“Many ask: Why the Ten Leaves? Aren’t there only three?
Heed my reminder of the heroes you so callously forgot. They didn’t seek fame or glory, no statues of theirs stand. Yet, they deserve to be remembered:
Wisdom has drifted into slumber.
Bravery refused to retreat.
Curiosity wandered off to explore.
Empathy ended her own life.
Caution was claimed by chance.
Stubbornness sits imprisoned, biding its time.
...
And Charisma vanished into anonymity.
Three stories have ended, one has halted, two continue elsewhere, ... and the eighth is filled with joy.
I'll not comment on those still in service. It is not my place,” the bard finished his recitation with a wink.
In the packed street, barely anyone paid him any mind. Only a group of curious children stared at him with wide eyes.
Performed in Korgadar, date and author unknown.
The Guardsmen and their allies stayed to guarantee safety while support personnel took care of the bodies, surveyed damage, and collected statements.
Kerek was not the only one baffled by the monsters' behavior and HQ wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Monster waves followed a set pattern: A Lord gathered minions and when it felt confident an attack was launched.
The most significant departure from this pattern he heard of was the coalition of Lords from 20 years ago.
An exceptionally cunning one managed to persuade others to join its attack.
Today was even stranger than that. He was reasonably sure that at least on this battlefield no Lord took part in the fighting.
Without a Lord, monsters would tear each other apart. Those mana-seeking bastards knew not the meaning of peaceful coexistence.
Strange then, that they behaved with more intelligence than ever before. Their forces followed a strategy, had a battle formation, and reacted to any unexpected challenges.
All clear signs of a capable leader at minimum or perhaps a widespread intelligence.
Quite the change from the usual mindless attacks.
The Lord's court usually held some degree of cunning, but the fodder was just that, fodder.
It has been long since the Guardsmen saw any casualties. Today was different in that regard too.
Many tears would be shed.
You couldn't put a price on human life, but the cost of today was without a doubt high.
Reports started trickling in from the western wall.
They faced a similar tactic with burrowing bugs. Fortunately, an experienced earth mage interpreted the vibrations and ended them then and there.
With his help, the ceiling of their tunnel crushed them to death.
It confirmed what many speculated about. The monsters were proficient at stealth.
All types of it, from hiding their presence to outright invisibility.
When tunneling their mana signatures should've been visible to the mages but they weren't.
If not for the earth mage's quick thinking no one would've noticed before they dug themselves out.
It reminded him of the metallic hand of Bob's fluctuation reader. It too didn't register the spiking of mana levels until it was almost too late.
More news followed.
They faced dragonfly riders on the western wall, each around 2 yards long and saddled.
Goblins were seated on top of them, holding the reins. Their stature was small, their skin sickly green and their faces sported wicked grins.
It seemed that beetles wouldn't be the end of it.
No Lords, multiple monster types in one wave, and strange behavior.
An unideal combination to put it lightly.
Paradoxically their colleagues faced much lower casualties even though they confronted a more formidable enemy.
The elite warriors stationed there destroyed their opposition with minimal effort.
Kerek looked below the wall. Body bags were carried inside, while monster bodies were loaded onto carts.
Those would get no funeral, only a dissection awaited them.
When the city learned all it needed to know the rest of the bodies would be auctioned for materials.
A solid percentage of the raised funds would go to the defenders.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
He would've been happy with the extra money if each coin wasn't tainted by the blood of his colleagues.
It left a bad taste in his mouth.
Though he understood the necessity of it.
Every defender deserved a fair reward for risking their life for the city.
Especially the unaffiliated practitioners needed some extra motivation. Gold was as good as any.
"Guardsman Kerek I presume?" a clerk in an immaculate work attire asked him, nervously tapping his pen onto his clipboard.
"Yes, that is correct."
"You'll be spending the rest of the week in the training center. It wouldn't make any sense to station you on the wall before your replacement armor is finished."
"Anyway, that's not why I'm here."
A series of questions followed.
It seemed that even though everyone would be writing a report in the following days HQ was not so patient.
Kerek answered the questions to the best of his ability and when asked about the monsters' behavior he openly voiced his suspicions.
The clerk assured him that such claims were made by many others and were currently being investigated.
A few less interesting questions followed until 10 minutes later the impromptu questioning was finally over.
The administrative worker thanked him for his cooperation and went on to have a chat with the rest of his squadmates.
Surreal stillness permeated through the rest of the day. The reserves in the city were on high alert, the wall defenders kept scanning the horizon.
Everyone was half-expecting a fight, despite that the monsters didn't return.
When Kerek's shift ended in the early evening, not a single evidence of the battle was left on his body.
His head didn't bruise in the end.
The walk home proved to be in stark contrast to the bustle of battle. If he had been on his usual 8-hour shift, he would never be returning so late.
From six in the morning to seven in the afternoon, he spent 13 hours of his day on the wall. At least the overtime pay would be good.
No invisible enemies, nor explosions interrupted his passage. Not even the necessity to follow Hopkins's commands plagued him.
In a way, it felt like a different world from the wall altogether.
Here the worst he had to handle were the occasional curious glances from passerbies. It seemed that the strangeness of today's attack didn't escape their attention.
His gaze followed the eyes of one such curious couple and they soon stopped staring and sped their walk up.
There was no time for embarrassment in a battle, yet here it was the king.
Just another of the differences. A small one sure, but when one added them all together the gap between the worlds revealed itself.
Or maybe I'm just being way too dramatic.
Be it as it may Kerek continued on his way home. Flashbacks to the battle accompanied his steps the entire way.
Finally inside, tired and lazy he opened his fridge, no cooking would be done today. He ate whatever he could find, brushed his teeth, and dropped into his bed.
Like an artillery shell.
That might've not been the most appropriate metaphor for it.
Thankfully sleep took him anyway, letting him escape the pointless tangents of his thoughts.
As Kerek went to sleep early he woke up well-rested and energetic. It was one of the rare days when he didn't need his alarm.
He turned it off preventively and then went through his morning routine.
Blinds up, skin moisturized, mana cycling, and stomach full he was ready for the day.
His early awakening still gave him much free time before he had to head to the training center.
With his recent traumatic experience still on his mind, he decided that he might as well use it for training.
Old uniforms were hiding from Kerek inside a nearby chest. He opened it and without any sympathy donned one of the outfits.
It was worn out and even sported a few holes. Perfect for combat training.
Normally, he'd change only when he arrived at the training area. Today it was so early that he'd barely meet anyone on his way there.
What about my walk back though?
He'd have to walk through half the city with something one step above dregs.
Kerek was not comfortable with that. So I have to take a more presentable uniform with me anyway.
Understanding his foolishness, he dumped the old outfit into his travel back.
He dressed himself more presentably and left the house.
The center was built right in front of the Tree's territory. It stood proudly next to the low wall.
Passing the progressively smaller houses he chuckled to himself. Korgadar was a beautiful city, but he experienced barely anything of it.
He was only outside his house when he was either heading to the wall or towards the center for either training or Ekklesia.
It can't be that I frequent only those two paths. He thought to himself with a frown.
More thinking only revealed how true that was. Kerek's social life left a lot to be desired.
"Hey, funny meeting you so early." he jumped at the unexpected interruption.
Spinning around revealed the grinning face of Bob. What the hell?
"Why so jumpy? Are you not happy to see your best friend?"
"We're friends?" answered Kerek in a deadpan tone.
"Duh, of course, we hang out like all the time."
"Guarding the wall together isn't hanging out."
Bob waved him off in a typical Bob fashion. "Well, then let's fix that. Want to go visit the arena with me later?"
Kerek looked at him uncomprehending. That took him by surprise.
In an atypical fashion, his colleague didn't continue speaking and instead awaited his response.
He opened his mouth to voice his dismissal but then closed it again. You know what, why not?
"Sure," he replied
Now it was Bob looking at him like he grew a second head. "What did you say?"
"I said I'd go."
"But you never say yes to anything!" Bob said, his tone something between disbelief and accusation.
"Well, I don't have to go ..." Before Kerek could finish Bob grabbed his shoulder and said: "Okay, it's a deal. Anyway, I'm guessing you're going training too?."
"There's a reason why we're going in the same direction. By the way, why are you up so early?"
"I always go train an hour early. Some of us are not slackers," Bob shot back. "How often do you go to the arena," he continued.
"Not much or more like not at all," said Kerek. His reply got Bob grinning, but his questioning gaze didn't get him any more answers.
The rest of the walk passed in chitchat and soon they were standing in front of a nondescript three-story tall block of concrete.
They confidently walked through the front door.
The interior did not correspond to the building's visage. A smooth marble floor decorated the reception while tasteful paintings of past heroes hung on the walls.
In the middle of the room stood a desk with a charming woman manning it. Her polite smile revealed sharp canines which complimented her ruby eyes.
"Hey Britta, could I get a training room for one with an Ent instructor?" Kerek asked
"Of course, darling. Is that going to be all?" she verified. Bob used that moment to jump in. "We could do some sparring later, what do you think?"
"Sure, then please we'd like to reserve an arena for 1 pm. Please pick the biome at random."
"And a personal Ent instructor for me too," Bob added.
She jotted a few notes in her ledgers and motioned for them to hand her their Guardsmen tokens.
Britta handed them back after a quick inspection.
Ever the professional she passed them the identity orb to verify that their mana signature corresponded with the citizenship database.
With all formality finished she gave a faraway wave while they said their thank yous.
They went left from the reception and there a room full of elevators greeted them.
The two hammered down the details of their afternoon sparring and then bid each other farewell. Each stepped in one of the lifts.
Metal doors closed behind Kerek and boxed him inside the small space.
No instructions were necessary. The lift beeped in recognition of his mana signature and whirled into motion.
The relaxing morning was over, and training was calling.
