I slept well until the barracks door opened. I had almost two decades of sleeping around the Hag and needed to be ready constantly, so I was awake and up before the door finished opening. I had the blankets stored in my trunk before the drill sergeant turned on the lights and the band started playing.

“GOOD MORNING, LADIES!” The drill sergeant yelled and repeated the same procedure as the day before. “It's another lovely day for a jog, people!” He said and kicked and rattled beds to get people up. Only two of them didn't manage to get completely dressed when the order to put on boots came.

We marched out of the barracks and over to the track around the base.

“It's the same deal as yesterday! Three hours until breakfast! When I say go, start running!” The drill sergeant said and turned to me. “You said you can run faster yesterday, so I better see you running faster today.”

“Just for this or for the obstacle course, too?” I asked.

“Both.” The drill sergeant said and looked at everyone. “GO GO GO!”

I took off and ran by everyone as they stared at me. Since the drill sergeant told me to go faster than I did yesterday, I did. About a third faster. I would learn later that was pretty fast and I didn't tell them that I could still run a lot faster. I looped everyone on my third time around the whole base, the drill sergeant included.

The three hours passed by in moments and I came to a stop when the drill sergeant did. He gave me a stern look and saw that my armpits were a little sweaty. We had to wait for fifteen minutes again as everyone else finished and then we went to eat. After that was the obstacle course again and unlike the last time, I was sent through first.

I ran faster and did the course even quicker, which surprised the instructors, because my feet barely touched any of the obstacles as I passed over them. What they didn't know was that compared to all the hazards and things I needed to avoid in the marsh that could change practically every day, having the same path to use each time and no creatures to avoid or fight along the way, was downright easy.

I stopped at the rest area and sat down to wait. The time seemed to pass by like a breeze and then it was time for lunch. I ate quickly and sat there to wait for everyone else.

“I don't know how you can eat this slop.” One of the guys said and poked a white pasty substance with his spoon.

“It's free. I didn't have to hunt it down, kill it, or cook it.” I said and he gave me a surprised look. “If I made it, it would have more meat and maybe some tubers, with some wild mushrooms and a few herbs. A bit of frog or lizard cooked in a pan goes well with grub pate on brown bread.”

Everyone stopped eating and stared at me. A few covered their mouths and one turned a little green.

“Are you okay? Did a spider bite you?” I asked and the guy shook his head. “I haven't seen any around here, so either they are small or the brood's too far away for scouts.”

“Are you serious?” Gillis asked and looked around at the floor and the ceiling. “There could be a brood here?”

“No, not here. You'd be swarmed long before you saw the man sized spiders up close.”

“M-m-man s-sized!” Gillis stuttered, shock on her face. “I thought... they were only...”

I shrugged. “They're mostly just legs. Once you cut a few off, they only come up to your waist.”

A few people turned away and one guy cursed for some reason.

Lunch ended and we went to class. I thought it was going to be another boring review about the obstacle course until three men wearing mage robes came into the room. I activated my vigilance technique right away, just in case.

“I bid you welcome, Mage Griffin, Mage Francis, and Mage Hellin.” The drill sergeant said, quite respectfully, and the mages nodded their heads in return.

“We are here to do an initial testing of any latent magical abilities.” Mage Griffin said. “I've also heard that there are a couple promising recruits among you.”

The chatter started as everyone wondered if it could be them.

“We have small measuring crystals with us and we will come to each of you. Grip it tightly and then imagine your will going into them.”

When I looked around, a lot of people looked confused.

_______________

You have a major choice to make. It will affect the rest of the time you spend in the army.

A) Stay quiet. B) Ask a question. C) Ignore them. D) Leave. E) Sigh loudly. F) Do nothing.

I spent years with the Hag and she absorbed my magic as much as she could. She called herself a sorceress and she used many tricks to steal magical power from me. I thought and looked at the three men. I don't have a good feeling about them, so I'll choose B to see if they are like the Hag.

_______________

I raised my hand to speak. “How do you do that with no training?”

The mages turned to look at me and Mage Griffin spoke. “What was that?”

“How do you do what you said? None of us know what you're talking about.” I said. “How can you measure what we can't do?”

The mage chuckled. “I was sure that someone like you wouldn't have any idea what I was talking about. I'm glad that I was right.”

“Hey! That's not fair.” Gillis said in my defense.

“All people in some capacity can exert their will on something.” The mage said and ignored Gillis' comment. “Either willingly or unwillingly. You just need to concentrate on the crystal as hard as you can.” He came over to me and took one out of his robes. It was a cylinder about five inches long. “Like this.”

I felt him infuse his magic into it as if he was creating a potion. The crystal glowed brightly for several seconds and then stopped. The magic was still inside the crystal and my guess had been right. He wasn't testing anyone, he was gathering magic.

“Why don't you try it and see how much you can make it glow.” Mage Griffin said and held it out to me.

“No.” I said and didn't take it.

“Recruit Drake.” The drill sergeant said and stepped close.

“It's Private Drake, Drill Sergeant. My decorations say so.”

The drill sergeant reached for my chest pocket decoration and I grabbed his wrist.

“Are you trying to steal my things, Drill Sergeant?” I asked and squeezed. Everyone herd the snap of a bone and the drill sergeant winced. He didn't cry out, though. “Remember what happens to people that steal my things.”

The drill sergeant glared at me and didn't say anything.

“Let him go, Private Drake.” The XO's commanding voice ordered as she stepped into the room.

“Yes, ma'am.” I said and let him go.

The drill sergeant didn't show any signs that his wrist was broken and walked over to the door of the classroom. “MEDIC!”

A few moments later, the same healer appeared. I had met her when I cut off that guy's hand for attacking me. Her eyes found me and she knew I was responsible.

“Private Drake, I want to measure your magic ability.” The XO said as she came over to me.

“How do you do that with a storage crystal?” I asked and both she and the mages looked surprised.

“It's a measuring device.” The XO said.

“No, it stores magic.” I said and nodded at the mage. “Have him keep doing it. If it only measures and doesn't take, he won't get weak when he runs out.”

The XO looked at Mage Griffin. “Go ahead, Mage Griffin. Show me your magic potential.”

“I've already made it glow.” The mage said, trying to get out of doing it.

“Show me.” The XO ordered.

Mage Griffin gave me a stern look and made the crystal glow again. It was the same brightness as before. “There, see? It just measures...”

“Do it again.” The XO said.

Mage Griffin glanced at the other two mages and they shook their heads. He sighed and did it again. Then again. When he tried it for the fifth time, it only glowed half as much and he started to waver. He had to put the crystal down and braced himself on my desk to stop from falling over in exhaustion.

“You don't make a lot of potions, do you?” I asked and picked it up. “It's barely a quarter full.”

“How... can you tell?” Mage Griffin asked and took several deep breaths.

“You wouldn't need to steal other people's magic if you could do it on your own.” I said and used the dispel spell I knew. There was a loud crack and the crystal turned black as all the stored magic was released and dissipated. I put it down on the desk and it had a huge crack all along the side of it.

“No.” Mage Griffin whispered as he stared at the broken crystal.

“I believe I have some very informative letters to write to my superiors about this.” The XO said and looked at the other two mages. “I don't suppose there is an actual device to measure someone's magic potential, is there?”

The two mages didn't say anything.

“You three can go back to your quarters and I am hereby suspending all regular testing of my soldiers.”

“You can't do that.” Mage Griffin said and stood up straight as he recovered. “We need that magic to do our jobs properly.”

“You can charge the crystals yourselves during off duty hours.” The XO said and the three mages started to walk away. “I suspect that the years of deception on behalf of the Mage Guild are going to come back to haunt you very soon.”

The mages didn't respond and left the classroom.

The XO turned to me and picked up the cracked crystal. “I can't believe they've been doing this for years.” She said and put the crystal into her pants pocket.

“The Hag did it to me for 18 years.” I said and she took in a sharp breath.

“She had these crystals?” The XO asked.

“No, she drank my blood and sucked the magic out of me.” I said and she stared at me for several moments.

“So, you knew what it felt like.” The XO commented and I nodded. She rested her hand on my shoulder for a second and then she walked over to the drill sergeant. “You and I need to have another talk, Will.” She said and looked angry. “A long one, apparently.”

“Yes, ma'am.” The drill sergeant said.

The XO walked by him. “Now I'm wondering how many potential mages the Mage Guild have intentionally cut off from having an outstanding career by taking their magic on a regular basis.” She said and left the classroom with those ominous words being the last thing we all heard from her.

“You can't use your wrist for an hour or so, Drill Sergeant.” The healer said and wrapped it in a long bandage, then gave him an arm sling. He nodded to her and she turned her head to look at me for a moment, then she left the room, too.

“Evening chores are moved to now. Check the list and do your jobs.” The drill sergeant said. “Class dismissed.”

Everyone stood and started to file out of the room. The drill sergeant's still good hand stopped me from leaving and Gillis stopped at the door when she saw that I wasn't with her.

“When you least expect it, I will break your wrist.” The drill sergeant said. “An eye for an eye.”

“If you attack me again, I will kill you, Drill Sergeant.” I said. “Then I'll take your hand like I should have this time.”

The drill sergeant glared at me and growled. “Did you just threaten a superior officer?”

“No. I am reminding you that your right hand is my property and I will take it back if you use it against me.”

“You are on report, recruit!” The drill sergeant said. “You should expect to have a formal hearing by next week.”

“Will the XO put you on report for your actions?” I asked and he looked surprised, then I remembered the old CO of the Ester's Village garrison. “Maybe we can have a trial together.”

The drill sergeant glared at me and his teeth ground together. “Get out of my sight.” He said and moved his hand from blocking the exit.

“That's easy to do. Just close your eyes.” I said and walked out the door.

Gillis started walking with me. “You have to stop doing that.”

“I was warned to not casually kill anyone.” I said.

“Goading them into attacking you isn't right, either.” Gillis said.

It took me a second to remember what goading meant. “I guess I could have told him that he has nothing to teach me and that he is too weak to be a challenge.”

Gillis stared at me with her mouth open. “No! Definitely don't tell him that!”

“You said to goad him.” I said.

Gillis sighed. “Please, don't make things even harder for yourself.”

I stayed quiet, because I didn't want to tell her that this was the easiest time I've ever had in my life. I also didn't tell her that I was starting to miss the freedom I had back home.

We went to the list in the barracks and Gillis was assigned to help tend to the obstacle course and I was assigned to the mess hall.

“It's too bad we can't switch.” Gillis said with a sigh. “See you at supper.”

I nodded to her and she walked in one direction and I walked in the other. I went into the mess hall and the people working there greeted me.

“Go on in the back. We've got bags and bags of potatoes for you to peel.” The mess officer said and pointed to the door to go into the kitchen.

“Hi, there! I so glad you're early!” A perky young woman said as I entered. “I hope you're quick with a knife, because we have a lot of work to do.”

She led me over to the ten large burlap bags of potatoes and several large stew pots. There were two stools and two small knives there, too. She sat on one of the stools and picked up a potato, then she started skinning it with the small knife. I watched her do it for a few seconds, to see if she was playing around like Alex, Rich and Roy were to build camaraderie.

“Come on, sit! Don't be shy.” She said and pointed to the small knife on the other stool.

“You're doing it wrong.” I said and picked up the knife to sit down.

“Says you.” She said and laughed. “I've been doing this for months and...”

I put the small knife aside and took my own out from my bandoleer and charged it. She caught her breath as I stuck the tip of my knife into the potato and let the magic pop the skin off. It fluttered to the floor and I tossed the bare potato into the closest stew pot.

“Sometimes the Hag doesn't like the taste of skin and I have to remove it.” I said and picked up another potato, popped the skin off of it and tossed it into the pot. It took barely a second for each one and she sat there and stared at me until the pot was nearly full.

“Stop slacking off.” The mess officer said as he passed by to talk to one of the cooks.

“R-right.” The not so perky woman said and picked up a potato. She started skinning it and did her best to not look at me. She failed miserably. “How are you doing that?”

“Magic.” I said and finished filling the pot and started on the next.

“You can do magic?!?” She asked, surprised. “You shouldn't be here in basic training! You should have been sent to one of the Mages Guild schools of learning!”

“I'm a conscript.” I said and she gasped.

“No, you... what did you...”

“Justified murder.” I said. “The village people wanted me dead and sentenced me to die at the trial.”

She didn't ask me any more questions.