Chapter 26 - Orientation

Nikka showed his pad to Sol, who nodded and checked his watch as the last two students ran in. They took their spots and joined the conversations around them.

Sol let this go on for a few minutes before he nodded to Nikka.

Nikka took a deep breath and yelled over the noise in the room, "Attention!"

The room went silent.

"I am Nikka, second in command and you will call me sir, do you understand!!!"

"Yes sir!!" Maei, Roi and Celaena replied as one.

Sol studied the three closely and tried to keep the grin from his face.

Nikka however was impressed although he would never admit it.

No one had ever answered correctly during the introduction to the school, even those with military upbringing. They were either too intimidated or shy. It took them at least a couple of days to catch on.

"Lets try that again shall we, call me sir, do you understand me?"

"Yes sir!!" Again Maei, Roi and Celaena answered together immediately while the others didn't.

"They will learn." Sol drawled out as he stood straight.

"I am your training master and the Battle School master, you will however call me Master."

"Yes master!" the three voices answered in unison and many of the others around the room snickered.

Sol nodded to himself, "The rules are simple and you will find them in your pad, MEMORISE them. For the next ten years you are ours. We will reward you for your success and punish you for your indiscretions. Your classmates are now your brothers, your family, treat them like it. As for punishments, when one of you are punished all of you are punished. If one of you fail you all fail."

"I don't care who your father's or family are. They are not standing here you are. I want my students to be known for their own accomplishments rather than their families.

Do you understand?"

He put on a timer in front of them.

"You have exactly twenty minutes to change into your training clothes and get to training filed one."

He clicked the timer on.

"You heard him MOVE!" Nikka yelled before anyone could answer him.

Everyone was startled and started racing from the room.

Nikka waited until the last student bolted from the room and moved to the training ground with Sol.

"Man I love pushing around first years."

Sol chuckled for a moment as they walked. All the instructors loved the first three months of a first year's training as they ran them into the ground in order to build them back up again. It was also during these three months they found out the level of adaptability of a student here.

Not everyone was suited to be a soldier as harsh as that may sound. A soldier had to go through near death experiences and high psychological pressure everyday. If these students couldn't adapt to the environment in these three months the Empire would rather that these students have a normal civilian life than have scars later in life.

From the eight hundred students here only a faction of the students will be admitted. For those who failed they could either try again next year or go to the normal academy.

Sol thought for few minutes before he turned to Nikka, "Maeisha, Roi and Celaena care for a side wager?" as they walked into the training ground.

"I am listening." Nikka answered as they met Nessa and Bryok in the field. Like Nikka they were also second in command under Sol.

"What are you two talking about?" Nessa asked as she stretched herself waiting for the first years to arrive.

"Three students we have to punish even though they have done nothing wrong." Sol answered and Nikka showed the other two the three students in question.

"Don't be surprised if they answer you correctly," Nikka warned before asking Sol, "So, side wager, what are thinking three wing leaders?"

Sol shook his head "No, one wing. I think they will form their wing within the next two weeks."

Nessa shook her head "No, its never been done before."

Sol smiled and said mysteriously, "We'll have to wait and see then."

Meanwhile, Maei and her two new friends quickly ran where their trunks were located. Surprisingly they were in the same dorm room with twenty seven more.

The dorm room had thirty bunk beds with space beneath the beds for their trunks, shelves and desks. A full grown person could walk under the bed and not hit his head. There was ample space for a student to keep his clothes, books, trunk and a desk with chair to study.

They found their trunks and quickly went to the common stall in the room to change their clothes. While every one else were dillydallying and slowly going over their things or just simply chatting with others.

Seeing them taking their things in a hurry to the stalls to change two more students joined them. An elf named violet and a boy named Massen. They didn't know wether following them will be better but it would be better than doing nothing.

The five together changed their clothes in record time and ran in the direction of the field as noted in the data pad.

Maeisha, Roi, Celaena, Violet and Massen ran into the field with her in the lead as she was holding the pad and letting them get dressed neatly on the way.

Roi took the pad so that Maei herself could properly set her clothes while the rest of them stopped behind them.

Nikka pointed to the lines and went to open his mouth but they had already moved to the lines.

Maei took her pad back and tucked it into her back pocket and zipped it close.

Roi naturally fell into the ease position so she and the rest followed him.

Maei kept her eyes forward and saw a quote written above the door.

"Don't give up, there is no shame in falling down! True shame is to not stand up again!"

This was the first quote she saw since coming here but she understood it. Falling was okay, what wasn't was not getting up after your failure and learning from it.

In fact this way of training new students was very new to her but she liked it. All students were favoured equally and there was no partiality.

In her past life it was the elimination of the weak and selecting the strong. No one was given equal treatment and depended on wether you had the power to obtain resources.

She like the education system here in The Empire. They treated every child equally and special. For them they were the future of the Empire, and the future can't be depended on a few strong people.

Seeing that the twenty minutes were over and that only a few students came in Sol stopped the timer and turned to Nessa, " I told them twenty minutes....instructors they are all yours. Try not to kill them."

"Yes master." The three replied in a playful tone as Sol left them to it just as another group ran in....