Chapter 12

Year 163 – Summer – Quartus Mensis – 40th day

Avem, Town of House Valmai, land of the Vale

Shame haunted Vatra’s mind as she ate her meal. It wasn’t just a wish, but an urge to act and take action. Once her plate was cleaned, Vatra joined the Valmai’s army in their daily training.

When she arrived at the training ground north of the Oluja River, most of the soldiers were striking tree trunks on Ethen’s count while the latest were gearing up. Vatra grabbed a sword and joined the training. Around each tree trunk were stationed four soldiers who were striking it with heavy wooden sword, far too large to cut anything. A quarter-hour later, the Eagle of Vale stood on a wooden platform.

The Eagle – “GRAB A SHIELD AND FORM THREE LINES!”

While the soldiers moved, Vatra picked up a shield and joined the first row. The shields were heavy and quite large. They had an oval shape and covered a large part of her body. The Eagle walked in front of the first line, examining each soldier. Arriving at the fourth soldier, he struck his right leg.

The Eagle – “MOVE IT BACKWARD!”

Soldier – “YES, MY EAGLE!”

He kept walking for a while and struck another on his shield. The man held his shield and kept his stance. The Eagle gave him a sign of approval and moved a step forward before thrusting a soldier on his shoulder.

The Eagle – “KEEP YOUR SHIELD HIGHER.”

Soldier – “YES, MY EAGLE!”

For another 13 men, he kept walking until he reached Vatra. Her stance was good, but her shield was too low and her upper body was exposed. The Eagle thrust toward her shoulder, but she used her training sword to deviate the hit to the right. Ethen stopped his own sword next to the head of another of his men and looked toward Vatra with a mad sight in his eyes.

What’s wrong with him?

The Eagle – “SOLDIER! WALK FORWARD!”

Vatra slowly walked toward him.

The Eagle – “WHAT DID YOU DO WRONG?”

Vatra – “MY SHEILD WAS TOO LOW!”

The Eagle – “WRONG! YOU PUSHED THE BLADE OF YOUR ENEMY TOWARD YOUR ALLY.”

The Eagle turned toward the soldier who had almost received the hit.

The Eagle – “SOLDIER!”

Soldier – “YES, MY EAGLE!”

The Eagle – “WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO GET HIT IN A FORMATION?”

Soldier – “YOU RAISE YOUR SHIELD AND TAKE THE HIT, MY EAGLE!”

The Eagle retreated to his original position and addressed the whole army.

The Eagle – “WHAT PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE GIVEN TO THIS UNDISCIPLINED RECRUIT?”

Soldiers – “TEN STRIKES, MY EAGLE!”

The Eagle stared at Vatra with eyes as cold as winter.

The Eagle – “Soldier! Drop your shield and sword and stand still. If you try to move, I’ll demand the others to hold you.”

Vatra swallowed and dropped her equipment on the ground. She took a deep breath and looked toward the sky fiercely.

Ethen struck her body with his sword so strongly that Vatra spat out the remaining air in her lungs. The pain made her blood boil in her head. She hadn’t completely recovered when the second hit struck her to the ground.

The Eagle – “GET UP!”

Her waist was hurting, but her pride was standing still. One motion at a time, she raised herself back on her feet and waited for the next hit. Strike after strike, her mind was overwhelmed by the pain. When the last strike arrived, Vatra blacked out for a few seconds and fell on her back.

The Eagle – “GET BACK IN THE FORMATION, SOLDIER! NOW!”

She looked at the sky passively as her tinnitus grew stronger. The sun was dark, and red shades escaped from its edges.

The Eagle – “SOLDIER! MOVE BACK TO THE FORMATION!”

Move back to?

She came back to reality. Her commander was screaming at her.

Did I miss the count?

The Eagle – “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING HERE FOR? I SAID TO THE FORMATION!”

Stop screaming!

Vatra – “Yes! My Eagle!”

The Eagle then kept testing the other soldiers one by one until each of them had passed under his sight.

The Eagle – “TODAY, WE ARE GOING INTO THE WOODS. CHANGE YOUR TRAINING SWORD FOR A REAL ONE. I’LL BE WAITING AT THE NORTHERN GATE. ANYONE WHO’S MISSING IN A QUARTER-HOUR WON’T EAT TONIGHT.”

Come on, you’ve got this! The pain’s going to wear off soon . . .

When she arrived at the northern fort, Ethen was looking at an hourglass attached to a necklace.

Vatra – “Is that what you call discipline?”

Ethen – “If you can’t handle it, then I don’t need you as part of my army. Are you a warrior or a weakling?”

Vatra – “I’m a warrior.”

Ethen – “THEN JOIN THE OTHERS AND DON’T COMPLAIN!”

Vatra looked at him with daggers in her eyes.

Vatra – “YES, MY EAGLE!”

Once his hourglass stopped, the Eagle of Vale crossed the drawbridge and joined the soldiers.

The Eagle – “RUN ON MY RHYTHM! FORWARD!”

Soldiers – “YES, MY EAGLE!”

Yes, my Eagle.

Nearly 300 footmen ran on the road heading to Tree-Fall. They ran outside on the road for a quarter-hour before entering a trail in the forest.

The Eagle – “EVERYONE FOLLOW ME!”

Across the various trails, they ran two by two. A quarter-hour later, Vatra was out of breath.

Vatra – “How long . . . are we . . . going . . . to keep . . . running?”

Maelly – “Keep . . . the . . . rhythm . . . don’t . . . waste . . . breath . . . or . . . pu . . . nishment.’’

After half an hour of running, the pain in her chest was growing too strong. Vatra’s vision became blurry, so she gradually stopped running to catch her breath.

I can’t go on . . . It’s too much . . . The sword hit will do.

Once she had her breath back, the soldiers were already far into the forest, so she walked back to the lumber mill. An hour later, when she arrived back at the training camp, the soldiers were already there, and they seemed completely exhausted. Vatra went to the storage to return her sword and shield when the Eagle noticed her.

The Eagle – “You didn’t follow us to the end.”

Vatra – “I couldn’t run anymore.”

The Eagle – “Wrong, you could have, yet you chose not to. The truth is that you can endure much more than you think, but you don’t know it because you lack willpower.”

Vatra – “How many sword hits will it be this time?”

The Eagle – “IN LINE!”

As Vatra joined the soldiers, Ethen grabbed her by the arm.

The Eagle – “Not you.”

The footmen were waiting in line when Ethen brought Vatra to the wooden platform.

The Eagle – “ONE OF YOU HASN’T FINISHED THE RUN. SHE’S HERE IN FRONT OF YOU. WE COULD PUNISH HER, BUT I’M KIND. IF YOU WANT TO HELP HER AVOID THE PUNISHMENT, WE CAN RUN ALL TOGETHER AGAIN. I’LL LET YOU CHOOSE.”

The soldiers of the Vale asked for the punishment.

The Eagle – “YOU THREE, GRAB HER AND HOLD HER.”

Vatra waited, expecting to be hit with the sword again, but the two soldiers knocked her to the ground before holding her hand and head. The Eagle grabbed a bucket full of water and an old rag before walking toward her.

Vatra – “WHAT’S THE MEANING OF THIS, ETHEN!”

The Eagle of Vale – “You think you are strong, but your weak mind limits your potential. I will show you your true limit, so you’ll keep running next time.”

The girl’s eyes were drawn in terror.

Vatra – “AREN’T WE SUPPOSED TO LEARN TO FIGHT?”

The Eagle of Vale – “That’s exactly what we are doing. Your biggest foe isn’t your enemy, but yourself. To become a warrior, you’ll have to overcome your weakness.”

Ethen placed a small rock in her hand.

Ethen – “Close your grip and keep it tight. If you don’t, you might die.”

The girl could hear her own heartbeat through her head in a tantrum of despair.

Vatra – “What . . . will you . . . do?”

The Eagle of Vale – “I’ll make you feel death to teach you where your real limits stand.”

Vatra – “YOU’RE BATSHIT CRAZY!”

He took the rag and pushed it inside her mouth and over her nose, turning her scream to incomprehensible mumbling. He then sat on her leg while holding the water bucket.

No . . . No . . . Not this . . . No! STOP! NO!

No matter how much she tried to move, she was locked tight to the ground. Her slanted eyes were wide open. Her pulse was rising. She could see her reflection in the eyes of her commander as he leaned the bucket forward. The water flowed.

A dirty taste filled her mouth. Time seemed to be slowing down as she held her breath. Her eyes became bloodshot. Her muscles were contracting themselves. Her blood pressure rose. Like a war drum, her heart was beating.

A second passed, and another, and yet another. The pressure was too high. Vatra had to breathe. Her lungs contracted, but the tension grew stronger and stronger. Seconds were passing. The pain in her chest was too strong. She couldn’t hold her breath anymore.

In the blink of an eye, her muscles let go. The water reached her throat, making her choke sporadically. The water was filling both of her lungs and stomach. Her muscles were asphyxiating as if her whole body was tearing itself apart. A dreadful grip was crushing her pained heart. With all her might, she helplessly tried to free herself. Overflowing out of her mouth, the water streamed into her eyes. All of a sudden, it became silent. Not even tinnitus seemed to reach her mind. The pain was dissipating, and a calmness took its place as her vision grew blurry.

Something far in her sight had appeared. It was a humanoid shape made from neither flesh nor bones, but from some kind of dark smoke. It was a girl. It was herself and was hovering away.

Vatra released the stone she was holding. Ethen dropped the bucket on the ground and pulled the rag out of her throat.

Ethen – “TURN HER AROUND, NOW!”

Together, they turned the girl upside down. Barely conscious, she vomited her guts out. Once she stopped throwing up, tears streamed down her face before dripping from her nose to the ground. Ethen came close to her head and spoke in a composed, severe voice.

Ethen – “You are alive, and had you kept running, you would have still lived. One day, in the midst of battle, when every muscle of your exhausted body will beg you to give up, when your fate will seem sealed, and when your mind will be taken by a dreadful despair, that day, you will remember what it feels like to die, and you will keep fighting until your bones break. And if you keep fighting long enough, then that day might not be your last. Vatra Xīwàng, you want to be a soldier of Avem? Act like one!”

The Eagle then walked back to the front of his men.

The Eagle – “I WANT EVERYONE TO SPLIT INTO PAIRS OF TWO FOR THE LAST TRAINING SESSION.”

The soldiers were moving around. Vatra was still trying to catch her breath when Marco, the second-in-command, sat next to her.

Marco – “I know it might seem really harsh, but we all did it. I mean, usually you do the militia first, so we were more ready than you might be right now, but he’s doing this to protect us. Once you get to the battlefield, you’ll understand what I mean by that. Anyhow, I’ll be your training partner for today. So, if you get tired, we can slow down.”

Vatra looked at him in the eye with a dreadful sorrow, too exhausted to answer.

The Eagle – “ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR PARTNER, GO PICK UP A TRAINING SPEAR AND A SHIELD.”

Marco – “Take your breath; I’ll go pick up your equipment.”

When Marco came back, Vatra got back up in a frail movement while preparing for their sparring. For the next hour, she ended up sparring with Marco like a mindless beast, too tired to think, until Ethen finally gave them the signal to end training for the day.

Finally . . .

Marco – “Let’s get you a decent meal, shall we?”

Vatra – “Yeah . . . Let’s do that.”

Both returned to the barrack to eat, but once they arrived, Vatra was so tired that she slept on the table before receiving her meal. Marco then picked a meal and left it next to her head, so she could eat once she woke up.