By the time evening settled over Stonegate, the clang of steel had faded, replaced by the low crackle of flame.
I leaned back, staring into the sparks that spiraled into the darkening sky. My thoughts kept circling the same place, my future. Excitement warred with unease. I was ranked in the top hundred; I would be sent to a fort. That meant I might be the first of us to be separated from the squad. The idea of leaving them behind twisted in my chest more than I wanted to admit.
Movement caught my eye. My friends were heading toward the fire. The moment they noticed me, their faces lit up with relief, and they broke into a jog, as if I’d been gone for months instead of days.
“Oh, thank the heavens, Ed, you’re alive!” Henry blurted, grabbing my arm.
I frowned. “Alive? What are you talking about?”
Erik threw his arms wide with a grin. “We thought you’d either dropped dead or been executed for trying to assassinate the Count. The way everyone’s been whispering, I was starting to wonder if we should start digging your grave, or maybe just leave it for the next punishment drill.”
I groaned. “Executed? For fainting?”
“What fainting?” Erik smirked. “You vanished like a shadow in the night, and then the whole barracks got locked down tighter than a vault. People started talking. Some swore someone had been caught channeling forbidden mana. Others whispered about a foreign agent trying to recruit us.”
“Yeah,” Farid added, his voice steady but curious. “They kept us isolated, questioned us about our pasts, and about you. It wasn’t hard to guess you were at the center of it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? A spy? And if I was recruiting, you think I’d start with four useless idiots?” I smirked, leaning back.Erik puffed out his chest. “I’ll have you know I’m one of the best here. A bright future ahead of me, you’ll see.”
Leif rolled his eyes. “Bright future? The only thing shining about you is your forehead after drills.”
Their laughter eased the tightness in my chest.
Then Leif leaned closer, lowering his voice. “You really don’t know what happened after you collapsed, do you?”
I shook my head. “I was out cold. All I remember is waking in the infirmary. The captain of the Intelligence Division questioned me about my past, about my loyalty. I still don’t know why, and it’s not like I’d press a captain or a lieutenant for answers.”
“Captain?” Farid frowned. “That’s strange. Maybe because you fainted in the middle of class, they thought you’d caught some parasite or been hit with a spell. But a captain coming down here just for that? Too much. I haven’t even seen one yet. What really happened to you?”
“Oh.” I scratched the back of my head, feigning sheepishness. “I forgot to ask the healer why. I was too distracted by… well, my Awakening.”
For a heartbeat, silence. Then Leif clapped me on the back, nearly knocking me forward. “Hah! That’s right, we forgot! Congratulations, brother!”
The others echoed him, pulling me into rough embraces.
“So what class did you get?” Henry asked, leaning in.
“[Junior Officer],” I said, letting a bit of pride slip into my tone.
Erik whooped. “An officer among us! Look at you, climbing already!” He gave me a friendly slap between the shoulders.
Leif squinted. “How does someone even get that class? You don’t look much like a commander.”
“I think it’s because of one of the skills I picked. [Applied Military Theory],” I answered.
Leif grunted. “Figures. Trust you to get an officer’s class for scribbling instead of swinging a sword.”
“So with a class like that, you’re definitely going to land a good placement,” he added.
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“I hope so,” I admitted, though doubt lingered under my words.
Farid leaned forward, his eyes steady in the firelight. “No, Ed, he’s right. You’re someone sergeants and lieutenants will notice. One of my seniors told me that a good class and solid performance in your first posting is the best way to get picked out. Officers are always watching for recruits who can keep their heads under pressure. With your class, if you keep up that work ethic, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re one of the first they test.”
“Test how?” I asked, curious.
Farid nodded. “From what I heard, it’s not a rank, more like a mark. Lieutenants and senior sergeants keep track of recruits who show leadership instincts. They’ll throw extra duties your way, guard shifts, small patrol leads, maybe handling supply counts. If you don’t crack, you might get recommended later on. Some call it being ‘marked as an officer candidate,’ but it’s nothing official. Just a way of seeing who’s worth grooming down the line. Most don’t even get noticed until their first year or two… but it can happen sooner.”
I exhaled slowly, turning my gaze toward the flames. “That sounds incredible. Not sure how it will play out for me, though, especially if I get posted straight to a frontline fort.”
“Yeah, our brother’s going to be the first to leave and slay some beasts,” Erik said with a grin, throwing a twig into the fire for emphasis.
Leif smirked and slapped my shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll be joining you soon enough. Your wit and my brawn, no beast alive will stand a chance.”
I shook my head. “You know I’ve already been put in Intelligence. You’re aiming for the Vanguard. Forget ending up in the same squad, it’ll be a miracle if we even see each other at the front, let alone fight side by side.”
“Oh, you’re always so boring,” Leif groaned dramatically. “I’d rather imagine us carving legends together, better than these three losers.”
Erik scooped up a fistful of dirt and tossed it at him. “Losers, eh? Keep talking, and we’ll bury your legend right here in the pit.”
We burst out laughing, our voices rising with the sparks that leapt skyward. For a little while, the worry of tomorrow, the placement that might send me to the front and away from my friends, faded into the warmth of fire and friendship.
Morning light slanted across the training yard as I made my way toward the main barracks. The quartermaster had told me to meet him there for my assignment. My stomach knotted the whole walk.
At the entrance, I gave my name to a private on duty. He barely looked up, just jerked his thumb toward the offices. I followed the direction and spotted the quartermaster waiting, a stack of papers in hand.
I snapped to attention and saluted. “Sir. You asked me to report for the assignment.”
“Yes, I remember you,” he said, his tone lacking the usual gruffness. He rifled through the stack until he pulled out a page, then reached into a drawer. “Edward of Oxspell. Top hundred from the six-month exam. You’ll be posted to Fort Darrow.”
For just a moment, his expression tightened, something troubled flickering across his face before he smoothed it away. He held out the papers. “Give these to your sergeant once you arrive.”
My throat went dry. A fort posting. It was finally here.
“This,” he continued, producing a small bronze badge etched with faint runes, “is your private badge. Place a drop of your blood on it, and it will bind to you. The runes will report your status back to us, alive or dead. Don’t lose it.”
I accepted the badge carefully, the weight of it heavier than the metal itself.
“The supply caravan to Fort Darrow leaves in three days,” he went on. “Until then, you’ll have duties to keep you busy, get your kit inspected, sharpen your spear, oil your mail, and pick up your field rations from supply. You’ll also march with the other transfers each morning, so the caravan master knows who he’s hauling. Don’t slack, anyone who shows up late gets left behind. And if the sergeants decide you’re free, expect to be handed to fatigue duty, latrines, wood hauling, whatever keeps the camp running.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’ll be placed in an infantry squad of ten. The fort fields fifty such squads. Each one has a single intelligence slot, and that slot will be yours. Your primary duty is to observe and record terrain shifts, beast movements, supply irregularities, and anything that hints at a larger pattern. You’ll also be expected to report on morale, discipline, and unusual behavior within the ranks.
“In your case, there’s an addition.” His eyes flicked up, sharp. “Your squad will include four conscripts. You’ll monitor them closely, watch for desertion, insubordination, or any trouble in camp. Directly, you’ll report to your squad sergeant. But your intelligence notes go higher as well, to the lieutenant.”
For a moment, I just stood there. It was the most I’d ever heard him speak in one sitting. Usually he grunted, shoved a slip at you, and waved you away. Erik had once joked that if you tried asking him a question, he’d answer by throwing ink at your face.
Maybe he was being kinder because I was heading to the front.
Still… four conscripts. I was supposed to keep watch over them? That didn’t feel like much of an “intelligence posting.” It felt more like being told to sleep beside a fire with a bag of oil at my chest. Men like that had nothing to lose. If one of them decided to cut my throat, no one would be surprised.
I’d expected something difficult, maybe even a test, but this? I could only hope the conscripts weren’t monsters in human skin. Maybe they were just unlucky men caught in the wrong place, guilty of small crimes.
“Do we have any information on them, sir?” I asked.
“You’ll know once you reach the fort.” He grunted, back in his usual form.
I was about to step away when his voice caught me off guard, quieter but edged with steel.
“Be vigilant out there, kid. The Army has high hopes for you.”
By the time I looked up, his attention was already buried in another stack of papers, as if the words had slipped out by accident.