Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Nasazura's Rest: Barracks

The evening wore on, and those initiates that remained awake were provided with a simple but hearty meal prepared by the barracks' cooks. Some further introductions were made, but the journey had left many of them exhausted, and so it wasn't long before most were asleep.

The next day would hold their first real taste of life at Nasazura's Rest: both its perks, and its trials.

____

Dawn broke over the temple, and with it came a hearty cry of "Goooood morning, initiates!"

Oriel grinned as his yell prompted a medley of groans and curses from the later risers of the assembled group. Kallis had already been sat at the foot of his bed meditating, and cracked one eye open to watch Oriel make his way into the room.

The youthful-looking gunslinger - already fully dressed in the silver-trimmed verdant uniform of the Knights, complete with dashing midnight green cloak - crossed his arms across his chest and, satisfied that everyone had been sufficiently roused, continued. "Apologies to those of you who're new, but expect dawn to be your regular waking hour from hereon out!"

He paced down the row of beds until he reached the end of Trys' cot, where the greenskinned youth had pulled his pillow up over his head and was doing his best to ignore the fact that the morning existed, and sighed. "You've been here for the better part of a month now, Trys, I'd have thought you'd be used to this by now."

Muffled, Trys' voice came out from beneath his refuge. "I will never submit to your inhumane practices, tiny loud man. As they say in Prissy and Priscilla's homeland, vive la resistance!"

Oriel rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Okay. In any case... If anyone's already forgotten, you can find bathroom facilities and a washroom just downstairs through the eastern rooms. Breakfast is being served for the next thirty minutes down on the main floor, and the first training sessions start just after that, so don't take too long! Before that, though, Dame Lockhart will be in here in just a moment to brief you on the content of the day's training, so if you want to make a good first impression, get yourselves moving!"

His eyes slid across to Kallis, and he smiled to the early rising boy. "Kallis has the right of it. You're used to this sort of schedule, then?"

Kallis nodded. "I lived at a temple before now. The monks there had similarly disciplined routines."

"The poor guy's got stockholm syndrome," Trys grumbled.

"Oh, stop your whining." Ari fought back a yawn as he swung his legs out of bed and rubbed at his eyes. "You knew what you were signing up for when I brought you here."

Trys' only response was a wordless groan.
 
Shae's sleep had proven fitful and unrestful for the most part and she had tossed and turned through much of the night until she at last lay awake listening to the sounds around her. The breathing of those that still slumbered, the rustle of movement as Kallis had shifted out of his bed, the pre-dawn birds that chirruped distantly from the outside...

As pre-dawn shifted to dawn, Oriel's abrupt belting startled her into a full state of alertrness. She didn't show it physically as her first response was to freeze, but she felt the lurch of adrenaline in her chest as the unexpectedly loud noise cut through the air.

Her eyes shifted to take in those nearest her, and Oriel himself, as her quickened pulse began to slow once more. The fading adrenaline spike left a lingering nausea in its wake, and she couldn't help but feel a stab of irritation at Oriel for his rather... unexpected intrusion.

Ritza meanwhile had slept like a rock through the night, and though she woke well rested she could feel the physical drain of the journey upon her body. She was both youthful and fit with all the muscled tone of a young warrior, but the vigors of climbing the mountain - in the winter months no less - were an ordeal to humble even hardened warriors. The aches and pains of that journey reached her now as she groaned and sat up, rolling her neck around to work the kinks out of it.

It was as far as she got to rousing herself when Oriel's warning as to Shelby's arrival came far too late to be properly heeded.

The Knight's presence loomed from the entranceway as she looked over those within that were currently caught in various states of wakefulness. Some further along than others.

She said nothing, but there was a purse to her lips as she observed them a moment more before speaking.

"As the grounds are off limit between sundown and sun up, the hours of daylight from now until dusk are invaluable. Those who are early to rise and make the most of the daylight hours in their training will swiftly find themselves leaping ahead of those... less inclined," she said as her eyes fell upon Trys. "Six months," she continued. "That is the time you all have to study, to train, and to learn the ways of the Elysian Vanguard. Six months to prove your worth to the Wardens so that you might be chosen as apprentice to one of them. Those of you with the heart and the resolve to truly walk this path you have set upon would do well to seize every opportunity to better yourselves."

Once more her eyes glanced across them before she continued speaking.

"The more martially inclined among you should make haste to the training yard where a demonstration is already underway. For the rest of you, a schedule has been posted downstairs outlining the time availability of the Wardens, and where they will be offering group lessons through-out the day. Elryis Treymour has asked that I pass along an invitation for anyone interested to tour the aerie at any point throughout the day as well. I also understand they will be holding some flight exercises at mid-day."
 
While Priscilla did not awake as quickly as some of the other recruits, she was definitely so once Oriel spoke (or more accurately, bellowed). Docsworth jolted several inches into the air in surprise, the sudden noise startling him from his reading.

Once more aware of what was going on around her, the witch-child trained her gaze on Lockhart. So far, the process seemed straightforward. Six months of preparation for whatever sort of test or standard they keep, no entering the grounds at night. Wake up at sunrise. Some of the regulations already proved at least somewhat familiar, from elder Ylva waking her up at borderline-unreasonable times to the dangers of wandering Lornaine forest as a child at night. At the very least, many of the rules wouldn't be entirely alien due to her lifestyle before the Vanguard.

Upon dismissal, Priscilla stretched for a few moments and headed downstairs to check on the prospect of breakfast. The rock-hewn companion followed behind her, his feet making a rhythmic tac tac tac on the stone floors.
 
Jake wasn't really bothered by the early awakening as he hadn't really slept. He never really did. Between bad dreams and thieves, it was best not to sleep at all.But after the long hike and a hot meal, the mage had fallen asleep without really knowing it, only to wake up 2 hours later ready to move again. But he didn't, he just layed in his cot, unsure of what to do until the early dawn light stirred others and he went back to pretending to be asleep.
When the small knight came in yelling his lungs out, Jake just sat up, watching the man and unsure of what to do. He recognized some of the people he had talked to last night. One being Kallis, who had just been sitting on the end of his bed for quite a while now, and the other being Ari, who true to his word, had slept until he couldn't anymore.
Jake didn't know who Dame Lockhart was or why he would want to impress the guy. He didn't particularly like flying, so no flying lessons, but breakfast sounded fabulous. And maybe he would take a peek into the yard and see what the demonstration was. First though, a shower.
He stood, grabbing his bag from beside his cot and made his way down to the bathroom. Jake didn't know if the water was hot or cold as he stepped into it, just that steam hissed at the water evaporated around him. When he was clean, he put on his second change of clothes and headed to the main room to find some food.
 
Kallis waited until Oriel and Shelby had moved on before he rose from his prayer mat, folding it away neatly and moving for the door whilst most of the others were still rousing themselves. Having already washed, he made his way downstairs and spared only the time to grab a hunk of buttered bread before he slipped out of the barracks and started towards the training yard, just as Priscilla was descending the stairs.

For all his decrying of the barracks' schedule the previous day, Ari didn't waste much time in getting moving either. He arrived in the main room at around the same time as Jake, where a variety of basic breakfast options were on offer, and procured himself a bowl of porridge decorated with a few dried fruits, then grabbed up a pasty for the side. "Mornin'," he offered the younger boy by way of greeting, then waved to Priscilla, "and to you too. Priscilla, right?" He glanced between the two of them. "You two planning on hitting up that weapons training in the yard?"

As he was chewing on a mouthful of breakfast, heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs, and he looked up to see that Trys had finally dragged himself from bed. The lithely muscular greenskin shuffled through, unashamedly clad in only his boxers with a towel under his arm.

"And morning to you too, sunshine," Ari called after him with a snort, rolling his eyes at the exhibitionism (although not before his eyes had lingered just a moment longer than he'd have liked).

Trys paused and turned to face the three, putting one hand on his hip. "You enjoying the view, blondie?"

"Considering whether I ought to get Jake to burn my eyes out, more like," Ari muttered.

"Pff. Whatever. Just be glad I had the decency to put boxers on." Trys put his hands behind his head and casually flexed, smirking. "Second opinions, anyone?"
 
Joshua had arrived late to the barracks given the intercession with Sylvire the night prior, and rather than draw attention by coming in after the group, had opted to simply do as only a ghost could.

Linger in the wall.

With most seeming to be out of the room, the spectre finally came from his place, subtly coming from around an empty cot as though he'd used it for the night, as dressed and groomed as he always appeared. Lacking the constraints of flesh, he eschewed a shower and food, curiosity as to this demonstration foremost.
 
Ritza was quick to jump at Shelby's words and she swiftly pulled a tunic on over her underclothes and snatched up her gear. She thew a fur poncho on over her head to ward against the cold and slung a quiver of arrows over her shoulder. Lastly she snatched up her sheathed sword and made haste in heading downstairs.

Her mind was abuzz with questions. The man who had woken them had informed them that lessons would begin after breakfast, but the older woman had informed them that a demonstration was already underway. Was it a test? Should she forsake food and make her way to the training yard, or join the others in eating first?

Excitement helped tip the scales of her conflicting thoughts and she settled for snatching up a hunk of bread as she departed the barracks at a brisk pace.

____

Shae proved less punctual than Ritza as she joined the others gathering in the main hall downstairs. She didn't particularly feel like food but instinct told her to eat now for you never knew when your next meal might come. She slopped a large spoonfull of some sort of oatmeal gruel into a bowl and sat herself down at one of the tables.

The dark circles under her eyes spoke of her lack of sleep, and she watched everyone else like a hawk as she shoveled down the gruel.
 
Since their arrival, Hendrik had spent less than ten percent of his time asleep. The only time he'd left his ramshackle, pathetic excuse of an impromptu laboratory was to wipe sweat from his sleek, muscular form in whatever privacy he could find, or to refill his water and take his meal supplements. In truth, he wasn't sure how long he had been cooped inside the barracks. He'd spent most nights when others were slumbering looking for fallen hair samples, or scraps of dead skin. Anything he could collect. Other parts of the night or nights, the majority of his time, had been spent hypothesizing and theorizing. Biomagical algorithms that would take weeks to get into testing, but he had the time. It would be cutting it close, but he had time.

His fingernails had been chewed to ragged stubs, and dark-almost-black bags hung from under his eyes as he roused himself as much as he could, searching for his water bottle, along with various mineral and vitamin tablets. Three caffeine pills were next, followed by two appetite suppressants. The lanky giant would stand then, making sure to adjust his jacket's hooded collar as he did so. So far, the young doctor had been very careful about making sure none got a look under it. At least, he was almost one hundred percent sure none of them had.

"A morning jog might be nice..." He would mumble under his breath, entirely to himself.
 
"Yes, I would be Priscilla," Fabre offered a smirk at her unintentionally snarky response. By the time Trys had arrived and begun his 'theatrics', she was already tearing a piece of bread from its loaf and taking a bite out of it. When the greenskin asked for a second opinion however, she turned around. Her eyes quickly darted up and down his form, her only form of appraisal being a chuckle followed by a hardly-serious frown. "If I wanted to look at the bodies of young men, there are many much better places back in Lutetia that I could go to."

After letting her statement hang in the air for a moment, she turned to face Ari. "To answer your question, yes I'm heading there next. If mister male model over there decides to come with, we might get to see whether or not those muscles even do anything," the witchling provided another smirk and took a bite of her piece of bread.
 
Thee fresh rolls, some stew, oatmeal plus dried fruit and nuts on his plate later, Jake found himself in a conversation with Ari. "Hey." He said, taking a bite of the bread. Then came the green guy. He and Ari shared a few back and forth remarks.

"Considering whether I ought to get Jake to burn my eyes out, more like," Ari said, and Jake snicked.

"That can be arranged." He said taking another bite of bread. "It wouldn't even scar that bad, so Mr.Man over there could continue to enjoy your face." Jake said, electing not to comment on second opinions, Priscilla seemed to have that under control.

"I hadn't decided yet." Jake said, in response to going to see the demonstrations. " I was gonna see what else was happening."
 
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"I'll take being referred to as mister male model," Trys replied with a goofy, lopsided grin. "That's more of a compliment than the boyscout's ever paid me, and he-"

"I checked the schedule before I hit the shower," Ari interrupted loudly, shooting Trys a not-so-subtle warning glare. If he'd known that his saviour was going to be this insufferable, he never would have invited him back to the temple after Westeria. Never would have done a few other things, for that matter, given that apparently discretion wasn't a word in the fucker's vocabulary.

Trys held his glare with the same knowing smirk as ever, letting his sentence hang and shrugging his shoulders as if to say 'whatever you want, princess', before wandering off in the direction of the showers.

Gods. How did he manage to be an asshole even when he was just in Ari's head?

"There's only the martial demonstration first thing." He forged ahead, doing his best to ignore the hint of heat in his cheeks and hoping that nobody else was noticing it. "But at around eleven there's a herbalism class starting in the greenhouse. I think the history and magic theory classes are later in the afternoon in the library with Sarael, since he's been scrying most mornings since..."

He frowned, his lips thinning slightly. "Since Aeryn disappeared."
 
Priscilla smirked at the exchange between the two. Clearly there was a connection, so to speak. She shouldn't have been surprised about such occurrences, after all the Vanguard is a small closed group, which is a breeding ground for romantic encounters in almost any scenario. While the paladins and proselytes' obvious relationships in Lutetia were forbidden they still ran just as rampant.

At the mention of a missing person, her expression soured. "Do we have any idea what happened to Aeryn, or if there's a chance we could find them?" Her immediate thought was to contact her mother to see if enlisting her help would bring this person back, but the feasibility of that would largely depend on what exactly was happening.
 
Ari nodded grimly. "It happened last month, during the attack on Westeria. He was helping defend the police HQ, when some cyborg bitch did something to his head. He turned on the cops and then split, and we haven't been able to track him down since. Sarael and Elante've been trying to scry for him almost every day since, but something's been blocking them."

He sighed, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling, tracing the grain of the wood idly with his eyes. It was still hard to imagine Aeryn the way that he'd apparently been described. Murdering cops as though it were nothing, and enjoying it at that. He liked to make light of fighting, but not killing. For all his bravado and bluster, Aeryn was a softie at heart, that much Ari was sure of.

"And we'd damn well better find him. I'm his apprentice so if we don't, I have to go through the same six months as you guys do instead of getting to skip the queue," he went on, flashing a grin to lighten the mood again. After all, he was confident that Aeryn would be retrieved. Elante had barely spent any time doing anything but searching for hints of where he might have done since he vanished, and with both Sarael and now Sylvire helping him... yeah, it was gonna be fine.
 
"I'm sorry to hear that. Before I came here, my mother was investigating some incidents around Lutetia. Mostly disappearances and sinister magic, I think. Most of my family works in Issunar, but I'm pretty sure there's a few in the other parts of the world too, we might get a chance to run into them." The entire world seemed to be falling into chaos over the last few months, from the collapse of Westeria to the possible vampire resurgence to the reported demon invasions in Shintenchi, the whole planet was going mad.

Priscilla stepped back into the bunkroom to grab her saber and quickly returned to Ari with the scabbard fastened to her waist. She gestured towards the exit after seeing many of the other initiates leaving, "I guess we should get out there."
 
How were they even able to sleep?

Kamini had been awake for hours now, sat up in her bed, half nauseous from the excitement. She showered, dressed, stretched before the rest, but kept herself from dashing away until Oriel and Shelby came to wake them.

She found herself barely ahead of Ritza, who seemed as excited as herself. Her bag bounced at her side, containing a coat and her chakram within it. She grabbed a hefty piece of bread before departing with a sprint towards the training yard.
 
Jake felt the mood fall, the talk of missing friends is never an easy one. And what was he suppose to say to that? 'Sorry your friend is missing. Hope that works out for ya!'? No, he just stayed silent, shifting a bit uncomfortable. That was the day the world went to shit. The fire mage didn't even know that had happened until he started asking about the Vanguard. Priscilla stepped away and when she came back, Jake nodded at her words. "Ain't got anything better to do" He said, moving towards the door. At least watching others fight was better than a magical history lesson.
 
"Maybe. I heard they were going to be sending some people to Lutetia soon, but I'm not sure when." Ari shrugged. "Most likely won't be any of us, though. Initiates don't tend to get sent on the more dangerous missions." Unless it was a situation of 'all hands on deck', he supposed, like Westeria. And he'd only really been brought along then because he was an apprentice, rather than just an initiate.

While Priscilla was upstairs, Trys emerged from the washroom having replaced his boxers with an equally skimpy towel, that if anything hung lower. Ari groaned quietly and tried not to look as slightly damp footsteps approached their table again, followed by an entirely unconcerned, "How late am I running?"

Ari rolled his eyes, turning to face Trys and pointedly making (and maintaining) eye contact. "Late enough. Fucking get ready, and eat something. I'm sure you need plenty of carbs to sustain such a constant base level of assholery."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm gonna," Trys grinned that broad, infuriatingly endearing grin. "Figured I should let the new guys have a fair shot at the grub before I eat the rest, though," he winked, and Ari was confident that he wasn't joking. Guy had an appetite like... well, a troll. He just hoped that none of the Knights were running late for breakfast, or they were going to be disappointed.

"Your generosity knows no bounds," he said, infusing as much sarcasm into the statement as possible. When Priscilla made her way back down, he got to his feet and retrieved his bow from where it was propped against the table. "Yeah, let's go," he said to her. "You'll catch up, I'm sure," he directed to Trys. "Can't see you missing a chance to try and show off."

"You're not wrong. Bet you I'll be there before you finish introductions." Trys was already starting up the stairs by the time he finished his sentence, waving over his shoulder. Ari just sighed. There was no denying that Trys meant well, but he seriously wasn't doing himself any favours, and since Ari was the one that had brought him here... well, he wasn't doing Ari any favours either. He grimaced, hoping that the wardens wouldn't hold it against him too much.

Shaking his head, Ari turned back to the others and headed for the door.
 
Azzam had waken a dozen or so minutes prior to Oriel's entrance, and had finished stretching out the soreness from his limbs as well as dressed himself more warmly than the prior day by the time the Elysian Knight Shelby arrived. He listened patiently and, once it was mentioned there was a demonstration to be held, he went outside, stopping only briefly to slip on a pair of thin shoes.
 
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