The silence was overbearing to the point of madness and yet Vhorren had to endure. He had thought of suicide in his white cube of a prison. At times his mind recalling the fight, the mistakes he had made and how he would have done things differently at the time but it was already past him.
Before he could focus on it any more, the door opened once more, this time the individual wasn't draped from head to toe in overalls but Reuthar's army gear. Her face cold as she clicked her tongue.
"Get up worm! We have to get you ready for what's to come. Moping over the past won't make a difference!" It was Dame Isolde Veyline, the same knight who was meant to watch over Callista as she made her way to Horshaw. This time however the demeanor around her was far colder than before.
"What?! What's going on?!" His face portraying his visible shock with what was going on. "Jarren Velros killed your father and I'm sure that you want your revenge,no?! So get up and wear these! I'll meet you outside when you're done!" And with that she took her leave as she tossed the uniform meant for Vhorren on the floor.
It didn't take him much thought to know what decision to make.
...
"Vhorren, I'm sure that you'll make a Greta knight for the kingdom but first, we have to focus on your physique. As much as your academy tells you that it's okay, it's sub par around here." Vhorren tried to keep up with her pace as she was intentionally moving fast for him to hasten his pace.
"Training?! What kind of training will I be undergoing?" The two turned a corner, walked past operatives that paid them no mind before a chopper came to view. "You'll know when we get there but first you have to start all over again." He tailed behind her as they boarded the chopper.
The dome above them slid open revealing beams of light that bore into the underground base. Vhorren was still taken aback by thus grandeur sight, ogling stealing glances all over. "Your father was a great man Vhorren, he served Reuthar well."
Her words stole his attention back to her. "...Yes. He was a role model I look up to." He mused bitterly as the sounds of the thrusters firing up filled his ears. "It's not just you but many others who have fallen victim at his hands. And with the ongoing rise of Redfall, many more are likely to add to the toll."
The sight of the base started to grow smaller as the dome closed and in a matter of minutes the aircraft was lost in the clouds. "Wait?! Where will I be training at?!" Recalling her words, he shot up. Her eyes narrowed as if offended by his words however no answer came. From there the rest of the flight was relatively silent, neither side bothering to spark a conversation.
By the time time they finally arrived at the Ark Facility, the space between the two had frozen solid for any form of warmth or interest to rise. Stepping out, Vhorren was met with a line of other students similar to him. Some he could recognize being students of other academies dressed as him while others were new faces.
Without a word he made his way over, standing next to them now all adorned in navy blue, their hair slicked back others shaven. "As from today all of you will have to address me as Commander Isolde! Do you understand?!" Her stern voice filling the air making the privates shiver with the treatment to come.
"Sir yes sir!" They all shouted in unison as they all stood at ease. "Very well!" Isolde mused, her tone rough as she clasped her hands behind her back. "I want you to make it the top of the mountain and back fifteen times. No pause or need of respite!" Their faces showed their shock at the task at hand
"What?! Do we have a problem?" Her eyes narrowing at the pause. "No!" One posed before taking the initiative to start the trek. "I didn't say that you could leave!" Her harsh tone making the man freeze with fear. "Of course!" He shouted making his way back to the rest.
"Of course a simple back and forth trek would be too easy for you. So you'll have to wear these while you do this." In her hands two simple white bracelets came to be. Vhorren's eyes narrowed with suspicion as he grabbed his pair. 'Argh! What is this made of?' He shouted from within as he could barely lift the bracelet from the ground.
Those next to him faced such a similar problem. "Well what are you waiting for? Get to moving or you'll have to do it all over again ten times over!" And with that she took her leave, some glanced at each other sighing with resignation as they mustered the strength to lift the bracelets and begin their trek.
The bracelets handed to them were modified with extreme gravity couplers making them way heavier than they actually were. A design she had thought of. Vhorren felt the sun blaze above him as he made his way to the bottom of the mountain, sweat drenched his body as his teeth remained grit as he navigated the flora.
'Couldn't they have bothered to clear the path before we came here?!' He cursed inwardly as he tried to make it over a fallen log. The rest were not that far ahead of him as they took expressed the exhaustion of the taxing task. "Gah!" Most of them quickly broke into pants of fatigue and weariness, the ground beneath them a mixture of jagged rocks and damp soil making it all the more harder to traverse.
'However it would seem that they cleared the forest for this exercise. At least we won't have to be facing monsters with such limiters.' He sighed with relief as his body was now claimed with fatigue. With the arduous training he was used to with this father, the task though strenuous wasn't that new for him.
"Hah!!!" He cried as the bracelet crashed to the ground cratering a small hole. The rest around him did the same as they clutched their back with pain. "I can't believe that we have to do this all over again!" One clicked their teeth as they looked at the path they had to overcome. "Wait! Did she even say how long we have to be doing this?!"
Another added making the group let out dissatisfied groans. However some of them quickly recuperated and began their trek up the mountain. "I'm sure that she's watching us so waiting here was already a mistake. But we have to keep on going." A voice filled the air and Vhorren looking at the source was momentarily perplexed.
"Brose?! What are you doing here?" His tone portraying his bewilderment. "Well I can't lounge about with some one like Jarren lurking about." His tone light as he grunted lifting the bracelet back onto his wrists. Vhorren did the same, an overwhelming surge of worry and bile flashing on his face.
'If I hold this for any longer I feel like my wrists are going to be severed off!' He looked at his hands which were red from the force before looking back at Brose who had started to make some distance. With a few wheezes, he managed to close the gap, inwardly amazed with his superb physique of enduring given his age.
However the time for small tall was lacking given what they had to overcome thus the wall began. Minutes lapsed into hours, their progress seemingly nonexistent with the hurdle they had to overcome. Vhorren looked at what was laid out for him, the remaining part making him wish that he hadn't taken such an exercise but deep down he knew that it would be beneficial for him.
Once past the rocky plain, the dense woods quickly presented it's fair share of problems as his sigh of relief was taken out of his mind. 'They really do expect us to fight in this condition!' He exclaimed as he saw a pack of boar blocking his path. They didn't utilize malcore however in their current state, they were no stronger than an above average human.
"How do we deal with this Brose?" His tone laced with fatigue and worry. "A direct confrontation would be foolish to engage, it would be best to go around them." Vhorren clicked his tongue at the suggestion. 'Go around? Won't that take longer and with these bracelets I don't think that I can last for more than five minutes?!' He saw Brose began his way around them as he fell into thought.
'However fighting them would only bring losses and complicate things. It would be best to avoid any form of fights in this state.' As much as he wished for another choice, he knew that his hands were tied.
Those that came behind him broke into two groups, those who chose to go around and those who dared to take the pack head on. "Argh!" Their screams filled the air, those who had chosen to go around snickering at those who had dared to take a fight. With the weight of the bracelets, their movement speed was greatly hindered and pitched against the rams of the wild boars, they were basically standing still to bear the brunt of their attacks.
...
'Finally! Past the forest!' Vhorren sighed as his knees buckled beneath him and crashed onto the cold bars rocky ground. Brose ahead of him wasn't faring any better but his endurance was far more than that of Vhorren. "How can he manage to last for so long without having his energy reserves depleted?"
He muttered glancing at Brose's figure that manged to break through the threshold between the rocks and the melting snow. However even he couldn't last forever as he came crashing to the soft snow. "Argh!" He grunted taking the bracelets off his wrists and reliving them of the pain as he looked ahead. "Hey Brose,for a fourth year your stamina isn't thy bad."
Vhorren's remark eliciting a chuckle form Brose. "It's still not what I want it to be but it will have to do for now." The two sharing a laugh as the sounds of the other cadets could be heard behind them. Some would take periodic breaks before they could resume, others long spent and we're running on fumes.
Their steely resolve had been long shattered and what remained was nothing more than resentment and helplessness. "Damn it! Why did she have to make it so hard?!" One urged, his tone bitter as he collapsed to the ground, a trickle of blood running down his nose. What answered him were the pants of those around him.
"I expected it to be hard but not this hard this fast! We just got here!" Another managed to squeeze as his chest heavily wheezed unaware from afar that their conversation was being monitored. "I'm...i don't think that I can make it to the top like this." The one who spoke collapsing to the ground, his body pressing firm on the jagged rocks beneath the snow.
Brose and Vhorren didn't linger for too long before resuming their trek. Vhorren's body once bathed in sweat was shivering uncontrollably, his teeth clattering from he cold that seeped into his body as he trugded on, Brose being a few steps ahead of him.
His chest rapidly heaved, his breathes turning into mist that quickly dissipated I'm the coldness of the night. His muscles taut with his mind focused with the top above all else. However before he could keep on going, a problem rose from within his body. Not fatal outright but if left ignored would cause more than just problems later down the road.
'Damn it I'm starving. And with these bracelets we can't hunt. Placing traps would take too long to assemble and take effect. He glanced around and what met him was a blanket of pure white snow. 'There are beasts or berries that we can gather here. It looks like I will have to hold it in till I make it to the top.'