------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You! Over there! Get in line!” shouted the commander. It took me a couple of seconds to realise that he was talking to me. I shuffled forward uncertainly, donning a set of new armour with a sheathed sword by my side, just like all the other new recruits.
It was our first day at the
army camp, and we were gathering in front of the veteran soldiers. We weren’t
sure what we had gotten ourselves into. From the hesitant faces I glimpsed
around me, I could tell that we were all here for many different reasons. Some
came for the fame and glory, while some had nowhere else to go but here. I, on
the other hand, was raised for this. My parents have this belief that only
through being in the nation’s army would I bring honour to the family.
While the senior soldiers
continued gathering the new recruits in line, I fidgeted uncomfortably on the
spot. We were standing on the barren field in front of the barracks, and it was
blazing hot. The armour did not help one bit. It felt as though I was being
baked in my own portable oven.
“Good day, maggots!” the
commander’s voice boomed. “Today is the beginning of a new life for every one
of you! Today, you leave your past lives behind. Today, you become men! Men not
only in flesh, but also in soul. Are you ready to begin the most physically
enduring training you will ever perform in your life?”
“SIR, YES SIR!!” the whole
lot of us shouted in unison.
The commander wasn’t lying.
Over the following year, we have shed tears, and we have shed blood. We were
tested beyond our limits. We were pushed to the very brink of our sanity. We
were trained not only physically, but also mentally. Let’s just say lack of
sleep was the very least of our concerns. Not all of us made it. Some cracked halfway
through training, deemed ‘unfit’ to continue their services. The ones who
remained persevered. We knew that we would come out as fine warriors. Warriors
fit to be called ‘National Heroes’.
But
that was all months ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I stood there facing my fellow
warriors, each wearing desolate and solemn expressions. We stood on a barren
warzone, ravaged by years and years of warfare. However, we are alone now. We
stood facing the huge gates of a castle we are soon to storm.
“My companions! My
friends!”, I shouted at the top of my lungs, trying my best to hide the
shakiness in my voice. “Today is the day we have all been preparing for! The
day we put our skills to the test! Today, we walk through those gates and show
our enemies that we are not a nation to be trifled with!”
A memory struck me, and I
stifled a sob. I continued in a more melancholic tone. “It has been one year
since I have led you, my friends. It has also been a year since our senior
warriors, the very ones who taught us all we needed to know, stepped through
those gates, never to return. Did they succeed? Did they fail? No news has ever
seeped through those walls. But whatever did happen to those noble warriors,
mark my words! We will come out of this battle victorious! We will do our
nation proud!”
A war cry from the soldiers was
the response to my petty speech. I took a second to compose myself, then I
whispered, “Attack”.
The soldiers at the
battering ram surged forward with unnatural speed. Before long, there was a
loud BOOM that reverberated through
the air as the battering ram came into contact with the gates. The battering
ram struck another time. Then another. Until finally, a CRACK was heard as the gates gave way.
When the opening was large
enough, we ran through, me leading the way, shouting our war cry at the very
top of our lungs. Then suddenly, we saw it.
Everything was suddenly dead
quiet. All the soldiers were silent except for a few muffled whimpering from
the back of the group. We had finally laid eyes on the enemies we were to face.
But it wasn’t ‘enemies’, it was an ‘enemy’. A single beast stood right in front
of us, eyes fixated onto our large group.
It was a red dragon. One of
such fierce magnificence and grace, we could not help but stare in awe. This
was not what we had expected at all. We had just entered the lair of the beast,
and we had no way of turning back now. We had no choice but to conquer it.
With one huge breath, I
yelled “CHARGE!!!” followed by the loudest roar I had ever heard in my life.
