[i]"Just stay calm and do your best."[/i]

Saya's last words before she and Shiki had separated echoed through his mind over and over again. For the young dragon, it's easier said than done. Shiki stood there, nearly shaking, as he watched the humans around him practicing their combat prowess on the straw dummies and targets. He recognized some of the weapons that were being used: a sword, a lance, a dagger. However, there was one weapon that he had never seen before. It looked to be a bent piece of wood and metal construction attached with a long piece of string. "Hey, stop standing around like that, Shiki. We're supposed to be practicing." Brenard's voice came from behind him.

"Huh? O-Oh right." Shiki responded. Going to the weapon's barrel, he noticed that the familiar weaponry had all been taken and the only thing left is that strange bent wood construct that he was fixated on about earlier. With no other choices, Shiki picked it up and walked over to Brenard.

"A bow, huh? I wouldn't have guessed. Oh, didn't you take any arrows?" Brenard asked.

"Arrows? What's that?" Shiki asked in reply. Suddenly, a curious look formed on Brenard's face which Shiki quickly mistook for suspicion. "R-Right, of course! Arrows: how could I forget!? Hehe..." Shiki nervously laughed it off. "[i]Crap, that was close. If this human gets too suspicious, I'll be done for.[/i]" Shiki thought before returning to the weapon barrel. Right next to it was a separate barrel full of quivers - each filled with about ten arrows. Of course, Shiki had no idea if these were arrows or not. Hoping for the best, Shiki grabbed a quiver and attached it to his waist since it looked most appropriate there.

"Hey! You can't treat the wyvern like that!" a young feminine voice caught Shiki's attention. With the immediate mention of a "wyvern", Shiki couldn't help but see what it was about. Over near the stables in Training Area One, a young woman with green hair was confronting a young man with curly black hair who is standing next to a submissive wyvern. The wyvern looks to be fearful of the male human. The girl with green hair looked angry at the other human. "Someone like you is not fit to be part of the Wyvern Corps!" she fiercely scolded.

"Tch. What's it to you? Who cares how I treat it? It's a tool for battle. Nothing more, nothing less." the other human replied rather arrogantly. "You know why dragons no longer exist yet wyverns remain? It's because wyverns are obedient. They know who the superior being is. I'm glad dragons were eliminated. They were such useless creatures. Unlike wyverns who exist for humans to use - not to pamper. See?" he explained before putting his foot on the wyverns head nonchalantly. Seeing that, the girl balled her hands into fists; she even looked like she was about to hit the man.

"Get your dirty foot off of him!" Suddenly, the man was pushed into the stable behind him by Shiki who had ran up to him once he saw what the man did. Shiki looked quite angry. If there is one thing he couldn't tolerate, it is hearing a human insulting dragons or wyverns. It reminded him just who exactly the enemy is and why they needed to be eliminated. The girl looked at Shiki in surprise but he didn't notice her as he was too busy staring down the other human. The green-haired girl turned her attention back onto the man as well.

"Don't you talk about dragons or wyverns like you know anything about them! We wrongly judged dragons based on a few bad ones but there are still good dragons out there! Just like the one who protected me!" the girl stated. Hearing what she had just said, Shiki looked to her with widened eyes.

"[i]S-She encountered... a dragon...!?[/i]" Shiki thought.

Suddenly, the loud alarm of war horns reverberated throughout the Wall and Atland. The citizens of Atland, hearing the alarm, proceeded to retreat to their homes. Amazingly, they were rather calm about it. Then, a Wallguard came rushing into Training Area One. "Everybody listen up! A goblin force of five-hundred strong is heading this way to Atland! This is a call to arms! All of you here wishing to be part of the Wallguards are now asked to prove just that! Everyone: prepare for battle!" the Wallguard rallied and is answered by a resounding battle cry. It was time for the recruits to prove their bravery in the field of battle. The invading force is drawing ever near. Now was the time to gear up and head to their respective posts.

At the central gate, hundreds of Wallguards belonging to the Assault Troops and the Magic Brigade will gather in preparation to tackle the enemy force on foot. Converging atop the Wall is the Archer Squadron with their bows and arrows and siege weapons. Finally, soaring overhead are the Wallguards of the Wyvern Corps. At Training Area Two, the mage recruits were also given the same message: to prepare for the invasion. Dorian is to lead the new recruits into combat. The central gate awaits them. Back at Training Area One, the green-haired girl looked to Shiki after the situation had been explained to them. "Well, you heard the man. It's time to gear up for battle!" she excitedly said before rushing off to prepare herself. Shiki noticed that Brenard also left. It looks like he has no choice but to ready himself as well even though his mind was occupied at the moment.

At the medical tents, Alere was being healed by professional Wallguard mages. They would do a better job than Elise who, while also skilled in her own right, possesses a more varied arsenal. She was there with Mira and Rakanishu, the leader of the small goblin unit who had been captured earlier. Captain Gungneer was also there to get a report of the situation. Of course, he had already heard the essential message which was why he sent word for everyone to prepare for battle. "So the green bastards assembled a small army, huh? Not bad." the captain said rather calmly. "Mira, lock this ugly son of a bitch up then prepare your wyvern for battle. We'll have an [i]interrogator[/i] extract the information we need out of him later." Gungneer stated.

"Yes, Sir!" Mira replied before dragging the goblin off.

Gungneer looked to Elise. "Missy, you stay here, got it? Normally, I'd put you to work but seeing as how you're in no condition to be exerting yourself, you just have to keep Alere company." Gungneer stated. He then walked towards the tent's entrance. "Well, I gotta go. A Wallguard's duty is on the field of battle regardless of rank," a grin then came onto the captain's face, "and that's the way it's supposed to be." he finished while looking fondly at his giant battle axe. Half an hour left before the invading force arrives at the Wall...