Cadet camp
1239 Words
Olenna practically hauled Karl across the grounds, not releasing his arm until the stone fence of Cadet Camp loomed before them. By then, Karl was clean, uniformed, and painfully aware of how out of place he felt. Beyond the fence came the sounds of training, steel clashing, feet thudding against packed earth, grunts of effort and shouts of command.
Olenna rolled the gate aside with a flourish.
“Ta-da!!”
Her voice rang across the field like a trumpet blast.
Every movement stopped.
Karl stepped inside, clutching his bag as dozens of eyes locked onto him. Cadets stood frozen mid-exercise; elves, yes, but also broad-shouldered orcs, horned half-beasts, and figures he had only ever seen in books. The camp felt unreal, like a living page torn from a fantasy novel.
“Everyone,” Olenna announced brightly, “this is our new camp mate, Karl.”
The murmurs began immediately. Whispers crawled through the crowd, heavy with curiosity and distrust. Karl’s stomach tightened as several voices repeated the same word under their breath.
Human.
A tall, dark-skinned elf stepped forward. Long black braids fell down his back, and he wore nothing but loose trousers, his chest and abs carved with muscle. He loomed over Karl, pointed ears twitching as a slow, cruel smile spread across his face.
“Isn’t this the human who caused all that ruckus yesterday?”
“Yes,” Karl replied stiffly. “Unfortunately.”
Snickers followed. He yanked Karl’s ear. Karl swatted the hand away and staggered back. The elf only laughed.
“Hey, Tywin!” he called. “Come look at this!, fresh meat!”
Olenna’s breath caught.
“Oh no…”
The cadets parted, forming a clear path through the field. From it emerged Tywin.
He was just as tall as the other one, broad and imposing, his bright orange hair catching the sun like a flame. Hazel-brown eyes studied Karl with cold interest.
Tywin stopped an arm’s length away.
“What is your name?” he asked.
“Karl. And I feel like I’ve answered that about three hundred times alrea—”
“Who permitted you to keep talking?”
Karl’s brows furrowed. Understanding dawned too late.
“Look,” he said, raising his hands slightly, “I don’t want any trouble.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd. Karl turned to Olenna, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“Don’t look at her,” Tywin said calmly. “She can’t help you.”
The laughter grew louder.
Tywin advanced, shoving Olenna aside and forcing Karl backward step by step.
“I don’t want to fight you,” Karl warned.
“Fight me?” Tywin scoffed. “You’d be lucky to land a single hit. This would be the most unfair beat up in history.”
Karl snapped.
He threw a punch.
Tywin caught it effortlessly.
With a sharp twist, bone ground against bone. Karl screamed as pain tore through his arm, driving him to his knees.
“Did you really think you could beat me?” Tywin asked, almost amused.
Karl clawed at him, desperate, but the grip only tightened. Tears burned his eyes as the cadets laughed, watching the humiliation like entertainment.
Olenna struggled forward, but the other elf restrained her.
Tywin leaned close, his voice dropping to a whisper.
“Run back to your wretched world, human. You don’t belong here.”
Karl snarled and bit his face.
Tywin roared in fury. He sent Karl across the field with a blow to the jaw. He crashed into the wall, pain exploding through his head.
"You fight like a dog!!" Tywin shouted
“Tywin, stop!!” Olenna cried.
Her words fell on deaf ears.
He seized Karl again and slammed him into the ground. Blood filled Karl’s mouth. The earth shook as Tywin drove his foot down, smashing Karl’s head into the ground
“Fight!” Tywin shouted.
“Fight me!” he said as he continuously stomped his helpless victim.
“Show me what you’ve got!!”
“Enough.”
The single word cut through the chaos.
Everyone froze.
A man stood atop the fence, his white uniform and hair gleaming in the sunlight.
“Master Cedar,” the cadets breathed, bowing instantly.
Tywin stepped back, but did not bow.
Cedar descended and knelt beside Karl, lifting him gently as he coughed and gasped.
“I’m sorry, child,” Cedar said quietly.
Then he turned to the camp, his voice hardening.
“You should all be ashamed. This human stands here on a mission assigned by Lord Rodric himself.”
Gasps echoed.
Tywin hissed.
“If anyone lays another hand on him,” Cedar continued, “you will answer to the High Court personally. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Master,” the cadets replied.
All but Tywin.
Night fell, darkness settled over the camp. Training fields lay silent.
Karl sat alone in the grass, not watching the stars, but tending to his wounds.
“Karl…?”
He turned. Olenna stood behind him in a nightgown, hesitant.
He didn’t answer.
She sat beside him and reached for the bandages. Karl pushed her hand away.
“Why are you mad at me?” she snapped. “You know this wasn’t my fault!”
“Just leave me alone.”
Olenna sighed and stared up at the sky.
“I’m… I’m sorry, Karl.”
“For what?” he asked quietly.
“For dragging you into all this. For everything you went through, it's my fault you're here-”
Karl exhaled.
“It’s not your fault,” he said. “I came here because I wanted to. I stayed because I wanted to. You didn’t force me into anything, you just showed me the real world. And I’m grateful for that.”
He finally looked at her.
She smiled softly and took the cloth from his hand, gently cleaning the blood from his face.
“Why didn’t you fight back?” she asked.
“I tried.”
“No,” she said. “Why didn’t you use magic? your totem, like with the guards yesterday?”
Karl lowered his head and lifted the pendant. Its faint green glow reflected in his eyes.
“I can’t control it,” he admitted. “Every time I used it before, it took over me, bent me to its will. This time… it was silent. Like it wanted me to lose that fight. Is that a thing they do or am I just weird?”
Olenna chuckled quietly.
“I don’t know, Karl. Totems are spirits bound to cherished objects. To use them properly, you must learn to speak to them. Bond with them. Learn its desires, and convey yours, until you become one mind, one soul.”
“Can you teach me?” Karl asked, hope lighting his voice.
She laughed softly.
“I haven’t even mastered mine. I lost my totem to a crab demon, remember?, No good sorcerer would make a mistake like that”
“Don't say that, you’re a good sorcerer,” Karl said firmly. “I think you’re amazing.”
Olenna froze. Her cheeks reddened with a blush. She smacked his head and stood up.
“You know nothing Karl, Go to bed, we rise early in the morning”
Karl watched her leave, smiling, until the pendant began to glow brighter.
Pulsing. Calling.
“What now?” he whispered.
“Show me who you really are… Azareal’s stone.”
- Writer
