III Lessons

It's inconsequential to think about appearances and first-glances. But Hierd couldn't stop pandering about the fifty footmen he was going to train 

"The mass of their forces had been lost during the last Auferstehen, these newer; fifty footmen (with little veterans) were rather untrained. They've been taught how to use the spear and sword yes, however tactics; even these old medieval ones are all way out the gutter.

"They'd more happily throw themselves in the line of fire, hack and slash at the monsters, rather than developing safer and more effective tactics to fight these monsters." Hierd shook his head in disbelief. 

He was resting on his cabin-seat, a pile of Kar98ks laid on the floor in neat piles of five bundled up and arrested in a knotted-rope to make carrying them easier. 

"Now, what to do about those footmen?" He stood there wondering about how and what. "I've heard that soldiers typically start by training disipline, but they've been disiplined enough I think. Guns should be my primary objective of teach. Guns and leadership."

Then a knock rocked the door, "Sir?" 

It was Alrife.

He stumbled off his seat and walked to the door, "They have been fed and are good to go?"

"Yes, sir." Alrife affirmed, "and're waiting for you."

"Then let's not dally," Hierd turned around a grabbed a five bundles of rifles and turned to Alrife to carry the burden. "Help me carry that," -he struggled for four more- "this as well," -Alrife hunched aback by the sudden amount- "and I to carry the others."

"Y-yes…" Alrife stepped out of the way for Hierd to exit. 

A brisk walk towards the green field where he introduced himself. Within; Alrife laid the guns as did Hierd on a wooden box away from the footmen cleaning up the mess they made from their eating. 

Naturvege walked over to Hierd, "sir, they're neat to go."

"Thank you," Hierd closed the wooden box, "please tell them to assume the box formation."

"Yes, sir."

In a jolt, the footmen were all brought speedily into a strict formation (as Naturvege had so adamantly told them to). Hierd's smile faded into a serious demeanor. "I will start with basic training, running, endurance, discipline, and digging. Alot of digging."

He walked with no sense of urgency, ever so stoic; his immaculate military stride. "Good Afternoon to you all," he started; "I've been told you've all been fed well. And I hope you have, for within my training, I'm not that kindly," -he burst his luger out of his holster, jolting everyone by the suprise- "as soon as I fire my gun; you are to lap ten times; the training grounds you've made!"

'what!?' They were brought to immidiate surrender.

"If in any reason that I see even any of you try and subvert my expectations: expect immidiate punishment. For everyone of you."

'what a monster!'

"Run!" Hierd yelled; firing the luger up into the air.

Hesitating little: the footmen started their jog with a damning fear in their eyes.

"Everyone!" A female footman started: "let's try and not find out what that man has in for us as a punishment!"

"I agree to that!" They resonated a cheer.

Hierd examined from the same position atop the stage: "That was a blank of course," he chuckled, "they're quite a hasty few; and their sense of comraderie is quite fascinating. No one's trying to undermine the other, and they're all in one singular mass. And when one's getting tired, they move from the front, to the back."

They had finished their first lap, most of them were beyond tired, but what kept them going for another was Hierd's furiously foreboding gaze. He looked like he was about to kill them all, the punishment in the back of their minds pushed forward (in their mind) and festered everytime they looked back at the wooden stage.

— 

They had just finished ten laps. "And they're all dead. Would they even bare the fact that I was going to have them dig foxholes for me just after that?"

Only a select few of them could stand up with some ounce of energy. The rest of the fifty footmen could barely even crawl, their legs were sore, their throats were dry from their incessant gasp-like ragged breathing.

Naturvege, just beside Hierd, was awfully sympathetic. "Sir, I think they need a break."

"I think they do," Hierd smirked, looking at the crowd.

'Oh God, what's he about to do?' They commented, taking the smirk for a sinister murderous smile. 

"I shall give you… Three minutes to rest up. And after the three minutes are up, I expect you all to be back from where you stood in your formation in exactly fifty seconds."

'Huh!?'

'That's not even enough time to take a shit!'

"Now go!" Hierd shouted.

As they ran towards their leather water bottles (they called them blackjacks) Hierd ordered for Alrife to deliver to him the large wooden box offset the stage. After the fact: he slid his sleeve a little to observe his watch. 

"There is one more minute."

-30s-

-20s-

-10s-

Now he counted seconds; glancing at the footmen finishing their quenching and quickly running towards the stage.

-20s- Twenty one footmen.

-10s- Fourty footmen.

-5s- Fourty five footmen.

-1s- Fourty nine footmen.

He glanced up from his watch, and from the corner of his eyes he saw that missing footman raring his way towards the formation. But before he could enter into his spot, Hierd stopped him. "What is your name!?" 

"V-vedal. Sir!" He replied in unease.

"Vedal. Get down on the ground," -he jumped down from the stage and walked to him- "and give me twenty push-ups. Let you waste the water that you drank!"

"Y-yes sir!" Immidiately, Vedal got down on his feet and began trying to do push-ups. The first one went by without a breeze. The second one was like going up and rough hill on a bike. Then the third one was like climbing mount everest without gear. A physically impossible task.

His face turned beat-red, then a deranged violet.

"Just… Just stop."

Vedal let go, landing face-first into the ground.

"You need to work on your core, mister Vedal." He crouched down, "during the next few days I expect of you to achieve that much and more," -he leapt up- "stand up."

Vedal, his face returning to normal, stood up: with much exhaustion. "I-I… I apologize… Sir."

"Now head back in line." Hierd hurriedly went and jumped onto the stage. "Men, over to your right is a box full of shovels," -he pointed at the opened box of shovels- "each are to pick one, then build a hole one man tall in the forest over yonder!"

'shouldn't be too hard?' They talked to one another.

'shouldn't be. I mean, we always dig anyway.'

— 

"Good god!" The footman, panting, stopped digging.

"What are you doing!?" Hierd ran to him, pushing him back into the foxhole. "Do you want to be punished!?"

"N-no! N-No sir!" He hopped to it.

The forest was full of a number of foxholes, Hierd taught them to build them behind trees, in shady and dim places. The hole was like a large step, the indent was for peeking up while staying in the safe cubby, while the larger step was for hiding, storage, and a whole number of other things. 

"If I were to make trenches in the future, this is a great excersize." Hierd thought, but then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a footman digging out in the open, not at all hidden, and very much so ineffective. 

"What do you three think you're doing?"

"Sir…?" They staggered up the step and stopped digging to sit.

"Move this ten steps into the forest."

"M-move?"

"Move it." Hierd let the shovel on the ground clang toward the bottom of the foxhole, "what did I say? Move it. Ten steps. Into. The. Forest."

"Y-yes, sir…"

Hierd walked away, a smile forming in his mind, "I've longed to say that, shit I'm a jack-ass."

( * )

"It's three hours away from midnight." Hierd looked up, his footmen, now fully chiseled and much-so fully exhausted. "They can't even stand up after all of that. I've made them dig foxholes; then goodness; I made them fill those holes back up!" Hierd maniacally laughed in his mental; "Then, after that, I made them do endurance and physical tests. Now…?"

Hierd saw them, all exhausted, roughed-up and unable to keep standing.

Naturvege neared him, "Sir, I think that is enough for today."

"No." Hierd looked at him with a grin, "it will be. I have just one thing to say to them."

"If it… If it as you wish…" Naturvege backed away in an awkward chuckle.

Hierd prepared his excordium by clearing his throat; "tommorow, you shall get your Kar98ks. The same ones I had showed you some hours before."

The platoon sounded excited, although they were still exhausted.

"But!" He exclaimed, "The gun, the one you will get tommorow. Lose it and you shall face punishment of the greatest magnitude! Lose your gun, damage your gun, and your face will turn unrecognizable infront of your family!" 

The platoon was defeated, their jovialness from before, gone.

"The days of revival, you will be afraid, you will think of your family, you will think of the ones you love most in the front lines of battle. It will not weaken you, nigh it will strengthen you! Cherish your loved ones, the ones who live beside you, not only your family, friends, but every single man who sleeps in this village. 

"This… This will be your lesson. To love all whom you see. To thank all who help you, and to help all who need it. You've developed comraderie through the pain of… Pain. Through shared pain, relationships are developed. Understand this. For if I see you without this value, you are nothing to me. That you'd be better fit a coward."

"I think I got them..."

They understood. Seeing the atmosphere lighten, Hierd continued.

"To the men who I will point this day, shall be the ones to command and lead a team of ten."

They murmured amongst each other. 

"If one objects or if I see evidence that dismay your position, immidiately are you to be demoted and shunned. Punished, so to speak. I will not accept dirty men in this platoon."

Hierd first points towards the most muscular of all the men. "You. Name?" 

He wasn't suprised in the slightest and immidiately answered; "I am Heduc, lord."

Hierd smiled, "You will command the column which you stand in."

Then Hierd pointed to the first in-line of the 2nd column. "You. Name?"

A woman, she seemed to be one of five women who were 'enlisted.' "I--I... I am... Jeane... lord..." She trembled in her speech." 

"You will command the column of which you stand in."

Hierd pointed to the third column's middle man. "You. What is your name?"

A man, one that was less bulkier than the first, he was joival in his achiving a position. His friends beside him were cheering for him for being chosen a leader. "I am... Gelmund, lord."

"You will command your column."

Hierd pointed to the fourth column's last man. "You. Name."

A slimmer, more child-like teen. He was obviously suprised that he got the position, but Hierd took into account the weakness of the fourth column and saw that he; "Vedal, lord..." Was perfect for it, Hierd chortled a little.

He then skipped over to the last column, the fifth. 

"I shall command the fifth one, as the fifth looks to have the most fit inside. But know that as days shall pass, I will make sure that all are fed and all are physically fit enough to train and to be known a footman."

The footmen cheered for their column's leader. And too at Hierd for his helping of their village.

"To all of the ones I had chosen. You shall awake earlier than the rest. And shall have to come to the chief's house for debriefing. I expect your presence early and not late. You will lose your position if you are too late." Seeing the men, carrying the hot containers of food and their emptied canteens, and too their eyes that wanted sleep after a long day. He said; "Thank you everyone! You can now go." 

They hailed their appreciation and left, leaving the chief and Alrife behind.

"Sir, we thank you for your generosity. But I would like to question where and how did you get the shovels and other… Tools? I had not seen a carriage come-by here." Asked Alrife

Hierd looked at him, "I would rather not say."

"Really... Its like magic... I don't even know how it happens..."

"Please rest, for I will too. Tommorow's going to be another long day for all of you."

( * )

Author's note:

There's an editing error and you might see the name: (Verdal) instead of (Vedal). They're both the same, and until I edit those mistakes, please keep that in note.