed over him in a way he had never felt before, but that was nothing compared to the Citadel. Walls of grey granite were erected in a six-point star pattern. In the middle stood a massive polished white alabaster structure that was the size of a city. The towering building was made up of what appeared to be large squared off slabs arranged into a pyramid formation six levels high. There was no reference that Advos could make that would come close to being a comparison for this place. “I told you it wasn’t so bad.” The lieutenant said so closely, it seemed like she was speaking directly into his ear. That broke Advos out of his stupor. “Th... that is the Citadel?” he asked bewilderedly. “Yep, that is your new home. Our home,” she said, giving him a wink. A man dressed in full uniform exited a car directly in front of them that Advos had not even noticed before that moment. He was wearing a dark grey suit, white clasps ran along his right side, holding the jacket closed. On the left side, there was a triangular cut garnet, that rounded on the sides, above a nameplate that read ‘Erban.’ Advos made a note of the fact that he looked the same as Major Tisen, down to the gem. The lieutenant accompanying Advos quickly stood at attention and saluted the man as he walked towards them. “Lieutenant!” The man said addressing her. “Sir!” She replied directly “I have Recruit Klorda here, and a message from Major Tisen.” with that she lowered her salute and presented a small box to the man. “Thank you, Lieutenant.” He stated as he took the box “and welcome Mr. Klorda. We will get you situated shortly. How was your trip?” the man said with no real emotion on his face, giving the feeling that this was a chore he would very much like to get over with. “I... uh… It was fine.” Advos responded timidly, surprised by the man’s shift in focus. “Good! I am Major Erban, they sent me to retrieve you and this message. Please follow me!” he said as he bade Advos to follow him back to the car. Advos quickly picked up his case and gave an anemic wave to the lieutenant, and he hurried to catch up to the major. The lieutenant smiled at him as he walked away, but by the time Advos reach the car she was gone. He wondered for a moment if he would ever see her again, then realized he hadn’t even been polite enough to ask her name. Without giving it a second thought, he climbed into the car. The trip to the Citadel was a blur. Advos was sure that Major Erban had been talking to him, but he couldn’t recall anything the man had said. His brain was taking in just how mesmerizing this place was. The scale was massive, and the calming feeling over the whole place was palpable. He was utterly captivated by the scenery outside as the car moved ever closer to the walls. When the car stopped, Advos noticed they were now inside the walls. Manicured fields of grass were subdivided off in all directions, and ringed with neat, exceptionally maintained walkways. People were milling about everywhere, training, running, and exercising. The doors to the car opened and Major Erban exited. He stood there waiting for Advos for an uncomfortable amount of time before bending his head back in. “Let’s move it, I don’t have all day!” He barked. “I... I’m so sorry!” Advos stammered as he grabbed his case and quickly scrambled out of the car. “Well then, let’s go, follow me.” The major’s brisk tone signifying that Advos had upset him. Advos sheepishly followed the major for what seemed like a mile at least. Past the plots of grass and training equipment, there was a small town’s worth of buildings. They arrived at a structure nearly as big as Advos’s school, and it made sense as he learned it was the training barracks. As they entered, an aging short man standing behind a desk greeted them. “We have a new recruit, his name is Advos Klorda, make sure you get him what he needs.” Erban stated. “Yes, sir!” the older man responded. With that, Erban gave Advos a curt, cold nod and left. “Follow me please.” the man said as he walked from behind the desk. Advos noticed that he wasn’t wearing a uniform like all the other soldiers. “I am Despirax, Despirax Lifen, pleased to meet you. Advos was it?” the man asked with a warm smile and a relaxed drawl. “Um... yes,” Advos replied, jarred from the drastic change in demeanor between the Erban and this man. “Pleased to meet you, Despirax. I don’t think you mentioned your rank as that seems to be a big thing around here” a hint of vitriol in his voice. “Oh, I’m not a soldier,” Despirax said to Advos’s surprise. “I thought everyone was a soldier here.” “Oh gods no, there would be no way this place could function like that. No, there is a large group of us non-Padrin-types living in the Citadel that keep things running smoothly. I, for instance, am just in charge of the team making sure that this training barracks is well stocked, and everyone gets what they need. And here is your dorm.” The man stopped in front of a door with the code ‘3C’ painted on it in block lettering. Despirax pressed his PRISM device, that looked very different from the one Advos was wearing, to the door, and it immediately slid open. The room was stark and bare. Inside were four beds, stacked two high, with a row of two trunks on either side pressed against the walls, each with a smaller box on top. “You are actually the first person in this room, so I’ll let you pick whichever bed you like,” Despirax said, slapping Advos hard on the back, to the point the boy almost fell forward on his face. “Thanks!” Advos grunted as he tried to regain his balance. He then took the bottom bunk, placing his case on top of it, planning to make it easier to unpack. “Ah, I also need you to step to the center of the room, please!” Despirax said, forgetting to measure the boy. He pulled a small device from his pocket and pointed it Advos. A pale blue light emitted from the device, scanning Advos from head to toe. “Turn around, please” Despirax bade as they continued the process. “Good, your uniforms should be ready shortly, in the meantime, you can unpack your things and get your space ready. In that box, you’ll find sheets, a blanket, and a pillow.” He said pointing to one box atop the trunks. “Thank you” Advos responded hesitantly, having so many questions but feeling like this wasn’t the time to ask. “I’ll send someone by later to give you a tour of the building, and I’ll get your new PRISM, it’s a heavily modified version of that one you have there,” Despirax said as he pointed to Advos’s wrist. Advos noted how upbeat and jovial the man was. He had assumed everyone would be as icy and unfriendly as Major Erban. It was a relief that maybe it was just the major, and not everyone here. Despirax left the room, and Advos slowly unpacked his things. “Well, I guess this is it,” he thought to himself. It wasn’t long before he finished unpacking the few things he had and Despirax came back. The older man had given him five pairs of clothes, four training uniforms, and one dress uniform. He also received a pair of boots, several pairs of socks, a belt, and a new smaller PRISM that matched the one Despirax had used earlier. Despirax was kind enough to transfer all of his data and contacts before taking away his old one. Despirax ended up having to take him around the barracks because no one else was available. Advos now roughly knew where the bathrooms, mess, and gym were, though it would definitely take some time before he felt comfortable wandering around alone trying to find them. “I was told to tell you, that you have this day to rest and get acclimated before things start for you tomorrow” Despirax relayed as they got back to Advos’s bunk. “So I would take the time because it will probably the last bit of free time you will have for a long time,” Despirax added, chuckling as he left the room, the door sliding back into place behind him. Advos had almost hoped they could start right away considering it was the only thing he would think about anyway while he sat in the room alone. He decided to play with his new PRISM, fiddling with the setting and preferences. It had a lot of military modules on it, for communication, vehicle access, and maps of the buildings highlighting the rooms he could access. He took a moment to write to his family again I’m just writing to tell you I’m doing fine. Things are going really well, the planet looks impressive, and I am meeting tons of new people. I miss you all very much. Love you all. He found it was just easier to lie to them about how happy he was; it was better for them not to worry. He hit send on his new device, and the message and screen disappeared. At that moment, a loud roar came from his stomach. “I guess I haven’t really eaten today,” Advos thought as he got up and made his way to the mess hall. He read the menu on the wall, and for the first time in a week, he was excited. ‘Roasted sovocet and poplops’ appeared at the top. “My favorite dish and a taste of home is the perfect thing to get me out of my rut.” He thought as he got into the line. He smiled at the cook, something he hadn’t done since things with Corvin had escalated. After getting his food, he scanned the room full of tables and elected to sit at an empty one near the exit. His mouth was watering as he dug into the meal. Advos’s heart dropped to the floor as he tasted the first bite. It wasn’t even close to anything his mother made. The sovocet meat was dry and grainy, and the poplops were hard and undercooked. Involuntarily he began to cry, tears slowly hitting the table in an arrhythmic cadence. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.