"Alright, recruits! Gather round!" Sergeant Vorik's voice boomed across the training grounds. It was the third week of training, and the remaining hundred and fifteen recruits had just finished their morning exercises. Sweat dripped down Brina's face as she joined the circle forming around the sergeant.
"You know what your problem is?" Vorik asked, not waiting for an answer. "You think you're here to learn how to swing a sword and march in formation. That's only half of it. A good guardsman needs to know the place they're protecting. How can you defend something you don't understand?"
He gestured broadly toward the town walls in the distance. "So today, we're going to talk about Helwind Valley. And you're going to listen, because this will be on your evaluation. Anyone who can't tell me the districts of this town by the end of the week will be running laps until their legs fall off. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" the recruits shouted in unison.
Brina leaned forward with interest. She'd been living in Helwind for weeks now, but she only really knew Lowwinds and Marketsbreth. She was curious to learn more.
"First, let's talk about what makes a town a town," Vorik began, pacing in front of them. "The Empire of Elms-Arkanus has a classification system for settlements. Can anyone tell me what we are?"
One of the recruits, a tall boy named Mark, raised his hand. "A medium-sized town, sir."
"Correct. And what's the population?"
"Around eighty-seven thousand, sir."
"Close enough. Eighty-seven thousand five hundred and thirty-two, to be exact, with about seventeen to eighteen thousand registered families. That's a lot of people to protect, recruits. A lot of families are depending on us."
Brina's eyes widened. She hadn't realized there were that many people here. Wynstead had maybe a hundred families at most. This was enormous in comparison.
"Now, Helwind isn't just one big mass of people," Vorik continued. "It's divided into districts, each with its own character, its own challenges. Let's start with where most of you probably live. Lowwinds. Show of hands, who's from Lowwinds?"
Brina raised her hand along with about half the recruits.
"Thought so. Lowwinds is where most of the population lives, about thirty-five thousand people. It's the outer-rung district, with cheap housing, lots of workers, laborers, tenant farmers, tanneries, slaughterhouses and more. It's crowded, it's loud, and it smells terrible on hot days."
Several recruits laughed. They all knew it was true.
"But it's also where the heart of this town beats," Vorik said, his tone becoming more serious. "Those people work hard every day to keep Helwind running. They're not rich, they're not fancy, but they're tough. And most of you guardsmen come from there. Remember that."
Brina felt a swell of pride. She'd always felt a bit embarrassed about living in the cheapest part of town, but hearing Vorik talk about it this way made her realize there was nothing to be ashamed of.
"Next district, Tradeswind," Vorik went on. "Population about eleven thousand. This is where the artisans and craftsmen live. The people who make things, who create the tools and weapons we use. Their warehouses store everything from grain to iron. Anyone here from Tradeswind?"
A few hands went up, including a stocky girl named Mira who Brina had become friends with. Mira's father was a blacksmith.
"Good. You Tradeswind folks understand the value of quality work. We need that in the guard. Your district might not be the biggest, but it's essential. Without the craftsmen, we'd have no weapons, no armor, nothing."
He gestured toward the center of town. "Then we have Marketsbreth. Another eleven thousand people. This is where everything gets bought and sold. It's chaotic, it's colorful, and it's where thieves love to work because there are so many distracted people with mownies in their pockets. When you're on patrol in Marketsbreth, keep your eyes open. Pickpockets, con artists, and sometimes worse."
Brina thought of Auntie Marta's stall. She'd never really thought about the security side of the market before. She'd just been focused on selling vegetables.
"Up on the hill, we have Windspire Heights," Vorik said, and his tone changed slightly. "Five thousand people. That's where Earl Herman Jouse resides, along with all the administrative buildings and our military headquarters. The nobles, the officers, the important people. The streets are paved, the buildings are fancy, and you'll be expected to show respect when you're on duty there."
One of Bernadeth's followers smirked. She probably thought she belonged up there more than down in the barracks.
"And before any of you get ideas," Vorik added sharply, "rank and respect are earned in the guard, not bought. I don't care if your father is the richest merchant in town or the poorest farmer. Here, you're all the same. Here, you prove yourself and your worth."
The smirk disappeared from the girl's face. Brina tried not to smile.
"Finally, we have Outerwinds," Vorik continued. "This is where we are right now. About twenty-five thousand five hundred people, second largest population. This district is outside the main town walls and includes these training grounds, the barracks, farmlands, farmhouses, and granaries. It's also the first line of defense if we're attacked so keep an eye out of our Wooden Palisades when you are stationed here."
That made Brina pause. She hadn't thought about that. If something came to attack the town, it would hit here first, where she was training.
"And don't think poorly of Outerwinds even if the place looks like this, because it produces most of the food this town eats," Vorik said. "Those farms out there? They're what keep everyone from starving. And yes, they're vulnerable. That's why we're here. That's why we train. Because if we fail, it's not just the soldiers who suffer. It's the farmers, the families, the children. Everyone."
The training ground had gone quiet. Even the most cocky recruits looked serious now.
"Now, let's talk numbers," Vorik said. "How big is our military force? Anyone?"
Elena raised her hand tentatively. "About two thousand, sir?"
"Close. One thousand eight hundred and fifty total. That includes us guardsmen, logistics, administrative personnel, and the other military personnels. Earl Herman also has his own retinue of three hundred and fifty heavily armored troops, separate from us. They're better equipped, better trained, and frankly, better paid than us."
Some of the recruits grumbled at that.
"But," Vorik said loudly, "we're the ones who do the real work. We patrol the streets, we guard the gates, we protect the farms. The Earl's men look pretty in their shiny armor, but we're the backbone of this town's defense."
That made the recruits sit up straighter.
"We're also responsible for protecting the surrounding areas," Vorik continued. "Places like Wynstead, Bareboroughs Peak, Upper and Lower Man'haford. Hamlets and villages that don't have their own military forces. They depend on us."
Brina's chest tightened at the mention of Wynstead. If the guard had been faster that night, if there had been more soldiers stationed there, maybe her parents would still be alive. She pushed the thought away and focused on Vorik's words.
"If there's a real emergency, we can call up about five thousand militia," Vorik said. "Regular townspeople who've had basic training and can hold a spear. There's also a mercenary guild, but they're expensive and not always reliable. We prefer to handle things ourselves."
He paused and looked around at all of them. "Now, who can tell me why Helwind exists in the first place? What makes this town important?"
Brina had no idea. She waited for someone else to answer.
Mark spoke up again. "The mineral deposits, sir? The special metal?"
"Exactly. This valley has a rare iron-rich mineral that can hold and retain mana. Even though we Centuurians can't use mana ourselves, Arkanians can forge it into tools and weapons that we can use. That mineral is worth a fortune, and there's enough of it to last a thousand years at our current mining rate. That's why the kingdom approved this settlement. That's why merchants come here. That's why we need to protect it."
Brina's eyes widened. She'd heard about the mines but hadn't understood how important they were. No wonder Helwind was growing so fast.
"This town is located one thousand two hundred meters above sea level," Vorik continued, "about three hundred kilometers from the coast. We're on the northeastern part of the island, which means we're actually closer to the mainland than most other settlements. Weather-wise, it's hot most of the year, though we get some cold winds in winter. Nothing like the southern storms though. Down there, the storms are so bad they have to build everything out of stone."
He gestured to the mountains in the distance. "We're protected by geography here. The valley walls shield us from the worst weather. The elevation gives us a defensive advantage. And the forests provide lumber and hunting grounds. This is a good place to live, which is why the population keeps growing. In three years, we're expected to reach large town status, which means even more people, more responsibility, more work for us."
"How big is Helwind exactly, sir?" someone asked.
"One thousand two hundred and fifty-six square kilometers under our management. That's a lot of ground to cover, which is why we need good guardsmen who know the territory."
Vorik let that sink in for a moment, then clapped his hands together. "Alright, enough sitting around. I want you all to run the perimeter of the training grounds while thinking about what you've learned. And tomorrow, I'm going to quiz you. Anyone who gets the districts wrong will be doing extra drills. Move out!"
The recruits groaned but got to their feet. As Brina started running, her mind was spinning with all the information. She'd been living in Helwind for weeks, but she'd never really understood it before. She'd just seen it as a place to survive, a place to find work and shelter.
But now she understood it was so much more than that. It was a complex system of districts and people, all depending on each other. The farmers in Outerwinds fed the craftsmen in Tradeswind, who made tools for the merchants in Marketsbreth, who sold goods to the workers in Lowwinds, all under the administration of Windspire Heights. And protecting all of it, holding it all together, were the guardsmen.
Soon, she would be one of them.
Elena jogged up beside her. "That was a lot of information."
"Yeah," Brina agreed, slightly out of breath. "I didn't realize how big Helwind really is."
"Makes you think about what we're doing here, doesn't it? We're not just learning to fight. We're learning to protect all those people."
"Eighty-seven thousand of them," Brina said.
"Plus all the villages and hamlets that depend on us," Elena added. "Like your home."
Brina nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She thought about Wynstead, about all the people who'd died that night. About her parents. If she became a guardswoman, if she got strong enough, maybe she could prevent that from happening to someone else.
That evening, when she got home, Ren was already there preparing dinner.
"How was training?" he asked.
"We learned about Helwind today," Brina said, sitting down heavily. "All the districts, the population, everything. Did you know there are eighty-seven thousand people here?"
"I'd heard the number before, but it's hard to imagine, isn't it?"
"Yeah. And we're responsible for protecting all of them. Plus the surrounding villages." She paused. "Places like Wynstead."
Ren set down the knife he was using to chop vegetables and looked at his sister. "Is that why you're doing this? Because of what happened?"
Brina thought about it. "Ehh? Maybe partly. I mean, I want to be strong. I want to help people. But yeah, I keep thinking, if there had been more guardsmen that night, if they'd been faster, maybe..."
"Maybe," Ren agreed quietly. "But you can't change the past, sister. You can only work toward the future."
"I know. That's what I'm trying to do."
He smiled at her. "Then keep at it. Learn everything they teach you. Become the kind of guardswoman who makes a difference."
"I will," Brina promised.
The next day, true to his word, Sergeant Vorik quizzed them on everything he'd taught. Brina managed to remember most of it, though she got confused about the exact populations of some districts. Bernadeth, surprisingly, answered every question perfectly. Maybe her expensive education was good for something after all.
But when Vorik asked them why they wanted to be guardsmen, why it mattered to protect Helwind, Brina's answer was simple and from the heart.
"Because everyone deserves to be safe, sir. Every person in every district, from Lowwinds to Windspire Heights. They deserve to sleep without fear. And if I can help make that happen, then that's what I want to do."
Vorik looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. "Good answer, Feldwyn. Remember that feeling. You're going to need it in the weeks to come."
And Brina knew he was right. The training was only going to get harder from here. But now she understood what she was training for. Not just to be a soldier, but to be a protector of something bigger than herself.
To be a guardian of Helwind.