Synopsis: The crowd roared, thousands died. An empire fell, a victor crowned. Death permeated, applause echoed. The champion waved, smiling. A young boy crawled, bleeding. The games are over, the battle won. The boy looked up to the sky, only he knew the truth, “This was all for nothing.” You can follow my novel here for the latest updates. Table of Contents Chapter 0: Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 0: Prologue In an unknown realm, at an unknown location. Hundreds of people were streaming into a large amphitheater-like structure which could seat thousands of people. They had all come to see the war games. These war games were one of the most popular events in this unknown land. So popular in fact, that one could buy a week's worth of meals for the price of a single ticket. Nevertheless, thousands of people flocked to the theater monthly to see the exciting show that was about to be put on. Within only thirty minutes of the amphitheater opening, it had already reached the maximum seating capacity. Inside the theater, audience members looked toward the stage with great anticipation and excitement. A handsome man who looked to be in his late 20's appeared on stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome once again to the monthly war games! As always, I am your beloved host, Sir Maximus Bell." "As you all know, today's games will once again take place in the Earth dimension. During the last show, the handsome and charismatic Lord Sylvan displayed superior leadership and strategy by defeating Lord Armand's kingdom of Corcyra, eliminating him from the games!" The crowd erupted into cheers. Lord Sylvan was a favorite among the audience. Not only for his skill but admittedly many favored him only for his good looks and charm. Especially amongst many of the young women. "Now, let me introduce his opponent." "This young lord of only 18 years, in his first ever war games, through ruthless and domineering tactics, has completely obliterated his fellow competitors. Many call him a genius, while others say he's a demon. From the infamous Blood Moon sect, Lord Casimir!" After the introduction of the so-called young genius, the majority of the audience once again cheered, growing increasingly excited. "Now then, the moment you've all been waiting for has arrived... " As the host was speaking mysterious symbols on the stage floor began to emit a bright azure colored aura. "Let the games begin!"
Chapter 1: The city of Baris - slums district. A group of filthy and unruly looking youths stood around a young girl who looked to be around 6 or 7 years old. A short and plump boy, who looked to be the leader of the group shouted, “You know we saw that silver coin first, hand it over!” “I found it first Felix,” the little girl said with tears in her eyes, “please, just this once, let me keep it.” “I won’t ask you again kid, hand it over!” he said again, in a harsher tone. A cold hand gripped Felix’s shoulder. “Oi, Fatty. I told you before that you shouldn’t bully people. Especially not little kids,” a voice said from behind. Felix turned around and glared at the tall, lanky youth that stood behind him. “I told you not to call me Fatty Titus!” “… Besides, my mom said I'm not fat, just big-boned” Felix declared, sounding almost proud of himself. Titus held no interest in debating Fatty’s bone size and ignored him. “Fatty, If your mom knew you stole from little kids, she would beat you to death.” Titus said, again provoking him, “Should I go let her know what you’ve been doing?” The Fatty’s face paled, out of all the things Felix encountered in his young life, his mother scared him the most. He was about to respond when a voice behind him shouted, "Thank you, Titus!" Felix turned around to see that while his group focused on Titus, the little girl had slipped past the boys and escaped. The boys turned back toward Titus but then realized, as their attention had been, once again, directed elsewhere; Titus had also ran away! "You idiots, why weren't you paying attention! Don't let him get away!" But Titus, with his long legs, was much quicker than the rest of the young boys and escaped with no trouble. ….. Sometime later. Titus sat in the dirt resting. He relaxed, sighing deeply. Earlier, Titus had provoked Felix to give the little girl a chance to run away. If the little girl had failed to take the opportunity he had presented to her, he would've escaped alone. While better than most of the other kids at fighting, Titus didn't want to take his chances against four people at once. The risk wasn’t worth it. This may seem cruel or even spineless to some, but to Titus, getting injured was a death sentence. Once word of his injury got out, others would rob him blind. He would be defenseless. Enemies of the past would certainly take this opportunity for revenge. Brutal as it may sound, yet, this was the harsh reality of the world Titus lived in. At any hint of weakness, others would always be ready to take advantage of it. Having lived his whole life in the slums, Titus knew everything there was to know about surviving in this horrible place. He had learned, not only do you have to be strong, but also intelligent and clever. Since those who appear weak may use others to fight their battles for them. A lesson Titus first learned from a smaller kid named Thomas. It occurred some time ago, when a larger kid, who's name we need not mention, beat and robbed Thomas. Not even a week later, after rallying a group behind him, Thomas ambushed his assailant and beat him senseless! When Titus saw this, he could not help but to admire Thomas. Not only did he regain most of his possessions, but he also scared off any other future attackers. After this event, many kids inspired by Thomas banded together to form gangs. Nowadays fights often occurred between whole groups, instead of one-on-one. Many of the gangs recognizing Titus’ strength, attempted to recruit him. Some tried using bribes, while others used force. But Titus preferred doing things by himself, and many of the gangs required a monthly fee to the leaders. He had no intention of giving up the little silver he had and with no hesitation, refused all the offers he received. One of the gangs, after being rejected by Titus, resorted to using force in an attempt to make him reconsider. Even after being surrounded by many of the gang’s members Titus once again refused, despite knowing that it would result in a beating. After he had recovered, for the next couple of months, Titus made life a living hell for the members of the gang that assaulted him. He would stalk and ambush his enemies. Most of the time he preferred to use his fists, but sometimes he would even use improvised traps or anything that he could find to use as a weapon to fight against multiple people simultaneously. For those few months, the members of the gang lived in constant fear. Those that were unfortunate enough to be a victim of Titus had all of their possessions taken by him. Of course, his conscience was clear over this. After all, they chose to attack Titus first. Naturally, they must pay for the damage they caused him… many times over. In the slums district, Titus mostly kept to himself. He didn’t enjoy bullying or stealing from other people. However, if provoked first, Titus would strike back ruthlessly and without mercy. Even most of the older kids became afraid of provoking him Tired of thinking about memories of the past, Titus sighed as his long, black, wild-looking hair blew in the wind. He put his arms behind his head and nonchalantly laid back, enjoying the feeling of the warm sun above. Looking up at the beautiful sky and watching the clouds pass by, Titus drifted off into the land of Fantasy. Despite trying his best not to, he often dreamt of indulging in various kinds of foods or having his pockets full of gold coins. By the end of this, he ended up feeling quite depressed. Most of the time, however, he liked to fantasize about the world unknown to him outside of the city walls. Never once in his 13 years of being alive had he dared to venture outside the safety of the city walls. Although Titus was considered a monster amongst his peers, he was still very young, and also, in a lot of ways, naïve and immature. The world beyond the city walls was far too dangerous for him. Usually, Titus got his information about the outside world from the stories of a local drunkard. Of course, a drunk in the slums was not an unusual sight. In fact, there were dozens of them. However, this drunkard was especially good at telling stories. He often told dramatic stories about the many dangers of the world outside and had fully scared the, at the time, very young Titus away from wanting to wander out of the city. But, as Titus got older his fear was replaced by fascination. Besides the stories from the drunkard, Titus also enjoyed reading any book he could get his hands on. Although he hadn’t the opportunity to be properly educated like kids from the middle and noble districts, Titus was incredibly intelligent and a fast learner. When he was younger, with some help from an old man in the slums, Titus quickly learned how to read. Since then, he spent most of his extra silver coins on old and damaged books that no one else wanted. To him, they were precious treasures. Other than being an avid reader, Titus was also very creative and quick-witted. Many of his brawls with some of the older and stronger kids, had been won by outsmarting and tricking his opponent. His methods of doing so were not always the most honorable, but Titus cared little about such a thing. What he needed to do, he did. Whatever that may be. For the time being, Titus was quite content with his current lifestyle. However inevitably his curiosity would drive him out into the unknown world. ….. While Titus had been watching the clouds, he had unknowingly fallen asleep. When he awoke, he lazily stretched and yawned. Suddenly he felt his stomach growl. He slightly frowned. “That’s right, I haven’t had anything to eat today…” he said to himself. Titus could only afford to eat every couple of days as he did not have much money. Usually, he made most of his money by doing odd jobs for people in the middle district. Or, on rare occasion, he might be fortunate enough to find a coin someone had dropped, like the little girl earlier had found. Such a find was like a blessing from heaven for the children of the slums. He reached inside his poorly made, dirty pants pocket for a small brown, dirty looking pouch. Within the pouch were two small silver coins. “I have enough for two loaves of bread, that will probably last me a week or so… While I’m in the middle district, I’ll have to see if I can find anyone who needs any errands done for them.” Doing odd jobs around the middle district was the only option for most of the kids in the slums. Shop owners didn’t like to hire the dirty looking kids to work in their shop, and most of them were too young to do hard manual labor. Titus headed off toward the middle district, expertly navigating through the unorganized maze of shanties. If one who wasn’t familiar with the slums wandered in here, they might be lost for hours. As the slum district had no rules for housing, people just built make-shift shacks and other poorly made structures wherever they wanted to. The slums were truly quite a horrible place to live. No area wasn't completely filthy and littered with trash and waste. In such awful living conditions, it was quite common for disease to spread throughout the district. During such times, the city guard closed the gates connecting the slums to the middle district. These times were often the worst for the people living in the slums. Not only did they have to worry about disease, but the amount of food they had access to decreased even further. Kids like Titus couldn’t even find errands to do for silver coins since they were unable to leave, thus cutting away their supply of food. While many of the adults living in the slums also lost their jobs. Titus had just walked through the gate separating the two districts. This moment of seeing the inequality between the two districts still surprised him, despite him living here his entire life. It felt like he had entered a whole different world entirely. Comparing the two would be like comparing the heavens to earth. Besides the middle district, there was also another smaller district called the ‘Noble district.' As the name implied, the people living there were mostly of noble descent. Everything from the housing to the shops, to the shows and attractions were vastly superior to the middle district. It is, of course, the “noble” district, they only had the best. All of this, naturally, was unknown to Titus. Only in his dreams could he enter such a place. Arriving at the bakery, the shop owner greeted him as he entered, “Hello again Titus!” the middle-aged store owner said, with a bright smile on his face. For whatever reason, this store owner was always in a good mood. Sometimes on bad days, the shop owners cheerful attitude made Titus feel much better by the time he walked out of the store. “Hello, sir,” Titus said, returning the shop owners smile, placing a silver coin on the counter. “I'll have the usual.” A single silver coin wasn’t enough to buy a fresh loaf of bread, but the shop owner agreed to sell any bread leftover from the day before for this price. “Of course, Titus. One minute please.” The shop owner disappeared into the back of the shop while Titus stood there enjoying the savory smells of baking bread. “If only I could afford fresh bread,” Titus thought, sighing to himself. At this moment the shop owner came out from the back holding a large tray of freshly baked loaves of bread. “Good news Titus, today we have no leftover bread. Instead, I’ll give you a fresh loaf,” he said, maintaining the same happy appearance. “Holy shit. Did he read my mind?” Swearing was a bad habit Titus picked up from living around thieves and criminals his whole life. “Thank you very much, sir,” Titus said respectfully, with a huge grin on his face. Titus happily strolled out of the shop carrying a small brown bag that held his bread. He hadn’t been this happy in months, rarely did something this fortunate happen to him. Gleefully he began heading back, still wearing a huge grin on his face. While walking he happened to overhear some gossiping from a lady in front of him that piqued his interest. “Have you heard?” The women said to another that was walking beside her. “The city guards have been rounding up men and forcing them to join the army?” “I heard that too. I hope it’s just a rumor, I don’t want my husband dying in a war somewhere,” replied the other woman with clear concern in her voice. “Look over there, one of them is being captured!” one lady shouted suddenly. “Hm?” Titus turned his head toward where the lady was pointing. Two city guards were dragging an extremely reluctant young man down the street. “So it is true then…” Titus thought, surprised. “Good thing this doesn’t concern me.” he said aloud, as he happily ripped a piece of bread, greedily throwing it into his mouth. Suddenly, a voice from behind him shouted, “Halt!” …
Chapter 2: Titus turned around to see a stern-faced, uptight-looking city guard heading his way. The city guard was in charge of—as you might be able to guess—guarding the whole of Baris city. Other duties included policing the citizens, and protecting the City Lord and his extravagant mansion. The City Lord held absolute authority over the entire city guard. Orders given were passed down directly from the City Lord himself. Above the City Lord was the King. The king held rule over the entirety of the Kingdom. Which Baris city was, of course, a part of. Above the King was the Emperor. Although the Emperor was rather young, his word was absolute. Orders given by the young Emperor had to be followed without question. He had complete and total control over the whole empire. The stern-looking guard came to a halt directly in front of Titus, staring down at him. After a slight pause he said, “Congratulations, you have been given the honor of being drafted into the Great Imperial Army.” Titus stood there in shock. After a couple of seconds, he spoke in a nervous voice, “I think you’re mistaken city guard sir. I am but a mere child, much too young to be suitable for our empire’s glorious army.” as he said this, he did his best to put on his most innocent looking face before continuing, “Well then, Now that we’ve cleared this misunderstanding, I’ll have to excuse myself. My mother will be furious if I’m not home in time for dinner.” Titus said as he turned around to leave, not waiting for the guard to reply. Before he could even take two steps, he felt an arm reach around his neck and pulling him backward. “Sorry kid, the City Lord ordered that any boy over the age of 12 or any man still of fighting age, is required to enlist. You’ll have to come with me.” the city guard said in a somewhat regretful tone, pulling Titus along with him. "Like hell I am!" Titus struggled in an attempt to escape the guard’s headlock. He had almost succeeded when the guard spoke again. What was said made him freeze. “Don’t run kid, a horrible fate awaits those who do...” the guard said in a flat tone. “...” Titus knew the guard meant what he said, and was not foolish enough to continue to try and escape. "At Least he didn’t take my bread away from me…" he thought, somewhat apprehensively. Trying his best to make light of the situation. Although being well read, Titus was still young and didn’t know about many things of the world. Most of the books he read had nothing to do with the army or warfare at all. It wasn’t that he disliked these kinds of books, he just wasn’t fortunate enough to find a book on the topic that he could afford. Because of this, Titus was completely ignorant as to what the army would entail. Making quite fearful of what fate awaited him. Suddenly his eyes lit up as he remembered something important, “City guard sir, does the army provide free food?” Titus shamelessly asked, staring up at the guard completely straight-faced. The guard almost couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the extremely serious expression that Titus had. The guard cleared his throat before responding,“ Ahem — Yes, of course. The Army provides free rations to all of its enlisted men.” Titus gave a satisfied nod and simply said, “Alright then.” Knowing there was free food involved, Titus quickly accepted the situation. While it may seem silly, food was of extreme importance to Titus. After all, he has lived his whole life in extreme poverty. At the opportunity to free himself from constant hunger, Titus would do almost anything. And like this, Titus contentedly walked along side the guard, every now and then happily gobbling a piece of bread as he went. The city guard was dumbfounded seeing Titus now so readily accept the situation. ….. After walking alongside the guard for a couple minutes, he saw a large group of men and boys of various ages gathered against a stone wall. Around a dozen city guards encircled the group, armed with spears. Unsurprisingly, it seemed the new “enlistees” were not trusted not to run off. Titus took his place among the group and stood seemingly unfazed by all of this. All of his attention was entirely focused on devouring his freshly baked, delicious bread. Some time had passed. Suddenly a hefty, arrogant looking, bearded man came walking over and lazily asked, “Are we finished here then?” One of the city guards ran over and stood tall, frozen in a salute as he reported, “Yes, Captain! But it seems—Captain, that word of our recruitment has been spreading.” The man frowned. “Hmph, ungrateful peasants. The city Lord has graciously given them the opportunity to serve our great empire and instead they hide.” "Says the man who barely fits in his guard’s uniform." Titus thought to himself, snickering. The man’s eyes swept over the crowd, “Hm? What’s that kid got there?” Seeing that the Captain had noticed his bread, Titus stepped back into a defensive posture. The guard who had escorted Titus stepped forward and saluted. “It’s just bread sir.” the guard said, stone-faced. The Captain gave the guard a slightly displeased look before saying, “Whatever then, let the beggar keep his precious bread.” Titus glared, he detested being falsely labeled as a beggar. Despite having no money or possessions, Titus had never resorted to such a degrading act. While Titus was still fuming over being insulted, the bearded man screamed in a commanding voice, “Bring the chains!” Several city guards came bustling over, dragging along with them sets of long steel chains. These chains were typically used for transporting prisoners. One set of chains was for their arms, the other set was for their legs. One by one all of the men and boys were sorted by age, then chained together in long lines. This took quite some time to accomplish. After the guards had finally finished chaining all of the “enlistees” together, the Captain once again noisily issued a command, “Bring them to the prison!” Titus frowned. "Prison? I thought this was the army." Some in the group finally snapped and began furiously cursing. A man yelled out, “This is bullsh*t! First, you force us to enlist, and now we’re being treated like prisoners? f*ck your mother!” “What did I do to deserve this! I’ve paid my taxes to the City Lord, and this is what I get?!” another yelled, in a mix of anger and despair. “All of you be quiet!” the fat, bearded Captain yelled. “All of you will temporarily stay in the prisons until we collect the rest of the new enlistees in the city.” he ungracefully explained. “Now start moving!” The still furious group began—at spear point—advancing toward the prison. Titus, despite his chained hands, still held onto his precious bread. ….. Baris city prison. Once the group had arrived, they were separated into different blocks of the prison depending on their overall ages. The group Titus was in consisted of kids between the ages of 12 to 15. Understandably, some of the kids in Titus’ group were crying, they were after all just mere children. Even Titus, who was typically carefree and relaxed about things, was starting to feel a little frightened. The whole of Brais prison was located entirely underground. In truth, it was probably more appropriate to call this a dungeon rather than a prison. Everything from the walls to the ceiling was completely stone. The only source of light came from torches mounted on the walls. Little good did they do, due to the width of the hall and the spacing of the torches, Titus could just barely see in this dimly lit hall. To make matters worse, the only sound came from the clattering of their heavy steel chains, and the soft cries of those who were at their wits end. Other than this, all that remained was eerie silence. For many of these kids, this was truly a nightmarish experience. At this moment the group had finally arrived at their own cell. Once the chains were taken off all of the kids were forced into the cell. The guard coldly slamming the iron door shut. Instead of feeling sorry for any of these young juveniles, the guards seemed to treat these young kids as if they were actual prisoners. Whether it was because they was unaware of the situation, or the twisted, sadistic pleasure they felt from holding power over others, the guards treated them very poorly. During the group's long walk, guards would beat anyone who fell over with a thick wooden baton. Inevitably, since they were all chained together, tripping was a common occurrence. More often than not, it was multiple kids at once that fell over. ….. Having arrived at the cell, Titus chose a spot in the corner to sit down in and continued eating, reflecting on the current situation. Throughout the cell, the poor and terrified looking youths sat in silence. It was only after a couple minutes had passed that one child broke the silence, “What are you eating over there brat?” an arrogant youth said with apparent disdain in his voice, as he began walking over to the corner Titus was seated in. Titus instantly became annoyed, displeased at having his thoughts interrupted. Having realized already what the youth was after from past experience, Titus calmly stood up and distanced himself from the corner. Along with the approaching arrogant youth, two others followed behind. Titus began walking forward while considering the options he had. He could peacefully hand over his bread, of course, that was never going to happen. Or, he could strike first. That’s what he chose to do. This was not the first time he’s had to fight to keep something of his. Now being only a few feet away, the youth spoke again, “Hm? You’re planning to take on all three of us?” he said with a sarcastic laugh, “You should already know what we want. Don’t you think it’s unfair, how could you not share your food with the rest of us? I’ve been down here for two days, I clearly deserve it more, now hand it over bra-” *BAM!* The youth hit the floor with a loud thud, followed by a horrifying—ear-piercing scream. The surrounding cellmates were frozen in complete shock. They had anticipated for Titus to get beat up by the three bullies. Little did they expect that Titus would actually strike first, and in such a brutal way! Titus seeing the youth approaching had quickly leaped forward, closing the gap between them. Then, without the slightest trace of hesitation—ruthlessly headbutted the youth. Even the guards who had watched with great excitement had not expected such an outcome. Still screaming, the youth held his now crushed nose as a steady crimson river of blood ran down his face and soaked into his clothing. Caught completely by surprise, the youth had no time to react. He had never thought that this skinny, weak looking kid would dare attack him first. Titus let out a long breath and calmly walked back into the corner. The two lackeys that had followed the arrogant youth angrily glared. However, they had no intention of trying to fight Titus after what just took place. The three of them had been friends and were brought into this cell together. In the middle district, they were used to getting whatever they wanted from people just through intimidation alone. The skinny and frail looking Titus had seemed like an easy target. Oh, how wrong they had been. Titus having been through a countless number of brawls was vastly more experienced than those three who relied on intimidation. Although he had never learned an official form of martial arts, Titus over the years had developed his own rough, animalistic style of fighting. Back in the corner, Titus was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. Titus at the moment was completely in his own world, completely blocking out his surroundings and just thinking to himself. "Surely it’s ridiculous to get your nose broken over a half-eaten loaf of bread. Titus sighed, Poor guy, he was way in over his head. Hm? Wait, or was it more ridiculous to break someone’s nose over bread…? Hmm… Surely not." At some point the guards had taken out the bloody youth, presumably taking him to a doctor. The cell now returned to its previous peaceful silence. Like this, Titus slipped into a deep sleep.
Hello, honorable first reader. Thank you for reading, and leaving a reply, it means a lot to me. I had a big smile on my face even though you only said one word.
Chapter 3 Titus woke to the rude shouting of a guard, “Wake up brats!” He tiredly rubbed his eye and stretched. Groggily looking around, he could see some of his fellow cellmates still lost in various states of sleep. Some being half awake, others still absorbed in their dreams. The guard shouted again, banging a wooden baton on the cell bars, “Wake the hell up!” Titus heard the familiar sound of chains. The noisy guard opened the cell door, violently kicking and beating any of the kids who had somehow managed to stay asleep. Another guard outside the iron cell door yelled, “Line up against the wall!” The tired group of kids slowly got up and groggily made their way out of the cell. The chains Titus had heard earlier were the same chains he had been brought into this prison with. For a second time, they were all chained together. Everyone was now fully awake, cruelly torn from any sweet dreams they may have had and brought back to this nightmarish situation. “Get going!” a guard commanded. Titus was still not fully aware of what was going on, everything was happening too quickly for his tired brain to process. He robotically followed along, moving on autopilot, his eyes half closed. After climbing a long flight of stone stairs they arrived above ground at a vast, dirt filled courtyard. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon. Frightened 12 to 18-year-old boys stood in slightly disorganized rows, chained together like criminals. Their minds raced, terrified at what might happen next. A tall, muscular man walked in through the courtyard gates. Titus was surprised. Rather than a city or prison guard, this was a real soldier. He wore leather armor and had boots that went up to his knees. Standing with perfectly straight posture, he scanned over the crowd of gathered teens. Suddenly, In a voice that echoed loudly throughout the courtyard, the man shouted, "Listen up, I am Captain Phillips! From now, until the day you sorry lot are sent off to war, I will be your commanding officer! In a moment, we will begin our march to the docks. Upon arriving there, we will travel by boat to the training camp. Until then, I don't want to hear any complaining from a single one of you bastards! You are soldiers now!" he paused briefly before continuing, "Fall in and line up!" Titus couldn’t help but be struck with a bit of pride hearing what the Captain said. “I am a soldier now…” he muttered softly to himself. The Captain looked at the chains the teens had around their legs, frowning. “Take those things damned things off! How are they supposed to march like that?!” he screamed at the prison guards. “But s-sir, what if they try to run away…” one asked in a quiet voice, clearly frightened by the Captain’s imposing manner. “No need to worry, anyone who dares to run will have the honor of being being executed by me personally.” he loudly declared, grinning widely like some sort of devil. Many of the kids lost all the color in their faces. Following the Captain’s orders, the guards removed the leg irons of all the youngsters. This Captain isn’t so bad... thought Titus, relieved to be out of those chains once again. In groups of approximately 20 to 30, the youth were escorted by stone-faced soldiers on horses, led personally by Captain Philips. As the group walked Titus glanced around noticing the pity and anger filled gazes from the civilians that had gathered in crowds around them. One mother recognized her son in the group, calling out to him before being pushed back by the city guards. As they neared the city gates, Titus suddenly felt a rush of excitement wash over him. He was finally getting to leave the city, just like he had always dreamed about. He sighed to himself and chuckled, muttering “I would have never imagined that this is the way I’d be leaving.” While he was excited, he couldn’t help but also feel a great deal of sadness. This was the first time he’d be leaving his home in his 13 years of existence. Walking underneath the massive stone gate archway, Titus couldn’t help but be amazed at the size of it. He stared up in awe. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to stare for very long as the group kept moving onward. Titus felt the cold rough stone road under his dirty and tough feet as he walked. He was used to not wearing shoes, so it did not bother him much. All of the kingdoms in the Empire of Xuvia were connected by a large network stone roadways. This allowed merchants and government officials to transport goods and supplies between cities quickly. Every couple of minutes, in an almost non-stop stream, large carriages and caravans rolled by. Titus breathed in deeply, feeling the fresh air fill his lungs before slowly exhaling. Compared to the vile smell of the city, Titus deeply loved the smell of this fresh air. The road he was traveling along was lined with towering green vibrant trees, giving a beautiful and peaceful feel to the journey. If only the destination wasn’t so frightening, this would be a pleasant trip. Several hours of marching had passed, the group had finally arrived at a dock on the bank of a massive river that stretched several miles across. Large trading vessels could be seen traveling up and down the calm waters. Titus had read about this particular river before. It traversed thousands of miles, snaking through the entire continent. He felt a tinge of happiness being at a location he had only once before been able to read about. At the docks sat a wide double decked ship. It had massive sails in the middle and another smaller sail toward the front. It made for a truly astonishing sight for those about to board. “Get on board brats!” Captain Phillips yelled, commanding the young crowd. The couple hundred teenagers, ranging anywhere from 12 to 18 years old, began gathering onto the massive vessel. Several minutes passed, the group continued to flood onto the massive ship. Titus, having been amongst the first to board, sat toward the bow of the ship. He watched over the incredible river, overjoyed he got to visit such a marvel in person. By the time boarding was finished, Titus was packed tightly, shoulder-to-shoulder with the others around him, leaving hardly room to move. The ship finally set sail down the river. Over the next couple of days, the ship traveled in uneasy silence. Too afraid of what the future might hold for them, or scared by the stoned-faced soldiers, few chose to speak. Titus kept immersed in his own thoughts, wondering what the army was going to be like. He knew the army fought in wars, but did not know much else. Does this mean I’m going to war? He thought worriedly to himself. Titus, having only read about war and its glory in books, knew little about the hell war truly was. Titus was unaware of the chaotic state the continent was in. Not a single country was able to avoid going to war. Some were the aggressors, others just tried to defend against the other attacking countries. It seemed almost as if the Emperors had all simultaneously gone insane and were trying to decide who would have complete ownership over the whole continent once and for all. Titus knew nothing of the horror that awaited him. ….. Warm summer days and cold lonely nights passed. The ship had finally arrived at its destination. The Captain, along with all of his soldiers stood up. He shouted, “Alright we’re here you bastards! Starting with those in the back of the ship first, get off in a single file line and follow the escort.” At the orders of the Captain, those toward the back of the ship slowly began to stand up. Soldiers began to lead them off of the ship in large groups. Many almost fell over due to their stiff legs from the long days of travel. The group Titus apart of, having been one of the first to board, departed last. The old wood creaked beneath their feet as they walked down the long dock. Stepping onto the sandy river bank, Titus gaped at the massive cliff face off in the distance. Titus looked around, staring in amazement. On every side of him were massive mountains covered with tall towering trees and lush vegetation. The river seemed to cut straight through the mountains, creating the natural wall that surrounded them. As he walked, Titus appreciated the magnificent environment he had entered. He loved the smell of the fresh air, the sounds of the birds in the distant treeline, and the cool breeze that gently blew his unkempt hair. Never before had he experienced such a scene. What a beautiful place. he thought, smiling to himself. Led by the Captain and his men, the group walked up a steep dirt pathway that brought them up the cliff wall. Snaking through thick tree trunks, they continued deep into the mountains. They walked free, without any kind of restraints. Knowing, even without being told, that trying to escape was pointless. They had no chance of surviving on their own in this vast mountain wilderness. After many hours of walking, the pathway leveled out, no longer being as steep as before. Titus was beginning to feel tired. Not from physical exertion, but from his ever increasing hunger. For the past week while traveling on the cramped ship he had only stale bread and water to satisfy him. “After going through all of this, they better have something other than old bread to eat,” Titus grumbled slightly annoyed. His thoughts began to wander into fantasy, “Maybe I’ll get to eat some fresh meat... or maybe even sweets!” Imagining himself with a belly full of beef and cakes Titus grinned, paying not the slightest bit of attention to his surroundings. “If I get to have sweets, I’ll loyally serve the army forever.” he thought to himself. Completely immersed in a world of meat and sweets, Titus unconsciously began to walk faster, bumping into the next person in line. The shorter kid in front of him, taken by complete surprise, met the dirt face first. Hearing the commotion, Captain Phillips turned around to see the group had stopped. He angrily shouted, “Who said you could stop walking! You—Why are you laying on the ground? Get the hell up!” The short kid hastily got up, “S-s-sorry Sir!” “Hmph — We have almost arrived, keep moving!” The Captain noticed something odd among one of the teens in the group, “Kid, why are you drooling?” “Me? Oh, I am. My apologies Sir!” Titus said, wiping the drool away from his mouth.
Great start, man! Like the first reviewer, I feel your story is interesting and has potential. Keep up the good work!
Chapter 4: Titus stared wide-eyed at the massive military camp the group had just arrived at. This camp was the largest training camp in the entire Kingdom. Tens of thousands of soldiers trained here every year. Enclosed on all sides by mountains and dense forest, military officials had no worries of potential runaways. It was the perfect location for training new soldiers. The teens followed the Captain through the camp, exhausted after the long march. Soldiers ran to and fro, keeping themselves busy with various tasks and training exercises. Sometimes Titus would see young people his age swinging swords or sparring. After 10 minutes of weaving through the lively camp, the group arrived in front of a massive two-story wooden building. The Captain stopped and turned toward the group. "Pay attention newbies, this here is the barracks!" he said, slapping his palm against the doors. "In a moment, you will walk inside and choose a bunk. On that bunk will be one training outfit, one lovely pair of boots, a practice sword, and a canteen. You only have one of each of these. I'll be back here in 5 minutes, I expect you to be changed and ready by then. Training will start immediately. Any questions? No? Good then. Get your asses moving!" The frightened group broke out into a stampede, rushing into the barracks. During the commotion, Titus heard a familiar voice call out to him. "Titus, Is that you?" He turned toward the voice, recognizing a familiar face. "Oi Fatty, you got picked up too?" he asked. Despite not being on the best terms, Titus was rather glad to see Felix. His eyes were a bit swollen, Titus guessed he had probably been crying. He wouldn't tease Felix for this. Afterall, In a little over a year, these boys of just 13 and 14 would be going to war. "I told you not to call me Fatty, Titus!" Felix shouted out of habit. He paused, looking down toward the floor. "D-do you want to share a bunk with me? You're the only one I know here." Titus paused a moment, smiled, and replied, "Sure Felix, let's find a bunk." He had never been on great terms with Felix, they'd had many brawls throughout the years. Despite this, Titus found comfort in seeing a familiar face. They found an unclaimed bunk and settled in. Titus took the bottom bunk, while Felix climbed up top. Titus sighed, the long hours of hiking had taken its toll. Beside him, just as the Captain said, lay brown burlap pants, a shirt, a worn leather belt, a dirty pair of boots, and a canteen. Next to all this was a steel sword, just a bit longer than Titus' arm. Titus touched the blade, it was completely dull. He couldn't cut himself with it if he tried. Titus changed into his new clothing. It was definitely an upgrade compared to the torn, dirt covered clothing he had worn for years. He even owned a pair of shoes, a first for Titus. It was a little uncomfortable, but jumping a couple times in place, he adjusted to the feel. He felt rather good in this new outfit. Titus put the canteen around his neck and looked down at the bed. Staring at the sword, he hesitated for a moment. For the first time, he would pick up a weapon. He reached slowly, grabbing the hilt. A strange sensation spread throughout his body. The weapon was heavier than he thought it would be, but he felt comfortable. It made him feel powerful. He stared in a trance at the sword in his hands. "Damnit, why didn't they give me clothes that fit?" he heard Felix grumbling next to him, breaking him out of his daze. He looked over and couldn’t help but laugh, this Fatty’s shirt didn’t fit him all the way, revealing his full belly at the bottom. "It looks nice on you Fatty, I've never seen you lookin' so good," he teased. Before Felix could reply, an annoyingly loud voice came from the doorway. "Get your asses outside!" The teens gathered around the waiting Captain outside. "I'd like to give a speech to motivate you all before we start today," he started. "Many of you probably don't want to be here right now... well guess what? Tough shit, you're the Empire's property now! It's my job to make you into a unit worthy enough to be cannon fodder! You will keep up with my training, or you will suffer the consequences! We have a war to win here, no one has time for your complaining! Now, follow me. We’re starting training immediately!" the Captain said, taking off in a sprint. “Already with the exercise? We don’t get to eat something at least first?” Titus thought, frowning. After all, the main reason he easily accepted his fate was the promise of food. The Captain led the group out of the barracks area, increasing in pace over time. Eventually, the group ran in at full speed. The group struggled to keep up with the fully grown soldier. Thirty minutes later, the teens laid sprawled out in the grass. “This guy is surely a sadist! How can he do this to an innocent kid like me?!” Titus thought, looking up at the sky while he struggled to get enough air. The Captain, showing no signs of exhaustion at all, decided they had rested enough, “Break time’s over brats, keep running!” "Fuck, this guy is a demon!" No one dared to complain openly. Dragging their tired bodies up, they chased after the Captain. This time, running at a fraction of the speed they started off at. “Faster!” the Captain screamed, running down one of the kids and slapping the back of his head, knocking him into the dirt. Motivated by fright, the group pushed their bodies to the limit, increasing their speed. This felt like torture, but they did not dare protest. The poor lad who had been hit by the Captain hadn't moved yet, one could only assume he had been knocked out. The group could only curse and cry to themselves, continuing to run. ….. A couple hours later the sun had begun to set. At last, Captain Phillips had allowed them to stop for the day. Many kids passed out due to exhaustion or heat stroke. The Captain did not even give them a glance and left them where they lay. The Captain seemed lively as ever, barely breaking a sweat. "Bring those who are unconscious to the barracks. The rest of ye' go to the cafeteria." “Hm, cafeteria?” Titus perked up a little. The group dragged their way to the cafeteria, Titus seeming to forget his exhaustion, led in front of the group. “Food, food, food, I finally get to eat some food!” Once in the cafeteria, the group silently lined up. Titus had stolen the first spot in line. Receiving a full plate of rice, beans, and a slice of meat. Titus skipped to a table and sat down. To a child of a normal background, this meal may not seem grandiose, but to Titus, this was a gift from heaven. Titus licked his lips, "Meat! I got meat!" he sang, devouring his delicious meal. Felix sat down next to him, looking at him in amazement for a second, before turning to his own food. Kids robotically sat down at tables. Too tired to speak, silence persisted. Broken only by the sounds of eating, and the occasional cough or yawn. Trainees who had arrived at an earlier time looked at them with slight pity. It was only a couple months ago that they experienced the same thing as this fresh group. Back at the barracks, Titus flopped down onto his mattress, rediscovering his previously ignored fatigue, he instantly sank into sleep. Throughout the night, other children could be heard whimpering or crying softly. Some woke up to nightmares. Titus was an exception to this, sleeping blissfully without worry. After several more weeks, strength training was added to the fitness training. The teens could only endure and keep exercising. In no time, two months had gone by. The Captain decided it was time to start basic combat training.