Badump. Badump. Williams' heart nearly exploded from his chest, as he stood in line with the other seemingly calm recruits as they waited for the Recruiters to enter. He was near the middle, away from the chattering back of trouble makers, and the goody two shoe line leaders. Several dozen of the male & females stood around, all chattering quietly amongst themselves in the line, which looked kike a jarbled mess.
William glanced around nervously as everyone else seemed to be at ease. Bags were thrown in the corner, as they had all packed their belongings and shoved them away from view. They were in a dimly lit room full of 16 year olds, and other people who waited for an audience with the Baron, not that they would get one, as today was the ceremonious day of choosing.
Each year, all the 16 year olds in the barony were gathered up and shipped to the barons residence, where for a month they were trained in formalities & other things they would need to do before meeting him. Right now, in the anteroom, the kids stood in a long line up against the wall, so others would have space to get around them & to accommodate the several dozen 16 year olds.
"SILENCE!" roared a voice in the direction of the door that led to the baron's hearing room. A single man stood there, his eyes narrowing as he saw the several dozen heads swing toward him simultaneously. The pin drop silence in the room stood still all expecting him to speak.
"Ahem. First things first. All of you will enter only when called. You will have a total of.." he paused as he seemed to be calculating something.. "of 5 minutes to find a profession or get accepted by a recruiter. Upon acceptance, you will be directed on what to do immediately afterward." he said, pausing as he let his words sink in.
"If you fail to be chosen, you will be immediately sent outside and what you do from there is completely up to you. Become an adventurer, travel the world, sail the seas, I could careless. This is mainly a conscription sort of process for the hundreds of thousands of people around the country & you will be chosen depending on your skill and/or other factors." he said, shrugging as he explained. To him, he had done this hundreds of times while to the people in the room, this was merely a matter of a lifetime of work they would be doing from then on.
"If you are chosen, you may choose to decline at any given time, however the opportunities in this room are very limited and you will find it very hard to attain a position within these organisations/craftsmanship should you not accept a position here. Good luck, and you will be called in 5 at a time."
William did a quick headcount using his fingers. He hadn't been taught to read or write much less taught anything at all. The counting with his fingers was something he had picked up and used. There were around 70-90 people in the room if he hadn't messed up his count (something which he did often), and now he stood still. 90 people in 7 minute intervals, with an added two minutes of going in and out and announcing, would take hours if not half of the day. It was spring so the days, although longer, had yet to peak.
The Chamberlain, who had disappeared after his little sad speech, had returned and silence quickly took control of the room.
"William Coal, Melinda Freein, Korstoff von Blain—he paused as he struggled to pronounce the name, "Ghoruif Icilla, and Lily Yizen."
"Step forward please." he said as he tried to contain his own voice from drawling. William nearly choked on his own saliva. Why was he chosen first??
Now up close, William could make out the man's features a lot better. He was a short man, and a corrupt kind of plump. He had long black hair, but William could make out his bald spot at the top of his head. He wore a white dress shirt and a black coat over it. One button was firmly pressed against his round belly while the other couldn't seem to make its way around it. He had stubby arms and equal legs to match. His facial hair was mostly non-existent except for a thin mustache that rested on his upper lip.
The man however was by no means short, rather he was quite average. William just had an extremely long frame, and was quite tall standing at around 6 '8. His body was mostly hardened muscles of labor and bones with some fat. Most people stole a few glances at his height and size and then looked away. After all, there was nothing impressive about a tall broad shouldered boy who had matted long thick black hair on his head. His eyes, a strange orange, were rarely seen due to the hair that covered his face which he had to constantly swat out of the way.
"Alright you lot," said the man taking a glance at Williams size, "you will be sent in all at once and you will follow the procedures taught to you in the month before if you don't want to pay a couple of fines. You will then be instructed on what to do from there."
'Thank god' thought William. If he had gone later on, he wouldn't have fathomed why people would be taking such a long time. For some reason, people thought it would be better for an event to take as long as possible with as many layers and formality mixed in.
The group was centered near the barons' doors, away from the other 16 year olds who had lost interest when they're names weren't called. Instead they had taken to milling around and striking up conversations as they're talking filled the halls.
The Chamberlain rapped on the door twice, and the huge oak door groaned open. Two men dressed in similar uniforms as the Chamberlain, although without the gold buttons, stood on either side. The Barons' anteroom was simple yet elegant. Wooden beams held the ceiling up, a distant shadow, and the beams each had a similar pattern carved in. The end of the room was a wooden table in which sat several men and women, each separated by around 10 inches, and above them sat on a dais the baron. He had his wife on his left who was busy studying her nails, while her husband sat rather lacklusterly on his wooden tall chair, trying his best to avoid the attention he was receiving.
The group bowed with their waists at the table of craftsmen and women. Placing their hands to the respective chests it belonged to, greeting the Baron.
"Greetings my Lord!" they all said in unison. The voices echoed against the room, bouncing off till silence filled the room.
"Ah.. yes, yes I suppose. Rise." he said lazily. Staring in the direction of a noble was considered rude, so avoiding his face they looked toward the people who sat beneath him.
"One by one, step forward, and do it rather quickly. We don't have all day, and once you do, talk to every person. That will be all." said the Chamberlain before turning and strutting toward the Barons side.
"Ladies first, followed by the gentlemen," said a elderly man seated at the table. He had a crooked neck, possibly from stooping over a desk all day. His hair was grey and many wrinkles made up his face. However, underneath all that, his eyes still twinkled with a knowing expression that didn't seem to translate to his face which was set in a hard line.
"Well.. what are you waiting for? We haven't got all day." said a middle aged man. He wore a yellow surcoat, with chainmail covering his arms. On the chainmail was metal plates which added an additional layer of cover for him. His helmet was set in front of him, a helmet which covered his entire head. It was a Great Helm, a silver and rusted gold color. It bore no insignias, yet it was a mighty helmet. The man had a brown full faced beard, and his eyes were a hard black. His eyebrows thick, and his body well muscled from what William could see. A sword was on his side, and William could make out an adorned scabbard.
'He's a noble', William thought. Most noble children had to serve in the army, and many did so by achieving officer hood after joining the ranks. The current Knights usually picked nobles to be their squires and later on assisted them into becoming Knights.
The Knights of the Pilan Empire were superhuman who could turn the tides of war through their mere presence. They're sole existence was as weapons and they loyally served the Empire without fail. Every country had some form of a Knight, and all of them possessed a power which many people yearned for. The Knights practiced Sura, a way to enhance the body and capabilities of it. Each Knight had a unique way and style in which they wielded they're Sura and unlike Sorcerers who were born with the innate talent of magic or increased through long suffering, Knights could develop endlessly should they learn the proper techniques. But the problem was, learning techniques was hard and many people simply didn't go through the trouble of finding them and developing it to fit their style, a process which took several years if unlucky, was long and agonizing.
"Melinda Freein." called out the Baron signaling for her to start. They were instructed to move from table to table based on their interests and what they wanted to do.
There were 8 or so career paths in which the people could choose from, with many more careers within those paths others could choose.
The 7 Generalities were; Military, Magic, Crafts, Courier, Diplomacy, Artisans, and Engineering.
Each path had different ways to specialize with each specialization playing a role in society. Regardless of your current social status, as long as you were a citizen, anyone could choose from any path and become a member of the path in which they chose.
Melinda moved toward the Courier and after an exchange of words for a minute or so, she shook the Courier representative's hand and stood behind her.
"Excellent choice Miss Melinda." clapped the Chamberlain.
"Lily Yizen step forward please."
A short brown haired girl stepped forward and looked around thoughtfully. She slowly approached the diplomacy table and after a brief exchange of words, she smiled and moved away. She then approached the mage, a man who sat in a weird assortment of robes. She spoke to him and he held up a brown cube. She grabbed it and it glowed a rich blue, floating up into the air. Shaking her hand and sealing the deal, she walked around and stood behind him.
"A mage. How interesting.." muttered the Baron before the chamberlain could speak.
Closing his mouth, the Chamberlain called the hard to pronounce name of the boy.
"Ghoruif Icilla."
The boy with little hesitation immediately approached the military table in which he was promptly accepted with little words exchanged.
'Connections really do work.' thought William. It was rather obvious the boy was a foreigner, and being accepted in the military was quite interesting.
"William Coal."