Thea: A Fate Among Gods And Men

A Day of Arms

I used some nearby water to clean the dog’s wounds, wrapped a bandage around it, and gave it some food. The dogs whining ceased after a minute or so. I proceeded up the cobblestone path leading up to the barracks, the dog started to follow me. I pet his head as we walked together to the top. As we neared the top the large statues seemed to glare at me, every trainee said they felt this. The odd part about this was everyone felt like they were staring for different reasons, some felt they were staring in congratulation, pride, anger, or in my case dissatisfaction. Not disappointment, as in they didn't like that I was here, but as if they thought I could do more, I always try to ignore them but it's difficult. Their eyes were like needles boring straight into my soul. I walked over to my favorite, the one they call Addicus the spearman. Addicus never seemed to stare too hard, almost as if he was happy with me. The scowl on his face seemed less intense than the others.

I took out my time stone, which pointed to nine o'clock, in other words I was going to be late if I didn't hurry. I pet the dog goodbye, hoping he would wait for me, and rushed inside. The dog layed down and rest his head on his crossed front legs.

I charged through the halls, around corners, and out into the atrium ,where training took place. Around the massive room were the trainees that would one day protect the city. I sat down on a bench and waited for assembly, when the commander would come out and give us our orders. We waited for an abnormally long time, many of the trainees became restless. After about five minutes of waiting a torrent of shouting was heard from the commander's hall. The words were hard to make out, but from what I could hear, the commander was yelling at a soldier about a few soldiers being missing.

"I don't care if your arm is broken, Eckels is out, which means you need to stand in for him." Commander Mae shouted. She was shouting so loud that the farmers probably heard her from miles away. Hell she might have spooked the sheep in the fields.

She turned to us and glared, as she usually did. She wore standard leather armor with metal reinforcement, and a dark blue cape and hood. She spoke in her standard loud manor, as if trying to make the entire island hear her.

"Listen up. Trainer Eckels is out today, which means Riner will be instructing you during Arming day." She said through her thick northern accent. "Suit up and get ready. Dismissed."

I,along with the other female recruits, went into a back room to suit up. I put on my basic leather armor, which had been modified by my friend Aemus who was training to become a smith. He had made special gloves with metal knuckles to make my punches harder. I exited the back room into the atrium where many other trainees stood, as well as the instructor for today, Riner. Many of the trainees looked excited for what was about to happen,and some looked rather apathetic. I was a part of the latter group, I was not convinced a new weapon would help me all that much. According to the commander, and other soldiers, the weapons inside the cave had a mind of their own, and that they would speak to you to aid you in battle.

“Alright everyone’s ready. Let’s move out.” Riner commanded. We began to march towards the top of Eicher’s peak, named after the founder of nomica Mateo Eicher. After around half an hour of walking we reached a gate, guarded by two soldiers. Riner led us through the gate, through the forest, and almost up to the peak. As we reached the entrance of a cave.

"Cadets." Riner said in a loud voice "Through here is a place known as The Grove of Auvel. Inside the Grove you will find your weapon. I cannot reveal to you how you will find your weapon, and you cannot tell anyone else. Understood?"

"Sir yes sir!" Replied all the cadets.

We walked through the cave entrance, and after a few minutes of walking, entered the grove. What we saw left our jaws agape. The grove was a massive paradise surrounded by walls of stone. The ceiling was at least a hundred feet up, and glowed with luminescent sparkles, as if it were the night sky. In the middle was a tree stretching to the top, surrounded by a glowing moat. In the moat swam glowing koi fish of all colors. Every cadets face lit up, like the lights of the grove. Every sense of apathy disappeared and was replaced with excitement. As I explored the grove in search of my weapon, I took in the scenery. I searched for half an hour before I began to worry. I'd heard that many cadets had spent hours, or even days, in search of a weapon. I was too impatient to wait that long. I'd never been good with patience. After about an hour of searching I began to feel a pull, of sorts. It felt like something was tugging at my mind, compelling me to go in a certain direction. It's hard to explain, but I kind of heard a voice. The strange part is that I didn't hear it, instead it created thoughts in my head that felt like a voice. I walked in the direction it told me to go. I eventually reached a small patch near the base of the tree, I sat cross leged in the grass and closed my eyes. In this spot the voice felt the loudest, and the it tugged my mind the hardest. At the back of my mind I heard the voice.

"Hold out your hand." It said

I complied. I held out my hand, and slowly the tug became stronger and stronger. Eventually I felt something land in my hand. It was a stick. I held it in my hand, thinking it was some kind of joke.

"Hello." Said the stick.