Conscription; Pt. 1

The day that the infantry officer came to the monastic school to draft young men was a surprise to many, but not to Angus. Following his father’s advice, he had been working in construction and now his body was already prepared for combat. Keeping such a large secret was beginning to take a toll on Angus, but he kept his composure. When the officer spoke, Angus sensed an almost imperceptible underlying urgency concealed within the patriotic overtones of his messaging.

“Good morning, men! Are you all ready to defend your land from an unknown- er, foreign threat?... Too bad! Warwick is in imminent danger and We. Need. You! I know a group of finely educated men when I see them, and we need those brains on the battlefield!”

Everything about him screamed “aggressively patriotic”, perhaps to a fault. Although everyone hated the draft, it was this man’s job to convince the young men that they actually wanted this. His purpose was both an involuntary recruiter and a hype man. Despite the fact that microphones had not been invented yet, the tall balding man had the stage presence of a master of ceremonies.

“You there, young man! Step up and hit this dummy with a training sword as hard as you can!”

“Who, me?”

“That’s right, certainly a high society man like you could master something simple as a sword.”

“Uh, sure!”

Although he wasn’t confident, he had to pretend that he knew what he was doing. Peter stepped up and the officer slid a training sword into his hand. Readying his stance, he thought “I’m going to kill this thing.” Winding his arm up and putting on a brave face, he swung his arms at the scarecrow as quickly as he could. The scarecrow swayed a little bit and the onlookers cheered.

“Alright, who wants to hit the dummy next?”

Many raised their hands, but Peter chose to give the training sword to Angus. Of course, how could someone so poor possibly follow such a strong showing? His thinking was deeply illogical, but it was baked in the classism of the time. Angus adjusted his stance, one foot in front of the other. When he went in to swing, he put his entire body weight into the force of the strike, and even used his leg muscles to put in some additional force.

It broke in half. The room fell silent.

Angus was shocked; because his growth in strength was gradual, he didn’t expect that he made so much progress. What would happen now? Would they have to buy a new scarecrow and charge him for the replacement? Worries like these filled his head, but only for a moment. The cheers of the crowd quickly drowned them out.

“What a swing! The dummy broke in half, and with a strike from a training sword, no less! How is this physically possible?!”

Although outwardly ecstatic, the infantry officer began to sweat. While it was great that everyone was excited to enter the battlefield, he didn’t plan for something like this. Attempting to play it off, Angus put on a face that said “I totally meant to do that”.

“What’s your name, kid?”

“I’m Angus Easton, son of a Baron.”

“Ah, you’re Sturgeon’s kid, that doesn’t surprise me at all!”

“Wait, you know my dad?”

“Of course, I fought on the front lines with him in Ireland!”

Angus was nervous about how this public declaration, that he was the son of one of the “poor Barons”, would affect his social standing. However, everyone was so caught up in the moment that nobody cared. He put on faux confidence while on the inside his world was shattering; he was becoming his father, strong and brash.

“Next time you see him, tell your old man Clyde said hello!”

Angus looked back up.

“Uh, okay, Clyde.”

To distract from the fact that their only training dummy was broken, Clyde shifted the attention by giving Angus the floor.

“So, kid, how did you do it?”

“I just put my body weight into it. Seemed like the strike would hit harder that way.”

“Is that all?”

“Uh, I’m sure Peter loosened it up for me.”

There were a few chuckles from the crowd. While Angus was trying to play it down, the way that each of them swung a sword was entirely different, and it was clear that between the two of them, Angus was doing it the right way. Peter was embarrassed and angry, but it was pretty clear to him that there was nothing he could do about it.

That afternoon, Angus walked back home to meet with his parents. All things considered, it was a beautiful autumn afternoon. A cool breeze blew as the sun was starting to set and the sky was turning all sorts of colors. However, that wasn’t the only thing he noticed. The crack in the sky was looking larger than ever, and Angus wasn’t sure what to think. He knew why Warwick was preparing for battle, but nobody else around him did. Angus’s mind was racing. He thought about telling people to leave early and flee England immediately, but his fear of causing a panic kept him conflicted. Was it unethical to keep everyone in the dark about what was really going on? His heart raced and beat maddeningly loud. He tried to scream, but the immense grasp of social pressure kept him from erupting. Was life about social standing or doing the right thing? After a quick breath, Angus steadied himself and continued home, almost robotically.

When he got there, he met Sturgeon in the living room. Angus had to tell his dad about the recruiter, but he often found it difficult to deliver news like this. Bracing himself, he began to speak without a proper greeting.

“Hey dad, I think it’s going to start soon- The war.”

“I’ve been feeling the same, but why were you thinking that?”

“Clyde dropped in to recruit students.”

“That bastard!”

“Huh?”

“Excuse me, I just don’t like Clyde very much. He always targets young people and tries to get them excited about combat. Let me tell you straight, war isn’t fun and games. Watching people you know around you getting hurt. Having to kill enemies without discrimination… It’s not a good thing for young people to witness.”

“Why did you make me bulk up, then? Isn’t that similar?”

“I wanted you to be prepared for the war, not excited.”

Mary entered the room.

“Hey, I think the war’s going to start soon.”

“How did you figure that out?”

“A bunch of officers came in to stock up on spices.”

Sturgeon chuckled.

“Well, that’s certainly one way to tell! I was just talking to Angus about Clyde.”

“Did he show up at the monastery today?”

“Yeah, does he do that often?”

Mary sighed.

“Yeah, he did it before when I was still in school.”

“You went to school?”

“Yes, dear. I know it’s rare for women, but I come from a family of spice merchants. I couldn’t continue that legacy without knowing how to do math.”

“How did you not know your mother went to monastic school?”

“I don’t know, I’m sorry! It just never came up, I guess.”

Mary sat down across from them, crossing her legs at her ankles.

“I suppose that’s partially my fault. Going through monastic school as a woman was a difficult experience, so I don’t really talk about it much. Some people tried to make me leave, even by force. Others, well…”

There was an uncomfortable silence. Mary tried to break it with some gallows humor.

“At least I don’t have to go to war…”

Angus chuckled as Mary stood back up and went to close the storefront. Sometimes you kind of have to laugh in a situation like that. Since he was young, Angus recognized Mary as a tough woman, both mentally and physically. It was through hearing snippets of her past where he could really grasp how true that was. As she left, though, the thoughts about telling people about the war returned.

“Hey dad, I have a question for you.”

“Of course, go ahead.”

“Do you think that it would be immoral not to tell everyone about what is actually happening? I’m not sure if even mother knows.”

“Well, we have support from the capitol and a plan to stop them. I’m pretty hopeful that will be enough.”

“But what if it isn’t? Can’t blind optimism be harmful in a time like this?”

Sturgeon leaned back in a pondering stance.

“Look, knowledge of something before it happens can be a curse. It really can. I’m sure you want to give people enough time to evacuate, but there’s one problem.”

“What’s that?”

“If we lose, where would they go? People would be forced to leave their homes only for the next city and the next to fall. England is banking everything on this city’s survival. The capitol is sending the lion’s share of their infantry, their cavalry, their archers- The point is that if we lose, I want people to enjoy themselves until it happens. If we tell people, it would be complete chaos and despair.”

Angus leaned back and sighed.

“I guess you’re right… You know more about this than I do, so what should I expect next?”

“Conscription is starting up soon. Military training is tough, but I know you can handle it. I’m sure they’ll tell you more about it in school tomorrow. Because you’re there, you can be drafted as an officer like some of my classmates.”

“So where do other people get drafted?”

“Anywhere. From their homes to the streets to taverns, anyone anywhere can be drafted to become a lower level soldier. Make sure you get to the monastery on time, to make sure they won’t mistake you for a common person.”

“Are you agreeing that I look poor now?”

“Yes. But for your case, looking ‘poor’ is better. Stronger officers will better inspire their forces and you could earn even more land than I did.”

Although kind of shocked that Sturgeon straight up said that, Angus regained his composure quickly.

“Uh, thanks?”

“Ha ha ha! Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be a much better officer than Clyde was to me.”

“Wait, Clyde was your commanding officer?”

“Yeah, he was never any good at the whole ‘battle tactics’ part of it, though. Eventually, the bastard took an arrow to the shoulder, so they put me in charge.”

“Whoa, so that’s how you became an officer?”

“You bet! Now that I’m a baron and Clyde’s ego has been knocked down a peg, I’ve got to be honest- Best arrow ever!”

“No way!”

Angus doubled over laughing. That sort of temporary relief was exactly what he needed. As he went to sleep that night, the thought of the incoming war hardly even kept him awake anymore. He knew he had to rest up to be ready for the upcoming military training. Despite his concerns, he assured himself that everything was going to work out just fine.