Meeting The Soldiers

Dawn broke and the cohort exited the tent, although, Blood still hadn't awoken. Emile approached Mariah, he should have taken this more seriously from the start.

"Gather everyone," he ordered succinctly.

Moments later and the entirety of their makeshift camp gathered around Emile and his cohort.

"Divide into roles," he ordered again.

This time, the group of sixty people dispersed into various factions: the soldiers, the builders, and the alchemists.

Emile approached the alchemists first, he wanted to start with the smallest group and then work his way up to the larger ones.

"First—" he addressed the alchemists, "Blood, my vassal, was injured yesterday in the Dead Trees Forest. The miasma infected him severely and he has yet to wake up. I want him monitored at all times of the day and I want his life given the highest priority…. That being said, he will be treated like patient zero. Any non-invasive tests you wish to conduct… you may."

The alchemists saluted in response and Emile stepped away, heading towards the construction crew.

"The wall, while not complete, can be put on hiatus. Today I want you to construct a barracks for the soldiers, a place to sleep, eat, and train are essential. In addition to the barracks, please make residences for yourselves and everyone else."

Finally, Emile confronted the soldiers. He walked up and down their front line of men, making eye contact with each person, looking for signs of nervousness or uncomfortability.

"Today we are going to be doing some restructuring. Given your performance up in the mountains, I've decided to change how you operate within a battle. First and foremost, anyone who believes they have a valuable Gift, anyone who thinks they're stronger than the rest, anyone who wants to lead, please come forward."

The soldiers slowly broke free from their rigid shells beaten into them by the academy. They looked around, gauging the thoughts of their fellow soldiers, until someone finally took a step forward.

A woman, from the third row in the back, made her way through the sea of men and arrived in the front. She made sure to stop in front of the first row, alluding to her intention to stand beyond the rest.

Once she made her move, however, the rest of the sheep followed. Twelve more people pushed their way through the crowd and stood next to her, each of them stood in silence, each of them maintained their indifferent facial expressions.

"Thirteen of you, huh? I wanna make this clear now, only three of you will be chosen, but I admire the courage of each of you to approach. With that said, in order, please tell me why you stepped forward in addition to your rank and Gift." Emile asked.

The woman who stepped forward first did so again:

"Middle Enlightened! My Gift is called Veil, it makes people blind! I stepped forward because I am the strongest one here!"

Emile tightened his gaze and scrutinized the woman.

"Is there anyone here who would like to contend with her statement?" He shouted.

Immediately, three men in the row of thirteen raised their hands. Emile approached the closest and asked him the same questions.

"Late Enlightened! My Gift lets me scream really loud. I deserve to lead because I've memorized every battle formation recorded in the academy library!"

'What?'

"What?" Emile said aloud, "You scream loud?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Right—okay then. And why do you think you're stronger than her?" Emile pointed to the girl at the front of the row.

"Because I can immobilize her without my vision, sir!"

"I can admit you're a direct counter to her Gift, but is that all? In a fight without your Gift, would you still win?"

Emile turned around, preventing the soldier from responding. He walked back in front of the grander group of troops with a sly smile on his face.

"This is what we'll do! As we have a declared strongest person here, whoever manages to defeat her in a one versus one, without the use of their Gifts, will receive one of my three spots!"

The eyes of all the troops quickly moved from Emile onto the woman. Meanwhile, the woman's eyes were glued to Emile.

Emile smiled in response. He nodded towards Willow, who then stepped forward and summoned her golden armor. The soldiers quieted down and observed Willow.

"I will be the judge for these bouts!" She shouted, "And also the executioner, for anyone who makes the mistake of using their Gift."

With her overbearing voice and full suit of immaculate armor, Willow immediately quelled the soldiers. Afterwards, the woman in question stepped forward and approached Willow.

Afterwards, she walked to one end of this stretch of camp and reached her arm out to the side. Essence illuminated her palm as she ripped a rapier from her soul. She brandished it down, a quick zip sounded from the speed of her strike.

Willow summoned her hammer and pointed it down, aiming at the man who spoke earlier.

"You will be going first—" she ordered, "you may summon one weapon relic, any more and you'll be deemed guilty."

The man stumbled forward, he kept his arm low as essence gathered around his palm. From it, he grabbed a standard short sword and held it before him.

With the two ready, weapon in hand and facing each other, Willow raised her hammer into the air:

"On my mark!" She shouted, "One! Two! Begin!"