When Gunnar woke the next morning, it was early. But from the sound he could vaguely hear from downstairs he could guess that his mother or one of his grandparents had beaten him to being the first to rise. Gunnar firmed his resolve and rolled out of bed, beginning his morning routine of assorted light exercises to get his blood flowing.
Upon completion of this first morning task, he felt more alert and noticed that his heart was racing a bit faster than it would normally. "Must be more nervous than I realized if my heart is racing this much. I need to breathe." He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply before exhaling at his normal pace then repeating until he felt centered and focused.
"Alright! Time to get moving. If I get all my things together now I can spend a bit more time with everyone. Though it's not like I have a whole lot to carry. We are only allowed one bag with clothes and a few survival type tools."
Gunnar collected his bag and strapped on his knife. As he descended the stairs he began thinking of the effort he and his siblings had gone through the night before to decide what tools he would need to take. He knew that each year the location of the basic training would change.
From the tales of Hart, he learned that his brother had his basic training in a wooded valley rife with geysers and salamanders. His oldest sister Alexis had her training on a cold mountain to the north, the dangers here were the extreme cold and the frost sprites and wolves who would work together to take down the students if they were not alert at all times. Ria told him of her own training that took places at the seaside where they had to watch for sea beasts who would drag them away from shore as they fished and would pull them to the deep to drown them.
Each year, Gunnar knew, was slightly different as lots would be drawn to decide the environment. Losses were expected to be between 3 and 5 in the first month alone. So the task was to have tools that could be used across many different terrains and environments. The tools that the children had settled on were: Flint, a small length of rope maybe 20 ft long and three different sized waterproof canvas squares, one big enough for a single man tent and two smaller ones for carrying herbs or game.
As he came to the kitchen/dinning room of the house Gunnar found it was not his mother or his grand parents that had woken earlier than he, but it was Hart, who was in the middle of preparing a light breakfast.
"Good morning, brother Hart." Gunnar squeaked his voice showing his nervousness and surprise.
Hart looked at his younger brother and smiled softly, the smile cracking the harshness of his slightly scarred face. "You're up early, little Gunnar. I have a reason to be as I am in the habit of rising before dawn for practice and first crack at the showers, but why has my little brother roused himself at the early hour?"
Gunnar looked at his older brother observing his steel grey eyes framed by his red hair and standing a good six and a half feet tall, another mountain of a 21 year old. "I am a bit restless this morning. I know we have a few hours before we leave but it will only be after I finish my basics that I will be eligible for a return home. I am a bit..."
"Nervous to be away from mom and gramma for the first time." Hart finished. "It is normal bud, we all feel it before we go the first time. I felt it every time I left home til I turned 10. You'll have to keep that secret for me okay?"
"It will be a few weeks at the earliest that we can attempt to test out of the training right brother?"
Hart nodded "But I know you will do well Gunnar. it might be a little rough at first but you will soon realize that you are too busy to be thinking about anything but your lessons and where your next meal is coming from. Remember, basic food will be provided to everyone in the basic program, but you can earn points with the instructors by proving you can care for yourself. whatever you can collect and protect from your basics training and lessons can be taken back with you when you come to the advanced levels."
Hart turned from the open flame with a pile of eggs and bacon, placing it on the table. He then sat down across from his little brother. "Now you know that I am really close to finishing my third tattoo, Gunnar. I already have my axe and smith marks, and I am closing in on finishing my hunters mark. so I might not be able to see you at school by the time I graduate out to go work with the hunters guild of Gramma Jemma's. But I know that you will do great once you settle in. you've had fantastic teachers all across the board."
Gunnar made his plate and began to eat while responding to his brother. "I will do my best. But I am glad we are only going to The Forge grounds to prepare right now. I still have a few days left with you all so I am going to get all the advice that I can from you and big sisters before I actually do go into the Forge."
Hart grinned at his words while turning an ear to the upstairs, beginning to hear sound of stirring from the rooms there as well as from the houses nearby in the clan. "I think we may just have a procession going down the mountain this time Gunnar, there are four in the clan that aged into The Forge this year."
"At least I will have some company." Gunnar nodded. "even if I only really get along with Cassie well. We might form a team once we get into the testing grounds so that we can work together to gain materials and merit. Cassie and I have always worked well together."
Ria, coming into the room and hearing that last line chuckled a little. "The little girl with the unfortunate name huh. She is the type you would get along with, but remember you will have competition as she grows. She will inherit her mother's grace I am betting."
Kathleen Cassandra Milton or Cassie as she was often called, gained her two first names as a result of a spat between her father and mother over which Grandmother to name her after as they had both passed on year before. Her parents had been working in the forge and as hunters for the Forge clan for the last 4 years. Their own clan being extinguished on the second of the three Forgeworlds due to inner clan rivalry and a series of failed investments.
Cassie and Gunnar had made fast friends after a short stint as "mortal enemies" due to a disagreement over the best food in the clan. they had been together in training and in the many fights the younger children of the clan would often engage in ever since.
As the rest of the family came and filled their own plates from the massive pile of eggs and bacon, they laughed and chatted with one another while eating and then getting their baggage together for the trip through the woods and down the mountain to the nearby city of Alloy. Alloy was a trade city and a transportation hub that would give them a chance to book a ride to The Forge, a trip that would take two days total.
When they finished eating, Gunnar's sisters ran back up the stairs to collect their bags before the rest of the family walked out side to the mana powered carriage that had an expanded space inside. Enough to sit two families per carriage with a fifth to fit luggage. The Miltons jogged over and Cassie and Gunnar promptly began playing ro sham bo to decide who would sit in the window before realizing the both could sit in the seat and trade off when they stopped to eat at midday.
After all the hustle and bustle of the morning the two couldn't quite settle down and had to be repeatedly threatened before they would sit still so the journey could begin.