Intro

‘The horizon really seems endless’ I think to myself as I stare out. Looking up I see a bunch of fluffy sheep, all plastered on a light blue background. Looking down I see ants scurrying across the ground. Or are those horses? Perhaps they’re elephants? It all looks the same from up here. A gust of wind begins to blow in and surrender to it. Beginning to fall back I seem to forget that what sits behind me is nothing more than a hard stone ground. My head banging against it quickly reminds me of that fact. Beginning to grab my head and thrashing in pain I hear a voice in the distance.

"Sergeant! Sergeant!"

Looking over I see it is a messenger from the nearby barracks. He seems to be in a hurry, must be something urgent.

"I see you, would you quit your shouting I'm starting to get a headache. What could be so important that you are sprinting over here and shouting like a madman."

"It's Division General Maxwell. You are being summoned to meet him in his office."

"What the hell. I'm just a squad sergeant. What could he want with me?"

" 'Fraid all they gave me was the order. I don't know much else."

"Figures."

"Apologies but that's how it is. Make sure to inform whoever is second in command here. Any orders to the unit will be given to him in your absence."

"You don't need to lecture me. I rookie I know the standard procedure. Inform whoever you need to that the order has been received and that I am on my way."

"I will do sir."

Marching off towards my squad barracks to inform them of the situation I contemplated why the head of the outer wall division would need to see some nobody squad leader like me. As I walked down the stairs, into the belly of the great wall I tried to think of options. 'Maybe they're promoting me or maybe it's some kind of inspection. No. Either of those could be handled by the captain of this section. This must be something big. Either I pissed off the wrong people or I pleased the right ones. My attention redirected towards the labyrinth I needed to traverse. The inside of the wall was where most of the troops were housed. Inside was a great maze of hallways built with ancient stone that had held up for gods know how long. Marching around sharp corners and ducking under low ceilings I moved toward my destination. The hallways were cramped, with no more than enough space for two men, maybe three if they were skinny, abreast. This made it hard to ignore a fellow soldier when he walked by. Finally reaching the quarters of my squad I opened the old wooden door, which creaked with every inch I moved it. Entering my squad's room I took the measure of the room. Out of the four men under my command two, Pip and Rog were passed out and snoring. One, Reg, was passed out snoring with a mug of what was, presumably, ale in his hand. The last one, my second in command Harold, was just beginning to get up and pull his trousers on.

"Gods you really are a sorry lot!"

Harold turning around confused took a second to recognize me.

"Huh...Wha...Oh! Sergeant! Hey, guys get up the Sarg is here! Wake up!"

Each of the men began to stir and one by one they stood to attention in various states of dress and sobriety.

"Men I have been called to the office of one of the higher-ups. While I am gone Harold will act as the commander of this unit."

"Wha...What the hell could they want with you." Uttered a clearly still drunk Reg

"Well aren't you just as disciplined as ever Reg. But I will be honest with you I don't really know. I'm gonna try to find out as much as I can but it might take some time. For now just hang tight until I come back."

"No worries sir you know us!" said Harold as oblivious as ever to the utter incompetence that plagued our squad.

After informing them of the situation they acted like good soldiers and immediately went back to their beds, save Harold who had been in the middle of waking up when I got there. At the thought of this, my blood started to boil and I barked at them.

"Can you at least attempt to act like soldiers and get to your posts! Gods no wonder our division is seen as a laughing stock these days!"

The men I commanded were indeed a sorry bunch. Just two years earlier I was excited to be promoted to sergeant and placed in command of my own five-man squad. Then I was introduced to the men I had been charged with turning into a proper military unit. Needless to say, I had so far failed in that endeavor. The men I commanded had more in common with a herd of monkeys than a group of soldiers. Pip, Reg, and Rog were perpetually drunk or asleep. Harold, as dimwitted as he was, earned the of second-in-command by default for being the only sober man when it was time to choose. If the division general wants something with this unit, I cannot understand what it could be.

As the men finally got their rears into gear I marched through the door and down the corridor back to the stairs. Along the way, I crossed paths with another sergeant. Trying to see if this order was unique to me or if others had received similar ones I inquired.

"Sergeant Bertolt, Can I ask you a question."

"Oh, Sergeant Jordanes. Sure I got nothin on right now. ask away."

"Ok, I was just wondering if you have heard any strange rumors lately. I just get the feeling that something is off."

"Heh? Rumors? No, I ain't heard nothin too out of the ordinary lately. Oh! Um... I heard that some of us Sarg's are gettin called into the big guy's office. Did you get anything like that?"

Not knowing if I should be keeping this under wraps I just decided to play it safe.

"No, I just thought my men were a bit weird this morning. I just wanted to see if anything had come up or was going around."

"I hear ya. Well, gods give ya a good day and may ya be on yer way. Haha."

"Yeah... right back at you" I told him as I made my way up the stairs.

Making it to the top I took my first step back onto the top of the wall and into the journey ahead of me.