The tuft of hair falls gently into the inch-high water below. Corrin's blood runs out of his mouth and onto the still waters next to it. The man eases his stance. He smiles gently.
"Hisstion, that speed..."
He sheathes his sword.
"That's enough."
He walks over and touches Corrin gently on his forehead. Corrin's wounds begin to heal quickly. His teeth regrow, and his legs straighten. He's confused, but he stands up. His clothes were completely soaked and slightly tattered.
"You've grown, Hisstion. You're stronger than ever before. Do what you must. I won't bother you anymore at night; you may have your rest."
Everything begins to go black, and Corrin falls into a deep, wonderful sleep. Corrin wakes up in the morning, still tired, but glad that he had a bit of normal rest. As they go out to the training field, Forrest announces something.
"Today marks one year of training."
Corrin couldn't believe it. The months had flown by like they were nothing. He looked at his hands, which were calloused with small scars. His body was bigger. He was stronger, agile, and quick-thinking. He knew how to fight.
All of these things he had accomplished in only 12 months. Forrest stood on the table used for food so that all of the Hidden Vanguard could see them.
"This training was deliberately designed to be as taxing as possible. If you compared yourself to your skill one year ago, you would notice a huge difference."
He smiled gently.
"I can humbly and confidently say that your training is over. There is nothing more that we can teach you both. Now, all you must do is master the techniques we have taught you over this year, and apply them in battle."
He stepped down.
"We have prepared a small celebration for your accomplishments."
They were given the first real break in an entire year. In that year, Corrin had only ever seen the strict side of Forrest, Lenn, Merri, and Vesterii. But that day, Corrin found them all to be a quite enjoyable group. Vesterii and Forrest were particularly good conversationalists.
For breakfast, they had sparkling omelets that Vesterii made. Corrin had no idea Vesterii was such a good cook. The rest of the day was spent laughing and enjoying more of Vesterii's incredible cooking.
Lenn was easily the most serious of them all, but even he had a soft side. When faced with good friends and delicious food, he seemed to lighten up, and Corrin saw a smile break out around his face for the first time. They spoke about stories of battles they had fought in. Corrin learned at this moment Vesterii's story, and the reason for his strange clothing Corrin had just never asked about.
"I came from the south, in the Mostiis Empire, far past the Shem. I survived under the brutal reign of the king and eventually left for the north. I, however, soon crossed paths with Forrest. When I learned of your horrible queen, it reminded me of my own struggles. So, I vowed to help bring her out of power."
Corrin found his story quite interesting, and it explained his strange striped clothing. Vesterii himself had picked up on how to wield axes during his time in the south; it was a common weapon there.
Corrin had learned swordplay from Forrest because he was the only one of the Hidden Vanguard who used a Katana, the traditional weapon of the Vrebathian soldier, alongside a shield. Lenn mastered two daggers. It made sense; he was short and agile.
Merri was an interesting case: Her weapon was a scimitar, much more common in the south. According to her, her stepfather once lived in the Mostiis Empire, and she learned the technique from him.
"Hey, why are we called the Hidden Vanguard anyway?"
Edwin spoke up with a mouthful of a chicken leg, seemingly out of nowhere. The rest of them quieted down and looked at each other. Forrest spoke up first.
"It directly refers to our only mission, which I'm sure my father will explain to you soon. You two are both vital to the mission's success."
Corrin and Edwin steal looks at each other. Corrin couldn't help but be curious as to what their mission was. It had to be hidden, so perhaps it was some kind of stealth mission? Corrin couldn't be sure, but he theorized and longed to know.
They all sat around the table, their stomachs bulging from the meal. Corrin much enjoyed having a filled stomach.
"Enjoy this. It may be the last time you fill your stomach."
The beginning of the day was an unofficial feast between friends. The latter half was filled with trumpets, saluting soldiers, and Axel giving a speech. Corrin and Edwin stood upon a wooden stage with soldiers standing in line with an aisle in the middle. On the sides were the families of the soldiers, all watching the ceremony.
Axel finished his long-winded speech and turned to Corrin and Edwin, who stood and gave a salute. A soldier wearing shining heavy armor came down the aisle holding two katanas.
Corrin was told beforehand to give his katana to him; it was tradition for newly appointed soldiers to take their weapons in hand at a ceremony. The light shone in the sky and glistened in Corrin's eyes as he gripped his weapon in both hands. The crowd fell silent as Corrin unsheathed his sword.
The blade was made of steel, with a silver lining on the back, forming a line that shone more brightly than the rest of the blade, forming a beautiful cohesion. Edwin takes his sword out, too, a custom-made sword with an off-white design. On the side of the handle is written Edwin's last name, Farris.
They both raise the swords in the air. The sun behind them shines around the sword, creating a shimmering shadow over the soldiers in front. When the sword rises, the soldiers erupt in applause. Axel brings his hand, showing them to the crowd.
"Allow me to introduce to you all, Corrin and Edwin, the newest soldiers in the Vrebathian Army!"
Corrin looks at the crowd before him, and without thinking, he lifts his other hand in the air.
"For Vrebathia!"
The crowd roars, and Corrin hears a collective cheer.
The ceremony didn't end until late that night. Food was made, even some delicious pastry Corrin had never tried before. It felt like bread, but softer, and tasted sweet; as though honey were baked into the air itself. Corrin would have given a great many things to have more of it, though he was only allowed a single slice of it.
Corrin went to sleep satisfied that night. He rested long and hard and woke up to the warm winds traveling into the tent. Forrest had both Corrin and Edwin brought into the large center building of Oaksjean yet again. Despite living there for nearly a year, Corrin had only ever been in the building once: his first day there.
The inside was warm, the fireplace burned hot as they took a left through the ornate door. On the other side was the same large table with a map on it as before; it looked as though nothing had changed in a year.
Axel was standing at the other side, the others of the Hidden Vanguard were already there, standing around the table.
"Corrin, it's good to see you."
They walked forward, their boots making a satisfying stepping noise as they took their places around the table. Corrin, for the first time, had a good look at the map on the table. He had seen maps of the Shem Empire before, briefly, but they never interested him very much.
Unfortunately for him, this map was very important.
Drawn on the map was a large continent to the east; it was tall but not necessarily wide compared to the rest. In the corner was a scale bar. It read that one inch was equal to 100 miles. Corrin did the quick math in his head, which he wasn't particularly good at, but seemed to get right. He figured that the continent on the map was nearly 2,000 miles across. The height was also colossal, easily 5,000 miles from the quick math that Corrin did.
On the continent's north side was written, Shem Empire, in large, bolded letters. As it moved south, the ocean, from the east of the continent, pushed itself further west, until there was a short land bridge only about a hundred miles across. Moving further south, the ocean left the same way it came: the east. The continent widened again, and there was a large desert. In the desert was written, Mostiis Empire. And right in between them on the land bridge was a smaller nation, the Canlian Kingdom. Throughout the continent were rivers, mountain ranges, and towns.
This was all only on the eastern side of the map; from the continent westward was an ocean that swallowed the rest of the world. Large islands sprouted all across the ocean, with some of the large ones having strange names, clearly of other nations far, far away. In the middle was an island larger than the others, around 1,000 miles across and 2,000 miles wide.
Axel brought his hands down to the table, slightly wrinkling the map around where he set them: near the Shem Empire.
"Welcome, everybody, to the mission briefing of the Hidden Vanguard."