The Arisen

Chapter 4

Early next morning, the six teens slowly assembled in the room where they first met each other the night before. Bright sunbeams, rising from the horizon, broke through the windows and illuminated the scene. It was anything but a gloomy day for outdoor training, if that's what old Menalarius had in mind.

Menalarius entered the room soon after the six had assembled, bringing with him a sudden look of authority the teens never saw in him before. His experience as King Proximos' most trusted general must have taught him to look professional. His apparel had the same theme as the night before: majestic and tidy. A different feature, however, was that he now had a thin rod he used as a staff of sorts.

"Good morning, students," Menalarius said, leaning on the staff slightly.

The teens, not fully awake yet, muttered their greetings. The early breakfast they had, however, was enough to nourish their willingness to be attentive.

"Today is the first day of your training," the mentor continued, "Not a very bad one, I must add. I will let you all know that I have carefully assessed each of your abilities and talents long before you were brought here."

The listeners all looked a little surprised. Although the statement confirmed some of their earlier suspicions, it was still unexpected in a way. The fact that each of them was stalked by an old man for an unknown period of time...perhaps years...did not make them very comfortable.

"Carry on..." Leander muttered, yawning.

"First of all, I will make sure that each of you is properly equipped. Some of you may have noticed one or two of your belongings waiting in your respective bedrooms. Furthermore, I will provide attire and other equipment appropriate for any task ahead."

"We've noticed," Hyphesia remarked.

"Good. Now each of you won't be confined to your current equipment for the whole time, as I'll supply more necessities in the future. I'll need to make sure you all are prepared for the winter, which will be here before we know it."

The teens slowly nodded as they listened along. Nothing sounded too difficult to them so far. It was reassuring to them to at least know that their new mentor at least had a fundamental plan. After noting their surprising attentiveness for this early in the day, Menalarius then revealed the first step of training.

"I'm glad to see you are all ready for what lies ahead. There is a seaside Metrissan outpost around eight miles from here. It took me much time and energy to discover its location and why it's significant to our fight ahead. A friend of mine who would be important to our cause is being held captive there, and she's been there for too long. I also think the outpost would make good headquarters moving forward...it's not a fortress, but it surpasses this villa by a long shot. Even though it's ninety miles from Metrissa, you don't want any hostiles escaping. If any kind of alarm is raised, that would be a crucial blow to our campaign."

"Wait a second..." Leander said, wide-eyed, "You're starting our lessons with a full-blown exam?!"

"Not an exam, Leander..." Menalarius replied, "A mission. It's a rather easy one and I am more than confident that it can be accomplished if you all work together."

"The guards there would be dumb, just like the rest," Phoebus said.

"Still!" Leander objected, "You expect us to do this in broad daylight? We seriously have no advantages!"

"Teamwork," Menalarius said, "That is one thing that the Metrissan soldiers lack. Back when I was a general, it was a big nuisance organizing the battle lines and keeping my men in the same mind set. If chaos erupts from within them, it can spread like fire and break their formations."