The Wall

The next day Emile hunted down the Colonel during his gift training period. He knew Jazz was right and he needed to start healing actual patients; find out the limitations to his gift and how much he can salvage with only a hundred essence.

Emile explained his situation and the Colonel gave it some thought. The Colonel gave Emile two options: Emile could either go to the infirmary on the base and practice on his fellow cadets or he could take a day and visit the outer walls of the kingdom.

The outer walls of the kingdom regularly saw combat, but it was low level threats. The most dangerous creatures were Enlightened, but the vast majority were Chosen.

Similarly, the majority of the walls were manned by recent graduates and those who didn't wish to pursue a military career. It was the most lacking and unmotivated bunch, but that's all it took to defend the walls.

Emile weighed the two options, but he decided on going to the walls. First, because it would let him see a glimpse of what real combat looked like and what life might be like once he leaves the base. Second, because he believed he'd see a higher volume of patients at the walls than at the base.

Emile took one of the military's carriages to the walls. The carriage had minimum accommodations. It had two cushioned benches facing each other that were able to fit four people. The windows were covered by thin, black blinds and it was pulled by a single horned beast.

The journey to the walls took about half a day and it went through the abandoned zones of the kingdom. The early zones were where Emile competed against Ray, windows and doors were boarded shut and the fountains lacked life.

But then the boards were broken and large gashes were spread on the buildings. The gashes became deeper and deeper until the buildings were cut in half and sprawled around the city.

The walls were monstrously tall. There must have been thirty or forty floors worth of space and they were the only structure Emile had seen that wasn't the pearlescent marble.

The walls were light, sky blue and constructed from thousands of huge bricks. The wall had a reflective surface, like a polished metal and the grooves were reinforced by massive pillars of the pearlescent marble.

The carriage stopped just before reaching the wall's gates. The gates were tiny in comparison to the wall, but they were still far larger than Emile thought would be necessary. The gates, appearing as though they're made from a peerless onyx material, cracked and were slowly pulled back into the center of the wall.

Instantaneously, clouds of smoke burst out from the wall. Strong scents of cured meats assaulted Emile's senses as a warm glow radiated from the center of the wall. Emile's nose followed the smoke and arrived at a barbeque stand. Twenty soldiers sat around two wood fire grills and cooked thinly sliced meat to perfection.

Just past the barbeque stand was a game stand where soldiers were tossing rings onto sticks and throwing rocks at targets. Men and women danced through the crowded street to the drunken songs being sung at the bar.

Everywhere Emile looked, the people were in uniform and yet none of them seemed to be on duty. Making his way through the crowds, Emile made it to the end of the indoor street and found a small door made from the same blue metal as the wall. Standing just outside of the door was a man in uniform like the rest, but his shirt was tucked and his badges were neatly organized on his breast.

Emile confidently walked towards the stern, middle aged man. Emile was dressed in his cadet uniform; a white blazer with light blue pants and a matching tie along with silver cufflinks and a lapel chain. Combined with his recently shaved head, Emile truly encompassed the military aesthetic.

Emile reported his presence to the on-duty guard and was told to wait outside for the wall's commanding officer to arrive.

A few minutes later the door clicked and a small woman with blonde hair and red lips came marching through.

"You're Emile?" She asked, looking up into Emile's eyes.

"Yes ma'am."

"Why are you here, Emile?" She asked.

"To heal the injured soldiers stationed here, ma'am." Emile answered.

"Mhmm. Right. Well then don't just stand there gawking, let's go."

The woman turned and began walking away. Emile quickly followed suit. For a woman of such short stature, she walked incredibly fast. Emile had to essentially jog just to stay behind her. As they were walking through the narrow hallways they passed many identical rooms. Two bunk-beds, four dressers, and a mirror in the same position in every room.

Some soldiers were asleep in their beds while others were reading, writing letters, or engaged in conversation with their roommates. The two eventually arrived at an identical polished door with another guard standing at attention.

"Well here we are–" the woman stopped in front of the door, "we currently have seventy-four injured personnel and the number climbs by the day. Good luck kid." She said as she tipped her black garrison hat and proceeded down another hallway.