The Legarthan Saga

Chapter 15

"You there! Keep your arms closer to your body! The last thing you want is your arms throwing off your center of gravity. All it takes is a momentary lapse and then you're on the ground with a sword through your gut! It's a miracle you survived that battle with a form like that!"

Kailyn shouted at the men she was overseeing during their training. With her now officially having switched back to the loyalist cause, Axton had placed her in charge of overseeing the evening training, considering she had more experience in both combat and overseeing training sessions. However, not everyone, especially those who lost close friends during the battle, were eager to take orders from a woman who had, just a day earlier, betrayed their country and was their enemy.

To combat that, Axton stood close by, watching over the troops while observing how Kailyn ran the training session. Sure, he had learned how to during his time at the academy, but actually watching it in action was a thousand times more valuable than any book or lesson the academy had to offer.

As the swordsmanship lessons began to wind down, Kailyn stood on the platform, letting the troops talk for a bit before telling them to quiet down. Most listened, however a few continued to talk, completely ignoring her, even after she said it again, more forcefully this time. As the group of men continued to talk, they were surprised as someone suddenly yanked on the collars of their uniforms and threw them to the side. Axton glared at them as they stood separated from the group, sheepishly looking down and away. "You three, stay here after Commander Payle finishes speaking. You're going to learn the importance of maintaining the chain of command, and the consequences for not following it."

The three were silent as Axton looked back at Kailyn, giving her a slight nod. Kailyn nodded back and looked at the group of soldiers in front of her. "Everyone, I know that my being here has rubbed some the wrong way. Just yesterday, I was the one who tried to conquer this outpost. I'm sure most of you lost people you cared about, and for that, I cannot apologize enough. However, if we are to have a chance of surviving the madness that is war, we all need to work together. You may not like me, you may even hate me, but we are on the same side. Dissent and fracture will only lead to pain and most likely death for all parties. So until we get through this war in one piece, let's all try to stay cordial with one another. After the war is over, I give you my word that you can say whatever you want to me then. With that being said, from what I've seen with your training today, many of you have strayed from the basics. For the foreseeable future, you'll be focusing on maintaining the correct positioning and footwork necessary. Once I'm satisfied you've mastered the basics again, I'll assign you more training on a case by case basis. However, the quicker you relearn the basics, the better chance you'll have to survive. Keep that in mind for tomorrow. Dismissed."

As the troops began to disperse, Axton stayed with the three men who he had singled out earlier. "So, care to explain to me what was SO important that you ignored a superior officer's orders not once, but twice?"

The man in the middle sighed. "How is she even a superior officer still? She betrayed Eshal, fought against us, and now suddenly we're supposed to act like nothing happened and proceed like she's some great person to be respected?"

Axton shook his head. "I'm sure you're unaware, but her loyalty was to her men. She originally joined the enemy because she thought it would give her troops the best chance of survival. However, after the orders she was given, and what the result of the battle would have resulted in, she chose to surrender before even more troops were lost. She realized she made perhaps the biggest mistake she would ever make, and is trying her hardest to make sure that those who are still alive have the best chance to survive. You may hate her guts, but while you're here, you will respect the fact that she's a superior officer over you, and an order from her should be treated like an order from me. Understood?"