Soul of the Warrior

Chapter 211: Shadows of the Past

Reivyn stood to the side of the road as he watched the procession March past. They had been at the city he didn't even know the name of for a couple of months. The invaders hadn't attacked the city in force again, but they kept regular pressure on them. Every day, without fail, several enemy companies would assault the walls.

They didn't line up in endless ranks, and they didn't have dedicated Mage Corps launching an endless barrage of Spells at them, either. They formed up in their companies, had Mana Shields to protect them from the defenders' Spells, they Marched up to the walls, and after trying and failing to scale it, they retreated.

The practice had puzzled Prince Allik and his commanders, but Reivyn and his father were beginning to suspect their tactics. Putting everything together, including their total disregard for the sanctity of life, it seemed like they were training their soldiers. The thought was troubling, in more ways than one.

Today, Reivyn found himself watching a new division March into the city. They had finally received reinforcements, but upon closer inspection of the soldiers, Reivyn was disappointed. There were hardly any battle-hardened veterans among the bunch, and looking closely with his Divine Sense Skill, he could even see many of the soldiers attempting to suppress the shivering that tried to take over their bodies. They were terrified to be here on the front lines, but they were the only ones available to be sent.

Other than the NCO's and officers, Reivyn saw a sea of fresh faces. Their gear was nothing to be written home about, either. Other than a steel helmet, they were all wearing nothing more than a gambeson, shield, spear, and a short sword as a sidearm. It brought back memories of his first journey away from home, and Reivyn realized the truth. The entire outfit was comprised of young Conscripts.

Reivyn watched for a while longer, but when nothing new or unexpected Marched through the gates, he turned around and headed back to his company.

---

Reivyn stood on top of the wall separating his barracks from the one next to his. It had been empty until earlier in the day, and he was unsurprised to find that it had been occupied by a Conscript company. He, his dad, and the other officers were silent as they watched the goings on inside their neighboring compound. It had been almost a week since the reinforcements had arrived, and they had done the same thing every day.

"I can't believe this," Refix spat to the side. Reivyn looked at his father with wide eyes. He had never seen the man spit. Not once in his life. It was a testament to how upset he was.

"Yes, sir," Jekle answered. "We prepared a platoon's worth just in case we ran out of spare sets of armor."

"Good, good. Have someone fetch us some. Just bring them right up here on the wall."

"Yes, sir," Jekle answered with a salute.

Reivyn turned back to watching the Conscripts. What had him, the other officers, and especially his father so dumbfounded and irritated was the fact that they were just lying about doing absolutely nothing. There was no training of any kind going on, whatsoever. The NCO's and couple of officers had disappeared into their quarters, and they left the Conscripts completely to themselves. There was no supervision, and they weren't taking matters into their own hands to improve themselves.

The Conscripts broke themselves up by squad and platoon after setting up their bivouac, and then they simply sat around doing nothing. There didn't appear to be any clear cliques established among them, but they were definitely segregated to a worrying degree from Reivyn's perspective. There didn't seem to be any interaction between the different platoons at all, and even the squads seemed reluctant to act as a whole with the rest of their platoons.

"What's your plan?" Refix asked.

"I'm still young enough that I look just like them if I put a gambeson on," Reivyn replied, not taking his eyes off the travesty before him. "I'm going to hop on over there and have a conversation with them. Figure out what the deal is and why nobody is doing anything. I'll send Jekle over there to talk to their officers under the guise of getting along with our neighbors, too."

"I see," Refix said. "And then what?"

"And then? We try to motivate them to save their own lives. We can't be responsible for everyone, and we can't take charge of them, either. We can, however, at least try to make sure they try it themselves."

"Yeah, that's probably the best we can do," Refix heaved a sigh in frustration.

Reivyn could understand where his father was coming from. They had obviously talked about his exploits and the journey they had taken to meet up with Reivyn. He knew that his father took people under his wing to support them and help them grow. It must be maddening to see an entire company just wasting away, especially considering they could face a life or death battle any day.

Jekle quickly returned with a man in tow. He walked up and began pulling several sets of gambesons out of a large storage pouch. Reivyn wasn't wearing his armor at the moment, so he simply started putting the gambeson on with his father's help.

"I'm going to sneak over there and integrate myself into their ranks," Reivyn addressed the officers. "Jekle, I want you to go around and go through the front gate. Meet with their officers and find out what the deal is with them."

"Yes, sir."

"What about us, sir?" One of the other officers asked. Reivyn looked them over and contemplated their options for a moment.

"Just standby for now."

"Yes, sir."

Reivyn ducked behind the edge of the wall and made his way to the corner. He activated his Mana and infused it with the Light Affinity. He wrapped himself in a bubble of Mana, hiding himself from view to anyone who couldn't see or sense the Mana, and dropped down to the ground below. The ambient Mana was still getting sucked away in the same direction, but the distance muted the effect considerably. Instead of rushing off and being agitated, the Mana acted like it was in a slow moving current of a stream.

Reivyn deactivated the Mana and strolled out of the shadow of the wall like he belonged there. He walked up to one of the platoons, and he squatted down next to one of the squads. They were all startled that someone took the initiative to come over, and they all looked up at Reivyn in confusion. Reivyn could see the youth in their faces. They all had a bit of fear still in their expressions.

"So?" Reivyn asked.

The young Conscripts shared a look between each other before they turned back to Reivyn.

"So... what?" One of them finally asked.

"So what do you all think? About this place? Our situation?" Reivyn asked.

"What do you mean? Don't we all feel the same way?" The same boy answered. "They've abandoned us, sent us off to die to stall for time so the rich and the nobles can escape."

"Is that how you really feel?" Reivyn asked with a frown.

"Of course. You don't see any of their kids here, do you?"

Reivyn looked at each of them in turn. He glanced around the platoon making note of the faces of all of the young Conscripts. He couldn't tell a thing simply by their faces, though.

"Really? Do you know who's in charge of the defense of this city?" Reivyn shot back, looking the one who had spoken up in the eye.

"Some general," the boy shrugged.

"Prince Allik," Reivyn said. He let that sink in for a second. "He's about as 'noble' as nobles come, wouldn't you say? Isn't the Crown Prince in the same position? Prince Endrew is the head of the army. He's off somewhere else on the front lines."

"Be that as it may-"

"And I bet the other affluent families and nobles' kids aren't among the Conscripts because they're already here, with the regular troops. Did that thought ever cross your mind?" Reivyn pressed.

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"Are you defending them?" The boy pulled back, suspicion written on his face.

"Nah," Reivyn shook his head in denial. "I'm just trying to paint a different picture. Think about it. Not only do they have an obligation to the nation, but many of them also view this war as an opportunity."

"An opportunity?" There was still skepticism on the boy's face, but he was at least engaging in the conversation.

"Right. An opportunity. What kind of Life Experience do you think everyone who participates in the war successfully will get? Everyone who fights will have a tremendous boost to their Class options in the future. Guaranteed."

"But we don't come from Combat Classes," another boy spoke up. Reivyn focused his attention on the new boy. He wilted slightly under Reivyn's intense gaze, but he quickly mastered himself and continued. "My parents are bakers. What good will this Life Experience do for me?"

"Are you serious?" Reivyn asked. He put on an expression of incredulity. "I can think of a million ways this could be an opportunity for you! First off, you have access to considerably more Stat gains while still in Tier 1 as compared to your contemporaries. Those Stats aren't for nothing. You'll be able to unlock higher Rarity versions of your Class in the future. And don't worry about advancing to a 'useless' Tier 1 Combat Class. As long as you don't gain too many Levels, you can always visit a church and purge it from your System.

"For you, I can see a path opening up for you to increase your production abilities. Just imagine if you take this opportunity to bake for the entire company? Combine that with your Conscript Life Experience, and you might unlock a Rare Class that allows you to create vastly more products than you would normally be able to manage. Imagine what that could do for your family business in the future."

"That's all well and good, but what if we do gain too many Levels in a Tier 2 Class? What then?" The youngster shot back.

"Even better," Reivyn smiled. "Everyone knows that Tier 1 through 3 Classes are foundational. So what if you have a couple odd Classes out? You can still work on your Skills to unlock the appropriate Tier 3 Class in the future. I doubt you'll reach Tier 3 while still in the army."

"You never know. How long are we going to be tied up by this invasion?"

"You're right about that. We don't know how long it'll be. That being said, as Conscripts, we're not exactly the main combat force. We'll be off to the side for the most part, shoring things up. We'll get negligible combat Experience for our roles, and the Monthly Calculations won't be enough to get us to Tier 3. Sure, we might be given more responsibilities once we reach Tier 2, but we're still a relatively untrained force compared to the rest of the army."

"What do you mean 'relatively?'" The first boy snorted. "Did you forget? They taught us Marching, Shields, Spears, and Swords and then they've left us alone to our own devices since. We're not 'relatively' untrained. We're just untrained."

"Then why don't we change that?" Reivyn asked back.

"What do you mean?"

"What's stopping us from working on those Skills ourselves? The opportunity this presents is predicated on us surviving. We can't speed up our Experience acquisition, but we can train our Skills." Reivyn looked back and forth between each of the squad members. They seemed eager for something to do. "These Skills might seem useless for the future path we might take, but not necessarily. Not only is it the key to surviving today and tomorrow, but maybe we can gain some unexpected Skills and synergies from it for our chosen paths. We won't know if we don't try,"

"Who's going to teach us?" Another boy asked.

"We don't need teachers," Reivyn answered. "We have the Skills unlocked already. We just have to pay attention to the assistance the System gives us and make it our own. Our Skills will naturally increase with practice."

"What about the other stuff? Like fighting together?"

Reivyn shrugged his shoulders.

"We could go ask our neighbors. Have you seen what they're up to?"

"Nah, I'm too scared to go up there," the first boy said. "You can practically feel the contempt in the gaze of those guys up on the wall."

Reivyn followed the boy's line of sight to his officers and father. From the perspective of the Conscripts down below, the clear frowns on their faces was a bit intimidating and looked like they were looking down on them.

"Nah, they're professional soldiers," Reivyn replied, looking back at the other boys. "Why would they look down on us with contempt. They know the score. I bet they're more upset with the officers in charge." Reivyn smacked one of them on the shoulder and pointed toward the front gate. "Look, there's one of them now."

They all watched as Jekle entered the compound. He glanced around at the other kids, but he didn't slow his step or focus his attention on Reivyn. He quickly made his way to the building where the officers had disappeared.

"See, I bet he's here to grill those guys," Reivyn said. "Also, I've been up on that wall when they're not up there. I've peeked to their side. Let me tell you, unless they're taking a break, those guys never stop. They train all day."

"Really? Like what do they do?"

"They break it up into sections," Reivyn explained. "They take turns working on their individual Skills, they group up as squads, they group up as platoons, and they do a bunch of other stuff that doesn't seem like it would be necessary for fighting. Like they have a rope that they climb while in full gear with their weapons. We could do the same thing, you know."

"Yeah, but without somebody in charge, it would become a jumbled mess," the first boy said.

"Then we have to pick our own people in charge," Reivyn said like it was the obvious solution. "You seem to be the most outspoken one for this squad, so you can direct them. I'll go around and speak to the others and find other guys who are naturally inclined to take charge. No problem."

"May~be," the first boy seemed a little reluctant to assume a position of authority. He glanced at the other kids, and they all nodded back to him.

"I don't see a problem with that," one of them spoke up.

"Yeah, Krey, you've always made sure to take care of us, anyway," someone else said.

"We won't resent you for telling us what to do."

"There," Reivyn said. "Problem solved."

"Are we just going to spar with each other and work on forms? What about training dummies and other equipment?" Krey asked.

"What about all the other companies in the army?" Reivyn asked back. "Do you think each company is lugging those things around on their own, or do you think they might have been provided for them? Has anyone checked out the storage room? I'll bet we can find what we need in there."

The other kids looked at each other again before settling their gazes on Krey.

"C'mon, let's go check it out," Krey said.

"That's the spirit," Reivyn said with a smile. "I'll go talk to some of the others."

The squad of Conscripts, led by Krey, jumped up and made their way to the storage room off to the side of the officers' quarters. Reivyn shifted over and struck up conversation with a new group of youngsters. The other squads had noticed the commotion, and instead of Reivyn having to speak to each of them one at a time, they all gravitated towards him to figure out what he was up to.

Krey and his squad quickly returned from their exploration of the storage locker toting target dummies. They quickly set them up as the rest of the platoon watched as they listened to Reivyn's conversation. Some of the Conscripts in the other platoons had their curiosity sparked, and soon the entire company was buzzing with activity. More and more boys ran to the storage locker to bring training equipment out to set up, and pretty soon everyone had taken up to training their weapons Skills.

Reivyn nonchalantly extracted himself from the group, and after making it to the shadow of the wall, he once more activated his Light bubble. He climbed up the wall and rejoined the officers on the wall. Jekle wasn't far behind him walking out of the officers' quarters.

"Remarkable," Refix said, looking at the Conscripts busy at training. "What did you say to them?"

"Not much, honestly," Reivyn replied. "I just pointed out how this was could be an opportunity and how they weren't being abandoned, and they practically convinced themselves. They just needed a little push and for someone to take that first step. I imagine being bored out of their minds had something to do with it, too." They all chuckled.

Jekle made his way back to the group and everyone turned to him.

"What's the verdict?" Reivyn asked.

"Those officers are the rejects of the army," Jekle spat to the side. "They didn't say it in so many words, but it was obvious. They got their positions through nepotism, and they were expecting to ride out a short career as an army officer to pad their prospects. They didn't do much other than whine and complain the whole time I was over there, bemoaning the fact that the invaders had interrupted their perfect little lives by indefinitely extending their stay in the army."

"I figured it would be something like that," Reivyn sighed. "Those kids deserve better. Especially the ones that are interested in possibly having a Combat Class in the future, they should be nurtured as much as possible. They have the opportunity to all have great Classes in the future with their bonus Stats and Life Experience from getting Conscripted officially through the System."

"Not everybody views it like that," Refix said. "That's exactly the reason you had to go give them a little push in the first place."

"I'll have a talk with Prince Allik," Reivyn said. "We're on the wall tomorrow, though. Everyone ready go?" Reivyn looked to his officers. They all nodded their heads. "Then the day after tomorrow, I'll head over to the headquarters and have a word with him."

"What are you going to say?" Refix asked.

"I'm not going to try and supersede the other officers' authority. That's a good way to build resentment. But surely the prince has some men he can spare to act as trainers and mentors for the Conscripts. I'll even suggest assigning some mentors to their commanders so they don't make ridiculous blunders when lives are on the line."

"That seems like a fine idea, to me," Refix said. "I feel a little left out as your father," he chuckled. "I want to give you advice, but you always seem to have everything covered."

"What are you talking about?!" Reivyn looked at his father in surprise. "You give me great advice all the time. I'm just pretty squared away when it comes to military issues and the chain of command, and we both know why that is. Just the other day you pulled my head out of my backside with regards to the future and Kefira."

"That's right! And don't you forget it," Refix gave Reivyn a stern look.

"Wha-? I'm not the one who forgot..." Reivyn trailed off.

"Hmm? What was that? Were you talking?"

"Nope."

The other officers snickered until Reivyn gave them a sharp look. They cleared their throats and everyone's attention refocused on the Conscripts in the neighboring compound. They weren't a well organized unit with their training, and some of them were still lounging about not doing anything, but it was a good first step. They would work the kinks out themselves, and if Reivyn could get them some experienced soldiers to supervise them, their chances of survival and turning this invasion into an opportunity would greatly increase.

"Speaking of Conscripts, I wonder how Teilon and Kimberly are doing these days?" Reivyn turned to his father once again. "Do you think they've made it to Wispan, yet?"

"If not yet, then not too much longer," Refix nodded his head. "We sent some people back to get them before we came here. Who knows, maybe they'll come along with Kefira the next time she's able to get away from her mother."

"I hope so," Reivyn said. "It's been a long time."

"You'll be shocked once you see them again," Refix said with a smile. "Those two had some serious drive in them after the debacle with your disappearance. I won't ruin the surprise, but I bet they could put up a decent fight against you." Refix looked Reivyn up and down. "Well, maybe while working together."