~ NYSSA
The candidates were younger men with soft features, each with excited glints in their eyes. The air in their little camp was filled with eagerness and nerves. I expected to see a couple hundred soldiers but to my surprise, there were less than fifty.
"The process is rigorous," Rowan explained. "So many start but not many get to this stage. At this point they're practically guards already."
"Then why the final test?"
"To be sure that they can hold their own in a battle. There are rankings among the soldiers. Not everyone will be a war soldier, some will be at the border and some will patrol the packs. This final test will let us know where to place them."
They sat in a circle, listening intently the entire time Rowan spoke. It was amazing to see just how much they revered him up close. They held onto his every word in complete silence.
By the time we left, the sky was pitch black, and I was yawning in the passenger seat.
