It Started with Slime - Part 1

Interlude XXV - Haren, The First Test

Deep breath, in and out. You've practised and trained for this buddy; you can do it. Haren's little pep talk was not going great. His palms were sweating, his forehead creased, then smoothed repeatedly. He could not remember his underwear had felt so restricting, and it seemed to want to crawl into a place it had no right to be.

Just relax, buddy. They didn't tell you what to expect, but it is probably something combat-related; I mean, it is the Royal Guard! What else could it be? But try and he might, nothing was calming this new hopeful down.

"Haren Brean!" The man who came out of the testing grounds to call new applicants came out again, and Haren heard the words he had been expecting and dreading for the last four hours. There had been a lot of names to get through.

But Haren's legs decided this was the perfect time to seize up. "Haren Brean! Has anyone seen Haren Brean?" the sergeant called again, and a few people near Haren started snickering while they looked around. They didn't know him, but they knew about first day jitters.

"Sir! I'm here." Mercifully his voice was steady enough. That seemed to knock some sense into his uncooperative legs so that he could start moving them again. Thoughts flitted through his head even as his legs regained some of their inertia. Should I even be here? The Royal Guard is for elites, and I don't have any skills. I just barely picked up a stick!

"Right is this way, Haren. I understand your sister also works in the palace? She is quite well known for her healing prowess." The sergeant said to lead Haren deeper into the testing area. "I hope you have come prepared, son." The old guard said over his shoulder to Haren.

"Yes, sir. As much as I could with the information I had." Haren hastily asserted. The sergeant scoffed but did not slow or say anything else.

Soon they were through the winding corridors and arrived in a flat oval-shaped central area with a gladiatorial feel. Rows of escalating spectator seats encircling it, about ten deep. Haren was surprised by the size of it, it looked large from the outside, but it was still more impressive seeing it directly.

Scattered throughout the area were people of all shapes and sizes, old, young, male, female, tall, short. You name it, and permutation was there. The sergeant continued walking even when Haren paused to take it all in. "Come on, greenhorn, better get a move on, or you won't even get a chance to earn the title of Recruit!"

Haren blushed at being caught gawking. He hurriedly caught up to his guide just as the sergeant arrived at a registration point. "Haren Brean." He said to the buff looking woman sitting behind a desk of some sort.

"Thank you, Sergeant Marken. I will take it from here." The woman said, adjusting her grip on the quill she held in too large hands. That writing implement looked far too fragile in her meaty hands, but she handled it deftly.

A quick nod and saluted "Yes, Sir!" and he quickly left Haren to this woman's ministrations. Unless Haren was entirely off, she was the sergeant's superior. Why would someone of that rank lower themselves to being a receptionist?

"Sir-" the woman raised an eyebrow as he started to speak, and he choked off what he was about to say. She nodded in approval.

While he waited on the woman, he took a closer look at the arena area around him. Nearby, one woman younger than Haren and another older man were sparring with short swords. Further down and with ample distance between them, there was a similarly older-younger pairing, here two men, going through the same with a spear, behind that the axe and on and on it went. There was a whole array of weapons, halberds, pole-arms, hand-to-hand combat, clubs, mauls, spears; the list went on. All types of melee weapons.