Chapter XVII – The Restless Captain
Around the same time, in the barrack mess hall, an argument between the two soldiers was taking place. One, Erik, was a halberdier of the regular Imperial Army, while the other, Hana von Leititz, was of the prestigious Imperial Vanguard, longsword wielding troops who, despite their name, preferred to flank the formations of pikemen rather than engaging them head-on.
21-year-old Hana was an oddity in the Vanguard ranks, yet not an unexpected one. Her mother had died during childbirth, leaving Hana's father as her sole guardian. Sadly, he was one of the many to fall during the dreadful Ghirrean War 6 years later, which threatened to destroy the Empire from the inside. Orphaned at a tender age of six and without a source of income, Hana had no way of paying rent (her family did not own a home of their own) and was quickly evicted. Luckily for her, after only two days out on the street, she was approached by an elderly man and his wife. The man, whose name was Martin, was an acquaintance of her father and he had lost both of his sons in the same war. Having no more children of his own and encountering the homeless daughter of the man he knew, Martin adopted Hana on the spot, with the little girl's consent. Hana's life as Martin and Klara's adopted daughter was a happy one. Having been denied grandchildren due to the deaths of her sons, Klara adored Hana, yet was careful not to spoil her too much. Martin, on the other hand, regaled the girl with old stories from his youth as an Imperial man-at-arms turned mercenary. Due to Hana's insistence, he also taught her the basics of combat, much to the displeasure of her wife who often had to bandage Hana's scrapped knees. The lessons stuck with the girl and by the age of 12, she was about as strong as any knight's young squire. Alas, all was not well in the household. 67-year-old Martin's lungs were failing from his heavy pipe smoking, and he died five days after Hana turned fourteen. Hana mourned his loss greatly but knew exactly what to do. Already at 14, Hana was incredibly beautiful, her golden blonde hair contrasted by her aquamarine eyes. Klara urged Hana to find a husband (which would have been a hard task), but Martin's lessons had stuck. With Klara's reluctant blessing, Hana decided to join the city's militia. The only problem was the local captain Dietrich. The man had a reputation for being stern and a taskmaster, which had even spread outside of Leititz. Not accepting everyone, Dietrich required every potential recruit to spar against one of his chosen militiamen.
Hana was easily beaten four times but each time she rose up again, despite the bruises she received. This impressed the captain, who acknowledged the teenage girl's resolve. He allowed Hana to join the ranks of the militia and informed her of the conditions for the acceptance into the regular forces. During her time in the militia, Hana excelled at training, minus the spear practice. Although she was physically weaker than the majority of other militiamen, she made up for it with her agility and quick thinking. 2 years later, having successfully completed all the strenuous tests required to join the Imperial Army, Hana did just that. During advanced arms practice, she discovered her talent for wielding a longsword, the long, sleek blade of a surprisingly lightweight weapon compensating for her lack of height and reach. Honing her skills with that weapon, she gradually became more and more proficient, even winning several small tournaments against her fellow soldiers. It wasn't long until the higherups noticed her talent and Hana was encouraged to join the cream of the regular Imperial military, the Vanguard. During her time in the unit, Hana had gotten her first taste of real battle when she fought against a border raid by the Kingdom of Litria. Though not distinguishing herself in the battle, Hana's swordsmanship was exemplary and because of it, her commanders decided to entrust her with a specific task. She would travel south, to the frontier city of Hykage and help train the local garrison. Disciplined, but somewhat hot-headed, Hana initially protested until she learned it was common practice to send exemplary soldiers to train other army units, especially when the Vanguard was looking for potential recruits.
Hana quickly grew to like her new job as the men and women of Hykage were quick learners. Tired of being called "ma'am" all the time when she was younger than most of them, Hana insisted everyone call her by her given name. Given Hana had never been promoted to the officer rank, the militiamen quickly adapted. While Hana had close acquaintances in the Vanguard, this was the first time she had made actual friends, those being Entirelle and Kaori. It was the absence of those two in the mess hall that bothered Hana and had led to her argument with Erik.
"Listen, they are most likely fine. I've seen captain Entirelle fight.", said Erik confidently, trying to dispel Hana's worries.
"Four hours!", said Hana, raising her voice.
"Only two hours in each direction! Entirelle told me they'd only be gone for that long. It's been a whole day!", Shouted Hana, a mix of worry and anger clearly visible on her face.
Hana turned her head as she heard two men approaching her table. They were regular soldiers, like Erik, but Hana did not know them personally.
"If it's been a day so something most have delayed them. ", spoke the fair-haired musketeer
"Dead or captured more like." added the other to which Erik quietly nodded.
Hana suddenly rose up from the table, her cheeks red with fury. Breathless, and gritting her teeth, Hana reached for the dagger strapped to her back and stabbed it into the table, startling everyone present.
“You... How can you even calmly insinuate that!!! Your two comrades are missing! You should have sent out a search party hours ago!", shouted Hana loudly. Though she was in Hykage to train the local troops, she didn't have the authority to command them.
"I you won't go, then I will!", stated Hana, quickly dashing between the two guards and towards the exit.
“Don't! You'll just get yourself killed!”, shouted Erik but Hana would not acknowledge his warning.