Once again, the morning sprung upon me like a snake uncoiling toward a weary traveler. I woke to the comforting sensation of an elbow digging into my side.
I really need to do something about the sleeping arrangements I thought to myself. I keep waking up thinking I''m fighting some kind of enemy, only to realize I''ve been accosted by my own subordinates. And I can’t be the only one. It’s time to improve the sleeping arrangements. Brad rose early once again and soon woke up the whole camp, proving that the day before hadn’t been a fluke.
Soon we were working through our morning exercises, spending a little more time stretching and than usual. Everyone was quiet, but there was a spark of excitement in the air, like the whole group was perched attentively on the edge of their seats. Judging from the moaning I''d heard from Kate and Brad, they would be quite relieved to have a day off from studying. Given the lack of access to paper or writing utensils, we tried various replacements, including charcoal and wood, thinly peeled bark, scratching rocks, and a few others. Still, we decided just to scribble in the dirt. From what I could tell, they were progressing, but it was slower going than I''d hoped. I need to have the whole nation literate as soon as possible.
When the sound of a horse plodding down our road finally came, we were all standing ready to receive our instructor. She was alone this time—no healer, and no wagon.
"Greetings!” Sophia began as she brought her steed to a halt. “I come bearing exciting news. Today we marks the beggining of our first internation tournament. The event will be held eight miles away, in a central location between each of the nation’s territories. The tournament begins in one hour.” Sophia looked down approvingly at my well-conditioned force and gave me a nod. “I see you come prepared for a sprint. Well done. Now let’s get going."
Our first real challenge. I wonder if any of the other nations were caught still sleeping when their instructor showed up with this news. Though we had already run this morning, everyone would still be relatively well-rested and ready to get moving. I had prepared my nation as best I could. Now it was time to test their metal.
Sophia turned her horse around and started trotting back down the road, yelling out over her shoulder, "Do your best to keep up; I don''t plan on slowing my pace!"
After several minutes of running, we broke out of the forest into some open country, but instead of continuing on the road that would lead back to the academy staging grounds we veered to the right, working our way around the edge of our territory and eventually heading north. Initially, I hadn''t thought much of the distance or time, but I had assumed we’d be running on the road. Unfortunately, that was not the case. A majority of the run was through open grassland made primarily of thick, knee-high frost grass, and the ground was littered with ankle-twisting potholes. To make matters worse, the weather shifted after our second or third mile, and it began to drizzle. Normally I wouldn''t complain about such mild weather, but the water coated every blade of grass, and within fifteen minutes, our legs were thoroughly drenched. I did my best to stay towards the front of the pack along with a few other stronger runners in order to mat down the grass for those struggling behind. After no small amount of effort, we made it to the entrance of another forest that appeared to span several square miles. Sophia informed us, to our relief, that we had only a half mile left. Invigorated by the news,I called out orders to my nation, and we eagerly picked up the pace.
After running through the woods, we came to a massive clearing where just two other nationes were waiting. Judging by the amount of them that were bent over or lying on the wet ground, They must have just arrived.
Good. We’re one of the first.
The clearing appeared to be a near-perfect circle cut into the woods, containing a single raised platform in the center. Sophia led us to an open area and told us that we had arrived early and had about 10 minutes to rest before the event started. To my disappointment, she informed me that she could answer no questions prior to that time. I looked around at my nation, planning to get everyone together to strategize and reconnect before the event. That being said, it was clear that almost everyone was still recovering from the march and would benefit from a few minutes of rest. I noted that Mira and one of the guys from her squad looked a lot better off than the rest of us, and not surprisingly, Derek didn''t look much worse for wear, either.
Over the next ten minutes, the other nations arrived in the clearing. In total, I counted thirteen. A man in a military uniform appeared on the platform and cleared his throat at an unnaturally loud volume.
"Ahem. All students at attention!" he bellowed. The uniformed man was large, and looked as sturdy as a tree—but not nearly as pleasant. His features shouted, "Test me, see what happens!" and all of the nationes shifted haphazardly as we gave our best attempt at a salute. His brow creased in frustration, and he looked ready to go off on us, but relaxed a bit when three more scholarly figures joined him on the stage. The trio wore fancier uniforms that looked more fitting for a school setting than actual combat. Of the three, the one woman among them had several extra markings on her uniform, which I assumed translated to a higher rank. To further my hypothesis, the other two were a good step behind her. They looked like they knew their place. After taking a moment to calm his anger, the military man continued his speech.
"As I said, we will now start with the first official inter-nation tournament of the year. As you can see, only 15 of the 20 nations are present. Every aspect of your time at the academy is measured and taken into account; Five nations failed to arrive at the event ground before the starting time and have therefore forfeited their participation."
There were a few whispers of surprise, but most of the trainees I could see were nodding in understanding or simply appeared uninterested.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
"Now, I will turn over the podium to the year one overseers who are in charge of nation tournaments and the academic studies of first-year students at the academy.”
With that, he stepped back and allowed the medal-wearing woman to take center stage.
"Welcome, students! My name is Leanna, lord of ____. I will be presiding over all first-year students and acting as the general overseer for tournaments and inter-nation events."
A real lord, I thought. That means she’s one of the country''s elites, whose influence ranks second only to the king. I shivered as I realized the power that the woman before me held.
"The first tournament,” Leanna continued, “will be a war game— Capture the King. Each nation will be assigned a defensive location in small clearings throughout the forest, tasked with eliminating enemy kings while simultaneously defending their own. The team with the most captures without losing their king wins. As for the fun part, rewards will be given to the top-ranking teams in addition to priority boon choices. There are two rules you will abide by. You must stay in the forest and aim to maim, not to kill. The academy Healers will be scattered throughout the woods to bring you back from the brink of death, but I''m afraid we have no power over the grave, so fight like your life depends on it."
Another one of the overseers stepped forward while the rest of those on stage started making their way out into the clearing.
"We will now be assigning your starting placements; an instructor will soon make their way to you and guide you to your defensive location. The tournament will begin in twenty minutes'' time."
Our nation gathered together and started looking for the instructor who would guide us to our post. It wasn’t long before a younger-looking man who introduced himself as John informed us that he was our assigned instructor before promptly turning and running into the woods. It took us a moment to realize that we were supposed to follow him, but we kept pace well enough. As it turned out, the defensive position was a simple mudwalled hovel in the center of a small circular clearing. The trees around the clearing were more spaced out than in our own territory, and the forest had far less brush; I figured that made sense given how time-intensive it would be to traverse dense woods. This tournament wouldn’t be a siege, it would be a slaughter. As soon as we were all gathered, John began to explain our next steps.
"For this exercise, your Monarch is required to stay within the hut for the duration of the tournament. Should they leave, it will count as an immediate forfeit. Your Monarch is considered captured if they surrender, are disabled, or are killed. Once a monarch is defeated, the rest of the nation will be told to stand down by one of the instructors. The event will officially begin when you hear a long blast of a horn. You have ten minutes. Good luck."
Without another word, John turned and ran off into the woods.
I took the reins immediately. "All right, everyone,” I yelled into the still, summer air. “Let''s talk strategy. I propose that we keep back a small, skilled portion of our team to defend and send out a larger force to raise the enemy camps. Any objections?" seeing that nobody had anything to say, I continued, "I will have Derek and Jack''s squad stay with me while Kate leads the other squads in the war party." Kate smiled, apparently pleased with her assignment, then she spoke.
"I have an idea."
"Go on," I replied.
"The primary goal is to dethrone the enemy kings. However, that can be accomplished in various ways. The easiest will likely be to force the king to leave their hut."
"Agreed. what are you suggesting?"
"To avoid wasting time-fighting the enemy, we could smoke out the king by burning vegetation and pine tar."
"Not bad,” I replied with a nod of approval. “But how do you plan to start the fires?"
Kate frowned. “Well, I—”
"That won''t be a problem!" An unfamiliar voice piped up.
One of Duck''s soldiers introduced himself as George and stepped forward.
"Well, George, what is your solution?" I asked.
"Well, Mr. Steven, sir…." he managed to get out. I nodded encouragingly.
"Well, you see, I have a gift that lets me create sparks. It’s nothing much, but with the right materials, I could start a fire quite quickly."
My eyes lit up at the revelation that we had another gifted member in our nation; a few days ago, I had only met a handful of people who openly shared their gifts. But this was our nation now. Clearly, my men were beginning to trust their leaders. They’d seen what my preparation had yielded—an extra ten minutes of rest after the march didn’t seem like much, but it was a significant advantage, and my soldiers were smart enough to recognize it. Thanks to XYZ (relationship-building scenes/exercises that we may add in earlier chapters) they were beginning to recognize the nation not just as mine, but as their own.
"Well, George, it sounds like you''re going to be busy today," I said with a knowing smile.
"Kate, good thinking. I''m sure we can catch at least a few camps off guard. I have a feeling this tournament will have a rapid conclusion, so I suggest we spend as little time as possible in each camp. Does everyone know what they''re supposed to do?"
I looked around and was pleased to see that everyone was already readying themselves and required no further instruction. I gave final parting words to Kate and made my way into my new abode, joined by Derek alongside Jack''s squad. Over the last couple of days, I had taken the opportunity to spar against Jack and his team. They were the best we had in weapons combat. His team was made up of Matt, Lucy, and Roy. Jack and Lucy were your typical heavy hitters—soldiers you didn''t want to engage with on a level playing ground. They both wielded two-handed swords, and I had personally been on the receiving side of Jack''s inhuman strength. Matt and Roy, on the other hand, looked to be the more dexterous types, favoring quicker skilled movements that complimented the strength of their larger teammates. Derek, of course, was a force of his own. I highly doubted anyone would be getting past him and his squad. I myself fit into the more quick and skilled fighting style, preferring intelligent tactics over overwhelming force.
With all ____ of us in the hut, we weren''t left with a whole lot of extra space. It was dark and hot with all of us crammed inside. We decided to have all the defenders stay in the hut to limit the number of people we''d have to engage at once, considering how few people we had left at the camp. I sat furthest away from the entrance and began to meditate. My fighting skills wouldn’t decide this tournament—perhaps wouldn’t even influence it—but my mind could. In truth, I found it quite frustrating not being able to fight, but I knew that the king''s role in a battle was to govern and direct the rest of the troops, especially when said king’s capture would bring an end to any chances of our winning the tournament. Derek stood directly in front of me and would deal with any attacker that made it past the front line. Jack paired off with Matt on either side of the entryway, and Lucy and Roy were ready to switch places with the first pair as soon as they were needed. All of our internal processing came to a halt as a long, loud horn sounded in the distance.
The battle had begun.