^^ To everyone who actually reads and responds to it: I love you, I love you, I love you! 
MMMMM~WAH! Bishies and pocky for you all! To those who only read it: Eh... Here's some choice
pocky, but NO BISHIES! And to those who do neither: >:P PPPFFFFFFTTTTTHHH!!!!




The day finally arrived, just before Kanani reached her sixteenth year. She was to be sent to 
train at a real Army camp in the main state of Frizzghigge. Spowaban had already inquired with 
the Emperor if he could join her, and had to resort to using Kanani's delicate emotional state 
as an excuse to be with her. The Emperor, who was delicate himself, had conceded when he heard 
of Kanani's life's toils, so Spowaban was allowed to accompany her to the Camp.

However, the day before they departed, he officially adopted her into his family, and became 
her new father. Kanani of No People became Kanani Rujikal of the Winstcha. Never had she been 
so overwhelmed with joy and self-pride. She could officially introduce herself as "Kanani 
Rujikal," instead of simply "Kanani" as she'd been forced to for so long.

*~*~*

They boarded the ferry for the first time in months, and Kanani was distraught to realize that 
the old ferry-man was no longer there. Instead, it was only Cirol and a thin, lanky man that 
she had never seen.

She greeted Cirol warmly, smiling kindly at him and inquiring about his life since she had seen 
him. His uncle, the old ferry-keeper, had died just few months previously, and shortly
afterward his new girl had left him. He was working the ferry with a distant cousin, Grihal, 
the thin man Kanani had seen. Cirol was very upset to hear that she was leaving to join the 
Imperial Army's Elite Corps and tried to talk her out of it at the last minute. Kanani almost 
consented, seeing how pale and wan he had gotten, but was devoted to her new father and 
wouldn't consent to Cirol's word.

He nodded, but gave her his full name and the location of his home in case she ever wanted to 
get away from training. She hugged him firmly, said she would visit, and left the ferry, trying 
to ignore Cirol's lingering gaze.

Cirol Frishal. 67890 West Grish Avenue Koral, Jovan, 1645799. She hadn't thought that he lived 
in the main state, Jovan. The ferry met the other bank in the state of Nushwin, quite a ways 
from Jovan, and even farther from Koral. The Capital city of Jovan was Abdullah, where Jukilo 
had been sent so long ago, and where Kanani was going. Koral, as Kanani had seen on a map, was 
a small fishing village on the coast of Lake Thrikalso, barely five miles out of Abdullah. It
was a long commute to the piers of Nushwin, it took nearly three hours to get there going by 
the underground trains that linked the states of Frizzghigge. The two members of the Rujikal 
family boarded one such train and traveled the three necessary hours to get to Abdullah, where 
they would have to take a taxi to reach the Camp.

It was an exciting trip for Kanani. She had never been on the trains before, and so she was 
fascinated with every aspect of them.

They were nearly twenty cars long, with each car holding over fifty passengers. They traveled
at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour, but that speed was usually only observed by the freight 
trains. Passenger trains went at around 90 miles per hour, on average, and had three different 
kinds. There were the extended-trip models with rooms and eating and living facilities. The 
upper-class models were for shorter trips and were mostly known for their luxury 
accommodations. The train Kanani and Spowaban were on was the third model: A basic, fairly 
comfortable passenger train with primary accommodations. There were only thirty people in the 
car Kanani was in, and passage between cars was restricted by all but the serving staff, 
engineers, and the conductor.

By the end of the ride, Kanani had become quite well acquainted with several young men who 
were also joining the Elite Corps. It turned out that she was already quite well-known by most 
of the people joining or interested in joining the Imperial Army. The most outgoing of the men 
praised her almost continually, causing much laughter among the others and blushing on Kanani's 
part.

Spowaban, meanwhile, was quietly thrilled to see his daughter getting along so well with the 
other young people. He has been concerned that she would be too shy and nervous to try and 
talk to the other trainees. However, she seemed to be doing quite well on the train, so he was 
greatly heartened.

They all disembarked the train and, sticking close together, were herded into a station where 
a bus would pick them up and take them to the Camp. There were almost thirty possible new 
recruits, but after training commenced the number would shrink drastically. Most likely only 
about eleven of those thirty would make it through training without dying or leaving. Kanani 
and her new friends, Frith, Noshwin, Kimodo, and Muchi boarded the bus together, all squeezing 
into one of the large seats. Spowaban stood in the back and watched the five young people on 
their journey to the Camp.

Muchi was the outgoing, funny one that everyone liked on the train. He was somewhat short, but 
very wiry strong, with reddish-brown hair and shining green eyes. He was pale, and had a few 
orange freckles on his nose that made him seem more innocent than he was. At only fifteen, he 
was the youngest of the group, and was chosen for his intelligence and possible espionage 
capabilities.

Noshwin was seventeen, and a great giant of a man. He had an unruly thatch of thick brown hair, 
and was well over six feet tall, very big, and very strong. He wasn't the smartest among them, 
but was very sturdy and unrelenting. He followed orders well, and didn't give up until the job 
was done.

Frith was an average-looking young man of sixteen with brownish-blonde hair and an easy smile. 
He wasn't too tall or short, too tall or thin, but he had deadly aim and almost as much solid 
perseverance as Noshwin. His greatest asset was his incredible sense of sight. He was able to 
see in near-total blackness, which could prove quite useful.

Lastly, Kimodo was a tall, sturdy man with yellow-brown skin and deep brown, almond-shaped 
eyes. His hair, which he kept shoulder-length and tied in a tail at the back of his neck, was 
thick and black. He was fairly quiet, but was skilled at observing and making judgements about 
the enemy. He, like Kanani, had been a skilled tracker before he began training, and at 
eighteen was a very proficient strategist. 

All in all, the five had little in common as far as backgrounds and interests were concerned, 
but they all wanted to fight, had similar personalities, and found things to somehow talk 
about.

They young men had been at first attracted to Kanani simply because she was an attractive 
young woman, but they soon found her interesting and intelligent, which led to quick 
friendships.

In another four hours on the bus, they all made it to the Camp.

It was a huge fenced-in institution with great stone walls surrounding its many buildings and 
training grounds. It was nestled half-way in a small but forbidding forest that was utilized 
for final training.

The young people were all instructed to leave the bus and line up with other busloads of people 
at the main entrance of the Camp.

They were all instructed to give their names and ages and were grouped in their respective 
companies and housing facilities. Luckily for the five, they were all grouped together, along 
with two other young men: Likal and Orfaldo, seventeen year-old twin brothers from the state 
of Hydrinfa.   They were herded into lines according to their groups and were given clothing 
and other necessities.

Nervous and jumpy, they made their way up three flights of stairs to their room.

The room was exactly that: a room. There were seven beds lined up against a wall, a curtained 
in toilet and sink, and an extremely large dresser in one corner. The beds were all carefully 
made and the windows had bare shutters. The walls were painted a drab gray, and the beds all 
had navy blue blankets and pristine white sheets and pillowcases. The whole room was spotlessly 
clean; one could easily have eaten off of the floor. Next to the dresser was a list of rules
regarding eating, keeping the room clean, and on every bed there was a copy of that list along 
with precise instructions on storage of clothing and a detailed schedule for the next day. In a 
way, these rigid instructions and the schedule were comforting to Kanani. It had been similar 
in the hunting camp: Every night they got their strict orders and they were explicitly expected 
to follow them. Here, she would have a life similar to the one other women had on Orlov. She 
was told what to do, when to do it, and if it wasn't done she was to be properly punished and 
re-taught. It was exactly the life that she was supposed to have at her birth.

The others, though, weren't so pleased. They had all been raised in the carefree, liberal world 
of Frizzghigge, where people lived generally by their own rules and chosen lifestyle.

They all were none too happy to read these strict schedules. And indeed, they were quite 
rigorous.

Muchi read his sheet out loud, " '4AM-5AM: get dressed, eat, and bathe. 5AM-6AM: preparations 
for basic training (run laps, stretches, basic exercises). 6AM-11AM: Basic morning training. 
11AM-Noon: lunch break, rest period. Noon-5PM: Afternoon training and any hikes, trails, 
wilderness training and such that is not for extended time purposes. 5PM-5:30PM: brief rest 
period. 5:30PM-9:30PM: Any necessary mental education (espionage courses for Elite 2nd year 
Corps and 4th year regular Corps) 9:30PM-11PM: Eat, bathe, free time. Lights out: 11PM 
nightly.' They're killing us! That gives us only... five hours of sleep! I'm a self-titled 
sloth! I need more than five hours of sleep! And we can't
eat from 5AM to 9:30PM! Ugh... That's it... I'm dead."

"I think it's fine, really... We get a couple of breaks, including this long one at 5PM... I 
imagine if we wanted to, we could eat then... And besides, with this depression, I don't imagine
they can afford enough food for us to eat a lot, anyway..." said Kanani, looking over Muchi's 
shoulder at the schedule.

Kimodo silently read the instructions for bed-making and room cleanliness. "There are twelve 
steps to making the bed, and if it's not perfect, it says we have to make it as many times as 
our age... I would have to make the bed eighteen times if I messed up! I'm not particularly 
neat... I don't know if I could do it right..."

"And look how clean the rooms have to be!" exclaimed Orfaldo, falling back onto his bed and 
then jumping up hastily. "Oh, no! I messed up the bed! How do I fix it?!"

His twin laughed at him and began unpacking things. He then looked straight at Kanani.

"You're a girl," He said, flatly.

"Yes, she is a girl... And a very pretty one at that!" said Muchi, rolling his eyes.

"Guys," said Likal, "we're men. She's a woman... How is she gonna sleep in the same room as us 
and get dressed in the same room?"

Kimodo rolled his eyes at Likal "silly... We have a covered bathroom area... She can get 
dressed in there. As for sleeping, we all have separate beds. It's not like we all have to 
share one bed with no clothes on or anything! You're just too worried, guys, both of you..."

Likal frowned at Kimodo and proceeded to put his clothes in a drawer. "I'm just not quite 
comfortable with sharing a room with a lady... Especially since she's the only lady in here. 
If there were other women, it would be a different
story!"

Noshwin frowned and looked at Likal steadily. "Um... Why would that be different?"

"Because, you big lug! She would be sharing her plight with other women! Other people like her!"

Kanani, flushed with anger, tried to keep her tongue as best she could. Muchi, on the other 
hand, wasn't so discreet.

"Listen, jackass! Kanani is a person just like us! In fact, I'm honored to be sharing this 
room with her since she's so powerful and important to the Army! Secondly, Noshwin isn't a big 
lug! He's a very skilled and capable person, so just shut your punk-ass up!"

"Jackass?! You little-" Likal made a move to lunge at Muchi but Kanani got in his way, holding 
his shoulder with a deathly grip.

"Stop. Now."

He moved away from Muchi and looked Kanani straight in the eyes.

"Listen, Likal: You are here for exactly the same reason as the rest of us: because you are a 
skilled fighter and will be very useful to Frizzghigge during our takeover. Noshwin may not be 
as clever as you, but I imagine he could pound you into the ground with a single strike, and 
therefore you are equal." She turned to Muchi, "thank-you for coming to our defense, but we 
really shouldn't fight like this... It's not good. Life here is going to be very hard, and I 
know from experience that a hard life is made easier by friends and companions. So please, 
let's not make this any worse than it already is by fighting..." Kanani let go of Likal and 
silently made her way back to her area where she was memorizing schedules and procedures. The 
chastised young men went back, seething, to what they had been busy doing. Frith leaned close 
to her and whispered "good job" in Kanani's ear.

She smiled slightly and flushed delicately under bronze skin. Frith smiled back at her and 
began straightening out his small clothing pile.

Kimodo walked up and casually draped his arms over their shoulders. "Well, kids... Welcome to 
the real world! The easy life is long gone, guys... Long gone..."

Kanani smiled and looked at him, "for me, I think this will be the start of my easy life... 
I've had a rough time with this whole business of staying alive... That's why I'm here, I 
think."

He smiled kindly and firmly kissed her cheek, "well then, welcome to paradise, Nani!"


She laughed lightly and went back to what she was doing. Muchi, carefully ignoring Likal, put 
his things in a drawer, "hey, Nani... Want to share a drawer with me? It looks so big and 
empty with only my stuff in it..."

She looked up and smiled at the young man, "sure. I'd like that, Muchi... Thank-you."


He smiled back and let her see where the drawer was before going to sit on his bed and learn 
his schedule as well. Orfaldo looked up from whatever it was he was doing and asked when 
everyone was supposed to start the actual training.

"Tomorrow," said Frith, "the fun all starts tomorrow..."