Briefing

                When the nock on her door finally came, Treasa was already dressed and ready to leave. Sade had stopped by to inform her that Master Tyrour had changed his mind and accepted her request to alter her uniform. Knowing what she wanted to change on her uniform and not where to acquire the pieces she asked her Diatorn to help her. With only a nod he listened to what she requested and left the in search of the parts.

                Pacing back in forth in her small room, Treasa had waited for Sade to return and then went about adding the small attachments to her trainee’s uniform. As the hours passed the young girl had been glad to have something to occupy her thoughts. It was a strange thing to have so much time off. By noon she decided to warm up her body with a short workout in her quarters.

                Smiling as she thought about all the secret changes she had made to her uniform she followed the line of other trainees down the hallways and through a large set of doors. Passing under the large archway, Treasa could see a massive auditorium, with enough seats for easily a few hundred people. The Reaper guiding them began seating them from the front of the room, leaving no seats between them. After everyone had sat down, she looked around and chuckled that only the first row had been filled, making the room look empty.

                A man stepped out onto the stage from a nearby staircase and stood on the center of the floor. Unlike every other Reaper before him, he wore a bright yellow coat, with a beautiful black trim. Even though it was entirely too ostentatious, the outfit fit the man’s features well.  His square jaw looked to have been broken a few times and his nose seemed to have the same misfortune.

                “Who the hell is that guy?” One of the other trainees said with a laugh. It was clear that he also thought the man’s uniform was ridiculous.

                “That’s the Sect Master for the Stratagem division. He’s possibly the most well known tactician in the world.” Treasa could hear the awe in the man’s voice. She had never heard of him before, but if a man that talented had anything to do with the assessment process than it would prove to be more difficult than she had believed.

                “Good Morning Trainees. Today I will give you guidance and the rules governing the assessment process, but first introductions. I am Sect master Osbert, and I personally designed this process to best test those wishing to become candidates. Today you will begin the process of proving that you are of use to the Fare Tilwin Reath, and if you do manage to be selected by one of the sect masters, you shall continue your training under the guidance of your new Sects.”

                “If, upon completion of the tests, you have shown that you are of no use to us, you shall be given to one of the lesser sects and continue your lives as servants of the Fare Tilwin Reath. Understand that you have something to lose, and you must give everything you have during these trials to hope of being selected. Now that you all understand this I shall explain the rules to you.” Taking another step forward, Sect Master Osbert drew a scroll from within his robes. An eerie silence fell over the room as everyone listened.

                “From this point on, there will be no speaking with other trainees. An assistant will be assigned to each of you, and they shall provide you with the required instructions for each phase of your test. They will not give you suggestions, nor will they aid you in any way. Their only objective is to advise you on what is expected, and observe how you handle each situation.” Treasa was beginning to become worried. The complexity of the assessments was not what she had expected. In her years of training they had only covered basic tactics.

                “Next it is important that you understand one clear point. These are full combat simulations. Each Trainee will be given their choice of weapon at every station, and only the one chance to choose. There is no restriction to the number of weapons you may carry, but you may only chose once. Your selections will be dulled and unable to kill, but they will be metal. Those you encounter during your trials have been given the order to deal with each situation as they would in live combat. They will kill you if you give them the opportunity.” If the room had been silent before, it didn’t compare to the stillness of the air now. Something about the chance of dying puts events in perspective.

                It was easy to forget that what you’re doing is simulating a real situation when you don’t have to worry about losing your life. People make sloppy mistakes because they know they will walk away from them. This was probably their way of preventing just that, and keeping the stress consistent with that of the battlefield.

                “You are not authorized to kill any person you come in contact with while participating in the trials. If you land a killing blow they have orders to ‘die’ until the scenario is reset for the next trainee. Nobody gains anything from cheating and preventing your aid from properly assessing the trial and advancing you.” Everyone in the audience acknowledged the statement and the Sect Master moved on.

                “Next I will explain how the assessment works. Each trainee will be given an aid, as explained, and then you shall be led to your starting point. These points are spread throughout the empire, and there are three in total. Now each of the trails is further broken down into segments, to be able to show how each trainee would handle different scenarios. When you have finished your mission, you shall be moved to your next segment, or trial. Upon completing all three you shall return here and await judgment.”

                “Please stand, and take all further guidance from your assessment aid. Good luck trainees, and fight with the heart of a Reaper.” Everyone stood and watched the Sect Master leave the auditorium from the stairs he had arrived on.  Within a few moments men began entering the room from where Treasa had entered. Wearing plain traveling clothes each of them walked down the center aisle and took their places before the trainees.

                The man who stood before Treasa was surprisingly short, and fatter than she would have thought. Acne covered his face and most of his neck. Every time he breathed it was forced and labored. Treasa knew her luck with attractive partners would run out at some point, she only wished it wasn’t at that moment.

                “Name?” With a monotone voice, it was clear to her that nothing about this man was going to be pleasant. He handed her a backpack that he had been carrying. Looking inside, she saw enough food and water to last them for a few days.

                “Treasa Crawjoy.”

                “Okay, we have a long way to travel before we begin, so we had better leave now.” Nodding that she understood the two left the auditorium, ready to begin the testing.