One day after the conversation with Centurion Tenrek, Korvus was able to speak normally

again. After another, the pain gradually subsided and slowly he was able to move without

tears welling up in his eyes. By the fifth day, Korvus was able to sit upright without a pillow in

his back and by the end of the week he was taking his first steps under the caring guidance

of Sister Fortuna. His walking laps became longer and longer until he was even able to start

running.

Two weeks later, Korvus was released from the healing station. An overseer had been

waiting for him at the entrance and turned around with a loud "Come". Korvus had nothing

he could call his own, so he trudged after the warden as best he could. Only now did he

realize how enormous the facility was. They passed at least twenty or thirty buildings, all of

which looked fairly sturdy, with small windows and some with none. The sky showed a play

of colors during the sunset and it was noticeably colder than in the healer's station.

On the way, Korvus saw more skarekh, running in time after overseers, circling around

buildings or standing in front of entrances. Most wore armor, but some wore formal dress

and carried documents. The Skarekh were of pretty much every age Korvus knew. Many

were barely taller than him, their braids barely visible, some looked like youths and a few

already had waist-length braids and were just walking around slowly.

Korvus fumbled for his own braid. Of all the things a skarekh gave off, his braid was probably

the most important. Skarekh don't have many ways to show their age. Skarekh do grow

throughout their lives, so age can be estimated, but not everyone grows at the same rate

and some were older than they looked. The braid, however, is always the same. The longer

it is, the older you are. There are also even patterns on it, so you only have to count them to

determine your age. That's how Sister Fortuna and Centurion Tenrek knew how old Korvus

was. Eight years, eight patterns.

The overseer, a brown-scaled older guy with a triangular leather hat and a face crumpled

with put-upon anger, turned off towards a row of low and long buildings, his tail swinging

back and forth. He stopped in front of the one with the number 53 and pulled a small stick

from his uniform, which he inserted into the lock. The door opened with a hiss and he

stepped through. If he wanted to know where to start his training, he had to go in.

The first thing he noticed was the noise. Dozens of voices of skarekh his age filled his

earholes, interrupted abruptly by an "ATTEEENTION!!!" from the overseer. Everything fell

silent and was replaced by the loud scratching of claws as the recruits inside ran to their

places at the sides of the building and lined up, hands at their sides, heads stiffly forward,

tails rigid to the ground.

The overseer motioned Korvus to stop and then stalked around the room, always eyeing the

recruits. Every now and then he would point at something and bark something at the recruit

that Korvus didn't quite understand. He seemed to get particularly angry at one of them, as

he let out a cascade of insults and then punched the poor recruit in the stomach, causing

him to slump over coughing.

"This unit is getting worse by the day," the overseer roared, he had pulled a kind of baton

from his belt. Korvus noticed that the recruits near him were breathing in and out louder,

sounding tense.

"Not only are you good-for-nothing creeps one of the worst disciplined units..." the overseer

bellowed on.

"Add to that poor performance...". Without warning, he struck a recruit in the stomach with

the baton with such force that even Korvus flinched. The boy fell to the ground with a groan

and began to sob.

"...more than average...". Another recruit sank down.

"...and serious offenses...". And a third lay on the floor crying.

"You'll never become Bellatores like this". The warden pointed around with his stick until he

pointed to another boy. This one was the color of old leaves and autumn and was taller than

the rest.

"You, Recruit Pile," he shouted at him. "How long does it take you to run a round?"

"Sir, twenty-three minutes twenty, sir," the boy shouted.

"WEAK!" the overseer struck and the boy groaned from the pain. But he stopped and

straightened up again. Shaking his head, the overseer put the stick away and stalked into

the middle of the room. Korvus' gaze lingered briefly on the boy, Recruit Pile, when he

spotted an empty bed behind him. Perfect.

"Listen up, you lazy sods," the overseer shouted. "I'm hoping to improve morale in this unit,

so I've organized reinforcements for at least one of your deserving leavers. Treat him as you

please, but if I hear you misusing your skills even slightly..." He tapped his baton

demonstratively. Then he marched to a door, which he opened with his small staff and

disappeared inside. A minute later he came out again, closed the door and walked back to

the entrance with a pile of clothes. Korvus instinctively mimicked the position as the warden

walked past him and handed him the pile of clothes.

"Tail down, recruit Nursing Case," he ordered. Korvus did as instructed. "You belong to the

Second Squad now, find it yourself."

Korvus nodded, but he sensed the overseer still being behind him.

"Is there something else coming, Recruit Nursing Case, or have you suddenly gone mute?"

he growled.

"uh...yes, sir," stammered Korvus.

"That means SIR, YES SIR, RECRUIT NURSING CASE," roared the overseer. "And what

was the yes for, eh? That you're mute, recruit Nursing Case?"

"Sir, no sir," Korvus replied. By the gods, he was already getting on his nerves.

"Well, what was it for then, Recruit Nursing Case?"

"That I understood, sir"

"SIR, that I understood, sir. That's how it works, Recruit Nursing Case. So what did you

understand?"

Korvus had to make every effort to turn around and face the overseer. At least he knew that

would be wrong. So his eyes continued to the opposite wall.

"Sir, that I'm with the second squad now, sir," he said.

"Come on then, what are you still standing here for?" the supervisor yelled. "Move, recruit

Nursing Case!"

"Sir, yes sir," said Korvus and walked forward. Less than three steps later, the door was

closed again.

Immediately afterwards, a soft breath of relief could be heard in the room. The recruits

relaxed again and some helped their beaten comrades back up. And immediately Korvus felt

alone. But right now he could not show any weakness. Sister Fortuna had explained to him

that he could not afford to simply let attacks get the better of him. He had to show that he

would fight back. Many already respect the willingness to do so, others would first have to be

proven.

So Korvus walked over to the empty bed. On the way, he noticed that the conversations

were quieter now, and several times he heard a nursing case, which was followed by a

giggle. He had almost arrived when someone called out to him.

"That's my bed". Korvus turned around. Recruit Pile. He was taller than Korvus had

estimated from the door, just under a head taller than him. He was quite strong for a

ten-year-old, his muscles clearly visible on his folded arms. He wore a sleeveless shirt with

an orange collar and loose pants. His tail whipped back and forth excitedly. Korvus had had

enough.

"Too bad," he said, moving on to the empty bed.

"And I don't want anyone in this bed," he hissed. Just to provoke him further, Korvus kept

walking until he reached the bed. He was about to sit down on it when he was violently

yanked off his legs and hit his face against the wall. Korvus groaned and lay dazed.

"Especially not someone like you," hissed Pile and laughter rang out.

Show strength, Sister Fortuna had told him. That's the only way the others will respect you.

Show strength. Fight back. Fight. Nothing would be given to him.

Korvus fought against the pain and put up one arm, then the other. Next, his legs. Before he

knew it, he was standing upright again. He wiped his face, his hand turning an alarming

shade of red, and turned to Pile. He was leaning against, presumably, his bed and talking to

a blue-scaled boy and two girls. One was small, with almost black scales and white on her

neck, the other had beautiful green scales with ochre ventrilia. Yes, Korvus remembered that

was the name of the neck and belly scales. They all had shirts with orange collars.

He spat out a piece of tooth.

"Hey!" shouted Korvus, "turd! I'm not done with you yet"

Recruit Pile rolled his eyes and turned around. His hands were clenched into fists.

"I guess you're into that sort of thing," he hissed. "Time to get you back to the station."

Faster than Korvus had expected, Pile came at him. He would probably have knocked him

out with a punch if Korvus hadn't dived first. Pile had put too much weight into the blow and

staggered straight into Korvus' shoulder. Pile let out a surprised gasp and the power briefly

drained from his body, which Korvus used to kick his leg from the inside, knocking him off

balance. Korvus briefly felt invincible. He had just brought a much older recruit to the ground.

A fresh recruit would never have managed that.

However, Pile managed to catch himself and glared at him.

"Enough with the games, Nursing Case"

He grabbed Korvus in a wrestling hold and thrust his knee into his side twice, causing

Korvus to lose his tension. It was too easy, Korvus was completely inexperienced and knew

nothing about fighting. He staggered back, but Pile grabbed him by the arm and threw him

over his shoulder to the ground before sitting on his chest. Now Korvus was finished. Blows

rained down on his head, and he was able to fend off a few with his arms, but his strength

was dwindling and Pile was beside himself with rage. He went in for the next blow when one

of the girls had had enough.

"Robon. That's enough," shouted the green girl. "He's proved himself."

"He doesn't deserve it," protested Pile. So Robon was his name.

"You never want to share it," she replied. "And you never use it anyway. Now get off him."

Robon got up roughly from Korvus and stomped back to his bed. The girl, in turn, came over

to him and then held out her hand.

"Can you stand?" she asked. Korvus was too distracted to notice the question immediately.

Up close, her scales seemed to shine in the light of the lamps. They were not just a shade of

green, but became brighter the closer he got to the Ventrilia. These were not quite

ochre-colored either, inside they were a warm yellow. Even their eyes had a different hue.

They were not a piercing yellow like Centurion Tenrek's, but warm with golden irises. They

were as warm as the sun and made his mind wander as if he were enjoying the dawn on a

beach. He had always had a soft spot for sunrise. Her eyes made him feel like he was

watching one right now.

Realizing that he was thinking too much about her eyes and probably making a completely

ridiculous picture, Korvus blinked for a moment and then reached for her hand, pulling him

up.

"Um...thanks," he said. The girl smiled.

"Nohing to thank for," she replied. "Robon's just rather clingy about what he thinks belongs to

him. He wouldn't give up anything without a beating."

"Yeah," Korvus replied sourly, wiping the blood from his face with his hand. There was

probably a lot there.

"Wait," she demanded, then ran back to her bed and grabbed some cloth from the bedside

cabinet underneath before returning and handing them to him. "Here"

"Thank you"

Korvus began to wipe the blood from his face, trying not to look embarrassed.

"So," the girl began. "You're our backup?"

"Seems like it," he replied. "You're with the second squad too?"

"Mhm," she said. "I'm the deputy squad leader, my name is Nami."

Korvus hesitated briefly. On the one hand, his hands were smeared with his blood, on the

other hand, he didn't necessarily want to give his false name. But if he didn't want to give it,

which one would he give? Nursing case was out of the question as an alternative. Fine.

"Korvus," he said, wiping his hand quickly before handing it to Nami. She narrowed her eyes

a little at his name and smiled even more.

"Interesting name. But nice to meet you, Korvus. If I may quickly introduce you to the others

before the night's rest begins…"

She pointed to a boy with fiery red scales.

"That is Siphus. He comes from a respected warrior family and is the eldest son of Diabol

Mallex, perhaps you know him."

"Doesn't say anything familiar to me," Korvus admitted, earning a few angry looks from

Siphus. Nami continued to point at an inconspicuously colored boy.

"That's Leonitif. Pretty much the same frippery, only he's from the Tarhalk."

"They even sound familiar," Korvus said. Leonitif gave him a curt nod before turning his

attention to his claws. Nami chuckled dryly.

"The little one and the only girl in the squad besides me is Corix Kraven. She is currently

undergoing flight training to become a pilot."

"Hello," said Corix. Korvus greeted her back.

"Pers here again," she pointed to the blue-scaled boy. "He's going to be a medic. Hopefully,"

"Hopefully?" asked Korvus, causing Nami to shrug her shoulders and roll her eyes, which

earned a few protests from Pers.

"You already know Robon," Nami continued, ignoring Pers. "He's the squad leader and

therefore something like my superior."

Korvus just nodded. My goodness, he had come to blows with the squad leader.

"Those two back there," she pointed to two identical looking boys. At least one was one,

Korvus couldn't tell what the other one really was. There are supposed to be something like

mutants who either have the wrong organs for their gender, or both, or neither. But these

were considered to be rumors and he didn't really care, as long as he comes along with

them.

"It's best if you leave them to me. They're..." she searched for the right word, but decided on

a noisy inhalation through her teeth. Korvus was about to ask why when a bell sounded

outside and struck three times. As if on cue, the conversations fell silent and the other

recruits went to their beds one by one.

"Night's rest," sighed Nami. Only now did Korvus realize how much his short trip here from

the station, the fight and all the new things around him had sapped his energy. On top of

that, he was not yet completely fit.

"You'd better get ready for bed and stow away everything you've got. People like to steal

here. We still have a lot to sort out and a long day ahead of us. Welcome to the 53rd unit."

"All right," said Korvus, "and...thanks. Again."

Nami shrugged her shoulders before elegantly swinging herself up the ladder to her bed

above Corix. Korvus looked at his. It was, how could it be otherwise, under Robon's.

"Don't bother me and I won't bother you," he hissed beside him before he too swung himself

up and sprawled out on top. The bed creaked tremendously. Great.

"I'll do my best," he mumbled, then lay down in his new home.