Tales of Erda: Noctis and Octavius - Chapter 1: Disobedience

Olympia struggled to rush through the tight woodland. All around her, she could hear the frantic yells of her fellow compatriots. As she ran, she could feel the fronds of the ferns brushing against her shins. Her breath was incredibly tight, and her skin was covered in a pallid sweat that irritated the young woman. It wasn’t helped by the fact that her supervisor, Camella, made everyone wear heavy, uncomfortable lamellar armour. She would’ve preferred to adorn her much lighter and more flexible leather armour. She was not about to question her orders, though – especially since there was a training exercise to win.

Eventually, she caught up with the rest of her compatriots: Catiana, Rufus, Antony, Paulus, Peter and Hera. All of them wore identical armour to Olympia, and they too were exhausted from having to run for what felt like hours through compact, dense foliage. They took shelter beneath a steep dirt embankment. It wasn’t ideal, but they had to make do. Especially since Olympia could sense that they were in trouble. Olympia crouched as best she could and began removing the fastenings on her armour.

“Olympia!” Rufus whispered loudly, “What do you think you’re doing?” Rufus was one of Olympia’s friends. The two of them hailed from prominent families, and they had struck up a lasting friendship. They both went to the same academies together, so it was honestly unsurprising that they would end up here.

“Lightening the load.” Olympia replied, “This armour’s chafing me up like crazy.” She then pulled her pauldrons off and rolled her shoulders freely. She then removed her helmet and twitched her neck. Her short, brown hair waved gently as she looked around. The rest of the compatriots looked on, wondering what Olympia was doing. They didn’t have time to worry about that; however, they had more pressing matters at hand.

“Alright, everyone,” a young man spoke up. “On my mark, we’ll charge them head-on and win this!”

“Are you nuts, Antony?!” Olympia protested, “That’s suicidal!”

“Well, you’re not in charge right now, Olympia!” Antony retorted, “Now fall back in line!”

“We can easily go around and flank them! There’s still time!”

“That’s honestly a fair assessment.” Catiana muttered, “But it is your call, Antony.”

The entire group was silent for a moment. Even Antony was pondering Olympia’s plan. However, he was anything but flexible. Instead, he was determined to see his idea through, no matter what anyone says.

“We’re sticking with my plan!” Antony stubbornly said. He then prepared to give the signal to everyone else to charge, only for Olympia to pick up her discarded helmet and swing it towards Antony’s head, knocking him unconscious.

“Olympia! What the heck was that for?!” Catiana cried out, “You’re going to get us disqualified!”

“It might make him see reason.” Olympia replied, “You never know.”

“Well, I think Camella might say otherwise. Here she comes!”

Just as soon as the last words left her lips, Olympia and her compatriots caught sight of an imposing individual. She was clad in heavy lamellar armour that sported a streak of teal across her chest. She removed her helmet, revealing a tanned, youthful complexion. This was the supervisor of this military exercise: Camella Falco, the sister of the prominent senator and orator Cicero. Camella looked at Olympia and Antony and instantly frowned.

“Congratulations, Olympia,” She spoke sarcastically, “you’ve just forfeited the exercise.”

Almost everyone present groaned in frustration. Had Olympia not pulled her little stunt; they might have won the exercise. Instead, she had subjected them to being humiliated in front of the opposing team.

“Word of advice: don’t assault your commander,” Camella said before grabbing the unconscious Antony. She removed his helmet and slapped him with one swift move. Normally, it would be unwise to hit an unconscious person on the head, but Camella knew that it had a knack for waking a person up. She was proven correct when Antony promptly woke up and looked around.

“Where am I?” He asked, “Did we win?”

“No cadet.” Camella replied sternly, “Olympia knocked you unconscious, thereby making you all forfeit the match.”

Antony was about to jolt up and deliver an uppercut to Olympia’s jaw, but he was stopped by Camella, Catiana and Peter. Antony eventually relented and gave Olympia a dirty look that sent a chill down his compatriots’ spines. He then stormed off in anger, clutching his head as he moved.

After a while, Olympia and the rest of the squad had left the forest. Olympia had put her lamellar pauldrons and helmet back on. She felt a pang of guilt as she marched alongside Rufus. The two of them were discussing what they were doing during the chaos of the initial rush. Apparently, Rufus had accidentally provoked a juvenile male Daspletosaurus and had to sprint as hard as he could to the rendezvous point. Luckily, he was saved when the Daspletosaurus was set upon by a much larger Tyrannosaurus, which ambushed the Juvenile and killed him.

“How did you know the Daspletosaurus was a male?” Olympia asked.

“I may have glanced at his yam bags,” Rufus replied.

“Gross, Rufus. Just gross.”

The squad then came to a halt just outside the woodland. On their right flank was a long dirt path that led to a nearby fortification. To their left, the path stretched across the entire grounds. Ahead, they could see the cool, refreshing waters of the river Tiber that flowed gently. Almost immediately, they all lined up and stood resolutely.

Camella marched out in front and ordered the entire squad to stand tall. As she did, a Legate atop a yellow and black megaraptorid rode towards them. Unlike the rest of the squad, the Legate’s armour was refined plate armour that was both sturdy and incredibly flexible. He dismounted and marched towards the squad. The crimson plumes atop his helmet swayed with each step he took. He came to a halt just beside Camella, who turned to face him.

“Legate Schwartz, sir.” She called out. The Legate promptly ignored her and proceeded to pace back and forth in front of the entire squad. It was clear to all assembled that he was deeply disappointed with them.

“Let me remind you, cadets, about the importance of unity.” He started, “The Empire of Nurnei was built from the combined efforts of Emperor Magnus Crovan and his allies. They recognised the importance of unity and strove to ensure everyone knew their roles as Nurnei was formed. Magnus’ allies never questioned his ideals, nor his judgment. They simply cried ‘Aeterna Vitrix!’ ‘Aeterna Vitrix!’ Eternal Victory!”

He then paused in his speech and looked directly at Olympia. Olympia felt nervous when looking at him. She had heard from her father, Atilius, about his aggressive nature and how he does not tolerate anything that goes against his ideals for how one should conduct themselves.

“I’m sorry to say that you have failed to achieve any semblance of victory today, cadets!” Schwartz continued, “Had this been a real fight, almost all of this squad would’ve been easy pickings!”

Olympia silently nodded in acknowledgement of the Legate’s words. She recognised the wisdom behind them. She watched as Schwartz addressed the rest of the squad. She heard him say they were from some of the most distinguished families in Nurnei and that they ought to follow the example of their mothers and fathers. Considering how she was the eldest daughter of the Head of the Nurneian Military, she felt somewhat embittered by the Legate’s words. She then saw Schwartz turn to Camella.

“Well, why are you standing here?” He asked, “Lead them on tour, Falco.” He then returned to his megaraptorid, which was patiently waiting for him. Without a word, he mounted up and rode away from the squad.

Camella then turned to her squadron.

“About face!” She ordered. At once, everyone turned to face the west.

“Double march!” She yelled. Immediately, everyone began to briskly jog forward.

Olympia hated having to go on tour. Whenever she did, it was almost always because someone in her squad had forced her into such predicaments. It didn’t help with the fact that she was also heavily asthmatic and that she couldn’t properly breathe by the time it was over. The clanging of their lamellar armour echoed throughout the surrounding landscape. As she followed her squadron through the surrounding vista, she couldn’t help but admire how picturesque the grounds of the academy were. From the woodlands that were on her left flank, to the winding course of the River Tiber.

Camella started singing a military cadence:

“From our lands of Nurnei,

The ground below rumbled, with lightning in the sky!

All hell broke loose, and chaos ensued!

Yet tall we stood, for all that’s good!

Aganos, Aganos, please grant us strength!

Then, when we’re done, deliver your peace!”

As soon as the tour had finished, the entire squad went about their business. As soon as they returned to their barracks, they immediately went into their separate sleeping quarters and went about their business. Olympia removed her lamellar armour and stripped down to her undergarments. She lay down on a wicker cot and looked up at the ceiling. Her room was modestly decorated, with portraits of famous Nurneian military generals and politicians, and ornate mosaics depicting daily life in Nurnei. Olympia thought about how her father might view her after her incident with Antony today. She looked up to him a lot and always aspired to follow in his footsteps. Considering her actions today, that might come to an end soon. Her musings were interrupted when Rufus and Catiana walked into her room. She felt somewhat flustered by Rufus’ appearance, as evident from the fact that he was trying his hardest to not look directly at her. She immediately sat up and scrambled over to a chest of drawers and rummaged around, trying to find her tunic and leggings.

“I was going to ask if you were decent, but clearly, you aren’t,” Rufus muttered.

“Is there any reason why you two are intruding on my room at the moment?” She asked, “I’m fairly busy at the moment.”

“Doing what? Moping around?” Catiana asked humorously, “If anything, you ought to try and find something to take your mind off today.” She then took a seat on Olympia’s bed and looked up at a nearby portrait of a military figure.

“Like what exactly?” Olympia asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe read up on military strategy?” Rufus suggested, “We do have a class on that tomorrow.”

“Good point.” Catiana said, “Considering how that’s my weakest area, I’d better go ahead and do that.” And with that, Catiana left the room.

“Alright.” Olympia said, “You guys made your point. It’d be good to distract myself for a bit.”

Just then, Hera came rushing into the room. She was out of breath and somewhat flustered by something. She then grabbed Olympia by the hand and dragged her out of the room, leaving Rufus alone. As soon as they were in the hallway outside, Hera released her grip

“Since I now have your attention, Tribunus Paraskevi wants to see you in her office.” Hera said, “Apparently, it’s due to the Antony Situation. Good luck.”

Wasting no time, Olympia rushed over to Paraskevi’s office. She dreaded having to speak with her about today’s mishap. There was nothing she could put past Paraskevi. Perhaps this was it. Perhaps this was the end of her training as a Praetor.

After a while of walking through the grounds of the academy, she came upon a small, golden-brown villa with an orange, tiled roof. Walking inside, she turned left and walked down a small hallway towards the Tribune’s office. As soon as she arrived, she saw that the door was open, with Tribunus Paraskevi inside waiting for her. She promptly entered the room and stood at attention.

“Ah, Olympia.” Paraskevi said at last, “Word has reached my ears that you gave Antony quite a concussion today.”

“There’s no excuse, ma’am,” Olympia replied stiffly. “I did indeed give him a concussion.”

“I do have to say, you did cause quite the stir.” Paraskevi then stood up and turned to face a nearby window. She looked outside to see several academy students training. It felt somewhat gratifying to the young Tribune to see her students thriving.

“Legatus Schwartz was considering expelling you.” Paraskevi said, “I had instead convinced him to give you one more chance to prove yourself. Especially since we both know Legatus Noctis would not let his daughter leave without a commission.”

“I wouldn’t know what my father thinks. I rarely see him these days.”

Paraskevi remained silent. She then turned back to Olympia and approached her.

“You know, I spoke with your father just a few days ago. I told him how you’ve been struggling here, and how you’re having trouble following orders.” She said, “He told me that you are a natural-born commander. He sees potential in you; so does everyone here. You just need to see it.”

Olympia smiled softly, somewhat at ease with what her father had said about her.

“You’re dismissed, Olympia.” Paraskevi said, “Return to your barracks.”

At once, Olympia relaxed and was about to walk out the door. Before she could, Paraskevi stopped her.

“You might want to wake up at 0345 tomorrow morning.” She warned, “Apparently, Schwartz is planning a wake-up call at 0400 for your squad.”

Olympia nodded and took her leave. As soon as she returned to her quarters, she locked her door, stripped down to her undergarments and collapsed on her cot. She glanced at a dwarven clock on her bedside table and saw that it was approximately five to ten. She then glanced at the wall next to her and proceeded to knock twice. Every night, she would knock on the wall and await a response from Rufus, who was sleeping in the room next door. A second later, she received a response from her friend in the form of six knocks: ‘Good night, Olympia’. Olympia softly smiled and closed her eyes, finally drifting off to sleep.