The Revenant

Odd One Out

ESKARINA

I didn't want to leave the warmth of my bed. It was nothing like the one I had back home. It was much different. So much more different. No hard wooden surface. Of course it did have that but it wasn't so uncomfortable.

When I lay down on the bed in the barracks,It feels as though I'm floating on a cloud.
It's exceptionally warm within the blankets as well.
I had been sleeping so soundly that morning and in such a state of comfort that I was physically unable to move a muscle.

My comfort was short lived as I was woken by a loud crash. I bolted upright to see Nova standing in the door way.

His eye's were locked onto mine in a certain focus,a gaze I couldn't shake.

"Wake up. Training starts now."

Training? At this time in the morning?
He must have been joking.

A long yawn escaped my mouth as I climbed out of bed. The cold wind hit me,with goosebumps instantly rippling through my body.

Letting out a small yelp,I lept back into bed shaking my head.

"Nope,too cold"

After feeling that cold gust of wind,there was no way in the abyss that I was getting out of bed.

The Imperial city was strangely colder than the country side.

"Hey Eskarina"

I looked up to see Amaani,fully dressed in leather armour. She yawned and as she wiped her eye's clean from sleep.

"Hi" I replied,my voice muffled underneath the blankets.

"We have to go"

"I don't want to."

"Elena dragged me out of bed. She'll do the same to you if you don't get out."

I groaned before I forced myself out of bed.
After I'd gotten dressed in my uniform,which was just a suprisingly light hard leather studded doublet and leather pants complete with boots,Amaani and I made our way to the auditorium. The recruits were all sitting inside,with a few down in the pits.

Five of them were on the ground,writhing in pain. Only one stood with a sword still raised to Nova.

Nova's stature had changed. He was almost an entirely different person. Even from where I stood,I could see he gripped his sword so tightly that the veins of his hand could easily be seen.

"Strange..." Amaani said as we sat down.

"What is it?"

"Nothing It's just..."

Amaani continued to look at the two who stared each other down.

"All of this time that we've been here,and I've never seen Nova use Nightmare...That sword he's using is not Nightmare,I assure you"

I thought about it for awhile. Amaani did know what Nightmare looked like because she grew up seeing it in posters,but she had never seen it in person. Nevertheless she had a general idea of what it should have looked like,so I was certain that what she said had to be true.

The weapon Nova wielded was not his legendary blade Nightmare.
The recruit who stood face to face with Nova tightened his grip round his swords handle.

"Gods protect me and guide my hand." He said.

The recruit charged at Nova,sword raised above his head as he yelled at the top of his lungs.

He brought the sword down,but Nova barely needed to move to avoid it. Nova took a fistful of the recruits hair and forced his entire body down onto the floor where he began to repeatedly bash the recruits skull against the hard ground.