Gregory kissed his wives goodbye one more time before they went their separate ways. As his carriage rolled down the street, he was a touch melancholy— this would be the first time they would be apart by a significant distance. He’d been separated from them for the tournament, but he knew he could reach either of them quickly if needed. They would both be days away from him now; Yukiko to the east and Jenn to the west.
“First time without any of them nearby?” Willof asked.
“In a way,” Gregory replied absently. “I wasn’t with any of them when I watched over Claudia, but it didn’t feel like this.”
“Being separated from family can be daunting,” Rafiq said. “I never knew the feeling until I left the archive. I do not care for it.”
Gregory looked up at the crocodilian eurtik archivist. Rafiq’s eyes were dry, but there was clear sadness in them; they both understood what the other felt.
“Thank you for volunteering,” Gregory said. “Not sure I’d have felt as comfortable around any other archivist.”
“Simon was the only other one who volunteered that you dealt with regularly,” Rafiq said. “Between us, Sarinia felt you would prefer me, so I was chosen. While I do miss my wife and son, I know that what I do is important.”
“Chronicling my magic for the archive and Master Damon… I’m not sure that’s worth pulling you from your loved ones.”
“The chief believed you were worth it.”
“I won’t argue with her. She was very helpful while I was there. Will you help me with my training?”
“I’ll do what I can within the bounds of my enslavement.”
Willof shifted uncomfortably, then froze when the other two stared at him. “It’s nothing,” he said quickly.
“I won’t press,” Gregory said, “and I’m sure nothing said here is being recorded.”
“Not a thing.” Rafiq dipped his snout in a nod.
“But,” Gregory went on, “I myself dislike being the one to carry the rune.”
Willof stared at Gregory. “Better you than many others. I’ve watched you enough to know you won’t abuse him.”
Gregory grimaced. “I won’t. I’m not like Shun or the others.”
“No, you’re not,” Willof agreed. “I believe you feel much the way I do. Considering your wives and friends, I’d be shocked if you didn’t.”
“It’s kind of obvious how I feel,” Gregory chuckled.
“It is, but I’ll not include anything along those lines in the records,” Rafiq joined in. “Only if needed will I record your actions one way or the other. There might be times when I’m forced to, but I have a lot of leeway.”
“Thank you again, Rafiq. If I can make this duty more bearable, please tell me.”
“I will do so. I will tell you that, if you see me with a journal out, mind what you say more than normal,” Rafiq said softly. “Once the day is done and you retire for the night, though, nothing more is recorded until you are ready for the day again.”
“Good to know.”
“That comes with the caveat that any emergency will be noted.”
“Makes sense.”
“Can you tell me anything about Dia, Gregory?” Willof asked. “Nothing personal, but just more about her in general? I’d like to make a good impression when I see her again.”
“You already did, Captain,” Gregory chuckled. “I remember seeing her chatting with you at the gate. You also stepped in when she had an issue with the Eternal Flame last year.”
Willof rubbed his neck, looking out the window. “Yeah… I’m not sure she needed me to step in there, but I could see the magus for the Eternal Flame contemplating something. Technically, I did my job, but I acted sooner than others would have.”
“We appreciated it. Dia’s like a mother to us,” Gregory said, then grimaced. “She might not be interested at all because she’s a magi. Many magi find it hard to accept a partner who isn’t also one.”
Willof exhaled slowly, his shoulders slumping. “I know. I’ll make it clear that I’m interested. If she declines, I’ll withdraw.”
“Don’t give up hope,” Gregory said. “She might be understanding.”
“I won’t, not until she rejects me. If she does, I’ll ask to be posted farther away.”
“Distance can ease pain,” Rafiq nodded.
“I know the fear of being rejected,” Gregory murmured, thinking back to when Yukiko had told him she couldn’t be with him because of her betrothal. “The first half of our novice year, Yuki was betrothed to Dan Yulin. She flatly told me she couldn’t even entertain ideas because of it. I said that I understood, but I can still recall the pain in my heart. It spiked again when her parents came for the tournament and took her aside to talk.”
“Your hope came true,” Willof said.
“It did,” Gregory agreed, meeting his gaze. “Before then, my heart was a knot. I’ll hope for you, because you’ve been a man who has shown kindness to others.”
Silence fell between them, each lost in their own thoughts.
~*~*~
It was early evening when they arrived at an encampment. The town, Gardenia, sat a couple of miles away beyond some fallow fields. They got out of the carriage to find Gregory’s troops drawn up into orderly columns, waiting for him.
Gregory faced the man with lieutenant insignia on his uniform before returning the salute. “Lieutenant, I’ve come to take command.”
“Command relinquished to you, sir,” the older man who was missing most of an ear replied. “I’ve taken the liberty of assembling the men so you may inspect them.”
Gregory had studied commanding the troops, so he at least had an idea of what to expect. He knew that Willof was getting his bags from the driver. “In a moment. Captain Willof will be observing us during training. Have his bags taken to his quarters. Rafiq has been assigned to me by the academy; he will be chronicling my magic for Master Damon. Treat him as a VIP. Any issues are to be reported directly to me.”
“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant said.
A young man with scales on his hands came rushing forward, wearing livery that showed he was attached to the group. Willof nodded and set his bags down to let the lad take them away.
“Very good,” Gregory said, seeing it taken care of. “Introduce me, starting with yourself, Lieutenant.”
Drawing himself to attention, the scarred man replied, “Lieutenant Davis Williams, sir. Ten-year veteran of the army, newly hired to be your officer, sir.”
Gregory turned on his heel, marching to the end of the line of men. He looked down each column as he went before he turned sharply again in front of the first squad’s sergeant. Davis had gone with him, so when Gregory paused, so did he, standing at a ninety-degree angle to Gregory and the sergeant.
“Sergeant Freddy Milton, sir. He did five years with Swift Wind as a caravan guard after five with the army. Sergeant?”
“Sir,” Milton spoke up, “as you can see, I am half-dwarven, sir. This will not stop me from doing my duty, sir.”
“I never thought it would, Sergeant,” Gregory replied. “One of my wives has dwarven blood. You have nothing to fear from me unless you fail to do your job.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
Gregory turned sharply to move to the next column. The next sergeant was clearly part elven from his slightly pointed ears and ultra-thinness.
“Sergeant James Townson, sir. Fifteen years army. Sergeant?”
“Sir,” Townson spoke crisply with no hint of an elven accent, “my elven heritage is slight, but noticeable. I never advanced beyond sergeant in my time. I know how to do this job inside and out, sir.”
“We’ll talk, Sergeant. If you have that much experience, you’re a gold mine of information for me.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
The next sergeant had a pronounced underbite from the tusks jutting over his upper lip. It was clear the man’s boar bestial heritage had caused problems for him in the past because one tusk had been filed down as if to hide a break.
“Sergeant Adam Bunson, sir. Ten years Warlin guard, sir.”
Gregory’s lip twitched; he remembered having bested Bunson in the yard behind Stabled Hunger. Bunson clearly recalled the same when he met Gregory’s eyes.
“Sir, my men and I are ready to serve,” Bunson said.
“Glad the healer got you fixed up after our spar, Sergeant. I look forward to working with you.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
The next man in line was Howard Donald. The man had gleaming yellow wolf eyes and furred ears.
“Sir, my men will be your fangs,” Donald said simply.
“When needed, Sergeant. We will test them over the next year to make sure they’re ready.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
The last man in line had a black panther tail swishing behind him. Daniel Glasson had only that one feature to give away his slight eurtik heritage.
“Sir, my men are your best scouts,” Glasson said proudly.
“Dedicated scouts? Good. We can never have enough information. You trained them?”
“I refined them, sir.”
“Very well.” Gregory walked crisply back to the middle of the formation, facing the columns. “Men, I am Magi Gregory Pettit. If you have not been told before now, my magic is foresight. I cannot see far into the future without great strain, so don’t expect me to never fail. With you to guard me, I’m sure that we will do more than any other magi guard unit.”
Smiles came to many of the men.
“At the end of our training, we’ll be tested in many areas. I don’t know what they all are yet, but we will in time. I don’t want to just do well enough, men; I want to be the best damned unit the empire has ever had.”
The smiles vanished when they all heard he was going to be harsh with them.
“I won’t ask you to do more than I will, though,” Gregory went on. “Captain Willof will be instructing me in how to command you, Lieutenant Davis will assist me in teaching you, and your sergeants will be the ones to guide you. One thing we will do while we train is make sure we are as ready as we can. What time do the men wake, Lieutenant?”
“Fourth bell, sir.”
“That’s breakfast?”
“Breakfast at quarter past, sir. Formation is at fifth bell.”
“After formation, before we begin any other training, we’ll be starting conditioning. I will teach you the path. If you put your heart into it, you will slowly see the benefits as your bodies adapt and become as good as they can be. Captain, what’s our schedule for training?”
Willof looked over the men critically. “Normally, the first month would be getting them to be able to fall in as commanded, along with conditioning and camp duties. If they’re as good as they look currently, we might end up pushing past that in less than a week.”
“You heard him, men,” Gregory said, staring over the thirty-one men under his command. “I trust you will prove him right. Tomorrow after breakfast, we begin. Lieutenant, dismiss them.”
“Dismissed!” Davis barked.
The men didn’t break into a rabble as Willof expected. Instead, they turned as squads, going back into the camp as units. Only Davis stayed behind from Gregory’s unit.
“You did a good job with them, Lieutenant,” Willof said.
“I can’t take all the credit, sir,” Davis replied. “We were gathered and trained by another. I was made lieutenant because I had experience, sir. I’ve only refined them some since we’ve marched here.”
“You marched here from Tivano?” Gregory asked.
“Yes, sir. We’ve been here five days.”
Willof chuckled. “Gregory, thank your father-in-law when you see him next.”
“I will,” Gregory agreed. “My wives’ men are your equals?”
“We’re third best,” Davis said softly. “Hate to admit that, but it’s the truth. We’re good, but they have an edge over us.”
“We’ll match them before the year ends,” Gregory said. “Show me the camp.”
“Yes, sir.”
