9 The Pit

Osiris was able to fall asleep with ease, which was surprising due to the last few days he's indulged in. That night, he had dreamt of his days when his father was off in the military. Laughing and giggling while playing in the woods with his classmates. The sun was bright, the air clean and fresh with a faint scent of the purple and white azaleas that were common in the area. The nostalgia was overwhelming in the dream, and memories like this came to him from time to time. Although, in a time where his life is changing at an awfully rapid pace, he was thinking of home. Osiris loved his childhood, even though he had no true father figure, he knew he was doing his best. Putting food on the table and his mother caring for him during times of need. At the very end of his dream, he was running away from his friends, and he didn't stop. He couldn't keep his legs from running, farther and farther he got into the woods. He tripped on a log below him and plummeted down a hill. Bruising his body and scratching his and legs. At the bottom, he was out of breath, gasping for air he kept trying to breathe. Blood began spilling down his right leg, and his clothe t-shirt was ripped in half. Every breath was a struggle, he picked up his head from the ground. He was covered in dirt with his hair clumped up from the mud. Then he saw it, a glimmer of a stone. It was as if the stone was being presented in front of him by god himself. The light from the trees created a spotlight effect upon the bright purple stone. On it was etched a small symbol, and that symbol was a bow and arrow. Using the last of his air and his strength from that 20 meter fall down the hill, Osiris picked up the stone. It burned his hand but he didn't care, it was too pretty. The white markings on the stone made him feel like it was from royalty. His vision turned into a solid white and Osiris' reality returned to back to him.

As he awoke, he was greeted by someone he hasn't met yet, it was a small female. Covered in red metallic armor, with a blue bow behind her back. Her ears looked almost as sharp as daggers. Dark shoulder length hair flowed behind her back, she wasn't human obviously. "Morning soldier! I am here to escort you to training." Osiris looked a little bewildered, but the lady in front of him didn't take notice. "Can I get dressed first?" The woman in front of him didn't even realize that Osiris only in a pair of trousers standing in front of him. She gasped, eyes reaching anywhere other than Osiris, "Oh my! Yes, yes of course!" Osiris quickly hid behind his dresser, opening up a drawer to grab some of his slacks that he typically wore on a day into town. He only had clothes of that style, except for his school uniform as well. He was debating the night before if he should just get rid of it, but decided to keep it for his own keepsake for what he used to have.

Once he was dressed the two had their formal greeting, "Hi miss, I'm Osiris son of Drand from Evandria." He bowed as he said this. "I am Evandell daughter of Lionne. I come from the land north of Evandria. It's name is High Elgin." Directly after their greeting, they began walking together in the massive hallways of Siegfried. As they were walking, Evandell was giving the run down of what Osiris should expect while he is stationed at the military base. "You are here to learn, to improve, to train, and become one of our brightest. We expect hard work from you, but don't be afraid to make allies while you're here. There is much to learn from others, and maybe one day, they'll save your life." Walking to the elevator, Osiris was curious, he had no clue what he was getting himself into.

There were around twenty floors that were held within the depths of Siegfried's underbelly. Most of the floors were for housing of soldiers alone. Others held important conference rooms, strategic planning, or for various higher ups that attained their own room due to their rankings and various levels of importance. At the very bottom, which was the largest, Siegfried's up and coming soldiers were hard at work for hours on end throughout the day. Training courses with various obstacles, young men and women alike, running across the courses with sweat dropping off them excessively. Siegfried was going to be the new life Osiris will have to endure for the next year. Every day will have to be better than the last, and he will have to meet the other scribes. That's what the newbies were called. He didn't like that he was going to actually have to talk to the new people like him. Having to make new friends seemed like it would be hard for him now that he has left everyone behind. Before, conversations with his peers came naturally, and Osiris has gotten used to not making an effort to participate. He had decided that now it was time to see if riding solo, and thinking of his friends might benefit his mentality. He knows his goal, get this training finished and hopefully get out of the military as soon as possible.

After his encounter with the sleep strider and learning his newly found powers, he cut almost every friend in his life down. No more chatting, no more games. Osiris is big on family, when he was only 12 his mother needed medical care and Osiris took her into the local hospital by himself. He was ready to be a man like his father and that meant helping his mother with errands, and various other chores around the house. Helping Drand with agriculture and keeping the animals well fed. Osiris' old home was on a plot of land that was around 20 acres deep. After that point, his days were full of regular upkeep and making sure things were not out of place. School was a completely different process but since Osiris was well versed in his scholarly affairs, very little effort at school was necessary.

Osiris and Evandell reached the pit. It was time for the first day of class. Evandell introduced the Drill Sargent that would be in charge of the rest of Osiris' new life. He was an older man, Sargent Mill was his name, he was in uniform. A dark green dress coat with several medallions and various badges on his left and right arm. He had one long broad sword dangling off his left hip in its hilt. On the back of his uniform Evandria's insignia, an eagle with its wing spread colored blood red.

"Morning, young man! Welcome to your favorite place in Siegfried. The pit is going to change you, it will haunt you, most importantly, it will make you a versatile asset on the battlefield." Osiris still hated when people told him he was going to be somehow transformed from a semi-athletic boy into an ultimate weapon. He was trying to keep an open mind though. Sargent Mill continued, "Today your first set of training will be a complete physical aptitude test. After that, we will test your mental aptitude, and tonight you will have your own set of clothes. What kind of clothing you get will be determined after your scores are posted and your skills are revealed. Your first task is to get in line with your fellow scribes and ready up for our first test. I hope you're ready for a long day." He ended with a small chuckle and a pat on Osiris' back.

With a quick salute, Mill walked off. As Osiris turned to face everyone who was already in line, he noticed how every face seemed intimidated. That didn't help put his mind at ease.

He got in line in the wide open space of the pit. He stood next to a young female who looked about his age with pointed ears, and to his right a scrawny boy but had the most composure out of the rest of the group. Osiris was assuming that the girl beside him was from the Elven countries but found herself in Evandria somehow. As for the boy, he might be a descendant of the dwarven race but wasn't full blood since he was a bit too tall.

A voice came on over head through an intercom, "Welcome meat puppets! Today we will be conducting your physical, mental, and skill aptitudes. We will now begin your first task. Since all of you are lined up, we will start with the physical aptitude. Look to the person to your left. That is your new opponent. Hand to hand combat, each match will last only 5 minutes. If you cannot get your opponent to tap out, or pin them on the ground. Then it will be considered a loss on both sides. All eyes are on you, do not disappoint. The first match will be between Gorn and Lydia. Step into the golden ring that will be present in front of you via magic apparition." Suddenly the lights turned off and a golden ring that illuminated the room appeared. Osiris was actually nervous. It was that girl he had to fight and the kid to his right had to fight him. Everyone has two matches and this is big. Osiris always wanted to prove himself, but not exactly like this. He wasn't too familiar with hand to hand combat but after his attack from the sleep strider his confidence has risen.

Today was the day, he will become known for his skills and prove to the world that Karthus was right.