Corrin eyes the name engraved on the sheath one last time before finally placing it in the loop on the left side of his waist. He looked up at Forrest.
"Let me introduce you two to the rest of the team. The one in the back with the armor is Captain Lenn."
He points to the short man with graying hair. Then he points to the muscular black man.
"That man is Captain Vesterii. He may look slightly menacing, but he has a big heart."
He points to Merri.
"And you've met her; she's the doctor of the team. But don't let that deceive you, she's strong."
Merri waves and smiles. Corrin notes that she's the only one to have done this out of all three of them. Forrest backs up to them and crosses his arms.
"Together, we make up the Hidden Vanguard, the most highly trained squad in the Vrebathian Army."
Edwin raises his hand slightly, and Forrest points to him grudgingly.
"Yes?"
"What exactly is Vrebathia?"
Forrest sighs.
"Vrebathia was a proud nation long ago. A nation of equality. All races were treated the same there. It wasn't a small nation either; it took up quite a substantial portion of the continent. But that all ended 50 years ago, when the Shem Empire overtook all of Vrebathia."
Forrest sat down on a crude wooden stool.
"Since we're on the topic, how much do you two know about the Shem Empire?"
Corrin, fidgeting with the handle of his new Katana, comes forward.
"Only what my parents have told us. That they're a cruel, unforgiving Empire dedicated to taking over all of the northern continent."
Forrest nods his head.
"Yes, but there's more to it than that. The Shem Empire is ruled over by Queen Shem, a racist and horrible queen. She believes that the Shem race is superior to all others, Anees included. She's spent her entire life taking over nation after nation. A century ago, the Shem was a small, insignificant nation to the east. Now, it has everything from the Western Seas to the Eastern Ocean, and up north to the pole."
Forrest takes a deep breath after the explanation. Merri stands forward, intervening.
"The Shem are after one single thing, and have been for the past 50 years, that Shard around your neck, Corrin. If it were to fall into the Queen's hands, we would all surely perish in the aftermath. The Queen must have started burning insignificant villages in hopes of finding the shard there."
Forrest lifts his hand, stopping Merri from continuing.
"That's enough. If my father wishes for your training, then it should be done."
Corrin nodded. He knew that Axel's decision was the correct one. Despite only meeting him once, Axel read Corrin's emotions like a book. He could hear Corrin's anguish in his silence and see the want of revenge in Corrin's eyes.
Corrin often thought about it, even without knowing who exactly killed his father, he knew who to blame.
Forrest grabbed an oak training katana from a rack of them. He handed two to Corrin and Edwin and kept one for himself.
"Now, let's start."
Corrin set down his father's katana on an oak table and grabbed the wooden one. Forrest walked out into the open, the early-morning light shining down upon him, illuminating his face.
"Let's see what you both know in terms of sword combat. Let's start with something easy. Strike me as hard as you can."
Corrin and Edwin looked at each other for a moment. Corrin took the first swing. He lifted the training sword as high as was feasible for his height and brought it down with all his might at once.
Forrest shifted around the attack and tapped his sword against the back of Corrin's head.
"Facing an opponent that knows what they are doing isn't a battle of strength, but agility and adaptability. Finding a way around your enemies' attacks and attacking the moment you see an opportunity."
Edwin swung from the right towards Forrest's head as he dodged towards Corrin. He blocked the attack from hitting Corrin's head as the wooden sword found its way there.
"Working with your allies is just as important as attacking your enemy. Don't hit your teammates."
Corrin twists his sword back and jabs towards Forrest. Forrest spins around. Corrin feels his lip pop when his head flies into Edwin's.
They both topple over. Corrin couldn't understand how Forrest saw his attack, as he was facing away from him.
"Knowing your opponent is the last key point to victory. Knowing how they will react to your attacks and predicting them before they happen. All of these things are the fundamentals of the battlefield."
That day was wrapped up with learning the form required for swinging a sword effectively. The following day, they were again woken early and brought out to the same opening in the forest. They were introduced to how each of the Hidden Vanguard was going to train them:
Captain Lenn, the short man with graying hair and three small scars next to his right eye, was to teach them how to cope with physical pain. Methods of lowering the feeling of pain in your body.
This was to be done to a greater extent with Corrin. Because if he were to ever wield the shard, coping with pain would have to be an incredibly vital skill.
Captain Merri, the doctor of the group, was to teach them about mental endurance, staying focused, and fast thinking. As well as cleaning and fixing wounds quickly on the battlefield.
Captain Vesterii, the black man wearing odd clothing, was to train them to get stronger and faster through physical exercise and weight lifting.
Captain Forrest was to teach them the fundamentals of sword combat. As well as a specialized technique using a katana.
The next weeks were hell on earth for Corrin and Edwin. Corrin figured each of their lessons would slowly work their way up from their current skill level to a greater one. This, however, was not the case.
The day was split into four sections, each of which was four hours of training with one of their instructors. This equaled sixteen hours of training every day. The first section was Forrest's.
Their first lesson was learning the fundamentals of a vertical swing, followed by swinging their swords in sync 300 times in a row. If they were caught off-sync or their form was slightly off, Forrest would kick them by their legs and sweep them onto the ground, and they would be forced to start over.
The lessons didn't get easier either.
Merri forced them to recite a story whilst being beaten and thrown into the water. Lenn taught them how to breathe correctly and recover from falls, then hit them to the ground numerous times.
Vesterii had them stretch and lift heavy rocks from one side to the other, all while being chased. If they got caught, he would grab and throw them and the rock back to the side they started on.
In the first weeks, Corrin and Edwin failed every lesson they were given. Despite their very minimal improvements, the lessons got harder and more severe.
In only a month, their bodies were beaten, bruised, and bloody. Fortunately, every day they would be checked for injuries that may require attention by Merri before they slept.
Time began to blend. Every day was nothing but trying and failing.
Corrin had trouble falling asleep, his fingers began to ache, and his hands calloused from holding a weapon every day.
Their morale plummeted; it seemed as though they were going nowhere. The only thing they seemed to be improving at was learning how to clean and fix a wound, which was the only time of the day besides eating and sleeping that they weren't being tossed around.
That is, until they started having to dodge attacks while fixing their wounds.
Once they learned the fundamentals of sword combat, they began sparring matches. Sometimes they would be forced to spar with each other, to which whoever was beaten the least in the previous section would usually win.
Their weakness was put on full display when both of them fought against Forrest at once, and still lost quickly despite their intense training.
Their bruises never healed; they would almost always come back the following day. Cuts and scrapes would be cleaned and bandaged, only to be opened up again.
Vesterii's training began to ramp up. Their opening exercise was 300 pushups and 300 sit-ups, followed by a 3-mile jog, then they would carry whatever heavy object Vesterii managed to find for that day.
Corrin looked in his favorite mirror after using the bathing tent one night.
With a wool towel wrapped around him, he looked at his silhouette. Despite the dozens of cuts and purple bruises on his body that ached at the touch, he noticed that his body had been getting bigger, and the glow in his scar brighter.
He was no longer the scrawny farm kid he once was.