dem0nzlust
Member
Fwish
Fwish
Twang
The sound of multiple arrows being released from well-carved short bows pierced wooden dummies on the opposite side of the archery training field. Both Quincy in training and eager, brave citizens of the empire wishing to serve under the empire to become soldat. The trainees refined their archery from the break of light all the way until sunset. On this bountiful day, Wolfgang watched over the recruits of the empire, molding them into soon-to-be masterful marksmen, but during training, the use of spirit weapons was prohibited even for those lucky few who wielded the power to form spirit bows already. He listened to the drawn bow strings' tensions, the subtle creaking of the wood bending as they aimed, and the rhythm of their heartbeats. Walking through the ranks, he casually helped fix the postures of the beginner archers as he passed by, then let the instructors further guide them, before crossing into a separate section where advanced archery was practiced using longbows. Despite the skill levels, they all trained the same, learning to breathe as one, and act as one single unit, only allowed to release their arrows when Wolfgang had sensed they all were synchronized. One of the advanced archers missed hitting directly in the center of the bullseye by a couple of centimeters, and his friend beside him mumbled softly in frustration, thinking that their instructor was far enough not to hear them.
“Man, this is stupid. Why does being off by a couple of inches matter so much?”
“You are telling me, and why can’t we use our spirit weapon instead of these ordinary bows?”
Wolfgang stopped his pacing, hearing the frustration of these two with very little escaping his ears, and could sense the auras of a few others growing frustrated. Raising his hand in the air, the instructors halted everyone and directed their attention to Wolfgang with concern as he approached the two Quincys who voiced their frustrations, albeit if they thought it was unnoticed.
“Stand in front of the target, will ya for me? I assure you no harm will come to you, and you feel free to bring out your spirit bow.”
He spoke calmly with a smile to the two trainees, and hesitantly, they did as told, thinking they were about to be made an example in front of the entire courtyard. The one requested with summoning out his spirit weapon channeled around his Quincy cross, forming an ordinary Heilig Bogen. Reluctantly, he drew his spirit bow with a Heilig Pfeil notched, aiming at his friend who stood a few inches away from the center of the wooden dummy before the instructor ordered him to fire. The spirit soared to its mark, but because the archer's nerves were running high with all eyes on him, his aim wasn’t perfect. The man standing by the target could tell the aim was off and was going to take out his eye or even kill it, but his body locked up in fear, causing him to hesitate, moving a few seconds too slowly out of the projectile's path. The entire archery squad held their breaths expecting a gruesome outcome, instead they saw Wolfgang seemingly teleported right beside the man with the spirit arrow grasped firmly in hand, a few inches from piercing the man's eye. Crushing the arrow in his hand in that same motion, he pulled an arrow out of the quiver, then launched it with precision at the one who fired, causing a blur to whoosh past his face, leaving a small hairline cut on the cheek before the thunderous crash of it shattering a hole in the stone wall behind them.
“Why does missing your target by a few inches matter? A few inches too late, stopping the arrow, your friend here is missing an eye, but more importantly, missing by even a margin determines if those you wish to protect live or die. We train with bows because it must become a reflex to instantly recall every aspect of the bow and arrow. Your spirit weapon is unique to you, but it's forged through your imagination and ability to recall every detail of what it is you wish to shape. We, Quincy, turned our righteous resolve into our weapons.”
Wolfgang held his hand out to summon his Heilig Bogen, but unlike the trainee’s ordinary bow, he created a spirit bow resembling two angel wings with beautiful, ornate designs. With a simple motion, he fired a single arrow into the sky before it exploded like a mini fireworks putting on a spectacle of a display. The two trainees came to realize they were made an example of not to be humiliated in front of others, but to inspire. They were not scolded for their frustrations, but instead were instilled with wisdom and insight to help them improve. They all bowed their heads toward Wolfgang with a brand new vigor in them to continue their training, although this time around, their auras burned with a beautiful resolve and determination. A hearty smile appeared on his face, seeing the excitement to train to their fullest in them as he left the area heading to a different segment of the training area where a small coliseum was stationed.
Meanwhile, within the walls of the coliseum soldat, who wished to become Jagdarmee were required to face The Trials of Purifying Light (Leiden von Läuterndes Licht). The first trials were simple one versus one match against another soldat with the winner getting to continue and the loser getting the option to try again next month. In the second trial, they were faced with overcoming different challenges of skill and intellect to prove they were strong enough to carry on. In the third, fourth, and fifth trial they were pitted against actual dangerous combatants of all willing participants who known Wolfgang trials as the Red Coliseum. For the soldat they had to fight these challengers with the stipulation of defeating them without killing them, and each trial consisted of three rounds against different challengers lasting 2 hours, and neither was allowed breaks once the trials began. The challengers themselves were made up of remnants of Arrancar who were loyal to Valiosa, still hoping to prove their worth to Adonai to be cleansed and join her side once again. Hollows captured by Quincy to educate their forces on what they were, and not to fear what they didn’t understand, often being referred to as lost souls from light. Lastly, were the more diverse, interesting lot consisting of those who outlived their use to Josef and survived, looking to jump into a nightmare they at least had control over. For the challengers, they had no restrictions on not killing; they just needed to survive the trial twenty times to earn their freedom, although it was serving the empire in some way. For those who wished to live, the trial became a beacon of light to them, and those who chose death were given it mercifully. Perched up on a ledge overlooking a fight between one of the soldat and a shinigami fighting their final combatant for freedom, coming out victorious. Energetically, Wolfgang jumped down, cheering the shinigami on as she kneeled in front of him.
“I give my life to the empire.”
Smiling big, he reached down, creating blue flames in the symbol of the Quincy cross and branding her palm. This was the mark that challengers who won their freedom and truly wished to join were bestowed. The female shinigami helped the soldat up off the ground, then they both turned to bow respectfully toward each other.
“Today we are no longer enemies, we are brethren.”
Wolfgang looked at the two with content before turning his nose into the air, sniffing.
“Oh, how glorious, I smell spaghetti!”
