Aru read it out loud... "Shakuni."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aru was just processing what she read when she heard Aiden yell again.

"Shah, are you coming or not?" 

"Patience you must have, my young padawan." Aru hollered back as she adjusted her armor strap.

"Did you just quote Yoda?" Aiden asked as Aru finally came out of the tent.

Aru stuck out her tongue and then she and Aiden jogged back to the other soldiers. They made it just in time as the General was just walking over to them in a haughty manner with two of his advisors on either side of him playing . . . .toy trumpets? Aru and all the other soldiers muffled their laughter by stuffing their hankies or fists into their mouths. The General appeared not to notice and solemnly said:

"Hi." Aru blinked. The General clears his throat and continues. "Today, we will start your preparation to fight against the Sleeper, the greatest threat to grace our country yet. You will have to be responsible, mature, and a hard-worker. We are on the brink of war and this is a serious matter, so do not goof off, otherwise you will face dire consequences. Everyday you will assemble here at the same time. Understood?" Everyone saluted.

"Yes, sir!" Wow, Aru thought, this guy can be childish and serious at the same time.

"Good. You can call me Hanuman by the way. Now," Hanuman beckoned towards the advisor on his right. The advisor gave Hanuman a bow and arrow. The General skillfully stringed the bow, knocked the arrow in place, and positioned his arm so that it was pointing at... Aru?! Aru panicked but Hanuman seemed to have no intention of shooting Aru, instead he lifted his arms so that it was pointing at the enormous pole and let go of the string. The arrow soared in a smooth arc and hit the very top of the enormous pole Aru saw on her first day at camp. "Who would like to go first and retrieve the arrow?" A man wearing gold-plated armor and a pointed helmet raised his hand, there were several people wearing the exact same thing, forty-nine to be exact, it was etched on their breast-plates. They called themselves the Maruts. Aru had seen them around her grandfather's house and even socialized with them. And she had to say they sure were....something. The Marut with the number one on his breast was the one who had raised his hand. Hanuman motioned for him to come forward. Number One turned around and smirked.

"Watch and learn." He then stalked off towards the pole. Number One was just getting ready to climb the wooden beam when Hanuman stopped him.

"Wait a moment," The advisor on the left came forward holding a wooden box. "You seem to be forgetting something." The General reached inside the box and pulled out its contents: two golden metal disks that seemed to weigh a ton. The disks had a square hole in the middle where a black ribbon was tied around it and there was something etched on both of the frisbee lookalikes. (A/N: The image at the top shows what it looks like.) Hanuman put one disk on Number One's left wrist. "This represents strength, wisdom, knowledge, wit, fearlessness, determination, courage, boldness, and never giving up." The General put the second disc on the Marut's right wrist. "And this represents growth, healing, compassion, kindness, empathy, and harmony." Hanuman had a mischievous smile on his face. "Now you may go." Number one rotated his shoulders in an anticlockwise circle, stretched his neck from side to side, and hit his fist into the palm of his hands. He sauntered up to the pole and started climbing...but immediately slid down. He tried again and got the same results. This kept on for hours with everyone snickering and mocking him. While Number One was getting his ego crushed, Aru noticed that Hanuman was eyeing her. 'Curiouser and curiouser...' Finally the Marut gave up, scowling and ranting about how stupid it was. The General sighed.

"Anyone else want to have a go?" No one had the guts to sacrifice their dignity. "Well...We have a long way to go. Everyone come back here tomorrow at the same time, it seems I have a lot to teach you all."

A/N: Hello! I finally updated! Again... Lately I've had zero motivation and I've been really busy and thats my excuse... It sounds really lame but bear with me. I also hope to never drop this book so yeah. Hope you enjoyed! I'm sure you all know what will happen next ;)