“So, what do you think the trials are going to be like?” Jay asked casually while we were lazing around in our quarters. Jay was looking at the ceiling on his top bunk while I was stuck under him. Almost a week has gone by since we got to the new spot our trials are going to be. This is our last night before the trials start.

“Well he said survival and a five on five match,” I said back.

“I know that idiot!” he said laughing while throwing his pillow on me from his bunk at the same time, “I’m talking about how hard you think they are going to be?”

“Well,” I started while sneakily jumping up to throw the pillow back on him, “all I know is that I’m passing those damn exams!” After I said that, I threw the pillow and hit him right in the face.

“You little-,” Jay said in a lighthearted tone while grabbing the pillow to throw it back at my face. We started a mini pillow war until one of our roommates came into the room.

“Hey you brats! Quit fooling around, the commander could walk in at any moment, and all of us will be in trouble!” Denver shouted to us.

“What are you talking about? He never comes in here!” Jay said back.

“I don’t care. Just stop now.”

“Whatever Denver,” Jay mumbled in spite.

“Anyway, I came to tell you guys to go to cafeteria, they’re serving dinner now,” Denver said in a calmer tone, although there were still some traces of annoyance.

“Alright, we’ll be right there,” I said while jumping down from one of the bunks.

~

“Alright recruits, I’m going to give a rundown of what will happen before the start of the first trial tomorrow,” one of the soldiers who were monitoring us said while we ate our dinner.

I can’t believe all we got was soup again! How are we supposed to have energy tomorrow? I thought furiously while I ate. I was on a table with Jay, Mason, Denver, Abby, and Jordan.

“At eight o’clock in the morning tomorrow, you will all be transported out of the gates and into the base we have made in the forest. There, you will get your sword. Your sword will be with you at all times and will even stick with you if you pass these trials. After that, the first trial will begin. Do you have any questions?”

“Um yeah,” Jay started while getting up from his seat, “what are the different types of swords?”

“That I can not say. The swords made are completely different from person to person. These swords are unique to you,” the soldier said back to Jay.

“Gotcha, thanks,” Jay said sitting back down.

“Hmph, I’m obviously going to get a really strong sword,” Mason said to the table.

“Shut up number four,” Abby said back to him. Abby has always been super serious, and never smiles. Throughout the whole week, her only emotion was a stone cold one. She didn’t call us by our names, she called us by our ranking during the training camp except for Jay and I because we scored higher than her.

“It’s getting kind of late. I’m going to go back to the quarters for the night so I can wake up early tomorrow,” Jordan said. Jordan was really timid and not seemingly not cut out to join the armed forces, but surprisingly he is really strong and ranked sixth during training.

“Yeah me too. You two brats better not make a ruckus when you come back,” Denver said while pointing at me and Jay.

“Yeah you deadbeats,” Mason said in a threatening way.

“Is something going on here?” Joyce said. Joyce was the pretty one out of all the recruits. She had looks and is pretty strong too as she placed eighth out of thirty. 

“N-n-nothing Joyce,” Mason stuttered as he left quickly after that. She just smiled as he quickly walked away to our quarters.

“We should get going too,” I said to Jay.

“Alright,” Jay said as we both got up from the table while going back to the quarters.

I’m so excited for tomorrow! I’m going to get up early and be the first one at roll call! I thought.

~

“Dude wake up, its seven fifty-six,” a Jay said above me. I was so tired, I could hardly recognize his voice, “we are going to be late to roll call, hurry up!”

Shoot that’s right! we’re supposed to be there at eight! I thought quickly to myself. I sprung out of bed right away after thinking that.

“Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?” I asked Jay while we were running to the cafeteria.

“I tried, but you just wouldn’t wake up,” Jay said with accusation in his voice. After he said that we barged into the cafeteria. Everyone else was already lined up in rows in front of Commander Lucifer.

“Oh look, it’s the top two scorers of the training camp! Of course they think that they can come at any time just because they were at the top,” the man next to Lucifer said.

“It’s okay, just don’t be late from now on. Go line up with everyone else,” Lucifer said to us.

What’s that guy next to Commander Lucifer’s problem? We’re only a little late, I thought to myself as Jay and I lined up behind Mason.

“You deadbeats are definitely failing now,” Mason said with a smirk on his face.

“As I was saying, today you recruits will get your swords from the forest base, then go to the replica of the base of the Pillar we made for your one week survival trial. You will have to fend of Pillae and your fellow recruits. With your sword, you will have to carry a baton with you. The more batons you have at the end of the trial, the higher you will rank for grouping in the five on five matches. Anything goes during the trial except for murder and teaming up. Is that understood?” Lucifer said to everyone.

“Yes sir!” everyone shouted back while putting their hand over their chest.

“Alright then, lets head out to the forest base where your sword will be crafted for you!”

~

“Welcome to the forest base! Here I will make all of your swords. Each sword is unique to you and is built off of the power and resolve you have inside of you!” the blacksmith at the forest base said enthusiastically.

There is no way that is actually how it is made, I thought skeptically.

“You there! You look like you don’t believe me. Why don’t you come up first then?” he asked pointing in my direction.

“Me?” I asked while pointing to myself.

“No, the boy behind you,” he said while signaling for me to move out of the way.

“Yeah, I don’t believe you. There is no such thing as ‘power’ inside of us,” Toby said from behind me. Toby was a really gloomy, but serious kid. Just like Abby, he hardly showed any emotion.

As Toby was walking up to the work desk, the blacksmith brought out a huge piece of metal.

“This is Clairvoyant Iron. What you do is put your right hand on the metal and concentrate on your hand, your sword will craft. The metal will transform into your sword,” the blacksmith said.

Okay, that is taking it way too far, I thought, there is no way it works.

“Tsk, whatever, let’s just get this stunt over with,” Toby said while rolling his eyes. With that he stuck his arm out and put his hand on the metal. Nothing happened for a few seconds.

I knew it. It’s impossible for it to just turn into a sword. After I thought that, the metal started to rumble and turn yellow.

“Keep your hand on the iron, it isn’t going to burn you I promise,” the blacksmith said to Toby.

“I wasn’t going anywhere,” Toby said casually. All of a sudden, the iron started to glow a golden yellow and took a sword shape. As soon as the iron started shaking, it was completed. The sword then fell into the blacksmith’s hands.

“Hmm, a relatively light sword, but very strong to the tip. The sword has longer length than normal with a bit of a curve at the tip. It has a yellowish tint to the silver. I’m going to call this sword, ‘Vehemence’,” the blacksmith said. While he was casually appraising the sword, everyone was in awe, even Toby was a little shocked.

“What just happened?”

“Did the sword really just make itself?”

“This is a really strong sword, I could tell because the glow was one of the strongest I’ve in a long time,” the blacksmith said while putting the sword in a sheath.

“That’s so cool! Mine is definitely going to be super strong,” Jay whispered to me.

“You think yours will be strong? Come up then,” the blacksmith said to Jay while waving for him to come up.

“Yes!” Jay said excitedly while running past Toby.

The blacksmith brought out another piece of Clairvoyant Iron and Jay put his hand it. Almost as soon as his hand was on it, the iron started to rumble. The iron soon started to glow a bright blue, much brighter than Toby’s yellow glow.

“Alright it should be-,” the blacksmith started. When he started speaking, lightning itself started breaking out from the iron. When the lightning broke out, the sword started taking shape.

“Wow, um, I’ve never seen that before,” the blacksmith started as the sword fell in his hands. The lightning was still radiating from the sword in the blacksmith’s hands.

“This is one of the best swords I’ve ever seen. It is a little heavy but resembles a Japanese katana. It is medium in length and completely straight. It is white and silver which confuses me because the metal had a blue glow, but no matter. I will name this, ‘Fabled’.”

“I knew I was going to be amazing,” Jay said casually putting his sword in the sheath himself.

------------------------------           Aspen’s Journal         ------------------------------

Pillae are the name of the creatures that come from the pillar. They are renowned as the cause of the Ruin of the Northern District.

Pillae are visually distorted and have sharp nails that can kill humans almost on contact. The military are the ones that fend them off although there are fences that help keep them out of Aspen

------------------------------           Aspen’s Journal         ------------------------------

“That was so cool!” I whispered to Jay as he came back proud while looking at his sword with pride.

“I know right!” I wonder what your sword is going to be like,” he whispered back in excitement.

Just like the blacksmith said, there was a different reaction for every person although some were similar to each other. Some had a very strong glow, but some were dim. Some were big, some were smaller. Finally, after lots of people, my name was called upon.

“Alright, last but not least, can we have Ty come up?” the blacksmith asked.

I walked my way up to the front as he took out the last piece of Clairvoyant Iron. As soon as it was on the table, I put my palm right on it.

Mine is definitely going to glow brighter than Jay’s I just know it! I thought confidently to myself.

My hand was on the iron for a time, but there was absolutely no reaction at all. After about ten seconds my piece of iron started to take a sword shape with no reaction.

“What a loser,” someone said.

“That guy is second in our regiment?”

“Disappointing.”

“It’s okay. I’ve never seen this, but I’m sure you’ll be fine, although usually the dimmer the glow is, the weaker the sword or the user is,” the blacksmith said sympathetically.

Why? I thought, I’m second in the class, I see myself as Jay’s equal. How can my resolve be weaker than anyone in this room? My parents are dead! That is more than most in this room can say! How? I swore I would get there, but I guess I’m just like everyone else. I’m would be a side character in a story.

While the sword was taking its shape, a huge wave of heat came from the sword. The iron started radiating heat as a glow of red that was brighter than the sun itself. A flame broke out on the sword. The once silver sword started burning to a pure black color. After it turned black, it started expanding and eventually took shape of the exact same sword. Before it fell into the blacksmith’s hand, a bright white light burst out blinding everyone in the room.

“Woah what was that?”

“I can’t see!”

Finally, after that whole show the swords were done and fell into the blacksmith’s hands.

“Remarkable. I’ve never seen a sword of this color before, and these are the first duel swords ever made. It is very light but durable and even stronger than most of the others. A medium length and is straight up until the tip. While all swords are unique, they at least belong to a class, but these swords are in a class of their own. I will name this ‘Radiant’.”

He put the swords in two sheaths and gave them to me as I walked back into the crowd of the other recruits.

“Dude, what the hell did I just see?” Jay asked me with awe.

“I don’t know I thought mines was a failure,” I said back with the same amount of awe in the tone.

“Yeah me too, I was getting ready to laugh again.”

“Oh shut up,” I said while punching him

“Okay recruits, now that you all have your sword, we will now head over to the Pillar replica. I will explain one last time what is going on, and you will finally begin the first trial!” Lucifer said to the recruits.

“Yes sir!”

~

Before we left the forest base, we were given a belt and a sling to attach our sheaths to. I chose the sling because I thought it would be cool to pull my swords from my back, but also had a belt just in case, while Jay got a belt and refused to have a sling as well.

“Can I try using one of your slings?” Jay asked me while we were going to the trial site.

“You should’ve got your own if you wanted a sling,” I said back.

“Come on, just let me use one.”

“Fine,” I said while taking one of my slings off of my back.

For about five whole minutes, Jay just drew his sword, then put it back. Drew his sword, then put it back.

“Thanks, that was actually kind of cool,” Jay said while giving me my sling back.

“Yeah I know right. Imagine drawing two out from your back!” I said excitedly.

“Too bad there won’t be enough time for you to draw your swords if I come against you!” Jay said.

“What? I think I’ll come after you first,” I said.

“You wish number two,” Jay said jokingly while pushing me to the side.

“Who are you, Abby?” I asked

“Did you call me?” Abby said from behind us.

I jumped like a little girl when she said that.

“Jeez Abby, don’t just scare me like that,” I said, “but no, I was just joking around with Jay.”

“Okay,” she started, “but if you ever use my name again, I will kill you myself.”

“Is that so?” I asked while nervously laughing.

“Recruits, we’re here,” Lucifer said while stopping us.

The trial site was a huge circle that looked like the bottom of the pillar. There were tons of Pillae going in and out of the building.

“Woah,” I heard lots of people say.

I was very surprised when I saw Jay’s expression. The guy who is always laid back and never really gloomy or angry despite his past was fuming with anger and hatred.

“Jay, are you okay?” I asked nervously.

“It’s the Pillae again,” Jay started through gritted teeth, “those sons of guns took everything away from me!”

This is the first time I’ve ever seen Jay like this. To think he is always laid back. I guess this is the one thing that enrages him as his entire hometown was destroyed be the Pillae.

“Recruits, I will now tell you the final details you need to know before you go in there,” the commander started, “there are cameras in every place here, so don’t even think about foul play. There is everything you need to survive in there. Like I said, anything goes except for murder and teaming up. The more batons you have at the end of the week, the higher you will rank for the five on five. Not only do you have to fend off your fellow recruits, but also the never-ending stream of Pillae that will enter. We have medical treatment waiting if we see anyone get seriously injured. Are there any questions?”

Everyone was dead quiet. Even though we were about to not only fight ourselves, but the Pillae, the weather was calm with a nice breeze, just like any other day in Aspen

“Alright then. The soldiers here will guide you to your opening and as soon as the alarm goes off, the trial begins. Everyone is being released at the same time. So, go off, and get ready!” the commander yelled while signaling for the soldiers to get us.

I was led to an opening on the right of the trial area. I ended up on the opposite side from Jay. I was given a baton from the soldier before he left. I put the baton in a pocket on my belt. The darkness that I saw in that opening was nothing like I’ve ever seen before. I had chills going up my spine

You’ll be fine! You did so much training to get here, and you have two amazing weapons, I reassured myself.

“Alright then recruits, we will begin the trial in five,” the commander started over a loudspeaker.

I stretched my arm as the wind blew my hair to the right,

“Four!”

You got this. Let’s beat Jay and everyone else in this trial,

“Three!”

I cracked my knuckles while looking around at the two others on my right and left,

“Two!”

I put my hands on the handles of my sword for reassurance.

 “One!”

I got into a running stance,

There was obviously only a second in the time he said one and when the alarm went off. Even though it was only a second, to me it felt like years.

I could feel my heart pumping hard. In fear? No. In pure excitement.

I’m one step closer to avenging my parents, I thought in that time.  

The sweat was dripping from my face as I collected my thoughts. I could feel my hands clench the handles of those swords. As the alarm rang.

“The first Trial for the 186^th armed forces recruits will now begin!” the commander shouted as the alarm went off.

With that, I pulled out my duel swords ‘Radiant’ as I screamed and ran into that dark trial room. If I pass these trials, I will that much closer to becoming a part of the Pillar Brigade.

 

Next chapter: Jay Kyce