The day before the beginning of school, Mahon managed to jog at a slow pace. It was not yet a real run, but he considered it a success anyway, given the short time he had been working with. His muscles were much stronger than a month ago, and he was pleased with his progression.

At least he could now walk fast enough that he would not appear to be the weird crippled guy that got into a military school. His physical abilities were limited and he would lose in a fight against a teenager, but at least he didn’t look so at first sight. It would lessen the damage a bit. Maybe.

Mahon dismissed the thought. He had already made his decision regarding the matter, anyway. And to prove his resolution, he was waiting at the Pine Hill Officer Institute entrance for its opening.

From where he was, he couldn’t see any building of the famous school apart from the massive gates made of black steel and gold ornaments. Its metallic base depicted a round hill while the top was made of pikes with golden leafs sprouting here and there. Mahon could see through the top of the entrance and the landscape beyond was the life-size version of the carved doors. A large hill with immense golden leaf pines covering it.

He could not spot more than that though, as the gates were the only see through part of the stone wall circling around the entire property. Turning his head left, Mahon could not even see the end of the said wall. The total size should be gigantic and, given that the place was inside the city, it was a testament to the wealth and prestige of the institute.

Turning his back to the lengthy wall, Mahon observed the people joining the little crowd waiting in front of the gates. Most of them were younger than Mahon, but he spotted a few around his age. The similarities ended there, however. They had come out of luxury horse-drawn carriages accompanied by countless servants and relatives. He had come walking. Alone.

The future officers were easy to spot as they went ahead to meet their friends among the other families and were speaking in groups of two to four, closer to the gates. Whereas the mass of parents and relatives were standing farther away, chatting and laughing, catching the latest news and showing how proud they were to have their sons and daughters accepted into the prestigious school. Servants running errands or standing at duty besides their master could be seen everywhere.

However, Mahon focused on his future comrades. Ignoring the excited crowd, he scrutinized the smaller groups, but as expected, he didn’t recognize anyone. He had spent most of his remembered life in Nightmare and neither physical traits nor face were the same in Nightmare and Ratho.

It had once been theorized that people projected how they saw themselves rather than how they really were. Mahon did not believe in this speculation, but, whatever the real reason was, it remained that if he knew some of them from Nightmare, he couldn’t spot them.

The fact that he knew no one, or at least recognized none, also stood the other way around. Nobody knew who he was. Weird glances were thrown at him once in a while, but it had to be with what he was rather than who.

“Is he a commoner?”

“A commoner enrolled at the Pine Hill Officer Institute? In what world do you think we live?”

To Mahon, it was best that they didn’t know who he was. For a commoner to wait here was already suspicious enough, they didn’t need to know he was also a Nightmare commander. And the one who stopped the Nightmare war, which a part of their economy leaned on.

A loud cough pulled him out of his reverie and silenced the whole assembly. Mahon pivoted to get a better look at the scene. The gates were now half open and in front of them stood a tall man. He looked ageless, with a hint of white in his otherwise black hair. His face was stern, as if he had already seen all there was to life. He emitted a sort of nonchalance and supreme confidence that he somehow transmitted through his cough just seconds ago.

After catching everyone’s attention, the man stepped to the side. Doing so, he opened a path to walk through the door and enter the school. He crossed his arms and scrutinized the groups of young people before calling a name.

“Thaddeus Hilty.”

A young boy jolted forward, like his life depended on its quick reaction. He stopped in front of the imposing man and bowed. The man exchanged a few sentences with him, too low to be heard by anyone other than the two. The boy was listening with rapt attention, not missing a word from the school spokesman.

“Thanks, professor.” the student said while nodding. He then went through the entrance and disappeared behind the wall a few steps afterwards. The professor was back to its initial posture and called another name.

“Allen Traran.”

Another student went forward and, after a few words from the professor, he also went through. Mahon looked around and realized everyone was watching with zealous attention, and a strong feeling of solemn ceremony impregnated the atmosphere.

Except for the one-on-one talk, the sole words heard were the names of the students and nothing else. There were more than two hundred of them in front of the gates, but the professor never made a mistake nor relied on a list. He just spat out the names one by one, from sheer memory. About two third of the students had entered the school when Mahon was called out.

“Mahon.”

So much for a reserved start.

With no last name announced, previous assumptions turned to realities in front of the stunned nobles. Only they had last names. Because they had a family with its own history to rely on. Even if one of them died in Nightmare, they would be given their previous name and history lessons about who they were.

Whereas commoners died by the hundreds. How could they rely on someone else after they lost everything? Everybody they knew before also died in Nightmare. And they could lose everything again at any moment. They were not even sure to keep their first name, why would they need a second for?

Mahon walked to the man, trying his best to move as naturally as possible. Although he managed to act casual, he still drew a lot of weird looks. He was the only commoner from all the students called before, and his name had caught the crowd’s attention.

When he arrived in front of the professor, he mimicked his predecessors and bowed. The man’s face showed nothing and only his lips moved when he spoke to Mahon.

“Welcome to the Pine Hill Officer Institute, Mahon. We rarely accept commoners in our ranks. But as far as I know, this is the first time the old witch praised someone, so we could not miss this occasion. That being said, do not worry. As long as you act properly within our walls, no discrimination will be made between you and the other students. Good luck, Mahon. You may enter.”

The head of the school then resumed his posture as he had done so many times since his appearance and waited for Mahon to leave. Mahon grumbled the same thanks as everyone before him and proceeded inside.

The old witch? Seriously?

Mahon followed the path in front of him and soon arrived at a little esplanade. There was a raised platform with a lectern in front of the only building bordering the place. The other students were all sitting at long tables facing the platform.

A man, dressed as a butler, approached Mahon.

“Hello, sir. You must be Mahon. Please follow me to your seat.”

Without another word, the man turned and walked away. Mahon followed him to the leftmost table, where he pointed at a chair before leaving. The table was the least crowded he had seen. Of the ten available seats, only two were occupied and Mahon took the third.

The two boys at his table watched him settle without a word. In fact, they were not the only ones, as all the tables were eerie quiet. Although it seemed it was not because of him. Once again, Mahon mimicked the other students that seemed to know what was happening much more than him and waited in silence.

After the last student sat at his table, all seats were occupied. Even Mahon’s table of ten was full. There were now four women and five men sitting with him. They continued to look at each other without saying a word, and the silence was becoming oppressive. Soon the same man that had welcomed them at the gates walked to the nearby platform and all heads turned to follow him. He reached the lectern in the middle of it and started his speech.

“Welcome again, all of you. As you may have guessed, I am Ruvyn Fenra, the actual head of the Pine Hill Officer Institute. I’m glad to witness such youth and energy, ready to learn and fight for Ratho. I have high expectations for each of you and I am sure you will not disappoint.”

Even from a distance, Mahon perceived the quick glance in his direction while the professor spoke, but he was sitting so close to the others and the glance had been so quick that every other student must have thought the professor looked at them instead. It was probably done on purpose as every young man and woman unconsciously sat straighter so as not to fail the professor’s trust.

The talk then lasted for several minutes, during which Ruvyn spoke about the history of the school, duties, expectations and the glorious future that awaited them. He concluded his speech shortly after, before anyone got too bored with a never-ending lecture.

“I will now let professor Rym introduce you to the content of your study in our institute. Good luck on your journey, future officers.”

With these last words, the head of school left while a woman took his place behind the lectern.

“Hello everyone, as Head Fenra said, I am professor Rym. I will be responsible for your studies while you are with us.”

The professor was small and thin, but her bare arms and shoulders showed the dense muscles of a practiced warrior. Her strict high bun and blunt fringe were usual among military women. In contrast to her looks, her voice was fluid and melodic, its tone almost mesmerizing. Today, however, its contents mattered more than its charm, and the students were all listening to her words with attention.

“You will stay for several years at this school. During the first months, you will learn about basic topics and practice among yourselves. Then, as you progress, you will face harder challenges and move outside of the school's ground. You will train with the city guards. You will assist warriors in the defense of Ratho. You will fight and kill Amentiae. You will lead units on the battlefield.”

While she spoke, she illustrated her words with visible enthusiasm, moving her hands left and right.

“Don’t fear all these trials because you will never be left alone. As you have two legs that carry you forward, there will be two helping hands lifting you up in difficult times. The first one comes from the table you seat at. Around it are the warriors and friends that will accompany you everywhere you go. They will carry you when you need it the most and you will do the same for them.”

She stopped an instant and everyone observed their table companions with more attention before exchanging quick nods. Further introductions would have to be postponed as the professor pursued her speech.

“The second helping hand comes from all the professors you see around me. They are each an expert in their own field and will guide you to reach untold heights should you seek their path. All these professors should be treated with the respect they deserve. They will now introduce themselves to you.”

What followed was a long procession of professors, men and women of different builds and stature with various kinds of attire and numerous sorts of teachings. Many names and faces that Mahon forgot soon after another one took the podium. Mahon didn’t even try to count, but there had to be at least one hundred of them and he was not alone to sigh in relief when professor Rym finally took over.

“Now that the presentations are done, let me tell you about one last important topic. Everyone leaving this school will be an officer, yes. But you cannot expect the army to have a sweet First Black spot waiting for you at the end of your training. The number of spots in the army is limited. It is very important that you understand this. ”

“I know I said you can rely on the comrades around you. And you can. But you will also have to compete against them to earn the best ranks available.”